Sermon on Holy Baptism [2 Corinthians 5:17-21] (15 December 2013)

Taking the fine example of many Lutheran preachers, today's sermon is on the catechism.  This sermon was preached at St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (9 am) and Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Bend (11 am).

The Six Parts of the Catechism are the six chief parts of Christian doctrine. And that means every Christian ought to know them, including the 4^th part which is Holy Baptism. And today's text allows us to bring in our Lord's institution of Baptism as well as answer the question why so many churches have eight-sided baptismal fonts. If they have that many sides, that has to be on purpose, because no one would go to all that effort if it wasn't.

St. Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ – new creation.” We sort of supply the rest of that sentence in translation – if someone is in Christ, well that person is a new creation. But the Word of God as God puts it has that new creation front and center. Now as we know, the creation, that is the creation of the world, is all wet. First, it's all wet because water is a large part of the creation of the world in Genesis chapter 1. The Holy Spirit hovers over the face of the waters; God separates the waters, putting them in their place. And in Eden is the river that splits into four and waters the earth. None of this is surprising, because water is necessary for life. We drink it, water the crops with it, wash with it, try and get fish out of it, and even play in it. You can't do without water.

But creation is all wet in another sense. Looking around, water is also dangerous, dangerous enough to drown in whether it's the middle of the ocean or a bathtub. It's dangerous enough to wash away whole communities by flood. You look around and you see that. You look around and see that creation is all wet meaning all of creation is a mess. But what you can't look around and see is that the sin that was brought into this world by Adam and Eve is the cause of the mess that the whole creation is in, even down to today. Even down to your heart. You can't look around and see that death is the wages paid for the price of your sin. God's Word makes all the difference to show the root of the problem clearly, of what's happened to the good creation because of sin. God's Word makes all the difference to show where the rescue of the creation must come from. Because of sin you can't do without God and his Word.

Transition: But death is the price paid out to Christ for your sin, so when he rises it may be made clear what he has done for his creation.

But Paul mentions the new creation, the reconciliation that is only through Christ's work, so that you may see that the new creation too is all wet. It's why many baptismal fonts are eight-sided. The final day of God's creation was the seventh day when he rested. On the last day of the week Christ rested in the tomb, having been crucified. So the day when he rose, the day of resurrection, is the first day of the week, or the day that comes after the seventh day: the eight day of creation, the new creation by the victory of his shed blood. When you were baptized you were put into that eighth day!

You have been made a new creation!

When God created the heavens and the earth, his Word made all the difference. He spoke, and it was so. The same goes for Baptism. Christ himself instituted it, as we hear in the last chapter of Matthew “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Christ instituted it; it's his idea, his invention, so to speak. And because God's Word makes all the difference, Baptism isn't just plain water. It's the water that has God's creative Word attached to it, so that it is, as the Catechism explains, “a baptism, that is a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new (!) birth in the Holy Spirit”. And because God's Word makes all the difference, here's who needs Baptism: Whoever needs the new creation! That includes adults and infants. Luther adds, “Note well, therefore, that baptism is water with the Word of God, not water and my faith. My faith does not make the baptism but rather receives the baptism, no matter whether the person being baptized believes or not; for baptism is not dependent upon my faith but upon God’s Word.”

Baptism is God's work of the new creation just as much as heaven and earth are his work of creation. So why did God give Baptism? Is there a purpose to it? The answer, of course, is yes. Luther says this: “[To] state it most simply in this way: the power, work, profit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is this [Fasten your seat belt!]—to save” (LC IV 24).1 Pet 3:21, “Baptism . . . now saves you”. That’s why God gave it to you, to give you the blessings of salvation won for you by Christ on the cross. Martin Luther goes on to say, “To be saved is nothing other than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil . . . to enter into Christ’s kingdom . . . and to live with Him forever” (LC IV 25).

Baptism saves, so when we baptize infants, we trust in God's Word and promises that faith receives this salvation, even though we can't see any faith in infants. For that reason, we can't call Baptism an empty thing; we must call it what it is: the Gospel (which saves).

Baptism is then a present reality treasure for the Christian. That's because the water of your Baptism is dangerous, dangerous to sin, death, and the devil. It's a treasure that is presently there for you, so you say “I am baptized”. Let me illustrate. Now if someone said to you “Are you married?” and you said “I was married”, what would they think? That in the past you were married but now that's over. 

And if someone says to you “Are you baptized?” and you say “I was baptized”, that's the same sort of thing. “I am baptized” is a confession to the world and against the devil, a confession of the new creation by water and the Word.

Conclusion: Creation is all wet because water is so important to everyday life while at the same time everyday life shows the terrible effects of sin in the whole creation. But it is in Christ that the new creation is given, and it is given to you through the Baptism he has given, so that you have been made a new creation. It's his Word, his creation, and his gift. It's your new birth, your joyful confession, and your treasure. Amen.

Advent 2 [Matthew 3:1-12] (8 December 2013)

This sermon was preached at Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Bend (9 am) and St. John's Luthera, Karoonda (11 am).

Okay, so the kingdom of heaven stands near, and I'm supposed to repent? What does one have to do with the other? Good question, just realize this is the same question as the Pharisees and the Sadducees, which is never a good thing. But John's preaching is a very good thing because he's preparing the way for Jesus.

The answer to “do I have to repent?” is yes because Jesus reigns by the forgiveness of sins.

Repent is a word that has stopped having any use outside of the Church, it seems. Sure, you may hear a news story about an “unrepentant” criminal on trial, but that seems to be as far as that goes. But that doesn't mean that John the Baptist was afraid to take this very word on his lips. And when he does, he uses it to mean “be converted from unbelief to faith”.

Now what gives John the authority to stand up before the children of Israel and say such a thing? He is, as Matthew shows, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”. That's John, that's who he is – he's preparing the way for Jesus by what he is doing, and fulfilling the word of the prophet Isaiah in doing it. That means he's not going to be paying attention to the opinion polls because he has to preach repentance to the very people who have and believe the Old Testament.

And as this is the only thing that John the Baptist can do, the only answer that people can give to “Repent!” is “Ok” (the only good answer at any rate). “Repent, for the reign of heaven stands near.” It's as though John were saying “stop believing in the coming Messiah”, to which the people would reply, “what are you saying, that we should abandon the promises that the Lord gave to our forefathers for so long? How can you say such a thing?”, so that he can say “believe in the Messiah who stands near”. . . “ok, we're listening”.

