The Fifth Sunday in Lent – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. John 8:46-59
In Christ Jesus, the sinless Man, the Truth-teller, the Son of God, who was despised and rejected by the world of sinners, but who still went forward through suffering and death out of love for us to redeem our souls, dear fellow redeemed:
Do you ever think about what it would be like to be related to someone famous? Imagine if you were the child of someone whose name everyone knew. Is that something you would want or not want? On the one hand, it would mean you grew up having whatever you dreamed of, having doors open to you that most people don’t even know exist. On the other hand, you would constantly be in the shadow of that famous father or mother, and you might find it difficult to make your own way in life.
One thing we would all agree on is that it is annoying when someone plays a “name card.” This happens even in our small communities: “You should pay attention to me because I am connected to so-and-so. I deserve to have certain privileges because I am this person’s child or grandchild.” As much of a blessing as it is to be related to someone successful, this can become a crutch which keeps that person from taking responsibility for his own life and future.
The same principle applies in spiritual matters. We give thanks to God if we are part of a long line of faithful Christians who have been active in the Christian Church. Our cemeteries are full of faithful people and good names that still stand as an example for us all. But we are not right with God and destined for heaven simply because we belong to the right family or have our membership in the right church.
In Jesus’ exchange with the Jews in today’s Gospel account, He made it clear that lineage alone does not make anyone right with God. The conflict intensified when Jesus said this: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Joh. 8:31-32). How could that be controversial? We find these words to be very comforting! But the Jews responded, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (v. 33).
Never mind the fact that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for the better part of four hundred years, that they spent seventy years as captives in Babylon, and that they were now ruled by the Romans. They said they had never really been slaves because they were descendants of Abraham. No one could take away their glory, they thought, since they were connected by blood to that famous man. As long as they could trace their lineage to Abraham and lived according to God’s law, then God must be pleased with them.
But what made Abraham so great in the first place? He was not great because of what he did but because of what God did through him. Abraham did not build up a nation of people as many as the stars in the heavens by his own will and determination. God waited until he was ninety-nine years old and his wife Sarah was ninety before He gave them the son of promise. Abraham knew where His glory and success came from—it was all from the LORD. Genesis 15 says that “he believed the LORD, and [the LORD] counted it to him as righteousness” (v. 6).
That is Abraham’s legacy—not what He did for himself or for God, but what God did for him. By the grace of God, Abraham believed the promise God made. Anyone who claimed a connection to Abraham should be focused on the same thing, but that was not the case with those contending against Jesus. He said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did” (Joh. 8:39), that is, the works of faith built upon the promise. He told them, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.” Abraham looked in faith to the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior through his line. Jesus was that Savior.
But many of the Jews, descendants of Abraham, rejected Jesus. This showed that while they may have been physical descendants of Abraham, they were not his spiritual heirs. A rich inheritance had been handed down to them, but they were squandering it. They thought they still had it, but all they had was fool’s gold.
I recently heard that the vast wealth of a rich person is often gone by the third generation, wasted by their grandkids if it even makes it that far. We do not want the same to be said for the great treasure of faith that we have received. Our desire and aim as Christians is faithfully to pass along the holy teaching that has been handed down to us. Just as the management of wealth requires diligence and wisdom, so it is with the riches of God’s grace.
We cannot assume that the faith given at our Baptism will always be ours no matter what. We can lose this gift by intentional sinning and a proud attitude that minimizes repentance and the humble receiving of Christ’s Word and Sacrament. We can also send the message to our children and grandchildren that other things can take priority over the Word of God, that God and the Church will be there if they need them.
We must “count the cost” of what it means to follow Jesus. Following Jesus does not mean “family first” or “finances first” or “fun first.” He does not set the bar low. He says that nothing should come before Him and His Word. That’s His requirement. He says: “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luk. 14:33). He is certainly asking a lot! But He does not ask from us anything He is not prepared to give us.
Think of Abraham: God told him to move away from his family to a strange land and promised to make him into a great nation. But after Abraham moved to Canaan, God made him wait—five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years—until finally He gave him the son of promise. He did not make Abraham wait to torment him. He made Abraham wait to strengthen his faith. That is His plan for you too. He does not promise that trusting His Word will make everything easy for you. He does promise that His Word will not return to Him empty (Isa. 55:11), and that it will bring blessings that continue into eternity.
His Word knocks off the rough edges of your sin that harm yourself and others, it softens your heart to hear the truth, and it guides you from suffering to endurance to character to hope (Rom. 5:3-4). His Word works contrition and repentance in you over your sin, and it increases your desire to do better. His Word comforts you, encourages you, strengthens you. His Word brings you the gifts Jesus won for you—His forgiveness, righteousness, and life. As Jesus told the Jews, His Word of truth sets you free.
