Sermon - Last Sunday of the Church Year - Matthew 25:31-46

 

The Parable of the 10 Virgins taught us to be wise and ready for Christ’s return.  Faith fueled by the means of grace is the only thing that makes and keeps us ready. 

The Parable of the Talents teaches us that we are entrusted with gifts, and that while we wait for his return, we are to put those gifts to use!  The greatest of these gifts is the Gospel, which is to be treasured, but also shared.

And now, the third Parable of Christ’s return in glory – the Sheep and the Goats.  Although, its’ not really a parable, per se, like the others.  It is rather a description of how the Son of Man will judge the peoples of the earth.  As a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats.

This may well be one of the most terrifying thoughts, as we ponder the Last Day.  When Christ judges the world – on which side will I stand?  How will I be judged? 

It is clear that his judgment is pass or fail, there is no sliding scale, no gray areas.  You are either a blessed sheep, or a cursed goat.  You either enter in the joy of the Father, and inherit the kingdom, or you are sent away to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  There is only weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The picture Jesus paints here is something we confess in the creeds, “he will come again in glory, to judge the living and the dead.”

And you might expect that the judge would hear evidence and testimony.  You might think he would look at peoples’ lives and how well they did, compare their thoughts, words, and deeds to the holy law, or the 10 commandments.  Some might even think that their good deeds would offset their bad ones.  That he would weigh it all out and come to a just conclusion.  But that’s not how Jesus describes it.

While he spends some time pointing out the works, the good or bad works, of the sheep and the goats – take careful note of the first words out of the King’s mouth:

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

There’s no judging here.  There’s no interrogation.  He doesn’t check their references of their qualifications.  He already knows who the sheep are, and they simply belong to him.  He invites them to receive their inheritance, and a blessed one at that!

It’s only later that he goes on to point to their works.  After they are invited to their reward!  So these good works of visiting and feeding and clothing and welcoming… they are not the basis of sheepliness.  They are merely evidence of it.  That the sheep are the sheep is already settled.

This comports with the way Jesus speaks of himself in John’s Gospel as the Good Shepherd.  “I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep”  “My sheep know my voice.  I know them, and they follow me”  “I am the gate for the sheep.” Et cetera.

You see, they don’t just become his sheep on the last day.  They have been his sheep all along.  They become his sheep by the gift of faith, by the water of baptism, and by the power of his Holy Spirit.  They, you, already belong to him and on the last day it is simply revealed who is who.

This is a great comfort for us, Christians.  We are sheep because the Shepherd has died for us, laid down his life for the sheep.  The Shepherd knows his sheep.  And we know his voice.  We’ve been following him all this time.  Of course we will also follow him to glory.  That’s been his promise to us – abundant life, forgiveness of sins, rest from our labors.  The voice of his word makes us these and so many more promises, and faith rests secure in them.  Our works have no place in the equation of salvation.  On that account, the Shepherd has done it all.

But at the judgment, he will commend his sheep also for their good works.  And here it gets very interesting.  Because as he lists out all that they have done for their neighbors in need, even the least of these, the sheep seem to have some form of amnesia.  They don’t recall, they don’t know about all this supposed good they have done.  When did we?  We did what?

And here we might note two things.  For one, true sheep that belong to the Shepherd, that is to say, Christians, don’t concern ourselves with cataloging our good works.  We don’t keep a careful record of our good deeds and philanthropic ventures – because we don’t have to!  Since we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, we have no need to track and measure our works – because they don’t matter a bit for our salvation. Christ has done it all! Both his sacrificial death, and his perfect life of love – all that he has done, he has done for us. 

And so, secondly, whatever works the sheep lack, Christ has fulfilled.  Wherever we have failed to feed and clothe and visit and welcome and love, Christ has done it for us!  And to the extent that we do such works out of faith, he esteems them greatly, as even done for him, to him.  We serve others because he has served us.  And when we serve others, it’s as if we are serving him.

He knows the sheep, he welcomes and blesses the sheep, he commends the sheep for their evidence of faith.

And only then he is on to the goats.  He doesn’t leave the sheep waiting around to hear their verdict, but deals with his own first, kindly.  He is both just and merciful, but his preference is mercy. 

Now the goats are condemned for their lack of works.  And much like the sheep, they are surprised by all this.  They don’t seem to know how bad they have been.  They certainly don’t think that any of their failure or neglect was against Christ himself!  But in much the same way, Jesus holds them accountable, collectively, for failing to do what they should have.  And he can do this, judge them collectively, for they share the same sinful nature, and stand even now in those sins.  They do not have a savior to cover their sins, a shepherd who knows them as his own.  They do not hearken to his voice. 

And even if they do serve their neighbors, or do good works before man, it doesn’t matter in the end.  Surely, many non-believers do what the world would recognize are “good works”.  And there are many charitable and philanthropic agencies both secular and religious apart from the church.  Your non-Christian friends and neighbors are likely good citizens who love their families and are generally nice people.  But none of that counts in the end.  All have sinned and failed and fallen short.  None has loved as he ought, even our best works are as filthy rags before God.

If you rest on those works – however good they may appear before man – you will be sadly surprised with the goats at the final judgment.  But if you know the Shepherd, and rely on his good works, you will be blessedly surprised with the sheep on that day.