See, this was an extremely important job that John had to do to prepare the way of the Lord, and it all depended on what Jesus was doing. Jesus had been born, had grown up, but he wasn't “on the scene” yet. And when he comes on the scene, he does so by being baptised by John (which is a sermon for later in the Church Year). And when Jesus comes on the scene, he also says “Repent, for the reign of heaven stands near” - because the reign of heaven is where Jesus is. So John is preparing the way for all of this. He's saying, “this is an important time of fulfillment of Holy Scripture. So believe the Scripture.”

And for you, don't believe in a Savior who is far away from you, but one who stands near where his Word and Sacraments are. This is saying the same thing as John did: worship the Christ in truth. For him, it was, “You can't trust in the coming Messiah anymore, because he has now come.” For you, it's “Don't trust in a Savior who isn't here, but trust in the Savior who comes to you as humbly as he was born in Bethlehem and died on a cross – in the preaching and hearing of his Word, in the washing with the Word that is Baptism, and in the Word joined to the bread and wine so that they are his body and blood. Seek him there or you won't find him.”

So back to John. John says repent, and people did that. “Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” They did that, except for those who didn't: “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Again, the answer to “Repent!” can only be “okay”. The answers that say “no” fall into two types: one group says “we've already done that” and the other says “we need no repentance”. Yet both groups still need the forgiveness of sins. You can't say “I've taken care of this and that sin/offense” (as if you could do such a thing with works or anything), and you can't say “I don't need this” because then John the Baptist thunders at you “who told you that you will escape the wrath to come? How do you know this is so, that you don't need to repent?” But the sinner says “I have no righteousness apart from Christ. None. He is all in all for me.”

And don't say, “I don't want to go to the divine service today”, as if that's a reason. This is saying I don't need to go to church today. This is a different thing than saying “I can't make it to church today because of illness or emergency or travel” or things like that, but it's saying “I don't need to”. How far away from that is saying “I don't need to repent”, which again is what the Pharisees and Sadducees said?

John says repent because you too need to repent (and that shouldn't be so offensive since the Law constantly does its work in leading us to confess our sins (every Sunday) by the 10 commandments (learned in the Small Catechism). He says this to you not because you don't know that Jesus has indeed come but so that you may believe only in him and in no other (because your heart doesn't want to believe in him alone). To believe in him is to be converted by him from unbelief to faith. To believe in him is to receive his righteousness alone as that which counts before the Father. That's because all you can manage is self-righteous, but that's not the reign of heaven.

You need to repent. Me? Yes, you. Otherwise, where does it lead to say you don't need to repent? “But that's for bad people. I”m good”. Either way it's a misunderstanding of what sin is.

We're angered by evil, but God isn't? We're angered by self-righteous [jerks] but God isn't? The difference is that God is righteously angered by the sins of sinners while at the same time wanting them to be saved. And so repentance – to turn from sin and unbelief and believe the promises of the free gift of forgiveness of sins for Jesus' sake – this must be preached.

Part of the confusion with the word repentance is that “Repent!” is something you say to someone outside of the Church. You say “Hey, buddy, repent.” But it's also to be said to those who in the Church. And that's because in the Church you have mighty enemies in sin, death, and the devil (who don't want you to trust in the promises of Christ). But do not despair, for

Jesus reigns by the forgiveness of sins. Let me explain why I've been saying the reign of God instead of the kingdom of God. You say “kingdom” and you think, okay that's a place. But this word in the Bible has to do not with a place but with what the King does. And a king reigns. So when John says “the reign of heaven stands near”, this points you to Jesus, where the word kingdom doesn't need automatically make you think Jesus.

And that explains why the reign of God must go with the preaching of repentance. It all looks forward to, and brings you safely through the Last Day. That's because Jesus reigns by the forgiveness of sins. That's how he reigns. So if someone says to you, “How do I see Jesus reigning?”, you don't say, “Go stick your head up in heaven and see”. You say, “Look to the cross of Jesus Christ where he has won the forgiveness of all sins. And, by the way, you look to that cross by hearing his Word read and preached in faith and by receiving the Sacraments.” And to do that, you first hear what your sins are, why Christ your King went to the cross.

And all this is of great help to the Church together and individually when your sins accuse you. All the anger for your sin is poured on Jesus so none is left for you. All the claims that sin, death, and the devil have on you are declared invalid by Christ's cross which covers all your sin, rescues from death, and delivers from the accusations of the devil. The reign of Christ is also personal – as personal as the word of forgiveness that is spoken to you for all your sins.

And since John baptised in a way that prepared for Christ and the Baptism that he alone brings, this Christian Baptism must also be preached to prepare for Christmas. Christmas gifts cause stress, but the gift of Baptism doesn't and shouldn't, because it's a gift that you can never be done getting use out of or done appreciating. Christmas is part joy but because you live in a fallen creation, there is always stress or sadness or all manner of things that are wrong. Good thing your baptism delivers you from the fallen creation and joins you to Christ's death and resurrection, joining you to the Last Day and eternal life with Christ who has given you this Holy Baptism.

Conclusion: Since the reign of heaven stands near because Christ does, you repent. You repent because you have no righteousness of your own, but Christ is the one who reigns by the forgiveness of sins, and he reigns all the way to the Last Day, which he has joined you to in your Baptism. Amen.

Advent 1 [Isaiah 2:1-5] (1 December 2013)

This sermon was preached at St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (9 am) and Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Ben (11 am).

Well it's Advent, but the readings this week aren't about the birth of our Lord. They're about readiness for Christ's second coming, and about how special Jerusalem and the house of the Lord is. It's like sticking two different things together. But, since Christ has come to be born, that includes that he must come again, not in humility as a baby, but as the One who is to judge the living and the dead. So it's a time of anticipation and repentance – the perfect setting for Isaiah chapter 2.

Repentance is first on the list, so that you know who the nations are that Isaiah speaks of, and what's up with the Jerusalem he addresses. Isaiah prophesies that “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it”. The city of Jerusalem is built on top of a mountain, but it's not the tallest mountain that there is. That's not what God is promising when he says it will be established as the highest of the mountains, the head of the mountains. Because it doesn't say “Jerusalem will be the highest”, it says the mountain that has the house of the Lord on it will be the highest. And it says it will be established. So who will establish it, who will make it the head, the chief mountain? The way the text talks, this can only be God who does this. (And as we'll see, the way he talks can only be talking about the Christian Church).

