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SERMON: Blessed...
Blessed are the rich, for
they have everything they want. Now, we know that's not how it goes, but that is the message we hear every day: the truly blessed are those who are strong, those who are wealthy, the young, those who are able to take care of themselves, those who don't have to rely on other people, those who do whatever it takes to be successful. We look down upon those who are weak, helpless and reliant. Sure, we're happy to take care of those in need, but there's nothing good about being needy, is there? We look up to the leader, the self-made man, the kind of person who doesn't need anybody for anything. Just look at those running for office. Their message is always the same: I've got the all answers, I've got a plan, I've got the right experience, I'm strong, I'm successful, and I can solve all your problems if you only give me the power to do so. Would you elect someone who was meek? Would you vote for someone who was poor in spirit? No, you want someone aggressive - a fighter, someone who is a strong leader. You want someone in office who is independent, who commands authority. That's what people respect. But there's a problem with this. There's a problem with relying on yourself and your own strength and ability to carry you through. Ultimately your own strength will fail. You will find yourself in a situation you can't work your way out of. It may be illness, it may be family problems, it may be financial problems, but sooner or later we all come to realize how weak and helpless we really are. Not only will your physical strength fail you, but your spiritual strength will as well. No matter how hard we try, we are not able to please God. We can try to live a good life, try to treat others well, try to follow God's law, but our strength is not enough. We just can't do it. Spiritually, we are not strong, we are weak. We are not rich, we are poor. But when we come to realize this, that's a good thing. Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Blessed are the spiritually poor. Blessed are those who do not rely on their own good deeds or their own moral strength. Blessed are those who know their sinfulness and their shortcomings, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to you - not because you've earned it or deserve it, but because you're poor. The church is not for those who lead perfect lives, who have everything put together. No, the church is for sinners who need forgiveness. The church is a place for the needy to come and receive good things from the Lord. This is what makes you a saint - receiving everything from the Lord as a gift - not in living a good life, but in confessing your sinfulness and in being made holy. Your sinfulness will cause you to mourn. When you see the hurt and harm your sinful actions have caused, when you come to know the consequences of your actions, it will make you deeply sad and remorseful, but don't worry. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. You will be comforted by the gospel, the good news that your sins have been paid for, that the Lord still loves you. Your sinfulness will make you meek, shy and timid. You will not trust yourself to do or to say the right thing, but don't worry. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. You will be given a place in the new creation. Your sinfulness will make you hungry and thirsty. You will come to know how empty your life is because of sin. You will crave something better, something wholesome, something that will last - and you will receive it. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. The Lord will fill you with His righteousness. He gives you His body and blood and joins you to Himself. Come to the Lord's table and receive the righteousness of the Lord and do not be hungry or thirst any longer. Because you have been forgiven, because you have been shown mercy, you now show mercy to those around you. Mercy flows from the Lord to you and then out to those around you. Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. The Lord shows mercy to you by purifying your heart. He creates in you a clean heart, removing impurities and the stain of sin. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Sinful man cannot see God and live. The holiness of God is simply too intense to survive, but you have been purified. You will see God, look Jesus in the eye. You can even touch Him on the nose. With your pure heart, you are now at peace with God and with one another. Sin separated you from God and made you His enemy. Sin creates conflict with those around you, but, free from sin, you are now at peace. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. You have been made a part of God's family. No longer an enemy, you are His beloved child. Yet there is a cost to discipleship, to this sainthood we have been given. You will be persecuted because you don't fit in. You will be insulted and people will tell lies about you. Yet even this is a blessing. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is what disciples are like. This is what saints are like. Because we are sinners, we are poor in spirit, we mourn, we are meek and we hunger and thirst for righteousness. Because we are forgiven, we are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers and persecuted. We are like this because this is what Jesus is like. Who is poor in spirit, but Jesus Christ, who humbled himself, making himself nothing and becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross? The kingdom of heaven is His, and He reigns from the throne of His cross. Who is He who mourns but Jesus Christ, who mourns over Jerusalem, weeping for the sins of His people? His Holy Spirit is the comforter Who gives comfort to all people. Who is meek but Jesus Christ, gentle Jesus, meek and mild? Like a sheep before his shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. His is the earth and all that is in it. He will come again to judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end. Who hungers and thirsts for righteousness but Jesus, the Righteous One? He was without sin, and He freely gives us His righteousness. Who is merciful but Jesus, who has shown us all mercy, not punishing us as our sins deserve, but showing us His mercy, taking God's wrath upon Himself? Who is pure in heart but Jesus, the Holy One of Israel? He was innocent, and His pure heart was pierced for you. When you see Jesus, then, you see God, in all His purity, in all His holiness, dying out of love for you. Who is a peacemaker but Jesus, the Prince of Peace? His death makes peace with God. "Peace be with you," Jesus says, and it is so. He truly is the Son of God. Who was persecuted but Jesus Christ, Who suffered insults and mocking, beatings and thorns, nails, a spear, and shame all for you? The beatitudes are a picture of Christ. Because Christ is in you, the beatitudes are a picture of you and All Saints, forgiven sinners - poor, mourning, meek, hungry, merciful, pure, peaceful and persecuted - and the Lord has given you the kingdom. - Pastor Mark Birkholz
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Nov 2, 2008 Gospel First Reading Epistle |
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SERMON: The Truth
Sometimes the truth hurts. The truth confronts you and tell you things you don't want to hear. Truth comes in a bank statement that tells you you're running out of money. Truth comes in medical test results that are positive. Truth comes in a report card that tells you that you should have studied a little harder. Truth comes in an angry conversation, where all the things you've been hiding from each other finally come to the surface. Sometimes the truth hurts. When you take an honest look at your life, your family, the world around you, the truth is not pretty. The truth can be frightening. When we are faced with who we are and what we're really like, when we see ourselves in the mirror of God's law, the truth hurts. The truth is clearly spelled out in the Epistle reading from Romans 3. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That's the truth. In the church, we speak the truth. Here the Lord speaks directly to you, and His Word is truth. He doesn't sugar-coat anything. He doesn't lie to you here just to make you feel better about yourself. Every week we are faced with the truth. We confess that we are poor miserable sinners, that we have offended God, and that we deserve His punishment. The truth is good, even when it hurts. Lies may make you feel better, but they don't do you any good. What good is a doctor who doesn't tell you the truth, who tells you you're fine when you're dying? What good is a teacher who doesn't tell you the truth, who tells you your wrong answers are right? What good is a pastor who doesn't tell you the truth, who tells you you're really a good person when you know you're really not? Here you are faced with the truth of God's Law. And the truth hurts. In fact, the truth kills. The Law strips you of any reliance on yourself. Many people ignore the truth and live in denial. They surround themselves with people who will lie to them rather than tell them the truth. Lies are usually more appealing than the truth. This was the case with the Jews in today's gospel. They claimed, "We have never been slaves of anyone." They ignored 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They ignored 70 years of exile in Babylon. They ignored occupation by the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. And they ignored their slavery to sin. So Jesus faces them up to the truth. "Anyone who sins is a slave to sin." This is the truth, and the truth hurts. We also like to take pride in our freedom. We enjoy many freedoms in our country. In just over a week, we will exercise our freedom to vote and choose our leaders and the direction of our country. Yet despite all these freedoms, we are still slaves. We still sin daily. And there's nothing we can do to stop sinning. We can't set ourselves free. We are enslaved by our desires and our passions. We can choose whom to vote for, but we can't choose not to sin. That's the truth, and the truth hurts. This was the case with Martin Luther as well. Martin knew he was a sinner, that there was nothing good inside him. Martin was plagued and tortured by the fact that he did not measure up to righteous expectations of the Lord. He lived in constant fear of the Lord and His wrath. The truth drove Martin to the monastery and into the confessional, where he would spend hours confessing all he had done. Martin felt that bondage to sin. And he tried everything he could think of to work his way free, but the harder he worked and struggled, the tighter the noose became. The Law is true, and the truth hurts. But there is another truth - a truth that doesn't hurt, it heals; a truth that doesn't kill, it makes alive; a truth that doesn't bind, it sets you free. Jesus says, "The truth will set you free." Jesus came proclaiming a new truth, a new kind of truth, a truth that doesn't hurt, but sets you free. The truth is that you are loved. The truth is that you are forgiven. The truth is that life has triumphed over death, that darkness has not overcome the light. The truth is you have been set free. You are no longer a slave to sin and death. Jesus, the Son, has set you free. He has paid the price of your redemption, and you are free. That is the truth - Jesus said it, Jesus did it. He just set you free once more with the words, "I forgive you all your sins." Right here, right now, the truth sets you free. When the Lord speaks to us, we respond with "Amen." Amen means, "It is true." It is true that I am a sinner, and it is true that I am forgiven. It is true that the Lord makes me holy, and that I am free. Yes, Amen, it is true - I am free. You are free from the punishment your sins deserve. No matter what you've done, it is forgiven. There's no more penalty, there's no more guilt - you are completely and utterly free. There's no need to fear God's wrath, because your sins have been taken care of - that's the truth. You are free to live your life without worrying about what the future holds for you. Yes, the time will come when your heart stops beating and you fall asleep in the Lord, but here is the truth - death will not be the end. You will be raised from the dead on the last day and you will have an eternity to enjoy the bliss and splendor of heaven. You will be free from sickness, free from pain, free from all that holds you back and keeps you from enjoying life. No need for medicine or surgery or therapy in heaven - you will be free. And finally, Satan has no more claim on you. You have been set free from him as well. His power is broken and you have nothing to fear. A champion has come to fight the old satanic foe. You ask who this may be? The Lord of hosts is He, Christ Jesus, mighty Lord, God's only Son, adored. He holds the field victorious - that is the truth. You are free from sin, free from death, and free from the power of the devil. Satan will continue to lie to you. He will tell you you aren't good enough, that God couldn't possibly love someone like you. But you have been set free from these lies by the truth of God's love. Martin Luther experienced this freedom when the truth of the Gospel set him free. This is how he describes his life under the truth of the law, the truth that hurts: "But I, blameless monk that I was, felt that before God I was a sinner with an extremely troubled conscience. I couldn't be sure God was appeased by my satisfaction. I did not love -no, rather I hated the just God who punishes sinners." But after the mercy of God was revealed to him, Luther writes, "All at once I felt that I had been born again and entered into paradise itself through open gates. Immediately I saw the whole of Scripture in a different light." Martin Luther couldn't help but tell other people of the joy he had found in the freedom of the Gospel. He didn't want anyone to remain a slave, living in fear of God's punishment. That freedom caused him to speak out against anything that did not proclaim the truth of the gospel. He could not stand to see others enslaved by their sin. Brothers and sisters, our neighbors are hurting. They are hurting because of the truth of their sinfulness, and their slavery to sin. The truth hurts, the truth kills, but there is another truth, the gospel-truth. We have been given a truth that heals, a truth that sets free, a truth that brings life and hope and joy and peace. We have been set free to live a life through the righteousness of Christ. Go, you are free - that's the truth. - Pastor Mark Birkholz
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Oct 26, 2008 Gospel First Reading Epistle |
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SERMON: Trapping Jesus
It's never a good idea to try to trap Jesus. Many try. All fail. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday brings things to a head. The religious leaders want to arrest Jesus and they want to kill Him. But He hasn't done or said anything they can get Him on. They need a "gotcha" moment. They need a smoking gun. They need Jesus to say something either blasphemous or treasonous so they can get rid of Him. Three weeks ago it was the question, "By whose authority do you do these things?" They want Jesus to say He has been sent by God. That would be blasphemy (unless, of course, it's true). But Jesus doesn't bite. First, Jesus asks about John the Baptist: Where did his baptism come from? Then Jesus tells three stories, the three stories we heard over the past three weeks: the two sons, the landlord and the deadbeat tenants, and the bum's banquet. Each of these stories shows how Jesus is the Son sent from the Father. The Pharisees reject Him just as they had rejected John and the other prophets. They will be judged because of their rejection, and the kingdom will be given to outsiders, namely you and me. The first attempt to trap Jesus led to three stories. The second attempt to trap Jesus leads to a short saying, "Give Caesar's things to Caesar and God's things to God." Those asking the question are astonished and have to go away and regroup before the next attempt. Let's take a closer look at the question and Jesus' response. First, the question: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? To us it may not seem that controversial. Everyone has to pay taxes, right? Well, remember that the Romans are an occupying power. Most Jews don't want them around, except, perhaps, the Herodians. Herod the Great was a friend of the Romans. He was a supporter of Caesar Augustus, and the Roman Senate proclaimed Him to be "King of the Jews." Many of Herod's sons ruled parts of Israel as well. They did so by permission of the Romans. They were puppets. They were collaborators. If anyone would be a supporter of the Romans, it would be the Herodians. Now the Pharisees and their disciples were not such big fans of the Romans. To the Pharisees, the Romans were pagan infidels. Their mere presence polluted the Holy Land of Israel. While the Pharisees did not lead a rebellion against Rome, they weren't happy that they were around. So you have these two groups - the Herodians and the Pharisees - the Herodians, who love the Romans; and the Pharisees, who hate the Romans. Certainly not friends or allies. But in this instance they cooperate to try to trap Jesus. Both groups would have felt threatened by Jesus. Both groups would be happy to see Him gotten rid of. So they come with flattery and ask Jesus what appears to be a simple question: Is it right to pay taxes? Now, the Herodians are looking for a yes from Jesus - yes, we should be good citizens and pay our taxes. The Romans provide us with security and the rule of law. They build our roads and our theaters. Overall, they are good for our country, and we should pay our taxes. And the Pharisees are looking for a no from Jesus - no, the Romans are godless heathens. This land was promised to Abraham and his descendants, and the Romans have no business here. They worship false gods, and they even worship the emperor as a God. Whatever Jesus says, He's trapped. If He says yes, then the Pharisees will brand Him a sympathizer and an idolater. If he says no, then the Herodians will brand Him a traitor and a rebel. What Jesus does, as Jesus often does, is answer the question with a question. Whose coin is this? Whose image and whose inscription? The answer is obvious: Caesar's. The emperor at that time would have been Tiberius Caesar. The inscription probably would have read, "The August Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Caesar Augustus" and on the other side "Pontifex Maximus" or "High Priest of the Roman Empire." This would be like having our $20 bill today with a picture of George Bush on it, along with the words, "The divine George Walker Bush, son of the divine George Herbert Walker Bush, God's representative on earth." Would you want to use currency like that? Every time you pulled one of those bills out of your wallet, I'm sure you'd cringe, and maybe even swear under your breath a little bit. The image and the inscription, however blasphemous and controversial, on that denarius coin belonged to Caesar. The money was his, and so it was right to give it to him. Now Jesus could have stopped there. He could have just said, "Give Caesar's things to Caesar." That would have answered the question. But He doesn't. Jesus continues by saying, "And give God's things to God." That's the key. That's the extra twist. How do we know what things belong to Caesar? They have his image and his inscription on them. How do we know what things belong to God? They have His image and His inscription on them. The image of God was first given to man at creation. We were made in God's image. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. In all other religions man makes gods in man's own image. They create gods who are like men, only better - with certain special powers. Instead, we learn that God makes us in His image. We lost that image, though, through our own sinfulness. The image was marred. Like a fine oil painting that's been horribly smeared, you can sort of see the original, but it's been ruined. And yet that is not the end of the story. Jesus Christ came to restore the image of God that man had lost. In Colossians 1:15 we read that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. As Jesus Himself says, "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." Jesus Christ is the image of God. In Jesus we see the Father and His love for us. In your baptism, the image of God was restored in you, as you were joined to the body of Christ. When the Father looks at you, He sees Jesus, His Son. It's as though God were looking in a mirror. You not only bear the image of God, but His inscription as well. In Holy Baptism, the name of God was written on your forehead with the water and the words, "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." You now bear the image and the inscription of God. You are God's. You belong to Him. Just as Jesus belongs to God as His Son, so you too, who have been baptized, now belong to God. When Jesus says, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's," you know what this means - pay your taxes, be a good citizen, and so forth. When Jesus says, "Give to God what is God's," what does He mean? Well, just look to Jesus Himself. He gave all that He had, even His very life to God. He urged others to do the same - to sell all they had and give to the poor, to leave everything behind and follow Him. You belong to God, and so everything about you belongs to Him. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. Your body is now a living sacrifice. When the Lord tells us to give everything to Him, we usually soften the blow a little bit. Surely God can't mean everything. We should be ready to do so, of course, but He can't really expect me to, can He? We need to broaden our view a little when it comes to giving to God. We certainly give to God by giving to the church. Regular, generous giving is part and parcel of the Christian life. But we also give to God when we are generous to our friends and neighbors. We give to God when we take care of our families and provide for them. Everything you have, everything you are belongs to the Lord. He has made you in His image and put His inscription on you. You are the Lord's coin, and He will put you to use as He sees fit. God used His Son to save the world from sin, and God will use you to bring life, joy and peace to those around you. - Pastor Mark Birkholz
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Oct 19, 2008 Gospel Old Testament Epistle |
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OR... |
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Faith Ev. Lutheran
Church–Missouri Synod
© 2002-08 Faith
Lutheran Church
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