So, here stands for us a warning – that there will indeed be a judgment.  But that judgment is not what it may seem on a cursory reading.  We are not judged based on our works.  If so, we’d all be goats.  But here also stands for us a promise.  We, the sheep, are saved by grace through faith in Christ.  We are credited with works that we haven’t even done, but that Jesus has.  We are covered by his righteousness, given life by his death, and made heirs of the kingdom by our thorn-crowned king. 

We come to the end of this church year, and consider the end of all years, when Christ comes in glory, as king and judge.  Thanks be to God he has made us his sheep!   Let us continue to trust in him and love the least of these his brothers, looking forward to that inheritance of eternal life.

 

Thanksgiving - Deuteronomy 8:1-10

Thanksgiving (Eve) - Deuteronomy 8:1-10 

A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to you all. Every year we observe this national holiday. The 4th Thursday of November is set aside by longstanding presidential order as a day of national thanksgiving. Your history books might tell you that the first day of thanksgiving was December 4th of 1619, when the Pilgrims in the Virginia Colony first celebrated the day. Or you might think of the Massachusetts Bay Colony marking their first thanksgiving in 1630. But the truth is, harvest festivals have a longstanding history in many nations and cultures. And we find something similar even in ancient Israel.

Here in Deuteronomy, Moses gives some words of encouragement to his people as they were just about to enter the promised land.

He warns them to be careful in following God’s commands. He reminds them of what God had already done for them. These 40 years of desert wandering had been a time of testing and preparation.

I’m sure they were not easy times.  You had the wandering, the sense of homelessness.  You had the grumbling and longing for the fleshpots of Egypt.  They devolved into pagan worship of a golden calf.  They suffered the venom of vipers.  These 40 years were not a walk in the park on a pleasant Spring afternoon.  It was hard, and the people didn’t do very well.  When God was about to bring them into the promised land the first time, they followed the advice of the 10 cowardly spies and earned for themselves a whole generation of wilderness wandering.

We don’t always have easy times in our own journey on this earth.  I don’t have to go too far out on a limb to know that each of you has had your own trials and tribulations this year.  Many of those, I know – surgeries and illnesses, deaths in the family, relationships that aren’t so great, struggles with work, struggles with school, struggles with your social life, struggles with your faith.  Maybe you’ve been wandering around and grumbling like the Israelites, too.  Wondering where this is all going.  Each day has enough trouble of its own, Jesus once said.  Each year has all the more.

But for Israel, the time in the wilderness was also a time in which God cared for his people. Throughout those years, God fed them daily bread from heaven – not just to keep them alive, but also to teach them that “man does not live by bread alone”. It was Jesus himself who quoted these words when fending off the devil during his own wilderness wandering.

Furthermore, God provided that for 40 years their clothes did not wear out. Most of us are quite used to choosing clothes from our closet full of options each day – and still sometimes they wear out (or more often, we out-grow them). But it seems the Israelites weren’t toting around extravagant wardrobes – their clothes, like their food, were simple but sufficient.

And so this time of testing and disciplining was close to its end. And we know, too, that all of our trials and tribulations will soon come to an end.  And we can look to the good gifts of God, even in tough times, and be thankful.  In fact, it is often the tough times that bring us low that also make us ever more thankful for the good that God does bestow.

The Israelites stood on the threshold of their promised land – a veritable paradise. The land flowing with milk and honey. Actually, more than that. Compared to the manna they ate every day, the description of that land of plenty must have seemed like heaven:

a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

After a daily desert diet of bread, and a generation which had seen subsistence but scarcity, their destination must have been a dream come true. They had much, in those 40 years, for which to give thanks. But they would have even more in the years to come, as God’s promise is fulfilled. Plentiful water, mineral resources, bountiful harvests of rich foods – even pomegranates! Bread will keep you alive, but pomegranates! Now that’s the good life!

Much of what is mentioned in this list is fairly familiar to us.  But most of us aren’t big consumers of pomegranates, I would wager. Kind of an unusual fruit for us to eat in modern American life. But not foreign to the ancient middle east. But even better, the pomegranate is mentioned elsewhere in scripture – and it has an important symbolic value.

Exodus chapter 28:33-34 directed that images of pomegranates be woven onto the borders of Hebrew priestly robes. 1 Kings chapter 7:13-22 describes pomegranates depicted in the temple King Solomon built in Jerusalem.

Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. Many Jews continue this tradition by eating pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah.

But the pomegranate is also a Christian symbol. With its many seeds united as one, it has served as a symbol for the universal Christian church. It is also used to represent royalty, hope of a future life, and resurrection.

Was it for any of these reasons that the pomegranate was mentioned in the list of blessings the people could expect in their new homeland? No. Moses was simply describing the lush conditions they could expect.

But is it wrong of us to think of greater blessings along with the lesser ones? Shouldn’t we Christians give thanks for the mundane gifts as well as the extravagant? Shouldn’t we ponder, on this Thanksgiving and always, those blessings below as well as those above. The good things given, the daily bread, but also that we live on more than bread alone?

Give thanks for bread. Give thanks for pomegranates. And give thanks for more. For we have God’s holy law, and we have God’s precious Gospel. We have the righteousness of Christ our royal High priest, our true temple. We have a future hope in him of a resurrection to immortality. And we have been made members of his body, the church – like the many seeds of a pomegranate – we are united as we are all found in him.

