Sermon for Lent Midweek 2

 Christ crucified. “The Power of God”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus said to Caiaphas, the High Priest, “I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” But Caiphas didn’t believe Him.  He turned to the rest of Jewish ruling council and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” (Matthew 26:64-66).

In the ears of his enemies, what Jesus says sounds like blasphemy and lies. They could not, would not believe that Christ is the Power of God.

We who are in Christ, believe what He says. We believe Christ crucified. “The Power of God.”

Colossians chapter 1 was written to teach us Christ. It shows us who He is and what He can do:

Who He is:  The image of the invisible God. God who is invisible to us mere mortals, becomes accessible to us in the person of Jesus Christ, the image of God. In Jesus, the Son of Man, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

And what He does:  Jesus Christ true God, yet also true man, was crucified for us and then became the firstborn from the dead. He is Head of the Church of all believers, and we believers are members of His body, and we go together, headfirst, through death and into eternal life.

Colossians chapter 1 lists things Christ can do. That’s what the word “power” means “can do.” As we meditate on Christ crucified. “The Power of God”, we consider what Christ can do.

Christ crucified has the power to deliver us.  Colossians 1: 13 ^“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son”.

That’s how come you can call Him Lord. He was powerful enough to defeat the domain of darkness. He has established His Kingdom by overcoming all enemies. He has delivered you and answered your prayer of “Thy Kingdom Come.”  Christ crucified is the power of God to deliver you from the enemies of Sin and Death and the Power of the devil and to transfer you to the Kingdom of Light and eternal life. Do you believe that? If so, then leave behind all thoughts and acts of darkness. Desire nothing but His Kingdom and His life.

Christ crucified is the Power of God to Redeem.  Colossians 1: 14 “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

When we meditate on Christ crucified, it’s a delight to recite, or sing the catechism’s words: “who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sin, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with His holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.”

Christ crucified is the Power of God to Redeem.  Do you believe that? Do you count on that? Such that no matter what scary, ugly situations you may have found yourself in, Christ is the Power of God, the Can Do of God, there is nothing, nowhere that Christ cannot redeem you out of.

That verse 14 said, “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Christ crucified is the Power of God to forgive sins. Do you believe that? If so then you ought not to be sulking in regret and a guilty conscience. When you hang onto old sins, when you have those recurring thoughts that you have done some things that you can never get over, when you listen to the accusations the devil would stir up against you, you’re thinking like even Jesus can’t forgive you.  Christ crucified Can Do. He is the Power of God to forgive sins.

Lastly, peace: Christ crucified is the Power of God to make peace. It takes someone powerful to make peace. He reconciles you and me to Himself. Forgiving our sins redeeming us out of the Domain of sin, death and the devil, He has reconciled us, brought us back into good standing, and made a peaceful relationship with us.  Do you believe that? Then have a high priority to live out that peace every day, in your heart and with your neighbor. Christ is the Power of God to make peace. With His power, you can do it. You can forget old grievances. You can overcome hard feelings. You can say, “I’m sorry.” And you can sincerely forgive those who have trespassed against you.

Caiphas and any other characters who have set their hearts to despise Jesus will not believe the power of Christ crucified. We believe this. We count on this. We are blessed by Christ crucified, the Power of God. Amen.

Sermon for Lent Midweek 1

Bless us with the mind of Christ crucified.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5).

These are some of the encouraging words Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi. He told them, “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” This was an exhortation and an encouragement. Not just the scolding of the law, as if Paul would tell you, “Why can’t you be more like Jesus?” Rather, He was inviting the Philippians to consider how they would do well to have the mind of Christ.

We join with those Christians of that far away place, long ago and we pray to the same Lord, saying, “Bless us with the mind of Christ crucified.”

Let’s then consider having the mind of Christ in three ways:  In prayer, in peace, in patience.

First, in prayer. Bless us with the mind of Christ crucified in our worship and prayer. We are blessed to have the actual prayers of Jesus that He spoke on the night He was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Three times he prayed this prayer.

Learn the mind of Christ crucified from the way he prays. When we pray with the mind of Christ, we are not only begging for what our hearts desire. But we are willing to have our desires conformed to His. In Jesus’ prayers in the garden, we hear Him coming to terms with the cross and the suffering that He is about to endure.

The cross is no accident. It was the Father’s will for Jesus Christ to suffer and die, punished for your sins and my sins. Our Lord Jesus, true man, prone to human suffering and death and so struggling with the built-in desire to avoid suffering and pain and live, He struggles in prayer. Until He says, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, (this bitter drink), then so be it, your will be done.

Bless us with the mind of Christ crucified that we may pray for our Lord’s will to be done and trust that His will is done. And after we have brought our prayers to the Lord, three times even, let that be enough. Trust His good and gracious will. Be at peace.

