Christmas 1 - Luke 2:22-40

If you ever saw salvation, what would it look like? I suppose that would all depend on what you need salvation from.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas the weather conditions around the country left people in need of some sort of salvation or another. Ice storms in the north east left people without electricity for more than 2 weeks. Some were sleeping in shelters, others searched for warmth inside their cars, all were hoping for some sort of salvation from the cold. If your problem is downed power lines due to icy cold weather, salvation comes in the form of a work crew from the electric company.
And then there were those who were left stranded in airports, unable to fly out due to the severe weather conditions. Many had no where to go, they were simply stuck in the airport until the runway could be cleared enough to safely take off. Many were hoping to get out of the airport and get home to their families in time for Christmas. If you are stranded in an airport, I suppose salvation would come in the form of a Jet sitting on the runway fueled and ready for takeoff. It all depends on what you need to be saved from.
While many people need to be saved from many different sorts of things – the greatest need that we have and the biggest danger that we face is one that holds true across the board for every man, woman and child. The greatest thing that we need to be saved from - is sin. We need to be delivered from sin: both the sin that lives in the world around us and the sin that lives inside of us. If we are not delivered from this universal problem of sin it will most definitely be the death of us. The New Testament book of Hebrews even tells us that death is born from sin.
So if your biggest problem is sin, what does salvation look like? For Simeon, the Old Prophet who found Mary and Joseph in the temple, for Anna the prophetess who came after him, and for you and me, salvation looks like the little baby Jesus. An infant carried in the arms of a poor young first-time mother as she and her husband brought this baby to the temple for his purification. I guess it all depends on what you need to be saved from…
At the time of Jesus’ birth, lots of people were looking to be saved from lots of different things, most were looking for God to save them from political enemies. Simeon and Anna were looking for God to save them from sin. This little baby carried to the temple came for that distinct purpose.
You might think that it was strange for a prophet to look for a savior from sin at the temple. After all, the temple is the place for sinners. It is where sinners go to get right with God. You would hope that your savior is not also someone who himself needs saving. After all, a life guard who is drowning won’t do you much good, neither will it do you any good to discover that your surgeon was occupying the bed adjacent to yours in the hospital. You need a savior who can overcome your situation. So what was the savior doing at the temple?
Perhaps you did not realize that was what the temple was for – it was the place to go when you need to be saved. That is what church is for. It the place you go when you need to be saved. And what do we need saving from? Why SIN of course. What you and I need to be saved from – more than weather, more than the economy, more than taxes, more than cancer, more than homework or relationships or anything else – what we need to be saved from is sin because we need to be saved from death. So what was the savior doing at the temple?
The savior, Jesus, the newborn baby was wasting no time in getting starting on your salvation. He was starting as soon as possible. He started right away. As soon as the law that God gave for sinners commanded fulfillment, Jesus got started accomplishing it for you.
Jesus was a baby. He was a perfect baby –what you and I should have been but were not, and indeed are not. And Jesus was brought to the temple where God commanded all sinful babies should be brought. They should be carried here 8 days after they were born so that they could be purified. So that God could mark them for salvation from their sin. But Jesus had no sin. He was not there for himself. Jesus was there for us!
Not too different from what we have done here. Dustin Blair brought his two children, Dillon and Jade here before the altar of God so that he and his daughter and his son could be marked for God’s salvation. So that God could claim them back from the sin that they were born into. Jesus the sinless one, allowed himself to be treated as a sinner so that he could be the sacrifice for sinners.
Simeon knew that. He saw the baby wrapped up and swaddled the way any baby would be, but it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that this baby was different. That this baby was special. That this baby did not need to be brought to the temple but that he would come anyway so that he could be the salvation from sin that the world has needed since she first fell into sin.
Simeon walked up to that child, and Simeon the sinner who was there at the temple looking to be saved from his sin made his confession of Faith – Lord I can now die in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation. Some of you are going to make that confession in a few minutes. You will stand up in front of the Altar of God because you are sinners who need saving and you say that your eyes have seen the salvation that God has prepared for you.
The other night, in our Children’s Christmas program several of you may have noticed that as the Children sang their one of their songs, I was taking some items from the manger and placing them on the altar. You may not have noticed, and if you did notice it might have been hard to see what those things were. Those things were a Bible, a Baptismal shell, and a Communion Chalice and Patten – (the cup and the plate that holds the Lord’s Supper). Simeon saw God’s salvation and for him it looked like a baby boy. You and I also see God’s salvation and what we see is the salvation that baby boy has prepared for us. We see His Word. We see His baptism. We see His supper. And so we SEE His salvation.
That salvation has come to you.

All Saints - Revelation 7:9-17

Tuesday and it will all be over. All of the campaigning, all of the advertising, all of the phone calling, all of the polling, all of the mudslinging, all of it. Come Tuesday morning America will vote. We will make our choice, elect our candidates, decide our ballot initiatives and be done. And guess what, for the people of God who are signed sealed and delivered as His forgiven saints – it doesn’t matter one iota! We will have a new president, new state and local representatives, new laws and not a one of them will change what we have to do here as the people of God. Today is All Saints Day. Today we can forget about what the rest of the world is doing out there and we can settle in and focus on what God is doing here. Because that is what really matters, that is what really counts.
And what is God doing here? More than you could even begin to imagine. Over the last few months we have heard lots of people make lots of promises. Most of those promises are going to be broken the day they are sworn in to office. Today Jesus has made a promise that will last forever! Today Jesus made a promise to little Clara Barbara Andrews. Today Jesus put the sign of His Cross on her forehead and on her heart. Today Jesus spoke her name in Heaven – “Clara Barbara” he said, “I baptize you in my name. You are mine; you will be mine forever and ever. No one can ever take you away from me.”
Friends, that is a big deal.
Today Clara has joined us – what Ancient Christians have called the “Church Militant” – that is to say, the Christians who live in the world – this corrupt and sinful world that is ruled by sin and the Devil. It is called the Church Militant because it is a church that is armed & ready and that is engaged in battle. Every day, every Christian gets up and gets out of bed and straps on his spiritual armor to get ready to go to battle. Every day we fight against sin, against temptation to sin, against the devil, against the world around us and the battle is tough. It is hard fought and it is bloody. And there are casualties. There are Christians who die in that battle. There are Christian martyrs who suffer for their faith, who suffer for sticking by what the Bible says and refusing to give it up.
Make no mistake, Jim and Erin, and all you other moms and dads out there, you are not just raising sweet little innocent angels for a life of peace and happiness – you are raising warriors. You are sending them out to do battle. So arm them. Equip them. Get them ready for the fight. Make certain they have a strong hold on the Christian faith. Paul tells us that faith is our shield that puts out the Devil’s flaming darts. Make certain that they have a firm grip on the Sword of the Spirit. Make sure they know the Bible, that they know what it says.
Parents, God has given you such an amazing gift. Here at St Paul’s God has given to you a Lutheran School that will help you to train your children for battle. This is such a blessing. Every day as we teach our children to learn the word of God, to sing hymn, to recite the catechism we are outfitting out little warriors for this battle. They are being trained for the fight that they will have to endure every day of their life! Parents don’t take this lightly!
But today is All Saints Day. Today is about those Christians who have fought this battle and won! It is about the Christians who have been victorious over sin and even over the Devil himself and who are now celebrating the spoils of their victory in Heaven. St John was given a rare treat. He got to see those saints (we call them the Church Triumphant ) in all their glory. Standing before the throne of heaven. Surrounded by all the angels, praising God in a giant shout! Singing with one voice. John got to hear their song! It must have been a glorious sound!
Imagine every voice in heaven singing as one. All the angel choirs, the same angels who sang out in praise on the night that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the same angels who stood by as Jesus suffered on the cross. The same angels who rejoiced on the day that he was raised. The angels who came and rolled away the stone. The angels who announced Jesus’ resurrection to the women on Easter morning. Every last one of them was there singing praises to god. And before the angels gathered around the throne, singing together with the angels, John saw those who were “coming out of the great tribulation”.
John saw the survivors. Those who had come through the battle. Who had fought long and hard. Who had gone into battle and who lived to tell about it. Those who fought hard to hold on to their faith, who resisted the many temptations to lay it down and set it aside, who resisted the many temptations to give in or to fit in, to take the path of least resistance, to go along and get along. They fought, they battled and they survived. And here they are joining in heaven’s song!
John describes them. They were dressed in white robes. What John means to tell us is that they were righteous. They were clean from their sin. To wear your own clothes is to wear your sin, it is to believe that you don’t need to change your style because you think you already look pretty good.
We are conditioned to worry about how we look, what we are wearing and if we are wearing the right fashions. As much as we think that fashion makes us individuals, it mostly just makes us look the same as everyone else. Sin is the same way. In a sinful world, sin is what’s in fashion. Sin is what’s hip and up to the minute. To follow in line with what everyone else is doing, to buy in to the philosophies of Oprah’s reading list is essentially to dress yourself in the latest, the hottest, the up to the minute sin. No matter the kind of clothes you choose to put on your body, the type of spiritual clothes that are in fashion in a sinful world are and always will be sin. Sinners dress themselves in sin.
But heaven has a strict dress code – no sin is allowed. Check you coat at the door. Take off the sin and leave it behind. The only fashion that fits-in in heaven is the fashion that is made by Jesus. He takes your old dingy sinners’ robe and he plunges that deep into his blood. He custom fits you with a robe of righteousness. The saints in heaven, the warriors who hung up their battle gear were given new outfits to wear. They were given sparkling white robes.
And in their hands they were holding palm branches. We have seen palm branches before. On Palm Sunday Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem and he was greeted by people waving palm branches. Palm branches were for celebrations, for victory celebrations. They were waved for kings who returned home from battle, who came back after defeating their enemies. The Saints in heaven were celebrating their victory that had been won for them by Jesus who sits on the throne. Jesus had gone into battle! He had strapped on his battle gear and gone off to war. He went to fight.
And fight he did. Demons were terrified of him. They begged him for mercy. Satan himself tried his hardest to knock him off his course and distract him from his purpose. Even Satan’s servants, the Jews who rejected him and the Romans tried their hardest to send him back where he came from. They gathered together all their strength, they dragged him before their courts, they sentenced him and they executed him. They nailed him to a cross! And on that cross he died! And just when it looked like he lost the battle, just when it looked like his enemies won, Jesus turned the tables. As it turned out, his enemies had only plaid right into his hands. They did what he was hoping they would do all along. He wanted to die.
Jesus died for you and me. He died for our children, our grandchildren. He died for our mothers and fathers, for our grandmothers and our grandfathers. He died for all of us. To pay the price for our sin. And since the price was paid in full he was raised to life! And so now in heaven he is seated with the Father on the throne. The heavenly choirs gather around him and sing, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb.” They shake the rafters of heaven with their song, with their joyous celebration. John saw it with his own eyes. He heard it with his own ears. What an incredible sight it must have been!
We belong to the church Militant. We are the warriors. We are the ones who are in the middle of the battle. We fight along side one another. We encourage each other to keep up the fight, to not loose heart, to not give up. It is a hard fight, and we have lost some from our number over this past year.
Since we last recognized All Saints Day there have been a few who have been taken from us. We remember Marcella Dellinger who died in April. Harold Gaulke who died July. Truman Nicol who died in September. They struggled through to the end as members of the Church Militant. But those deaths are never a defeat. Jesus has already won and the war is over.
While we remember All Saints Day and while we remember those who have gone out of the Church Militant, what we are remembering is that right now they are in that picture that John saw. They are in heaven with all of the angels, the saints, and God himself who sits on the throne and Jesus the Lamb. They are singing at the top of their lungs. In fact, they joined their voices just a moment ago when little Clara was baptized. The Scriptures tell us that there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. You all saw your pastor take a little baby in his hands, sprinkle some water and speak some words from the Bible. Those were Jesus’ words. When I spoke them, Jesus spoke them. Jesus spoke them in heaven!
Every time you go to a sporting event, they always announce birthdays of those who are in attendance on that day. Fans get a kick out of hearing their name spoken over the sound system and seeing their name up on the jumbotron. Today, Clara’s name was spoken by Jesus himself in heaven! And all of heaven erupted in rejoicing. There was a celebration even greater than what you would hear in Ohio Stadium after a Buckeye touchdown. And you can bet that Truman, Harold and Marcella were celebrating along with them.
And so today we celebrate. We celebrate the victory given by God to the saints in heaven, even to our own friends and loved ones. And we celebrate the new life given to Clara this morning as she has been outfitted with a brand new suit of armor to do battle here in the world. And most of all, we celebrate Jesus who has given to us all the victory over sin death and the devil when he washed us all in His blood.
Amen.

Pentecost 23 - Matthew 22:15-22

Score a point for Joe the Plumber. Joe Wurlzebacher a plumber near Toledo Ohio, recently asked Barak Obama a question about his tax policies. It seems Joe was thinking about buying a plumbing business and was concerned that Senator Obama’s tax policies would affect his bottom line. John McCain picked up on the exchange and suddenly Joe the Plumber found himself on center stage as the topic of discussion at the third and final presidential debate this past Wednesday night. Joe the Plumber became the dividing line between the tax policies of Barak Obama and John McCain.
Taxation is only one of many issues that concern your average American voter this election season. If Joe the Plumber is worried about taxes, perhaps is Joe the college student is worried about the environment, or maybe Joe the Car Salesman is worried about health care, or Joe the dad with a son in the military is worried about the war. There are lots of issues that lots of people are concerned about this election season and there are lots of things that voters are looking to the candidates for, hoping to find solutions.
Jesus walks right into the middle of all of this and in our text this morning he makes the following statement. “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” For all of the election issues on the table that our candidates have been debating, Jesus answers all of our questions and all of our fears by reminding us what is truly of most importance.
We have heard a little bit about those who show up at campaign rallies to try to trip them up and disrupt the rally. Well, if our presidential and vice presidential candidates have their hecklers, Jesus also had his. Today we have the 527’s like the Sierra Club or Citizens United, Jesus had the Pharisees and the Herodians.
It seems that the Pharisees and the Herodians sent a delegation of their disciples to Jesus to ask him a trick question and hopefully to trip him up in his words – to secure a sound bite that they could use against him. They thought they found the perfect issue – taxes. After all, no one likes to pay taxes, everyone hates to pay taxes – especially Jewish nationals who are occupied by a tyrannical Roman government. They thought they had him. There was no way Jesus could give a right answer. Either he denounces the tax and gets in trouble with Rome or he supports the tax and he looses popularity with the people.
They say Barak Obama is unflappable – cool under pressure – he is no match for Jesus. Jesus saw the trap a mile away. He knew what was in their hearts and what was in their minds. Instead of getting caught up in a political debate, Jesus went right to the heart of the issue. While no one likes to pay taxes, while we would all prefer to keep our tax dollars in our own pockets, Jesus reminds us of our duty to honor and respect our authorities, even when we don’t like them, don’t approve of them, and don’t agree with them. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
If we could but follow that simple command, all of our campaign issues would be a lot less complicated.
There are two parts to Jesus’ command. The first is that we give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. The second is that we give to God what is God’s.
Of course, you and I don’t call our president Caesar – but the rule still applies. Jesus is giving to us a command that has to do with our government. We could just as easily insert “president” or “king” or “prime minister”. The point is, give to your government what is due to your government.
So what do we, what do you and I, what does Joe the Plumber owe to his government?
From Jesus’ own comment we can infer that we aught to pay taxes. After all, the question that was asked to Jesus was about taxes. This is hard enough. After all, no one likes to pay taxes. But we all owe taxes. We all should pay from what God has given to us whatever amount has been set by the government to contribute to the general welfare of our nation. It costs money to run the government. It costs money to build roads, maintain order, defend our borders, prosecute and punish lawbreakers. We all benefit from these provisions; these things are all gifts from God so we all should pay our fair share. Whatever that fair share may be. All the candidates are doing is discussing how to divide that pie fairly among the citizens of our great country.
But we owe them more than taxes. In St Paul’s letter to Romans (13:7) he says this: “Pay to (the governing authorities) what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” In addition to taxes we owe our leaders respect and honor.
And then Paul says again in 1 Timothy 2 that “prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3] This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.”
In summary then, what we owe to our rulers, our judges, our police officers and to our president, (whoever that winds up being) is honor & respect, our prayers, and yes, even taxes.
But that is only ½ of what Jesus commands. That is really the easy half of Jesus’ command. The more difficult portion of his command is the second half. While we owe to Caesar what is Caesar’s we also then owe to God what is God’s. It is far easier to give Caesar his due than it is to give God what is due to him.
God doesn’t need our taxes. Sometimes Christian’s think of the money they put in the plate for an offering on Sunday is the same as the taxes they pay every April 15. You’ve got to pay your dues. It keeps the lights on and the pastor in the pulpit.
Caesar needs your money. Without it he can’t operate. God doesn’t need a thing from any of us. He already owns it. Our offerings are not for His benefit, they are for ours. God permits us to give Him what He does not need so that it can be a means for us to worship Him and thank Him for all that He has done for us. When we do not give our offering, we do no harm to God we harm only ourselves. So, no, God need to assess a tax.
What God does want from us is our hearts. In the explanation to the commandments from the Small Catechism we confess that we should keep the commandments because “We fear, love, and trust in God.” God wants our love, our respect and our trust.
So often we are more prepared to give those things however to our elected officials.
Look at the election issues. We want a president who will save the environment. We want a president who will end the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. We want a president who will quiet our financial markets. We want a president who will provide good health care for our children and families. Can a president really do any of these things? Not even close.
While God calls on us to be good stewards of the world that he has given to us, the weather patterns, the temperature, the oceans and the waves are not controlled by presidents. Whenever you are tempted to believe that we control the weather you should go back to the Psalms. Read Psalm 104. There God says, “He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; [4] he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.” He opens his hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.
When ever we are tempted to believe that our president can control violence between the nations and that our presidents have the power to end war we should go back to Psalm 46 where God says that “He breaks the bow and shatters the spear and that he burn the chariots with fire.” Or in Psalm 2 where God says that he looks down from heaven and laughs at the kings of the earth who gather their armies together.
When we are tempted to think that a president can take office, implement a few policies and all of a sudden the economy will turn around we ought to remember Matthew 6 where Jesus says that God is the one who feeds even the birds of the air and clothes the grass of the field and that He is the one who provides for all of our needs.
When we are tempted to believe that a president can wave his hand and provide for the health and well being of the citizens we aught to remember that Jesus is the great physician of both body and soul. That he can heal whatever illnesses effect our bodies and that ultimately he is the one who can heal our souls. Jesus can do those things because he suffered our infirmities, because he took on himself our sorrows, because he carried all of our sins and guilt on his own shoulders to the cross.
While God works in this world through kings and presidents and prime ministers, their reach is very short and their power is very limited. But God? His power is limitless and he extends his righteous right arm to us to care for all of our needs. He provides for every physical need that we might have, he keeps us safe from evil and from our enemies, and best of all he has saved us even from ourselves, from the sins that cling to us so closely that no one on earth could ever begin to take away.
One of the great things about being president is that the president is awarded the executive privilege of pardon. He can call the worst offender in the most secure prison into his audience where he can then at his own pleasure set them free from their guilt. While a president can do that here on earth, only God can do that in heaven. Because you see, Jesus himself through his own death and resurrection has earned the executive privilege of pardon, He has called you and me into his audience where he declares us free from all accusations so that we can go free to love him and to serve him.
While we exercise our right to vote, we realize that whoever is voted into office deserve our honor, our respect, our prayers and even our taxes- yet God himself deserves to be feared loved and trusted above all things.

