YouTube -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 9, 2024)

Here is the Divine Service from Sunday, June 9, 2024.

Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 9, 2024)

MARK 3:20-35

JESUS IS MINDFUL TO CRUSH SATAN’S KINGDOM.

In the name + of Jesus.

      Today’s Gospel introduces two groups who had a problem with Jesus.  The first was his own family.  They saw how much the crowds were demanding of Jesus’ time and attention; and he was not refusing anyone.  St. John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in him, at least until after his resurrection.  Perhaps they felt that Jesus was developing a God-complex.  “For they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:21).  So, they went to Jesus to bring him home for some rest and perhaps for a new dose of reality.  Jesus’ mother, however, believed that Jesus is the Son of God.  But he was also her son.  Jesus was so consumed with preaching, teaching, and healing that he did not have a chance to eat.  Well, when a mother finds out her son is not eating, she has to step in.  Perhaps she was also worried that Jesus was heading for a breakdown. 

     The other group were the scribes.  They had traveled all the way from Jerusalem to Capernaum, which was no small hike.  They traveled some 100 miles just to slander Jesus.  They could not deny that Jesus had driven demons out of people.  So, rather than deny the miracles, they sought to discredit them.  They claimed that Jesus only drove out the devils because he was in league with the devil.  Even worse than saying that Jesus was out of his mind, they claimed that he was possessed by Satan. 

     Jesus’ response to them was based on logic as much as theology.  “How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end” (Mark 3:23-26).  Captors don’t willingly discard the plunder they have taken.  When people are taken prisoner, they are trophies of war.  And trophies are prized.

     The devil took captive the entire world when he seized Adam and Eve in their sin.  From that moment, all people enter this world under his influence.  He is the strong one who has bound us all to sin and death.  Although we boast of our free will and that we are not bound to anyone, that is not true.  We are bound to our sins.  We cannot stop sinning even when we want to.  And we are bound to death.  We will not escape the grave.  No one gets out of this world alive.  The devil has laid a claim on all mankind.  He is not called “the prince of this world” for nothing.  And none of us has the strength to overcome his rule or be freed from sin and death.  We are the devil’s trophies, and he has no intention of giving us up.  Satan would never cast out Satan.

     This sinful nature still infects Christians.  It never leaves us, and it seeks to overtake us.  Consider how we regard parts of God’s word.  Jesus told his disciples, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).  We think, “Seven times?!  If someone wrongs me three times in a day, I am done with him.  Jesus must be out of his mind to say this.”  Jesus also said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil.  But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:38-39).  Once again, we respond, “Jesus, you are out of your mind.”  Our natural inclination is to say “No” to God.  We may know his word, but our hearts are not set on doing it because there is nothing to be gained for us. 

     If that is how Christians struggle with God’s word, what of unbelievers?  Our society, more and more, is hostile to God’s word.  Although people do not go so far as to call Jesus’ words demonic, there are plenty of other terms which tell us we are headed that way.  If you do not embrace and promote sin, you are some sort of “phobe,” and you sponsor violence against others.  Your rejection of God’s word is expected.  If you confess that God’s word is true and strive to live like it, this world will tell you that you are out of your mind.  They will put pressure on you to adopt worldly ways.  They may even require training to change your confession.  What does God say about people who blaspheme his word and his name?

     Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter” (Mark 3:28).  Are you surprised?  You might expect Jesus to breathe fire or to crush those who speak against him.  But you and I have done that, too.  If not out loud, in our hearts we have challenged Jesus’ words and questioned his wisdom.  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way” (Isaish 53:6).  And yet, what do we hear?  Jesus forgives this! 

     Jesus is mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom.  This is why he entered the world.  It is why he drove demons out of people.  It is why he carried a cross out to Mt. Calvary to be killed on it.  It is why he accepted the curse of his Father and the damnation that sinners deserve.  This was to save you from your sins—no matter how violent, no matter how frequent, no matter how intentional, no matter how persistent.  Jesus provides forgiveness for all.  He is mindful to set you free from sin and death, and to crush Satan’s kingdom.  And just as he has done it for you, so also he has done it for the many who still blaspheme Jesus and regard his words as demonic lies.  Jesus did this for the likes of the apostle Paul who blasphemed Jesus and killed Christians.  He did it for the likes of the Syrian general, Naaman, who killed Israelites and took captives from them.  He does this for people today.  There is hope for all. 

     Jesus does not ignore sins; he paid for them so that he can forgive them.  He is not content to let Satan keep what he has stolen.  Jesus said, “No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Mark 3:27).  Jesus is the stronger man who has bound up the strong man.  He let the devil do his worst, letting the devil pin on him every accusation of sin.  The devil rejoiced that he could slay the Son of God who had become sin for us.  But Jesus rose from the dead.  He lives and reigns, victorious over the devil.  The devil no longer can hold people in the guilt of their sins if sins have been taken away.  The devil can no longer taunt us with the fear of death when death has been conquered.  The devil can no longer have a claim on you since you have been baptized into Jesus.  You belong to Jesus, purchased and won by him.  Jesus has plundered the devil’s kingdom, and you are the plunder.  Jesus was mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom, and you are the prize he has won.

     Jesus does, however, offer stern words of warning for those who persist in their rejection of God’s word.  Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:29).  Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unbelief.  It is the stubborn rejection of God’s word.  Through the word of God, the Holy Spirit delivers all the benefits that Jesus has won for all mankind.  Jesus did the work, and the Holy Spirit gives the gifts.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to call him a liar.  Whoever does this spurns God’s salvation.  It is not that Jesus refused to carry their sins to the cross; it is that people reject that forgiveness.  It is not that God the Father doesn’t want them saved; it is that people despise God’s grace and salvation.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to reject all his blessings. 

     The gifts the Holy Spirit brings are listed at the end of the Apostles’ Creed.  You may have thought that the final points of that Creed are random things that just got thrown on the end to round out our confession.  “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”  These are not random things; they are what the Holy Spirit brings through the word and sacraments.  He delivers you out of Satan’s kingdom into Christ’s Church.  He joins you to all the saints in heaven and on earth into one family of believers.  He bestows upon you the forgiveness won by Jesus.  Jesus’ sufferings and death were 2,000 years ago, but the Holy Spirit has applied it to you now in your baptism and reaffirms it in the absolution.  He will breathe new life into you at the resurrection and will raise up your body in glory.  And he will usher you into a kingdom of glory that will never end. 