And that’s number 2: Peace. Bless us with the mind of Christ crucified – a mind of peace. After this prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord is at peace. He is resolute. He doesn’t hesitate again. He has no anxiety, no anger. Unlike Peter who pulls out a sword and clumsily cuts off the ear of one of the bad guys, Jesus has no violence within Himself. No rash reactions to the suffering inflicted upon Him. He simply says to His Judas, “Do what you came to do.”

In Christ crucified find peace. He obediently, willingly, suffered and died for you. That your sins would be forgiven, and your guilt atoned for. Let the mind of Christ crucified fill you with peace, trusting that because He who died for you in such humiliation is now exalted to the highest heavens to reign in glory forever and He calls you to His presence so you can share in that exaltation and glory in eternal life.

In due time that is. Just as Christ was exalted after His time of suffering, so you also will need to have some patience through suffering before the glory is full. Let your prayer be, Bless us with the mind of Christ crucified. Crucified. Think about what you’re asking for. You want to be like Jesus, to pray like Jesus, to have peace like Jesus, that, of course will include suffering in this life, like Jesus. Philippians 1:29 says this:  ^“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,”

In this life, those who have the mind of Christ will expect suffering. You will suffer because things aren’t like they should be, because of sin and sin’s companion, death. You will suffer because your flesh will constantly be drawn to sin and there will be the ongoing internal struggle against. You will suffer because the devil hates you and all that is good. You will suffer because the world has scorn for Christ and mocks you for following His way. You will have to suffer, because the alternative is to just give up and not care and just let evil happen and never let good happen. Because as soon as you let the mind of Christ be at work in you, there will be suffering also. “Bless us with the mind of Christ crucified that we may have His patience in suffering.”

Hear again Paul’s encouragement in Philippians 5: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Did you catch what he’s saying? that it is yours?  Baptism’s reminder is that you are Baptized into Christ. Into His death to sin and into His life of peace and eventual glory. You have Christ. You have the mind of Christ. In prayer, in peace and in patience.

Amen.

Sermon for Ash Wednesday

“Where your treasure is. . .” Matthew 6:21

Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). This is our text.

Our practice of Lent: the extra church services, the Lent Hymns, prayers, the Psalms and other readings are healthy for the soul. They lead to Christ, crucified – for our salvation and our eternal life.

They are also good for our training in righteousness. We learn and grow in our repentance and faith with the help of the words and actions of Lent. Specifically, in Lent we learn how to repent of our sins, and which sins we should repent of.

Some sins are so obvious, one doesn’t need any outside instruction to recognize them. We each have a conscience and it works to point out to us what we have done wrong. For example, if there is someone that you would love as a Valentine, but you say or do something that saddens them and brings them to tears, your conscience ought to sting.

But other sins are not so easily noticed or even recognized as being sin.  For these we need the word of our Lord to convict us of our wrong, to teach us and train us in righteousness.  

Jesus does just that in tonight’s Gospel reading. He says, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others” (Matthew 6:16).

Jesus describes hypocrites as being very proud of their religious acts. Let’s let His words instruct us and guide our consciences. Let’s think about this carefully, do we ever wear our own goodness like a medal of honor. Do we ever do something that is nice, good and proper, admirable even, but while we are doing it, we desire to get some recognition for it.  It's like we’re saying, “Hey did y’all see what I just did there?”

This is the way the self-centered mind will work. It gets busy feeling so proud of yourself. Proud of your own spiritual endeavors. Convincing yourself that you deserve others to acknowledge and admire all that’s good about you.

It’s tricky here because you can trick your conscience with situations like this. You say to yourself, “I’m doing a good thing. Nothing wrong with it.” But the Lord is teaching you that your motivation, your love is aimed at the wrong thing.

Jesus says that those who think and act like that, “have received their reward.” That implies that the reward is in this time and in this world, not forever, not in heaven. It can be rewarding to be noticed. It is a pleasure to be well thought of by others. But such feelings, such treasure won’t last. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.”

There is an old saying used on Ash Wednesday, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” That reminder shows that we can’t take much credit for anything that lasts. What treasure can we find within ourself and our own spiritual works? The kind of treasure that turns again to dust.

The treasure to be desired, must be beyond ourselves, namely, in Christ crucified. He is your Treasure. You have this treasure when He comes to you with His Word and with His body and blood. You have this Treasure that will not be corrupted over time, or stolen by anyone or anything. 

Christ crucified rescued you from all sin. Daily He draws you out of sin, teaching you how to repent of all sins and believe in His forgiveness.  All sins – Those obvious ones that your conscience will so easily recognize, and those trickier sins, like thinking too much of yourself, with pride like the hypocrites.

So this Ash Wednesday let’s begin Lent repenting of any self-centeredness. Repent of the love of self. Repent of the temptation to trust your own good spiritual acts. Learn from the Lord to Love Him, not yourself, to trust Him, not yourself, to treasure Him, not yourself.

Let’s keep learning from the Lord. Let’s have Him train us in His righteousness.

When you come for Individual Confession and Absolution, we usually use the order of service for it, that is in the hymnal. And in there after you’ve confessed your sins, you have this line to say, “I am sorry for all of this and ask for grace. I want to do better.” That’s just how it goes, when you’re sorry for having done wrong in the past, you want to do better in the future.

