The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: 1 Kings 19:9-18
In Christ Jesus, who knew exactly what to do when God sent Him down from His heavenly throne—save all people from their sins, dear fellow redeemed:
Two times the LORD asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” “Here” was Mount Horeb, the same mountainous area where Moses received the holy Law from God. It was deep in the wilderness, south of the kingdom of Judah. Mount Horeb was a long way from Mount Carmel in the northern kingdom of Israel. Mount Carmel in the north is where the LORD showed His power over the prophets of Baal by consuming Elijah’s sacrifice with fire from heaven. When that happened, the people of Israel cried out, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God!” (1Ki. 18:39).
You heard about that last week. What you didn’t hear about is that Elijah commanded the Israelites to seize the prophets of Baal and kill them. The people did this; those false prophets were totally wiped out. Immediately after this, the LORD sent a great rain upon the parched land, rain that hadn’t fallen for three and a half years. Everything seemed to be changing for the better in Israel by the power of the LORD. So what was Elijah doing far away from Israel, way down south at Mount Horeb?
When Queen Jezebel learned that her prophets had been destroyed, she sent this chilling message to Elijah, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow” (19:2). She was telling Elijah that he was as good as dead. Despite his victory at Mount Carmel by the power of the LORD, Elijah was now seized with fear. He “ran for his life” as fast and as far as he could go, away from where Jezebel was.
As the days passed and the miles stretched behind him, Elijah began to feel guilty. Why did he run from the wicked queen when she was no match for the almighty LORD? How could he be such a coward? He knew that he was not worthy to be a prophet of the LORD (19:4). But as his long journey continued, and God made it clear that Elijah’s work wasn’t finished, a self-righteous anger began to well up inside Elijah.
When the LORD asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” he had an answer ready, almost as though it had been rehearsed. He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
Elijah’s complaint is understandable. The pressure on him was tremendous, and he knew of no one who shared the same devotion to the LORD. Elijah felt utterly alone. He had done what God directed him to do, but what had it accomplished? King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were still in power. The people of Israel remained in their sinful ways. And Elijah had been given a death sentence. It wasn’t fair. It was too much.
I imagine you can relate to that thought: “This isn’t fair; this is too much.” You have said that when you were stretched too thin, when more was expected of you than you could deliver. Or maybe you said it when you stayed faithful to the LORD, when you said or did what was right, and your reward for it was getting attacked or punished. You have felt alone, like the weight of the world was pressing down on you, and you couldn’t see how anything would improve.
As natural as this thinking is, it is also dangerous thinking. “This isn’t fair; this is too much,” is focusing on ourselves. It is turning over and over again in our minds the wrongs that have been done to us, the injustices we have experienced, the hardships that we don’t think we deserve. Tied up in that thinking is criticism directed at the LORD. It sounds like, “God, don’t You see what is happening? Why won’t You help? Can’t You see how faithful I have been? Don’t You care about me?” We can sympathize with lonely Elijah.
And how did the LORD respond to his reasons for running and hiding out in a cave in the wilderness? He sent a strong wind that tore at the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces. Then He sent an earthquake that made Elijah shudder in his cave. Then He sent a fire blazing across the face of the mountain. But the LORD did not appear in any of these forces of nature. After the fire had passed, Elijah heard “the sound of a low whisper.” When he heard this, “he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”
For the second time, Elijah heard the LORD’s question, “What are you doing here?” And for the second time, Elijah answered just as he had before. But after having experienced the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, and with his face now wrapped in a cloak, his answer had probably lost its edge. It’s kind of comical to think of Elijah talking through his cloak, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts,” and, “I, even I only, am left,” as He stood in the presence of the holy God. He didn’t look or sound quite as defiant or justified as he had before.
And that is as it should have been. It wasn’t Elijah’s job to tell God what He should be doing differently. It wasn’t Elijah’s job to determine what the LORD should do with his efforts. It was Elijah’s job to speak God’s Word faithfully and entrust his life to the LORD. When we insist on what is fair or on what God owes us, we sound like the Pharisee in the Holy Gospel, “I thank you that I am not like other men…. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get” (Luk. 18:11,12). He wanted everyone to hear why God should look with favor on him. He wanted his reward.
The tax collector saw things differently. The last thing he wanted was for God to reward him for what he had done. That would mean God punishing him for his sins. He knew that is what he deserved. Instead of trying to justify himself, the tax collector humbly bowed his head and quietly prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (v. 13).
The LORD gave him the gift of repentance, which is a gift He wants to give each of us. The way He leads us to repentance is through the clear preaching of His Law. In Catechism Class last week, the students reviewed what the Law is: “The Law is that Word of God which tells us how we are to be, and what we are to do and not to do” (ELS Catechism, p. 23). But none of us likes being told what we should and shouldn’t do. That’s what makes hearing the Law painful. It exposes the sins that we would rather keep hidden. It shows us that we are not as righteous as we want to think we are.
The Law accuses us and terrifies us like the wind, earthquake, and fire that God sent on the mountain where Elijah was. The LORD described the Law as functioning like this: “Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). The Law like a fire burns away our prideful and self-righteous thinking. The Law like a hammer breaks through the hardness and stubbornness of our hearts. St. Paul writes that the purpose of the Law is “so that every mouth may be stopped [like Elijah’s cloak wrapped around his face], and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Rom. 3:19).
But once the Law has done its work, once it has humbled us like it did Elijah and the tax collector, then we hear “the sound of a low whisper,” a gentle word, from God. He promises us that all is not lost; He has a plan. He is not here to destroy us; He is here to save. We are not alone in our guilt; He is present with forgiveness and grace. This is the message of the Gospel. The Catechism students learn that “The Gospel (the Good News) is that Word of God which reveals the salvation Christ has won for all people” (ELS Catechism, p. 39).
We need this good news because all of us have sinned. All of us have played the part of the Pharisee, wanting to be seen as righteous by the good we have done. We must bow our heads like the tax collector, each and every day, and acknowledge that we are saved solely by the mercy of God. We are saved not because we deserve it, but because in His love, God the Father sent His Son to be our Substitute and our Savior.
In our weakness and impatience we complain, “This isn’t fair; this is too much.” But Jesus went forth like a Lamb uncomplaining, bearing the guilt of the whole world, taking the entire burden on Himself. He did not run from it. He didn’t argue His innocence. He didn’t make excuses for why He couldn’t do the job. Willing, all this He suffered (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #331, v. 1).
That means your sins of fear and despair, anger and impatience, pride and self-righteousness, are all forgiven, fully paid for, blotted from your record by His holy, precious blood. Now He cleanses your heart and mind to do His will, and He cleanses your mouth for words of truth and love. He has more work for you to do in His name, just as He had more work for Elijah to do.
He told Elijah, “You are not as alone as you think.” The LORD had preserved seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal or kissed him by idolatrous worship. And He has done the same for you. He has preserved brothers and sisters in Christ in these congregations and around the world who are faithful to His Word.
His Word, both powerful and piercing in Law and calming and comforting in Gospel, will strengthen and keep you steadfast until your end, according to His gracious will.
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 from “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector” by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872)
The Festival of Pentecost – Pr. Faugstad exordium & sermon
Festival exordium:
These were exciting and uncertain times for the Lord’s disciples. Jesus had risen from the dead and visited with them on multiple occasions, teaching them about what He had done for all people and about what was still to come. But His appearances to them were unpredictable. He was not with them like He was before. Their interactions with Jesus had changed.
They still had many questions. What was Jesus going to do now? What part would they play in His plan? How would the Israelites as a whole be affected? They seemed to hold out hope that their death-conquering Lord would usher in an earthly kingdom. Several weeks after His resurrection, the disciples asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Act. 1:6).
Jesus’ response showed them they were thinking too small. He would establish a kingdom, but not the earthly kind. He said, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (v. 8). The kingdom that Jesus would rule over was a spiritual and eternal one, and the power for expanding this kingdom was from the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on Pentecost. He came with the sound of a mighty rushing wind. He caused tongues of fire to rest upon them. He gave them the ability to speak in other languages (Act. 2:2-4). Through the Word they spoke, He worked faith in thousands who were gathered in Jerusalem, and 3,000 Jews were baptized that day in the name of the Triune God.
The Holy Spirit continues His powerful work today. He still works through the holy Word to convert the hearts of unbelievers and strengthen the faith of believers. Without the Spirit’s work, no one would believe. But because of the Holy Spirit, we gather here in faith together with countless others around the world and throughout history.
We pray for the Holy Spirit’s continued work among us when we pray, “Thy kingdom come.” This is not a prayer for an earthly kingdom but for a spiritual and eternal one—a kingdom that comes “when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity” (Explanation to the Second Petition).
In celebration of the Holy Spirit’s work among us, let us stand to sing our festival hymn, #399, “O Light of God’s Most Wondrous Love”:
O Light of God’s most wondrous love,
Who dost our darkness brighten,
Shed on Thy Church from heav’n above,
Our eye of faith enlighten!
As in Thy light we gather here,
Show us that Christ’s own promise clear
Is Yea and Amen ever.
O risen and ascended Lord,
We wait fulfillment of Thy Word;
O bless us with Thy favor!
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Sermon text: 1 Samuel 16:14-23
In Christ Jesus, who kept His promise to send the Holy Spirit to guide us into all the truth and to convey the gifts of the Father and the Son to us sinners, dear fellow redeemed:
Today we are celebrating the powerful coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and the work He continues to do among us. But our Old Testament reading gives us an example of the opposite of the Holy Spirit’s blessed work. It tells us of the Holy Spirit’s departure. Not only did the Spirit of the LORD depart from Saul, but a harmful spirit also filled the void and tormented Saul.
It is no surprise that the departure of the Holy Spirit would coincide with the arrival of an evil spirit. The all-powerful Holy Spirit does not share space with demons. 1 Corinthians 6 describes the body of believers as “a temple of the Holy Spirit within you” (v. 19). But when the Holy Spirit is rejected and faith is lost, the door is left open for evil spirits. Jesus said that when an unclean spirit finds a “house swept and put in order”—a body not inhabited by the Holy Spirit—the unclean spirit “brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there” (Luk. 11:25-26).
What does surprise us about our reading is that the harmful spirit that tormented Saul was “from the LORD.” Even Saul’s servants acknowledged that the evil spirit was from God. This shows us that God has power even over the demons, and that He can use them for judgment as He sees fit, like He did with Saul.
Saul had started out well as king. God had sent the Holy Spirit upon him to give him courage and to lead the people (1Sa. 10:10, 11:6). But then Saul began to go his own way. He presumed to step into the position of a priest and offered unauthorized sacrifices to God (13:8-14). Later he disobeyed God’s command to completely destroy an enemy nation and all their possessions. Saul let the Israelites keep the best of the livestock and possessions and then tried to say these were kept as sacrifices for the LORD (ch. 15).
The prophet Samuel informed Saul that the LORD had taken the kingdom from him and given it to another. From this time on, Saul was troubled by the evil spirit. He had persistently rejected the Word of God. This is a warning for us that the Holy Spirit and the faith He brings can be lost. If we willfully and regularly go against what God says, the time will come when the Holy Spirit departs, and God passes the terrifying judgment that we will just get what we are asking for.
There is no blessedness apart from God. There is no love, joy, or peace. There is no patience, kindness, or goodness. There is no faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control. These are fruits of the Spirit, so they are not possible apart from the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Saul no longer had these things because He had rejected the Holy Spirit. He became angry, paranoid, and jealous. He acted with selfishness and violence. He demanded absolute loyalty from his servants, even if what he demanded was wrong.
But it seems that some of his servants remained faithful to the LORD. They recommended that Saul employ a man who could play the lyre, an instrument like a harp but smaller in size. When he consented, they told him about David the son of Jesse. Not only was he skilled in music, they said, but he was also “prudent in speech, and a man of good presence.” “And,” they added, “the LORD is with him.” Saul was pleased with David, and his music-making was effective. “Whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.”
This underscores the power of music. I have never met someone who doesn’t like one type of music or another or have a deep emotional response to it. All music has power, but not all music is beneficial for the Christian. When music is used to convey messages or manipulate emotions for bad purposes, it is very harmful. A regular diet of music with lyrics that promote sin can eventually lead a person, like Saul, to reject the faith.
This is why our aim in the Lutheran Church is not to include music for its own sake in our worship. We don’t just sing songs that make us feel good. If that were the case, we might choose pop songs that have nothing to do with God. No, we are not just looking for an emotional high. We want to have music that conveys the soul-saving message of the Gospel, the truth that God sent His Son to redeem us sinners. It is through the message of the Gospel that the Holy Spirit brings us the spiritual gifts that Jesus won for us. Jesus said, “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Joh. 16:14).
I expect that when David played music for Saul, he also sang God’s promises, and this is especially what brought Saul refreshment and relief from the evil spirit. The Word of God is powerful. Evil spirits cannot stand the Word. David knew the Word well. When Samuel privately anointed him king to one day replace Saul, we are told that “the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward” (1Sa. 16:13).
By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David wrote at least half the Psalms in the Bible, including Psalms like 22 (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”), 23 (“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”), and 51 (“Create in me a clean heart, O God.”). Many of these Psalms are the source for our Christian hymns, like Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” which he wrote after Psalm 46. The Word of God combined with music is a powerful weapon against the devil’s attacks and a powerful tool for strengthening faith.
Ephesians 5 says, “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 18-20). This is what happens when we attend the divine service each week. We sing to each other what God has done for us, and the Holy Spirit uses these praises to unify us and build us up. This is also why it is good to fill our homes with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” The more we are connected to the singing of God’s Word, the less vulnerable we are to the devil’s work.
The account of Saul’s affliction by a harmful spirit is a clear warning for us. No matter how faithful we have been in the past, and no matter how certainly we hold the faith today, if the Holy Spirit does not continue to move us to repentance through the Law and to comfort and strengthen us through the Gospel, we will not stand. The devil and his fellow demons are constantly looking for opportunities to get at us. They will not stop trying as long as we live here on earth.
But our merciful Lord does not give up defending and protecting us. Though we have on many occasions let down our guard and fallen into sin, He continues to call us back and forgive us. Even faithful David fell into terrible sins, but the Holy Spirit worked repentance in his heart. We join him in the words he humbly and faithfully sang in response to God’s mercy, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, And take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me with Your free Spirit” (Psa. 51:10-12, NKJV).
The LORD has not taken the Holy Spirit away from us. The Spirit Is Still at Work among Us through His holy Word and Sacraments. He continues to build us on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. He continues to join us together in the unity of faith like perfectly fitted stones in a holy temple. He continues to dwell among us and in us, bringing us all the spiritual gifts we need 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 stained glass at Saude Lutheran Church)
(sermon audio not available this week)
Midweek Lent 3 – Pr. Faugstad homily
Text: St. Matthew 26:6-13
In Christ Jesus, who was anointed to be our Substitute, our Savior, dear fellow redeemed:
Today’s reading introduces us to a woman at a house in Bethany, where Jesus was the honored guest at a meal. She is not named in Matthew’s Gospel or in the parallel account from the Gospel of Mark (14:3-9). But she is named in the Gospel of John (12:1-8). This woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. The three siblings lived in Bethany, and they were in a festive mood. Jesus had recently come to see them four days too late after Lazarus had died. But Jesus promptly called Lazarus out of his tomb alive and well. This formerly dead man was now reclining at the same table as Jesus.
Mary approached Jesus carrying “an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment.” The ointment was made of scented oil from a spikenard plant, and it was of the highest quality. In the parallel accounts, we hear the disciples’ estimate that the flask of oil was worth three hundred denarii which was about one year’s wages. It’s difficult to imagine spending one year’s wages on a bottle of perfume or cologne or any kind of oil. Could it be that Mary had purchased it for the burial of her brother, but never had the opportunity to use it?
Now she brought it to Jesus, the Savior of her brother and of the world, and she poured it over His head. St. John tells us she poured some on His feet also and wiped His feet with her hair (12:3). As the fragrance of the ointment filled the house, the disciples “caught wind” of what was going on. They recognized how costly the product was, and they criticized Mary with Judas Iscariot leading the charge: “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”
They seemed to have a good argument. After all, Mary could have just used some of the ointment. And besides, Jesus hadn’t asked her for this. Perhaps He was even annoyed by it. Those thoughts were put to rest when Jesus stepped up boldly in her defense. He gave several reasons why they should not trouble Mary. First, she had done a beautiful thing to Him, an act of love and devotion from the heart. Second, they always had the poor with them, but they would not always have Jesus. Third, she had done this to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.
It’s hard to say if Mary thought she was preparing Jesus for burial. I expect that the last thing she wanted was for her Lord to die and be buried. But Jesus gave this as the rationale for her faithful act. He was going to die. He had told this to His disciples multiple times. The fact that Jesus brought it up at this time was a sign that His death was quickly approaching.
Matthew records the anointing of Jesus just before his account of Jesus eating the Passover meal with His disciples and instituting His Supper on the Thursday of Holy Week. But it is clear that the placement of this account is topical instead of chronological. Just before he writes about the anointing of Jesus, he mentions the chief priests and the elders plotting to arrest Jesus and kill Him. Then he tells of Mary anointing Jesus and being criticized for it, especially by Judas. Then Matthew reports that Judas went to the chief priests and asked what they would give him if he betrayed Jesus to them. Matthew makes it clear that Mary’s so-called “wasteful” anointing of Jesus was a catalyst for greedy Judas to plan how to betray Jesus.
The anointing of Jesus actually happened the day before Palm Sunday (Joh. 12:1) as a preview of what was coming that week. Jesus was anointed for His burial and then made His way from Bethany to Jerusalem where He would be crucified. How long did the fragrance of the ointment linger on Jesus? Almost certainly through the next day when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Then likely into Monday when He cleared the temple of the buyers and sellers. Perhaps all through the week, this scent could have been detected in Jesus’ hair.
Could the fragrance have gotten stronger again when Jesus sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, or when the crown of thorns brought out blood from multiple wounds in His head? Could Joseph and Nicodemus smell the fragrance when they brought His lifeless body down from the cross? Yes, this ointment was applied in advance for His burial. Jesus had to die. There was no other way. He had to go to the cross to save you. He had to be laid in a dark tomb with the entrance sealed.
The unbelieving world operates as though Jesus is still dead. Millions upon millions go through their day and conduct their business with no thought about Jesus’ sacrifice for them and no expectation of His return. To the unbelieving world, any devotion to Jesus in time, treasures, and talents is wasteful.
“You’re wasting your money if you give it to the church!” they say. “Don’t you know how often church funds have been misused for personal gain? Much better to give it to the people who actually need it, like the poor.” “You’re wasting your time by listening to the words of a God you have never seen. And if Christians are supposed to have a better life, there are an awful lot of hypocritical and miserable Christians.” “Why spend the best years of your life denying what you really want to do because some old book says you should? Why limit yourself? You only live once.”
These criticisms have an effect on us. I’m guessing that most if not all of you have had the experience of people looking at you funny when you tell them you go to church—if not outright ridiculing you for doing so—and with the pressure on, you acted like church was not really so important to you. Possibly you have thought that your life would be easier or more enjoyable if you weren’t a Christian. Maybe you have wondered if you have gotten as much out of Christianity as you have put into it, and the question came to mind, “Is this all just a waste?”
If anyone had reason to ask that, it was Jesus as He felt the whip tear at His back, the thorns cut into His skull, and the nails pierce His hands and feet. But His suffering was much worse than that. He carried the weight of the whole world’s sin on Himself. He suffered the eternal punishments of hell for wrongs He never committed. He felt forsaken by the very Father who sent Him to do this work.
But Jesus did not consider this a waste. He did not consider pouring out His holy blood for your sins a waste. He willingly, purposely, wholeheartedly did this for you. He did not waver. He did not turn back. He did not shrink from this terrible task that only He could do, and that He had to do alone.
He doesn’t hold His suffering and death against you. In fact, He is constantly making note of the beautiful things you do for Him. What things are these? Whatever you do in faith out of love for those around you, He counts as having been done for Him (Mat. 25:40). He regards it in the same way as the great gift Mary gave Him for His burial.
“Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” And so it is. Jesus’ prophecy is fulfilled today and every time we hear this Gospel. We are still hearing about Mary’s beautiful act of devotion. Her faithful gift and Jesus’ response to it points us to His saving work, that He was crucified, died, and was buried to win for us eternal life. Thanks be to God! Amen.
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(picture from stained glass at Bethany Lutheran College of Mary, Jesus, and Martha)
The Festival of the Reformation – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: Romans 3:19-28
In Christ Jesus, who promises that everyone who acknowledges Him before men, He also will acknowledge before His Father in heaven (Mat. 10:32), dear fellow redeemed:
We have all had the experience of trying to get ourselves out of trouble, but the more we say, the worse it gets. Maybe you broke something in the house, but instead of apologizing to your parents, you tried to pin the blame on a sibling. Or maybe you got pulled over, and your excuses for why you were speeding just made the situation worse. We are not always good at knowing when to speak and when to keep our mouths shut.
The same can be true in our spiritual life. We sometimes speak when we should be silent, and we are sometimes silent when we should speak. Today’s reading addresses both of these things. Just before our reading, St. Paul quoted from the Book of Psalms where it says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God…. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive…. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness” (3:10-11,13,14). Paul is citing God’s Law which applies to all sinners, to every single one of us.
When we hear God’s Law, we have nothing to say in response because we have failed to do what God commands us. But that doesn’t stop us from trying to sidestep responsibility for our sins. One of the hardest things for us to do is acknowledge that we have done wrong. We always want to make an excuse for why we did what we did or said what we said, excuses like:
- “He started it!”
- “If she had done what she said she would, this wouldn’t have happened!”
- “I didn’t mean to cause any harm—they’re just too sensitive!”
- “This is just how I am; I can’t help it!”
These are all statements of self-righteousness. Instead of admitting our sin and asking for forgiveness, we argue and try to pass the blame. But God’s Law does not budge. No matter how much we try to justify our actions or words, sin is sin. James 4 says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (v. 17). God’s Law does not change with the times. Misusing God’s name was a sin from the beginning, and it is still a sin. Sexual immorality is still a sin. Lying is still a sin.
We can’t talk ourselves out of the judgment of the Law. One of our hymns says it like this: “What God doth in His law demand / No man to Him could render. / Before this Judge all guilty stand; / His law speaks curse in thunder. / The law demands a perfect heart; / We were defiled in ev’ry part, / And lost was our condition” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #227, v. 2). This is what today’s reading teaches us. Paul writes, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”
He says that before the Law, every mouth is stopped. We must go silent—“zip the lip!” We have no argument to make for our righteousness. God commanded us to be perfect, and we have sinned again and again, falling far short of the glory of God. There is nothing we can do to earn our way or work our way back into God’s favor. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight.” The verdict is clear. No matter how hard we try, we have failed. We cannot save ourselves.
Then why is it that so many Christians today think that salvation depends somehow on what they do? Though most Christians admit they are sinful, Lutherans stand mostly alone in our teaching that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God or get ourselves connected to Him. This has been the consistent teaching of the Lutheran Church since the time of the Reformation, and we believe it to be the historic teaching of Christ’s Church from the time of the apostles as today’s reading shows.
Martin Luther took criticism from all sides for his teaching that we are saved not by our works but only by God’s grace in Christ who perfectly kept the law for us and died to pay for our sins. The Roman Catholic theologians said that if our works are not part of salvation, then what’s to stop Christians from embracing sin if they are saved by grace alone? It must be that our works contribute in some way toward our salvation. Luther replied that good works are fruits of faith that every Christian does and should do, but it is faith in Jesus alone that saves.
The Reformed theologians told Luther that he wasn’t going far enough. He had to get rid of the empty, outward trappings of the Roman Church, such as the Sacraments. What matters, they said, is that we dedicate ourselves to God from the heart and strive to live for Him. Luther replied that if we remove the means that God has given for the formation and strengthening of our faith, we will become self-righteous Pharisees, or we will despair because we are unable to do what we have promised.
Luther’s opponents wanted him to say that we are responsible—at least in some way—for our salvation. It sounded very reasonable. Many in previous generations had taught exactly this. Luther was in a difficult spot. He could have opened his mouth and worked up some kind of compromise to try to keep everyone together. He could have aimed for personal glory and a prominent position in the church.
But he would not go against God’s Word. Standing before one of the most powerful rulers of his time, Luther refused to take back what he had written and taught. “My conscience is captive to the Word of God,” he said. “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me.” Luther knew when to be silent. He had to answer to God. He would not compromise the Word of God for the sake of peace in the Church.
This is what we celebrate on Reformation Day—not so much the man since Luther was a sinner like we are. But we celebrate his faithful confession of the truth and his faithful teaching of salvation by grace alone. On the back of your bulletin, I have included a picture from the altarpiece in Wittenberg, Germany, where Luther lived. This altar painting was dedicated in 1547, one year after Luther died. It shows him preaching to the parishioners of Wittenberg. But if the picture were bigger, you could see that Luther’s mouth is closed. He is preaching by pointing.
This painting emphasizes that Luther’s work was not about him or any unique message he came up with. He preached Christ crucified like Paul and the other apostles did. It’s all about Jesus. We do not open our mouths to boast about our own good works. We do these good things quietly, for the benefit of our neighbor and for the glory of God. When we are tempted to boast or when people encourage us to be prideful, we do what the tax collector in the temple did. We humbly bow our heads and pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luk. 18:13). That kind of silence about our own good works speaks volumes.
We have nothing to boast about in ourselves. But we do boast about Jesus. We boast about the salvation He won for us, not because we deserve it but because He is merciful and gracious. We deserve eternal punishment in hell. The Law condemns us. We have sinned. But God sent His Son to save us. He put Him forward “as a propitiation by His blood,” as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. The holy blood that Jesus shed washes all our sin away. It washes away the sins that make us feel guilty and the imperfect works that make us feel prideful. His blood cleanses us from the many ways we have broken the perfect Law of God.
His blood was the price He paid to redeem us, to purchase us so that we might be His own. His Father accepted this payment which is why we are justified before God, declared innocent, “not guilty.” We are “justified by His grace as a gift.” The righteousness we need to stand before God does not come from us. It comes to us as a gift from God, a gift received by faith. Even our faith is a gift, worked inside us by the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments.
This is why it is right for Paul to say in the same place that we are “justified by His grace” and “justified by faith.” It all points to Jesus. We are saved by what He did, what He accomplished, what He set out to do and finished. We will be silent about our own works which could never save us. But we will not be silent about His works which He offered as a perfect sacrifice to the Father for our redemption.
This is what Paul taught in his inspired Epistles. This is what Luther taught at the time of the Reformation. This is what we still teach by the grace of God and what we pray will be taught to generations to come. Where God calls us through His Word to be silent, we will be silent, and where He calls us to speak, we will speak—all to His glory alone.
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 Wittenberg altarpiece painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder and Younger, 1547)
Presentation of the Augsburg Confession – Pr. Faugstad homily
On June 25, 1530, the Lutheran princes of Germany stood before Emperor Charles V in the German town of Augsburg and publicly read their confession of faith. They stated that they would rather die than compromise the truth of God’s Word.
Text: Romans 10:5-17
In Christ Jesus, whose perfect confession of the truth covers over our times of doubt, weakness, and faithlessness, dear fellow redeemed:
In the parts of the Augsburg Confession we have heard so far, there are two major themes that are brought up again and again. Those themes are righteousness and faith. In the Bible, “righteousness” is what it takes to be right with God. We don’t have to guess about the standard, because God has given us His standard for righteousness. He has given us ten statements—Commandments—which outline a life of righteousness.
Just ten commands—if you can live by them and keep them, you are right with God. But if you cannot keep them, then you cannot make yourself right with God. Already in the second article of the Augsburg Confession, the Reformers said this: We condemn those who “argue that a person can be justified before God by his own strength and reason” (ELH p. 9). In article four, they repeated the same thing, “We teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works” (ELH p. 9).
This teaching that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God does not shock us, but it certainly shocked the people in Germany and beyond in 1530. Many believed that their good works, their merits, did contribute to their righteousness before God. The Roman theologians who responded to the Augsburg Confession put it like this, “All Catholics admit that our works of themselves have no merit but God’s grace makes them worthy to earn eternal life” (“The Confutation of the Augsburg Confession” in Sources and Contexts of The Book of Concord, p. 109). So is it ultimately God’s power or our power? Is it His work or our work?
St. Paul does not leave this ambiguous or unclear in today’s reading. He writes about “the righteousness that is based on the law” and “the righteousness based on faith.” The righteousness based on the law is our attempts to do what God tells us. If we kept His Commandments perfectly, He would let us into heaven because of our own good work. But if we have not kept them perfectly, we stand condemned in our sin. It’s all or nothing. Either you are perfect according to God’s standard, or you are not.
Now “the righteousness based on faith” is not a different kind of righteousness. It is still the perfect keeping of God’s Commandments, but this righteousness comes to us apart from our works. We do not earn this righteousness; we are given this righteousness. It is the righteousness of Jesus, who did perfectly keep the Commandments. He is the only human being to accomplish this. We were all conceived and born in sin, and we continued sinning. But He was conceived in the virgin Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, and therefore He entered the world without sin.
Though in every respect He was tempted as we are, He never sinned (Heb. 4:15). He perfectly feared, loved, and trusted His heavenly Father. He perfectly loved everyone around Him. And that perfect keeping of God’s law is counted to each one of you by faith, and faith alone. Again from the Augsburg Confession, article four: “We teach that men… are freely justified for Christ’s sake through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who by His death has made satisfaction for our sins” (ELH p. 9).
For this faithful confession before one of the most powerful rulers in the world, the Reformers were risking their very necks! They were willing to die for this truth. They were fully convinced that what St. Paul wrote is true: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Paul says nothing about God’s grace making us worthy to earn salvation, or about faith working through love that somehow earns us heaven. He speaks of the righteousness of Jesus becoming ours by faith in Him.