He said the same thing in today’s reading: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.” By doubling the word “truly,” He wants you to know that what He says is absolutely certain, beyond any doubt. Those who keep His Word—pay attention to it, hold onto it, treasure it above else—will never see death. But how can you know if you have “kept” it well enough? How can you know if your faith and devotion are pure enough?
The key is not to look at yourself or trust what you have done. The key is to trust what Jesus did in your place. He asked the Jews: “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?” No one could rightly accuse Him because He never sinned. He never disobeyed the will of His Father. He never used His status before God for selfish reasons. He never took His eye off the goal, which was the salvation of every soul by His atoning death and resurrection.
He came to do for you what you could not do. The Jews in our reading rejected Him because they thought they could do what God required. They thought they were good enough for God. They thought He was pleased with them because of who they were. By glorifying themselves, they failed to give honor and glory to the One sent by God to save them.
Abraham, whom they were so proud to be connected to, could not have saved them if God sent him back to earth. The same is true of our faithful forefathers. Only the eternal Son of God could save us. God the Father sent His Son to take on the flesh of man, so that He could redeem the world of sinners. He was a blood descendant of Abraham according to His human nature, but He was also infinitely before Abraham as the eternally-begotten Son of the Father. This is why He could declare without any hesitation or exaggeration: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
Jesus is the great “I AM,” the Lord of all creation, the Conqueror of sin, death, and devil. It was His plan from eternity to offer Himself for you, to save your soul. In the waters of Holy Baptism, He joined Himself to you and attached His name to you, so that you became an heir of His eternal riches. You are a dear child of God, not because you have the right human connections or belong to the right family tree. You are His dear child because Jesus died for you and rose again for you, and the Holy Spirit worked faith in you to believe in Him.
This faith comes through His powerful Word. Jesus says, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God.” Hearing and believing the promises of God is what makes you a spiritual descendant of Abraham. St. Paul writes, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham… [they] are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal. 3:7,9). You might not ever be connected by blood to someone famous or enjoy earthly wealth in this lifetime, but you already have something far better. You are connected to Jesus by faith, and Jesus Gives the Inheritance That Lasts Eternally.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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(picture from “The Tribute Money” by James Tissot, 1836-1902)
Thanksgiving – Pr. Faugstad homily
Text: Malachi 3:6-18
In Christ Jesus, in whose name we give thanks to God the Father Almighty who made us and still preserves us, dear fellow redeemed:
We are getting reminders from all over that this is a season of giving. And it certainly is. Stores have stocked their shelves with Christmas specials, suggesting at every aisle what we might want to give our family members and friends. Various charitable organizations are busy sending out reminders about “Giving Tuesday” next week. And the event that brings us here this evening has this message in its name: Thanks-giving.
But who is the object for this giving of thanks? To whom is this giving directed? When people focus only on what they are thankful for, they might miss the thankful to. They are thankful for their “food and clothing, home and family, property and goods, and all that [they] need to support this body and life” (Explanation to First Article). But they fail to acknowledge that these things are richly and daily provided for them by our Father in heaven.
It is He who deserves our thanks. It is He who should receive our thanksgiving. For all of His gracious gifts, we are “in duty bound to thank and praise, to serve and obey Him.” Every good thing we have comes from Him. He gives us our daily bread, all that we need for this body and life. There is nothing that we own that doesn’t actually belong to Him. We enjoy the riches, fruits, and blessings of His creation.
Since everything is His, and He freely provides what we need, why would God charge His people of robbing Him, like He does in today’s reading? “Will man rob God?” He asks. “Yet you are robbing Me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’” And He gives the answer: “In your tithes and contributions.”
A tithe was a tenth of a family’s income. God required this of each of the tribes of Israel for the support of the priests and Levites, so they could give attention to the sacrifices and prayers in the temple. The Levites had no territory of their own but were to be provided for by the other tribes. The LORD said that this command was “a perpetual statute throughout your generations”—it was to go on indefinitely (Num. 18:23).
But the people were not giving the tithe as God had commanded them to do. This meant that the priests and Levites were not adequately supported, and the temple sacrifices were not being done as God commanded. Why were the people holding back? Why were they not giving what He required? The LORD exposed the thoughts and intentions of their hearts. He knew why. The people were saying, “It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping His charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts?”
They were concerned about whether what they were commanded to give was really worth what they were getting. Were the imperfect priests and Levites really worth ten percent of their income? Was it really beneficial to keep the LORD’s laws and deny themselves and their desires? Nearly 2500 years have passed since these words were written, but nothing has really changed. We hear all around us (and sometimes think it ourselves) that what God requires of us is greater than what we receive from Him.
Do we really need a pastor and a church? We can read the Bible and pray to God on our own. Do we really need to follow God’s law so strictly? It should be enough to try to be nice to others and be a responsible citizen. But a life lived apart from God and against His will is no life of freedom and happiness. Galatians 6 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (vv. 7-8).