Pentecost 22 - Matthew 22:1-14

So how does it feel? How does it feel to be sitting in the banquet hall of a king. You have been invited! The King has selected you to be placed on His list of honored guests. He has prepared a meal especially for you! And here you sit on this very morning in the banquet hall of heaven’s King ready to be served with the finest foods, finer than any of the foods that have been offered on any table set by any king in any kingdom.
And there have been some pretty nice tables. We have all been to wedding receptions. We have all been to banquest. We have all tasted good food, food prepared by those who know what they are doing. We have tasted some of this ourselves.
We have all heard of lavish parties. Exclusive guest lists, people dressed in their best formal attire, rich foods prepared from only the finest ingredients – oh to live the life of the rich and famous, right? Oh, but what we have set before us here today puts all of those banquets to shame, our clothes are better, our food is richer, our host has set a grander and greater table, one that somebody’s super sweet 16 could only dream about – beyond their wildest imaginations and way beyond their means to provide.
Wait a minute, you might be saying. This makes no sense! This is a church, this is no banquet hall. We are sitting at pew, not at fancy tables. Maybe I or my husband has come in from the fields and cleaned up a bit, maybe we are dressed nicer than we will be later on this afternoon, but no one here is hardly dressed for a formal dinner. And look at the guest list – perhaps we might call it a who’s who list for those who live in Chuckery, but that’s not saying much, this is just about everybody who lives in and around Chuckery – we are hardly a cosmopolitan group. Not many of us are likely to be on anyone’s who’s who list – not many of us would be likely to be included at any state dinners with any people of any importance anywhere. We are just common everyday folks, sitting in our little country church, dressed in our common every day clothes here to go church.
YES! And that’s it! That’s the big deal. This right here, this common every day church and this common everyday worship service filled with our common everyday people – this is God’s church! The King of kings and the Lord of lords has sent out an invitation to you, he sent his own personal curriers to you to hand deliver your invitation. He has thrown out your common every day attire and he has given you a brand new outfit that would dazzle the eyes starlets in Las Angeles, He has set a table that cannot be rivaled anywhere on earth because the food has been prepared by God himself in heaven. All of this has been set. It is ready and waiting for you.
Out text today is about a wedding banquet. A party thrown by a king, and not just any king, the King of Heaven. That’s what Jesus says, this wedding feast is compared to the Reign of Heaven – the place where our heavenly King reigns and this is how he does it. He prepares every detail, gets it all set just right and then he sends out his invitations. He sends out his messengers to invite his guests.
So often when you and I hear, “Kingdom of Heaven” or “Reign of Heaven” we think off into the future. We think of what’s to come when we die, we think what’s to come when Christ returns on the last day. We sell ourselves so short! Yes, God has so much to give us after he has called us out of this sinful world and after our sorrow and suffering have gone away, but this is not just a future hope! It is a present reality. It is right here and right now! It is yours today! This banquet table has already been set and the Easter and Ascension Day party is already going on. It’s not somewhere off in the hazy future. It is right here and right now! The party has already started.
Jesus tells us that when the party first began, the King sent out his invitations but no one came. He was preparing the meal for the celebration for hundreds of years. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned God began planning the menu, preparing the ingredients, and setting the table. He made his guest list and he sent invitations to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to the 12 tribes of Israel, to Moses and the Israelites, to David and Solomon and all the kings and people of Israel. But they grew tired of waiting for the party to start, so they went off to join other parties. The put off waiting for Heaven’s Eternal Party. They looked around them. There were other parties they could attend, with other hosts. They went off to eat at these other tables. They went off in search of false gods. Some of them even decided that they would throw their own party. Not just anyone can throw a party like God can throw in heaven. After all heaven has a vast treasury and a huge banquet hall, but these Jews thought they could throw their own party and then when God finally decided to show up he could simply join them. It didn’t work that way.
When the party was finally prepared and God sent his messenger, in fact when God himself showed up with the invitations to His heavenly party, his guests were too busy with their own little party to pay any attention. Jesus came to the Jews carrying an armload of invitations to Heaven’s eternal party but the people were too busy eating the food that they had prepared themselves.
Think about it. How ridiculous is that? Jesus, the Son of God himself, comes with invitations to a party that has behind all the wealth of heaven and the people were too busy and too engaged with their own party. Sure Jesus, you have a rich banquet table set in Heaven for me to feast and be filled and to enjoy. I am sitting here undernourished and starving to death with the food that I have prepared – it tastes bad and it is filled with poison and it is going to be the death of me but I am just going to stay right here where I am comfortable in my own skin.
Why did the Jews do that? Why did they insist that Jesus join their party? Why didn’t they receive Heaven’s invitation with anticipation and joy? Why didn’t they jump right up, leave behind what they were doing, and run off to join Jesus at His banquet table? There is no reason that will ever come close to making sense.
Why do we do the same? Why is it that we are so often drawn to earthly glory, why is it that we are so eager to sit down at the table of worldly wealth and power that we get up from our seat at Heaven’s table, that God has set for us. Why is it that we are so drawn to walk down earth’s red carpet when it’s glory is only like those photographers flash bulb’s shining bright for an instant but then gone, when the Glory of God in heaven shines brighter than the sun for ever and ever. There simply is no explanation! It just does not make sense.
When the guests in the parable rejected the king’s invitation to the banquet when they treated the messengers with violence and contempt the king became angry. He sent his army to destroy them and to burn their city to the ground. The Jews rejected Jesus. The insulted him, they beat him, and then they killed him. He came offering them invitations to join the banquet that had been prepared for them and they did not care to attend and they crucified Jesus so the angry king did destroy them. 40 years later the Roman army laid siege to their city, Jerusalem. They pulled it down and they set it on fire. This judgment was only a shadow of the judgment that comes on those who reject the kings invitation when he send them to their eternal punishment in hell.
But then the king, who had prepared his feast and made ready his banquet hall, had a feast prepared with no guests to attend. So he sent out his messengers into the highways and byways, out to the common everyday folks in their common everyday lives, wearing their common every day clothes and he invited them to come.
That’s you and me. We are those common everyday folks out in the streets. We are not important people. We are not powerful people. We are not even good people, we’re sinners. But Jesus, the High King of Heaven wants his banquet hall to be filled so he sent his messengers to you. They called you by name and said to you, “Come enjoy the feast prepared for you in heaven by the hands of God himself.”
It seems that most women, the moment they receive an invitation to some party or event think to themselves, “I have nothing to wear.” And the next thing is to plan a shopping trip – go find the perfect outfit to wear to this event. Ladies, regardless of what you have in your closets, this time you are right. You don’t have a thing to wear. Guys, sorry to tell you but the suit you always pull out to wear to wedding and banquets isn’t going to cut it either. And no luck going to look for a rental, not even the finest tailor using the finest materials could make you an gown or a suit that would be fit for heaven’s banquet hall. The only clothes you could wear that would even get you in the door are the clothes made for you by God himself.
Everyday that Jesus lived, from the moment he was born in a stable to Mary and Joseph to the moment of His ascension he lived his life weaving together the material for the garments that you and I wear to His banquet hall. Every act of obedience, every act of love was another thread in your heavenly robe of righteousness. And then, on the day that you were baptized that material was cut and fitted just for you. Christ’s righteousness, his acts of love and obedience became the clothes that you wear to get you into heaven, became the gown, the suit that you will wear for all eternity. The righteousness of Jesus covered your sin so that you have just the right thing to wear.
And now that you are dressed, now that your sins have been covered with the righteousness of Jesus you are ready to sit down at the table. The fattened calf has been slaughtered and prepared just right, just for you. And what’s on the menu? Food that comes from heaven. To you and I it might look like small wafers of bread and a small cup of wine, but in this festal hall here in heaven God will hide in that wafer the very body of Christ, God will hide in that cup of wine the very blood of Jesus. You will eat, you will drink and you will be fed and forgiven and all your sins will be washed away.
You know what? We look around here and there is nothing that looks too terribly out of the ordinary. We see regular people in regular clothes in a regular church on a regular Sunday morning, but hidden here is the hand of God who has invited us, who has dressed us, and who is prepared to feed us with the forgiveness of sins earned and won by Jesus himself.
Amen.