But where does faith come from? Is that a work you do? Paul writes, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” The power to save you and to work faith in you is in the Gospel, the good news of Jesus’ perfect life and atoning death on behalf of sinners. That is why you can be certain of your righteousness and salvation. They are gifts from God to you, received through the faith the Holy Spirit worked in you through the Word.
God has saved you. He justifies you. He caused you to believe this soul-saving truth. You Are Righteous before God by Faith. This is what the Lutheran laymen and pastors confessed 494 years ago, and by God’s enduring grace, we still confess it today to His glory alone. Amen.
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(picture of Emperor Charles V receiving the Augsburg Confession)
The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession – Pr. Faugstad homily
Text: Psalm 119:46
493 years ago on June 25, 1530, the Lutheran princes of Germany stood before Emperor Charles V and publicly read their confession of faith to all who were gathered there. They stated that they would rather die than compromise the truth of God’s Word.
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In Christ Jesus, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession (1Ti. 6:13), and who calls us to do the same when we are asked for a reason for the hope that is in us (1Pe. 3:15), dear fellow redeemed:
The men who read the words of the Augsburg Confession before Emperor Charles V were not pastors or theological professors. They were laymen. And they understood and believed every word they spoke. They were powerful men in Germany—dukes, princes, and wealthy landowners—, which meant that they had a lot to lose. They were willing to risk it all because of the Gospel message of salvation they had heard and believed.
By speaking the truth of God’s Word, you also could face the possible loss of your job, your standing in the community, or your favor with friends. Telling God’s truth is the most courageous thing you can do, and it is also the most difficult. The world does not welcome the truth. It actively opposes it and wants the clear teaching of God to be silenced.
But while the unbelieving world may succeed in intimidating us and winning some battles against us, it cannot conquer the Church of God in Christ. He assures us, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Joh. 16:33). He also reminds us how important our confession of the truth is. Not only is it a matter of eternal life or death for us, it is also a matter of eternal life or death for those we associate with. Jesus says, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Mat. 10:32-33).
The laymen at Augsburg confessed the pure Gospel of Jesus in the presence of some of the most powerful people of their day. We still stand on this confession. We believe what they believed. We teach what they taught. By the grace of God, we have the received His treasures of forgiveness, righteousness, and peace through the preaching of His Word. We have been made members of the body of Christ through faith in Him who died for all our sins and rose from the dead in victory. There is no hope apart from Him, and every confidence in Him.
But we have not always been confident, and we have not always been hopeful. At various times in our lives, we have lost sight of this most important thing. We have listened to the promises of the world. We have sometimes chosen sin over salvation, friendships over faithfulness, peace and security in the world instead of the peace that surpasses all understanding. We think back on these things, and we feel ashamed.
Shame is always waiting for those who walk the way of the world and not the way of God’s Word. You and I find plenty to be ashamed of when we look at our own hearts and minds. But we find nothing to be ashamed of when we look to Jesus. He also stood before powerful authorities. Though they attacked Him and told lies about Him, He did not give in, and He did not retaliate. They sentenced Him unjustly to death by crucifixion, and He endured this suffering willingly.
He did all of it for you, so that His blood would cleanse you of all your sins of weakness and unfaithfulness, and so that His holy life would cover you like a royal robe. You do not face the threats of the world alone. You stand in Him, who has overcome the world, the devil, and death for you. Whether you speak His testimony before kings or before your boss or co-workers or anyone else around you, you have nothing to be ashamed of, because Jesus Christ is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Joh. 14:6).
The Word of God has not changed and will not change. Every power and influence in this world will pass away, but the Word of our God will endure forever. The men at Augsburg spoke timeless truths, which is why we still speak them today. The Lutheran Church which confesses this truth is not a new church or even a 500-year-old church. It is the continuation of the one holy Christian and Apostolic Church from its New Testament origin to the present day.
We pray that God keeps us faithful to this saving truth, and that He gives us the courage to speak His truth to all who need to hear it.
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 of Emperor Charles V receiving the Augsburg Confession)
The Festival of Our Lord’s Ascension – Vicar Anderson sermon
Text: St. Mark 16:14-20
In Christ Jesus, your ascended King and Lord, who lives and reigns over all creation, who is still with you until your ascension, dear fellow redeemed:
A role model is a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated. While baby-sitting I found out how quickly you can be put into that role. Looking back now, I see why parenting can sometimes be difficult. Children watch every single thing that parents do. They watch especially when you think that they are not watching. They point out how impressionable they are. Part of that reason is the trust that they have. Now as children put this trust in their parents and role models, tonight we see Jesus asking for that same trust. Not only is He the one who we want to imitate, and He is our guide, but He is our Savior. And as He ascended into heaven, He puts the trust that we have in Him on display. Jesus assures us with His ascension the hope that we have in Him. We will ascend and meet Him in glory!
St. Mark in this last section of his gospel is giving an overview of Jesus last forty days on earth. In our text we see Jesus rebuking the disciples. “He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” Now this rebuke is warranted because of what is recorded before our text. Jesus had appeared to three witnesses after His resurrection and only two witnesses proved something happened. Jesus had appeared to three. On that evidence they should have believed that He had risen.
Like the disciples, we can need that same wake up call. The disciples were told by three witnesses. We have the Scriptures. The Old Testament reveals to us what God demands and promises that someone is going to come and follow those demands perfectly for us. The New Testament reveals to us the heart of the Gospel, Jesus is the Christ who came down from Heaven, lived a perfect life and died for us. When hardships arise in our lives sometimes the first thing we do instead of looking to the Scriptures is look for earthly answers. We forget about God’s promises, and we can question if Jesus is even real, our hearts harden. The same eyewitnesses who had unbelief, they wrote down the gospel to be our witnesses.
Are they still believable? Even the disciples questioned Jesus with His death. Tomorrow marks Ascension, He visibly left us. Why would He leave those He loves? Does He care? Shouldn’t we get special treatment because we follow Him? This would make a lot of sense if God would come and establish an earthly kingdom. We would want a part ruling in that kingdom. These distractions can move us away from the truth. When it looks like it is us against the world or we are just selfish, we don’t want or need that mindset. We have no reason to be selfish or independent. The world wants to be independent, but our independence gets us nowhere.
The command to go into the world also looks as though it is challenging. What will people think of us? We see that they don’t like the message that we have. This message points out the truth of what we have done. The truth is that we have made many mistakes. We don’t like to hear when we have made mistakes. Jesus then says to share the Gospel. This can even be harder when people are already mad because you first told them that they were doing something wrong, that if they don’t change their ways, then they will be condemned. Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). We hear the truth that we have done wrong, but then the Gospel comes in and everything changes.
The disciples are brought to faith once again. Jesus immediately puts them to work. He knows that He is not going to be with them much longer. Jesus commands them that they are to spread the Gospel, baptizing all nations. We see how smart Jesus is. Since the disciples are not perfect, what is to stop them from hardening their hearts again? Jesus allows them to perform signs. These signs are not meant to be used like magical spells. They are meant to help those in need. They are special signs used to prove that the Gospel is true. How could the disciples be lying if the message that they are bringing comes with special signs to help those in need? The disciples speak the truth of Christ, and we see how they go out faithfully to do so. They go out, perform these signs, and they gave their lives to preach this saving truth. Even as their Lord had ascended before their eyes, we see that Jesus never left them. These signs were performed in His name. It was not power of the disciples, but the power was Christ. These signs prove that Christ is still carrying out His Work. His enemies can’t stand against Him.
Jesus’ time on earth has ended. Like the disciples, we can sometimes struggle to understand this, but Jesus ascended for your benefit. Jesus’ ascension means that the Holy Spirit would come to the disciples. As the disciples receive these gifts, it is through the Holy Spirit that Christ comes to you. He uses the means of the Word and sacraments. He tells you the benefit of your baptism. With baptism, you have faith that what Christ did for you is true. He died for your sins on the cross and He rose from the dead for your justification. It is through this work that God finds you not guilty. Your baptism into Christ’s death brings forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Your baptism washes away your sins of doubt.
The world will try to convince you that Jesus has left you all alone to live this life on earth. To deal with all these hardships. That is not what His ascension means. If Christ did not ascend, you would have to travel to see Him. He ascended visibly into Heaven so that He can be with you wherever you are. He is not just a man confined to a body; He is true God. Christ is with you wherever you go. You know His presence is here in His Word and Sacraments. You believe this through faith in Christ, faith that you only have because of the work of the Holy Spirit in you.
Through faith in Christ, you see the work of His ascension. You see His authority; Christ puts His work on display for the church. You see Him as a Prophet. He sends trained men to come and share you this gospel message. In His ascension He is also a Priest. He intercedes your prayers on your behalf. Lastly, Christ has taken His crown as King. He has crushed all His enemies. He takes care of you and He will live and reign over the church triumphant when He calls you home. Christ’s ascension reveals to you that there is a home that you will go to when you die. Your destination is not to remain here and suffer. Christ ascension, Him not being here, assures you that you do not have to stay here. Jesus has prepared a home for you, the hope of your ascension.
We have tried to look to Christ and imitate Him in our lives. Like the disciples, we have failed to do that, and we will continue to fail as long as we live. Where we are not perfect, our Savior was perfect. He not only lived His life in our place, but He gave up His life so that we would be saved. He brings us that comfort through our baptism, that we are marked children of God. But Jesus couldn’t stay with us on earth. The time came for Him to go back to His Father. This happened for us. He didn’t abandon us. He left visibly to live and reign over all creation, to be at all places, to protect, and comfort you from all trials and hardships, preparing a place in Heaven for you. We confess our hope with hymn 392, On Christ’s ascension I now built the hope of mine ascension; This hope alone has ever stilled All doubt and apprehension; For where the Head is, there full well I know His members are to dwell When Christ shall come and call them (ELH 392 v. 1). Amen.
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 painting by John Singleton Copley, 1775)
The Resurrection of Our Lord – Pr. Faugstad exordium & sermon
Festival exordium:
The miracle-worker died, but his followers refused to accept it. “He will rise again!” they said. So they waited. They waited one day. Then two. On the third day, nothing happened. Weeks passed, then months. Then more than a year and a half had gone by. Finally the funeral home obtained a court order and buried the man’s body.
This actually happened in South Africa. A pastor who claimed to be able to heal the sick, and who reportedly predicted his own resurrection, stayed dead. He did not have the power he thought he had or said he had.
There is only one Man who predicted His own resurrection and then did it. We are gathered here today to hear His Word and sing His praises. Even though He had done countless miracles and even raised several people from the dead, His closest disciples did not believe He would rise. The eleven disciples went into hiding after He was crucified and buried. The women made plans to return to His tomb after the Sabbath to anoint His dead body with more spices.
The only ones who seemed to take Jesus’ prediction seriously were the chief priests and Pharisees. They went to Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’” Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away” (Mat. 27:63-64). All this accomplished was putting witnesses at the tomb—the soldiers—who watched an angel descend from heaven and roll away the stone revealing an empty tomb. They reported what they saw to the chief priests, who, instead of hearing what they said, paid them to tell a lie (28:11-15).
But the resurrection of Jesus is no lie. It happened just as Jesus said it would, on the third day after His death. He did break the chains of death. He did emerge victorious. He did end the terrible reign of death brought into the world by Adam’s sin. He did it for the doubters, for the weak, for the faithless, for sinners—for you and me.
In thankfulness and joy, let us rise to sing hymn #348, “He Is Arisen! Glorious Word!”
He is arisen! Glorious Word!
Now reconciled is God, my Lord;
The gates of heaven are open.
My Jesus died triumphantly,
And Satan’s arrows broken lie,
Destroyed hell’s direst weapon.
O hear
What cheer!
Christ victorious
Riseth glorious,
Life He giveth—
He was dead, but see, He liveth!
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Sermon text: St. Mark 16:1-8
In Christ Jesus, who was not in the tomb on Easter morning, but who is here with us to bless us, dear fellow redeemed:
Many people claim to have seen angels. Some of them say angels appeared when they were in great distress or sorrow and brought them comfort. Others report messages spoken to them by the angels, special messages from God. The problem is, sometimes those messages do not agree with what the Bible says. So which is more reliable: a special visit from an angel or the Word of God?
If someone is given a message by a holy angel, it will not contradict the Word of God. The angels who serve God are without sin; they only tell the truth. So if an angel speaks a message that conflicts with the Word of God, it is not a holy angel. St. Paul writes that “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2Co. 11:14). Many prominent false teachers in history claim to have been visited by angels who gave them their new teachings. But these were not holy angels. They were the devil or demons coming in disguise.
So how can we know that the angel who spoke to the women at Jesus’ tomb was really sent by God? How can we be sure that it wasn’t just something they imagined in their state of emotional turmoil and sorrow? When the women went to Jesus’ tomb early Sunday morning, they went there expecting to find a dead man—if they could roll away the stone from the entrance to get to Him.
Instead, they looked up and saw that the stone had already been rolled away. That was strange. And when they cautiously peaked inside, they did not see the body of Jesus. They saw a young man wearing a long, white robe—an angel. Seeing their distress and alarm, the angel told them there was no need to fear. Why? There was no need to fear because Jesus had done everything He said He would do.
The angel didn’t tell them anything new. Jesus had told His disciples multiple times that He would go to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and on the third day rise again. And when they were in Jerusalem the night of His arrest, He told His disciples that they would all desert Him, but after He was raised up, He would go before them to Galilee (Mar. 14:27-28). Now the angel was saying the same thing: Jesus “was crucified. He is risen!… He is going before you into Galilee… as He said to you.”
That is the message the women took back to the disciples. The appearance of the angel was surprising, but the words he spoke should not have been surprising. He simply reminded them what they had already heard. That’s what the holy angels do. They proclaim the promises of God. Isn’t that what the angels did the night of Jesus’ birth? They proclaimed the fulfillment of God’s promise: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luk. 2:11).
You can be sure that if an angel appears to you and speaks a message that does not agree with the Bible’s teaching, it is not an angel of God. St. Paul said that there are some who “want to distort the gospel of Christ.” Then he adds, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:7-8). But how can we know that the Gospel is true? Or how can we be sure we have the right Gospel?
That topic came up in a conversation I had with a Mormon man. Before I knew his religious background, he asked me a question that every Lutheran pastor loves to hear, “What is the Gospel?” But I could tell as I explained the Gospel to him that he wasn’t convinced. It was a “gotcha question.” He wanted to make the point that if all of the different denominations of Christians had different understandings of the Gospel, none of us could be certain we had the right one. That’s why we needed a modern-day prophet to give the correct interpretation—a prophet like Joseph Smith (who, incidentally, claimed to get his special revelations from an “angel”).
But we can know the Gospel from the Bible and be certain that we have the true Gospel. The angel sitting in that tomb couldn’t have said it more plainly: Jesus “was crucified. He is risen!” That is the good news. That is the Gospel. A dead man rose from the dead! But it wasn’t just any dead man. It was a dead man who claimed to be the Son of God. It was a dead man who predicted that everything would happen just as it happened. It was a dead man who said that His victory over death would be your victory, that His life would be your life.
Jesus’ resurrection verified everything He ever said. He could have said what He did, died on the cross, and never been seen or heard from again. That would have proven that He was nothing more than a big talker, or that He was delusional. But that is not what happened. He did rise from the dead. We believe it not just because an angel said it happened. We believe it because Jesus showed Himself alive to the women later that morning, to His disciples on numerous occasions, and at one time to more than five hundred of His followers (1Co. 15:6). He talked with them, ate with them, and definitively proved that He is who He said—the Son of God in the flesh.
The disciples wrote down what they saw and heard, so that everyone could learn about Jesus and what He had done. Jesus hadn’t just accomplished something for His time. He had done something for all time. His apostle John wrote near the end of His Gospel account: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Joh. 20:31).
Our faith in Jesus is not a special feeling we have about Him. It is not a decision we made when considering various faith systems. Our faith in Jesus is a confidence worked in us by God the Holy Spirit through the message of His Gospel. It is a confidence that because Jesus rose from the dead, we will rise. Because He lives forever, we will live forever. We know how ridiculous and impossible it sounds that a severely beaten and crucified man should rise from the dead a couple days later, alive and well, walking around and visiting with people all over the place.
But this was not just any man. This was God-in-the-flesh who won the victory for you. He went to the cross and crushed the devil’s head by paying for your sins. And He conquered death by coming alive on the very day He said He would. Sin, devil, and death could not stop Him. They met an Enemy who had them shaking in their boots.
This is the Lord and Savior who joined Himself to your flesh, so that He could do everything for you that you couldn’t do. And He has joined Himself to you in an even more personal way. He made you a member of His holy body through your Baptism into Him, cleansing you of your sins and covering you in His righteousness. And He feeds you and fills you with His life by giving you His immortal body and blood in His holy Supper. He graciously comes to you and me through His Word and Sacraments, so that even though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly He renews us day by day (2Co. 4:16).
The Bible says that the angels are amazed by the gracious care God has for us. The gifts the Holy Spirit gives us through the Gospel are “things into which angels long to look” (1Pe. 1:12). So we do not need to wait for a special visit from an angel to know that God loves us. We do not need to seek comfort in our grief from strange coincidences, appearances of certain animals, or from other signs that seem to convey messages from those who are now dead.
We need the Gospel. We need to hear the message again and again that our sins are forgiven, that eternal life is ours through faith in Jesus, and that He will raise our bodies and the bodies of all our loved ones from the dead when He comes again in glory. That is the message God sent His holy angels to proclaim when His Son entered this world and when He rose in triumph out of the dark tomb.
And that is the message we still proclaim today and every day. We want our family, our friends, and even our enemies to hear the saving truth that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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 from “The Empty Tomb” by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872)
The Second Sunday in Advent – Vicar Cody Anderson sermon
Text: St. Luke 21:25-36
In Christ Jesus, who says this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away, dear fellow redeemed:
We are at that point in time where my wife says, this is the most wonderful time of the year! Just me saying that and you can already hear the music in your head. We do always look forward to the holiday seasons. We are planning what we are going to make for food, what we are going to buy for gifts. It is great to look ahead for the holidays. Since we gauge things in time, there are other things on the calendar we look ahead towards. We look ahead to birthdays, anniversaries, vacation and the list goes on. With ourselves trained to look ahead for certain dates that are ahead, Scripture reminds us that there is a more important date that is coming up. It is a date that we are supposed to look forward to, we are supposed to expect it, yet we tend to forget about it. As we get excited to remember and celebrate Christ’s first coming, we should not forget about what Christ says about his second coming.
Jesus speaks very clearly about what is going to happen. Jesus says, “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” If that sounds very serious, then look around, these signs are happening. What Jesus says is happening. His kingdom is coming. The earth is only our temporary home. It will pass away. Now we could look at what is happening in the world and we could freak out. It seems like a lot of people are doing that already. Or we can listen to what Jesus says when it comes to the end of the world and prepare for His coming.
As the end draws near, God calls us to repent. Paul writes, that [God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4) This happens with a contrite heart. We repent of our sins. Our sins are very serious and they have eternal consequences. The world doesn’t like that at all. Who likes to be told that they have done something wrong? For the world this is very despairing, so they try to stop and ignore the signs. They will try to save the dying world’s health. They will look for a worldly peace among the nations by treaties. They will try to control the climate. They will also see these signs and instead of prepare, they will be like in the days of Noah and act like nothing is happening. That Jesus second coming should just be ignored. Why should the world care about the signs that Jesus tells us when they can find something as great as their own self-worth. Now we see the outcome of the world rejecting the teachings of Christ. Jesus is telling us the truth, repent for the kingdom of God is coming, the world will end.
Unfortunately, Satan is crafty and he has a way of getting us to fall into the traps and worries of the world. Jesus tries to warn us. He says, “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Due to our own stubbornness, we also fall into the traps ourselves. We see the problems of this life and we see how they affect us and we begin to worry. What will happen when the famine, pestilence, and wars hit close to home? So, we put our confidence in the powerful people of the world. Or we try to find help and comfort in worldly things that cannot save us. The temptations of the world will not go away quietly, the world shows us how noisy it is. It wants us to tune out the signs and the promises that Jesus has given us. It wants to distract us from what really matters and get us to focus on what is passing away.
It is so interesting that we look forward to so many dates and special occasions yet we lose focus on what Christ tells us. Talking about the end is coming directly from our Savior yet it is the hardest even for us to hear at times. We don’t like to hear when we are wrong. We don’t want to be corrected of our sins. If we stay in our sins, then we will be condemned with the rest of the world. Our hearts can harden, and if we die in unbelief or if we are without faith when Jesus returns, then we will join the devil and his demons in hell. The world is not prepared for Christ’s return, but we need to be. When we forget about repentance, then we have succumbed to the world and we end up not being vigilant. When we are weighed down by our own cares and anxieties, then we forget about the comfort in Jesus second coming.
As we get ready to celebrate and rejoice in the first coming of Christ, we also look forward to what is to come because Christ will come again in glory to take us to our heavenly home for all eternity! This terrible evil world will come to an end and we won’t have to stay in it. Because of Christ life and death on the cross, we don’t have to suffer the pains of hell. He will call us to our eternal home.
Advent is the season for looking ahead. We see how Christ came humbly into the world, yet we “will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” We needed him to come the first time because we needed a Savior from our sins. Jesus redeemed us from our sins of worrying. He takes away our sins that have distracted us from His coming. He gives us comfort that his Word will never pass away. This is the message of the Gospel, what Christ has done for us. When we fail and get worried about our future, Jesus gives us comfort that He has not left us and that He is coming soon.
Christians also look ahead to when Christ comes to us in the Means of Grace. This is Christ giving you the assurance that He is trustworthy. He is truth. Every week we hear the Word preached, the blessing of the Gospel of Christ in his Word. There is so much comfort in the Word of God. It tells you how Jesus redeemed you. You are a sinner who could not save yourself, and the Son of God took on flesh to sacrifice Himself for you. He died in your place, so that your sin and death would be overcome forever. He gives you these blessings of His redemption in the mysteries of Holy Communion. You look forward to this sacrament because here is the true body and blood of our Savior given to you for the forgiveness of your sins. This is the assurance that you have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation because of what Christ has done for you.
Verse 27 again says, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” This is a glory that you will not have to fear. You can rest assured that when Christ comes on the last day you will rejoice in his return. There will be no pain or suffering. All of the trials and temptations of this world will be gone. Your tears will be gone. Your bodies will be glorified where Christ is the light of the world. This is the comfort that you have in His message. Jesus is telling you that believers will not have to worry. This is your eternal reward. Jesus’ kingdom will have no end.
