Sermon for the First Sunday after All Saints: November 7, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

While the world quickly ditches all the Halloween candy and costumes, it hurtles inevitably along toward its breathless bustle of Christmas decorations and preparations. The Church year seasons, however, aren’t quite ready for that yet. We haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving! Advent is still 3 weeks away. There is still one important theme that we should explore in the Scriptures before we join in to welcome the birth of Jesus the Christ Child. The Last Days, the Second Coming of our Lord, the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, the New Creation of heaven and earth—these are all in the emphasis for this last portion of our church calendar.

The Last Days are frightening, uncomfortable. There are many fearful signs of the end that we seem to witness all around us. We never feel its sharp sting more strongly than we do when a loved one dies. How do we comfort one another? What do we say? Sorry for your loss. We say they’re looking down on us, even though the Bible teaches us that they do not. They are at peace. God wanted them with Him in heaven so we should be satisfied with that. We place their dead bodies in cushy caskets or their ashes in lavish urns, as if that’s going to help them somehow. Some have even thought that it would bring comfort if they wear a loved one’s ashes in a ring or a necklace. None of those quite do that good a job at comforting us, if you’re completely honest. The truth is simple. We hate to see death. It’s ugly, and unnatural; definitely not a part of life. It fills us with fear. We know we are powerless in its grasp.

Yet in the Creed we can still say, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” A bodily resurrection from the dead is one of the basic teachings of our Christian faith. Even in the Old Testament, we find Abraham believing God could raise the dead even if he had gone through with sacrificing his son Isaac. Job said he KNEW that after his skin was destroyed that with his own two eyes he would see God. At a Christian burial the Pastor says, “We commit this body to the ground; ashes to ashes, dust to dust: in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

How could that be? From the ugliness of rigor mortis to the decay of the flesh, if you have seen the uncomfortable ugliness of death, a resurrection of that body seems impossible. So how can we honestly say that we believe in the resurrection of the body? Paul points us to Easter’s empty tomb and declares, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

So, do you believe that Jesus died and rose again on the third day? Of course you do, or you wouldn’t be here. None of us doubts Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then none of us should doubt the second part: God will bring those who sleep in Jesus.

And notice what God calls the death of one of His saints, His believers. He calls it “falling asleep.” How many of you were afraid to lay your head down on your pillow last night? Just as you do not fear your bed at night, the saints of God do not need to fear death. Just as we close our eyes at night expecting to awake in the morning, we can close our eyes in death knowing Jesus will awaken us at His return.

This is exactly what Jesus promised. “Because I live, you will live also.” (John 14:19) Because Jesus rose, all believers will rise to life as well. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul ties Jesus’ resurrection to the believer’s resurrection to life also. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (vv. 20-23)

At beginning of harvest time in Israel each Spring, the Jews celebrated the festival of “First Fruits.” At this feast, they were to bring the first part of their harvest to the Temple and wave it before the LORD in thanksgiving. The first-fruit of their harvest was a reminder that God had once again supplied for their fields and there would be more to harvest after those first harvested fruits.

Jesus is the “firstfruits” of those who have fallen asleep—or died in the faith. His resurrection means that the saints who are asleep in Jesus will rise as well. It has to be that way. There can be no other possibility. “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

What will happen on this great resurrection day at the end of the world? Paul takes us step-by-step, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, only a handful of people were aware that the Savior of the world had been born. When Jesus returns it will be no secret. He will return with a shout, with the voice of a mighty archangel, which will resound around the entire planet, no, all over the universe. The trumpet of God shall sound to announce the return of the King.

Now, on that Day, the Bible tells us that ALL the dead will rise—both believers and unbelievers. Other readings about the end times will address that in greater detail. But in this section of Scripture Paul is trying to comfort the Thessalonians who were confused about their fellow believers that died before Jesus returned. That is why Paul focuses specifically on the resurrection of the “dead in Christ.” They will rise first and the magnificent resurrection harvest will begin.

We learn more about that resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul writes, “The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we (that is, those of us alive to see Jesus’ coming) we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” When the trumpet sounds and the dead rise, the resurrected believers will be changed—as will be the living believers. There will be no more stiff joints or bad eyesight. With these our own two eyes, in perfect 20/20 vision, we shall see God. From Adam, Abraham, Job and King David, to the Apostle Paul, and Betty Crickon, when Christ returns on that Last Day, all the saints who are dead in Christ will rise and be glorified. “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Heaven and the coming resurrection are difficult for us to comprehend because these are unlike anything we have ever experienced here on earth. It’s hard to imagine the timelessness of eternity, let alone everlasting joy with no sorrow—ever. One widow wanted to be sure she would know her husband. One grieving son wanted to know if he would be able to kiss his mother again. While God doesn’t tell us ALL the details of the unimaginable joys of the life of the world to come, He does tell us what we need to know. And what He tells is comforting for all saints.

After our Savior returns and the dead are raised, Paul continues, “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” After the return and the resurrection, there will be a reunion. First and foremost it will be a reunion with our Lord—the Lord who chose us from eternity to be His own; the Lord whom we had only seen by faith up to that point. Then we will personally meet the Lord whom we believed was nailed to the cross to pay for all of our sins, with the nail prints still in His hands; the Lord who died to purchase us for Himself as His own special people. The Lord who shed His blood to cleanse us from our sins and make us saints. We will meet our Lord in the air.

We will also be reunited with our fellow believers who were asleep in Jesus. Paul says it without doubt: WE will be with the Lord! Our loved ones had closed their eyes to this world upon death and they will be awakened by their Lord at His return. And we will be caught up together with them in the clouds. Together we will meet our Lord in whom we placed our hope. Together we will see Him face to face as we are glorified with the risen Lord’s glory. Together we will worship the Lamb who rescued us from the eternal judgment and gave us eternal life as a free gift. Thus we shall always be with Him. “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Death is pretty uncomfortable—it is uncomfortable to look at, think about, or talk with others about. But for all the saints of God, for those who have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, we do not mourn as those who have no hope. We have hope. Our unwavering, certain Hope is based on the accomplished fact of Christ’s resurrection and God’s unbreakable promises. Because Christ rose, we too shall rise and be with our Lord and our fellow believers forever in heaven, and soon our bodies will all be raised and glorified together. This is what Jesus died and rose to give us. Therefore comfort one another with these words!

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

Readings:
Ex 32:1-20 when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain
  or Job 14:1-6 few of days and full of trouble
Psalm 14 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
  or Psalm 102:13-18 You will arise and have mercy on Zion
I Thess 4:13-18 the dead in Christ will rise first
Luke 17:20-30 as the lightning that flashes…so also the Son of Man will be in His day

Sermon for Reformation Day: October 31, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Dearly beloved fellow heirs of the Reformation:

You and I are reminded nearly every day that we should cherish our freedom. We are often told that it is our greatest achievement, freedom is something we or someone else has worked hard to get. Our liberties as American citizens came to us at a great price. Our independence, which was won for us by the men and women in the armed forces of yesterday and today who made real sacrifices, it is all something we should treasure.

We think of similar sacrifices as we, the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, celebrate the Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther put up a notice of academic debate, and from that point onward, the Christian Church has celebrated freedom and independence from Roman Catholic superstitions and the iron-fisted control of the pope. