Isaiah 61:7-11; Galatians 4:4-7; St Luke 1:39-55
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

After twice defeating the Philistines at the Valley of Rephaim, King David assembled the chosen men of Israel, 30,000 of them, to meet at Baale-judah, to receive the Ark of the Covenant back from the enemies of the Lord (2 Sam 6). The Philistines had captured the Ark at Ebenezer some sixty years earlier during the reign of Saul (1 Sam 4). King David went now to receive it back. And David and the men with him carried the Ark of God, which is called by the Name of Yahweh Sabaoth, who sits enthroned on the cherubim, on a cart and brought it out (2 Sam 6:2-3).

But after Uzzah the priest was struck dead for steading the Ark when the oxen stumbled, King David feared Yahweh and said, How can the Ark of the Lord come to me? So rather than take the Ark of the Lord into Jerusalem, David turned aside and housed the Throne of Yahweh in the hill country of Judah at the house of Obed-edom for three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household (2 Sam 6:11).

Fast forward a thousand years. The mighty reign and dynasty of David is ended. The Ark is gone again, having been lost in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC. The exiles returned from Babylon 400 years ago. A new, Second Temple has been built on the sight of Solomon’s, but it is a shadow of its former glory. Especially since the Shekenah, the Glory of the Lord, never descended on this Temple because the Ark is absent.  

Now, in those days, “the angel Gabriel from heaven came, with wings as drifted snow, with eyes as flame” (LSB 356:1) and he announced to the Virgin Mary, Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:31-33).  

And Mary, very literally said to the angel, “How will this take place since a man I know not?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the Shekenah of Yahweh will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God (Lk 1:35).

Did you catch that? The Glory of the Lord, the Power of the Most High that once overshadowed the Temple and signified the presence of Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, but has been absent from Israel for nearly 600 years, will now overshadow the Virgin Mary! “This is He whom seers in old time chanted of with one accord, whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word” (LSB 384:3). He sits enthroned in the womb of the Virgin Mary!

So like the Ark of the Covenant, the Virgin Mary, carrying in her the Presence of God, Yahweh Sabaoth, makes haste across the hill country of Judah to reside in the house of the priest Zechariah. To which Elizabeth exclaims, Why is this granted to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? And Mary remained with her about three months.

St Luke presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as the new Ark. Even the new Tabernacle! Dear Christians, our temptation is likely not that of the papists who turn the Virgin Mary into the co-redemptrix, the queen of heaven, elevating her above her Son, our Lord, for prayer and intercession. Don't think they do that? See which is higher on a rosary sometime - the Crucifix or St Mary. Beloved, our temptation is probably more in line with the Protestants who tend to downplay the Virgin Mary to the point of insignificance and relegation.

St Luke, maybe when he visited Ephesus with St Paul, spoke directly with the Mother of God, who was living with St John the Evangelist. And he, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, presents her as a faithful daughter of Abraham, Judah, and King David. For now, in her, all the promises of God to those men and their children have come to pass. The promise to her first mother, Eve, has come to pass. The Seed has been planted in the virgin soil of St Mary’s womb.

As her father David once brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, where the Lord caused His Name and His Glory to dwell among His people, so now has St Mary herself become a new and better Ark of the New Testament in the flesh and blood of her Son. She carries in herself not signs or types of good things to come. Not simply shadows and promises. Nestled beneath her heart is the Reality, the one true God Himself, in His own flesh and blood.

It is in this way, beloved, by means of this dear woman, who is blessed above all others, that the Lord not only come to you, in His glory, to visit you in peace, but He has become like you in every way, save only without sin. In the fullness of time, when all the world was pregnant with the expectation of the Messiah, the long expected One, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Has Jesus not taught you to pray in this way? “Our Father, who art in heaven.” With these words He tenderly invites you to believe that God is your true Father and you are His true child, so that you may come to Him and pray to Him as a little child asks her dear father on earth.

It is for this purpose that the Incarnate Son of God, the blessed Son of the Virgin Mary, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the nations, comes. He who is Mighty took on the humble estate of a Servant, doing great things not only for His Virgin Mother, but for you and for all. Bearing the sins of the whole world to death in His Body on the Tree.

For the great reversal of which St Mary sings in her Magnificat - the humbling of the proud and the exaltation of the poor and lowly and despised - is accomplished by God through the Cross and Passion of His Son and hers. And it is fully realized in the Resurrection of the dead, which you do not yet see. For now, what you see and experience are persecution, suffering, and death. For now you live under the Cross. It is, of course, the very Cross of Christ which saves you. But nonetheless your experience and perception seek to choke out the joy of His victory for you and the peace of His forgiveness of your sins.

Which is why, beloved, you so desperately need your mother the Church and the Ministry of the Gospel. For Christ your Lord delivers this life and forgiveness to you by the preaching of His messengers. As Gabriel announced the Word to St Mary. As St John the Baptist, while yet in the womb, proclaimed the Lord Jesus Christ. So too by the washing of water with the Word and Spirit of Christ, which is the new birth of Holy Baptism in the womb of the Church, are you brought to life in the household and family of God.

For the selfsame Word and Spirit which once conceived in St Mary and gave birth to the Son of God, continues to give birth to the sons of God in Christ by the same Word and Spirit in the Church.

Here He gives to you, into your body, the same Body and Blood of the same Lord Jesus Christ, which were conceived and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which were crucified under Pontius Pilate, which were dead and buried, which are now risen and ascended, alive forevermore.

This is most certainly true. But is it also true that this is hidden from your eyes and your experience in the dark womb of the Church.

Therefore learn from St Mary, not only to receive the Word in meekness and humility. Did she not respond to Gabriel, Let is be to me according to your Word? Learn from her also, dear Christians, to seek out your brothers and sisters in Christ, even as she did St Elizabeth. Not only your close relatives, but the fellow members of the family of God. Love them in faith and be loved by them. Resist the temptation, beloved, to withdraw into your ever narrowing circles and personal isolation. Faith and love, body and soul are strengthened and sustained through fraternal fellowship and the mutual conversation and consolation of those who are bound together by the Gospel in the one Body of Christ Jesus.

This doesn’t mean you’ll never be afraid or lonely or confused or doubtful or worried or anxious. Even the Blessed Virgin Mary and righteous Elizabeth bore the burdens of their mortal flesh, the frailty and weakness of their sinful hearts and mind, along with the burden of their baby Boys.

We’re not going to stride forward in confident faith and never falter. But learn from King David in the example of Uzzah to fear the Lord above all things. When your mind balks, your heart aches, your body trembles, and your frail flesh falls short, follow the example of St Mary in hearing and heeding the Word of the Lord. Get yourself here, in the hill country of His Word, where He still remembers His mercy and His holy Covenant in the flesh and blood of Christ.

Here, indeed, is where the gift of that victory, the Cross which pierced St Mary’s own soul as well, is bestowed to you. Here He fills the hungry with good things and His mercy is for those who fear Him.

In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

2 Corinthians 9:6-15; St John 12:1-8, 20-26
LSB 655

In the Name of + JESUS. Amen.

