Sermon - Midweek Lent 1 - Simon Peter and Andrew

Today we begin a midweek Lenten sermon series focusing on the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.  Now, we have 5 midweek Wednesdays, and together with Holy Thursday, that gives us 6 weeks to cover the 12, two on each occasion.  We will pair them up as naturally as possible, beginning with Peter and his brother Andrew this evening. 

We will briefly touch on each disciple, but then move on to how the lives of the 12 draw us closer to Christ and his passion, his work for us, and especially his suffering and death.   

So let’s get to it.  

Even though Andrew holds the distinction of being the first of the apostles... we will come back to him.   

Peter, the chief Apostle, is always mentioned first when they are listed by the Evangelists. And of course most of us probably know Peter the best, of all the 12.  In fact, I had a hard time deciding which passage to read for tonight’s service to exemplify Peter.  There are so many to choose from. 

Peter denies Jesus, three times, but then is restored by the risen Jesus, and charged, “Feed my sheep.”  Peter always seems the first to speak up, blurting out, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to also walk on the water”  “Lord, if you wish, I can build 3 tents – one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.”  “Even if all these fall away, Lord, I will never fall away!” 

He has his highs and lows. He walks on water, then sinks. He confesses Jesus as Christ, then tries to talk Jesus out of going to the cross and is told, “Get behind me Satan”.  

He really comes into his own in the book of Acts, especially with his great Day of Pentecost sermon. Is instructed by God to leave behind Jewish Law (the vision of the sheet coming down with unclean animals) but later had to be corrected by St. Paul when he hypocritically withdrew from eating with Gentiles (Galatians 2:11- 14).  

Peter shows us that even the “greatest” and “first” among Jesus’s apostles is a sinful man in need of periodic correction and restoration. He is first to speak, first to draw the sword and hack away, first to step out of the boat. His sometimes rash initiative and bold speech gets him into trouble, but God uses it for his own purposes and the blessing of many. Though Peter, with his denial, has a very shameful and embarrassing fall, Christ lovingly and gently restores him.  And we can expect no less from our Lord. 

Andrew, by contrast, seems overshadowed by his more prominent brother. He is even left out of the “big three” of Peter, James, and John, Andrew may seem to get short shrift. Why did he miss the Transfiguration, for instance? Surely even he must have wondered. 

While he does bear the distinction as being the first to follow Jesus, and even faithfully followed John the Baptist before that, Andrew certainly appears as more of a follower than a leader. In an age (especially in the church) when “leadership” is all the rage, let Adrew stand for us a godly example that having one’s name in the headlines and being the first and loudest is not always necessary or proper.  

One thing we will learn again from examining the 12 apostles, all from various walks of life, all with different personalities and concerns, is that God uses all sorts of people in his kingdom, even in the Holy Ministry. Not every pastor is a top notch preacher.  Not every pastor is a scholar or professor.  Not all are as likeable or gregarious.  Some are extroverts, and some are introverts.  But God has a place for many different skillsets and individuals in his kingdom.  Not all have to be first and greatest and most well known.  There is honor in the faithful, though less famous brother.  

Perhaps it’s also worth mentioning that at least two sets of disciples (and maybe 3!) were brothers.  We have Peter and Andrew, next week James and John.  And then some suggest Jude and James the Son of Alphaeus were also brothers.  Jesus certainly knew what he was doing, and had his reasons to call some sets of brothers as his apostles.  It may lead us to reflect. 

So often we share our faith in Christ with our family members, and this is a great blessing.   For so many of us, it is our parents who first teach us the word of God.  It is with our brothers and sisters that we sit in church, and kneel at the altar.  It is in the crucible of the family that we practice our righteousness on a day to day basis, sharing house and home with our nearest neighbors.   

And so, for many Christians, we attend church together with our families.  And Messiah is no different.  Thanks be to God for the families that have raised their children in our midst, and taught them by word and example, and by faithfully bringing them to Jesus, teaching them what is most important and needful in life.  

But even if you are a family of one. If you never even had brothers or sisters.  Note this.  The bonds of faith also bring us into a family that transcends blood ties.  We are brothers and sisters in Christ.  This isn’t just a nice sentimental way of referring to fellow Christians.  It confesses a deep reality about the unity we have in the Spirit, the closeness we have with our fellow believers.  It’s like Jesus himself said, “who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”  

And finally, I want to try and steer away, in this series about the 12 apostles, from leaning too heavily on the traditions about them that have come down through the ages.  Let’s rather stick close to what Scripture says about them, for in most cases there’s more than enough there to think about. 

But in this case, we might dip just a bit into tradition, which suggest that Andrew was martyred by crucifixion on an x-shaped cross.  It’s been used in much of Christian symbolism and heraldry, and famously on the flag of Scotland, as well as many other nations. 

And then tradition also tells us that Peter died on a cross, though upside-down.  John’s gospel hints at this, when Jesus mentions to Peter,  “when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)” 

So we have it on some authority that both Peter and Andrew died as martyrs, each having their own cross.  So the church remembers them also today. So they stand for us, also, as examples of faithfulness.  So they show us the way of true Christians. 

For they lived under the cross of Jesus.  And they followed him, carrying their own crosses, and in the end, it seems, even literally so. To live is Christ and to die is gain, so also for these faithful brothers. 

We too, are called to follow Jesus.  We, too, are to take up our crosses.  We, too, have our ups and downs, our moments in which faith shines, and those in which we falter.  Some of us are better known, leaders, speakers.  Others are followers, helpers, more behind the scenes.  But what unites us, yes, and even makes us brothers, is faith in our dear Lord Jesus.   

May we follow their examples of faith, even as we follow Jesus, who carried his cross for us, who calls us, and who makes us his brothers and sisters by faith. 

Sermon - Ash Wednesday - Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

The Christian faith is full of paradoxes.  The readings for this Ash Wednesday bring some of these to our attention.  Perhaps a short summary of all our readings is this:  God does not judge by outward appearances, as man does.  But rather, he looks at the heart.  He sees the true reality of the situation, which often looks quite opposite to what we see. 

Take Paul, for instance, who writes about his ministry and all the hardships and turmoil he faced:  “afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;”  To all outward appearances Paul was a failure, a reproach, rejected by God and man alike.   

And yet, through all these things, in spite of all these things, in fact, using these very hardships and troubles, God accomplished great things through Paul.  Many would come to faith.  Churches were planted and thrived.  Christianity would spread, even to the very heart of the empire, the great city of Rome. 

Through the prophet Joel, God calls his people to repentance:  Rend your hearts, and not your garments.  Sorrow for sin is in the heart, it is inward, not merely outward – though it may have outward signs.  After all, things like ashes and sackcloth and rending of garments were common outward signs of repentance throughout the Bible.  

And Jesus teaches us to practice our righteousness, not to be seen, but rather in secret.  Almsgiving, prayer and fasting are not for show, but are deep and profound expressions of faith.  And if you’re tempted to make a spectacle of it, then better do it in secret than to think that your practice of righteousness will bring you the accolades of God or man. 

In fact, if any of our righteous practices, any of our religious activities, are done in order to be seen – for show, and not in genuine faith – then they are hypocrisy.  If hat which is meant to flow from faith instead becomes a way to gain a reward, a work for show, to win someone’s favor or impress them with how good and righteous you are.  Well, nothing should be further from the Christian. 

But we are tempted.  And we sometimes fall for it.  So Jesus warns us, exhorts us, reminds us and sets us straight. Don’t practice your righteousness to be seen.  Do it, rather, in secret, even, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

Jesus isn’t teaching works righteousness here, though.  He’s not telling you that good works only count for salvation if done secretly.  You’re already righteous.  You have already received the blessings of salvation.  He’s talking about the working out of our faith, the exercising it.  The good works he has prepared for us beforehand, that we should walk in them. 

And so these are the three he mentions: 

Almsgiving.  When you give to the needy.  Not, “if”, but when.  We Christians receive daily bread in abundance from our gracious Father.  And Jesus expects that we will share of that bounty.  Not for show, not for gain, but simply out of gratitude and love.   

Prayer.  Christian prayer is as natural as breathing.  Again Jesus doesn’t say, “if you pray” but “when you pray”.  But prayer can also be a playground for sin, as we may be tempted to make a show of our prayer.  Now, clearly, Jesus is not teaching us to always and only ever pray in private.  In fact, in this same chapter he teaches us to pray the Lord’s Prayer, which begins “Our Father” - a prayer meant for Christians to pray together with other Christians. 

And likewise, he says, “when you fast...” not “if you fast”.  He assumes that his people will practice self-denial, perhaps of food, perhaps of other forms.  But neither is this to become a tool for our own gain, or to earn sympathy from others or attention and accolades.  Don’t disfigure your face.  Rather, wash up.  Present yourself well.  Be joyful. 

And then these last comments sum it all up, they present us with the principle:  lay up your treasures in heaven, not on earth.  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

And our treasure, dear Christians, is with Christ. 

Christ who gave us the dear treasure of himself.  Who left behind his heavenly throne to humble himself and live among us.  Who took on human flesh, and suffered all sorts of poverty, to make us heirs of righteousness.  Who redeemed us, not with gold or silver, but with something of far greater value – his holy precious blood, and his innocent suffering and death. 

Christ bore the hot wrath of God’s anger, and was consumed by it, for us.  His cold clay was laid in the tomb for us.  He was returned to the ground as one day we will return to the dust.  But death could not hold him.  And so he rose.  And so shall we who are in him.  This is our hope.  This is our promise.  This is our treasure. 

Set your hearts and minds on these things, the things of heaven.  Don’t fall for the temptations to practice righteousness in order to be seen by men.  But know that you have been seen by God, regarded by him, favorably, in Christ.  And do your good works, practice your righteousness, live out your faith, as a joyful response to the treasures that are already yours in Christ. 

Repent of your sins, yet again.  Rend your sinful hearts.  Pray, “create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me”  And the God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son, will hear your prayer, as he always does.  He forgives you sins and remembers them no more. 

And treasure in that new heart the forgiveness, grace and mercy that come only through the Christ who gives you all good things. Lay up for yourselves the treasures of heaven, that are already yous in Christ, and pay no mind to the treasures of this world that fade and are so easily destroyed and stolen.  Nothing can rob you of the eternal blessings, the treasures that are ours in Jesus Christ. 

God does not see as the world sees, looking only at the outward, the visible, the temporary treasures.  God sees to the heart, sees that which truly counts, truly lasts, and is our true comfort through all the changes and chances of life.  May we learn ever more to see it as he does.