Pentecost 21 - Matthew 21:33-46

Dear people of God, take comfort in this text. Know that this parable of Jesus is a parable about you. And that Jesus has given this parable because He loves you.
That is really what the parable is all about. It is about the love that God the Father and the Son have for the Church, the people of God. Jesus told His parable as a warning to the pastors, to the preachers and teachers from His Old Testament Church. They had not been faithful in their duties, they had not been faithful administrators of the church they had been given to attend. The same warning goes for today pastors. Do your duty. Tend your vineyard. Do it well and do it faithfully, because if you don’t you will see a wretched end, and the vineyard will be taken away from you and given to another.
But you? You are the vineyard, and the message that Jesus has hidden for you in this text is that he loves you! In fact, He loves you a lot. You are His vineyard. He has planted you and protected you. He has left nothing to chance.
In the parable, Jesus tells us of a master who planted a vineyard. But he was not merely content to just put the seed in the ground and let it grow. It was not enough to have the vines and the grapes, not for this master. He cared for his vines too much to simply leave them out on their own, to allow anyone and any thing to wander through and do whatever damage they would do. So he built a fence, a hedge, a wall all around the vineyard. Sometimes fences simply mark boundaries. Sometimes fences are built to keep things in. Sometimes fences are built to protect what is kept inside. This master built his fence to keep out thieves and wild animals, people and things who would come in to try to steal away the fruit from his precious vines.
But even that was not enough. He then went to the trouble of building a watchtower. A tower that stood up over the vineyard where his workers could keep watch over it, where they would be able to see where there was danger, where they would be able to see where there were thieves who were coming in to attack and to steal. The watchtower was built for the protection of the vines and their fruit.
But even that was not enough. The master knew that he would be gone. And while he was gone he wanted there to be workers in that vineyard, who would love it the way he loves it, who would care for it the way he cares for it, who would be his hands gardening and pruning and digging and fertilizing, but who would also be his eyes watching over and protecting, defending and guarding it from enemies and predators. The master loved his vineyard and he did whatever was needed to protect it and to preserve it.
Dear people of St Paul you are that vineyard. God the Father is your master. He has planted you in his vineyard. He carefully chose you, selected you from among the other vines to be his very own. He prepared a place for you in his vineyard where he would plant you. He lovingly dug in the soil of his vineyard and selected a spot, a place just for you, where you could sink your roots down deep into the soil to be fed with the nourishment that you need to thrive and bear fruit. Where you could grow up and grow strong. You are a vine planted in the vineyard of the Heavenly Father.
Just like the master in the parable saw to it that his vineyard would be protected and safe, God the Father who has planted you in the Church has seen to your protection and safety. After all, He has enemies in the world who want to steal you away from him and who want to destroy you. The devil and his demons would like nothing better that to sneak into his vineyard under cover of darkness and uproot you from your carefully chosen place and carry you away to your utter ruin. The Father would have none of that. He wants you to stay right where you are, so He has lovingly provided for your protection.
The master in the parable built a wall, a fence, a hedge around his vineyard to keep the predators out. The Father has done the same for you. He has given to you a wall of protection that completely surrounds you. It keeps the attacks of the Devil away from you so that you are safe. So that you are guarded and protected, so that you can not be stolen away. God has given to you the Bible as a fence a strong wall built up around you for your protection. God had his prophets and apostles write this book for you; for your benefit and blessing, for your learning, for your faith and your growth, but also for your protection.
The Word of God is wonderfully and blessedly specific. God enables us to see and understand this very thing. He tells us in the Book of Romans that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) When we want to believe, when we want to see God and know God and understand God, when we want to know God is, when we have questions about God and what he has done and why he has done it the place where we go to find him is to His Word! To the Bible! To Genesis through Revelation and everything inbetween. It’s all there!
IN that way, the Bible is like the fence, the hedge that God has planted around his vineyard. It is a rock solid strong fence that nothing can break down and that nothing can break through. The Bible is boundary line, it is the property, the place where God can be found.
A few weeks ago there was a surveyor who came out to the property to mark out the boundaries of our property line. We hired them because he was coming to survey the land that has been donated by the Burns family and he was hoping to get the dimensions marked out properly. If you walk around the property lines you can see markers that clearly define where the property is. As long as you are inside that boundary line you are on St Paul’s property. Boundaries mark ownership, within those boundaries is St Paul Chuckery.
Those boundaries are a blessing for our congregation. They mark out what belongs to us, but more than that, those boundary lines are marked to a specific spot, a definite location. You can look it up on a map, in a phone book, plug it in to a gps and you will find the right spot, the exact place where you need to go. Those boundaries give a definite security.
The Bible functions in that exact way for us. The Bible is the boundary line that marks out the location of the place where we go to find God. Lots of people are looking for God these days. Lots of people want to find him – many of them don’t ever get there because they don’t know where to look. God tells us. He gives us his address, his coordinates where he will always be. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD! It is plain and simple. Not complicated. God doesn’t make us go off on a journey to find him, he doesn’t only reveal himself after some sort of a spirit walk or journey. God is right here in his word.
What a blessing! We don’t to have to wander too and fro, back and forth searching for him, wondering where he is and if we have found him. We don’t have to be blown back and forth, to never be sure if we are in the right spot. He wants us to be firmly planted and to know that we are inside his boundary lines, inside the place where he has promised that while we are there we belong to him and we are safe and secure inside the place where he has planted us.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t let that assurance be taken away from you. The devil hates it when Christian are confident in their faith. He hates it when Christians are comforted by the assurance of God’s promises. He would rather that we wonder, that we have doubts, that we not be so sure about God and the things he has promised us in His Word. The devil wants to take that confidence away from us.
One of his subtle tricks, one of the sly little things he does is to sneak into the minds of Christians and tell them that God’s word is not enough, that there needs to be more. God’s Word isn’t enough. The things that he has promised to do for you are not enough. You won’t be sure that he loves you and you won’t love him back until something extra has happened. Until God has come face to face with you, slipped you a personal note or an invitation, and then answered all your really tough questions face to face. Don’t believe these lies. Don’t let these ideas creep into your mind and steal away from you the confidence that God has given in his Word of promise.
I have loved you with and everlasting love. [Jeremiah 31.3]
God so loved the world that he sent his only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but will have everlasting life. [John 3.16]
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39]
What more do we need?