On Monday the Church remembered and gives thanks to God for Lawrence of Rome, a deacon and martyr of the third century. St Lawrence is known primarily for two feature, which are reflected in our readings tonight: his care for the poor and his martyrdom. And in all of it, St Lawrence shines forth with joy - a truly cheerful giver - who reflects He who is the Light of the world, even Jesus Christ.  

It was the Year of our Lord 258. Dark days for the Roman Empire. The government was broke and Christianity was illegal. A nice combination if you’re the mayor of Rome, called the prefect.  Not so nice if you’re a member of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. The emperor had ordered all of the clergy of the Church to be killed. And that dastardly work was already well underway by August 7, 258. But the prefect of Rome got to thinking, “What about all the riches of the Church. Before we kill all these guys we ought to find out where they’ve stashed their treasures.”

And so the prefect of the city of Rome ordered the head deacon, Lawrence, to come in for a chat.  Today we toss around the term deacon with such looseness that we have a hard time nailing down any specific meaning. An elder? A lay elder? A consecrated guy who helps with the liturgy and distribution? An unconsecrated, unordained guy who serves in Word and Sacrament ministry independent of any ecclesiastical supervision?

Not so for Lawrence. His job description was pretty clear: not only was he properly trained to help out in the Divine Service, but he was to especially care for the property of the Church, to see to it that the gifts of the people were used properly and wisely. To see to it that the church buildings were kept up, that the ministers received their sustenance, that the articles of worship, like the chalice for communion, or the stained glass, or the hymnals, or the vestments were purchased and cared for. Basically that all was kept in good order and that those people in the family of the Church who truly could not care for themselves and were in need were cared for.  That was St Lawrence’s job.

But to the Roman prefect he was just the guy with the key to the vault: “Give us all the Church’s riches!”

Now, put yourself in Lawrence’s place. For days you have witnessed your friends and family, your pastors, being dragged off by the government and executed for the faith. You have been busy hiding whatever people you can, getting folks out of town, etc. The meanest, foulest sort of men are chasing down all the people you love, seeking to destroy Christ’s holy Church.

Now, on top of that, they are demanding you to hand over all the beautiful things of the church.  All the gold and silver chalices, the art, the ornate vestments, that were paid for with the people’s gifts. These wicked men are demanding that the Church hand over to them the money that the people of God gave to support the ministers of the Church. The very ministers they had just killed with the sword!

How would you respond? Would you already be too depressed to get out of bed? Would you fly off the handle in an angry tirade? Would you break down in tears? Would you seize up with fear?  Comprise with the cruel government order?

Not Lawrence. He has a plan. A crazy, funny, joyous plan. In these dark days St Lawrence, or Larry - I don’t think he’ll mind if we call him Larry, it seems to fit better - because even in these dark days Larry could see the absurdity. 

“Give me three days, O Prefect, and I shall deliver to you all the treasures of the Church.”

The Prefect was delighted. That was easy! For since he was a cowardly, greedy, faithless man he thought all men were like him. He supposed that Larry just wanted three more days to live and would be happy to sell out his Church for the chance to live for 72 more hours.  

But no. Larry had a plan. A plan to fulfill his duties as a deacon and a plan to play the most outlandish practical joke on this Roman prefect. So for three days Larry went on a wild, reverse shopping spree. Every golden chalice, every piece of art, every chair, every lamp, every pew and pulpit and vestment - he sold it all!  He emptied the church’s bank accounts and closed them down. Then he filled the pockets of every lame, blind, palsied, and leprous man in all of Rome!

And then, on August 10th, Larry marched the whole parade of the poor to the prefect’s front door and said, “There you go!  Here are the treasures of the Church. As you can see, we are even richer than the emperor!”

Infuriated, the prefect ordered that Larry was not to be beheaded, quick and clean, like the rest of the clergy of the city. No, he would be beaten, and then roasted alive on a scalding grill.  

Now again, put yourself in Larry’s shoes. Do you beg for your life? Turn pale and throw up? Faint? Not Larry. He’s a man of faith.  He knows where he’s going. He knows the Jesus who speaks to us today in the Gospel text: the Bread of Life, the Seed that was sown so that He could bear much fruit. The Jesus who died and rose again. The Jesus who shed His blood so that we could be cleansed of our sins. The Jesus who got up from the dead, glorious and eternally living, and who promises us a likewise glorious resurrection.

So Larry didn’t beg. He didn’t faint. He took his beating without a word. And when they threw him on the red hot grill he gritted his teeth, said a prayer, and bore up under the suffering.  
But after a while he couldn’t control himself, he opened his mouth and said to the soldiers, “Boys, I think I’m done on this side, you’d better flip me over.”

Ha! The Lord loves a cheerful giver. And Larry was certainly that.

Now, I hope that you will not share the martyrs’ fate, though at this point, I’m not so sure anymore. But I know this: you certainly share the martyrs’ faith. Faith that clings to Jesus Christ alone and follows Him, even through death and the grave unto everlasting life!  

So how can we not be cheerful? Don’t we know the same Jesus that St Larry of the Grill knew?  Don't we know where we’re headed? Don’t we know that death is not the end of our story? Don’t we know that the things of this world are nothing but tools to be used for God’s purposes? Don’t we know that the only thing that matters is clinging to Jesus and following His Word and will, His commandments of love?

Lord willing, your life will not be anywhere near as dramatic as that of St Lawrence. But I do hope that it is filled with as much joy; the joy that comes from knowing Jesus. The joy that makes it possible to be a cheerful giver.

What can we learn from the wry comedy of St Lawrence? In the face of a world that is so deadly serious about its sins and about its greed and about its cruelty, and which seems hellbent on forcing Christians to turn over their treasures, we can learn from St Lawrence to laugh. To see how ridiculous the world is.  

People live and die for such silly and stupid things: for money, for power, for lust, for fame. But we live and die for Jesus Christ. The contrast is so enormous that we don’t know whether to laugh or cry. St Lawrence did both. And now his tears are dried and he is very joyous in heaven.  Where that prefect or those soldiers are depends on whether or not they learned anything from St Lawrence - whether they clung to the Word and learned to laugh at this world too. For humility and honor and generosity and courage all come from the same place: faith in Jesus.

Come, you hungry poor of the Church, and receive the treasures of heaven: the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, which strengthens and preserves you in body and soul, in faith toward God and fervent love toward your neighbor, unto life everlasting.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

2 Samuel 22:26-34; 1 Corinthians 10:6-13; St Luke 16:1-9
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

Many people seem to be shocked by the parable of the unrighteous steward. The parable is about a man who is reported for wasting his master’s goods. But when he was found out, he knew enough to make his own position better by further wasting his master’s goods! And he dragged other fellow sinners with him into this scheme. In the end he heard his master’s verdict. He acted shrewdly. Wisely.

In order to understand this parable we must first remember that not all parables are alike. Some parables teach us to “go and do likewise.” This is the case with the Good Samaritan who gets off his animal, cares for the wounded man out of his own means, graciously takes him to the inn and generously pays for his recovery from his own pocket. Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? The lawyer said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise” (Lk 10:36-37).

Or the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee who go up to the Temple to pray. This one is hardly a parable at all, but a straight forward teaching on saving faith. I tell you, the tax collector went down to his house justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted (Lk 18:14).

