Thursday of Pentecost 17

Thursday of Pentecost 17 (Proper 22C)

October 10, 2019

Circuit Winkel

Christ the King Lutheran Church

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Pastor Timothy had a rough go of ministry in his Ephesian parish.  Right off the bat in his first letter to the young preacher, St. Paul has to tell him to stay put and do the hard work, take his lumps, and rejoice in suffering for the Gospel God has given him to proclaim, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).  That Gospel, Paul says, has given the Apostle himself strength, and will strengthen Timothy to keep the charge.  Paul pulls no punches.  It won’t be easy.  It will take prayer and dedicated study and preaching of the Word.  Not just anybody should be a pastor, or a deacon for that matter, even if they desire the noble task.  It wouldn’t kill us to re-read the list of qualifications in First Timothy 3 regularly, as Paul gives us a pastoral theology beyond compare.  It is important for us to keep these things before our eyes, because, Paul says, pitfalls and stones of stumbling await us around every corner.  Many who are with us will turn out to be against us and depart from the faith.  Suffering is a promise.  There is a personal cost to it all.  The preacher will suffer rejection, and even persecution, as a good servant of Christ Jesus, the Crucified, for the servant is not above his Master.  False teachers will abound.  The preacher must fight the good fight of faith, and there will necessarily be casualties.  These are the things they don’t tell us until after Seminary.  But then, we should have known better, because it’s all right there in the Bible, spelled out for us in First Timothy. 

Which brings us to our text in Second Timothy Chapter 1.  Things are not much easier for Timothy, and now Paul, his spiritual father, is on his way to martyrdom.  Paul prays for Timothy from the dungeon, constantly, night and day.  Timothy sheds his tears for Paul.  In times of suffering, it’s back to the basics, and in particular, the Promises, the Gospel, Jesus.  Timothy, I’m reminded of your faith, Paul says.  You know, the faith you learned from infancy on the knees of your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, a faith that now dwells in you (v. 5).  The faith you learned as a child is no different than the faith you now preach in the face of much opposition.  It is the same Lord Jesus who loves you, this you know.  But you’ve grown up into this faith, and now you’ve received an Office, the preaching Office, by the laying on of my hands.  And that did not come without a gift.  It is the gift of God, a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control (vv. 6-7).

When a man, like Timothy, is placed into the Preaching Office, the Holy Spirit is present, not to stamp upon the man some indelible character a la the Roman priesthood (you can call me a sacerdotalist, and you may be right, but this isn’t that), but by the Word to bestow gifts on the sinful man now entrusted with a ministry.  The man is not sufficient of himself.  Timothy is not sufficient.  You, brother, are not sufficient.  But God is.  And He does not forsake the man… He does not forsake you. 

Power, He gives: δυνάμεως, dynamite!  Well, we like that word, but I’m not so sure we know what it means.  I took a chance and looked it up.  Not just power… Ability.  Capability.  Capacity.  But for the disciple, and so for the preacher, always under the cross, under suffering, and that which, to all appearances, is the opposite of power.  Paul learned this first-hand with his thorn in the flesh.  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my δύναμις is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9; ESV mostly). 

Love.  You know this one: ἀγάπης.  It is the love with which Christ loves us and gave Himself for us to the death of the cross for our redemption.  This is self-sacrificial love.  It expects nothing in return.  It does not love because the beloved is loveable or worthy of love, but because this love is good.  It loves because it declares the beloved loved.  It lays it all on the line, suffers, gives everything, even to death, for the sake of, for the good of… ah, not just those who receive and appreciate that love, but even those who will reject it and kill the love-giver.  That is the love the preacher is to have for his people, and as you know from first-hand experience, if you’re in any way honest about it, it is a love of which you fall far short.  Especially with a few of your… beloved sheep.  Timothy, too.  He knows that problem.  I’m not excusing you.  Repent.  Me too.  But look what the text says.  This isn’t a love that comes from you, down in your heart.  It comes from the Spirit.  It is the gift of God, for all Christians, to be sure, but in this text, particularly for the preacher. 

 

And self-control: σωφρονισμοῦ.  In addition to self-control or moderation in terms of behavior, we could translate it as soundness of mind.  Why not both?  A mind set on the pattern of sound words, as Paul says, is a mind of faith and love in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 1:13).  That’s as sound as it gets in the midst of the cacophony of spiritual storm and war that rages all around the preacher.  And that kind of soundness bears fruit in controlled and deliberate pastoral behavior.  What do faith and love demand of me in this difficult situation?  What Word of God is called for?  It is Spirit-sanctified slow-motion in the mind while chaos wreaks demonic havoc on all sides.  This, too, is God’s gift to the preacher.

And these are given, not because the preacher is Somebody, or anybody, but because God is the preacher’s sufficiency.  So that he is not ashamed of the testimony (μαρτύριον) of our Lord (v. 8), which is the Gospel of Christ, but is ready to share in suffering, even as Paul is in prison and about to lose his head, even as Timothy bears rejection and the apostasy of those he loves and has given his all for, even as you bear the holy cross of anxious ἀγάπη for those you love and serve, and have undoubtedly suffered rebuke, rejection, and someday maybe even persecution, as a good servant of Christ Jesus.  I’m not entirely sure what you suffer, but I know you do, because that is what we are promised here.  It is the lot for the preacher. 

