The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 6:1-15
In Christ Jesus, who came to give life to the world through His flesh and blood, dear fellow redeemed:
They had been free for one month. No longer were they under the harsh rule of the Egyptians. The LORD had led them out of Egypt by His servant Moses. He even opened up a path for them to walk through the Red Sea. But the people of Israel were dissatisfied. Their bellies growled with hunger, and they began to wish they were back in Egypt where at least they had something to eat. The LORD heard their cry; He had not forgotten His people. He said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not” (Exo. 16:4).
Every morning, there was dew around the camp. “And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground” (v. 14). The people were encouraged to gather as much of this as they could eat, but they were not to keep any until the next day. The exception to this was on Friday when they must gather twice as much, so that no collecting would be needed on the Sabbath day, the day of rest.
Whoever did not listen to the LORD and kept bread overnight any day but Friday, found that in the morning it had worms and stunk. This was to teach the people to rely on the LORD for food day after day. The people called the bread “manna,” which means, “what is it?” because they had never seen anything like it before. God gave them this bread for forty years until they came into the Promised Land of Canaan.
Nearly 1500 years later, the people of Israel followed Jesus into the wilderness by the Sea of Galilee. No one had ever done the signs He was doing; He healed the sick. No one had ever taught like He had; His teaching cut to the heart, but it also comforted. They were so focused on the things Jesus was doing that they had brought no provisions with them.
As the shadows lengthened, the twelve disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves” (Mat. 14:15). Jesus had another solution. A boy shared with Him five barley loaves and two fish. He gave thanks for this gift and proceeded to distribute bread and fish to all who were gathered there—five thousand men with women and children besides.
They had never seen a miracle like this! And then the wheels started turning. This abundant food in the wilderness reminded them of something. They thought of Moses’ words: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deu. 18:15). The people said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” They wanted to make Him their king, but Jesus quietly left them and went up the mountain by Himself to pray.
The next day, the resolve of the people had not changed. Full of anticipation, they located Jesus. But their conversation with Him did not go as they had hoped. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (Joh. 6:26-27).
Jesus exposed the plans of the people that they were looking not for a Savior from sin but for a savior from hunger. If they wanted a Savior from sin, they should expect to find this in the One who performed all these wonderful miracles. But the people just wanted their physical needs satisfied, and following Jesus seemed like the way to accomplish this. They focused on the gift when they should have been focusing on the Giver.
This was true of the Old Testament Israelites also, but forty years of continuous manna from heaven taught them something. Before they entered the land of Canaan, Moses recounted the people’s journey through the wilderness. He said: “And [the LORD] humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deu. 8:3).
Our bodies certainly need food. That is how the LORD designed them even before the fall into sin. But we are not to live “by bread alone.” This means that our days and our lives should be occupied with more than the pursuit of daily bread. We learn in the Catechism that “daily bread includes everything needed for this life.” We also learn that it is God who gives daily bread, and we know by experience this is true. Each of us can say that God has given us earthly blessings far beyond our basic needs, just like the large amount of leftovers gathered up after Jesus fed the multitude.
But these earthly gifts can only do so much for us. They only go so far. Their usefulness is limited to our short life on earth. Jesus pointed out to the people that “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died” (Joh. 6:49). It was bread from heaven, but it did not bring with it the promise of eternal life. In the same way, Jesus could continue to produce for the people vast amounts of food from very little or even out of nothing, but what good would this do for their souls?
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst…. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (vv. 35,51). And how did the people react to this? They “disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” (v. 52).
Well, how could He? He had already told them: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life” (v. 40). Jesus, the Bread of Life, is consumed by all who believe the Gospel message. God’s gracious Word is the platter that serves up Jesus. His flesh and blood are the main course which satisfies the hungry soul.
But does your soul feel hunger pangs for Jesus? Are you more concerned about “the food that perishes,” or “the food that endures to eternal life”? This is a real struggle. You know very well when your stomach is empty. And you can see when your earthly goods need to be fixed or replaced. But it is not as obvious when faith is running near empty, or when your understanding about God and your perspective on life in the world needs to be fixed or replaced. If you go without food for twenty-four hours, your body lets you know; there is discomfort and pain. But you can go twenty-four or forty-eight hours, or seven days, a few weeks, or even a number of months without realizing that your faith is starving.