Here's how we will strive to do better with our Lent actions and prayers and with our heart and attitude. We will look beyond ourselves and the dusty treasures we too often hold on to. We will look to Christ crucified and trust Him to be our treasure that will last now and forever. Amen.

Sermon for Sexagesima

"The Seed is The Word of God” -- Luke 8:11

 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, Jesus said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed” (Luke 8:4).

 Jesus told many parables -- stories about earthly, ordinary things, to teach a spiritual, heavenly truth. So because they were heavenly, spiritual, often the parables were hard to understand and have resulted in differing, even conflicting interpretations of their meaning. But this parable in today’s Gospel reading is easy. It’s easy because Jesus gave the exact interpretation. He tells us what it means.

 He says, Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. A seed is full of potential for new life. So is the Word of God. It’s Ready to grow, and enliven, and produce a crop, with patience, a hundredfold.

 Let this be comforting Good News to anyone who has ever felt like they weren’t very productive, that they could have done better. Let this be the answer to our failings and regrets. Christ our Lord comes to us in His Word and plants in us a living faith. Faith produces the crop that is truly important. Ultimately faith is the thing we have now that will last, on into eternal life. 

The crop that Jesus tells us to expect from the Word of God is the peace of mind hearing his absolution. It’s the hope of getting His invitation into life eternal.  It’s the clean conscious that trusts that God is pleased with you now and forever because Jesus died you and saved you. Take this word of God into your minds and into your hearts, where it will have the power to grow and flourish into a living, active faith. Rejoice to have that crop today and forever.

 So that’s the seed the Sower sows. But then Jesus lists off four places where that seed lands, four different kind of soils.

 The first is when the seed falls along the path, where the soil is hardened by foot traffic and so it doesn’t sink in. It lays there where the birds can come snatch the seed away.  Jesus says this is what it’s like when the devil comes and takes away the word from the hearts of some. And they don’t believe. They are not saved. With this parable, Jesus urges each man, woman, boy and girl to watch out. The devil is at work. You know what it is like, don’t you. Even while you are here in the house of the Lord, where His true word is read and preached, your mind wonders to things trivial, earthly, even sinful. With stealth the devil distracts the mind from truly, carefully listening to the Word of God. Guard yourself against the distractions and stray thoughts the devil would use to take the Word of God away from you. Here’s somethings you can do:

·         Come into the house of the Lord and pray for clear thinking.

·         Come into the house of the Lord with the expectation of blessings and strength for your faith, given in the Word and Sacrament.

·         Make mental notes, or even better, write down a note or two about the Word that you hear, that you have something to take home with you.

 Next, some seed fell among rocks. So the soil is not conducive to good roots. The resulting plant is not strong or healthy. When the hot sun beats down on it, it withers and dies. Jesus says, that’s like a faith with little depth, based on emotions. In times of testing and tribulation, the emotions change and the faith withers.

 Faith comes from hearing the word of God. It does produce emotions like joy and empathy, charity, peace, contentment. But faith is different from the emotions and not to be based on our feelings, but on the Word of God. When trials and tribulations come and they will, Jesus says, Faith needs a sure and strong root in the Lord, not the shallow roots of fickle human emotions.

 The third kind of soil where the seed is scattered, is full of thorns and thistles. Jesus says that’s like faith that is strangled by the cares and riches and pleasures of life in this evil world.

 Here again, this is an easy parable to understand. We all know the cares and pleasures of life that would choke out the Word of God. We live in a world that is rich in cares and pleasures. Each of you know what kind of pleasures abound that distract souls from hearing and believing the word of God. If you play your games with religious fervor. And if you make your religion to be just a pastime, your letting the thorns of life choke out the good crop of faith.

 Now we recognize that Christian’s have the freedom to be away from church on the occasional Sunday. But hear the Lord’s warning to examine what’s growing in your life:  What is your love? the pleasures and cares of sports and leisure or the Lord, His Word, your faith and eternal life?

 Jesus said, “A sower when out to sow his seed.” The soil needed the sower’s work and care. It would have not produced a crop without the sower’s seed. You are the soil. You need the Lord and His Word.

Land needs management. It needs care and hard work. There’s a misinformed idea that just because people pollute and destroy the land, the land would be better off if people would just let it alone and let nature be free to grow.  I recently saw a piece of ground marked off as “Prairie Restoration”. But it obviously 0had not been properly cared for. If you looked closely you could see some prairie grasses and wild flowers, but it was mostly taken over by thorns and thistles, burrs and briars. Nature can be beautiful. But it can also be ugly, dangerous and deadly.

 The Lord God told Adam, the first man, to care for the earth, to work the land by the sweat of his brow. So today, those who are charged to care for the land, must continue to do so.

 Likewise you need the Good Lord to manage your faith and life. You need His work on you, sowing His Word in your mind and in your heart, where it will grow and produce a crop leading to eternal life. Amen.