God, who saved us, has called us to a holy calling (v. 9).  We are appointed to proclaim the purpose and grace of God which has now been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the vey Gospel we are given to proclaim (vv. 9-10).  That is why you suffer, according to Paul (v. 12).  But be not ashamed.  Fan into flame the gift that is yours by the Holy Spirit who has set you apart for this very thing.  Preach the Gospel.  With power, made perfect in weakness.  With love that flows from Christ the Crucified through you to your flock.  With the soundness of a mind set on Jesus Christ and His pattern of sound words.  God has not and will not forsake you.  He has outfitted you for this ministry.  Hold fast to Him.  Guard the good deposit.  Which is to say, preach it.  And stay the course.  Take your lumps and rejoice.  Even if the flashing of cold steel severs your sound mind from your neck.  You know whom you have believed.  And you know without a doubt that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to you (v. 12).  He is faithful.  He will surely do it.  We know that.  Because He is risen from the dead.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.         

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22C)

October 6, 2019

Text: Luke 17:1-10

             Jesus said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6; ESV).  Have you ever tried this?  Go stand in front of a tree, concentrate really hard on believing in Jesus enough, and then speak the command: “Be uprooted and planted in the midst of the sea!”  What happens?  I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts the tree just stands there where it always has, roots planted firmly in the ground.  What does this mean?  Does it mean you don’t have enough faith?  Do you need to drum up even more faith within yourself?  Does it mean Jesus was lying when He made this promise?  Does it mean God can’t deliver?  Where is the deficiency?  In you?  In God?  In your Bible translation?  As is so often the case with Jesus and His Word, there is more going on here than meets the eye.  First of all, let’s just agree that, as Jesus says, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matt. 4:7), which is precisely what you would be doing if you did this little experiment with the mulberry tree.  You must first ask if it is God’s will that the mulberry tree be so moved.  And if not, God is unlikely to give you the power to move it.

            But what is really the point of what our Lord says here?  Is He really concerned about you moving trees with your faith?  Jesus has just told the disciples to do some impossible things.  Never lead your neighbor into temptation, whether by encouraging or participating with him in his sin, or tacitly condoning his sin by your silence.  When your neighbor sins, rebuke him, and (and this is the hardest part), if he repents, forgive him.  No matter what he’s done.  No matter how many times he’s done it.  If he sins against you seven times in one day, and seven times repents, you are to forgive him.  Or, as our Lord answers Peter’s question elsewhere, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  As many as seven times?” … “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matt. 18:21-22).  Well, you all know from experience how difficult, nay, impossible, these commandments are to fulfill.  Never lead your neighbor into temptation?  Every child has broken that one.  Rebuke your brother when he sins?  No way, that would hurt our relationship.  It’s too hard.  And then the really tough one.  Forgive.  As Christ has forgiven you, forgive your brother who sins against you.  And how has Christ forgiven you?  He died for you.  Forgiving you killed Him, literally.  That’s how you are to forgive.  And of course you must recognize that you sin against Him more than seven times, or even seventy-seven times in a day, but there He is, holding out His pierced hands to you, ready to receive you back, covering your sins by His blood. 

            You forgive that way.  Impossible!  And you’re right.  The apostles recognize this, too.  They understand that this is impossible for them to do by their own strength.  They know that they need something from the Lord, from outside of them, to be able to do this.  So they pray to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).  It is a prayer that we also pray, constantly.  This is going to take a lot, this not leading into temptation, this rebuking, this forgiving.  This is going to take more than we have within ourselves.  Lord, increase our faith!  

            What is interesting, though, is how Jesus answers this prayer.  He doesn’t answer by giving them an increasing quantity of faith.  He simply says that if they have faith, and they do, then they can do the impossible, even saying to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would do it.  Faith, even as small as a mustard seed, the tiniest of all seeds, can do the impossible, like forgive the brother who sins against you.  Yes, it can.  

            Now, I’m not talking about having warm and fuzzy feelings about that brother.  I’m talking about you dying for that brother’s sin, dying to yourself, taking it on the chin.  I’m talking about you loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44).  You understand that when you pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” you are essentially saying, “Lord, forgive me all my sins.  And I am publicly stating here in this prayer that I forgive everyone who has sinned against me.”  There is an objective quality about this forgiveness.  Again, I’m not talking about how you feel toward that brother who has sinned against you.  I’m talking about your objective decision to forgive, even if it kills you, as Christ has forgiven you. 

            “Impossible, Pastor!”  Right.  Just like the mulberry tree.  What is going on with that tree?  A living tree uprooted and planted where it has no hope of survival, namely, the salty sea.  And there it is to go on living, to thrive even.  Impossible.  

            There is another tree, the tree of life, the tree of the cross, which is planted in the most inhospitable environment, in the heart of the sinner.[1]  In your heart!  And there the impossible happens.  This tree that bears the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ takes deep root in you and produces the fruit of living faith in Christ.  This happens as the Word is preached, as Baptism washes and waters, as by the Supper Jesus’ blood courses through your veins.  And you find that something amazing happens.  You want to do what your Lord commands.  You want to forgive.  You want to do your duty of love toward your brother.  Oh, it’s still hard.  Very hard.  You can’t do it by your own power.  But you can do it in Christ.  You can do it in Christ who forgives your sinful inability to forgive.  You can do it in Christ who died for you that you might die for your brother.  You can do it in Christ, who is risen from the dead and gives you to walk in newness of life, who here and now dispenses to you eternal life by His Word and Sacraments.  You can do it by faith.  The righteous, the justified one, shall live by faith (Hab. 2:4). 