God in his unbounded love for us has reduced himself to paper – to Words on a page so that we always know where to find him. So that we can always know where the boundaries of his vineyard lie. Because God has limited himself to His Word we never have to be in doubt. We never have to wonder where those boundary lines are. We never have to question whether or not we are still planted in His vineyard. As long as we are standing on the word we are planted in the vineyard.
The master cares for his vineyard. He loves his vineyard. He loves it so much and so deeply that he relentlessly provides for and cares for it.
In the parable, when the workers were unfaithful, that is to say, when the pastors of His church had been unfaithful with the Church and simply wanted to keep it from themselves, the master sent his servants – they were thrown out and beaten and even killed. When the master saw what his workers had done, and fully aware of their violent tendencies he sent his son, hoping to restore the workers but at the same time fully aware of the risk to his son. His Son was murdered.
In the same way, when God sent his son to the pastors of His Old Testament Church they rejected his son, they threw him out of the vineyard and they killed him. God loved his church so much that he even risked, he even sacrificed his son to protect it and to possess it.
God has planted you in his vineyard. He has called you to faith and he has planted you in the boundary lines that he has marked out for you so that you could be confident that he has you. You don’t have to go looking for him, you don’t have to wonder if you have found him. You don’t have to wait for a special invitation in your mailbox or go wandering out in the woods. All you have to do is go to church. All you have to do is open your bible. All you have to do is bloom and grow where he has planted you protected you and preserved you. Where he has held nothing back to keep you.
Amen.

Pentecost 20 - Philippians 2:1-18

“You are the light of the world.” Jesus says so. He would compare you to a city on a hill or a lamp that has been set up on a stand and placed as high as possible to give light to the house so that everyone inside can see. You are to shine bright and true with the light of faith that Christ has put inside you. This is your God given Christian duty – you are to shine like a star in the night sky, like a candle in the darkness that shows the way and that reveals the truth.
Sometimes it feels like you light is burning a bit dim. Like you are not quite as bright as you once were. The brightness of a lamp is measured in candle power – at times it feels like you are a few candles short. I know there are times that I feel that way.
But God has called us lights. Lights is a world that need the Light because the world is dark. The world is pitch dark in fact, dark as night, dark as death. The world of sin is so dark that it can’t see its nose in front of its face. It can’t see to find its way. It is like blindness. Eyes that don’t work, eyes that can’t see even when the light is shined on them.
God has given that light to you. This summer we were treated to the spectacle of the Summer Olympics. A traditional part of the Olympic ceremony is the running of the Olympic torch. Different athletes are given the opportunity to carry that torch through the cities and towns of the host country. In a similar way God has made his Christians to be his torch bearers who are to run through their own cities and towns, into the country side with the light of his truth. We are to share that light and show that light that he has given inside of us.
In our text, Paul tells us how to do that.
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, [2] complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. [3] Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. [4] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
He outlines the things that we are to be doing.
Christians are to be of the same mind. Like minded. Together. One. Unified. Sometimes we mistake that unity to mean that everyone gets along. We talk about the things we agree on and never discuss the things we don’t agree on. That doesn’t cut it. As believers in Christ we need to know what we believe, we believe Christ but also what we do not believe. Christ calls us to obey all things that he has commanded. If we set aside some of those things in the interest of unity, we have not obeyed Christ. Christ calls us to be one, to be single minded – not to have everyone one of us make up our own minds, but to have every one of us conform to the mind of Christ – to hear His Word, to Cling to His Word, to believe His word.
We are to have the same love. In the way that Christ has loved us we are to love one another. He loved with compassion, with care for the needs of others. Jesus was always and continually motivated by compassion. Deep, heartfelt compassion. He saw the extreme human need of those he came to serve.
We can have that same love and compassion for each other in our own day and time. In fact, there are countless opportunities for such compassion. This summer we have seen devastation in the world from natural disasters – floods and hurricanes – that put a stress and a strain on families. We have seen cultural trends that stem from the sinfulness of our generation – sexual sins, teen pregnancy, divorce. We have seen personal tragedies within our own congregation. Often these things are out of sight out of mind. We feel badly when we first hear about it, but then soon forget. We ought to reach out in love, understanding the great hardship that these things cause in the lives of people whom Christ has called us to love.
Paul says in humility we are to see others as better than ourselves. Consider how quick we are to judge others for their situations and their difficulties. How often do we pretend that we are immune from such misfortune because we have had the insight to make better plans. We tell ourselves we wouldn’t have the same problems because we are not as foolish. This is pride. This is not the humility that Paul calls us to. Perhaps the pregnant teenager has sinned. We are called upon to forgive the sin, reach out and help. Perhaps the aids victim has sinned. We are called to forgive the sin and help. Perhaps the divorcée has sinned. We are called to forgive the sin and help.
All of this is aimed at blamelessness and innocence. All of this is aimed as sinlessness. All sin is born from self regard. All sin is motivated by a consideration of myself, what I want, what I need, what will preserve my own skin. Christ would not have us to live our lives with regard to ourselves. We are to live our lives in obedience to God and with regard to each other, we are to be servants.
While this is our call from God and while this is our aim and our goal, the fact remains that we live in a dark world. We live in a sin-filled world. We are called to be lights. We are called to be a torch, a shining star, a lamp on a stand, a city on a hill. But we live in a dark world.
And so often what happens as we live in this world of darkness and sin is that the darkness has a way of getting on us, staining us and tainting us.
There is a condition of the eyes known as macular degeneration. With this condition, the field of vision slowly becomes interrupted. Distortions and dark spots begin to occur in the field of vision and eventually you can barely see, and perhaps you even become totally blind.
In the life of a Christian, sin interrupts our “field of vision” known as faith. Through faith we see God and we know God. Sin creates dark spots or distortions so that we don’t see God clearly, and if the sin continues to grow, so that we don’t see God at all. We return to darkness, we return to unbelief. The clarity of faith becomes stained with sin.
But God has given to us an antidote for that blindness. He has given to us a cure for that sin.
All of these things that Paul calls us to be doing, here in our text – Jesus has done them all. Jesus knew and understood the word of God. His entire life was centered on and cirled around God’s Holy Word and therefore God’s holy Will. Jesus never compromised from that word.
Jesus counted us as better than himself. Jesus never overlooked sin, when he saw it he identified it but not because he wanted to condemn the sinner. He wanted to forgive the sinner. He wanted to restore the sinner. Therefore he didn’t simply make judgments, instead He counted himself as lower than the low, as the servant of the servants. And Jesus was God!
If ever there was one who could judge, who could condemn, it was Jesus. He after all was perfect, he was without sin and he was God. He was almighty and all powerful. He was the prince of heaven, yet it was not in his mind to hold on to this power at all costs. He set that aside and he became one of us. He set aside his power and his glory. He set aside his immunity to sin and temptation. He set aside his power over sin and Satan. He set aside his immunity to pain and to death so that he could come for us.
Not only did Jesus make himself nothing, not only did he set aside his power and consider himself to be lower than you and me. Jesus made himself our servant and our slave. He made himself lower than us so that he could die for our sin. He was obedient even to the point of his obedience costing him his life.
But now he has been raised from death. The one who made himself the servant of servants and the lowest of the low has been raised from death to life and He has been given all power in heaven and on earth. He has been given life so that his name is above every name and so that every knee will bow down to him and every mouth will confess that He is Lord of Heaven and Earth.
Each one of us has been living our lives out in that world that is sick with sin, that is filled with darkness, that is blindly careening toward hell. It is evil and twisted and it is crooked and perverse. And that evil has stained us and strained us and stressed us and we are suffering under its weight.
Jesus has brought us here to remove that weight. He has brought us here to give us relief from that stress and strain. He has brought us here to forgive that sin and to wash away that stain. He has called us here to absorb the darkness and to restore the light.
The call that we have receive from God is a wonderful call. We do our best to answer that call and fulfill that vocation. But we fail. We break down and give out. But He restores us. He refreshes us. He remakes us and strengthens us sends us out to do it all over again.
May you be refreshed this day by the light of Christ.

Holy Cross Day - 1Corinthians 1:18-25

It was more than 100 years ago (116 to be exact), the people of God living in the south end of Union County Ohio came up with a plan to build a school. Through hard work, dedication, commitment and follow through they established St Paul Lutheran School, which was dedicated on May 29, 1892. One year later, St Paul Lutheran Church was chartered into existence as a member congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Over the years the school has seen its share of changes, and certainly many students have passed through the doors to receive their education, yet through it all St Paul’s has existed as it has been established, a place for the education of our children that is founded upon the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, St Paul’s is today as it was over 100 years ago, a school and a church that exists for the sake of lifting high the cross.

How appropriate then, that as the school year begins and as we officially commission our teachers for their work in our school for yet another year, that we do so on Holy Cross Day. Holy Cross Day is simply a day that the church remembers what Christ did for us on the cross: that it was on the cross that he died for us to pay for our sin as our perfect sacrifice so that we could be saved. This is why our school exists. The teachers at St Paul Lutheran School teach all of the academic subjects of math, science, reading & writing, social studies and the like. But all of these subjects are taught alongside the wonderful truth of the cross. This is a place that lifts high the cross of Jesus Christ to proclaim to our children, to teach them what Christ did for them as he paid for their sin on the cross. St Paul School is a place where we lift high the cross of Jesus Christ.

The need to proclaim the cross

Our epistle lesson for Holy Cross Day is taken from St Paul the apostle’s first letter to the Christian church in Corinth. He was writing his letter to a church that was largely affected by influences from outside the church.

The city of Corinth was a very cosmopolitan city with a great deal of power and wealth from the many merchants who lived in this important hub along ancient trade routes. It was also a very religious city, with some influence of Judaism, but Corinth was especially infamous for its idolatry worshipping Venus, the Roman goddess of love and fertility.

With all of the wealth and power that many Corinthians were accustomed to, not to mention the influence of idol worship and the sins of adultery and prostitution that were common with such idol worship, there were many challenges to the Christian church in Corinth. They struggled with these many temptations and sins. The letter of 1 Corinthians reflects these struggles, addressing sins of disunity, prostitution, sexual sins within the congregation, what to do about food that had been sacrificed to idols, and the rejection of the resurrection. It seems that any problem a Christian congregation could have, the Corinthians were struggling with it.

So Paul wrote to teach them. He wrote his letter to confront their sins, to instruct them in worship and in Christian living, and to encourage their appropriate use and understanding of the Word of God. Writing to Christians living in a pagan and unbelieving world there is a fundamental difference in the approach and understanding. In our text Paul points out the very kernel of that difference. The thing that sets the Christian apart from every other person of every other belief, the thing that makes Christian worship the one and only worship of the true God is the cross – Jesus Christ, the Son of God who has been crucified for sinners!

If the Corinthians lived in the midst of sin and temptation and struggled with the many sinful and evil influences that existed in their own culture, you and I have that same struggle in our own day and time. The Corinthians struggled with division and disunity in the ranks. Division is caused by false doctrine; someone in the church begins teaching something other than the pure message of the cross of Christ. People follow this new wind of teaching and suddenly the church is divided. With as many different churches today as there are pages in the phonebook, the church today struggles with false doctrine. The Corinthians struggled with pagan worship and idolatry. Our own world continues to reject any Christian teaching of the true God and the cross and instead is interested to acknowledge the false gods of Buddhism, eastern mysticism, not to mention Islam. The Corinthians struggled as they lived their daily lives in their pagan city, but they could go home and shut the door on this sin. For you and I, the temptations continue to abound – every false doctrine, every false god and every temptation known to man is but a click of the remote or a click of the mouse away. The sins that lived in Corinth are alive and well today.

There has never been a time in the history of the world when the proper education of our children has been of greater importance. With so many evil and sinful influences present in the world, our children need education, but they need the proper worldview that can only come from an education built on the foundation of the wisdom of God revealed in the death of His Son on the cross. They need a worldview that helps them to understand themselves as sinners.

This past week in the news we were all afraid that we were going to be sucked into a black hole when the scientists switched on the super hadron particle collider that was just built in Geneva Switzerland. They turned it on and we are all still here. The whole reason for building this expensive and technical piece of equipment is because scientists believe that they can recreate the circumstances that led to the big bang – the foundational theory behind the theory of evolution. If you and I are and every piece of matter in the universe are all no more than particles, than there is no such thing as sin and there is no need for salvation and there is no need for the cross.

Our children need to know the difference. They need to who they are as sinners under the cross. They need to be taught the essential educational building blocks of education, but they also need to learn to think. They need to learn how to stain out the truth from the lie. They need to know the Word of God. They need to know what it says and what it does not say. They need to have a firm hold on the truth so that when they are confronted with the lie they will not be deceived. They need to be immersed in the Word of God so that when the temptations to sin come to confront them they will have the strength to stand against them.

These days the truth is so fractured. It is so broken up into small parts. The truth of God’s word is not taken as one single unified body of doctrine and teaching, instead it is a smorgasbord of individual small little truths all strung together. The effect is that people feel like they can pick and choose. I heard this week that there is a woman who has made her fortune in the porn industry who has claimed to be a devout catholic. This is what happens. We believe that we can come to the altar of Christ on Sunday and claim to believe what the bible says there but then leave to live whatever life we choose and it doesn’t matter that the two don’t match. We break our lives into pieces, compartments that we think we can seal off from one another. It is almost like trying to take 1000 different pieces from 1000 different puzzles and trying to put them all together. The pieces don’t fit and even when we mash them all together the picture that we have created doesn’t make sense.

Paul says that the cross of Jesus Christ is power of God for the salvation of all who believe. There has never been a day, there has never been a time that the cross of Christ has been more important. With all of the many things that could, that would pull us away from the truth we need to hold ever so tightly to cross of Jesus Christ. We need to cling to the cross.

We need to see in the cross the wisdom of God. Our world is absolutely filled with men and women trained in the wisdom of the world. They sound Oh so smart and Oh so convincing. It is so easy to listen to the sages and the scribes and the debaters of our own age and to be led astray. Their words so often sound like the very things that we find ourselves thinking. We need the cross. We need Christ’s wisdom. We need to read and to study the bible.

As much as a Christian education can help students along as they study the Word of God and as they memorize portions of scripture, there is no failsafe. There is no foolproof method for bringing your children up to know the wisdom of God and to throw away the wisdom of man. As much as we want that for our children, we don’t even possess it for ourselves. You and I are so easily deceived and mislead and before you know it we hear thoughts in our head and words from our mouth that sound just like the sages and scribes and debaters that we have tried so hard to refute. If all we had to rely on was our own wisdom and our own strength we would most definitely be lost forever.

But God has not left us to ourselves. Yes God gives to us a school and teachers and religions classes and the catechism. All of these things will help us and will keep us going the right direction, but when we step away from that direction, which every one of us does every single day, we need the cross – not just for its wisdom, not just because it will help us to win debates and find the right answer to the question of our origins. We need the cross because it is in the cross that our sins are washed away and forgiven. It is in the cross that our sinful nature is crucified so that we die to be raised again to a brand new life.

As we raise our children to live their adult lives in a sinful, deranged and dangerous world more than anything they need to know where they can go to be cleaned. They need to know where they can go so that God will wash away the sins that have latched on to them as they went on their way through the world.

It happens every day. We wake up with the determination to do better than we did yesterday. We try our hardest and do our best but before you know our sinful nature has gotten the better of us and we find that we have fallen again. The sins that we hoped to leave behind us are once again at the forefront of our thought and activity. The muck and the slime of this sinful world has gotten splashed up on us again and we are corrupted and dirty. We need the cross.

The blood of Jesus is the soap that gets us clean. It washes off those sins. It penetrates to deepest reaches of our souls and lifts the stain of sin from our hearts so that once again we are clean. Your children and my children need to know Jesus. They need to know the cross. They need to know that Jesus died on that cross for them so that when they have fallen into sin and temptation they can be clean.

If all our children needed was an education they could receive that any number of places. We could send them to any number of schools that would give them the same skills of reading, writing and arithmetic that we provide for them here. What we give them here, however is something that is not permitted and often not tolerated in other educational institutions. We give them the cross of Christ. We give them the soap that washes off the scum of sin. We give them the blood of Jesus shed for them on the cross.

For over 100 years students have been coming to St Paul Chuckery and most of you sitting here today are the beneficiary of that education. But what has been of greatest benefit to you, isn’t the fact that you can read, it isn’t the fact that you can balance your checkbook, It is the blood of Jesus Christ that has washed you clean under the cross.

Pentecost 17 - Matthew 18:1-20

At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to himself a little child he put him in front of them and said “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like this little child you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
This is our Text.

Who is the greatest in the kingdom? Sounds an awful lot like the conversations we have been listening to in our own national political process lately. We are now about 57 days out from November 4, from Election Day and every time you turn on the television there are advertisements for the presidential candidates, and all the other offices that are up for election. Each one is arguing, is trying to convince you that he or she is the greatest in the kingdom and therefore is deserving of your vote.

We are used to that in our political process here. The speeches, the attack adds, the fierce competition; they are all a part of “politics as usual” here in our United States. It is the way things are.

But that is not the way it works in the kingdom of heaven. Greatness in the kingdom of heaven isn’t won with campaign slogans, super acts of Christian service, having the greatest and best attitude, or even being the most obedient. No, that doesn’t do it at all. God doesn’t look at performance, he doesn’t grade on achievements, he doesn’t vote based on who is the most fit to reign. Your place in heaven isn’t determined by you at all. Your place in heaven is determined by Jesus, by a God who is gracious, who is generous, who is merciful.

This whole question was brought about by the disciples. They were arguing among themselves as to who would be the greatest in Kingdom of Heaven. They were banking on Jesus the Son of David to ascend to the throne, and they were each secretly hoping that when He came into his kingdom they would have a seat of honor right next to him. And so they asked him “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

And couldn’t you just hear the debate? Couldn’t you hear Peter talking about his record as a fisherman – how he successfully managed his fishing operation and finished each year with a surplus. Or perhaps Simon the former Zealot could appeal to his military expertise as the expert on national security who knows, maybe he even spent time in a Roman prison and endured countless beatings without wavering on his convictions. Maybe John could appeal to his youthfulness as the impetus for change. Maybe Matthew the tax collector or Judas who kept the money could debate the economy. Each one wanted the position of honor, each one wanted to be the greatest.

In answer to their question, Jesus set about teaching them (and teaching us) that the kingdom of heaven is not like the kingdoms of the earth. God doesn’t make his selection based on our performance or upon our (perceived) worthiness for the position. Jesus responded to their silly and foolish question by doing something that surprised them all. Jesus found a child, brought the child right into the middle of the group, sat the child in front of them and he said. “Unless you all turn from your silly debates and one-up-manship and become like this little child you won’t even enter the kingdom.”

In our day and age, we love children. We idolilze children We see them as the epitome of innocence and virtue. We see them in their youth as unspoiled and full of potential . We wish we could be like children. There is a four year old girl on the talent variety show “America’s God Talent”, when she comes out to perform, even the mean judge melts and treats her with kindness and respect.

That was not Jesus’ point. He was not valuing childhood for the sake of childhood. When Jesus commanded that they be “humble like children” he was not referring to character of children. He was referring to their value, their worth, their position in society. Children had no power. They had no authority. They had no usefulness. Their innocence was seen as ignorance. Their playfulness was seen as wastefulness. Jesus was commanding the disciples to see themselves not as the greatest among the great but the least among the lowly. Not the worthiest among the worthy, but the least worthy among the unworthy. Not the strongest of the strong but the weakest of the weak. There is no place in the kingdom of heaven for powerbrokers and the power-hungry. There is room only for the lowly and weak, the servants and the sinners; the unfit and the ineligible; the losers and the lost.

What we so often fail to understand, is that while we can ascend to greatness in the kingdoms of the earth, while we can earn accolades and awards through our performance here on earth, those awards carry no weight in heaven. God is not impressed with our resumes and our listing of earthly accomplishments. Those count for nothing. In fact, the Apostle Paul refers to his own accomplishments as loss, as things that counted against him in the Kingdom of Heaven. We wear them as badges of pride and honor, we see them as indicators of our worth and worthiness, we think they are accomplishments. All those things have done is that they have distracted us from our sin and unworthiness.

The strong and mighty of this world only fool themselves when they believe that they have earned any thing before God. The only thing our deeds earn us before God is punishment. God sees beneath the outward actions to the most basic level of the human heart. He sees our motivations. He sees the reasons why we do what we do. He sees the pride, the resentfulness, the greed, the desire to simply promote ourselves over our neighbor. He sees the utter wickedness and sin. While we can cover these things up with a nice haircut, a shower, and nice clothes we can never hide them from God.

God has seen that sin. And that is exactly why he has come. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a kingdom for the worthy, it is a kingdom for the unworthy. It is a kingdom for sinners. It is a kingdom made for you and me. God takes the weak, the unworthy, the unfit and the foolish and he makes us worthy. He becomes our strength. He washes away all of our foolishness and all of our sin and he counts for us to our credit the good works and worthiness of Jesus. Our own works count against us. The works of Jesus count for us. We are made citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven only by the grace and mercy of God. We become great in the kingdom of heaven, not by earning that spot with our own righteousness – we are lowly and humble are given greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven only by the graciosness and generosity of Jesus.

We ought not be spending our time furthering our own careers and seeking the highest and best spots of heaven, Jesus gives us a different job to do. Ironically, what Jesus commands is the exact opposite of the thing that the disciples were doing, the exact opposite of what we often find ourselves doing. Instead of working to ensure their own place in heaven they were to be working to ensure the place of others in heaven.

Jesus begins with a warning. “It is necessary for stumbling blocks to come. But woe to that one through whom the stumbling blocks come. It would be better for that one if a millstone were to be tied around his neck and thrown into the sea.”

Our translation says that it is necessary for temptations to come – certainly the devils lures into sin are included in what Jesus has in mind. But at times the things that draw us away from faith go beyond an appeal to our sinful desires. There are times when the thing that proves to be an obstacle to faith is our own challenges or suffering or perhaps we become disillusioned and jaded due to the poor example of others. We see it in politics all the time – a formerly respected politician is outed for corruption or sin and his hypocrisy suddenly become evident to all. It is for that reason that so many people approach politics and politicians with such skepticism. The same things happens when there is scandal in the church. These things can cause Christians to stumble in their faith, to doubt and to question. Great damage can be done in the hearts and consciences of the weak when we secretly live the life of sin that we are so outspoken against. Jesus’ message to his disciples and to us is that we not be that stumbling block. The self-centered power hungry question that the disciples were debating as to who was the greatest was exactly the kind of thing that would lead to such scandals arising – faith that is self centered.

Instead of this self centered focus, Christ calls us to be his servants and to be servants of one another. Instead of weakening our brothers and sisters in Christ with self centered words and actions, we are to busy ourselves concerned for each other. We are to search out the weak search out the sinners, find them, bring them back, restore them. We are to live our own lives for the sake of each other, for our neighbor. Because that is what Jesus has done for us.

Every word that Jesus spoke, he spoke for us. Every action of Jesus was done for us. Every breath taken by Jesus was taken for us. Never once did Jesus put off or put away those who so desperately needed him. Never once did Jesus tell himself that he earned a break, a little time away. Never once did Jesus take advantage of the perks that we associate with leadership and power and position. Instead, Jesus used his power and his authority as the very thing that would save us from our sin.

In our own political process our candidates are given the opportunity to speak so that we can judge them by their words to determine their worthiness to rule. It is their trial by fire.. When it came time for Jesus’ trial he didn’t pull out his most polished rhetoric to refute his enemies, and he didn’t go on the attack. In fact, he didn’t say a thing. Instead he stood before them silent, taking their accusations and refusing to answer them.

When it came time for Jesus to be dressed for his coronation, he was not sent to see a tailor who fitted him for fine robes, no stately looking dark colored suit and tie, instead Jesus was sent to soldiers who were hungry for blood . Jesus was stripped of his garments and the only thing covering his naked body was his own blood.

When it came time for him to ascend to his throne, it was not gilded and gold. It was not a highbacked leather chair in the oval office with hisown presidential seal in the carpet. The throne of Jesus was a cross made of wood. Rough hewn.
Jesus did not sit on his throne, he was held there with nails.

As Jesus reigned from his throne as the King of heaven and earth he did not lash out against his enemies. He did not wage war or condemn his enemies. Instead, as he sat there on his cross shaped throne, robed in his own blood, he spoke words of pardon – “Father forgive them.”
To those who would rule in heaven, to those who were concerned about their place in heaven, when they had turned to become low and humble like a child, when they stopped seeking their own glory and instead turned their attention to seeking and saving the lost, he then gave to them the authority to do that very thing that he does.

" Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [19] Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

When Christ gives authority on earth, it is authority to forgive, the authority to restore. Jesus has earned the power and the authority to forgive sinners. He wants that to be done, regularly. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if the president signed an order that any American could walk up into any prison and could set free any criminal that had committed a crime against them. Our streets would be filled with lawbreakers. But that is exactly what Jesus has done. He has given that executive authority to pardon sinners to his church. The kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom of grace of forgiveness and of pardon.

In this sinful and power hungry world, when men seek office and authority to rule and to reign it is always to exercise strength, to make laws, to set direction. To overcome enemies by a show of force. But in the kingdom of heaven, Christ rules with love and forgiveness. He rules by washing away sin, by forgiving sinners and by strengthening and restoring the weak.

Amen.

Pentecost 13 - Job 38:4-18

Have you ever gone outside late at night, glanced up at the heavens and stopped in your tracks as you noticed the beauty and the majesty of the night sky? On more than one occasion, since we have moved to Chuckery (where there is not so much interference from the city lights and the smog) I have happened to step outside, looked up and been amazed at the clarity of the night sky. It is beautiful, to say the least.
But even here, we are still only 20 minutes away from the lights and smog of Columbus. While up in Michigan a week or so ago, we were more than an hour away from any major city. One night, we happened to be out on a clear night, looked up at the sky, and we were amazed at the sight. Usually (because of all the competition from civilization) only the brightest of stars can be seen, but on that night the sky was literally bright with millions and billions of stars. The stars you can normally see were that much brighter, the stars that are normally hidden filled in the gaps between. It was amazing. Looking out in the vastness of space, comprehending that it goes on forever and realizing that each one of those tiny little specs of light represents stars, and solar systems, and even entire galaxies, seeing it in greater clarity and witnessing it in its greater majesty you couldn't help but feel small. You couldn't help but get a tinge of what Job must have been realizing as he heard God speaking to him the words of the text that we have before us.
God and Job were having a conversation. Most of the time when we talk to God he doesn't talk back, at least not so we can hear him. But Job had suffered a tragedy. He thought he didn't deserve it. And he let God hear about it. He called God out on the mat to have it out with him. Job talked tough to his friends about God, claiming that God had no right to make him suffer the way he did, claiming that he was innocent and that God was unjust, that God had done him wrong. And then, much to Job's surprise, God showed up.
Okay Job, you want to have it out. You want to challenge God. Put 'em up and get ready to fight like a man.
Job quickly found out that he was unmatched with God.
Job suffered from a severe misunderstanding. A great distortion of the nature of God. Job is not at all alone in this misunderstanding – it is one that all of us struggle with probably every day. Job thought he could determine what God thought of him according to how things were going in his life. When things are going the way we want them to, we thank and praise God and at times will even assume God has blessed us because of our great work ethic, or our faith or our understanding. But then when things don't go the way we would like them to, we assume that God is displeased with us. We wonder what we did wrong to make God angry. At the very heart of this is a theology, an understanding of faith that believes that we can earn God's favor by what we do. We call that works righteousness.
Job did not suffer because he had committed some sin. Job did not suffer because God was vindictive or seeking revenge. In fact, God never really tells Job why he suffered. Job wanted to know why, but God didn't owe it to Job to explain why. Job didn't need to know the reason. He didn't need any explanation. But that didn't change the fact that Job wanted one. It didn't change the fact that he actually thought he deserved one.
The same is true for us. We always want to know why. God, why did you do this to me? Why did you make me this way? Why did you put me in this situation? Why did you put me with these people? What are you doing in my life?
We want to know what God is doing and why He is doing it. We regularly make the exact same mistake and commit the same sin as Job. In our pride and arrogance, we think God should tell us. We don't need to know. We already know how the story will end, God is bringing us to salvation. God will deliver us from sin from death and from Satan when it is all said and done. It's like we have read the last page of the book – we know the ending. No matter what happens on the pages between, the story will end the same. God will bring us to heaven. All we need to do is nothing – God is God. He will take care of us. We don't need to know what he is doing and why he is doing it. All we need to do is trust Him and believe that He will do what he said he will do.
Essentially, that is the point of this text.
God took the time to remind Job that he was God. Our text begins...
“Where we you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurement – surely you know! Who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk or who laid its cornerstone when the morning star sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
I am sure that you have all had the experience of gazing out into the stars and realizing this creation is much greater and grander than what we so often even realize. This world, that we stare out into and marvel at, that causes us to step back and be amazed, for God it is like a construction project. He measured it all out, set its boundary lines in place, manufactured the necessary materials and put it all together.
Imagine that. There are entire libraries, people who devote their lives to understanding and deciphering the many mysteries of the universe. God has drawn it up and put it together. God drew the blueprints, manufactured the raw materials, and assembled it all, all on his own. No help from anyone else. No building committee, no consulting firm, no site surveyors, not even a work crew. Just God.
We marvel and are amazed when Ty Pennington and his design team, not to mention the crew of hundreds of workers from Extreme Home Makeover can create a house from scratch in a week's time. For God, that is child's play. In six days God made this entire universe – with all its beauty and complexity, in all of it magnificence and majesty.
God goes on...
“Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst forth from the womb?”
We have all seen the shots taken during a hurricane of the waves that come crashing up onto shorelines and swamp the man made embankments in a spray of ocean water. We have all seen the photos and videos that were shot during the Tsunami a few years ago that killed hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed untold amounts of property. Imagine running from the force and power of a huge wall of water thousands of miles wide and 30 feet high! Have you ever asked yourself “What stops that from happening every day?” Why is it that the ocean waves know to come up only so far onto the land and then stop? Why doesn't the ocean flood the entire earth, or randomly sneak out and destroy people and property. Because that's how God made it. God created the sea and put it in its place. Like an animal trainer who commands the lion to sit down and stay put, God has placed His limits on the mighty ocean and will allow it to go no further. We call it gravity. Gravity is simply the hand of God
Or the heavens, the stars in the sky, the moon, the planets, the sun that goes down and night and comes up again the next morning. Yes we know that the sun rises and sets because of the rotation of the earth. But why does it do that? Why is it that the earth has a regular rotation on its axis? Why is it that the earth has a regular rotation around the sun that creates seasons? For us it is a marvel and a mystery. Scientists use telescopes, and satellites and computers to help them just help them figure out how it all works. For God, it is like a gigantic sheet that he could grab at both ends and shake it out, like you might do as you are folding your laundry.
Even the deepest and darkest places of the world, places we have never been and could never go. Even to the gates of death itself, these places are not hidden from God. They are within his hand, under his influence and respond to his beckoning. God is God! He stands over this entire world. He has every piece of this world and this universe in his hands. He knows and understands everything.
And to think that we would complain about a few little minute details that don't quite go our way. To think that we would challenge Him and doubt him? To think that we would wonder at his intentions and his purpose.
Do you want to know the intentions of God? Do you want to know His ultimate purpose? Do you want to know why you suffer? Or why God does or allows things to occur in your life?
Look at our gospel text!
Jesus. The Son of God, and the Son of Mary came to his disciples who were out on the lake in a boat. He didn't come on a surf board. Or by jet ski. He wasn't lowered down by a helicopter. He walked through the wind and the waves along the surface of the water.
Those of your who have studied physics and natural sciences know about buoyancy and surface tension and understand that there are mathematical laws to explain these phenomenon and understand how they work. People don't walk on water, we sink. But Jesus did. He did because He is God. He wrote these laws that govern how water behaves. He put those in place for us and for our benefit. And he suspended them at the appropriate times again for our benefit.
He walked out on the water. He got into the boat and he caused the wind and the waves to cease.
If Jesus can suspend natural laws of the universe. If he can walk on water and then command the wind and the waves, then He is and must be God, the God who created these things.
And if he has the power to stop a storm, to calm the wind and the waves surely he had the power to calm the crowds who were crying out for him to die. Surely he had the power to influence the minds and the actions of the chief priests, of Pontius Pilate. Certainly he could have stopped all of these things from occurring He could have preserved himself from suffering and dying on the cross. But he did not. According to his own will and desire, He went to the cross, suffered and died so that he could save us from our sin.
That has been done – finished. Complete. Your salvation is already yours. It's a done deal. There is no taking it away.
If salvation is been done, then is there any need to worry? Is there any cause for concern about your life? Your family? Your children? Your occupation? Your bills?
What about your health? What about your children? What about school? What about the economy? What about the election? What about our society? Our culture? What about television? The internet? Child predators?
God says, “Were you there when I laid the foundations of the world? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know.”
We don't know. Not even something as fundamental and elementary as creation. How will we ever understand the complexity of a world that damaged and destroyed with Sin. But God does. In his foresight he sees everything that has happened and will happen. He sees even the smallest details of what is in our hearts. He knows what we will do before we do it. And so in His wisdom he He guides every action in the entire universe. We may not know what will happen today, what will happen tomorrow, but one thing we do know. The God who made all of this and controls and guides and gives all things is a God who loves us and cares for us and who has sacrificed himself so that we could have life forever in heaven. That is a done deal.