But not all parables are like this. Jesus finds His illustrations in everyday life. Like the man who went to friend at midnight asking for three loaves of bread (Lk 11:5) as catechesis on the Our Father.

The Scriptures not only reveal to you the merciful character of God the Father in sending His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to bear your sin, your enormous, insurmountable debt, and to pay it with His holy precious Blood and innocent suffering and death. The Scriptures also reveal to you the true nature of your nature. The mirror of God’s Word shows you the true fallenness of your flesh and your hostility, even hatred and enmity with God. People loved by God, the inspired and inerrant Word of God is both theological and anthropological. Jesus sketches people exactly as they are.

The man who found a treasure hidden in the field of another acted deceptively (Mt 13:44-45). In the parable of the persistent widow the judge feared and loved neither God nor man (Lk 18:1-2).

But these examples from the commonplaces of a sinful world Jesus uses precisely to illumine something that takes place in the kingdom of God.

It is a matter, then, not of acting like these individuals, but of grasping the context of the parable and understanding it in relation with our God and Father.

And rarely, if ever, does Jesus preach a parable and not give an interpretation or contextual reason. With the Good Samaritan it was because the lawyer first stood up to put Jesus to the test, and then, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Lk 10:25, 29). He told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt (Lk 18:9).

In this instance our Lord gives you the reason and context at the end. The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. Jesus praises the unrighteous steward because he acted shrewdly. Wisely. Where is his wisdom?

The man knew that he had no way of escape. He had no illusions. He knew he was going to be out on his own. He was not strong enough to dig. And he was ashamed to beg. He saw the consequences of behavior and acted with dispatch and resolution. He called in his master’s debtors and had them reduce their debts in their own hand, making his master look merciful.

But people who want to be Christians, often people who call themselves Christians, do just the opposite. They harbor the illusion that this is not so important. That being regularly gathered around our Lord’s living Word and blessed Sacrament is not of chief concern over everything else. St Paul asks, Do you suppose, O man - you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself - that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Rm 2:3-4).

Such people suppose everything will come out right in the end. And so they procrastinate. They do not deduce that their salvation is a matter of dead seriousness and that they must reckon with God in everything above all.

Shrewdness, wisdom, beloved, is a matter of looking at realities as they are. It is of no use to seek to gain our souls and yet to retain some of the freedoms of the natural man. We must not put Christ to the test, beloved. There is no room to compromise so that we can be both the friend of God and of the world. It is no use to try to withhold some of our worldly possessions from the sight and possession of God. This will only lead to the loss of our souls and true life and all the treasures we could really have kept. In the Gospel the person who acts this way is called, You fool! (Lk 12:20)

That which is wise and right before God often looks like foolishness to the world. The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness. In like manner has the true Master, the God, our Father in heaven, commended His Steward, His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, for His shrewdness and wisdom.

For though you have squandered His possessions and wasted the mammon which He has so graciously given, He has not condemned you nor cast you into the eternal prison. Rather the Righteous Steward has called you to Himself, gathered the Master’s debtors, and not merely slashed your debt of sin, but has paid it in full with His own precious blood and innocent suffering and death.

Our Master and Father not only commends His Servant Jesus, but receives His transaction as full payment of your sin and the sin of the whole world. And He vindicated His Servant by raising Him from the dead, never to die again. By the oil of gladness, the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism you share in the resurrected and restored life of the Suffering Servant.  He has written your name, in His own hand, with His blood, in the Lamb’s book of life. The ledger reads that you belong to Him, you were bought at a price. You are not your own. Therefore honor God with your body and soul and all things.

Live in order to serve. Knowing that you are merely stewards of God’s own mercy and mammon. You do not have real ownership. “What is the world to me with all its vaunted pleasure when You and You alone, Lord Jesus are my treasure! You only, dearest Lord, my soul’s delight shall be; You are my peace, my rest. What is the world to me!” (LSB 730:1).

This means, beloved, that you can risk persecution and ridicule. You can dare to trust in God in danger, such as when one is brought before a godless judge or a ruthless tyrant. At the last you can suffer martyrdom rather than be unfaithful to God. I know all this seems like foolishness to the world. But this is true wisdom. Real shrewdness. It shall not fail, but shall, by the grace of God, see you through into the eternal dwellings.

In the Name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jeremiah 23:16-29; Romans 8:12-17; St Matthew 7:15-23
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

Is not My Word like a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces? declares the Lord. But that’s not how the stubborn Israelites in Jeremiah’s day saw it. They insisted instead that God’s Word be like a feather that tickled their ears.

“Tickle my ears, Jeremiah,” they insisted. They despised God’s Word. They were supposed to love it. It was supposed to always be on their mind, in their heart and on their lips. They were supposed to talk about it on the way, teach it to their children, discuss it when lying down and getting up. But they had other things on their mind. Other, more important, things they taught their kids. So there they sat in worship, but they didn’t really listen. They didn’t pay attention. They didn’t let God’s Word change them. Didn’t let it transform their hearts and their minds. Didn’t let it have its way with them. So they didn’t love it.

But they loved the word of Satan’s protest who ran to them and said, It shall be well with you.

“Tickle my ears, Jeremiah,” said those hypocrites. They came to the Temple to worship piously saying, Lord, Lord, but during the week doing all the things the Lord hates. They lied. They gossiped. They got drunk. They were jealous of their neighbor. Did substandard work for their employer. Lived to eat and be amused.

So when Jeremiah told them the God was so angry that He was going to destroy the Temple and exile them to Babylon, they threw him into a pit!

But gladly did they listen to the false prophets who tickled their ears with: No disaster shall come upon you.

Beware of false prophets, Jesus says. False prophets bring false doctrine. False doctrine, when believed, condemns. We are very concerned as of late with what goes into out mouths and noses and even eyes. But Jesus is always very concerned about what you let into your ears. Because what goes in the ear goes to the mind. It takes root in the heart.

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. A prophet is a man who speaks on behalf of God and at His request and dispatch. They were known to dress in sheep’s skins. Therefore, so did the false prophets. They didn’t appear as wolves. They appear as sheep. In lamb’s skins. In the clothing of the little lambs of Jesus. They dress and act like sheep because, as St Paul warns the pastors in Ephesus, from among your own selves arise men speaking twisted things, to draw the disciples after them (Acts 20:30).

You will recognize them by their fruits. Not their good works, but the fruit of their lips. Listen to their prophesying and preaching. Does it match the blessed and comforting doctrine of Holy Scripture? In all of its articles? This is the exhortation of Jesus not only to pastors, but to all Christians. St John writes, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 Jn 4:1). And St Paul declares to the Christians in Galatia, Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a Gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (Gal 1:8)!

You do this, dear Christians, by knowing your Small Catechism. By reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting God’s Holy Word for comfort and with patience. By embracing and ever holding fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life which He has made known to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

But beware, Jesus must say. Because not only is Satan more clever than you realize or give him credit. But also because our fallen ears love to be tickled and itched too.

That first false prophet, Satan, still prowls around and sends out wolves in sheepskins. Beware. They come looking like they belong in the Church. They wear clergy collars and have “Reverend” in front of their names. They stand in pulpits and preach.