     Jesus is mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom.  But everyone who rejects the Holy Spirit remains a captive of the devil—deceived, deluded, and depraved.  Whoever refuses this good news will finally get what they wish for—they die apart from it.  They remain in Satan’s kingdom and will perish.  That is why blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgiveable.  For, there is no forgiveness or salvation outside of Jesus.  But with Jesus, everyone has hope.  All sins are terrible.  Many sins are particularly hurtful and shameful.  But there is forgiveness for all of them, even the worst of them.  No sin is so disgusting that Jesus refused to pay for it.  This is good news to share with people whose lives are so regrettable.  They are not beyond hope.  Jesus is mindful to save them and to deliver them from Satan’s kingdom of fear and death to God’s kingdom of life and peace.

     You have been brought into God’s kingdom, but your relationship to Jesus is much more endearing than King and subject.  When Jesus’ mother and brothers came to retrieve him from his schedule and to bring him home for rest, Jesus spoke to those who were gathered around him.  He assured them that they were more than students or acquaintances or even friends.  “Looking about at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother’” (Mark 3:34-35). 

     Whoever hears the word of the Lord and believes it has become a child of God.  Whoever believes the word of God and strives to live according to it is a brother or sister of Jesus.  And if you are Jesus’ brothers and sisters, then you are heirs of glorious kingdom and children of the resurrection.  The world may think you are out of your mind to be a follower of Jesus.  The truth is that the Holy Spirit has given you a new heart and mind which knows the benefits of Jesus’ grace and the goodness of God’s word.  Jesus was mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom, and we rejoice that he was mindful to rescue us from it.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

YouTube -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 18, 2023)

Here is the service from Sunday, June 18.

Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 18, 2023)

1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-7

WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT OF YOUR MINISTER?

I. He Should Faithfully Serve For Christ’s Honor.

II. He Should Faithfully Serve For Your Good.

In the name + of Jesus.

      The congregation at Corinth was a divided group of people.  St. Paul had noted, “It has been reported to me … that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.  What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ’” (1 Corinthians 1:11-12).  It seems that each group of people pledged allegiance to a particular pastor.  Who knows why?  Perhaps one was a better speaker.  Perhaps one spent time with that family.  Perhaps he was the one who brought them into the church.  Maybe one was funny.  I don’t know.

     People who go church shopping have ideas about what they want in a pastor or in a congregation—although that is done online now.  (Note: If you are church shopping, it is better to attend in person and meet the pastor and the people.)  What would make your list?  What qualities or gifts matter most to you?  Better than asking what you want, consider: What should you expect of your minister?

     St. Paul defined the role of a minister this way: “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1).  Every minister has been entrusted with administering God’s gifts by preaching and teaching God’s word and by administering the sacraments.  He is to hold faithfully to God’s word and conduct his ministry according to it.  As a steward, the minister owns nothing.  It is all God’s.  It is God’s word.  It is God’s kingdom.  It is God’s church.  And you are God’s people.  The pastor is a mere caretaker of God’s things.  What should you expect of your minister?  As a steward of God’s things, he should faithfully serve for Christ’s honor.

     The mysteries of God are what God has revealed in his word.  It was revealed through the prophets and the apostles, and it has been written down so that every generation can know what God’s word is.  First, God shows us what is good and what is evil.  These are recorded in the Ten Commandments.  Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with commentary on these Commandments.  These have to be proclaimed because sinners naturally despise them or try to find ways around them.  We like to lie because it hides our faults.  We slander because it justifies our grudges.  We defend stealing because it supposedly makes us even with people who have more.  We may even deny that God has any right to make demands of us.  When we utter mottos such as, “My body, my choice,” or demand our own personal rights, we are telling God that he has no business in our lives.  But God is the author of life.  He who gives life has every right to say how it is to be lived.  And since Jesus will judge the living and the dead, we had better care if our lives align with what he has to say.  What should you expect of your minister?  He should faithfully serve for Christ’s honor, which means upholding what is good and condemning what is wicked—no matter what people think of it.

     St. Paul set down an important principle regarding what you should expect of a minister.  He wrote, “I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6).  If the minister is to faithfully serve for Christ’s honor, then he must limit himself to Christ’s words.  Jesus commissioned his apostles: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).  That word “proclaim,” sometimes translated “preach,” is to do the work of a herald.  Think of the hymn, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.  A herald is one who delivers a message from the king.  The herald may not alter it in any way.  The herald angels proclaimed the birth of Christ, the Lord.  That was the message they were given, and they gave it to the shepherds.  A herald receives a message, and he delivers what he was given.  That is what the minister is supposed to do, and it is what you should expect, and in fact, demand.  The minister is to administer God’s word as God has given it. 

     Some pastors claim to have direct revelations from God.  Such claims are impressive.  After all, wouldn’t you like to have God speaking to you personally?  Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a minister who is so connected to God that God speaks to him directly?  If these claims were true, the pastor would become the source of truth, and you would have to take his word for it that his words are God’s words.  But here is a serious concern: How do you know it happened?  How can you authenticate such a message?  Another serious concern: How do you know it was God?  Because you liked the message?  Because the voice sounded like James Earl Jones? 

     In the days of the prophet Isaiah, there were many preachers who had conflicting messages.  Who was right?  The Lord himself answered that: “To the teaching and to the testimony!  If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (Isaiah 8:20).  If you want to know God’s words, then turn to the Scriptures.  If the minister’s message does not agree with Scripture, then it is not a faithful message.  It is darkness, not light.  Your familiarity with the Bible should not be limited to what a minister tells you.  You should know it for yourself.  And do you know what?  There, God does speak to you personally.  It is God’s word to you.  If you read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Scriptures, you will not be misled by anyone. 

     A minister’s presentation may be impressive.  His opinions may be bold and persuasive.  But the minister is not the source of truth; God is.  The minister does not work salvation; Jesus does.  The minister does not create or sustain faith; the Holy Spirit does.  If the minister is a steward of the mysteries of God, then he faithfully serves for Christ’s honor, not his own.  What should you expect from your minister?  He should faithfully serve for Christ’s honor.  He preaches Christ’s word.  He proclaims Christ’s work.  Therefore, the honor should be Jesus’ honor.

      What should you expect of your minister?  You might think, “The minister should make me feel better about myself.  He should make my life easier.  He should make me happy.”  But that is not a minister’s job.  The minister has one job: To preach God’s word faithfully for Christ’s honor. 