Give thanks for bread, but give thanks even more for every word from the mouth of God. For it is in those words that we truly find what sustains life. There we read and hear about Jesus who died, Jesus who lives, Jesus who forgives, and Jesus who makes us alive. It is Jesus who is the life-sustaining and life-giving Word of God made flesh. If we give thanks for anything at all, it is for him and to him.

This Thanksgiving, as always, give thanks to God for his many blessings. Take some time to count those blessings. Consider the mundane blessings, the bread. Consider the greater blessings, the pomegranates. And consider the greatest blessings, which come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sermon - Pentecost 25 - Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:14-30

Last week we heard Jesus tell the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.  The main point of that was an encouragement to be ready when the Bridegroom, that is Jesus, comes for the great marriage feast in the kingdom that has no end.  Be ready, by availing yourselves of the word and sacrament, and your lamp-oil will never run out.

On the heels of that parable, Jesus tells another – the Parable of the Talents.  Perhaps because it deals with money, at least on its face, this has often been used by churches for a Stewardship emphasis.  But there’s much more going on here than just the right use of money.  Here the end-times teaching is something like this:  Make good use of the time, the talents, and the treasures he gives you, because he will soon return.  Being a Christian is not just about sitting around and idly waiting.  Rather, God gives us work to do.  He expects us to put his gifts to use.  He expects our faith to be active in service to him and our neighbor, even as we await Christ’s return.

Perhaps the first notable, or even shocking point of the parable is that the Master generously, and trustingly, gives his servants charge of varying sums of money – but each of them receives quite a bit.  One talent alone is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 6000 denarii.  Or another way of saying it is 20 years wages.  No small sum, even for one talent!  And some of the servants received more!

Take note, then, the generous character of the Master.  He gives his servants gifts – without any haggling or pleading from them.  There are really no strings attached, even.  I know people who give the cat sitter a 3 page itemized set of instructions.  This fellow just hands out his treasure like it’s candy and goes his merry way.

He gives them gifts in varying amounts, according to his good pleasure.  Of course God is the master, and he gives us out of his generosity.  And not just money.  He gives us all the gifts of this life – body and soul, eyes, ears and all my members, my reason and all my senses.  Food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have.  He gives us money to use to buy things we need, and the ability to work and earn money.  All of it is still his, but it is entrusted to us, his servants.  The very creation itself is placed under man’s dominion, to subdue it and rule over it – to care for it as a faithful steward.

Ah, but the problem is – we are not always so faithful with our talents.  We may think of some or all of these gifts as our own.  Mine to do with as I please, and only for my own benefit and selfish purposes.  Or, we are lazy and neglectful, burying the talent in the backyard, as it were.  Or, perhaps we pervert or twist or corrupt his good gifts in other ways – how we use our bodies, how we spend our time, yes, even our money.  In fact there is no good gift of God that man can’t find a way to misuse and abuse.  Even the Word of God itself – though often neglected, can be twisted and taught falsely, and believed wrongly. 

We sin so much, and in such a myriad of ways. 

But back to the parable anew.  Perhaps the greatest gift, the highest treasure, the shiniest talent he gives us – is the Gospel of Jesus Christ itself.  The good news that our sins are forgiven in him!  That he died for us and all of our misuses and abuses.  That for Christ’s sake we are saved from the wrath of a Master who would rightly send us off to the weeping and gnashing of teeth.  That when God looks at us he does not see the lazy, neglectful servant, he sees the one who was given much and invested well, earning even more.

And isn’t that what our Lord Jesus did?  He took his vast treasury of talents, his divine nature and sinless human life, and devoted himself fully, invested himself entirely, into our salvation!  He paid the price of our redemption, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, and his innocent suffering and death. 

Oh, yes, and then he was buried, for a short rest in the tomb.  But unlike the talent that was buried, Jesus rose with a dividend beyond computation.  The firstborn of the dead rose to bring the joy of the Master to all who are in him.  Yes, by baptism, his death and resurrection become our own.  Buried with him, and raised with him, we enjoy everything that he has earned by his perfect life and death, and we will one day enjoy all the benefits of that resurrection in full, even as we have it now in part.  He who has begun this good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have the down payment on an eternal treasure.  What we have now is only a foretaste of the riches to come.  We are like those servants in this way – we wait.  We wait for the Master to return and settle accounts. 

And while we wait, we don’t only wait.  We don’t bury our talents in the yard, oh no.  We put them to work.  We live our lives.  We exercise our faith.  The treasure of the Gospel – we do what is right to do with it – we first of all receive it, and believe it.  Treasure it!  That’s what you do with a treasure.  But that’s not all.

We also share it.  For this treasure doesn’t become less when we do, but only ever more.  There’s no benefit or blessing in keeping the Gospel to ourselves (as if it belongs to us anyway!)  But it is a treasure meant for the very purpose of sharing, distributing, a wealth meant to be spread.  That’s part of the joy of it! 