And through them, Satan tickles your ears. To the greedy man who is not very generous, Satan preaches, “You’re not greedy. You’re frugal. You’re thrifty. You’re good with money.” To the woman who keeps filling her closets with more, but gives no heed to the needy, he whispers, “You’re not materialistic. You’ve just been blessed.” To the revenge seeker whom the Lord must judge, Satan preaches, “It’s okay. You’re just seeking justice.” Satan is always trying to pit the Word of God against itself. Commandment v. Commandment. Piety against Virtue.

Repent, dear Christians. God’s Word is no feather. It is a hammer. The Lord our God must continually shatter our stubborn hearts that despise His truth and love lies. Let the hammer of His Law break the hardness of your heart. For your hope is not found in how well you have listened, paid attention to, and lived according to God’s Law. Your hope is not found in any Old Testament prophets clothed in sheep skin. Or in any earthly pastor clothed in churchly vestments.

Your hope is in the One True Prophet, God’s Word made Flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who came down to earth for you to be clothed in human flesh and who put on human ears not to have them tickled, but to have them listen and do the Father’s will.

And His Father’s will was for Him to do something that would make your ears tingle. For our lack of attention to God’s Word, He paid perfect attention to His Father’s will. For our desire to have our ears tickled with lies, He listened to mockery, insults, and His own unjust death sentence. And He didn’t object. Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. But to everyone who finds their only hope in the atoning death of this True Prophet Jesus, has already entered. Let that good news make your ears tingle. Let it transform your heart and mind and bring true peace and comfort.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, you sang. Jesus is the Greater Jeremiah. The Prophet, The Teacher, who came to give God’s people what they truly needed. To the unrepentant ear He preached, “Repent.” To the repentant ear and terrified conscience, He preached, “Be comforted. I have come to die for your sins.”

Jeremiah was great. He had the courage and cuts to tell the Israelites the truth. That God would do whatever it took to have them. Even if it meant destroying their beloved Temple and driving them into exile.

But what Jesus did took a love and courage no prophet had inside of him. He was God’s True Temple in the flesh, yet He let the Law hammer Him to the Cross and destroy Him, so that you could be treated gently and raised up to be His forgiven children. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

The Father’s wrath destroyed Him, not you. Here was God’s Son, yet He came to be treated like an exile, driven outside of His own city of Jerusalem to die and save you from the exile of hell. You are forgiven. The Kingdom of yours. Let your ears tingle. “My sins fill me with care, yet i will not despair. I build on Christ, who loves me; from this rock nothing moves me. To Him I will surrender, to Him, my soul’s defender” (LSB 745:2).

In this confidence and courage you too, like Jeremiah, can contend for the pure and wholesome truth of God’s Word. To your neighbor. In the world. Around the dinner table with your children. As you rise up and sit down. When you walk on the way. These are your fruits, dear Christians.  Learn your catechism. Nothing is more important, especially now. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering (2 Tim 4:3-5a).

Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes. Figs are not gathered from thistles. But the best fruit was gathered from a dead Tree. The Body of our Savior, who was taken down from the Cross, buried, and on the Third Day rose from the dead to speak forgiveness to the broken-hearted. Here is His invitation to receive His Body and Blood, the fruit of salvation, for the forgiveness of your sins, renewing you in faith and love to pray for your loved ones, for the Church, for the world. And finally, on that Day, receive you into the kingdom of heaven as the blessed of the Father.

In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Acts 11:27-12:5; Romans 8:28-39; St Mark 10:35-45
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

St James the Elder, whose day was celebrated yesterday in the Church, was among the first to be called as a disciple of our Lord Jesus and then to be sent as an apostolic Minister of His Holy Gospel. Along with his brother John, the other son of Zebedee and Salome, and Simon Peter, James is one of the “inner three” who witnessed the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration of our Lord, and the agony and prayer of Christ Jesus in the Garden.

Even though present at some of the most significant events in our Lord’s ministry, James is strangely silent in the Scriptures. And, as our Lord would have it, the special distinction for which St James is best remembered and honored today is that he was the first of the Twelve to be martyred for the Name of Christ. Interestingly, his brother John lived to be an old man and was the only one of the Twelve not martyred.

From the perspective of the world, according to human wisdom, St James’ earthly life and ministry were cut short. He had no chance to achieve anything or make a name for himself. But remember, dear Christians, the goal of the Christian life is not to live to be a hundred and make a name for oneself. The goal of the Christian life, above all else, is to be faithful to our Lord’s holy Word.

Of course, James and his brother did not quite understand this by faith when they asked of our Lord to sit at His right and His left in the positions of power and prestige in His glory. Not unlike St Paul, our Lord Jesus had yet to show them how much they must suffer for the sake of His name (Ac 9:16). This is not unlike you, dear Christians, who still must learn, who are constantly catechized by our Lord, to endure suffering and tribulation, trial and temptation. As it is written, Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Ac 14:22). To come to know, by faith, that these are not signs of God’s displeasure with you, but are, in fact, the true glorifying of His Name which is inscribed upon you by His watery hand in Holy Baptism.  

You heard it in the first reading from Acts. St Luke does not record James’ martyrdom as though it were some kind of lawful thing, within the proper authority of the king Herod. He killed James with the sword. He was not executed. This Ruler, put in place by Gentiles, lorded it over his subjects and murdered our Lord’s Apostle. James was beheaded for the crime of witnessing to others of the risen Lord Jesus, who blood blots out the world’s sin and whose resurrection sets free His baptized from death itself.  

Then, when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter, too. This tyrant, Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, the one who slaughtered the holy innocents in Bethlehem, this is how he unlawfully and wickedly exercised his authority, acting contrary to his God-given office, and robbing the early Church of one of her foremost teachers.

Dear Christians, in your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood, as the Preacher to the Hebrews proclaims (12:4). Yet you have endured your own forms of persecution, even at the idle hands of those who are to rule over us as servants. Right now your brothers and sisters in Christ are prohibited from gathering to hear the Word of Christ read and preached, to receive His Holy Eucharist, His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. This is not in only in China or India. But right here in our country. In Nevada elected and appointed officials favored Caesar’s Palace over Calvary Chapel in allowing for mass gatherings. How’s that for sad irony?

David knew something of this when he prayed Psalm 56, which you prayed this morning. Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly (Ps 56:1-2). David prayed this psalm against Saul and his men who forced the rightful king out of the land to flee to the Philistines. He was pressed so hard he had nowhere safe to go. But he had the comfort of God’s Word and the promise and right of kingship. And that was enough. That is sufficient.

Like David, like James, like all the prophets, apostles, martyrs and faithful Christians, we pray this psalm against our tyrants who ceaselessly persecute God’s Word and allow us no place for peace. But you have this comfort: you have God’s Word on your behalf. It is enough. It is sufficient. When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose Word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh to do me? (Ps 56:3-4)

What can flesh to do me? When Peter was arrested, earnest prayer was made for him to our God and Father by the Church. An angel came and delivered him from prison, bringing him safely through four squads of soldiers. Would that we would know by faith the might of prayer in our day!

Dear Christians, the Church sings, “He sent no angel to our race, of higher or of lower place, but wore the robe of human frame, and to the world Himself He came” (LSB 544:2). As St Paul writes to the Christians in the capital, suffering needlessly, If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?