     This is why St. Paul wrote, “With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.  In fact, I do not even judge myself.  For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.  It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Corinthians 4:3-4).  As a steward of the mysteries of God, a minister preaches what God’s word says, even if he is hated for saying so.  Do not be surprised if a faithful minister is slandered or despised for holding firm to God’s word.  And if you confess God’s word, do not be surprised if the world judges you to be a hater, a bigot, and whatever “phobe” they can come up with.  Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  …Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:18,20). 

     What should you expect from your minister?  To faithfully serve for Christ’s honor.  In doing so, he faithfully serves for your good.  If God’s word exposes your sins, the minister has no right to change the message to make it more agreeable for you.  He is not trying to hurt your feelings; he is telling you what God says.  The minister is not trying to build up your honor, but to exalt Christ’s honor.  If that word pricks your conscience, the point is not to find a minister who will deliver a message you prefer, and the point is certainly not to change the message to one you like.  The point is to repent.  In calling you to repent, the minister is faithfully serving for your good.

     As a steward of the mysteries of God, the minister faithfully serves for your good.  The mysteries of God reveal how sinners who deserve God’s wrath instead receive God’s favor.  God himself entered our world as a man.  He lived in perfect obedience to God’s Law.  He did not excuse himself from any Commandments or find ways that they did not apply to him.  He humbly submitted himself to perfect obedience.  And yet, he who was guiltless took the punishment of the guilty.  He who did not break the Law was condemned as a lawbreaker.  He who brought healing to broken bodies had his body flogged and pierced to a cross.  And we, who have broken God’s Law, are pardoned and set free.  He who earned eternal life by his holiness was put to death so that we, who deserve eternal death, are given life.  He died in shame so that we would receive glory.  This is a mystery and a marvel.

     What should you expect from your minister?  He should faithfully serve for your good.  For a day of judgment is coming upon us all.  The Lord “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart” (1 Corinthians 4:5).  But the Lord has cleansed your heart through holy baptism.  He refreshes your heart through holy communion.  He works on your heart through his word so that you conform your mind and your life to God’s word.  We constantly need correction.  The Lord not only corrects our actions and attitudes, he also continually consoles us and calls us his own.  God graciously has given you and continues to give you all you need for your salvation.  Therefore, you need not fear the final judgment. 

     “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1).  If the minister is a servant of Christ, then he serves you because that is what Jesus does.  If the minister is a steward of the mysteries of God, then he delivers God’s goods to you.  And different ministers will have different gifts as they serve.  The Corinthians got wrapped up too much in the stewards: “I follow Paul.  I follow Apollos.  I follow Peter.”  But that is like being more attracted to the wrapping paper than to the gift inside of it.  The minister may be a steward of the mysteries of God, but the blessing comes from the mysteries. 

     While ministers come and go, the word of the Lord endures forever.  The Lord Jesus is faithful to his promises.  He is true to his word.  His mercies are new every day.  These are the blessings that save you.  Therefore, these are what you should expect.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

YouTube -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 26, 2022)

Here is the service from Sunday, June 26, 2022.

Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 26, 2022)

GALATIANS 1:11-24

PAUL, AN APOSTLE FROM GOD BY GRACE.

In the name + of Jesus.

     There are two teachings that people will often attack to discredit the Bible and the Christian faith.  The first is the resurrection of Jesus.  If Jesus is not risen from the dead, then, as St. Paul says, “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).  But Christ has, indeed, be raised from the dead.  He was seen and touched by the apostles who willingly died for their testimony.  Jesus’ resurrection is true and the testimony of the apostles is trustworthy.  Jesus’ resurrection verifies that his sacrifice has been accepted on your behalf.  Therefore, your sins are forgiven.  Jesus’ triumph over death means Jesus has authority over the grave.  Therefore, your resurrection is secure.  

     The other teaching that is attacked to destroy the Christian faith is the conversion of St. Paul.  Since St. Paul wrote about half of the New Testament, the sincerity of his conversion and his authority as an apostle are essential.  Otherwise, Saul of Tarsus hi-jacked the Christian faith and replaced the teachings of Jesus with his own. 

     There has been a renewed effort to undermine the apostleship of Paul in the past few decades.  One reason is that St. Paul’s wrote much about marriage, sex, and chastity, about the roles God has given to men and women, and about who may serve as a pastor in the Church.  That’s not to say that these teachings are unique to Paul, but he devotes more time to these than other Bible writers do.  So, there is a renewed attack on Paul as an apostle of Jesus Christ. 

     Sadly, the attack is coming from within the Christian Church.  Many are embracing worldly attitudes about marriage and sex, what it means to be a man or a woman, and who may serve as a pastor in God’s church.  Since people cannot deny what Paul wrote, they claim that Paul’s writings are obsolete.  (“That was then; this is now.”)  Others claim Paul had issues with women and hang-ups about sex which we should ignore. 

     It is a renewed attack, not a new attack.  Paul’s apostolic authority was challenged from the moment he became an apostle.  Many Christians were skeptical that one who had attacked Christians so violently would be preaching the Gospel so zealously, and who could blame them?  But once it was recognized by the Church that Paul’s preaching was faithful to Jesus, false teachers slandered Paul and undermined his teachings.  So, in several of his epistles, Paul takes pains to defend his authority as an apostle of Jesus.  He states emphatically that he is an apostle from God by grace.

     The first thing Paul noted is that the Gospel he preached “is not man's gospel.  For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12).  If Paul’s Gospel had been a human invention, he would not have bothered changing his ways.  Paul had already had a message he was defending, which he called “the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14).  Paul was zealously devoted to what he had grown up with.  No philosopher or scholar or disciple of Jesus was going to change his mind.  Jesus had to do that, and he did.  When Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute more Christians, Jesus confronted him.  Paul was certain that the one appearing to him in glory from heaven was the Lord.  Imagine Paul’s shock to discover that Jesus is the Lord!  Jesus revealed to Paul that he is the focus and the fulfillment of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.  Therefore, Paul no longer preached a message that was the tradition of his fathers.  Nor did Paul promote a message of human invention or learn how to preach from the apostles in Jerusalem.  Paul is an apostle from God by grace, and he preached nothing other than what had been given to him by Jesus Christ.

     Everything this apostle could boast about was due to God’s grace.  Paul’s conversion was certainly not his own choice.  Paul was convinced that he was doing God’s work by trying to destroy the Christian faith.  But when Jesus appeared to him to correct him and to convert him, Paul was stunned to discover how wrong he was.  He was fighting against the very Lord he thought he was serving.  The Lord was pleased to change Paul’s focus and Paul’s heart despite Paul’s violence against the Gospel.  Paul acknowledged that “he who had set me apart before I was born … called me by his grace (and) was pleased to reveal his Son to me” (Galatians 1:15,16).  The Lord not only converted Paul to the Christian faith, he also called Paul to be an apostle.  All this was by grace.  Paul deserved neither.  He had earned God’s eternal wrath.  But instead, the Lord made Paul an apostle from God by grace. 

     It is no different for us.  The Lord was pleased to bring you into his kingdom and to work in you saving faith by his grace.  Like Paul, you were set apart for God’s kingdom, and God brought you into his kingdom.  Your conversion was not as spectacular as Paul’s with Jesus appearing to you personally in his glory.  Instead, your parents brought you to the baptismal font or friends told you what God’s promises are.  They did not preach man’s gospel—as if each of us gets to decide what is true.  You heard and learned what the Lord has revealed in his word.  You have been given the very words of God so that you can be sure you have God’s forgiveness, God’s favor, and God’s salvation.  Your place in God’s kingdom is just as much by grace as Paul’s. 

     God chose to save you, and he set you apart for his salvation.  You have been set apart from sin, death, and everything that will be condemned.  You have been set apart for good works, for glorifying God in your words and actions, and for serving your neighbor.  This means that, not only do you rejoice in God’s gracious forgiveness, you also order your life according to his word.  We do not let the opinions of man or the attitudes of our society determine what is good and right.  We adhere to the very words of God.

     You will notice that it is getting harder and harder to do that.  Our society has cast off God’s word.  What’s worse is that even Christian churches are doing that, and in particular in regard to what St. Paul wrote in his epistles about godly lives for God’s people.  So, for example, St. Paul wrote, “Sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.  Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.  For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not become partners with them” (Ephesians 5:3-7). 

     This is the kind of teaching from St. Paul that some Christians are saying is obsolete.  They abandon these words as if they are merely human opinion.  Beware so that you do not get deceived by that.  After all, we have been influenced by a world that mocks chaste and moral living.  It is tempting to dismiss Paul’s epistles so that we can enjoy sensuality.  We see everyone else embracing it, and we have come to accept that this is normal.  TV, movies, and music feature blatant promiscuity.  Our nation dedicates the entire month of June to celebrating the perversion and abuse of God’s gifts of marriage and sex.  You may even be cancelled if you do not follow along.  But you have been set apart from this.  God has revealed in his word that marriage is a union of one man and one woman, that sex is reserved for the marriage bed, that these are good gifts to be protected and preserved, and that we are not to cheapen these things even by joking about them. 

     Do you think people will take notice of you if you hold to God’s word and live according to it in these matters?  They absolutely will, and they make dump insults on you just as St. Paul got for preaching these things.  But what the world does not understand—and what you know—is what St. Paul acknowledged: “I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12).  We do not dismiss the epistles of St. Paul just because they are unpopular or because they are hard.  We recognize that St. Paul is an apostle from God by grace.  St. Paul delivers to us the very words of God who has set us apart for his gifts and for his glory.  If his word corrects us and calls us to repent, we must.  If we should discover that we are as wrong about our beliefs and behavior as St. Paul discovered he was, then we are right to repent and turn away from our sins as Paul did. We will also discover that God is gracious to sinners and is eager to forgive us as he did for St. Paul.  The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin, but it does not encourage us to return to it.  The Lord is eager to transform our hearts and minds so that, by his gracious work, we remain devoted to him because his word is good and right and true. 

     The renewed attack on St. Paul as an apostle of God need not surprise us.  Sinners have always wanted to stand in judgment over God.  Sinners want to decide for themselves what is good and right and true.  Sinners are willing to acknowledge the word of God as long as it already agrees with their opinions.  But if we make ourselves the judges over God’s word, then we have made ourselves into our own gods.  Our truth ends up being as changeable as the calendar.  This provides no confidence, no comfort, and no certainty about anything—except God’s judgment for defying what he has graciously revealed.

     This approach to Scripture goes beyond St. Paul.  Many today focus only on the Gospel—that God loves you no matter what.  That is the only message proclaimed: God accepts all.  But then no one is called to repent.  All live as their sinful flesh desires.  It is as if people are saying, “I am the kind of Christian who lives in a way that St. Paul says I am not a Christian.”  It is as if the Gospel grants the freedom to be wicked and that God has nothing to say about morality, chastity, honesty, or godliness.  St. Paul always preached both, and that is why he is still under attack to this day.

     But you, dear Christians, have been set apart.  You live under God’s grace because you have been washed and sanctified in the blood of Christ.  You know that God’s word is good and right and true, and that ordering your life according to it is good and right and true.  You know that all of the Bible is God’s word, and that all of it matters, even if it is unpopular. 

     Paul is an apostle from God by grace.  By grace, Paul received the word from Jesus and preached it.  By grace, you have heard it and believe it.  By grace, we are saved through it.  And God is glorified in all of it. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 13, 2021)

 GENESIS 3:8-15

JESUS OVERCOMES THE FOE WHO HAD OVERCOME US.

 In the name + of Jesus.

     Our Old Testament lesson is a crime scene.  It begins after all the action has taken place.  Adam and Eve are in full blown cover-up mode.  First, they had covered their bodies with fig leaves, hoping that modesty would compensate for shame.  Modesty is certainly appropriate now for people who can no longer control their own sexual urges.  Even clothing does not always help.  So, modesty is necessary, but shame is the norm.  We all have episodes in our lives that we would just assume forget.  While you may bury them in the recesses of your mind for a while, the devil is good at digging them back up.  When God came into the garden, Adam and Eve ran for cover because of their shame.  But the cover-up never takes away the crime. 

     If the Garden of Eden was a crime scene, the investigation was only a formality.  God knew who did what.  Even though God asked the questions, the answers were not for his benefit.  God wanted Adam to demonstrate a contrite heart and to make a confession of sin.  He did not get either.  Instead, cover-up mode.  Adam shifted the blame.  The Lord God said to him, “‘Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’  The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate’” (Genesis 3:11-12).  Adam sought to cover his shame by casting blame elsewhere.  “It was her fault for giving me the fruit.  And, God, it is your fault for giving me her.”  If you ever wondered what it looks like when the devil has overcome someone, look at Adam.  He rejects the truth.  He evades responsibility.  He gets angry with God.  He stubbornly insists on his own innocence.  Sin flows freely out of a wicked heart and through perverse lips.  The foe had overcome him.

     Eve was not much better.  “The Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’  The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’” (Genesis 3:13).  Again, cover-up mode.  Eve insisted, “It’s not my fault.  I was tricked!”  But that was a lie.  Eve knew full well God’s command about the tree.  She knew the consequences if she disobeyed.  We have her own testimony on that.  (Peek back at verse 3.)  To say she was deceived is to say she did not know any better.  She did.  She sinned.  The foe had overcome her.

     In overcoming Adam and Eve, Satan overcame all mankind.  We all enter this world in Adam’s image, that is, as captives of Satan.  Jesus spoke about this when he said, “No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Mark 3:27).  We are not the strong man.  The strong man is the devil.  We are what he has plundered.  The devil stole us from God, and we have become his.  This is evident by the sins we commit.  Sins are not God’s work, but Satan’s.  As children of the devil, we act like our father and have adopted his rationale that sins bring happiness.  We even have embraced the foolish idea that we can cover up our shame and fool God.

     The foe has plundered us, but like Adam and Eve, we offer silly arguments why we are not to be blamed for our sins.  My friends talked me into it.  I had every right to rebel because the rules were unfair.  If my choices were not so difficult, I would not have done what I did.  If God had blessed me better, it would have been easier to follow his commandments.  I didn’t know any better.  Any excuse is poor, especially for Christians.  We do know better, for we have been taught by God.  God tells us what is right and wrong.  And yet, we still do what is wrong.  The sinful nature clings to us.  As a result, sins continue to flow out of wicked hearts and excused by perverse lips.  The foe has overcome us, and we cannot overcome the strong man.

     If we want to be free from sin and guilt, shame and fear, death and hell, we need a stronger man to overcome the strong one.  We need the stronger man to bind up the strong man so that the foe can be plundered.  This is what Jesus said, “No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  Then indeed he may plunder his house” (Mark 3:27).  In order for us to be free from Satan’s kingdom, the stronger man must come.  And he was promised as soon as he was needed.

     Although God spoke first to Adam and then to Eve, his wrath was aimed at the devil.  He speaks to the devil and to the serpent as if they were one being.  The serpent is cursed above all the other animals since it was used as the devil’s pawn.  Then the Lord addressed Satan directly: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).  The stronger man would come and destroy the devil’s work and undo his kingdom.  Jesus would overcome the foe who had overcome us.

     In crushing the head of the serpent, Jesus would render the serpent powerless.  The power of a venomous snake is in its mouth.  And the power of the devil is in his mouth.  The devil spits out lies.  He wants to convince you that despising God’s word is entertaining or profitable or beneficial to you.  Adam and Eve did not eat the forbidden fruit out of ignorance or curiosity.  They were convinced that there was something to be gained by it.  The devil’s mouth continues to spit out such lies today, and our sinful nature is willing to buy them.  Like Adam and Eve, we also think that there is something to be gained by ignoring God’s word, even if it is just a moment’s pleasure.  Therefore, Jesus was sent to crush the serpent’s head and to kick in his mouth.  In this way, he puts an end to his power over us.  Jesus overcomes the foe who has overcome us.

     Of course, it is not as easy as just crushing Satan underfoot.  That would put an end to Satan.  But the damage was done before Jesus came.  It is like Cain’s murder of his brother Abel.  The Lord banished Cain for his unrepentant crime.  You can argue that justice was carried out, but that did not bring Abel back to his parents.  So also, crushing Satan does not undo man’s sinfulness.  There is no going back to holiness even if Satan were snuffed out of existence.  Sin still corrupts all mankind, and so all mankind is marked for death.

     Therefore, Jesus acted not just to destroy the devil’s kingdom, but also to restore us to God.  To restore us to God, he would need to remove all sin and guilt from us.  God had promised that would happen.  He declared: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).  The serpent would strike Jesus and would inject the deadly venom of sin and death into him.  In fact, Jesus would take all the sin of every person of every nation of every era and absorb it into himself.  The Son of God would suffer for us.  For, Jesus is not just another man.  He is the Seed of the Woman.  He definitely has a mother, having been born into the world.  But he is not the seed of any man.  He was conceived by God the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, he did not inherit the sin of Adam which infects us all.  He was born in purity and innocence.  Nevertheless, he was made sin for us so that he would die for our rebellion.  He took in all the venom of the devil and died for all sin.

     By dying for us, Jesus overcame the foe for us.  Jesus’ death paid the ransom price for our freedom from sin and Satan.  And then, Jesus rose from the dead.  Now, Jesus has authority over death.  Jesus has authority to forgive sins.  Jesus has overcome the devil.  The stronger man has bound up the strong man and has plundered him; and you are the plunder Jesus has taken back.  Jesus has stripped the devil of any claims on you.  Your place is in God’s gracious kingdom where you are free from having to invent excuses, from needing to cover your tracks, and from finding someone else to blame.  Instead, you confess your sins and they are pardoned.  All Satan’s accusations against you have been tossed out of God’s court.  For Jesus has overcome the foe who had overcome us.

     When God promised that Jesus would overcome the devil, he was letting Adam and Eve know that he was going to restore all things.  A different kind of cover-up now takes place.  Shame is covered over by Jesus’ innocence.  The curse is covered up by God’s gracious blessings.  You who are baptized have been covered up in the blood of Christ which cleanses you of all sin.  And if God undoes the work of the devil, it also means that he changes the hearts and minds of sinners.  Adam and Eve and all who are converted no longer believe that the devil’s ideas are good.  Rather, we uphold God’s word as good and right and true.  Even when God’s word exposes our sins, we acknowledge that God is right.  He works repentance in our hearts.  We confess our sins to be forgiven of them, and we put off our sins so that they will not ensnare us.

     We know that we cannot let sin have a place in our lives.  To embrace sin is to tell God that his word is wrong and that we are better off ignoring him.  If sin takes root, it leads to despising God’s word entirely.  This is the sin Jesus spoke of in our Gospel lesson.  “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:28-29).  The Holy Spirit enlightens us to see God’s truth.  If we put on blinders and refuse to look at what God says, we reject the Holy Spirit’s work.  The Holy Spirit plants faith in our hearts.  If we let sin take root, it can choke out the Spirit’s work.  Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the rejection of God’s word.  It is unbelief and the death of faith.  “Whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).  Sins can be forgiven; unbelief cannot.  To reject God’s word is to be overcome by the serpent again. 