And why is this such a big promise? Because God describes the nations and Jerusalem itself very differently than he describes this promise in the latter days (which start with the incarnation of Christ). This is in Isaiah chapter 1, and the rest of chapter 2. The nations are described as devouring the land of Judah and burning its cities with fire. They surround Judah as a constant danger, not as happy visitors. And Jerusalem is described “And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.”, as once faithful but now unfaithful, a land filled with idols. They chase after the idols of the surrounding nations, and seek security in alliances with other nations and not in the Lord. Both are idolatry, and by it Jerusalem is brought low, not raised up.

The Church during Advent and always is in need of repentance because you make other gods all the time. When you make gods, they like what you like, and they call good what you call good. You're not perfect, but you think you're good enough, tried enough? Congratulations, that's all the god you made up wants of you anyways. You don't think it's right to tell someone else what is right and true, or what marriage is, or that human life should be protected? Congratulations, your homemade god also thinks those things are just personal, they don't apply to everyone. You have a righteousness that you can take credit for? Congratulations, your god says that's all you need. Your god doesn't want to take a lot of time revealing who he is or what he's done, so that you can keep the focus right where you want to: yourself. But take a look at what the nations say when they come streaming in to the place where the Lord dwells: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”. They're not there to believe in a god that they can make up, but in the God who reveals who he is and what he is like. Your heart would deceive you on who God is. His Word puts the spotlight on your heart so that the better spotlight would go on his promise of forgiveness through the blood of Christ.

You see,

From beginning to end, the Church lives only from the work of Christ.

That involves a lot of anticipation, even as it involves the faith that believes that the only life is the life that is given to you by the work of Christ, the work that is for you. The Christian Church is raised up above every false religion because of what Jesus has done, received by faith alone. You anticipate, you look forward to, when you will see this with your eyes, but the prophecy that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains only takes place in the Church which is bought with Christ's own blood shed for you on the cross. But you believe now that only Christ's work is where your faith can rest. Your conscience is restless without Christ and his cross, either restless or so out of tune that it's numb. Either way is a way without comfort. But with Christ's cross you're daily lifted out of the darkness of sin, until the day you repent no more, which is the day you see the Church in all her holy glory in heaven. Then you'll see the truth of that glorious picture of the mountain that is the highest, except in elevation it isn't, but by God's pure grace and mercy it is.

The nations stream in because of what Jesus has done. It's his work that there is a Christian Church on earth for Christ to return and gather to himself. In the Gospels he says, “but when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” If it were up to you, no. But it's not, it's his work from start to finish. That's the other part of the picture in this reading – the nations stream in, that is they flow in like a river. But what direction do they flow to get to the mountain? Up! Streams don't flow up, unless God wills it. The Church, right down to this congregation, doesn't exist because it has things we want in it, but because it has the only needful thing in it – that Christ is here, with the precious gifts of his cross, to hand them over to you by the work of the Holy Spirit. Here are the things you need. And if the Lord is here to do these things, then by his incarnation, his suffering and death, here is Mount Zion. The epistles to the Hebrews doesn't lie: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven”.

 

And it's all because the Word of the Lord has gone out. It's only because of that, just as you are saved only by Christ, saved only by grace alone through faith alone. The Word of the Lord goes out and the people come in, this is as amazing sounding as the raising up of Mount Zion; usually we hear of people being sent out to bring people in, and that's true, but here Isaiah puts all the emphasis on the Word of the Lord, and no wonder, for only that could bring in such different people from such different lands and times into the Christian Church. And usually we think so small that all we see is congregations shrinking, but this picture here in Isaiah describes the entire life of the Church, for all its ups and downs in the world it is still described as a streaming, that which comes in like water, without needing to be pushed.

Daily repenting, the Church doesn't despair even when looking toward the future because of what Jesus has done. If the Church had a righteousness that was her own, then that wouldn't be so. But the Church has a righteousness that comes from outside of her. And my goodness, think of Christ's mercy here. If you were God, you wouldn't save you, knowing how wicked and self-righteous you are. But God is more merciful than you are, to forgive your sins. So in your life, morning and evening, is where repentance and anticipation come together this Advent. You look ahead by repenting, by confessing your sins daily before God, each other, and your pastor. You look ahead by looking backward to Christ's cross and all his promises to you of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. You look back to your baptism, you receive the forgiveness of sins in the Lord's Supper, and you look ahead for Christ to return soon, meaning at any time. And you do that by looking ahead to celebrating a past event in human history: that God himself took flesh, became man, and was born. And so you look ahead to the future without despair because the Holy Spirit keeps the Church with Jesus in the one true faith.

Conclusion: We start Advent by looking way way ahead, to the second coming which is part of the whole history of the Church, even the parts that haven't happened yet. But we do so by examining ourselves in repentance. And it's all about the cross which has brought about the forgiveness of sins and all righteousness for the Church. It's how we prepare to sing about the manger of Jesus. Amen.

Last Sunday of the Church Year [Luke 23:33-43] (24 November 2013)

This sermon was preached at Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Bend (9 am) and St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (11 am).  

Why do we need medicine? Why don't our bodies just get rid of the virus, get rid of the sickness? Don't we need medicine when it's something our bodies can't do? The medicine comes from outside of us, comes to us, because of what we ourselves couldn't do, and keeps us going. And the same goes for hope: the sure and certain assurance of God's promises in Christ Jesus for you.

 The hope for this world doesn't come from this world and extends beyond this world (it's Jesus).

If Jesus is the hope that you have for this world, then that means he is different than the hope that this world has to offer you. St. Paul writes to the Colossians (1:5) that their faith and love is “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel”. He can use that word 'hope' because he knows that it's very exhausting to find hope in this world. It was very clear in those days. They were the days you could find Greek tragedies with the heartwarming lines: “Not to be born at all – that is by far the best fortune; and the second best is as soon as one is born with all speed to return thither whence one has come”. The worldview of the culture that surrounded the early Christian Church was that time wasn't leading up to anything, wasn't going anywhere. The Christians have a different worldview, which we give special attention to on the Last Sunday of the Church Year, the Sunday of the Fulfillment.

It is very exhausting to find hope in this world. Your heart chases after it – maybe it's at the bottom of this bottle, maybe it's in this distraction, maybe it's in this bank account. The list goes on, it's all that list can do, because you'll never find true hope in things of this world. It's like trying to build a sofa out of cardboard boxes, it was never made for that. It's the same for all these things of the world – they weren't made to be your god, and they can't hold up to this.

And if hope in things is so hard to find, you turn to hope in works. This is a hope that seems so much better because it all depends on you, your own goodness and niceness. This is also a hope that only comes from the world – it's a hope in yourself in the end. And you're just a creation, so hoping in yourself is worshipping yourself, which is worshipping something of the creation, which is idolatry, having another god than the God who made heaven and earth. This hope fails.

This type of hope has no use for the day that has come or the day that is coming. That is to say, this false hope has nothing to say about Christ's crucifixion (which is today's Gospel reading) or about his second coming (which this day of the Church Year points to and looks to). These two days go together. And they are the hope that is for the life of the world, but they come from outside of this world, because in Christ's crucifixion and his second coming, these are completely and totally God's work, not a work of creation or humanity.

Both days show God's judgment. But Christ's second coming show that this world now is judged according to sin, and this will be made known when Christ does come down and stops every mouth. Hope in idols has an end that doesn't go beyond this world.

And for you, you can't see either the day that has come or the day that is coming. Christ was crucified long before you were born, you haven't seen it with your eyes. And Christ's second coming hasn't happened yet, and could happen at any time, so you haven't seen that with your eyes either. That is a burden to carry, one you can't see and the other is not yet, and both must be believed on the basis of a Word that has come to this world. So both Christ's cross and the Last Day are ridiculed by the world, even though it is the hope that the world has to offer that fails.

And yet, Jesus is the hope that has come into this world and he will come again. And it's all seen in that evildoer on the cross next to Jesus. The two who were crucified with Jesus are called according to the translation “criminals” but literally it's “evildoers”, and watch when this man says that Jesus has done nothing wrong, but he himself has been “justly condemned”. But see that for this evildoer on the cross, he has no hope from this world – only Christ.

How has this happened? He has been catechized by watching the crucifixion and reading the inscription on - and hearing Jesus' words on - the cross. He sees Jesus' blood shed, he reads the inscription “The King of the Jews is this one”, and he hears Jesus' words “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. He has been catechized that this hope who is Jesus, hasn't come from this world but to this world. Jesus is sent by the Father. He is sent to this world, and he prays to his Father. This shows that he's the only one with the claim to be the promised Messiah, that he is the Son who is begotten and was made man. He took human flesh to redeem human flesh – to redeem you.

He has no hope but Christ, because he's the first to see what Christ's cross does, the first to confess Jesus' innocence as an innocence that is for him (that is, he confesses in faith). He's the first one to get it – others during Jesus' arrest and trial have confessed that Jesus is innocent of deserving death, but this man is the first to confess this as his hope, the first to believe that this has all been done for his sake.

In a way, the day that has come and the day that is coming meet so beautifully in that evildoer on the cross. When he requests “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom”, this shows a great understanding of God's kingdom, and the tension between what is seen and what is believed concerning the fulfillment of all salvation. Now, on the cross, Jesus is King, and now his word bestows forgiveness (“Today you will be with me in Paradise”). Not yet has Jesus entered into his kingdom – of glory - (“and he will come again with glory”), yet Jesus' word of forgiveness now opens the door for this evildoer who is now dying to enter the not yet kingdom too when it comes. And it will come that same day! When he dies, he no longer sees Christ's kingdom only by faith, but also then by sight. And he, with you, awaits when Christ will come again, which will be plainly seen by all.

Christ is that hope that comes to the world, as a gift, wrapped in suffering and death on a cross and all for you. If Christ is the hope that has come to the world, then what he brings is a gift. And if it's a gift that comes to you from outside of you, there is nothing in you that makes your salvation happen. Nothing. That's a hope that you would have to supply and build for yourself. But that's not the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not from you, but it's given to you. And here's the gift: You're not judged according to your sin, you're judged according to Christ's righteousness and gracious favor, because the judgment for your sins he took on himself on that day, the day he died on the cross.

And then, by faith in this gift, all the other gifts you have abused are put in their right place. The things of this world don't have a hope for salvation for you, but they are given to you – clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, husband or wife, children, land, animals, and all that you have. And your works are also put in their right place, for they are the works done by those who already have the true hope, out of thanksgiving to the only Savior from sins, and for the good of the world which God has created and sustains even through you.

Because he is the one who has come into this world and he will come again, he must bring you into this hope. The tension remains that you can't see his cross, that you must hold to it by faith and not by sight, but that doesn't mean that the pure gift of the cross hasn't been delivered to you. It came to the evildoer on the cross, in the words of Jesus “Today you will be with me in Paradise”. It came in his absolution. His absolution comes wrapped to you in the words that the pastor is given, in water, and in the bread and wine. These you can see, but you believe that they are what Christ says they are, not what your eyes say they look like.

And because Christ sends you this hope, as he himself was sent by the Father, so he himself must send you the Holy Spirit to bring these gifts, to sustain you in the burden of living by faith and not by sight, in now having Christ's kingdom, but not yet entering into its fulfillment in heaven.

The day is coming, the Last Day, but its content you have already heard: His absolution rings with “today” and “you (sing.)” (as he said to the evildoer on the cross) to you. What else than such an absolution can carry you through this valley of tears and to himself in heaven? [The Christian has no reason, wants no reason, to ignore the things of the end, but hears them, tastes them, again and again in the divine service.]

Conclusion:

The hope for this world doesn't come from this world and extends beyond this world (it's Jesus).

There is a hope that comes from the world, but it's false. What the world can't do, what you can't do, Christ does. There is a hope that comes to the world, and that is Christ who was crucified for your sins, and who will come again to bring you what he has already brought you: everything that comes with the forgiveness of sins. Amen.

Pentecost 26 [Luke 21:5-19] (17 November 2013)

This sermon was preached at St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (9 am).  

The Last Day is something that is rarely in the forefront of our conversation. But Jesus had it on his mind, because he brings it up when people are talking about how nice the temple is. And that means something for the Church, because what else has he said, and what does the temple have to do with the end of the world? But keep in mind one big difference between Jesus and the temple. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD and has never been rebuilt. Jesus was put to death and on the third day rose. When the Church hears today's Gospel reading, this must always be in the background as we listen.

Jesus doesn't go astray and he can't be leveled, and his Church remains his.

It's important to notice what Jesus doesn't say. He doesn't say “here's a secret way to figure out when the end of the world is.” He does encourage his disciples to faith and perseverance in him. During the week before he was crucified, Jesus was teaching in the temple, he saw that “some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings”. No one has asked a question of him. But the word for 'offerings' means offerings that are lifted up, some translations say “votive offerings” and Jesus takes that opportunity to talk about things that will be thrown down: every stone of this grand temple. Now the first temple that King Solomon had built was quite grand, but it was destroyed in 586 BC, and when it was rebuilt after the exile, as the Bible says, there were some older people who remembered what the first temple looked like and wept when they saw the rebuilt temple, because it was simple and plain. In Jesus' day, King Herod the Great had started a long renovation of the temple to gain the favor of the people, so the temple by that time did indeed look quite grand. And it would be a disaster when it was destroyed again.

It would be a disaster like the end of the world. Notice how I said “like”. For Jesus himself said, “these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” A lot of energy has been used to take these words of Jesus and try and figure out just how close we are to the end of the world. A lot of energy has been used in ignoring that the world is going to end at all. But did you pick up on the importance of Jesus' words “See that you are not led astray.”?

Jesus says “For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is at hand!' Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” The first thing he warns his disciples about in describing the destruction of the temple is false teachers. These are specifically false teachers who come in Jesus' name, and they claim to know the time, that is the time that unfolds according to God's plan (which is how the word is used in the Bible). They will predict the Last Day, and they will be wrong. But far scarier is that they're doing it in Jesus' name. Ironically, where do false teachers lead you away from? Away from Jesus, that is, they put themselves in place of Jesus, and would have you put yourself in place of Jesus.

Now let me tell you a story about my sat nav device. It has been a great help to me. But it always asks my permission if there's a route that includes an unpaved road. But there have been a good number of times when it's fooled me and sent me down one anyway. My sat nav has led me astray. But here Jesus says that not everyone who uses his name says something that is right, that speaks the truth. And that shouldn't be a surprise, all the way back to the 2^nd commandment, which says that “you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” And that commandment wouldn't exist if you weren't able to misuse God's name. Luther explains this to include “lying or deceiving by his name” - which is false teaching. But modern culture finds that unpopular, so you'd be much more comfortable ignoring those words of Jesus.

The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem wasn't the end of the world. But to go through it seemed like the end of the world. And there have been many occasions since then that have also looked like the end of the world. But the destruction of the temple shows God's judgment, specifically in rejecting Jesus. The prophet Malachi prophesied that suddenly the Lord would come to his temple, but when Holy Week came around and Jesus is in the temple, the people said, “This couldn't happen like that”. And roughly thirty years later, judgment came. And this judgment only points ahead to God's final judgment on all who reject the Christ.

 

And even though that's true, nothing (no disasters, no wars) moves you any closer to Christ's return. The destruction of the temple seemed like the end, but not immediately is the end. Every disaster and war is a reminder that God's judgment will come, eventually. Only the passing of each day brings the end closer, but you don't know by how much.

 

But Jesus can reassure his disciples, his Church, because . . .

Jesus is the temple where his people dwell and receive his gracious presence and gifts. The presence of God is where Jesus is found. The Gospel of Luke starts in the temple with Zechariah and ends in the temple with the apostles giving praise, but that's so you may see that from the time of his incarnation in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the presence of God is where God the Son has become flesh for you.

 

If Jesus says don't be led astray from him, that means that he won't lead you astray. He won't lead you astray, even when he says to you that the end has begun because the judgment for your sin fell solely upon him at the cross. And he rose, which is what will happen at the end to all Christians who have departed to be with him. For Christians, Christ won't lead you astray because there's one road – of catechesis from Christ through his Word. It's only going one place, through death to eternal life – where he himself promises, because how can the Church's story be different from Jesus' own story?

We read today's Gospel with the sure assurance that the Church won't perish before the end. Seriously. “But not a hair of your head will perish.”. Even persecution and death won't be enough to harm one hair on your head, for even though you suffer and die, you will live eternally.

Jesus won't be leveled, so persevere by faith in him. Jesus says, “By your perseverance, gain your souls!” Jesus says, “you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. ¹³ This will be your opportunity to bear witness. ¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, ¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.” You won't survive persecution by your defense, you'll survive because Jesus speaks the Gospel which is true wisdom, and he's the one who can't be defeated.

 

Jesus says God's temple will be destroyed as a demonstration of God's wrath at the rejection of Jesus, and for some of you, he says, your bodies will be put to death to demonstrate the same thing, because by his Word and Sacrament he dwells in you, declaring you holy. That is also how he prepares you for his second coming, which could come at any time: the Church's life comes from Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

 

But persecution isn't just a demonstration of the unbelief of the world. Even persecution is used for a witness. But it happens to Christians who are on the journey with Christ. And you are on the journey of Christ by your Baptism and fed along the way with the Lord's Supper. But you are on the journey in the callings where God has placed you: father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife or worker (as the Catechism puts it). That's where acts of Christian love happen, and that's also where persecution will come for the sake of Christ's name. Endurance is therefore done in your vocations by faith.

And if you're put to death and everything is okay, then when you see your Lord put to death on the cross, that's why everything is okay, even when it seems like the world is coming to an end. The forgiveness of all your sins is what makes it okay – nothing you do or can offer, only his pure grace and mercy.

 

Conclusion: Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. It has some similarities with the end of the world, but the end is coming. But for you his coming is a promise of safety and life because he is the One who died and rose again, and he prepares you through Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Amen.

Pentecost 25 [Luke 20:27-38] (10 November 2013)

This sermon was preached at Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Bend (9 am) and St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (11 am).  

“Never throw anything away”. That's not what my grandfather said; it's just what he did. You never know when something will end up being useful (empty box? Amiright?). And even though it's rare, most people can think of a time when something they threw out would have been useful if they'd kept it. But think of the Sadducees in today's reading: they threw out something they should have known is always useful – God's holy Word, the Holy Scriptures. So Jesus preaches to you,

Hang on to that empty tomb.

There are plenty of reasons to abandon the resurrection. I didn't say there are any good reasons, in fact they're reasons that disagree with God's Word. The Hellenistic culture didn't like the sound of a backwards resurrection of the body, and surprise, neither did the Hellenistic thinking Sadducees. Greek culture wasn't down to earth that way; in the end it looked down on the physical things of the world. And when you listen to the argument for undefining marriage as an institution that recognizes the union of different genders, isn't that the same thing? There's nothing new – it's just an old argument dressed up in today's notions of radical equality and individualism and political correctness. And the Sadducees had bought into the wider culture of their day. And much of the church has unfortunately bought into the wider culture of our day.

So that's why the Sadducees asked the question that they did, to attack Jesus. The Sadducees had let go of the resurrection but in doing so they were letting go of the kingdom of God. That's why Jesus answers, “those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” First, those who are worthy of that age, the age to come, heaven, are those whom God deems worthy. They are saved by grace alone, as a free gift. They are faithful hearers of the Word who receive Jesus' kingdom by faith. In cutting themselves off from God's Word the Sadducees had cut themselves off from Jesus and his kingdom, for it is a kingdom that is preached. So it is as Jesus says, sons of God are sons of the resurrection. They go together. In fact, the Sadducees were basically saying “death is the last word for your body” and Jesus was saying “wait a week and see what my disciples will be eyewitnesses to”.

The Sadducees also had their favorite books of the Old Testament, just the books of Moses, because they had the instructions for the temple, and the Sadducees were the priestly class, and their wealth and status came from the temple, but the actual high priesthood was something that could be bought for them. Not good. The rest of the Old Testament they then threw out, just like they threw out the resurrection. So Jesus quotes to them from Exodus, from Moses' account of seeing the burning bush: “But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” But in the verses following, he turns around and does the examining, and quotes from the psalms.

Jesus pushes the issue that way, not content that any part of Holy Scripture should be abandoned. He even mentions the angels, which, surprise, the Sadducees didn't believe existed either. And he pushes that the one who is the God of the living, the one in whom all the saints do now live – is he himself. That's Jesus, and that's the community he joins you to: the living (on earth and in heaven).

But at least the Sadducees knew that if they became Christians that they then believed in Jesus' resurrection and their own, and so they knew they weren't Sadducees anymore. The same couldn't be said for the Pharisees, and they were the main audience for Jesus' words here, because Jesus examines the scribes (from the party of the Pharisees) concerning the psalms in the hearing of the Sadducees. The Pharisees did believe in the resurrection, didn't throw out any of the Scriptures, and believed in angels. But some of the Pharisees who later became Christians thought they could keep their doctrines of salvation by works. This later led to St. Paul's angriest letter, the letter to the Galatians. You know, the one where he writes, “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.” This stands as a word to all: you can't believe in Jesus yet fear, love, and trust in yourself above all things. So Jesus defends the resurrection of the dead because he alone gives it. And because he alone gives it, the resurrection is a comfort, and it is true because Jesus is the resurrection and the life. So even though the Pharisees and Sadducees believed different things, they are treated the same at the end of the Gospels because they had in common that they rejected Jesus and wanted him dead.

And Christ did die, but his tomb is now empty. Christ rose from the dead and doesn't abandon his Church at the resurrection of the dead (as he doesn't abandon her now either). Jesus has to defend the resurrection (and every biblical doctrine) because he is the cause of your resurrection to life eternal. He couldn't let it go, because his resurrection isn't optional to believe. It's tied to his death. It's tied to who he is and what he does. Therefore it's tied to what the creation is, what sin is, what heaven is, what his Church is. It's tied to all these things. To take it out would make a different religion, and surprise, it's a religion that the surrounding culture would say is no different to itself, and a religion that in the end leads to fear, love, and trust in yourself above all things. That's how serious this is. For,

The resurrection says something about his death and your death. It says that his death is indeed the sacrifice that pays for all your sins, the death that he died in your place. It displays the victory that he won for you at his cross. And it displays his promise to you, that where he is you will be. He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns with the Father. And by his blood shed for you, you will also physically rise, live, and reign with him in heaven forever. And if that promise is true, then that means he will never abandon his Church now. And so,

The resurrection is a greater comfort than an embarrassment. See, for the Sadducees, this woman who had seven husbands who died, and who herself died childless, was just a hypothetical. But Jesus knows that if such a thing should happen, if someone should go through this much grief in life or more, that is a for sure a person who needs the true hope of the teaching of the resurrection. She needs to know that “There’s still more.” She needs to know that life after life after death will be wonderful beyond compare, because this life was not.

[Aside: Now the example Jesus and the Sadducees used in their argument was that of marriage. We surely find the story the Sadducees tell strange. Who marries seven different brothers? What kind of law is that? But it was certainly on the books. You see, we think of marriage as romantic love, a choice we make. Think of a Valentine candy heart. On it, it says, “Soul Mate.” But back then, marriages were often arranged, and it was important to carry on the family line, the family name. So if one brother didn’t carry it on, the next in line took up the responsibility. The Sadducees used this example to show how ludicrous the resurrection would be because the woman seven times widowed would end up with seven husbands.

But Jesus answers with a remark we might find just as strange. He tells the Sadducees that they have it wrong. They don’t understand what the resurrection is all about. Marriage is for this life, for companionship, for having children to repopulate the earth. In the resurrection, no one dies, so no additional people are needed. In the resurrection, everyone will be a brother or sister in Christ, so the companionship of a spouse won’t be needed. What Jesus is saying is that life after death will be so different that marriage won’t be needed anymore. Oh, loved ones will be there, and we’ll rejoice in each other’s presence. On the day of resurrection we’ll hug and hold hands and touch and talk once again. But it’ll be different. It’ll be so much better, so much more to come on that day. Now, we can’t say just exactly how that will be, but Jesus says it will, so that’s what we believe.]

And that's how the Church hangs on to the resurrection. When you confess the catechism you do that, because the resurrection is all over the place there. “On the last day he will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.” We pray that by God's grace “we may believe his holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.” The new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Conclusion: Again, hang on to that empty tomb. Because Jesus is risen, there is a resurrection of the dead. Because Jesus is risen, there is no salvation outside of him, for the Father deems you worthy of that age for Jesus' sake. Because Jesus is risen, the Church on earth always has a bottomless well of comfort, and confesses the same, by the forgiveness of all your sins. Because Jesus is risen, heaven is for you, is all doors and windows for you. Amen.