Teacher, grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in Your glory. You do not know what you are asking. It was not St James, but his brother, St John the Apostle and Evangelist, who has made it abundantly clear in his Holy Gospel. The Glory of Christ Jesus is the Hour of His Cross. “Can you drink the Cup that I must drink? Can you be baptized with My Baptism? You can. You must. You will,” He says!

But how? The answer is there in the way that Jesus describes the Glory of His life and ministry in terms of His Holy Sacraments. His Baptism and His Cup really are the heart and center of everything. Of all that Jesus does for you. Gives to you. Shares with you.

His Baptism and His Cup are the means by which His Cross and Resurrection came to James and John and all the apostles and disciples. His Baptism and His Cup are the means by which His Cross and His Resurrection come to you! They become yours. Your sins are all forgiven. You receive “Christ the Life of all the living, Christ the death of death our foe” (LSB 420:1). And you sit with Him in the Glory of His Kingdom!

All your senses, all your instincts and experience insist that the Cross is bad. Both His and yours. They deceive you into thinking you must follow your own heart or your feelings in order to find happiness and glory in your life. Thus do you go crashing into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Often without even realizing the danger. To the world and your flesh the Word of the Lord sounds all wrong and foolish and probably fatal. The Cross sounds preposterous. We try, at all costs, to avoid suffering, disease, and death.

This is why the Church must remember the saints. They are not supernatural people. They are not demigods. But they can serve as our true heroes; especially now.

For “the one essential condition in the life of every saint which made it possible for the life of heaven to begin on earth was the one thing we seek so madly to avoid, the one universal fact which faces every single soul on earth - suffering. Not a few angel faced, spineless people. They were human, of flesh and blood. Very human at times, beaten, wounded, scarred, for saints always bear the stigmata of their Lord. When they were persecuted, what did they do? They returned love, invincible, divine love, purified of self, and in union with their crucified Lord they received their foretaste of Heaven. This is the mystery of the Cross. The saints got their love on Calvary. That is where you and I must get it too” (Von Schenk, The Presence, p124).

When St Paul preaches and we learn by heart the great promise - What then shall we say to these things? Christ Jesus is the One who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who is interceding for us - we need to hear these words in light of the “cup” of which Jesus speaks. The Cup was used by the Prophets as an image of God’s wrath and judgment against sin. This is how Christ uses it here and again when He prays in Gethsemane, Father, if possible, remove this Cup from Me.

The bodily pain of crucifixion would be enough to cause even the bravest and toughest hearts among us to faint. But the “Cup” that Christ our Lord received and consumed was much worse. It was the everlasting wrath and judgment of hell and damnation, leveled against the sins of the whole world, of all time and places, all of your sins included, carried in the sinless Body of the holy Son of God, and judged forever in His flesh upon the Cross. That is the Cup that He drained down to the dregs for you and for the many by His bloody Passion unto death.

James and John can’t drink that Cup of Christ! Neither could you! But you can. And you do because Christ Jesus has already drained that Cup for you. He shed His Blood of the New Testament for the forgiveness of all your sins. And what was wrath and judgment for Him upon the Cross has become mercy and everlasting life for you and for the many. In receiving the Cup of Christ, which He pours out for you in the Holy Communion, you drink to the dregs the Cup of blessing and receive the fullness of His Life and Salvation. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. Therefore I am certain that neither death nor life, no angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Preached by Pastor Doug Irmer, Emeritus

1 Kings 19:11-21; 1 Peters 3:8-15; St Luke 5:1-11
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

One morning our Lord came preaching by the Sea of Galilee. So many people gathered to listen that He commandeered Simon Peter’s boat. They pushed out a little from the land. Andrew and Peter with Him. With the crowds seated on the shore Jesus preached from the helm of Peter’s boat, turning it into a pulpit. He continues to do so today. You are gathered here in the Nave, the Holy Ark of the Christian Church. You are in the boat with Jesus. Not a crowd, but a family. He takes the helm at the Lecturn and the Pulpit as His Word is read and preached. Are you pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God?

With the sermon finished it was time for some individual catechesis. He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Now Christ didn’t come into this world to teach us how to fish. He was a Preacher, not a fisherman. But He who was not a fisherman taught the disciples, who were expert fishermen, where to catch fish. Because He knows everything. He knows everything about everything. When He teaches, we listen. We don’t choose when to listen to Him. We listen to everything He says on every topic He addresses.

And so Peter responds, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your Word, I will let down the nets. At Jesus’ Word Peter let down the nets. It went against Peter’s own experience. Against his own knowledge which told him there were no fish where Jesus said to fish. But faith doesn’t trust its experience. It doesn’t take data points and metrics. Faith trusts God’s Word.

His strong Word did cleave the darkness at creation. At His speaking it was done. His Word calls Elijah forth from the cave. Not the experience of a strong wind or an earthquake or a fire. The whisper, the Word of the Lord, called the Prophet out from hiding in fear.

It was no different for Peter and the men with him. At the Word of the Lord he let down the nets for a catch. At the Word of the Lord there were fish where once there were no fish. At the Word of the Lord those fish swam into the nets. And they enclosed a large number of fish so that their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

But when Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He was afraid. He was in the presence of Almighty God. And he was afraid. Like Elijah who threw his cloak over his face, Peter cowered before Jesus in the boat. The miracle had astonished him and the only thing he could think of was his own unworthiness. The presence of God evokes fear.

And it should! The sinner cannot stand in the presence of holiness. Adam and Eve hid in the Garden because they heard the Lord God and they were afraid. Manoah saw the Angel of the Lord, the very Pre-Incarnate Christ, and he was afraid. Isaiah beheld the Holy, Holy, Holy One and was afraid. To this day sinners run away, hide, and cower before God. They are afraid to be seen as they are.

And they should be! The fear of God drives out all other fears. The Lord God says, “Don’t fear suffering, fear Me.” He says, “Don’t fear loss of reputation, fear Me.” He says, “Don’t fear sickness or death, fear Me.” “Fear, love and trust in Me above all things.” Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

So Elijah is right. Peter and Andrew, James and John are right. They were seized with fear and wished for our Lord to depart from them for they are sinful men who have feared other things. Who have allowed their passions to be disoriented. But now Jesus comes to them and says, Do not be afraid.

He who is the Word now speaks a Word of comfort and peace to them. “Do not be afraid,” means, “Your sins are forgiven. God is not angry with you. He has poured all His wrath and anger and displeasure out upon Me. I was plunged into the depths of your sin in My death in order to bring you up in My resurrection and seat you in the Boat of My Church, alive. You don’t have to be afraid in God’s presence anymore. For I am with you.” It turned out that even while it was sinking there was no better place for those men to be than in that boat with Jesus.

And for these men, not only can they now stand in the Lord’s presence, they will also speak for Him. From now on you will be catching men. Here St Luke is describing for us the call of these apostles, Peter and Andrew, James and John and the establishment of Christ’s own Office of the Ministry of His Holy Gospel.

For this is how our Lord has seen fit to make disciples, through the nonstop proclamation of His Word and the faithful administration of His Sacraments. Through these, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given. He works faith, when and where is pleases God, in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake (AC IV).