     But hope and help, pardon and peace, comfort and confidence, salvation and safety remain with Jesus Christ.  He remains the stronger man.  Faith in his word will guard and keep you from the devil’s grasp.  Those whom Jesus has ransomed are free from sin, death, and the devil.  For Jesus has overcome the foe who had overcome us. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 30, 2019)

LUKE 7:11-17

DEATH IS OVERTURNED BY A COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR.

In the name + of Jesus.

     The Psalms declare, “In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)  This means that God had your life planned long before you were born.  God had predetermined when you were to be born, where you were to be born, and to whom you would be born.  Even more than that, God also has predetermined how long your life will be on this earth.  All your days—from conception to death—were written in God’s book before any of them came to be.  God is far more active and interested in our lives than we often consider.
     Even though all the days which God has determined for you are written in his book, he has not revealed those dates to us.  You know that death will come; for it comes for everyone.  But you do not know when it will come.  It will not consult with you or ask permission.  It will not show mercy upon your loved ones.  Death takes, and it does not care whom it hurts.  Death doesn’t just steal people away, death also wounds the loved ones of those taken.
     In a small town called Nain, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. (Luke 7:12)  This widow was all to familiar with this journey.  She had likely made the journey for her parents and her in-laws; certainly for her husband.  Worst of all, she was now making this journey for her only son.  She was not only devastated, she was also going to be destitute.  All means of income or support for her had been carried out to the tombs.  Death had never asked this widow if it was coming at a convenient time.  Death takes, and it does not care whom it hurts or how it hurts them.
     The funeral procession which was departing from Nain was suddenly confronted at the city gate by a different procession.  The Lord of Life and the large crowd with him met the procession of death.  When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her. (Luke 7:13)  It is interesting that we don’t hear about Jesus having compassion on the deceased.  What moved our Lord to act was the fact that his gut ached for this woman.  The compassion that our Lord calls on us to have for widows and orphans was demonstrated at the city gate of Nain.  Death had taken a widow's son.  Death had deeply wounded her.  But death was about to be overturned by a compassionate Savior.
     When he acted, Jesus said something that seems cruel; then he did something that was shocking.  When the Lord saw (the widow), he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.’ (Luke 7:13)  “Do not weep”!?  That is all this woman had left!  Death had wounded her deeply.  It was like telling a paralytic to get up and stretch.  It was like telling a starving man about a five-course meal.  But Jesus was not offering a pep talk.  Jesus was going to dry her tears with a real solution.  Death would be overturned by a compassionate Savior.
     Then Jesus did what was shocking.  He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. (Luke 7:14)  The Law had declared that anyone who came into contact with a dead body becomes unclean.  Nevertheless, Jesus came up to the dead man and touched the gurney on which he was being carried to his grave.  Jesus took upon himself the uncleanness of death, and then he restored the life of this young man.  He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”  And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. (Luke 7:14-15)  Death was overturned by a compassionate Savior.  Mercy was shown to a devastated widow.  A joyful reunion of saints took place.
     Whenever our Lord performed these miracles, he acted because he has compassion.  He saw sinners whose lives were afflicted with the evils of a sinful world, and he demonstrated his mercy to them.  The miracles such as these also gave concrete evidence of Jesus’ message: The kingdom of God is near.  Each miracle is a glimpse of the heavenly kingdom where all will be restored and perfected.  By raising the dead man, Jesus gave a glimpse of life where death is overturned and where all of the evils, sorrows, and pains that come from sin are eliminated.  Our Lord does not intend us to be reincarnated and to continue re-entering a broken world to live shattered lives over and over again.  Our Lord has come into this world of death and decay, pain and problems in order to deliver us from all of these things forevermore.
     Therefore, Jesus took on human flesh to touch our lives and connect himself to our world.  He knows our world of diseased children, grieving widows, funeral processions, and broken hearts.  Jesus himself had been in a procession to the tomb for his guardian, Joseph.  He did not just watch people hurting; he knows by experience what it is to hurt.  Therefore, he made contact with death and took into himself its uncleanness.  More than that, he absorbed from us all of the filth of our sin and wickedness which is what produces death in us.  The Bible declares: “For our sake (God) made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Jesus exchanged his holy innocence for our sinful guilt.  He gave us his perfect life in exchanged for our cursed death.
     “For our sake (God) made him to be sin who knew no sin….” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Then God did to Jesus was sinners deserve—he put him under judgment, he found him guilty, he sentenced him to death, he put on him a divine curse, and he subjected him to hell.  And this, Jesus did “for our sake,” that is, for us—in our place and for our benefit.  Jesus did not merely witness death or sympathize with people who grieve over death, he gave himself into death for all mankind.  And this he did to put an end to death.  His death has atoned for all our sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  By faith in Jesus, we are.  Jesus' resurrection from the dead puts an end to death so that in him you too might rise from the grave to life everlasting.  By faith in Jesus, you will.  For, death is overturned only by our compassionate Savior.
     Therefore, it will not be just a young man from Nain who rises from the dead.  The grave must give up all its dead.  At Nain, Jesus gave the command, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”  And the dead man sat up. (Luke 7:14-15)  Likewise, Jesus will come from the clouds and will call forth all the dead.  The grave will have to give up all people—good and bad, righteous and wicked.  All will be raised for judgment.  Death has been overturned; the grave will keep no one.  It will be just as we confess: “On the Last Day, he will raise up me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.  This is most certainly true.” (Luther’s Small Catechism; Apostles’ Creed, 2nd Article)
     Death is overturned by a compassionate Savior.  The widow at Nain rejoiced to have her son back.  But as I had said, this was a glimpse of Jesus' everlasting reign.  The glories of the heavenly kingdom have not begun yet.  The widow eventually made one more funeral procession—her own.  Later, her son would be carried out again, this time with no interruption in his trip to the tomb.  Likewise, we all know that we have our own grave to face.  But even in these bitter times, we still have a compassionate Savior.  He has overturned death with his resurrection.  And by uniting us to himself in our baptism, he makes us partakers of the resurrection to life everlasting.  It will be just as we confess: “On the Last Day, he will ... give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.” (Luther’s Small Catechism; Apostles’ Creed, 2nd Article)
     The Psalms declare, “In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)  Though the Lord knows how many days you will live on this earth, he has hidden that information from you.  But he has revealed how many days you will have in his kingdom, and that will be without end.  You are in his kingdom now, for you believe in him, and by faith in him you have been delivered from the curse of sin.  You still suffer the pains and sorrows here, but soon enough you will be delivered even from those.  For death is overturned and life is given by our compassionate Savior.  He will bring us into the heavenly kingdom where there will never again be death or mourning or crying or pain—or weeping widows or dying children.  For God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and God's people will live in joy forevermore.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 5, 2016)

1 KINGS 17:17-24

BEHOLD!  A MAN 

WHO RAISES THE DEAD!

