Pentecost 14 [Luke 13:10-17] (25 August 2013)

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

 You don't hear much about etiquette lessons these days (or maybe about etiquette at all). But even without taking lessons, you pick up etiquette along the way. You're supposed to sit up straight, say thank you, and not fall asleep when other people are talking. Even in a casual environment, there are things that you just can't try and pull. So who had the bad etiquette in today's Gospel – the woman who physically couldn't sit up straight, or the ruler of the synagogue who shot his mouth off when Jesus performed a miracle?

Etiquette (while never being mentioned as such) comes into play in all sorts of situations: dinners, going on dates, sports events, etc. And when it comes to church services, etiquette becomes a surprising topic. It has things in common with how you behave in other social settings, that's true, but it also has an etiquette all its own, because it deals not just with how to behave around people but how to behave before God made flesh in Jesus Christ.

And if that's the case, it's worth a second look at the behavior of the ruler of the synagogue, his etiquette before Jesus. It's easy to see how he gives some back talk: “But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." ”. And it's easy to see that he doesn't even speak to Jesus, that he doesn't want the people to follow him. That's because he thinks Jesus is a false prophet, but even more than that, he doesn't want God to work on the Sabbath day. He doesn't have a problem with the miracle. He doesn't say, “Jesus, don't do miracles because I don't believe in miracles.” He just doesn't want it on the Sabbath. As for that woman with the disabling spirit – too bad for her.

That attitude is against the Sabbath. Surprisingly, nobody in the ancient world thought that the point of the worship day was to do nothing. The Baal worshippers, they didn't think their day of worship was to do nothing. They thought it was the time to lay aside their work and do the work of the gods. But not so for the children of Israel. They were to lay aside their work, but not to serve God. On the Sabbath God treated his people like royalty, by giving them the luxury of not having to do anything, so that he might serve them with his holiness by giving his Word. The Old Testament Sabbath is very misunderstood, but Luther captures it very well with this paraphrase from his catechetical hymn on the Ten Commandments: “You shall observe the worship day, that peace may fill your home, and pray, and put aside the work you do, so that God may work in you.” Have mercy, Lord!” That's a surprise, and that's a foundation for this Gospel reading.

When the synagogue ruler objects to Jesus' miracle, he doesn't even know that he wants God to do even less good on that day than he does for his own donkey. He also doesn't realize that the devil also doesn't take a day off, as Jesus says that the devil had bound this daughter of Abraham for 18 years. He's gotten it all backwards by focusing on his work that he does that day. That's the bad etiquette.

You're no stranger to bad etiquette. Very few people can carry themselves the right way whether they're in a shed or a palace. But you're no stranger to bad etiquette on Sundays too. When you think that you're so free as to make the worship of God whatever you want it to be, you're no different than the people Isaiah condemned for “doing your own pleasure/your own thing on my holy day”. That denies that God in Christ has given you this holy day that he might serve you. If you think that God needs you to do something for him here that's the same as if you were the honored guest at a party who keeps taking the appetizer trays, dumping them, and replacing the appetizers with stale biscuits you brought from home. Trust me, you're not doing yourself or anyone else any favors.

When you make the day holy (by trying to make yourself holy by your own works) you break the third commandment to keep the day holy by hearing the Word, which is how Christ has already made the day holy. It's that little thought that says, “Maybe if I do a good job here in church, this will be like an audition for heaven, and I'll get in.”

Good thing that good etiquette is what Jesus does in the holiness of his shed blood for you. The good news is that you don't have to audition for heaven – Jesus says “you're in.” That's the etiquette of Christian worship, not so much what you wear or how you sit, but the fact that this is where Jesus hands out a pledge and promise of heaven every week. The etiquette is that Jesus is here for you and he's doing every little thing right – that is, to give you his righteousness.

That's why the people were rejoicing when he put that synagogue ruler back in his place – because he was doing glorious things. It's no different for you. Christ is here doing glorious things for you. He's happily serving you with a glory that is no less than his own holiness. And that's not a feeling you get, but it's a doing he does. It's something you can point to. You can point to his holy Word. You can point to Absolution. You can point to preaching. You can point backwards to your Baptism. You can point to the Lord's Supper. You can point to them in their glorious beauty, because Christ is so glorious in giving them. But their beauty is only revealed in God's Word.

So then you're free of auditioning for heaven, meaning you're free to praise him for the gifts of heaven. You're free to see the end of our Hebrews reading today as the description of every divine service: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe”. This is a doctrine of worship, a teaching of worship – in worship, the one who serves is Jesus. The ones who return thanks and praise are the Church.

Of course Jesus has good etiquette, of course he does miracles on the Sabbath to show you that the biggest Sabbath related miracle was still to come – when he died as your Passover Lamb, rested in the tomb on the Sabbath (thus fulfilling the Sabbath), and rose on the first day of the week (which is a great day of the week for you to receive the gifts and benefits of his cross for you).

Your etiquette then looks like trusting in the forgiveness, life, and salvation that Jesus brings. Then you're just like the bent over woman – when he makes you straight, you stand up straight by glorifying him as a result. You stand up straight by letting God be at work in worship, because that's how praise really gets done, and it's also what brings the work of the devil to an end when Jesus grants the release that is the forgiveness of sins.

Conclusion: Etiquette still matters because bad etiquette tries and fails to do Jesus' job for him, but Jesus has the good etiquette to forgive you all your sins and bring you the etiquette that receives these gifts and promises with the proper thanksgiving and praise. You learn this etiquette not by a class but by doing it, by being where it happens. You pick it up every Sunday the Word is preached in its truth and purity, and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution. Amen.  

Pentecost 13 [Luke 12:49-56] (18 August 2013)

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

When a half yearly meeting comes up in a congregation, it is, like any other time people get together, a time for possible controversy. The same can be said for whenever there is an election campaign, where you don't have to wait long for someone to stick their foot in their mouth. And controversy is never far behind for Lutherans, and you can be sarcastic and say it's because we're so grumpy, or you can say that it's because our joyful confession of faith is at the same time contending for the faith. But someone who's no stranger to controversy and offense is Jesus himself.

When reading and hearing the Bible, it's always important to be noticing, “ok, what's offending me now?”. Well, Jesus mentions two things in today's Gospel that easily offend. One is about fire, and the other is about division. 

Fire (as in “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!”) means judgment, and no one wants to be judged, especially you. The same Jesus that says “Judge not” is the same Jesus who here judges the crowds with the question: “do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Division (as in “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”) means that the Christian faith has done, does, and will keep on dividing families over the question of “Who is Jesus?” It means that the division is about Christ's death, because the world hates it and wants nothing of it. Division means there are people, even people close to you, even in your family that will preach death to you. It doesn't take away your responsibility to them as close friends and family, but it means they, like possessions, would stop you from keeping alert in faith. The cause of the division is faith in Christ. And contending for the faith can be a very personal matter, and people often want to avoid really personal topics so that they don't cause offense. 

And the fact that you don't know how to interpret the present time/the critical time/what Jesus is doing is also a matter of offense. And it has to do with the Bible. The Bible is really offensive to you because it's really offensive to your Old Adam because it talks about unpleasant things. It's like looking in a mirror, the more accurate they really are, the less you want to look. But, a real Savior is a Savior from sin and death so in hearing the Bible you'll be hearing some sin and death, and specifically yours. That's not pleasant. 

And Jesus says things that surprise you because you don't think he should say them because they're not how you would do things. And thank goodness for that, because Christ does things better than you would.

And, as Jesus points out, it's not like you can't examine and interpret anything. When you know the land like the back of your hand, it's enjoyable and very easy to read when it's going to rain or where the wind is coming from. But Jesus says you won't examine something even more important – his ministry, which is God's kingdom. When God's Word which speaks Jesus is read and preached, to say “this isn't about me, this isn't about my sin (it's someone else's sin)” or to say “this is about how I can earn anything good from God, even up to forgiveness of sins”, then you're not “reading” Jesus in the right way, and really you're reading something else – the signs that your flesh and the devil make up to deceive and mislead you. 

God's Word is all about what Jesus does, and so it too can be interpreted. But just like Jesus accuses the people that they can't interpret what he is saying and doing, God's Word can also be interpreted in a way that denies Christ's saving work. But the Bible is the only way you know about Christ's saving work. That means God's Word is the source of division and the source of unity (and is in fact the only thing that gives unity). So when you say “I don't want any division”, you're also saying “I don't want any unity”. But when you want to avoid offense, that is bad for the truth, because it is a saving truth. On the other hand, when you are the source of offense and not your speaking the Word of Jesus, that is also bad for the truth, because it's the truth that Jesus speaks. It's not your ability to persuade people that does the job of bringing faith, it's God's Word that brings faith – to poor sinners.

So, 

Let's all get comforted when Jesus separates you for himself by the truth of his pure, clear, and reliable Word. Because it's a good thing Jesus offends with language of fire and division, because he also comforts with the same language.

After talking about fire, he says, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” The fire of God's wrath is cast on him in your place. The baptism he's talking about here is his death on the cross, and he is completely occupied with this one thing (to the point of distress) because he wants it to come for your sake.

He divides you out of the reach of sin, death and the devil to himself in heaven. Jesus says “division” and you say 'I don't like that'. Do you like that he promises you heaven? Well, yes. When he promises to take you to heaven, is he taking sin, death, and the devil with him? Well no. Then how can you be surprised when he divides you from the confession of faith that speaks the devil's lies? He does this by giving you your confession that he is the Christ, the Savior of sins. He does this because he takes the fire of God's wrath and the baptism of his death.

So what he speaks, even when it seems so offensive and unloving, is for the comfort of sinners who hear his Word. Your anguish over the division between those with faith and those in unbelief can't match his anguish on the cross which is a good news that is for all. Your Baptism brings the hatred of the world, but moreso it brings peace from God.

Baptism is the comfort that in the water he joins you to his death and to his resurrection and does both to you. Baptism, like fire, is death to your sin and purifies by the new birth that the Holy Spirit gives. Those results of your baptism are with you every day as a Christian. Every day the word of God's promises is offensive to your old Adam, so every day by repentance and faith in those promises the Old Adam is put to death and the person who has faith in Jesus lives in Jesus.

And his Word, like the critical time Jesus calls the crowds to examine, can be examined. It can be known if he is the One who makes it known. This is the Word that is the promises of Jesus' ministry, there on the way to Jerusalem and today to you and forever too. It is the Word that testifies that Jesus is the righteous one who forgives sins, as Jesus says in verse 57, “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” (meaning “righteous”). 

Conclusion: So,

Let's all get offended, except Jesus interpreted your sin but especially his work of forgiveness for you.

What he interprets, you confess, not out of grumpiness but because what Jesus does is a necessary controversy when it comes to the fulfilment of his promises for you. By his cross he has divided you from death to give you eternal life. By his cross he has taken God's wrath in your place, and in the waters of your Baptism has given that death and the eternal life that is his. Amen.

Pentecost 12 [Luke 12:32-40] (11 August 2013)

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

When Jesus tells a parable about a master of a house who returns, even in the middle of the night, he says if he finds his servants awake “blessed are those servants”. But you've come to the right place looking for an example of falling asleep on the job. While studying in Adelaide, I worked overnight reception at a hotel. And the 4 am nap was one of my favorite parts; but I didn't have to worry about being caught asleep on the job. So it's not so much being alert, it's who you're watching for, and why.

Transition: But that does mean that first there's the issue of all the things you can get caught up in, things that would keep you from keeping watch. In Jesus' parable, we see -

Sleeping servants aren't happy when the master returns because they're caught up in something that doesn't do them any good. This is the parable that is the heart of today's reading. But in today's reading we hear “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.”. If it's good for them to be awake, then it's bad for them to be asleep. But Jesus tells this parable so that you may watch for him: “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”. That you may watch for him, which you don't want to do.

You don't want to watch for Christ because you'd rather watch for anything else than his return. That's what Jesus explains in the verses following today's Gospel “But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.”. You're interested in what your flesh wants now, because what your flesh wants is now – all the temptations that now has to offer, and because all of it is now and Jesus' return is always “later”, and later means “don't worry about it”, as you know because when you say “I'll do it later” you mean “no I won't”. What's more now than beating on people under your authority, or drunkenness (these won't ever go out of style), and more “later” than the end of all things when Christ returns in glory?

And Christ connects all these things that distract, and possessions are at the top of that list, with the kingdom of God. At stake is nothing less than eternal life. Yet you waver between hope and fear over all these things, to the point where the kingdom of God doesn't matter at all. When you say “justification by grace through faith? Whatever.”, you are more asleep than those servants because that is the kingdom.

But you'd rather not learn of your need for God's kingdom because it might offend. The Law offends your Old Adam, and the Bible is Law and Gospel. So all you have to do to avoid being offended is to avoid the Bible. Then you've avoided offense and avoided seeing your need for Christ all in one. Because you can easily get caught up in something else besides the Word.

Like possessions. Possessions hide your real need from you. So Jesus says, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy” - because your real need is for the kingdom! In these verses Jesus helps explain a little more the parable of the rich fool which was last week's Gospel.

And to top it all off, you think that being preserved in the faith is a little thing, so that Jesus doesn't need to say “keep watch” at all. Being preserved in the faith is so small you can take care of it all by yourself. Others might not be able to, but you can. Remaining faithful to Jesus, to his Word is something you think that you can do. Not so. That's also being caught up in something that isn't good for you.

But, alert servants are happy when the master returns and serves them for their good. There's a surprise there. Not in the servants being awake – they're supposed to be. But the surprise is that they are dressed at the ready (meaning you tie up your robes, ready to move), but when the master comes he then dresses himself (again, tying up his robes, but to work). He then serves the servants. That should sound like a surprise because it is.

The good news is that the Father watches out for you, by giving you the kingdom of Christ his dear Son, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”. His kingdom is his watching over you, his ruling over you. And he's happy to do it, because it's his good pleasure to do so. But here's how he does it: through the heavenly treasure – which is Jesus himself. Here's how he does it, through the heavenly treasures which are the things that bring you into and keep you in his kingdom. There's a surprise – what you can't do, Christ can do for you. These treasures are Jesus' catechesis (instruction) which we have because it's the Scriptures, and Baptism and the Lord's Supper, by which Jesus brings his kingdom to you.

So we take Jesus' words, and we sing that catechesis - “have no fear little flock, for the Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.” “for he stoops down to heal you, uplift and restore you.” It's a good simple hymn.

And if the master comes and serves his servants, what about Christ? He comes and provides his Church all her needs – his kingdom, forgiveness, his Word, Baptism, the Lord's Supper. The One we should be serving comes to serve you. He serves you in such a way that you remain his servant, but he does all the good things. And that's the language of the divine service – your praise is the response to his serving right here in the divine service.

And he's happy to do it. He's happy to dress himself for this work, but that dressing was letting himself be stripped and beaten and put to death for your sins. The work of serving you is the work of dying for you to provide you all your highest needs by his kingdom, by his reign, and his reign is that he has died and is risen and will take you to heaven. Along the way, he will also take care of your every earthly need. That is to say the little flock on earth who has the heavenly kingdom in catechesis, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, also has enough earthly treasure to see them through to heaven.

And that's why you keep watch, keep awake, keep alert. It's no small thing that the Lord preserves you in his Gospel until he takes you to himself in heaven. The early church took that keeping watch seriously, and here's how. Here's a riddle – when is a biblical name not a biblical name? When the name is found in the Bible but isn't the name of a person in the Bible. The most obvious example is a name like Christian, or Christopher, or Christine. No one in the Bible had that as a given name, but the word Christian is found in the Bible. [My favorite example of these names is Polycarp – which means “much fruit”, as in “he who abides in me bears much fruit” but it also sounds like a fun name.] But there's more – there's one from today's reading. When Jesus says “keep watch/keep awake”, the Greek word for that is γρηγορεύω which we know as the name Gregory. “Stay awake”, the early church said by keeping this as a popular name, for it is no small thing when the Lord preserves you in the faith even through suffering and persecution.

 

The Father is happy to preserve you in the faith by the Spirit according to these gifts. Good thing the Spirit brings you Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, who says “fear not little flock”. You know it's true, but you know, as with all shepherds, that a lot of work goes into it. Your flesh would wander off, but you have a Shepherd who goes after lost sheep – by the gift of daily repentance which is the daily return to your Baptism. You have a Shepherd who washes you in Baptism, feeds you in the Supper, and guides you by continual catechesis along the way, that you may trust in him and listen to his voice. Jesus is happy to continually teach you your need for moneybags that don't grow old, and other things that let the Gospel remain best.

 

When you're caught up in the kingdom, it's continually not about the distractions but repenting of distractions by not defining your life according to them, but according to God's Word, so that everything is done in expectation of Christ's return (including the life of that little flock on earth). [The divine service does that all over the place.]

 

Conclusion: Why keep awake by trusting in the promises of the Lord? Because he is coming to fulfill them by eternal life with him in heaven. But also because he is fulfilling them now by his kingdom, and he provides you all you need along with his kingdom, that you may stay awake as he serves you.

Keep watch, don't get tangled up, Jesus puts on his work clothes and delivers the kingdom. Amen.

Pentecost 11 [Luke 12:13-21] (4 August 2013)

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

 I've got two responses when it comes to car trouble. One is fear. Does the fuel gage read E? Then man I don't know. But the other is thinking I'm a big shot. Does the fuel gage read E? Are we near a petrol station? Then let me take out my tool box, aka wallet. But my wallet isn't that great of a tool, when you think about it. I just feel safe in using it.

So what a surprise when Jesus hears a request from the crowd: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me”. Actually that's not a surprise, rabbis often got inheritance dividing questions. The surprise is in Jesus' response: “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”. There's a surprise. Jesus can see something that the man hasn't said: “covetousness”. How well he knows that man (and you). He knows, and tells by a parable, that you have small eyes.

The rich fool did. What gifts does the rich fool ignore? Community (“I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” - talking to himself and using his goods for himself) and his breath (“This night your soul is required of you” - if it's demanded back, then it's a gift). His eyes only saw his big harvest, and didn't even see it clearly.

The gifts of idols seem safer but they are just small. Now why would I say that? We're just talking about covetousness, right? Well it's what Paul says in today's Epistle: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”. It's idolatry because it's relying upon something else more than God – that we fear, love, and trust in the pursuit of money and possessions above God.

For Luther, financial idols are the most common and they squeeze out all gifts (all gifts other than them, and they themselves are no longer received as gifts). When you have enough, you think all is right with the world, and you feel you're sitting in Paradise. When you don't have enough, you're despondent, as if you knew of no God. That is, when you have money, there is no other gift in all the world, and it's not a gift – it's your money. And when you don't have it – it's your only thought and obsession.

But every gift that idols give is a shaky gift – they're gifts that only go so far. A good harvest is only a good gift so long as you have it, and as the saying goes – a fool and his money are soon parted. A fat wallet is only good right up until you're robbed, a big house only up to when it burns down. A good harvest in big barns – right up to the point where your very life is demanded back from you.

Speaking of fools – what about God's Word? Isn't that also a gift? But you can even interpret Jesus' parable to abuse the good gift of the Word – by making it about worldly success (here's the formula for success in farming – put your good harvest into a savings account not into a bigger barn, or here's the formula for financial planning to make the most out of your income). This is twisting Jesus' parable, because when he told it, he told it against the idolatry of greed. It's a parable, like all the other parables, leading you to repentance and trust in Christ. To twist God's Word, that's being a true fool. That's actually how the Bible defines foolishness.

At the root is using money and possessions out of fear or out of being a big shot. Money, like every other idol of the heart, is a small god that can't do much. A small god is something you can hold on to (out of fear) and be bigger than (like a big shot). The true God holds you in his hand and provides all you need, not just all you think you need.

This guy going to Jesus is like you going to a friend and saying, help me build pull some stones out of my paddocks and put them down to make a road around my farm, but the friend owns a business that is called “We build sealed roads completely for free and we also help clear stones out of paddocks”. The request isn't bad by itself, but man, don't you know who you're asking? And the answer is, either out of fear or out of thinking you're a big shot, you don't.

Jesus gives gifts that don't seem safe, but are real, and are very good.

When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”, we pray that God gives many real, true, good gifts. He doesn't just give food, or money, he also gives other people - “a devout husband and wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers . . . good friends, faithful neighbors”. The rich fool, in clinging to his goods with his small eyes, ignored the good gift of a community of people. And when we think we've covered everything under daily bread, we still haven't! He gives you your own life. And even though you exchanged it for a false god, he gave you new life in Holy Baptism. God the Father gives you Jesus, by having sent him to be born and die and now live and reign. He gives you the Word. The Holy Spirit gives you Jesus, by sending you the Word, Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord's Supper. Community, goods, and eternal life are a gift that God gives – and only the true God can pull this off.

Because it's Jesus telling this parable, you have to say the cross is the highest gift. The cross is the highest gift – and it's even for you. Even you he died for. His forgiveness is for even you.

The cross is all over this parable, as St. Augustine once preached when he said

“he asked for half an inheritance on earth; the Lord offered him a whole inheritance in heaven.

it is no light matter when He says, “Beware.” He knows well how great the evil is; we know it not, let us believe Him.

And how did God speak with a fool? O, my Brethren, with how many fools does He speak here, when the Gospel is read! When it is read, are not they who hear and do not, fools?

For what is more perverse than one who wishes to have “much goods,” and does not wish to be good himself? Unworthy are you to have them, who does not wish to be what you do wish to have. For do you wish to have a bad country house? No indeed, but a good one. Or a bad husband or wife? No, but a good one. Or a bad hat? Or even a bad shoe? And why a bad soul only?

And idolatry itself is called covetousness; because again in matter of divine worship he is covetous, whom the one and true God suffices not (for whom not even God is good enough).

“O my servant,” He will say to you, “whom I have redeemed and made free, whom from a servant I have adopted to be a brother, whom I have set as a member in My Body, give ear to Me: He may take away what thou hast acquired, Me he shall not take away from thee.”

You don't have anything better than the forgiveness of sins by Jesus cross, and there is no part of what is taught or what is lived that doesn't have this truth at it's center. Try thinking of one – the divine service, your family life, prayer (it's the highest gift in all of these).

But this gift doesn't seem safe because it seems shakier than financial idols. To be rich toward God means to believe in his promises, in salvation. But that doesn't look very safe to the world. It looks very poor and miserable, as poor and full of suffering as the Savior who gives new life by his crucifixion and death. That's a big surprise.

And yet those works of evil and idolatry are what's really shaky and unsafe, because they don't work out like sin, death, and the devil want them to, but God bends such evil works to bring good for you out of them. The rich fool, he didn't mean to share his goods with anyone. But what does God say: “whose will they be?”. Despite his works, people were still served by what he was given (it just didn't do him any good). How often Christians have been put to death to get rid of the Church, but people, in seeing their death for the sake of confessing Jesus and his cross, become Christians instead themselves. Bringing death out of life is also what Jesus does on the cross for you, and it is a good gift.

In this reading, without even mentioning his cross, Jesus focuses everything on the cross, because what seems shakier than suffering, but what is sweeter than hearing in your suffering, “even so, I've died for you. Even so you are mine. Even so your sins, though many, are forgiven you by my blood and death.”

But why stop talking about your goods? Your goods aren't treasure when God's Word is, but they are tools, and tools benefit people. Christians pass on God's good gifts, and again in surprising ways. Even my very breath is a gift from God. That, you too may have. Love isn't pragmatic, doesn't care about what works/what's efficient, but about what's faithful to God's gifts. This works with the gifts of daily bread, and when all the gifts of daily bread have been covered, you're still not done. It works that in seeing Christians sacrifice even their lives, people see the confession that even your breath is a gift, as well as the eternal life that is yours through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Conclusion: I make a foolish mechanic, but no one who has heard the Word of God need be a fool. Not when Jesus, the giver of every good gift, has died even for you. Amen.