“Sowing to the flesh” means following our sinful desires and giving ourselves over to sin. “Sowing to the Spirit” means following the Word of God, living according to His will, trusting in Him for our life and salvation. When our primary concern is not desperately clinging to what we have on earth, hoarding our riches so we have enough for the future, but is rather relying on God, then we are ready to enjoy the abundant gifts that He gives.
He will provide for us. He has promised to do it. Jesus says, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mat. 6:31-33). The LORD will not forsake or forget about His dear children who trust in Him.
He sent His Son to redeem your soul through His suffering and death. He brought you to the waters of Baptism to claim You as His own. He sets the Food of Heaven on the altar at church for your spiritual nourishment and food on your table at home for your physical nourishment. He will never run out of good things to give you because all things are His, on earth and in heaven.
And if He will never run out of good things, neither will you. “Give freely and generously from the heart,” says the LORD, “And thereby put Me to the test… if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” The gifts we give to God are not about amounts of money. A tithe is no longer required of God’s New Testament people. He wants our gifts to come from humble hearts that recognize and appreciate His gifts.
The highest thanks and praise we can give to God is believing what He promises, living according to His Commandments, and leaving all our needs in the present and the future in His hands. This is the thanksgiving that He desires from us, the thanksgiving that He loves to receive.
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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The First Sunday after Trinity – Vicar Lehne farewell sermon
Text: St. Luke 16:19-31
In Christ Jesus, who is our priceless treasure, dear fellow redeemed:
The rich man seemed to have everything. In his lifetime, he received good things, living in comfort, which he showed off in how he dressed and how he ate. He was clothed in purple, which was a color that was associated with royalty, and in fine linen, which was the most expensive cloth at that time. And he didn’t just have magnificent feasts some of the time, but every day, which showed that he was actively pursuing a good life on earth that was filled with worldly riches. On the other hand, there’s Lazarus. Unlike the rich man, who seemed to have everything, Lazarus seemed to have nothing. In his lifetime, he received bad things, living in anguish. He never got to feast like the rich man did. Instead, he laid at the rich man’s gate every day, hoping that he might get fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. And the only ones who attended to him were dogs who came to lick the sores on his body.
The lives of the rich man and Lazarus couldn’t have been more different. This was not only true of their lives on earth, but also of their lives after they both died. There was just one difference. Now, their situations had completely flipped. While the rich man had feasted sumptuously on earth, now it was Lazarus who was feasting sumptuously at Abraham’s side, the father of all believers, in heaven. While Lazarus was begging for the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table to satisfy his hunger even just a little bit on earth, now it was the rich man who was begging for a drop of water to cool his tongue even just a little bit in hell. While Lazarus lived in anguish on earth, he was now living in eternal comfort in heaven. And while the rich man lived in comfort on earth, he was now living in eternal anguish in hell.
What had caused the rich man and Lazarus to end up where they did when their lives on earth were over? It’s really easy for us to focus on their outward circumstances and think that had something to do with where they ended up, especially since that’s all we were told of their lives on earth, but this was not the case. It was not being rich that sent the rich man to hell. Everything that a person has is a blessing from God, and if we look through the Bible, we see that there were many people whom God blessed with earthly riches. We are told that God blessed Abraham in all things, including earthly riches. When God told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted, and Solomon asked for wisdom instead of something like earthly riches, God not only gave him wisdom, but he also gave Solomon what he did not ask for, both riches and honor. The entire book of Job starts with the devil telling God that the only reason Job loves him so much is because he has blessed Job with so much. Then, at the end of the book, when Job has remained faithful to God despite losing everything, God blesses Job with even more riches than he had started with. Just as it wasn’t being rich that sent the rich man to hell, it also wasn’t being poor that sent Lazarus to heaven. It is just as easy for someone who is poor to sin as it is for someone who is rich. As Proverbs 30:8–9 says, “[G]ive me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”
So, if it wasn’t what was on the outside that caused the rich man and Lazarus to end up where they did when they died, then it must have been what was on the inside. While the rich man seemed to have everything during his life on earth, there was one thing that he did not have: faith. Even though the rich man had access to Moses and the Prophets, he did not see value in them or in the message that they contained. He only saw value in his earthly possessions. So, he rejected God and used his earthly possessions to give him the best life possible on earth. On the other hand, while Lazarus seemed to have nothing during his life on earth, he did have faith, the one thing that the rich man didn’t have. Through Moses and the Prophets, the Holy Spirit created faith in Lazarus’ heart, and with that faith, he saw the value in the promised Savior that Moses and the Prophets spoke about, for it was only through this promised Savior that he could be saved from his sins and given eternal comfort in heaven. This is what caused the rich man and Lazarus to end up where they did, not whether they were rich or poor, but whether or not they believed in the coming Savior, who is the most priceless treasure of all.