In the name + of Jesus.

     There was a woman who was doubly grieved.  She was a widow which means that she already had the grief of having lost a husband.  After her husband died, then her only child also died.  The widow lived in a day when there was no social security, no welfare, and no life insurance policy to cover expenses.  Her means of support was supposed to be her one and only son.  But since he had died, she had no means of support.  Not only was she devastated, she was also suddenly destitute.
     It is interesting how the widow responded to Elijah in the midst of her grief.  She did not express concerns about who would take care of her.  She did not even wail that her only surviving family member was gone.  She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God?  Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (1 Kings 17:18)  The widow of Zarephath was not only stricken with grief, but was pricked in her conscience by this untimely death.  We do not know what her sin was.  Perhaps she was haunted by one particular infraction against God's law.  Perhaps it was a lifetime of regrets.  We don't know.  When she said she was reminded of her “sin,” that Hebrew word is usually translated “iniquity,” which refers to guilt.  So perhaps the death of her son simply underscored her own sinfulness and, therefore, made her fearful of God's displeasure against her.  One part of the widow was protesting, “My son and I did not deserve this!”  Another part of the widow acknowledged, “I am a sinful being.  This is God's judgment.  I had this coming.”
     You may feel similar pangs of conscience.  It especially gets your attention when death comes around—either facing your own death or seeing the death of a loved one.  When death looms, you may get angry and think that God owes you better than you are getting.  Satan wants you to think that God is good only when you are happy, but that when you are unhappy—which is inevitable in a sinful world—it is because God is not good.  Satan sows seeds of bitterness so that you would conclude, “If this is how God treats me, who needs him?”  Be warned: Satan is not interested in giving you anything good.
     Or the pendulum may swing the other way.  You may be like the widow who recognized that this sin brings trouble, and that we all deserve to die for our sins against God.  While that assessment is true, it does not bring any hope either.  That is why the widow lashed out at Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God?  Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (1 Kings 17:18)  She was convinced that, if Elijah had not come and if God would have left her alone, life would have been better.  But it would not.  She and her son would have had to face death all the same.  If the Lord had not intervened, they would have had to face death in their sins, with no hope of relief, and with no chance to be saved.  Be assured: The Lord is eager to give you only what is for your good.  Therefore, the Lord sent a man to help.  Behold!  A man who raises the dead!
     Elijah took the lifeless body of the widow's son.  He prayed to God on behalf of the widow.  “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?”  Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” (1 Kings 17:20-21)  Elijah did not presume to say that God owed this to her because her life had been so hard.  Elijah prayed that God would have mercy, and that God would bring a remedy for death.  Even though God did not owe her, and even though the widow did not deserve it—for she was a sinner—God restored the life of her son through his prophet.  God had mercy.  He returned to this widow her son and rescued her from being both devastated and destitute.  Behold!  A man who raises the dead!
     Perhaps you find the account of Elijah raising the widow's son to be practically useless to you since you don't expect the Lord to restore your dead to you.  While the widow's son was given back her, you bury your loved ones and are left with the grief.  Do not be too hasty with your conclusions.  The Lord is your merciful Father in heaven, and he does not leave you to grieve without hope.  In fact, he does not leave your loved ones to die so that they are lost forever.  Granted, he does not restore your loved ones to you here and now, but that does not mean you have lost them.  That is because Jesus has redeemed them.  Behold!  A man who raises the dead!
     Jesus of Nazareth came to deliver mankind from death once and for all.  The boy from Zarephath was, indeed, raised from the dead through the prophet Elijah.  The young man from Nain was personally raised by Jesus.  But after the joyful reunion, we don't know what happened to them.  We do know that they are not on earth any longer.  Though they had been restored to life for a time, they eventually died.  Death still had mastery over them.
     But Jesus Christ has done much more for you.  Jesus made himself the sin offering for you in order to deliver you from your guilt.  He was consumed under God's wrath so that you would be spared the justice you deserve for your sins.  For Jesus, it was no mere slap on the wrist.  Rather, it was nails through his wrists, a spear in his side, and a gruesome death by crucifixion.  But even more brutal, it was dying under God's curse for the sins of the world.  Therefore, when Satan haunts you with your sins, you have a reply for him.  Tell him, “You must take this up with Jesus, because he has taken my sins from me, and therefore my sins do not condemn me and death cannot harm me.  What's more, Jesus has given his righteousness to me, and therefore God cannot be displeased with me.”  That is what Jesus did for you.  He died and has risen from the dead—not like the man from Nain or the boy from Zarephath.  Jesus raised himself from the grave never to die again.  Death no longer has mastery over him; rather, Jesus of Nazareth has mastery over death.  Behold!  A man who raises the dead!
     Jesus lives, forever victorious over death.  And since Jesus has redeemed you, he does not merely give you a few more years in a world of wars and disease, of deception and disappointment.  Rather, Jesus brings the resurrection from the grave.  He brings you to the Paradise of God in which no one is racked with pain, no one is plagued by guilt, no one is a victim of crime or cruelty, no one is a casualty of war or accident, no one is short-changed or empty-handed.  This is the kind of kingdom you long to live in, and that you long for your children to live in.
     Even if you must endure the inexpressible grief of burying a child, you still have hope.  For, though you must bid farewell to your loved ones who die in the Christian faith, they are not lost, nor is their life cut short—for eternal life can never be cut short.  They are with Jesus and they live.  And they live forever.  And they live in peace and joy and glory.  And they will also be raised from the grave to live as God created them to be—body and soul children of God for all eternity.  On the Last Day, the Lord shall raise up all the dead, and give perfected bodies and eternal life to all who believe.  Through the man Jesus Christ, man has relief from all guilt and a remedy from death. The joy the widow had on that one day in Zarephath shall be your joy for eternity.  And the glad reunion which was enjoyed for a while in Nain shall be an everlasting reunion among God's people.  Behold!  Jesus is the man who raises the dead and the Savior with whom we shall dwell forever!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 14, 2015)

LUKE 7:11-17

JESUS CONFRONTS 

AND OVERCOMES DEATH.