            Now, I’m not going to lie.  You will struggle with this forgiveness business and love for your neighbor until the day you die.  Because of your sinful nature.  Don’t worry about that.  Christ took care of your sinful nature in His death on the cross.  Your sinful nature has been drowned in Baptism and will ultimately be put to death forever when you go to heaven.  But even if you are successful at forgiving your brother (and when you are, praise be to God!), you haven’t done anything worthy of boasting.  When you have done what your Lord has commanded, you are simply to say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:10).  In fact, you haven’t even done your duty, as evidenced by your struggle to forgive.  But here is the Good News.  You have a Lord who has done more than His duty.  He has done it for you and in your place.  It is He who prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), as the Roman soldiers cast lots for His clothing and He hung there on the tree to pay for your sins.  There He won the victory over your sin and death.  He is risen from the dead.  And now what does He do for you?  He says to you precisely what He says in our text a master would NOT say to his servants: “Come at once and recline at table” (Luke 10:7).  Come and let me serve you.  I have prepared a Feast, my Body and Blood, given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of all your sins.  And at this Holy Meal you will be given faith and strengthened to do the impossible: to forgive as I have forgiven you. 

            Now, you may not be successful in your little mulberry tree experiment, and because we know we shouldn’t put God to the test, I recommend you don’t even try.  But by faith you can do the impossible.  You can forgive your brother.  You can do it because Christ has done it for you.  You can do it because Christ does it in you.  Christ died for you.  Christ died for your brother.  In His death on the tree, He has reconciled us to God and to one another.  And His cross has been planted in our hearts for the increase of our faith, to accomplish what is impossible.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.        

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[1] I am indebted to Pr. Mark Love for this analogy.

St. Michael and All Angels

St. Michael and All Angels

September 29, 2019

Text: Dan. 10:10-14, 12:1-3; Rev. 12:7-12; Matt. 18:1-11

            The Prophet Elisha and his servant are holed up in Dothan.  The King of Syria is in hot pursuit.  Elisha must be captured and put to death, for by the word of the Prophet, God has been protecting the nation of Israel from Syrian assault.  The Syrian army surrounds Dothan.  “When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17; ESV).

            So it is for the people of God.  The enemies arrayed against us are colossal.  There is the devil and his evil angels (more on them in a moment).  There is the world, which is hostile to Christ and His people, the Church.  There is your own sinful nature, which believes the lies of the devil and the world and is all too willing to capitulate to their temptations.  These surround the holy city, the Church of God, and to all appearances, guarantee our defeat and ultimately our destruction.  But if the Lord would open our eyes to see the spiritual reality that surrounds us, we would not only see the demonic hoards that seek to do us harm, but the holy angels gathered around us for our defense.  And we would realize that those who are with us are more than those who are against us.  Christ Himself fights for us and has already conquered our enemies by His death and resurrection.  And now He has given us the protection of the angel host, so that we need not fear.  We are safe and can rest secure.  Though the battle rages between the forces of good and evil, holiness and wickedness, the war is won in the blood of the Crucified.  And His angels have been dispatched to guard us in all our ways, to bear us up lest we strike our foot against a stone (Ps. 91:12). 

            Who are these majestic beings, the holy angels?  Well, they are not the souls of the dead.  When Grandma dies, heaven doesn’t “gain another angel.”  That’s from cartoons and popular American spirituality, but it’s not the Bible.  Angels are a special creation of God.  They were created in the beginning, ministering spirits who do the will of God.  They are not smiling naked babies with wings as we so often represent the Cherubim.  Nor are they the serene feminine beings we place on top of our Christmas trees.  They are fearsome creatures, mighty warriors who do the bidding of God, fight against the devil and the evil angels, and aid us in our Christian life.  Angels are spirits.  They are personal beings that do not have a physical body.  They are described in various ways in Holy Scripture, so that an exact description of them is beyond our ability.  Isaiah describes the Seraphim, one particular order of angels, as having six wings: with two they cover their faces, with two they cover their feet, and with two they fly (Is. 6:2).  The Cherubim, another order of angels, were charged with guarding the door to Paradise with a flaming sword (Gen. 3:24).  Likenesses of Cherubim were set over the Ark of the Covenant, where God dwelt with the people of Israel (Ex. 25:18-22).  Ezekiel describes these strange and wonderful creatures in his 10th Chapter: “as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went…  And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around… And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle” (vv. 10-12, 14; ESV).  So much for our Christmas angels! 