Looking forward to Christ’s second coming, Jesus tells you how to prepare. “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Here Jesus gives you the tools to be ready. You pray to him for the strength you need because you can’t stand on our own. Your strength to endure through this life comes from Christ, in what He did in his first coming. Living a perfect life, dying, rising from the dead, redeeming you.
Now our calendars can tend to be full at times and I know that everyone has been starting to fill in next year’s already. Christ keeps the real focus on him. That is where our focus needs to be. He wants us prepared for His second coming because we don’t know when it will come. When we get lost in time, we forget the date entirely. Christ keeps us sure of what is to come. Though life will get difficult, Christ is our comfort because of what he has done. Because of Jesus first coming, we can rejoice when the second coming is here. The world will try to distract us from Christ. It will try to convince us that His Words have no meaning. Jesus however says in verse 32, Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Amen.
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 Jerico Lutheran Church stained glass)
The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity – Vicar Cody Anderson sermon
Text: St. Mark 7:31-37
In Christ Jesus, who has done all things well, making the deaf hear and the mute speak, dear fellow redeemed:
As a student, you probably remember the days when people came to test your vision and hearing. For the hearing test, you have to put on headphones. Once they were on, they gave you a buzzer that you would push when you heard the tone that they played, or maybe they had you raise your hand when you heard a sound in each ear. Now this tone would start out loud, but as it got softer and softer, and as you were concentrating, it would come to a point that you didn’t know if you could hear it at all. I had to take this text before starting my factory job. When the test was over, the lady who was administering the test told me that I had perfect hearing. I responded, “I can’t wait to get home and tell my mother that.” To which she responded, “I can’t control when you decide to listen.” The problem that we have isn’t that we choose when we want to listen. Spiritually the problem is much worse than that. Our sins have made it so that we can’t hear and are not able to speak. The text makes it clear that Jesus is the one who opens ears and loosens tongues.
Jesus shows that he did not only come to save the Jews but the Gentiles as well. The Jews were hoping that the Messiah would liberate them from the Roman government. But that is not what he came to do. Throughout the Old Testament God made it known that he would send a Savior for the whole world. That is who Jesus is. He didn’t come to save one race, or one group. He came to save the entire world. In Jesus ministry, we see that he continues to travel. He moves from Galilee, goes down to Jerusalem for the feasts and festivals, and then he goes back north. We see in our text that Jesus had left the area that was home, and he traveled with his disciples in the lands of the Gentiles. Jesus has come into the Decapolis which is an area of 10 gentile cities.
Now he performed a miracle in this area already. One of the well-known one is when he drove the demons out of the men and he sent them into a heard of pigs. This miracle created quite a stir in this area. Right before our text Jesus encounters the woman who had great faith. As Jesus told her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and feed it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet; even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:27-28). The news of Jesus is starting to gain traction since more know about him. Now here in our text yet another man has come to receive help from Jesus.
The people are beginning to have a wrong idea about what Jesus is doing. The people upon watching Jesus perform his miracles have had other thoughts about the Messiah. They want Jesus to be their king. It’s recorded in John, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15). The people are not really paying attention to Jesus’ message any more. They see the miracles that he is performing and they are starting to only see his power. What is Jesus to do? He wants people to hear and listen to the message of the kingdom of God. As Jesus has a man brought to him and he can’t hear or speak, Jesus continues to have compassion. He has a plan.
Jesus takes the man away, not to show off his powers. When Jesus performs his miracles in front of the crowds, he has a message that he wants the people to know. With this miracle Jesus doesn’t want the crowd to see. So, he pulls the man away from the crowd. The people want to tell all about the signs and wonders they are seeing; they are in awe. But Jesus tells them not to say anything. As Jesus is trying to get them to stop, they continue to tell others about it. The crowd isn’t looking for a message anymore.
Like the crowd that Jesus is trying to hush, like the man who was healed, our ears and tongues are also out of function. Jesus is telling us a message of repentance, that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We as Christians, we know his message and we want to hear it. But the world is so noisy. We want to listen to what the world has to offer. It’s like our favorite music drowning our cares away. When we are living in our sins, we are deaf to God’s Word. Our sinful nature sees how hard it is to follow God’s commands. Why should we listen to them? They are so hard to follow and the sins are so easy to commit. The sin that we most want to commit is like the crowd. We don’t want to listen to Jesus’ message and we want Jesus to listen to us and to do what we tell him to. Jesus is still trying to communicate to us yet often we don’t want to listen. We want our tongues to stay mute at times. That is our bodies wanting to stay in our sins. But as the crowds continue to not listen, as we fall into our weaknesses, Jesus continues to heal and he did not give up on his mission.
Jesus restores the man of his ailments, showing that he is the one who hears and speaks what his Father wants. Ephphatha, be opened. Jesus shows how powerful his Word is. He is able to restore the man to full health. Adam was created knowing language and hearing God, but then he closed his ears to God’s Word. Jesus restores what was lost in the fall. This major reversal reveals how much mercy God has. He wants the world to hear the precious message of the gospel. His son lived a perfect life, listening to everything that the Father had told him. Only listening and doing his will. He then fulfilled God’s Word to the letter. Jesus continued to listen to his Father, and he took his cup and drank it, going to the cross. How awesome that we have a Savior who willingly listened to his Father and died for us. Jesus removes our deafness and loosens our tongues by perfectly hearing and speaking for us and forgiving us our sins.
Isaiah foretold that Jesus would come and do this. Jesus would come and cause a stir. Isaiah’s prophecy is our Old Testament lesson for today, “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:18-19). The people of Jesus day were in great need of help. We also are in great need of help. The Holy One of Israel continues to come to open our ears and loosen our tongues. He brings us out of the darkness and into his marvelous light.
We see how God’s Word continues to perform miracles when the gospel is spread. The gospel is alive and active. It does not stay silent. It is meant for human ears to hear and Jesus commands us to go and share it. The gospel heals souls as it tells people about how God kept his promise and sent a Savior. When sinners hear the comfort of the gospel, they will exult the Holy One also. This is not a message for only some to hear. This is a message for everyone. Jesus says “Ephphatha, be opened”, so that all ears can hear the wonderful news that he has done. Fulfilling God’s promise of dying for our sins and taking them all away.
Jesus gives us comfort daily that our ears are opened, and our tongues are loosened. There may come a time where we have given into temptation and we think, “How can I share God’s Word with others?” We think that we should give up because we failed God and closed our ears to his Word in weakness. But the power to change hearts and reach souls is not ours. The power is in the Word, God calls sinners to speak it. God knows that we are sinful. He sees us here in this world. That is why he sent his son. It is Jesus who says “Ephphatha, be opened.” It’s not us saying those words. The Holy Spirit uses us as messengers to bring the sweet gospel to people’s ears. We can have confidence that is not our actions, and when we fail, Jesus still tells our ears to be opened. He knows the weaknesses that we go through. He is there with us in our temptations. He knows that we need to hear the word “Ephphatha” more than once in our lives. It is that comfort that allows us to continue to carry on and tell others about Jesus because we know how sweet it is to hear the gospel words of comfort.
This is how awesome our God is. As we used our selective hearing ever since the time of the fall, this has now been restored. God shows His power. He sent his Son to heal the deaf ears of the human race, all of us who were lost in our sins and deaf to God’s Word. The Holy Spirit opens our ears so that we can know that saving gospel. Our tongues are loosed so we can share it. We hear Christ loud and clear as he says, “Ephphatha,” “Be Opened.” So now that we have had our hearing tested and see that on our own it doesn’t exist, Jesus did have perfect hearing. That perfect hearing is now ours. Jesus makes it possible to hear and share his Word. To God be the glory that we hear “Ephphatha, be opened.” Amen.
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 stained-glass window at Saude)