Faith is not some goal to reach, that once you have gotten there and know the facts—once you have faith—you don’t need to be concerned about keeping it. Faith needs to keep being fed. It hungers for the Bread of Life, for Jesus. If faith does not hear Jesus and receive Jesus and get filled up with Jesus, then it cannot last. But if faith is given a steady diet of Jesus through home devotions and the dispensing of the Word and Sacraments at church, the Lord promises that it will not expire. Your faith will be rejuvenated and strengthened just as your body is whenever you eat.
There is no better food for your soul than the food of Jesus. Your soul hungers for forgiveness and life because by nature you have sin and death. This sin is what tricks you into thinking that you have no pressing spiritual need, and that your pursuit of earthly riches is more important than anything else. But the world’s goods go the same way as the manna the Israelites sinfully tried to stockpile overnight. The world’s goods leave a bad taste in the mouth, and in the end they are worthless. The food, clothing, and home that you have are gifts from God. But they must never take the place of Jesus and His Word.
When Jesus comes to you through the Gospel, He counteracts the sin and death in you. He chokes the old Adam which is trying to choke you. He starves the death that wants to devour you. He has the power to do that because sin already did its worst against Him, and death already swallowed Him up in the grave. Neither was able to destroy Him, and He emerged victorious over sin, death, and hell. Whenever you consume Jesus by faith, whether by hearing His Word or by eating and drinking His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, you are partaking of His victory and filling yourself with His life.
For all who hunger and thirst for righteousness believing in His name, Jesus Gives the Food That Endures to Eternal Life. He gives you the food of Himself which never grows old, never spoils, and never runs out. This Bread of Life is the rich nourishment your soul needs—a holy food offered to you for this life and for the life to come.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “The Last Supper” by Juan de Juanes, 1503-1579)
The Second Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: 2 Samuel 7:4-16
In Christ Jesus, who invites you to sit at His banquet in His house and receive His gifts, dear fellow redeemed:
You might enjoy watching the television shows about home renovation. Some shows even feature the total gutting and rebuilding of a home’s interior with only the essential structure of the house staying the same. Maybe you are already living in your “dream house,” but you probably have ideas how it could be updated and improved. And if someone offered to remodel your home at no cost to you, you would likely jump at the chance.
King David thought the LORD would appreciate a better “house,” so to speak. After all, David was living comfortably in a “house of cedar,” while the Ark of the LORD sat “in a tent” (2Sa. 7:2). He made his intention known to the prophet Nathan that he wanted to build the LORD a house, a great temple. It seemed like a good, right, and salutary idea.
But the LORD did not respond as David expected. First of all, the LORD said that He did not ask for a temple. If He wanted one, He would have commanded it done. Second, He reminded David that He took him from tending sheep in Bethlehem to ruling over all Israel. Whatever the all-powerful LORD wants to accomplish will happen. Third, He promised to make David’s name great and prosper the nation. Fourth, God said He would make David a house, but not one made out of cedar or stone. He said that David’s throne and kingdom would be established forever. This was a reference to the Savior Jesus who would come from David’s line.
So David had a wonderful gift planned for God, and God’s response was to direct David back to His gifts, particularly His gift of salvation through His only-begotten Son. It was a gentle lesson that was not meant for David only, but for us too. We can think so much of the gifts we give to God that we fail to honor Him in the best way, which is to believe what He says and to humbly receive what He offers.
Now this does not mean that the gifts we offer to the LORD and the sacrifices we make are meaningless to Him. God desires that we pray, praise, and give thanks to Him, that we live holy lives according to His Commandments, that we love one another out of love for Him, and that we give generously for the work of His kingdom. He loves all these gifts.
But it can happen that even these good things become sins. We can have a wonderful habit of Bible study and prayer each day, but then we find ourselves going through the motions or thinking that we are righteous because of what we are doing. We can watch carefully how we live and how we speak, but then we judge others for not being as good as we are. We can give generously toward the work of the church, but instead of giving humbly and quietly, we want to have our gifts be known and recognized.
When we think too much and make too much of our works, our view of God’s grace becomes clouded. We start to think that we are among the “good people,” who are nothing like the “bad people” who don’t do these nice and beneficial things. This self-righteous attitude ignores the fact that by nature we are no better than anyone else. Even as Christians, we still sin all the time, as Luther’s explanation of the Fifth Petition reminds us: “we daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment.”