            The angels are neither male nor female, though they are most often described in masculine terms.  They were created sometime during the six days of creation, and sometime before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, there was a rebellion among the angels.  Since this rebellion, the holy angels have been confirmed in their holiness, they cannot fall; the evil angels have been confirmed in their wickedness and condemnation, they cannot repent.  Originally created as holy angels, Lucifer (Light Bearer) and the angels that followed him in his rebellion were cast out of heaven to spend eternity separated from God.  Our Lord Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).  In his vision, St. John sees the evil dragon sweep a third of the stars of heaven out of the sky with his tail, the dragon being the devil and the stars being the angels that fell (Rev. 12:4).  The name “Satan” is Hebrew for “adversary.”  The name “devil” is Greek for “accuser.”  His name indicates his nature.  He is our adversary, “a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).  He seeks to lead us with him into eternal damnation.  He accuses us before God and before our own conscience, seeking to lead us into despair.  He tempts us to sin and unbelief and causes untold damage spiritually and physically.  St. Paul calls him the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and Jesus calls him the “ruler of this world” who is “cast out” by the redeeming work of Christ (John 12:31; cf. John 14:30, 16:11).  Though the devil is a powerful angel, we need not fear him, for by His death and resurrection our Lord Jesus has “disarmed the rulers and authorities [demonic beings] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15). 

            The word “angel” comes from the Greek “angelos,” meaning “messenger.”  The holy angels are God’s messengers.  They are His special agents dispatched for our physical and spiritual protection.  “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14).  And yet, at the same time they are guarding and protecting us, they are ever in the presence of God.  Jesus says in our Gospel, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” meaning certainly the children, but also all of God’s children, all Christians… “For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 18:10).  That means that even as they are present with you, they are present with God, have direct access to Him, and do His bidding for your good.  What a comfort!  Their job is to help you, to protect you physically and spiritually for the sake of your salvation.  Some of them may even appear visibly among us in human form, as the writer to the Hebrews says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2).  And these angels, they are a countless host.  As they serve and help you, they simultaneously sing praise to God in heaven.  St. John saw a vision of this in the Revelation: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev. 5:11-12).  And what is amazing is that we join them in this reality when we gather around the altar to laud and magnify the glorious Name of God “with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.” 

            The angels help us in our worship, and as God’s messengers, they are always directing us to Christ and His saving Gospel.  So the angels announced the coming of the Lord Jesus to Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:26-38; Matt. 1:18-25).  They hailed His birth to the shepherds tending their flocks by night (Luke 2:8-15).  An angel rolled back the stone of Jesus’ tomb and was the first preacher of the Resurrection (Matt. 28:1-7; John 20:12).  It is the angels who will announce with trumpet sound our Lord’s coming again to judge the living and the dead (Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16).  And if we only had eyes to see, we would marvel at the many and various ways they direct our ears to the hearing of God’s Word in Scripture and preaching.  Angels, messengers of God, indeed. 

            And what good news they bring.  Here you are surrounded on all sides by your three main enemies: the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh.  The yawning jaws of death and hell are eager to swallow you whole.  But you are of good courage.  You do not lose heart.  Because by faith you know that what was true for Elisha is true for you.  Those who are with you are more than those who are against you.  He who gave His Son into death, washing away your sins by the holy and precious blood of Christ, will not betray you into the hands of the enemy.  He has surrounded you with His holy angels, horses and chariots of fire, to protect you, body and soul.  And when your last hour comes and you take your last breath, the holy angels will carry you to heaven to be with the Savior (Luke 16:22).  You see, you are never alone.  Not even in death.  Christ is with you.  And His holy angels are an impregnable wall of defense around you, mighty warriors who fight for you.  And they and you have conquered Satan and his hoard by the blood of the Lamb and by His holy Word (Rev. 12:11).  Thanks be to God for the holy angels.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

           

The Fruits of the Spirit: Joy

Pastor’s Pulpit for October 2019

The Fruits of the Spirit: Joy

“²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23; ESV).

Joy (cara [chara] in Greek) is not the same thing as happiness.  Not if we understand happiness as only good feelings in the heart, a positive disposition of the mind, and a smile on the face.  Christians are not always happy in that sense.  How could we be?  There is much to be sad about in this fallen world and in our fallen flesh.  But we do always have joy.  Christian joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  Christ is its source.  It is rooted in the redemption and forgiveness of sins and eternal life we have through our Lord Jesus Christ.  It flows from faith in Christ and the sure and certain knowledge that our Father in heaven loves us.  And so Christian joy abides and perseveres even in the midst of great sorrow and suffering.  This is why St. Paul can write from a prison cell: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). 

Some people think a Christian must always be happy and smile.  This comes out of American pop-Christianity.  Frankly, it’s fake.  It is a denial of reality.  Sad things happen in a fallen world.  Christians weep.  We weep over sin.  We grieve over death.  We hurt.   We suffer.  We suffer sickness and injury and loss.  We suffer guilt and regret.  We suffer persecution from others.  These things may cause us to feel emotions that are less than pleasant. 

Christian joy is not an emotion in this sense.  Though it may sometimes be felt as the emotion of happiness, at other times it is hidden to sight and known only by faith.  We know we have joy, even when we don’t feel it, because we know we have Christ.  And having Christ, we have salvation, life, forgiveness of sins, and all things… “For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:21-23).

Christian joy is not based on the present set of visible circumstances, but on the knowledge by faith of God’s steadfast love and favor for Christ’s sake, and the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the body and the restoration of all things, the undoing of evil and the triumph of the good, when Christ comes again in glory.  That is to say, we know the end of the story.  Disney movies can be quite stressful when it appears that the wicked queen just might win.  Maybe the prince isn’t going to make it in time.  Maybe Snow White will stay dead forever.  But then, we know that in Disney movies, they all live happily ever after.  So we’re certain as we watch the movie, even when all seems hopeless and the princess lies dead, that the prince will come and give her the kiss of resurrection, life, and love.  So we enjoy the movie, even when we get to the sad parts, or the scary parts.  The end is coming, and all will be well.

We know that Christ, who died for our sins, is risen from the dead.  He lives and reigns.  He rules all things for the good of His beloved, His Bride, the Church, us!  And He is coming back for us, to take us to Himself, to the eternal Wedding Feast, where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, where God Himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Rev. 21:4).  Then there will only be joy, unencumbered by grief and sadness.  Then feelings of happiness will always accompany the joy we now know by faith, but not always by sight.

Jesus tells His disciples frankly that they have sorrow now (John 16:22).  In their case, it was because of His impending death on the cross.  In our case, it is because of sin and death and their effects in this life.  But the Lord brings about a turn of sorrow into joy.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.  You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (v. 20).  How?  Why?  Because Jesus is risen from the dead.  And the disciples, and we, will see Him!  “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (v. 22). 

What finally turns our sorrow into joy?  Jesus, who was crucified for our sins, is risen from the dead!  And He will raise us!  And so we even “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:3-5).

Joy gives birth to rejoicing.  “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Ps. 30:5).  “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness” (v. 11).  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”  Even in sadness.  Even in the face of death.  Grieve, yes, but not as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13 ff.).  Grieve as Christians.  Which is to say, rejoicing always.  For joy is God’s gift to you.  Joy is a direct result of Christ for you.  O Lord, give us an increase in the fruits of the Spirit, especially joy in your great salvation.  We ask it for Jesus’ sake, our Savior and our Joy.  Amen.

Pastor Krenz

The Fruits of the Spirit: Love

Pastor’s Pulpit for September 2019

The Fruits of the Spirit: Love

“²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23; ESV).

This month we begin a series of newsletter articles on the Fruits of the Spirit as St. Paul lists them in Galatians 5.  The Holy Spirit gives us living faith in Christ by means of Holy Baptism and the preaching of God’s Word.  We might call this the planting of faith.  This is no decision of our own or act of our will.  It is God’s work in us, by grace: “by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).  Faith in Christ is God’s gracious gift to us, and we are saved by faith alone.  But faith is never alone.  For as faith grows and is nurtured and strengthened by the water of Baptism, the preaching of the Word, the forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Supper of our Lord’s body and blood, it begins to bear fruit.  And the fruit of faith is love and good works.  It is the fruit that the Spirit produces, that He works through us.  Again, it is all His gift.  We call this “sanctification,” as we begin to do the holy works of our calling: “For we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).  The virtues listed here in this list, and the good works that are their concrete expression, are not done to earn salvation or favor with God.  That is all done in Christ.  These flow from that.  These are the fruit of faith.

The first is love.  Agape in Greek.  This is the kind of love Jesus has for us in giving himself on the cross for our sins.  It is self-sacrificial love.  It is the love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  Needless to say, of ourselves, we are incapable of this kind of love.  Try this thought experiment: Replace the word “love” with your name in the passage from 1 Cor. 13, and see if it is true.  You will come to the horrifying conclusion that this cannot be a description of you.  But now replace the word “love” with “Jesus.”  Ah, yes.  Now it is true.  This love is Jesus’ love.  And it is that love that flows from the Spirit through you by faith and begins to produce its fruit toward your neighbor.  You actually begin (haltingly, imperfectly, sometimes begrudgingly [because it kills your Old Adam!], but really and truly) to love and serve your neighbor.  To be patient with him, and kind to him, in spite of all his sins and faults.  To put away your own rights and preferences.  To put your neighbor first, above yourself.  Even to sacrifice yourself for the sake of the neighbor, as Christ sacrificed Himself for you.  This is a love that expects nothing in return.  It loves the unworthy, the ungrateful, and even and especially those who reject this love.  That is what it means that it bears all things and endures all things.

Often this love must say and do hard things.  Like admonish a neighbor to repent of sin.  Call a fellow Christian back to Church who has absented himself.  Tell a loved one that what they are doing is harmful to the self, to others, and separates that loved one from God.  This love disciplines children for their good.  It teaches.  It speaks up for the defenseless.  It defends the lives and property and reputations of others.  It takes persecution and rejection as rewards for its efforts.  It dies to self.  It forgives.  Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).  That is to say, it covers over the sins of those who sin against you.  It releases your neighbor from guilt.

Your loving your neighbor in this way is Christ loving your neighbor through you.  For this reason, it is at the head of the list.  And in spite of the editorial decisions of our English translators, I would change the punctuation of the list of fruits in Galatians 5.  I would put a colon after love.  The rest of the fruits are the unpacking of this first and most important fruit, and they flow from it.  “The Fruit of the Spirit is Love: Joy, Peace, Patience…” etc., etc. (Pastor Krenz Unauthorized Translation of the Bible, hereafter PKUTB).  Though our love does not save us, St. Paul says that as a virtue, love is even greater than faith and hope (1 Cor. 13:13).  For faith and hope have their fulfillment in heaven.  Love never ends (1 Cor. 13:8).

As you’ve heard me say so often, this love is not an emotion.  It is decision and action.  It is first Christ’s decision to love us and give Himself up for us, to sanctify us and cleanse us from our sins so that He might present us to Himself in splendor, spotless, holy, and blameless (Eph. 5:25-27), and shower upon us His every good gift.  And now, as those baptized into Christ, one with Christ, His Body, His Bride, it is our calling and joy to decide to love our neighbor and give ourselves up for our neighbor in the Name of our Bridegroom, Christ.  Christ’s love flows through us and to our neighbor.  Or as St. John puts it, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19; ESV; in agreement with PKUTB).

Our love will be perfect in heaven.  How much less strife and bitterness, contention and controversy would there be if we loved one another more and better here and now!  Let us pray daily for an increase of the fruits of the Spirit in the Church and in our own lives of faith, namely, Love: Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.  God grant it for Jesus’ sake. 

Pastor Krenz

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20C)

September 22, 2019

Text: Luke 16:1-15

             “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7; ESV).  St. Paul asks this piercing question of the Corinthians with regard to their gifts, material and spiritual.  And the answer, of course, is patently obvious to Christians.  Nothing.  There is nothing we have that has not been given to us as a gift.  Everything we have has been given to us by our gracious God.  But obvious as this answer might be, Christians have a tendency to forget.  So St. Paul stingingly reminds the Corinthians and us with his very next breath: “If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”  If what you possess is a gift from God, then it was given to you wholly apart from your merit or worthiness.  It is by grace.  You didn’t earn it.  God gave it to you.  And He gave it to you for a reason, that in possessing it you might be a blessing to your neighbor. 

            Recognizing that every good you possess is a gift from God changes your perspective concerning what belongs to you.  Whether it be money, physical possessions, skills and abilities, time, or spiritual gifts, it has all been given to you by God.  And understand, God doesn’t give you these things so that you can hoard them up for yourself.  This is something we prosperous Americans seem to have trouble with.  First of all, we tend to think we’ve earned these gifts, effectively removing God from the equation… “Look what I’ve done!  Look what I’ve accomplished!”  And second, we have been deceived by the evil one to believe that the more we possess, the more money and stuff we can add to our collection, the happier and more fulfilled we’ll be.  And yet isn’t it amazing that you can work your whole life in order to acquire wealth and possessions, live like kings and queens (as most of us do here in the United States, even many of our poor), and yet feel unfulfilled, unhappy even, and believe that you need even more stuff in order to fill the void?  That should tell us there’s a problem.  The problem is that we have the wrong god.  We worship our money.  We worship our stuff.  We worship ourselves.  And we worship this unholy trinity by hoarding it all up, keeping it all (or at least most of it) for the self, failing to help our neighbor in need and trust that God is a never-failing fountain of good who will continue to provide for all our needs that we might be a blessing to our neighbor.

            Jesus isn’t commending dishonesty or cheating in the parable He tells us this morning.  His point is simply this: Even the children of the world (that is to say, unbelievers) know how to use unrighteous wealth to make friends.  A little generosity goes a long way.  But, Jesus says, the children of light (that’s the believers, that’s you and me), we tend to forget this.  If even the dishonest manager knows that his generosity will work for his benefit, surely you Christians ought to know that giving generously results in God’s abundant blessing not only upon the receiver of your generosity, but also, and perhaps even more so, upon you.  As you empty yourself for the sake of the other, God fills you ever more abundantly, that you might give even more.  He’s never going to stop giving to you.  He will not suddenly begin to withhold His goodness from you.  

            Now, I’m not saying that if you give an extra $100 today, you’ll receive a check in the mail for $150 tomorrow.  Some so-called Christian teachers (they’re really false teachers!) say silly things like this, and their teaching is dangerous.  We call them theologians of glory.  The idea is that if you just serve God enough and believe hard enough, then He’ll give you a break.  He’ll pour out His blessings upon you.  You’ll be rich and healthy, living the good life.  No, it doesn’t work that way.  But if God is your God, you can trust that He’ll give you everything you need for this body and life and for you to be a blessing to your neighbor.  Notice I didn’t say He’ll give you everything you want (and we Americans have trouble distinguishing between our wants and needs).  But He will give you what you need.  And He will give it to you so that you can be faithful with it, which is to say, so that you can help your neighbor with it.  Remember that you are just a steward of all the things God gives you, all of which really belongs to Him.  He will bless you so that you can be a blessing. 

            Now, if wealth is your god (we’ll use the biblical name here for this idol: Mammon)… if Mammon is your god, then you won’t want to use what you’ve been given for the good of your neighbor.  Because you’ll be afraid that it will run out.  You’ll be afraid there is not enough for you if you share.  And in fact there won’t be enough for you, because the thing about Mammon worship is, it always holds forth the promise that if you just had a little more it would be enough, but then there’s never enough because you always want just a little bit more.  But if God is your God, then your whole perspective changes.  Then you have enough, whatever your circumstances, because you have God.  You have Christ.  You have before you this God who has given Himself into death and hell for your eternal life and salvation.  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).  What is St. Paul saying here?  That Almighty God took on flesh in the womb of the Virgin to become one with you, to take your sin upon Himself and pay for it in His death on the cross.  Again, St. Paul to the Romans: “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?” (Rom. 8:32).  Don’t you think for a moment that God is going to forsake you!  Not now, not in your time of need!  He will provide.  And, by the way, do you know how He will provide for you?  Probably not through some spectacular miracle like unfailing jars of oil or the multiplication of loaves and fishes.  He could do that, and He has.  But mostly He provides for you through your neighbor.  And you’ve been on the receiving end of that charity.  

            Now, some of you might say, “What?!  I can’t remember a time I’ve ever had to take charity from anyone!”  Yes, you have.  You were born naked and screaming, and everything in the world had to be done for you and provided for you by your mother and father or someone else who stepped into that role.  You had to be fed, clothed, sheltered, taught, and your parents had to do all sorts of things for you that grossed them out.  And do you know why they did it?  Because God called them to do it in the office of parent.  God did all of this for you through the hands of your parents.  Their parents did it for them.  They did it for you.  Perhaps you’ve done it, or are doing it now, or will do it for your own children.  They are the neighbor nearest to you, whom you are called to help.  God cares for you through the vocation of your neighbor.  And God cares for your neighbor through your vocation.  Your family, the neighbors who literally live next door, your church family, those you work with or go to school with, your friends, everyone with whom God places you in relationship.  You are called to serve them.  To be a blessing to them.  And they are called to serve you.  To be a blessing for you.  And in this way God provides for your needs.  The model is Jesus Himself, who emptied Himself of His glory and of His very life for you.  So you now empty yourself for your neighbor, in trust that God will fill you, even as He raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  You can be a living sacrifice for your neighbor, or even a dead one, because you know that in the end Jesus Christ will raise you.

            The reality is that God has given you everything you have.  Sure you’ve had to work.  That’s one of the ways God provides.  Sometimes He provides you with a cross, such as lack of work or lack of money, or an illness, or some other suffering, so that you’ll realize you’re entirely dependent upon Him for everything.  It all comes from Him.  Every penny.  Every breath.  Every beat of your fragile heart.  But He is faithful.  He provides.  Luther gives us pure Gospel in his explanation of the 1^st Article of the Creed.  It’s worth hearing again in full: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.  What does this mean?  I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.  He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have.  He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.  He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.  All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me.”[1]  

            Now, after all that Gospel, all these things that God freely gives us (and by the way, what isn’t included in that list?), we are reminded of our Christian duty: “For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.”  And that means loving and serving my neighbor.  Because God doesn’t need my good works, but my neighbor does.  My neighbor needs my prayers.  He needs my hands to help, my food to be full, my clothing to be covered, my money to purchase the things that are necessary for this body and life, as well as my support for the preaching of the Gospel so that he may hear of Christ.  And I can help him freely and joyfully because Mammon is not my God.  My God is the God who made heaven and earth and from whom every good and perfect gift flows.  He is the God who gave His Son Jesus to die for the forgiveness of all of my sins, including my stinginess and selfishness, my failure to help my neighbor and love him as myself, the God who raised my Savior Jesus from the dead, that I might have new life.  And so recognizing that everything I have is a gift from God, and that God will never fail to provide for me, I can give.  I can give generously.  I can give sacrificially.  Because God will never forsake me.  My sins are covered by the blood of Christ, who loved His neighbor, loved me, to death… His own death on the cross.  And because of that, my brothers and sisters in Christ will receive me when I die into the eternal dwellings.  And so you.  You can give your all because Christ Jesus gave His all for you.  And in Him you have eternal life.  This is most certainly true.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.         

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[1] Luther’s Small Catechism (St. Louis: Concordia, 1986).

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19C)

September 15, 2019

Text: Luke 15:1-10

            Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).  That is why He is always receiving sinners and eating with them (15:1-2).  And it is scandalous.  Tax collectors, prostitutes, adulterers, thieves, and cheats.  Even you.  He is not ashamed to be in your presence, to speak with you and touch you, to heal you, to wash you, to eat and to drink with you.  He rejoices, and all heaven with Him, over each and every sinner welcomed into the Kingdom, given a place at His Table.  Indeed, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.  Our Lord illustrates this comforting truth for us this morning by means of two parables, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, and the Parable of the Lost Coin.

            The sheep has wandered away from the fold and finds himself alone, away from the safety of the shepherd and the flock.  He is lost.  And now a predator has wounded him, and he’s coming in for the kill.  When sheep are threatened, they are immobilized and become utterly helpless.  In time of danger, a sheep will simply lay down where he is and hope for the best.  He lays down and gives himself into the clutches of whatever is threatening him.  There is a reason the Scriptures so often compare God’s people to sheep, and so often point out the mortal danger of sheep without a shepherd.  That lost sheep… That’s us!  In the parable, the sinner is the lost sheep, and Christ is the Good Shepherd who goes out on the search and rescue mission to bring the sinner back to the flock.  Now, don’t worry about the 99 He leaves behind.  They are well taken care of by his assistant shepherds, the pastors (the word “pastor” means shepherd), and they are in the safety of the flock, the fold, the Church.  But so precious is that one lost sheep to Jesus, that He will do anything to get him back. 

            And He does.  Consider this: There is a cost to the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep.  He exposes himself to the same threats and dangers as the sheep.  There is effort and exertion.  There is pain and suffering.  The shepherd must do battle with the predator preying on his sheep.  And then that shepherd must pick the poor, helpless, bloody creature up and bear the burden of the sheep on his shoulders all the way home.  He must wash and treat and bandage the wounds.  But its all worth it when He returns the sheep to the safety of the fold. 

            So also, there is a cost for our Lord Jesus Christ in rescuing His lost sheep.  He must expose Himself to the same threats and dangers as the sinner.  He becomes fully man, flesh and blood, mortal.  He suffers all the wants and pains of this body and life.  He is tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).  Yet He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).  He engaged in mortal battle with the predators who would devour us, sin, death, the devil, hell.  He bore us as a burden on His shoulders, carrying the cross up the hill toward His execution on Calvary.  And in so suffering and dying, He bears us all the way home to Himself in His Kingdom, to this flock and this fold, to wash and bind our wounds and administer the medicine of His Word, His Absolution, the Supper of His Body and Blood. 

            But it is all worth it, as far as He is concerned.  For the joy set before Him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and now He is risen from the dead, and seated at the right hand of the throne of God in heaven (Heb. 12:2).  You are the joy that was set before Him, the joy of having you for His own, saving you from the devil’s clutches, forgiving your sins, setting you free, giving you a place in His house and at His Table.  Like Psalm 23.  What does the LORD our Shepherd do for His sheep in that Psalm?  He sets the sheep a Table in the presence of his enemies.  He anoints his head with oil.  His cup runneth over.  And so you, right here at the Altar, the Table of the Lord, the Bread of Life that is His body, the cup overflowing with His sin-cleansing blood.  And it is a foretaste of forever, of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb that has no end, of heaven, of resurrection.  All heaven sings songs of praise when you are received into this House of the Lord to eat and drink with Jesus.  That is true of every conversion, every Baptism into Christ, every time you repent of your sins and cling to the Lord Christ for forgiveness, life, and salvation.

            The second parable illustrates the same comforting truth from a different perspective.  The woman has lost a very important silver coin, a drachma, about a day’s wages.  This is probably one of the coins from her dowry, a string of coins she wore as a wreath on her wedding day, a gift from her family, savings for the time of need.  Now she loses the coin, and no effort must be spared in the finding of it.  She lights a lamp and gets down on her hands and knees and gets to work.  This kind of house would be dark.  Not many windows or any natural light to speak of.  And the floor would be made of dirt.  Those are the conditions, and the longer the coin stays lost, the more likely it will remain lost, covered over by the dirt and pressed into the floor.

            In the parable, the sinner is the lost coin and the woman is Christ’s holy Bride, the Church!  As Christ’s Body, she is just as eager to find, rescue, reclaim, and restore the sinner as her Bridegroom, Jesus.  Every single sinner is precious in her sight.  But consider this: There is a cost to the dear woman in search of the coin.  For her, also, there is effort and exertion, pain and suffering.  She must get down on the ground, in the dirt, and shine the light of Gospel preaching into the darkest corners.  And in doing that, she, herself, gets dirty.  She takes upon herself the mockery and rejection and persecution of the world.  She is laughed to scorn.  She is taunted and abused, spat upon and beaten.  But she persists.  For the sake of her Husband.  For the sake of the Family.  For the sake of the lost one so precious to Her.  Holy Church preaches the Gospel to the world.  No matter the consequences.  She shines the light into the darkest, most hostile of places.  She sends her preachers.  She sends her missionaries.  She sends her children to confess the faith.  She is not afraid to rub elbows with sinners.  She may even meet in a brewery on Tuesday nights.  There is no place she is ashamed to shine the Gospel light, for the Gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16).  And she knows no matter how dirty she gets in the course of the mission, she is clean and pure, because her sins are forgiven by the sacrifice of her Husband, Jesus. 

            And whenever she finds the coin, whenever she finds the sinner, she throws a party!  And the angels rejoice.  The Church, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, lauds and magnifies the thrice-holy Name of our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And she feasts.  She calls together her friends and neighbors and bids them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I lost, the sheep that wandered off, the precious soul purchased by the blood of Jesus, my Love and my Lord.”  The Table is set.  The bread.  The wine.  The Spirit.  The joy.  Jesus Himself is Host and Meal. 

            And the 99 who need no repentance?  That’s the joke, isn’t it?  There is no such thing!  There are only sinners in need of finding, sinners in need of rescue and forgiveness and reception into the House, the Sheepfold, the Kingdom of the Savior.  The only thing that can keep them out is themselves.  Pharisees and Scribes and self-righteous Lutherans who grumble about God’s mercy and refuse the forgiveness and life freely offered to sinners in Christ, keep themselves out!  Because they think they don’t need it.  But in fact, they need it most of all. 

            You are the lost sheep.  You are the lost coin.  But Jesus has searched for you and found you.  He died for you.  He lives for you.  He loves you.  Mother Church has shone her Gospel light upon you, the very light of Christ.  Your sins are forgiven.  You’ve been washed clean.  Your wounds are bound up, the medicine administered.  Now there is only feasting and joy.  You were dead, but now you are alive.  You were lost, but now you are found.  The fatted calf has been sacrificed and heaven rejoices.  Come on in and join the party.  As it turns out, this is all for you.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.