This is the call of Elisha by Elijah according to the Word of the Lord. For some of you men, especially you young men, perhaps our Lord Jesus is calling you. To have the cloak of Elijah, the mantle of the Office of the Ministry, cast upon you. The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task (1 Tim 3:1).

But you don’t need to be a Pastor to to tell people the Gospel. The Gospel is not a secret. We publicly confess it! Not only do you confess the Creed every Sunday. You learn from the Small Catechism what it means. Dear Christians, pray your Small Catechism daily. Learn what it says. For when our Lord presents the opportunity to you then you are prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; doing so with gentleness and respect.

The Gospel isn’t just for the Pastor to preach. It is for the Christian to believe. It is in the Gospel alone, the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus, that you are freed to no longer be afraid. Freed to confess what you believe. And to live as you confess.

And you confess this and live in a world that is hostile to the Gospel. A world who thinks they know better than the Word of Jesus. A world afraid of dying. A world afraid of death. A world so wrapped in fear that they cling to anyone and anything that can give them a little bit more time here in this life, in this city of men.

Recall Lot, who when given the Word of the Lord to flee Sodom, asked to remain in a little city rather than flee to the mountains. Like Noah before him, Lot went out to preach the saving Word to his sons-in-law, but they would not believe. Then even Lot had to be taken by the hand and brought out of the city. He was seeking good for his life in the city rather than trusting God for the good. For Lot’s wife this rescue was not good enough as she looked back in longing for the good things she had known. She could not be content with the merciful deliverance to life and the promise God had given to Abram. Trusting in those “good” things only brought her death according to the Word of the Lord (Gen 19).

This is where you live, dear ones. In this Sodom. This world being saved up for fire. All things are passing away. The heavens will be rolled up like a scroll. The stars will melt. There is chaos and confusion, sickness and death all around all the time. But the Word of the Lord endures forever.

His enduring Word has been inscribed upon you in Holy Baptism. His enduring Word has been preached into your ears and taken root in your heart. His enduring Word has been joined to Bread and Wine, His Body and Blood, which is for you the Medicine of Immortality. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy. For you will not die, but live forevermore in Jesus Christ by the glory of His resurrection.  

This is what the Ark of the Church does, dear Christians, with Jesus at the helm. In the face of death, through suffering for righteousness sake, in blessing those who revile, the Church raises the dead. We preach the life-giving Word of our Lord who called Lazarus out of the grave. We distribute the Medicine of Immortality. We have the antidote to death itself. We raise the dead. Not figuratively. Literally.

And this eternal life is offered now through the Gospel net of the Word and the Sacraments. It is available to all, for the sake of Christ, without regard to ethnicity or socio-economic status. It cannot be had by political activism or virtue signaling. It comes only through the preached Word, by Baptism, by Absolution, by the Supper.

And in the Church’s mission, which is Christ’s mission, of raising the dead, of catching men alive, all the flotsam and jetsam of this fallen world with which people are obsessed, all these things take a back-seat, even to the point of being eternally irrelevant. All the things of this world are passing away. Stat crux dum volvitur orbis. That is, “While the world turns, the Crucifix stands firm.” And the Word of the Lord endures forever.

In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Genesis 50;15-21; Romans 12:9-16; St Luke 6:36-42
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

One of the most misquoted texts in all of Holy Scripture is from our Gospel today. Judge not, lest ye be judged. It’s often said in the King James to sound more regal and authoritarian. I’ve had it used against me numerous times. No doubt you have as well. It first happened for me as a high school and young college student. I don’t remember the context of our conversation. It was probably something having to do with sin. But the first time it was thrown at me as a conversation stopper I was caught off guard. I paused to reconsider what I had just said. Was I speaking from my vocation in right judgment? Or was I being judgmental and under the condemnation of Jesus?

Try talking to a heterodox Christian about human sexuality, life issues like abortion or euthanasia, or racial issues and the person might retort, Judge not, lest ye be judged. The expectation is that this stops the argument and that somehow homosexuality is no longer against God’s design. Or abortion isn’t the murder of a human being. Or destruction of personal property or riotous rage are justifiable.

Is this what Jesus means? Are we not to speak about right and wrong? Truth and error? Good and bad? You are catechized, so you know that’s not what He’s saying, otherwise He’d be contradicting what He says elsewhere in the Scriptures. And because you are catechized you know that Scripture does not contradict itself. But how do you know that Jesus is not prohibiting all forms of judging?

Consider some exceptions. Firstly, under the Fourth Commandment, parents have not only the right, but divine duty, to judge their children’s behavior. God has also given the government the right to establish just laws, judge wisely, and punish criminals. Jesus told Pontius Pilate that his authority as governor was given to him from above. That is, from God. St Paul wrote that the civil rulers are God’s servants when they exercise the power of the sword (Rm 13). If no one had the right to judge criminals, they would get away with their crimes, and innocent people would be hurt. There would be no order in our society. State and national laws are supposed to keep the strongest from oppressing, hurting and killing the weaker.

Yet it is not just parents and the civil authorities who have the right to judge. Only a few verse later in both Luke’s record of Jesus’ Sermon and Matthew’s parallel Sermon on the Mount, Jesus catechizes us to Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits (Mt 7:15-16, 19-20). We are to discern the fruit to see whether is is good or bad. And you are called, dear Christian, to accept the good and reject the bad.

Every Christian has the duty to judge doctrine and outward words and actions of those around them. For by right judgment we understand. We discern truth from error, right from wrong. Jesus said, Beware of false prophets. You cannot beware of false teachers unless you judge what they teach. These are their fruits. Do they agree with Holy Scriptures? Does it align with the Small Catechism? The man known as the "American Luther," CFW Walther, said that every Christian is obligated, on pain of losing his salvation, to seek out an orthodox Christian Church and go there!

Pastors, especially, have the responsibility to judge doctrine and to warn those under their spiritual care of threats against the truth. St Paul repeatedly urges pastors to teach and preach only pure doctrine. This necessarily entails judging what is and is not false doctrine. The Apostle concludes a list of qualifications for a Pastor in his Epistle to Titus with these words: He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in healthy doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).

Judge not, Jesus says. He is not denying parents or civil authorities the right and duty to pronounce judgment. Neither is He denying ministers of His Church or any Christian the right to judge doctrine according to the Word of God within their vocation. This kind of judgment is necessary and even demanded by our Lord. Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them (Rm 16:17). If we could not do this we would be swept away by the latest, trending, worldly opinions. Not only in theological matters, but in all things.

So what is our Lord teaching us by saying, Judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned? It all hinges upon the sentence that comes before it and follows after it. Therefore, become merciful, even as your Father is merciful. And Forgive and you will be forgiven. With this you see why the Old Testament for today is the account of Joseph forgiving his brothers.

Twenty years earlier he was hated by them, stripped of his clothes and humiliated, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. They covered up their sins and deceived their father into thinking he was mauled by a wild beast.

Yet God highly exalted him. He made him the most powerful man in Egypt. And when he had his chance for revenge later in life, when he had the chance to at last berate them with indignation, to get revenge. He instead showed them mercy. They were expecting harsh words, but he spoke kindly to them. He cried tears of joy and embraced them not as servants, but as brothers. He showed them mercy! A better example could not be found in all the world.

But we need more than an example, dear Christians. When Jesus says, Judge not, we are judged. When He says, Condemn not, we stand condemned. We need a Savior. We need someone who forgives our sins. Someone to remove the planks from our eyes. So the Father sent One better than Joseph. He sent Jesus, His beloved Son, true God to become Man. He was hated by His brothers too. Stripped of His clothes and humiliated. He was sold for the price of a slave and betrayed into the hands of men, and thrown into a pit of death.

Yet after three days in the tomb He was raised from the dead, highly exalted into the highest heavens and enthroned at the Father’s right hand. This was not so that He could exact revenge on those whose sins put Him on the Cross. That is, to get even with you, to indignantly berate you. Rather it is so that He can announce to you reconciliation.

Our Judge, the One who can judge us guilty of breaking His Law, has Himself been judged guilty instead so that you might be acquitted. Our Judge, who alone could condemn us, was condemned in our place and instead absolves us. The One who alone can get you back and treat you like He Himself was treated, instead treats you not as servants, but as royal sons and daughters.

Joseph could only say to his brothers, Am I in the place of God? But Jesus says to you, “I am God in the Flesh. In Me you have the kind of mercy that deals with all your sins. It removes your neighbor’s specks and your own planks so that you may see more clearly according to My Word. I have taken your ever-present pride and all your sins upon Myself and died for them. Not only that, I rose again so that you could be given new life from above by water and the Word in Holy Baptism and be adopted into My family as brothers and sisters. And as a family, I give you the right to sit at My Table and share in My eternal inheritance. This is how My Father is merciful toward you. You, dear child, are likewise to become merciful."

Therefore, Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Or, as Jesus says, Become merciful as your Father is merciful. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. He is not saying “Overlook one another’s sins and pretend they aren't sinning. Accept people no matter what they do or say.” No, what He’s teaching you is to acknowledge right and wrong, truth and error, according to His Word. But to first recognize that you are a sinner in need of the Father’s forgiveness. That by repentance and faith you take the log out of your own eye. Then, by His Word and Spirit, do you see more clearly to not be judgmental, but to judge rightly.

For as the Father shows you unfathomable mercy in Christ Jesus, you are to be merciful. You have been freed from your sin. You are now free, even commanded, to forgive those who sin against you.

This is what the Christian Church is all about - being forgiven and forgiving. Being loved and showing love. This is what it means to desire and seek after the dwelling in the House of the Lord all the days of your life as you sang in the Introit. Judge according to the vocation in which God has placed you. Yes. But always have mercy and forgive just as our Father in heaven is merciful and forgives you.

And in that peace and joy we come today to receive mercy and forgiveness against under bread and wine, the very Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Isaiah 61:1-3, 10; Revelation 7:9-17; St John 3:13-21
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, came to Jesus by night to talk some theology with Him. Unsure of how to start, the Pharisee addressed our Lord, Rabbi, we know you are a teacher come from God. To which Christ responded, Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is genesthe anothen, He cannot see the kingdom of God.

Genesthe anothen is a Greek phrase that means either, born again or begotten from above. Nicodemus went with the first. How can a man be born when he is old? After some additional back and forth about baptism, the sinful flesh, and the Spirit, in which this ruler of the Jews was in the dark not only literally, but figuratively, Jesus said plainly, God loved the world in this way, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Though he was confused here, in the end Nicodemus was enlighten by the Holy Spirit and, along with Joseph of Arimathea, courageously and lovingly buried the body of Jesus.

I say this not only to give you some context to our Gospel, but also to give you an idea of what it was like to visit Dorothy. I would come to her in the afternoon. And for the last several years our bimonthly visits would always begin like this: “Hi, Dorothy, I’m Pr Mierow from St Peter’s Lutheran Church.” She’d look at me closely and after a few seconds say, “St Peter’s? That’s my church!” “Yes. Yes it is. I guess that makes me your Pastor.” “I guess so.” And with a big smile, “Why here, sit down.”

After some back and forth in which I was usually confused we eventually talked some theology. It was partially because I was sometimes a little apprehensive about bringing her the Lord’s Supper. Especially on “off days” for her memory. But it was mostly because I’m selfish and it was always a true joy to ask this elderly woman with a hilarious sense of humor the Christian Questions with their Answers. Because just like her daughter, Donna, it was a delight to hear them confess the faith.

For those who don’t know, the Christian Questions with their Answers are twenty questions prepared by Dr Martin Luther for those who intend to receive the Sacrament of the Altar. They’re part of the Small Catechism, a text that Dorothy had learned by heart when she became Lutheran, by God’s grace, as an adult, and never, even in her last years with failing memory, ever forgot. Again, by God’s grace.

It would go like this:
“Dorothy, do you believe that you are a sinner?” “Well yeah. Of course. We all are. You wouldn’t believe some of things I’ve done. I can’t tell a minister.”
“What do you deserve on account of your sins.” “Hell, I suppose.”
“Do you hope to be saved?” “Absolutely!”
“In whom do you hope?” And here’s where it got fun. She’d say, “In my Lord Jesus Christ.” And often, before I could even ask, “What has Jesus done for you that you believe in Him?” she’d recite the very words of Jesus from John 3: God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

Dorothy knew the power of the fallen flesh. She believed and confessed what St Paul writes concerning it in Romans 7 and Galatians 5: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh (Rm 7:18). Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:17, 19-21).

Therefore by faith, she also knew her desperate need for a Savior. For the One who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, and was lifted up on the scaffold of the Cross to draw all people to Himself. He is her “true Paschal Lamb whom God so freely gave us; He died on the accursed tree - so strong His love - to save us” (LSB 458:5). His blood marks her door. That is, His blood has marked her in body and soul from the day of her baptism into His death-defying death and life giving resurrection. “Faith points to it; death passes o’er, and Satan cannot harm her. Alleluia!”

Dorothy always maintained that she was baptized in a creek. Whether she was or not, water was applied to her with the word in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. “The water of her Baptism day restored again whatever the old Adam and his sin destroyed” (LSB 596:3). And God clothed her with the garment of salvation, covered her with the robe of righteousness, and planted her firmly in the Lord, as Isaiah proclaims.

She firmly held to this gift and her soul waited for the Lord, hoping in His Word. When she buried Clarence, she waited. When she buried Donna, she waited. When she battled memory loss and health issues and the lusts of her own flesh, she waited for the Lord, more than watchman for the morning. And “When nothing else revived her soul, her Baptism stands and makes her whole and now in death completes her.” That’s what you acknowledge here this morning as we cover Dorothy’s body with the funeral pall. This reality stands not only for her, but for “Christians who have been baptized and know the God of heaven, and in whose daily life is prized the name of Christ once given” (LSB 596:1).

People loved by God, this is the “old normal” in which we live. There is much talk lately of our “unprecedented situation” and the phrase “new normal” is repeated ad nauseam. Don’t forget, beloved, the countless epidemic that have plagued the world since the time of the New Testament. Throughout each crisis the Church and her ministers have been present with the faithful people in their suffering, offering the succor of God’s healing Word and sacraments.

For crucial reasons Christians must not accede to talk of a “new normal.” Yes we can recall countless recoveries from war and pestilence and remember that “this, too, shall pass.” But more importantly, we confess that Christ is the Lord of history, the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). He has come to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, to bring the Gospel to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to comfort all who mourn. Cling to His promises and in the midst of things we cannot understand, believe and find comfort in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

He will return us to the “normal” that He has graciously established and wills for us. Do not be tempted to think that the world can no longer accommodate the ways and deeds of historic, biblical Christianity, the way Dorothy believes and confesses. The gifts of Christ are never obsolete, but always essential, and continue to have vital place in this dead and dying world. The Christian has confidence that what God has instituted is for our good.  

Even as we loving place the body of our dear sister in Christ into God’s acre and await with eagerness the hope of the resurrection and a joyful reunion with those we love who have departed in the faith.

Thus do we use our baptisms well, as faithful Christians, within our vocations. And continue to join our song to the heavenly chorus of angels and archangels and all the company heaven, singing the praises to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. For one day, of course, there will be a “new normal” in which Christ Himself will change all things at His return. The world and all that is in it will be burned up and remade (2 Pt 3:10). We, His people, our sister Dorothy, Donna, and all who believe and are baptized, will be called up to meet Him in the air (1 Thess 4:17) to process with Him into the enteral banquet.

There we shall stand before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His Temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter you with His presence. You shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike you nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be your Shepherd, and He will guide you to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from your eyes.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

Micah 7:18-20; 1 Peter 5:6-11; St Luke 15:11-32
Confirmation of Jill Brabender
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.

The Parable of the Lost Son, usually called the Prodigal Son, is the Christian parable par excellence. It is the parable of the parables. The center panel of the triptych of these three parables in Luke 15 - the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son - which Jesus told because the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Lk 15:2).

Maybe even more than John 3:16, this parable is the Gospel in a nutshell. A narrative summation of our faith. Simple enough for a child to comprehend yet too deep for the most humble and erudite theologian. The poetic statement of the father at the end, Your brother was dead and is alive; he was lost and is found, is as important to Christianity as, For God so loved the world. By grace you have been saved. And, I know that my Redeemer lives.

Your brother was dead and is alive; he was lost and is found.

We usually focus on the lost son. The one who is reported to have wasted his living with prostitutes and who longed for the pods fed to pigs. He saw the error of his ways and repented. And in this our focus turns toward the compassion of the father. He had already acquiesced to the son’s insulting demand. Little is gained in forcing a kid to stay at home who is already gone in his heart. But upon his return he runs out to meet him. He quickly forgives him. Which, notice, alters the rehearsed confession just enough to make it acceptable. He doesn’t earn his way back. He is restored in mercy. Love moves one to true confession.

People loved by God, we rightly understand that we are the prodigals restored. That God the Father ran to meet us in Baptism and clothes us with the cloak of righteousness. That He speaks kindly to us in the Scriptures and puts the family ring on our finger. That the Lord’s Supper is the celebratory banquet wherein we are publicly declared to be the true and restored sons of God. In a sense, this is what the Rite of Confirmation is all about. Especially for adult catechumens like Jill. We wandered far from home and have returned by the grace of God in Christ Jesus and the compassion of the Father.

We were dead and are alive. We were lost and are found.

In context, though, the weight of the parable is actually on the older son, not the younger. The one who stands outside the feast and pouts. We are quite good at feeling superior to that guy. We know who the hero of the story is and its not him. He suffers that which Americans hate most: snobbery and self-righteousness. He thinks himself holier than others.

We must tread softly here, dear Christians. The flesh is weak and full of pride. It thinks it engages in Christian charity, but finds a way to love and approve of itself even in the name of not thinking too much of oneself. There’s a perverse form of pride, maybe more subtle and therefore more deadly, to be proud of one’s humility. To judge others as proud and to bask in one’s non-judgmentalism.

It is virtually impossible for the fallen human flesh to note that someone else is self-righteous, is proud or thinks that he is holier than other people and not be immediately guilty of thinking yourself to be holier than him precisely because you do not think yourself better than other people. Remember the Pharisee and the tax collector? Do you thank God that you’re not like that guy who thinks he’s better than other people? Oops.

We do, though, don’t we? We think we’re better than the guys in orange jumpsuits picking up trash by the side of the highway. That we’re not as wicked as the drug dealer, the child pornographer, the sexual deviant. The only difference between them and us is they were caught and punished for their sins.

What’s worse is that there is something broken and proud in us that loves the sins of the prodigal and hates the obedience of the older brother. Part of it is that we like the drama. And drama comes from conflict. Americans or not, we are by nature rebellious people. We like the idea of destroying the statues of our enemies. Of indulging our vengeance and taking an eye for an eye. We all have some hedonistic greed that like the idea of tasting for ourselves the illicit pleasures and being welcomed back as conquering heroes richer for the experience. Our fantasies betray us. And they are worse than vanity. They are deadly. God is not mocked.

Repentance is continuously needed dear Christians. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

The truth is, most of us have not lived interesting lives full of sinful drama. We should be thankful for that. It does not make us better Christians than others. Neither does it make you ignorant of the power of the Gospel, either. Unless Jesus and His Mother and Simeon were ignorant in the Gospel. Unless God was just kidding in the Law. Piety and sanctification aren’t harmful to faith. Thinking that they are can be harmful, though.

But this older brother, despite his outward appearance, definitely had some problems. So do we. We are in danger. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion. Temptation is all around us. But we are not alone. The compassionate Father stands outside the house with us and invites us in.

All that is Mine is yours. Be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.

Be glad. Come in. Rejoice. The fattened calf was killed for you too. That is, Jesus Christ, who was fattened up with your sins, not only of fleshly indulgence, but also of pride and vanity, has been roasted on the Spit of the Father’s wrath. He has been Sacrificed in order to make a way back home for you. You are with Him always. Don’t sulk that you aren’t a celebrity in the Church. The Father has come out in compassion to get you because even though you are with Him always your flesh is weak. You may be hardly noticed by the party-goers, but the Father notices and He wants you with Him

That is where the parable ends. We don’t know what the older brother does. Does he repent and is ushered into the house by his Father? Or does he refuse and sulk outside? in a sense it doesn’t matter. Jesus leaves the door open for the Pharisees. Which means He leaves it open for you, too.
What will you do?

Dear Christians this world is full of injustices. The wicked are rewarded. The poor are forgotten. Hard work goes unnoticed. But the Banquet isn’t a reward for righteousness. It is grace. You can’t buy or earn your way in. Neither son has a right to be there. Not the prodigal or the cranky. It doesn’t matter if you were outwardly obedient. And don’t look down on those who weren’t. No on get’s in by right.

Christ Jesus died for you. He held nothing back. Like His Father He was reckless and prodigal. Extravagant with His love and mercy and forgiveness. He has had compassion on you and has tread your iniquities underfoot. He has cast all your sins into the depth of the sea. He has reconciled you to the Father. There is nothing left to pay. No earning your way back to the Father’s Table. Now the Father Himself is seeking you.

Your Brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found. You don’t need to stand in the cemetery with the death you’ve earned. Your Brother was dead and is alive. You can live also. You can be found.

Come to the Supper, dear brothers. Leave death and pride behind. All is ready. None is worthy. But Christ Jesus has died and risen for people like you.

In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.