Of the rich man and Lazarus, who are we more like? While we would all love to say that we are like Lazarus, who held on to his faith even though he suffered in anguish every day, there are times when we are more like the rich man than we realize or care to admit. Like the rich man, who showed off his wealth in the clothes that he wore, there are times when we like to show off our own wealth to our friends and family. Getting our hands on the newest and greatest items becomes the most important thing in our lives, so much so that, instead of giving our first fruits to God, we give him our leftovers, if we give him anything at all. And like the rich man, who ate sumptuously every day, actively pursuing a good life on earth, there are times when we actively pursue a good life on earth above all else. We want to enjoy ourselves at fun and exciting events, and we want to satisfy our hunger by eating good food in nice restaurants, even if it means that we have to skip church to do it.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with owning possessions or spending our money in ways that we enjoy. After all, everything that we have is a gift from God. But if we are not careful, then we will make those things the most important things in our lives and put ourselves in danger of losing our faith and becoming even more like the rich man, who only saw value in his earthly treasures. If our earthly treasures replace our faith in Jesus as our Savior, then we will no longer see the value in God becoming a man; in the God-man, Jesus, living a perfect life; in Jesus suffering and dying on the cross. And as a result, we will no longer experience the comfort of heaven when our time on this earth is over, but we will instead experience eternal anguish in the fires of hell, like the rich man did.
Thankfully, the great treasure that is God’s Word is freely available to us, no matter how far away from God we have strayed. We don’t need to spend vast amounts of money to get it; it is freely given to us by God so that the riches that Jesus won for us may become ours. Through the faith that the Holy Spirit has created in our hearts through the preaching of the Word, we know just how valuable what Jesus has done for us truly is. The value of Jesus becoming a man is that he loved us so much that he was willing to leave his throne in heaven and humble himself to save us. The value of Jesus living a perfect life is that he fulfilled God’s law for us when we were unable to do so, and he applies his perfect life to us so that the Father only sees the holy life that his only-begotten Son lived when he looks at us. And the value of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross is that all of our sins have been paid for; we don’t need to do anything to make up for our sins and get out of hell, because Jesus has already done everything that is necessary to win us a place in heaven. The treasures of this world that God blesses us with are nice, but they are only temporary. As the prophet Isaiah says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). There truly is no greater or more priceless treasure than Jesus.
Like Lazarus, we have faith in our Savior. But there are times when we can be like Lazarus in another way. Like Lazarus, there are times when our lives are filled with anguish. Even though we may not be begging for crumbs from people’s tables, there are times when we can worry about how we are going to provide for ourselves and our families. We want to provide for our loved ones by giving them food or by paying for doctors to heal them when they get sick. But we see how expensive everything is getting, and our pay doesn’t seem to always go up along with the rising costs, meaning that we can’t buy what we used to be able to or what we currently need to. And even though we may not experience moments when no one is attending to us except for stray animals, like the case was with Lazarus, there are times when it can feel like no one cares about us or is there to help us when we need it. In moments like those, we can feel unloved and abandoned.
When we go through hardships in our lives and feel the anguish of those hardships, it can be hard for us to hold on to our faith. After all, if Jesus truly did love us, why would he be allowing us to go through such torment? But even when it feels like we’re all alone or that we have nothing, Jesus is always there for us to help us get through our anguish and give us comfort. Jesus, our priceless treasure, is all we need. He didn’t abandon us while we were still sinners. Instead, he laid down his own life to give us eternal life. As the apostle Paul says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And if Jesus didn’t abandon us then, he won’t abandon us now. He will remain by our side no matter what and help us endure whatever anguish and torment we have to go through until the day that he calls us home to the heaven that he won for us.
When you do enter the gates of heaven, you will never have to experience the anguish and torments of this world ever again. Never again will you hunger. Instead, you will feast sumptuously every day. Never again will you be alone or unloved. Instead, you will be surrounded by not just fellow believers who will show you love without end, but you will also be in the presence of God, who loved you so much that he sent his only-begotten Son to die for you. Any other possible anguish that you could possibly endure here on earth will be gone forever. Instead, you will only experience eternal comfort.
Through God’s Word, the Holy Spirit gives you the faith to receive all of these blessings. The rich man was unable to see the value in God’s Word. Even when he was in anguish in the fires of hell, he still couldn’t see the value in God’s Word. Instead, he thought that something else was needed, something that seemed to be more spectacular. But like Lazarus, you know the truth. You know the value of the message that God’s Word contains. You know the value of what Jesus accomplished for you. While the treasures of this world that God blesses you with are nice, they don’t hold a candle to Jesus and what he did for you. Jesus truly is your priceless treasure.
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 of the beggar Lazarus by Fyodor Bronnikov, 1886)