No matter how good and right our gifts to God may seem, they are always tainted by our sin. They are never perfectly holy. This is why the LORD’s message to David was so important for him and for us. God doesn’t need a magnificent temple. He doesn’t need beautiful, ornate church buildings. He doesn’t need us to save His kingdom. He brings His kingdom to us; He saves us; He meets us in our lowliness and sin; He gives His gifts to us. One of our hymnwriters puts it like this:
Surely in temples made with hands
God, the Most High, is not dwelling,
High above earth His temple stands,
All earthly temples excelling.
Yet He whom heav’ns cannot contain
Chose to abide on earth with men—
Built in our bodies His temple.
(Evangelical Lutheran Hynmary #211, v. 2)
The almighty God “chose to abide on earth with men.” The eternal Son of God was born of Mary, a descendant of King David. This was just what God had promised David. The LORD said to him, “I will raise up your Offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. I will be to Him a father, and He shall be to Me a Son.” Some of the Jews interpreted this and other prophecies to mean that the Messiah would reign over an earthly kingdom. This is why the crowds were so excited to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Their Messiah-King had finally arrived!
But Jesus did not come to rule over an earthly kingdom like David’s. He came to redeem all sinners and to take His place as God and Man at the right hand of His Father. The way He would redeem sinners was also conveyed to David. God said regarding the Christ: “When He commits iniquity, I will discipline Him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but My steadfast love will not depart from Him.” Jesus never committed any sin of His own, but “For our sake [God] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Co. 5:21). Jesus was punished as if He were the one who committed all sin—the sin of every human being in every time and place.
This punishment from God for sin was carried out on Jesus by the hands of sinners. Jesus was punished “with the rod of men” and “with the stripes of the sons of men.” This is exactly the way the prophet Isaiah described it after David: “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed” (53:5). When Jesus was being struck with the rod and whip and nailed to the cross, this was really God the Father meting out punishment on His Son for our sin.
The LORD did not require something from us before He would do something for us. He did not demand gifts before He would give gifts. The Son willingly went to the cross to save us, and the Father accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. It was a truly perfect offering that covers over the imperfections of our offerings, and it was the sufficient payment for all our sins. After His death and resurrection with His work complete, Jesus ascended into heaven in order to “[give] gifts to men” (Eph. 4:8).
In His position at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, Jesus invites you to partake of the banquet that today’s Holy Gospel describes (Luk. 14:16-24). This banquet is served wherever God’s powerful Word and Sacraments are found. Jesus warmly invites you here in this humble house to be His honored guest. You have been washed clean in the holy waters of your Baptism. You are clothed in the garments of His righteousness. By faith, you are prepared to receive His gifts.
“Everything is now ready,” He says. The rich food and drink He sets before you is the free forgiveness of all your sins. Whatever those sins may be, such as your inclination to trust in your own righteousness, your judgmental attitude toward others, or your pride because of what you have accomplished—all of these sins are blotted out by Jesus’ precious blood. He gives you to feast on His life, His salvation, His love, His peace, His joy. These are the gifts you receive at His banquet.
You Need the Gifts of God far more than He needs gifts from you. David said, “I will build you a house,” and the LORD replied, “No, I will build you a house!” Every good gift comes from God, as the Book of James says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (1:17). When you offer gifts to God, you are simply returning to Him a portion of what He has given you, whether it is your money, your strength, your intellect, or your time. It all comes from Him.
When you feel as though you have done something great for God, remember what He has done and continues to do for you. Like a house that needs work, your life on earth always needs renovating and improving, and your gifts to God will not be perfect. But His home and His gifts are. By the gifts He gives you through His Word and Sacraments here, He prepares you to enter His heavenly home where you will live with Him forever.
Now we may gather with our King
E’en in the lowliest dwelling;
Praises to Him we there may bring,
His wondrous mercy forth-telling;
Jesus His grace to us accords,
Spirit and life are all His words,
His truth doth hallow the temple.
(ELH #211, v. 4)
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(woodcut of the poor, the blind, and the lame being invited to the banquet from the 1880 edition of The Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation)