Pentecost 19 [Luke 16:19-31] (29 September 2013)

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

Intro: Where is money a problem? Is it a problem in your Super, where you don't know how it will perform over time? Is it a problem in your wallet, where it burns a hole right through? Is it a problem when it's in someone else's wallet and not yours? Or is it a problem in your heart? And if it's a problem in your heart, what's the prescription?

1. Money is a matter of the heart. The world doesn't understand this. That's easy to prove:
   1. Bible misquote #471: Money is the root of all evil. Bible correct quote: The love of money. . . (“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” – Paul links this heart problem to false faith – faith that rejects the Christian faith). It's not the money, or else why have a 7^th commandment, which exposes the abuse and misuse of money and possessions and defines the right use.
   2. [Money is a common idol] The love of money is very common, common enough that the (self-)righteous Pharisees had it: “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.”; it's a common sin, not a really difficult sin like international diamond thief. It's so easy and common that it's a problem for hearts who have money, and hearts that don't have so much money. And yet the rich man shows this idol in a difficult way – everyday a feast: “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.”. Reading along in Luke, feasts are for weddings and occasions as big or bigger (when the father receives back the prodigal son). They're not for everyday.
   3. Idols are idols in the heart.
      1. As silly as the rich man being damned by being rich is as silly as a rich person being saved by being rich – Abraham was rich, but he's in heaven, and Lazarus was poor and he's in heaven too “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.”. It's not about money, it's about the faith and trust of the heart.
      2. (Luther calls money one of the most common idols in the world) Idols are a source of comfort in place of the one true God. That makes money only one of the most common, but the list is as long as your arm.
         1. That makes the key to this reading v 25: “But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.” - the rich man found all the comfort he wanted in his lifestyle, but by faith Lazarus could find no comfort on earth.
         2. The commandment that forbids idols (the 1^st commandment) is the commandment that exposes idols of the heart.

Transition: So your heart doesn't need idols. They're helpless, as Lazarus was helpless, but believed that his only help and comfort was from God.

2. Your heart needs God's Word of Law and Gospel to trust in the true God for eternal life.
   1. The heart needs the Word, because the heart loves idols and doesn't want to break them – so God sends his Word because his Word alone both breaks idols and replaces idols.
      1. He wants to be your only comfort, so he converts what you want. He converts your will that wants to trust in money or works or anything that is less trustworthy than him (and nothing is more trustworthy than the true God).
      2. That is very clear when we baptize babies. They can't make an act of the will, but they receive this great gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Holy Baptism. And that is how helpless you are in salvation, and so we read of Jesus and the little children even when adults are baptized: “for to such belong the kingdom of God.”
   2. The word takes away all false comfort and gives only Jesus.
      1. The word of God gives Jesus in such a way that it gives the Father who sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit who brings Jesus through the Word. The word of God gives Jesus in such a way that there is no comfort outside of the forgiveness of sins in his name.
      2. Refuse to be comforted to hear “give your life to God”. Say “No! Only if Christ Jesus has given his life to give me life will I be comforted”. Don't accept your work in place of Christ's.
      3. Refuse to be comforted to hear “God loves you”. Say, “No! Only if Jesus has died for me do I know that I have a God who loves me.”
   3. To believe in Jesus is to have the same faith as Abraham – believing that God's Word does what it says.
      1. This is a contrast to the rich man, because he asks that for his brothers to repent, they be sent Lazarus back from the dead. In asking, he thinks the Word of God isn't enough to bring repentance. But Abraham (in Genesis) hears the Word and it is enough to be his only comfort.
      2. So when God's Word is your comfort, money isn't a problem in your heart, and it's not a problem for your neighbor in need either.
   4. The Bible does what it says when the Scripture speaks of the One who was crucified and is risen and brings you to the heavenly feast. When you hear Abraham say, “even if someone is raised from the dead”, you think “I know someone who is raised from the dead. Jesus.” Amazingly, his word is no less important than his resurrection.
      1. When it speaks of your sin, it shows you your sin more clearly than you could see it on your own, and when it speaks Jesus to those who have sin, they have Jesus.
      2. Paul responds to the uncertainty of riches with the hope of eternal life : “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹ thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”.
      3. To have Jesus is to know that you will feast in heaven. And if Jesus hosts a table in heaven, then he can host a heavenly table here that he may give you here the forgiveness of sins that is his to give, in the way he says he gives it. It is his body and blood because of his word.

Money is a matter of the heart which needs God's Word to trust in the risen Jesus alone for eternal life.

And if you have money and a heart, then you need this Word, because you need Jesus and the eternal life he gives.

Conclusion: Money is a problem in the heart when the heart is the problem. And the heart is the problem because sin is the problem. But the solution is what God's Word does to hearts, because God's Word gives sinners the crucified and risen Jesus. And Jesus is the only comfort of the heart, and the only way to eternal life. Amen.

Pentecost 18 [1 Timothy 2:1-7] (22 September 2013)

This sermon was preached at TrinityLutheran, Tailem Bend (9 am) and St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (11 am).
During the 11 am service the congregation rejoiced at the Baptism of Hannah Burdett.

 

First of all, that is, of greatest importance: pray for Hannah. Not because nothing has happened in her baptism, but because something has happened. Pray for her because Christ has given her the gift of Holy Baptism. Do it because she has a great enemy in the devil, but do it because she has an even greater friend in Jesus and his Baptism rescues from death and the devil, as well as works the forgiveness of sins and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. And since the words and promises of God declare this, pray that she may grow up, as Paul says, “in faith and truth” according to those words and promises. And that, just like praying for the government, is a big thing.

To pray for big things is to believe the Gospel.

That's how Paul begins this chapter to young Pastor Timothy: “First of all” - and uses four different words for prayer - “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” are to be made for all people, and that includes kings and all who are in high positions. And he does that because Paul knows that refusal to pray for all, especially the government, is to deny the Gospel.

Wait, what?

What does the government has to do with the Gospel? It seems like a case of “that is that, and this is this”. Praying for the government and denying the Gospel seem to have nothing to do with one another. And yet . . . if you turn it around – the Christian Church that has received the Gospel does have a responsibility to the government: prayer! (And not just prayer but honor, taxes, etc.) That's why Martin Luther can say, concerning this text, “It is the duty of Christians to see whose fault it is that nothing happens in [to apply it to today, we'll use the word parliament]. We must pray that God would instill a good spirit so that they consider all good and salutary things.” That's a very interesting statement, and very different from saying “it's the government's fault that nothing gets done.” Appearances can be deceiving.

And the same thing goes for praying for little baptized people. What does praying for them have to do with denying the Gospel? It's not like when the disciples prevented parents from bringing the little children to Jesus that they were insulting Jesus; it's the little children they thought were an insult to Jesus. And yet who does Jesus rebuke? The disciples. They had really denied Jesus when they had prevented those little children from coming to him. And how is that different from refusing to bring the needs of the little baptized before Jesus in prayer?

I'll tell you a story. Poor young students living away from home depend on whatever little helps they can get. And Martin Luther was no different, because as a schoolboy he would go in a group of students singing door to door for whatever the homeowners could give. That's why he could look back and say, “It is a shame to pray to God for a mere pittance. From the very greatness of the gifts the confidence to ask for great things grows. He gave His Son. Our petitions— peace in the world, wisdom for [rulers]—are far inferior to a prayer for eternal life and remission of sins. Let everyone then expand his heart and pray not to a simple little God but to the God of the heaven and earth He created.” He understood, as Scripture teaches here and elsewhere, that the type of prayer shows what kind of God you have. God is not like someone who can only donate a little. A little prayer shows you have a simple little God. Prayer for just a little shows you have a God who can only give just a little. But is that the one true God, or the tiny god your heart made up? But to pray for something as big as the government, or something as big as the needs of little baptized people, is to believe that the biggest gift given is Christ Jesus crucified for you.

When you pray the Lord's Prayer, by the way, you do just that. The first thing you pray for is nothing less than God's kingdom. And then you start to see the connection between praying for the government and believing the Gospel. Who are you to pray for, as Paul says? “For all”, including the big shots. And what does Paul say of Jesus? That he “gave himself as a ransom for all” As many people as Christ died for is as many people as you pray for.

You pray for the government, not because it's small, but because there is someone over the government; and not just someone, but the One Mediator and the one ransom – Jesus. He is the One Mediator between God and man. What's a mediator but someone who stands between two unreconciled parties (so who is a good example of a mediator? A parent who has multiple children.) So who stands between you and your sin, and the holiness of the Father who created heaven and earth and all that is in them? The man Christ Jesus. And how can he stand there and mediate? Because he is true God along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and because he is true man, has flesh and blood as you do, yet without sin. There is no way you can stand before God without this Mediator, and what a Mediator he is!

He is the Mediator because he is the ransom. And again, what is a ransom but a price to buy someone back. So the way Jesus mediates is the same way that he is the ransom: his cross stands between you and what your sin has deserved from the Father almighty, because that cross and that cross alone, is the price to pay for your sins. So of course Paul has to put it so beautifully: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all” And when he uses the words Mediator and ransom, these are both cross words, these are both words of Jesus' blood and death for you.

And that is the Gospel.

But because there is only one Gospel, and because the Gospel is the Gospel, Christians not only pray for the government and babies, but they pray for the Church and remaining in the truth of your Baptism!

It doesn't seem like ignoring prayer (of all things) attacks the Gospel, but it does because it doesn't serve faith and truth (and remember, Paul affirms that he is “a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth”). It doesn't serve faith and truth because it denies that the biggest gift we have received is the forgiveness won by Christ Jesus, and every other gift is small in comparison. It doesn't serve faith and truth to ignore praying for the government, because that leads to using the peace and protection the government provides as an excuse to get away with whatever you can. And it doesn't serve faith and truth because it leads away from knowledge of the truth (which is faith). Don't forget that Paul says that God our Savior “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

And this truth must be preached as Gospel. Christ Jesus died for all, but it's just for this reason that Paul then immediately adds that Christ's cross “is the testimony given at the proper time. ⁷ For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” This is the only Gospel, and it's meant to be preached because it's meant to be believed, and the Word of God is how that happens.

So yes, praying for the government is a big thing, but the government supports something even bigger: the Church! And it doesn't do that with money, because the Church isn't a department of the government. The government supports the Church by doing a good job of being the government: by providing peace and protection for all citizens. When God provides these things through the government, this serves the life of the Church. It's hard to disagree, because you will notice you didn't have to worry about driving through a war zone to get to church here this morning.

Now, to be sure, the world misuses this peace, and the government doesn't exist for that reason, but the Church receives this peace, as Paul says, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life”. The Church receives the gifts of good government in quietness to “be able to discuss the Word, extend the faith, and bring up our children in spiritual, corporal, and moral discipline—in Christian discipline.” - as Luther says.

And believe me, babies are a big thing to pray for, but the biggest reason why is Baptism. That a baptized person is preserved in the faith by God is no little thing. It's a big petition to take up and pray to your merciful God (in whose name all the baptized are baptized). Why? Because what a person receives in Baptism is no little thing. In Baptism you receive the one true God to whom you can pray, but you also receive the one Mediator between God and man, and you are washed into the one ransom for sin, washed into the the family of God by that Baptism. All that is in Baptism for you! Every day! And as often as your Baptism is good, is as often as you pray for the baptized. That's only a true statement of what faith does – the faith delivered to you in your Baptism.

Conclusion: What's “first of all” is always what God has done. The first of all is always the work of Christ our Savior, “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” To believe this is to pray for all, especially for those in high positions, even those who have been placed so high as to be baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord.  To him be the glory.  Amen.

Pentecost 17 [1 Timothy 1:12-17] (15 September 2013)

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

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. That’s not what we expect. Christ Jesus came into the world to condemn sinners. That’s what we expect. Christ Jesus came into the world to destroy sinners. That’s what we deserve. Christ Jesus came into the world to punish sinners. That’s what we think. Christ Jesus came into the world to teach sinners how no longer to be sinners, by being nice to one another. That’s how we act. But this is not what the text says: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Yes,

Christ Jesus Saves Sinners.

Transition: Which leaves us only one thing to do: be a sinner.

So don't waste time denying your sins. Which is so easy to do when there are so many other people out there who, you're very sure, are much worse sinners than you are. Why, if you would just list all those sins, you'd have no time left for your own.

 And yet strangely, there's another way to keep the focus off of you. And that's not in calling a sin a sin, but in saying that it's wrong to call anything a sin because it excludes people. Paul cuts through all that by the way by speaking of both the sins of others (1 Timothy 1:9-10 "the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine") but especially his own sin (which we'll get to). But in doing that he's teaching you not to exclude yourself from that truth that you are a sinner.

That actually helps expose the problem about whether or not the Church excludes people because they're not “good enough”.  That's the complaint, isn't it?  Is that what the Church does? Does the Church exclude? Well not really because in the face of God's Word, you exclude yourself.

But you can do this by being here or not being here if you have no death, no devil, no sinful flesh to trouble you. The Church doesn't exclude sinners, sinners exclude themselves. The Church doesn't exclude sinners because it's only for the “good people”, but the Church is sinners, and therefore “good people” who aren't sinners, who don't consider themselves sinners, will find no purpose to the Church - (they'll still have bad consciences, but won't know where to turn because the problem lies undiagnosed, even if you have a sense of it, much like going to a doctor lays bare the disease for which you feel a few symptoms). You need God's Law to lay bare your sin. You need that diagnosis regularly.

Paul didn't waste time denying his sins. You'd think he'd try and play it smart and hide his past, to not talk about it. He was controversial – he had violently persecuted the Church. This was a well known fact. So if he showed up at a church, it's like today if someone who is a cross between Richard Dawkins and Osama Bin Laden showed up to tell of his conversion and to speak the Gospel. But Paul doesn't spend any time denying what he had done in the past, in fact he mentions it multiple times, as we hear in the book of Acts.

This is not because he wanted to show how far he had come, how much he had improved, but as a sign of the shocking and surprising grace of God. That's why verse 12 is so surprising, because he says, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service”, and when he says that Christ judged him faithful, that doesn't mean that Jesus saw something special in this persecutor of the Church, it means that Christ led him into the Christian faith, that Christ made faith happen for Paul. That Paul acted in ignorance, as he says, isn't a sign that he deserved the mercy of Christ, but his ignorance and unbelief only show that Christ's mercy is the only thing that could bring him to faith.

So to be a sinner is to know the depths of your sin. And only God's Word can show this. And so Paul writes, “though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.” so that he can then define himself as sinner: “of whom I am foremost”. He doesn't say he was, he says “I am”. He puts himself in that list, at number 1!

To know the depths of your sin is to hear what Scripture says, as Paul defines sin according to the 10 commandments and defines it as against sound doctrine earlier in chapter 1. To know the depths of your sin is to do the same. That means that when you allow God to corner you according to his Word, to leave you without excuse, is to confess “I a poor helpless sinner, confess to you all my sins, and repent of all the evil I have done. I have deeply displeased you, and deserve your punishment in time and in eternity.”. And it is to confess specific sins that you know and feel in your heart to your pastor as well. That's letting the Scriptures define “sinner” for you in the right way, so that you can say

Transition: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v 15). “Hey, I’m a sinner! Jesus came to save me!” Yes! And save you he does: his agony in your place, his death for your life. His blood like a flood washing away your sin, your fear of death, your condemnation. All of this comes to you through his cross.

And guess what, that is the Gospel. Paul doesn't say, “Christ Jesus came into the world to show you how to build God's kingdom” (God himself builds God's kingdom – by saving sinners! (as we confess in the 2^nd petition of the Lord's Prayer: God's kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity). 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners', that is the Gospel.

Paul doesn't say “Christ Jesus came into the world to inspire you to be a better person.” In face, the more mature a Christian is, the more they discover just how bad they are and how much they need to trust in Christ's cross for all righteousness, for all forgiveness! 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners', that is the Gospel.

Paul says this is the example, but really, prototype, pattern of how everyone who is saved is saved for eternal life. “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”. Christ's mercy alone saves. Paul won't boast of any cooperation, he'll only point to the sin that shows God saves without any help, creating faith out of nothing. And yes you are saved for eternal life – not for this world only, as Paul sits in jail and counts everything a loss except for knowing the mercy of Christ.

And even more surprising, is that the depths of the Gospel (for which Paul can only praise the Lord) are known only by sinners. To attack God's Law is to waste time denying that you are a sinner is to also attack the Gospel. It's like filling in a hole, the only way you know how much you need to fill in a hole is to look at the hole and see how deep it really is. So to deny any sin is deny the depth of sin, how big the hole is, and that has to deny the height of the Gospel, to deny the riches of God's grace which he used to pay the cost for your sin by the cross. If sin is little, then you can say "I'll fill in this hole myself."  If sin is big, you need a real big Savior.

The confession of sins not only prepares you for Absolution, but for the whole divine service (preaching – preaching Christ to sinners, the Lord's Supper – because Jesus said “this is my body” and “for the forgiveness of sins”, and to praise “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” and thank “I thank him who has given me strength”. And you're not worse than Paul, because that's what he said, he said he's the foremost. And he received these gifts of God too. Jesus is merciful, his grace overflows to poor, miserable sinners.

And the depth of the Gospel results in a good conscience. That's why Paul surrounds our reading for today by talking about the conscience. Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” and “holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith” and these verses surround today's reading that describes Paul's sin and the solution of Christ's mercy alone.

Conclusion: And that's why Paul ends this section as he began it – with praise over what God has done. It's exactly because this is such a surprise that this is what Christ does to sinners by the preaching of his cross – not what they deserve, but what by his own mercy they get. By Christ's mercy you get his forgiveness of sins, his eternal life, and his complete and full salvation. When a gift is that undeserved, such praise is the only response “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and praise forever and ever. Amen.”

Pentecost 16 [Luke 14:25-33] (8 September 2013)

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

You know, you want to be a good Christian, but nobody gets to the end of the day and says, “Man, I didn't hate my family enough today, but Jesus said to.” One, that's taking things out of context, because he says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ”. Two, it's nothing new or different for the crowds from what he's been saying, like when Jesus' family comes to him and he says, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” or when someone comes to him wanting to be a disciple but after first farewelling his family, but he says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” or when he says “For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.” So what is the cost of discipleship, which is what this reading is usually titled?

1. Jesus lays out the cost of discipleship.
   1. Here's what else Jesus does say: not only “hating family and your own soul”, but to “carry his own cross”, “renounce all his own possessions”, but he never says “this is what you have to pay, this much and no less”. The language of “cost” comes from the man in the parable who will sit down and count the cost, “whether he has enough for completion.”
   2. Someone asks you, “Are you saved by works?”, you quickly answer no. Yes, your works don't save you, but switch out the word “works” with “love” “obedience” “or trendy buzzwords like 'discipleship'” and you waver. There the inclination of your heart comes out, the desire of your sinful nature to refuse the free gift of God and try to get it in exchange for, as Luther says, “some head lice”. Here's the quote: “The beggar comes here to the mighty king and begs thusly, that he does not want to take the alms for free but wants to give him some four pennies or lice in return.”.
   3. Specific Law: “Disciple” and “discipleship” are good words. Don't make them mean something they don't. A disciple follows, but someone who follows whatever floats before their eyes, is no disciple. If you go on a bushwalk with a guide, but you constantly follow every fly, moth, lizard, and bird instead of the guide, follow them right off the path, then when he finds your lost self, and you say, “but look how good I am at following”, what will the guide say?
   4. In your love for God of wanting to be a good enough Christian, you close your ears to his Word that you can't be a good enough Christian to be saved. That's what these parables are meant to expose. They aren't there to show you how much you have to give to God before you can be a disciple. They both do the same thing, if you can't build a building to the finish, don't try. If you can't conquer an army, don't march off to war. “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' ³¹ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.”. If you can't give anything that makes you a disciple – don't try, which is the same thing that Luther quote said.

Transition: “But that means I can't do anything to be a Christian.” And if you can't, but Christians do exist, then maybe Jesus makes disciples. But the “cost” is trusting in your own goodness.  It's not a cost of giving up something of value, but of giving up something of no value.  In salvation, your goodness is of no value. 

2. The cost of discipleship is the cost that Jesus paid to give you the free gift of being a Christian.
   1. If Jesus has risen from the dead, then he has paid the cost, not just the cost of your sins, but that cost of his blood is the cost of your discipleship.
      1. Jesus says, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me, he is not able to be my disciple.” The person who carries their own cross and comes after Jesus doesn't think he's able to be a disciple – that's the person who knows they're not able. But Christ is able.
      2. Jesus wouldn't speak of carrying your own cross if he didn't carry his own. But he did. He loved you more than his own life, and not so that you could pay him back by loving him more than your life (as if they're equal – like 10,000 meeting 20,000), but so that he could give you the free gift: to make you a Christian, and someone who is already a Christian, already saved and justified and bearing his name and his promise of eternal life, only that person loves God more than their own life. That doesn't save you or even keep you saved. Jesus does both, because only he is able to, so when he talk about being not being able to be a disciple, you say, “That's me.” But when you talk about one who is able to die on a cross and rise from the dead, you say “That's my Lord”.
         1. Specific Gospel: A disciple of Jesus puts the emphasis on Jesus, not on the following. That's what it is to come “after me”! He's preeminent. And he says, like the bush walking guide, “I don't care how “good” you are at following, only follow me, only I bring you safely through to the end”. Only Jesus brings you safely to life everlasting with him in heaven.
      3. And to bear your cross is to be baptized into Christ's cross!
         1. The follower of Jesus loses the world (as a source of salvation, and therefore loses the favor of the world) and gains only a cross (as the source of salvation, but also in receiving the hatred that the world has for Christ).
         2. In your Baptism you are given the dear cross of Christ because in your Baptism he gave you his death and resurrection and thereby gave you all the discipleship you could handle when he gave you complete forgiveness of sins and gave you the Holy Spirit who completely and daily makes a Christian of you by the words and promises of Christ.
3. The cost of discipleship isn't anti-family but it is anti-rejecting Christ.
   1. Don't make the word “hate” do something it wasn't meant to do. The word used here isn't an emotional thing. It's more like when you say, “I hate when the sun dries up my crops” - you don't emotionally hate the sun, it's just of no value to you at that moment.
   2. Your family is of no value in salvation. But guess who is: Jesus!
   3. So what is of value? Membership in the Church is by catechesis and Baptism,which are what God does to make Christians, and family plays a part. But in doing that you can only point to – Jesus! to God's grace received by faith, because family can speak God's Word to you, they can speak of Jesus who is risen from the dead (the Easter greeting). They can speak of how good your Baptism is (from the Small Catechism!). They can speak that Jesus said at the cross “It is finished” - for your salvation. But that's not family saving you – that's God saving you through his holy Word!
      1. [Aside] - And since Christians have a strong enemy in the Devil, that's all the reason you need to pray for all the baptized who are in your life with great zeal, while at the same time letting God be God, because he's better at it than you you.

The cost of being a disciple is . . . completely despairing of your goodness and anything where Jesus isn't preeminent, isn't the hope of eternal life.

Conclusion: So Jesus isn't anti-family, but he's pro-saving you by the free gift of his death and resurrection, which he gives you by the Holy Spirit in his Baptism (so you pray the Lord would preserved all the baptized in their baptism). But that's because the cost of discipleship is his Baptism and teaching where he makes you Christians by the cost of his cross. That's because discipleship has a cost, just not one that sinners can pay – only Jesus. Amen.

Pentecost 15 [Luke 14:1, 7-14] (1 September 2013)

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

Receiving an award is pretty nice. But if you went up to receive an award without having your name called, that would be a big embarrassment. That award isn't for you, and now everyone is looking at you as you return to your seat empty handed. It's pretty funny though. But today's Gospel isn't about embarrassment. It's about Jesus.

The best seat is the one Jesus gives and the best reward is when Jesus declares you to be justified.

An even better situation to help understand what Jesus says in today's Gospel reading is a wedding banquet. If you didn't understand wedding receptions, and if things weren't labeled well, you could easily sit at the head table. “Oh, this looks like a nice seat. I wonder why nobody is sitting here.” But when the wedding party arrives, it's the same thing: everyone is looking at you as you have to go and take the worst seat in the house. And because of your embarrassment, whatever seat you sit in would be the worst seat.

Just because people like casual events doesn't mean that this doesn't happen. You can't sit at the head table unless you've been called there. And you have to admit that being seated somewhere is just as good as everyone awkwardly bumping into each other trying to seat themselves: “Um, I guess I'll maybe sort of sit here.” Some cultures just work where you don't sit yourself, but it's done communally – everybody works out where other people sit when the time comes. It's a nice way to be nice to people.

But you know this isn't just about sitting down. It's more than that. Even the guy in 14:15 knows this is about God's kingdom. Luke says, “ When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" ”. It's about God's reign. And God's reign isn't about what you do, but it is what Jesus does.