All Saints Day (Observed) [Ephesians 1:11-23] (3 November 2013)

This sermon was preached at St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (9 am) and Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Bend (11 am).  

I wouldn't want to take credit for something I didn't have anything to do with. No, wait, of course I would. Winter Olympics watch: in just a few months they'll start and we'll be reminded again of the speed skater who got the gold only because every other skater had fallen down. He knows he doesn't take any credit for that. And Christians should know not to take credit for their salvation before God so that they can beat despair. Because the only way to beat despair is with something stronger than despair. Only the true Gospel does that.

All glory be to God the Father, whose Son shed his blood for all his saints.

All glory to God. That sentence doesn't exist outside of the blood of Christ shed for you. St. Paul says, “In him [Christ] we have obtained an inheritance”. That means that outside of him is a different inheritance. Outside of him is the inheritance from Adam, is the fall of Adam and Eve. They have given you the inheritance of their sin and their death, and their desire to listen to the devil's words more than God's.

St. Paul says, “having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will”. Outside of the will of the Father (and the will of the Father is to send you his dear Son), outside of that will is your will. And your will wants the glory. Oh, maybe not all the glory. Jesus helps. He does most of the work. But in the end, it's really up to you to do . . . something. It's up to you to be a good Christian, good enough for Jesus to help you the rest of the way to your salvation. Good enough to get a little of the glory, which is just what your will wants. But as Paul says, it's not your will that works your predestination for this inheritance, but his will.

St. Paul writes that the heavenly Father works all things according to his will, “so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit”. But that means that outside of Christ is false hope, false praise, and a false word. You can set your hope, your eternal hope, your highest hope, you can place it outside of God, but that doesn't agree with the abundance of God's mercy for you that Paul writes. That takes away all glory from God. You can praise God, but if it's not praise because your hope is in Christ, then you're keeping a little of the glory for yourself. It's like when you praise a favorite band: “oh yeah, they're really great, and I knew they were great long before anyone else did.” You just found a way to praise yourself. You can hear a word that isn't truth. This word doesn't want to know of Jesus, or wants to know of a Jesus who isn't enough. This word sounds good enough to your heart, because if Jesus isn't good enough to hope in, then maybe if you add your good works, maybe if you add your feelings and experiences, then it will be enough. But this too robs Christ of all glory, and makes his blood something else.

You see, at the very time that Paul is listing all of God's great gifts and blessings through Christ our Lord, he's reminding the church that these are gifts and blessings, that they exist apart from the Church and have to come from outside the Church to the Church, as a gift. Paul reminds the congregation of their lives before the Gospel. All sinners are born lacking this grace of God, of God looking at you in mercy for Jesus' sake. God saves you from all this, calls you out of it, exposes it for what it is: the sin of having other gods, either obviously having them, or very subtly having them. The devil, after all, tells lies that are very subtle.

But Paul doesn't remind the Church of her life outside the Gospel of Christ crucified to stop at that. He does it to praise God for all that he has done for the Church. He does it to give all glory to our Father through Christ his dear Son. He does it to fight despair with the Gospel, through faith in that Gospel. “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might”

This is where we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. And we do it by believing the Gospel. “For all the saints who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed. Thy name O Jesus be forever blessed. Alleluia, alleluia.”

This is the inheritance, and it is a heavenly inheritance, not from Adam, but from the new Adam who gives an inheritance not of sin and death and listening to the devil, but an inheritance of holiness, eternal life, and listening to his holy Word. This inheritance is given you in your Baptism, as you are joined by faith there to the One who shed his blood for you. And not just for you. The might of the Father is the might “he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places”. And Christ has delivered this eternal life to the Church on earth and in heaven, and will deliver it on the day of resurrection.

And this is the new will. It is not your will, but the will of Christ which you receive as a gift. It is the will that doesn't want what sin, death, and the devil have to sell, but only what Christ wishes to give for free – and that is forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. It is the will that daily repents of all sin, as we daily pray in Luther's evening prayer.

This is the true hope, the true praise, and the true word of those who need Christ's blood and cross. That is, your hope is the cross, your praise is the cross, and the Word that is for you is the word of the cross.

This is how we celebrate All Saints day, by giving thanks for the Gospel that sustained all the saints against despair, and will continue to do so as long as there is the Church on earth (which will be until the Last Day). But we also take the time on All Saints day to remind ourselves how Christians mourn the death of Christians. As Christians we grieve with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. With the shock of death comes acceptance, with sadness comes joy, with anger and frustration comes trust, with regret comes forgiveness, and with loneliness comes comfort.

But above all this is the glory – what Christ has done by his cross through his Word, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. This is the glory, that Christ is seated “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he [the Father] put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Conclusion: And so the saints live. All of them. All glory is to the Father, who sent his Son for your salvation. All glory is to the Son, whose blood frees the saints from all sin, from all death, from all despair of the devil. All glory is to the Spirit, who keeps the whole Christian Church with Christ in the one true faith. There's no glory left over for us, and that's a good thing. Glory to God alone. Amen.  

Reformation Day (Observed) [Jeremiah 31:31-34] (27 October 2013)

This sermon was preached at Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Bend (9 am).  

You know what my favorite topic is? Myself. Oh, but not me talking about myself, that's not so fun – other people talking about how good I am, that's my favorite topic. And that makes it very hard to celebrate Reformation day, to make it a day to talk about ourselves and how Lutherans are or to have some sort of German festival (which doesn't even accurately describe how Lutherans are). Just is bad is to talk about how good we are that we've “moved past” the Reformation and are sorry that it ever happened. None of those can match the unbridled comfort and joy of the enduring significance and message of the Reformation, which isn't about you but Christ for you. And for that we have God's Word from the prophet Jeremiah:

The Reformation faithfully confesses the new covenant of forgiveness by the blood of Jesus.

To celebrate the Reformation is to confess its teaching, as Luther did. Luther's legacy is how he confessed the faith, which means his legacy isn't about what type of person he was, but about who he pointed to up to his dying breath. And we have this confession, even down to what you can sing. He wrote this hymn, and in a lot of ways it's his life's story, it's about the things that he went through. But most importantly it's about the love of God in Christ Jesus for sinners. Let's take a look:

1 Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice,
With exultation springing,
And with united heart and voice
And holy rapture singing,
Proclaim the wonders God has done,
How His right arm the vict'ry won;
What price our ransom cost Him!

 

2 Fast bound in Satan's chains I lay;
Death brooded darkly o'er me.
Sin was my torment night and day;
In sin my mother bore me.
But daily deeper still I fell;
My life became a living hell,
So firmly sin possessed me.

 

3 My own good works all came to naught,
No grace or merit gaining;
Free will against God's judgment fought,
Dead to all good remaining.
My fears increased till sheer despair
Left only death to be my share;
The pangs of hell I suffered.

 

4 But God had seen my wretched state
Before the world's foundation,
And mindful of His mercies great,
He planned for my salvation.
He turned to me a father's heart;
He did not choose the easy part
But gave His dearest treasure.

 

5 God said to His beloved Son:
"It's time to have compassion.
Then go, bright jewel of My crown,
And bring to all salvation.
From sin and sorrow set them free;
Slay bitter death for them that they
May live with You forever."

 

6 The Son obeyed His Father's will,
Was born of virgin mother;
And God's good pleasure to fulfill,
He came to be my brother.
His royal pow'r disguised He bore;
A servant's form, like mine, He wore
To lead the devil captive.

 

7 To me He said: "Stay close to Me,
I am your rock and castle.
Your ransom I Myself will be;
For you I strive and wrestle.
For I am yours, and you are Mine,
And where I am you may remain;
The foe shall not divide us.

 

8 "Though he will shed My precious blood,
Me of My life bereaving,
All this I suffer for your good;
Be steadfast and believing.
Life will from death the vict'ry win;
My innocence shall bear your sin,
And you are blest forever.

 

9 "Now to My Father I depart,
From earth to heav'n ascending,
And, heav'nly wisdom to impart,
The Holy Spirit sending;
In trouble He will comfort you
And teach you always to be true
And into truth shall guide you.

 

10 "What I on earth have done and taught,
Guide all your life and teaching;
So shall the kingdom's work be wrought
And honored in your preaching.
But watch lest foes with base alloy
The heav'nly treasure should destroy;
This final word I leave you."

And that last verse, even though he has Jesus speaking these words, they are words that he himself echoes down through the ages. The base alloy, the cheap metals you'd get mad if someone tried to sell you, don't let that type of teaching ever sneak in. Hold to Christ, because I'll tell you, I've found no one else to hold on to. So hold on to his Word for dear life. This final word I leave you.

 

Transition: Dr. Hermann Sasse said that when what Luther taught was forgotten, that's when the celebration of Luther the man and Luther the hero really took effect. So that's why Reformation Day can't be about that, and especially not in the pulpit, where Luther is not to be preached, where even the Christian is not to be preached, but where Christ is to be preached. And so,

 

It's not a celebration of the Reformation to take up false views of the Reformation that deprive you of the comfort of the Gospel but leave you with man-made anythings. False views of the Reformation talk about “flavors” of Christianity instead of confession and truth. False views of the Reformation talk about being brave like Luther to get rid of old things and do something new. They talk about the Reformation as a “movement” that gives you permission to try “different things”. They talk about the Reformation as an example to go against authority and things like that. All these things have in common the Reformation as an example, not as a confession of faith.

 

And here's how that way of thinking deprives you of the comfort of the Gospel by substituting man-made anythings: it lets you wind up under the thumb of whatever is new and trendy rather than the Word of God which is eternal. It lets you end up with whatever change the surrounding culture decides is good, rather than the words which come from the mouth of the Lord to his Church. It gives you an equality that is against the authority of God's Word. The Reformation in fact builds on the solid rock of Christ by restating and recovering the Gospel where error had snuck in, both in errors that were a few hundred years old to errrors that sprang up new around the Lutheran reformers. It's confessing the Christian faith, the faith once and for all delivered to the saints.

Transition: That's why Luther's confession is a good confession of the new covenant. Jeremiah writes the words of the Lord, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” This teaching is the new covenant in Christ for your justification by grace alone through faith alone. But if there's a new covenant there must be an old covenant. The Lord mentions this too, “not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.”

 

The old covenant was broke by the sinfulness of the people. The Old Covenant is God's Law, which is broken by sinners who are sinful and unclean from birth. This is what the 10 commandments given at Mount Sinai do. But the old covenant is not like the new. And the difference is the coming of the Christ. The old covenant was given at Sinai, the new covenant given by Christ in person. The old covenant looked ahead to God taking flesh in Christ Jesus. The new is what happens when Jesus has come. And so make no mistake, the Old Testament saints were saved the same way as the New Testament saints, through faith in the Messiah, the Son of God.

The new covenant is Jesus in the flesh. In Jeremiah 33 we hear two interesting things. First, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.' ” and then “Thus says the LORD: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, ²¹ then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken”. The Lord has neither broken his covenant nor abandoned his promises! That's why you have Jesus.

Jesus is how God deals with you. Jesus is the one who said his blood is the new covenant, the new testament. The new covenant is Jesus on the cross for you.

 

The new covenant is why Jesus shed his blood – for your justification by grace alone through faith alone. Let's break it down word by word: Justify – like your accountant calls you in to justify an expense, to prove why its right and good; by = why; grace = how God looks at you as an undeserved gift, through = how he does it; faith = the heart that receives these gifts as gifts, which is itself a gift; alone – nothing of my own I claim but solely lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.

 

This is the comfort of the Gospel. Your sins can't harm you, for they have harmed Jesus to the point of death, so that you may have his life. This is what is splashed on you in holy Baptism. This blood is what you drink in the Lord's Supper. This is what gives the word of Absolution its power. These are yours, what the Holy Spirit brings to you from Christ to the joy of the Father – always his to give, and always yours to receive, not by works but by faith.

 

This is what the Church must never let go of, suffering death rather than falling away from it. This is the comfort, and what makes that hymn such a good funeral hymn.

Conclusion: The enduring significance and message of the Reformation is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the new covenant by his blood. Those who hold to it will add nothing to this message so that no comfort will be taken away. It rejoices when the Lord says, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Amen.