In the name + of Jesus.

     The only way in or out of the city of Nain was through a gate.  Otherwise, the city was surrounded by a wall which protected them from any would-be attackers.  But no wall could keep death out of the city.  A funeral procession made its way out of the gate.  A woman in it had made this sad journey before.  She had already buried her husband; today, it was her only son.  She was not only devastated, she was also now destitute.  Death had swept away her family.  The citizens of Nain wept with her and for her, but they did not have any answers for her.  They would offer sympathy, but they could offer no solutions.
     On the way into Nain was another procession—this one led by the Lord of Life.  A large crowd accompanied Jesus because he had performed deeds of mercy and had words of consolation.  Jesus had healed the sick and the dying.  In last week's Gospel, Jesus had healed a man at the point of death.  But the young man being carried out of Nain was way beyond sick or dying.  He was already dead.  The two processions, bottle-necked by the narrow gate at Nain, met—one led by the dead, the other led by Life.
     It is a custom in our day to pay respect to a funeral procession.  Drivers yield as the deceased is driven to his final resting place.  Of course, selfishness can get the better of you when this happens.  If you are like me, you can become irked by this custom.  I want to get my errands done as fast as possible, but then I find myself bothered that I must be inconvenienced because someone else has died.  But if we must wait for a funeral procession to pass by, let’s put that moment to better use and pray for the widow and the children or whoever is now without their loved one.  Who knows what pain and grief and inconvenience those people now face?
     Jesus did not step to the side out of respect for the deceased.  Rather, the two processions confronted each other.  When the Lord saw (the mother), he had compassion on her. (Luke 7:13)  This translation understates it.  I don’t know if there is a good way for the English language to convey the Lord’s compassion for this woman.  The idea is that his guts were ripped up and churning in mercy for her.  Jesus knew the bitterness that death brings into the world and the pain people endure when death invades one’s home.  Jesus had presumably seen his earthly father, Joseph, carried out to his grave by this time.  He was not immune to sorrow.  He was not unfazed by death.
     When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her. (Luke 7:13)  Jesus’ guts ached for this woman in her grief.  There is no way you can pretty up death.  That is because it is the consequence and curse of sin.  Sin has cut us off from God.  Death cuts us off from our loved ones.  The grave cuts us off from life.  Death clings to you, and there is nothing you can do about it.  Just like the crowd from Nain, you can only offer sympathy.  You have no solution.  You can’t fix the death of a loved one.  You cannot escape your own.  The wages of sin is death, so the only way to escape death is to be free from sin.  And yet, you aren't.  You go on sinning.  You continue to be self-absorbed—unconcerned about the pain and the struggles of others, but perturbed when others do not give you recognition and sympathy for your own pain and struggles.  Your curse is earned.  Your death is deserved.  God should have no sympathy for you.  Repent.
     God should have no sympathy for you; and yet, he does.  When Jesus came to Nain and saw the grieving widow and her dead son, his guts churned with compassion for her.  Jesus confronted and overcame death.  The Lord … had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”  Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. (Luke 7:13-14)  Jesus touched the coffin.  According to Levitical Law, this would have made him unclean.  That which demonstrated man’s corruption, such as leprosy or death, made a man unclean when he came into contact with it.  But Jesus did not hesitate.  In the sight of the crowds, he went up to the coffin and touched it.  Rather than becoming unclean by rubbing against corruption, Jesus cleansed that which was corrupt.  Jesus confronted and overcame death.  He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”  And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. (Luke 7:15-16)  Death and Life confronted each other, and Jesus, who is the Life, overcame death.
     As amazing as Jesus’ miracle is, you may be left feeling a little empty hearing about it.  After all, we still make funeral processions to grave sites.  Our world still knows widows and widowers, grieving children and heart-broken parents.  Jesus may have gotten a widow in Nain to stop crying, but our tears still flow.  The grave still seems to have the upper hand.  Death still marks us and mocks us.
     Fear not, dear Christians.  Your Lord has not forgotten you.  His guts still churn for you in mercy.  Jesus confronted and overcame death for you.  He became man to suffer what all mankind deserves.  Remember that sin is the cause and the curse of death.  So Jesus has taken your sins from you.  In his body, he bore your sin and the curse and consequences of it.  Jesus confronted and overcame death.  A procession left the gates of Jerusalem led by the Lord of Life who went out to put and end to death once and for all. He confronted death for you willingly.  He did not avoid the cross.  His flesh was pierced for you.  His blood flowed for you.  Death received its full wages when Jesus died for you.  His body was laid in a grave to sanctify the grave for you.  But on the third day, he rose from the grave.  Death swallowed Jesus' body, but the belly of the earth could not keep its prey down.  That’s because the belly of your Savior churned in mercy for your salvation.  Your flesh and blood Savior has risen to show you that your flesh and blood will, too, rise from the grave.  Your body will never again know sickness, disease, weakness, or death.  Heaven knows no funerals or mourners, cemeteries or hospitals, pain or sorrows.  For Jesus is risen.  Death is done.  And Jjesus gives you everlasting life.
     Jesus raised the young man from Nain by touching him.  He personally confronted death and personally applied his life-giving touch to the young man from Nain.  It is much the same today.  Jesus touches you and personally applies to you the forgiveness of your sins and the deliverance from death and hell.  He has attached his word to the waters of baptism to make baptism more than merely symbolic.  When the sacred water was poured out on you, the Lord Jesus touched you and made you his own.  He took away your sins.  He made you a new creation, a saint.  Death no longer marks you for you are the Lord’s.  You will still go to a grave, but that is because these bodies are still corrupt.  They still get sick, weak, and fragile.  They will break down and give out.  The Lord, however, has in store for you a body which is incorruptible and immortal.  The grave may hold you, but it does not own you.  Jesus does.  For Jesus has confronted and overcome death, and you are the spoils.
     Jesus has confronted and overcome death.  The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. (Luke 7:16)  And so it is with you.  Jesus has delivered you from sin and death and has made you alive.  Your Lord has entrusted you to your mother, the Church, to discipline, sustain, comfort, and encourage you for the rest of your life.
     To do this, Jesus has attached his word to the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper.  Here again, Jesus touches you personally.  Here, you get to receive the body and blood that has overcome death and the grave.  Here, you receive the medicine of immortality.  Here is your salvation, given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins, for eternal life.  The feast of heaven is here already.  Death has been confronted.  The grave is overcome.  And now you and all the Church follow Jesus in the procession that will enter heaven.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.