Unfortunately, you know you would look good in the seat of honor, if you were to sneak into it. Unfortunately, you want to give God a good reason to save you. This is the same inclination in you that wants to grab the seat of honor. When you see someone else get an award and say “well, they're not so great” or when you say “I knew that person was doing a good job way before anyone else did” - both of those prove you want to grab the seat of honor. It's praising yourself.

But the very inclination to do that is also sin. Remember, who's watching Jesus at this banquet where he is at? The Pharisees, and they are the best of the best. They have the best morals, they have the best traditions, they have the best good works. The only thing they don't have is humility before God – faith in Christ. That's because no matter how good you are, you don't work your way to God.

The very inclination to be repaid for your good works before God is sin (and what should you be repaid for for your pride?) If it's only fair to be repaid by God for your good works, but what about your sin? What about your trust in how good you are?

However, Jesus has all the reason he needs to save you apart from anything you've done. If he says “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." ” and “For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” this is about justification before God. Who is doing the verbs in these verses? God. God exalts. God brings about the resurrection of the body, the resurrection of the dead. And so as sure as God brings about the resurrection of the just, he brings about the justification that declares you to be just. The only reason Jesus needs is that his Father has sent him, he has taken flesh and suffered the cross and death in your place, and sends you the Holy Spirit. The only reason he needs is his love. Some positions can't be earned, only given. And baptized child of God is one of them. Christian is one of them. And he loves to give such a gift, and grieves over your sinful nature which tries and fails to do what he so freely and lovingly gives. That's why your sinful nature will be totally put away in eternity, but not on this side of eternity.

Jesus can sit you in the place where he honors you (he who humbles himself will be exalted. – note the verb, for only God exalts and this is by grace). He does this in the Lord's Supper. The invitation is Holy Baptism. In Holy Baptism the desire to break into heaven is put to death and dies daily because in Baptism, daily, heaven is nothing but open doors and windows for you. That's how strong Jesus' cross and death are. In the Lord's Supper you have the seat of honor to eat and drink his body and blood. It's the same table as in heaven, as we pray during the communion liturgy “Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.”

Jesus shows that humility isn't a work but is repentance. This is seen when Jesus repeats verse 11, about being humbled and exalted, at the end of the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, which is about repentance and justification. This isn't about being humble like it's a work, but about knowing who you are before God's wrath: a sinner who can't justify yourself. But such repentant sinners are the ones Jesus calls up to his table. He says, “Eat with me, not because of what you've done, but because of what I've done for you on the cross, in your Baptism, and the forgiveness I give at my table (on earth as in heaven).

And the sinner who is humble is the one who repents. The one who repents serves, not to earn but to give. That's where it comes back to table etiquette as in last week's Gospel. The proper way to behave at table is to politely eat what is put before you. It is good that we receive the gift of forgiveness from the cross of Jesus Christ. Just like eating a meal will give us strength for the day's work, we can only serve others because Jesus loves us and serves us.

The proper way to behave at the table is to serve others through the positions that God has given you. Luther applies this Gospel to your daily vocation, your daily callings from God, very well. Two people in Jesus' parable have a position—but only one has been given that position, the other takes it for himself. It is wrong to seek your own glory rather than to honor God and do your duty. It is not wrong to be a parent or an elder or to be in charge of many people. That is how you can serve them, by doing your duty well for their good and benefit, and not for your own. How hard this is! Young ladies are not satisfied until they are married, and the same goes for young men. But once you have found a husband or a wife, then immediately you think “Oh, I would like to be free again.” You have not thought about your duties and responsibilities. You are not married for your own ease and comfort, but for the sake of the one you are married to. The same goes for any position. But this is what God has set up for you, in order that he may serve people through your positions. Only remember that you have nothing that you have not first received from God—your positions of course, but first and most important your position as a baptized child of God—who has been given the washing of forgiveness and eternal life by Jesus himself.

So where should you sit in church? Well, where you can see and hear Jesus justifying you by his clear, true, and saving Word, that's where. That can be done from the back, the front, and the sides.

Conclusion: So it's not about where you sit but about who sits you. And Christ sits you by justifying you, by declaring that he is the one who places you in the forgiveness of sins to eternal life by his cross, which is delivered to you by his Word, preached, splashed, and put on your tongue. That's not embarrassing, it's a joyous feast that has no end. Amen.