We ought to do so wisely, of course.  Just as a shrewd investor doesn’t take on undue risk and lose his precious capital, so the Christian must know not to throw pearls before swine to be trampled.  We must consider our place in life, our various vocations.  We must make use of the opportunities that God places before us, and give answer for the hope that is within us.  But the Gospel isn’t a weapon with which to bludgeon the unbeliever.  It’s not a shoe-horn to force him in, or a crowbar to muscle him away from unbelief.  It’s a treasure, to be set forth, that by the Holy Spirit all might see it for the beauty that it is.  It’s an invitation, a call to believe. 

And along with that witness, is the witness of our love.  They may know we are Christians when we confess Christ with our words.  But they will also know we are Christians by our love.  That is to say, faith invests and abounds in love for our neighbor.  So again, whatever opportunities God places before us to love one another, to help and serve and be kind and encourage… all of these are a good use of the talents he has given us…. A good use of this life and everything in it.

See how broad is the application, then, of the Parable of the Talents. The gifts God gives are manifold.  They are physical and spiritual.  They are given freely and broadly, in different measure, according to God’s good pleasure.  But they are gifts not to be hoarded, nor squandered, but invested.  The Gospel believed is the gospel that is shared.  Faith itself works.  Life is lived.  And love received becomes love given to neighbor.  The opportunities to use the gifts God has given are as innumerable as the gifts themselves. 

So treasure and share the talents he gives, dear Christian, for the joy of it, until the Master returns and we enter his eternal joy, in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Sermon - Pentecost 24 - Matthew 25:1-13

 

Matthew 25:1-13

The Wise and Foolish Virgins

November – when the secular world starts playing Christmas music (or as they say, when Mariah Carey is thawed out anew every year).  The weather is getting cooler, even here in Texas, and the seasons are certainly changing.  But in the church we’re still two seasons away from Christmas.  So let’s just hold our horses a bit.

Soon we will be in Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas.  But before we even get there, we have this little season at the end of the church year, in which our readings emphasize the last things, the end times.  The fancy pants theological term for all of this is “eschatology”. 

And this year we hear about the end times from Jesus in Matthew 25.  Next week we will have the Parable of the Talents, where the king goes away for a long time and expects his servants to make good use of his money.  Then on the last Sunday of the church year, the account of the sheep and the goats, who Christ will separate the believers and unbelievers at the final judgment.

But before all of that, today, we have the parable of the 10 virgins, or of the wise and foolish virgins.  Here, too, Jesus is preparing us for his second coming, and urging us to be ready when he does return in glory at the last day.

Jesus seems to love the imagery of marriage, and uses it often to describe his relationship with his people, he the bridegroom, we the bride.  Earlier, in Matthew 9, after Jesus was asked why His disciples don’t fast like John the Baptist’s, He responded that the wedding guests cannot mourn while the Bridegroom is with them. In this He was referring to Himself.  Later in the Revelation to St. John, Jesus presents a vision of the church adorned as a bride, the Holy City of Jerusalem.  We heard not too long ago the appointed Gospel reading, the Parable of the Marriage Feast, and the importance of being properly attired by the host in the wedding garment.

Like so much of Scripture, we see truth through a contrast.  Here, the distinction is between the  5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins, as together they wait for the bridegroom to arrive and for the wedding festivities to begin.  But somewhat unexpectedly, the bridegroom is delayed.  Some of the young ladies were prepared for that scenario, and some were not.  But all fell asleep while they waited.  When they woke up, the sudden news came that the bridegroom was on his way, and the unwise virgins began to panic.  They didn’t have enough oil.

And they first turn to the five wise virgins, who seem sympathetic, but can’t really help them out – then no one would have enough oil.  “Quick, go to town,” they say, and “buy yourselves some more oil.” Ah, but it’s midnight, and the Oil-mart isn’t open as late as Taco Bell.  These foolish virgins are really in a pickle.  The story ends sadly for them, as the wise virgins enter the feast, and when the foolish virgins finally arrive later, the doors are shut, there’s no way in, and even when they beg, the Lord says, “I don’t even know you.”

Now, of course Jesus is the bridegroom here.  The party doesn’t start till he walks in, and so the party-goers must wait and wait and wait for him  And the church, at least the visible church here on earth, is represented by all 10 virgins.  They’re waiting for the Bridegroom, that is Jesus, to arrive.  So this is clearly about his Second Coming at the close of the age.

The lamp, common to them all, seems to be the distinguishing mark of a Christian.  We might say it represents Holy Baptism, or saving faith itself.  Ah, but yet they are not all the same – for some have enough oil and some do not.  So what is this oil?  And how do we get it?  That seems a pretty important upshot of the parable.

What feeds our faith, but the Word of God and his Holy Sacrament?  What do we need to be continually ready for his return, ready to meet him either when he comes in glory or when we depart this life?  What keeps us in the one true church, but the Holy Spirit, working through the means of grace.  And here we have the heart of it.

Jesus on the one hand warns us – and sternly!  Do not neglect the oil!  Do not fail to fill your lamp!  Receive his gifts while they are available.  Seek the Lord while he may be found.  Repent, for now is the day of salvation.  What a dangerous game some people play by putting off for tomorrow the things of God.  What foolishness to NOT tend to the faith he has given, with the gifts he still gives.

Every parable breaks down at some point.  Every comparison has its limits.  Of course the virgins in the parable had to buy their own oil, but we receive faith and all God’s blessings as gifts from him.  The lamp, the oil, the invitation to the wedding itself – it’s all a gift from God, out of pure grace for the sake of Christ.

But these are gifts that can be rejected, and they can be neglected.  Ask the foolish virgins how that went.  Faith can be lost.  It can slowly die.  It can wither and starve.  Or like a lamp, it can run out of oil, if it is not replenished and nourished regularly.

So hear God’s word, dear Christians, as often as you can.  Read it, mark it, learn it, inwardly digest it.  Come to church.  Come to Sunday School.  Read the scriptures daily.  Find what works for you to feed your faith with the rich food of his word, the oil that will keep your lamp burning.  And that word will show you your sins, but it will also show you your crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ.  And in repentance and forgiveness, your faith will grow.  And your lamp will ever be full.

The oil that keeps the lamp burning is also his Word attached to bread and wine, and the promise of his body and blood for your forgiveness.  As the oil sustains the flame of a lamp, so the Sacrament sustains and strengthens faith in God and love for neighbor, as we say in that post communion prayer, “that of your mercy, you would strengthen us through the same (that is, through the Sacrament) in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another…”

Another interesting aspect of this parable is that all the virgins, wise and foolish, fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom.  And in our Epistle reading today, Paul talks about those who have fallen asleep.  That is to say, those who die in the faith before Christ returns.  We’re just a week out from All Saints’ Day, when we especially remember those who have fallen asleep in Christ in our own midst.  One day, that bell may toll for you.

It is also for this day which we prepare.  It is for this day that we keep our lamps full of oil.  It is in view of our own death, that we must ever be ready and stand firm in the faith, so that we are ready not just to live but to die in Christ.  No one knows the day or the hour of his return.  And no one knows the moment that he will fall asleep in death. 

But Paul does describe death a sleep because, for Christians, we will rise and shine!  At the day of the resurrection, when the bridegroom returns, the dead in Christ will rise, and we will meet him in the clouds in glory.  To die in faith is to be ready, and to rest in peace until that day. 

So the basic point of this parable is: be ready.  Be ready for the arrival of the bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Be ready by continuing to receive his gifts, in Word and Sacrament, and by living by faith in him and in love toward your neighbor. For…

Midnight hears the welcome voices, and at the thrilling cry rejoices,  “Oh where are ye, ye virgins wise?  The Bridegroom comes, awake!  Your lamps with gladness take!  Alleluia!  With bridal care yourselves prepare to meet the Bridegroom who is near.”

 

 

Sermon - All Saints' - Rev. 7:9-17

 

Think of all the amazing things John saw in his vision, what Jesus revealed to him on that prison island of Patmos.  He saw horsemen and great beasts, a dragon, angels, the very throne room of God, and then the Holy City of Jerusalem, with its golden streets and pearly gates.  And much, much more.

But one of the most precious pictures is here in Revelation 7, the Great Multitude Robed in White.  Imagine what John saw as he looked into that crowd of faces: 

They were so many – no one could number them!  Like the sands of the seashore or the stars of the sky – like the descendants promised to Abraham.  Indeed, that’s exactly who these people are!  They are the faithful, the believers, the children of God, the church.  They are all the saints.  A great and innumerable company.

They are from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.  They are Israelites and Gentiles.  They are Americans and Pakistanis, Bulgarians and Moroccans.  They are Australians and Peruvians.  Texans and Yankees, too.  But here, none of those differences matter.  Here they are one.  Likewise their languages, oh the many languages, once confused and dispersed at the Tower of Babel, now join in one voice praising God and the Lamb.

In fact they are right there, standing before the throne.  They are in God’s presence.  Standing!  Not obliterated, not cast out.  Not quavering in judgment and fear, either.  For they are right with God, and they belong to the Lamb. 

They are clothed in white robes, and we will get back to that in a moment.  And they wave the palm branches of victory in their hands!  They are an eternal echo of the crowd at Palm Sunday, who once hailed the arrival of the Son of David with their hosannas (that is, “save us!”)  Now, all the Hosannas are fulfilled.  Now the king has come in all his glory, not to die, but to judge the living and the dead, and to reign in victory forever.  Now salvation has come in its fullest.

They cry with a united voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  That is to say, all the credit for working out our salvation goes to God and to the Lamb.  We take none for ourselves.  It’s all by grace.

And they join in the eternal liturgy of heaven, worshipping with angels and archangels, living creatures and elders, and they sing:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”  We sing those words even today, in anticipation of singing them in eternity.

And if the picture isn’t enough, then we get this little conversation between John and one of the elders, who goes on to explain just who this glorious crowd is.  “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The great tribulation.  Not some particular time of trouble, our day to come of which we must fear.  This is no prophecy of nuclear war, or death by an asteroid, or some world-wide pandemic. 

The Great Tribulation – we are in the thick of it, even today.  It is simply life in this sinful, fallen world.  Every day has enough trouble of its own, said our Lord Jesus, and of course he’s right.  We face trials and tribulations, temptations and persecutions.  We succumb to disease and death.  And we struggle not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil. 

And more than that, we are under the tribulation of sin.  A life-and-death struggle with our flesh, a battle royale we would surely lose if left to our own devices.  But it is a struggle that cannot, and will not go on forever.  We are coming out of the great tribulation.  There is an end coming into sight, just over the horizon.  Stealing on the ear is the distant triumph song.  The Revelation to John here gives us comfort.  The trials and tribulations and the battle with sin will end.  And the victory party will be without comparison. 

Oh, but one more hint of trouble here, the crowd here had to wash their robes.  That’s because they were dirty.  Stinky.  Filthy and soiled by sin.  Our best good works are like filthy rags.  Jude tells us to hate even the garment stained by the flesh.  Oh, that we were as disgusted by our sins as we are by foul smells and spoiled food.  Oh, that we were repulsed by our own corrupted heart as we are by sins we see in others. 

May we attain to such repentance, by the power of God’s Spirit, convicting us and crushing us by his holy law.  And by that same Spirit, then brought to the only remedy, the only help, the only Savior – the Lamb, Jesus Christ.

Only the blood of the Lamb can wash away the stain of sin.  So pure is this blood, so powerful and holy, that it cleanses us of every stain, within and without.  The blood on our hands, the guilt of our sin, has spoiled us.  But the blood of the Lamb, shed at the cross, brings healing, forgiveness, and life.

So – the picture of the church in her glory – is a picture of all those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.  It’s all of those, all of us, who have our sins atoned for in Christ.  Whose transgressions are covered.  Whose trespasses are forgiven.  We stand, now and ever, clean and pure and holy and righteous before God, yes even before his throne, and before the Lamb, our savior. 

Who are these, in white robes, and from where have they come?  They are you and me.  They are all Christians.  They are sinners who have been made saints by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who once was slain but now lives forevermore.  Who are they?  They are his, and he is theirs.  Who are they?  They are his people, his bride, his body.  Connected to Christ, washed and purified in him, by baptism and fed and nourished by his body and blood.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and serve him day and night in his temple;

Only thus cleansed can the multitude stand before the throne of God.  Because they are in Christ, they have nothing to fear.  They are even honored with a priestly role – to serve him in his temple – and no just here and there, but continually, day and night.  What could be better!?

“and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.”

God the Father is present with them, and not just a neutral presence.  A gracious presence which gives them shelter.  They’re in his house, and under the protection of his roof.  That means welcome.  It means safety.  It means all the comforts of our eternal home.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.

Even the physical discomforts of hunger and thirst, and unbearable heat – these will give way and only comfort will remain. 

 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

Not only does the Lamb of God take away the sins of the world, and wash their robes by his blood, to make them clean  He also becomes their shepherd, and they his sheep.  He cares for them in an ongoing relationship.  And it gets even better…

"and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

There is perhaps no more tender promise in all of Scripture than this.  Like a child who has bumped her head, or is terrified of a nightmare, and is comforted by a loving parent.  God himself will, personally, wipe every tear from their eyes. 

We labor now in this vale of tears, under the shadow of death.  We face our daily tribulations.  We have soiled our garments with sin, and we bear the hunger, thirst and scorching heat of this broken world.

But our God, and the Lamb, his Son Jesus Christ has washed us clean, brings us through all trials, and has a place for us in that great multitude, with all the saints, in his presence forever.  Thanks be to God for such a vision, and such a future in Christ.  Amen.

Sermon - Reformation Day (Observed) - John 8:31-36

We come to another annual observance of Reformation Day.  We walk a bit of a tightrope on this day, as Lutherans.  We must maintain the balance.  We want to avoid chest-thumping triumphalism and pride that Luther got it right, and we have it right, rah rah Lutherans.  We also want to celebrate what is good about the Reformation, and the great blessing that it was, and is to the Christian church.  One of the best ways to strike this balance is to focus especially on the words of Jesus in our Gospel reading today from John 8.

There he encourages us to abide in his word.  There he explains how he frees us from slavery to sin.  There he calls us not to a shallow faith, but to an abiding faith in him and his word, and to a truth that brings freedom.  Let us consider these truths on this Reformation Day.

Here, John tells us, Jesus was speaking to “Jews who had believed in him”.  But it’s clear enough that their belief in him is rather shallow and fragile.  It doesn’t last long or go far, and Jesus seems to know it. The conversation sort of devolves from here.  By the end of the chapter the conversation wasn’t going so well at all.  He challenged them, pressed them, called them children of the devil, and finally they picked up stones to throw at him. 

What is their problem?  Pride, it seems.  Jesus talked about setting them free and they began to balk.  “We are children of Abraham and have never been slaves of anyone!”  But their pride blinded them.

It blinded them first to their own history.  The children of Abraham had indeed been slaves, subjugated by many different nations, and most famously in Egypt for some 400 years. And at that moment, the Jews were subjugated by the Roman Empire, much to their chagrin and discomfort.  So it’s sort of strange to make the claim they’ve never been slaves – it’s not even true in an earthly sense.

But of course Jesus has something much deeper in mind.  The slavery to sin.  A slavery that holds all men in bondage because all sin.  And anyone who makes a practice of sin is a slave to sin.  According to our old nature, we are all slaves to sin, bound in will and spirit and our flesh is corrupted and bound to death. 

We, too, ought to be wary of the sin of pride.  Even on a day like today, in which we celebrate our beloved Lutheran heritage.  Here I stand!  A Mighty Fortress!  Grace Alone!  Faith Alone!  Scripture Alone!  These are all good watchwords and themes.  It is good to embrace Lutheran doctrine and give thanks that God reformed the church through a little German monk 500 years ago.  But if any or all of this leads us to pride, we miss the point of it.  Just as the Jews bragged that they were “Abraham’s Children” we might fall into the trap of boasting as “Luther’s Children”.  And it would be the same.

We might even see a more explicit version of this, and cross the line between love for our congregation – Messiah Lutheran Church in Keller – and pride that we are so much better than others.  We do liturgy right.  We have great music.  We avoid the fads and funny business and do church the way it should be done.  Aren’t we so great?

Let’s not be blind to our own history.  The Lutheran church has always had its problems.  In the generation after Luther’s death, we had two parties fighting over whether to compromise doctrine with the other protestants.  After that, we saw the rise of Pietism, the false idea that doctrine doesn’t matter, but only what’s in your heart.  Then, we fought Rationalism, the reaction that said, no, it’s not the heart it’s the head knowledge that counts most.

Our own Missouri Synod has had its problems from its founding, with a pastor that was run out as a philanderer, to a controversy about predestination.  We struggled to find our place in American Christianity.  We wrestled with liberal theology and saw a seminary blow up in the walkout known as Seminex.  And we’ve fought the worship wars, and wrangled over unionism and syncretism.  And on and on it goes.  Even at Messiah we’ve seen our share of conflict, and maybe more.  There’s nothing new under the sun. 

But the sin of pride runs deep and wide in human hearts.  And if we learned anything from the Reformation we ought to constantly be reminding ourselves that anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  Therefore our boasting is excluded.  The truth of God that sets us free must first show us our sin.  We must be disabused of our pride and the illusion of our freedom, and confess the bondage of the will.  The flesh can do no good.  Our Old Adam is still pining to be like God, his own master, never a slave of anyone.  But such is the slavery of sin.

Jesus comes to set us free.  Jesus comes to bring us his word of truth which alone can do it.  Yes, that truth is first a diagnosis of our sin.  And let that word be as harsh as it is – let it hold nothing back – let the letter kill and the commandments condemn us rightly.  But like a field plowed and ready to be planted, only then are we prepared to hear that other word, the good seed of the Gospel.  If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The truth will set you free.  But Jesus isn’t just talking about any truth here.  Not the truth that the Rangers are in the world series or that pineapple on pizza is gross.  It’s the truth of the Gospel!  It’s the truth of him, Jesus!  It’s the truth of his righteousness that comes by faith, apart from the law.  Revealed to us and not earned by us, but won by him and only him at the cross.  It’s the eternal Gospel that John saw the angel preaching in his vision.  It’s the heart of the Reformation and the truth on which Luther could stand firm.  It’s the free gift that keeps on giving, the baptism that is always overflowing with blessings, the table that is always prepared with the richest fare of Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of you sins.  That’s the truth that sets you free.  The law of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified for sinners.

Those Jews who had believed in Jesus were not going to stick with him very long.  As I mentioned, by the end of the chapter they were trying to stone him.  The problem was they didn’t abide in his word.

Oh sure, they heard it – some of it – at first.  They followed him for a while.  Maybe they liked what they heard, or thought they heard.  But like the seed sown in shallow soil in the parable of Jesus, they had no root.  And so their nascent faith quickly withered and died.  They went from followers of Christ to enemies of Christ in short order.

And so is the danger for all who hear the word.  When Jesus says abide in his word, he is calling us to do more than give a listen once in a while.  He wants us to remain in the word.  To drench ourselves in it.  To live in it and move in it and have our being in it.  To read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it.  To let it shape our hearts and minds and words and be transformed by it. 

But pride can rear its head again here, too.  “But pastor!  I go to church!  I abide in the word!  I even come to Sunday School!  I have my kids in a classical Lutheran school!  I pray every day!  I do this, I do that, I… I… I….”

“We are children of Abraham!  We have never been slaves of anyone! We follow the law!  We go to synagogue!  We celebrate the Passover!  We circumcise our children!  We don’t eat pork!  We… we…. We..”

No.  He, he, he.  Abiding in Christ’s word means always repenting of self and turning to him in faith.  It means stopping the mouth and opening the ears, to hear and receive and learn.  As the first of the 95 Theses says, “our whole life should be one of repentance”.  Luther nailed it there.

And if the Son sets us free, and he has, then we remain in the house forever.  Not as slaves, but as free men, sons, even.  Children of God through Christ.  Saved by grace, though faith, by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”

A blessed Reformation Day.

Sermon - Pentecost 21 - Matthew 22:1-14

It’s still Holy Week in the Gospel of Matthew, and Jesus’ passion and death are quickly upon him.  He continues his teaching in the temple, preparing his disciples for what was soon to come.

Today we turn to what is sometimes called the “Parable of the Wedding Feast”.  Here we really have 2 parables, or a parable and an epilogue.  

As usual, the stories Jesus tells capture our imagination. The king throws a feast for his son's wedding. He invites the guests, but strangely, they don't come. You'd think they would be honored. You'd think they would come quickly and joyfully to the feast – not just any wedding, but a royal wedding – an invitation from the king himself! But some ignore the invitation – we aren't told why. They find better things to do – tending the farm, minding the shop. Even more bizarrely, some mistreat the servants bearing the invitation and even kill them. Talk about “don't kill the messenger!”

The heavenly meaning is clear. God the Father, the king, sends invitations of grace and mercy, not to a literal wedding feast, but to faith in his Son. That he invites anyone at all is an act of grace.  He’s not selling tickets to an event, but he’s preparing a banquet – a rich and full meal, generously offering it to his guests.

Likewise, Jesus here summarizes the history of God's chosen people – who repeatedly ignored his invitation, his call to repentance, his gifts of grace and mercy. 

It’s similar to the Parable of the Wicked Tenants in the vineyard, who mistreated and murdered the master’s servants, and eventually even his son.  And much like in that parable, Jesus is primarily targeting the Jewish leaders, and more broadly, the Jewish people who, on the whole, would reject his salvation.  

They rejected and killed God’s messengers and prophets.  Soon their mistreatment of God's messengers would reach its apex as they put the very Son of God to death. And the mistreatment of the messengers and rejection of the Gospel invitation would continue even after – with the stoning of Stephen, the violent death of most of the apostles, and the many and various Christian martyrs.

In the parable it seems quite insane to not only ignore or reject an invitation from the king, but to go so far as to kill the messengers that brought the invitation!  But Jesus isn’t using hyperbole here.  If anything, it’s even more astounding that anyone would reject God’s gracious call to faith, his wonderful salvation.  Who would spurn the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins?

But unbelief doesn’t make sense.   Take the Pharisees.  They had seen numerous miracles of Jesus, his messianic calling cards.  They would have, should have recognized the one who heals the sick, casts out demons, gives sight to the blind and opens deaf ears, the one who even raises the dead (like Lazarus)…. They should have known.  They should have believed.

And so, Jesus predicts the destruction of ancient Jerusalem, which came to pass nearly 40 years later. In 70 A.D. The Roman general Titus besieged and burned the city, and dispersed the Jews from their homeland. The very temple of God was destroyed. Jesus knew it would happen. It was the punishment of God upon a people who, as a whole, rejected his repeated calls to faith, and finally refused to hear the good news of his Son. But it is a mere shadow of the final destruction in store for all who reject the Christ in this life – a foretaste of the condemnation and wrath to be revealed on the day of judgment.

In the second parable, or the epilogue,  the king then turns to others, inviting anyone and everyone to come to the feast. Here we have the extension of the invitation to the Gentiles. The Gospel is free and freely preached to all people – rich and poor, men and women, young and old, from all tribes and languages. 

And so we have seen the good news of Jesus Christ touch every corner of the world. Most of us have come to the kingdom only through this world-wide invitation, and thank God for that. For now we enjoy the blessings of his banquet, the lavish food of his feast.

What about the garment? In ancient wedding custom, appropriate dress for such a high occasion included a special garment which was provided by the host. To reject it was to reject the host's generosity and favor, and would have been a social insult. The man in this part of the parable seemed to accept the invitation, but in reality he didn't. He was just as bad as those who ignored the first invitation and killed its messengers.

So the king treats the man harshly who was found without proper attire. He had no excuse for his lack of wedding garment. “Speechless”, we are told.  He has nothing to say to defend himself, nothing that can explain and justify his actions.

This stands as a reminder to us that the visible church will also include hypocrites. But the master will sort it all out eventually.  And the man who was a pretender, but rejected the very thing that made him worthy – he receives a similar fate as those who first rejected the invitation.  

The garment reminds us of the robe of Christ's righteousness each of us has received in Holy Baptism. There he covers our sin with his grace and mercy, which keeps us our whole life through. When, at Christian funerals, the body of our loved one is brought here to God's house, a white pall – a garment – drapes the casket, to signify that robe of righteousness.

And we do well to receive this garment. For too often we are tempted to think our own clothes will do. But the filthy rags of our own good works do not make us presentable. Only what he provides will do. Only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are we made righteous and holy. Our own works are simply a response to his goodness, but they don't earn us a thing. Salvation is a free gift. The invitation of the king is without cost.

For his part, Jesus had even his garments taken from him at the cross, so that he can give to you and me the robe of righteousness, the attire for the celebration of the marriage feast of the lamb in his kingdom which as no end.

And what Lutheran could read a story of a great feast given by the king and not think of the Lord's Supper. For in this royal feast, he gives us all the same blessings – forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We are worthy to receive such things only by faith, and especially faith in the promises of Christ, “this is my body- this is my blood.... given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins”.  He is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words.

The feast of the Lord's Supper is also a foretaste of the feast to come. It's not an accident that Revelation pictures the kingdom to come as a wedding celebration – the great consummation of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and his bride, the church. When we gather at his table here, we gather with all the people of God from all times and places, and even those already gathered to him.... we join at table in a grand feast of celebration and receive his bountiful provision. What could be better?

Jesus warns of destruction and dishonor for all who reject the invitation and the king's provision. But for those who receive the gifts he gives, the King and his Son provide a royal banquet without end. Thank God that through his Son Jesus Christ we are invited to the feast. May we wear his robe of righteousness with thankfulness and celebrate with him eternally. And today, receive our foretaste of the feast to come with joy, as we gather at his invitation.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.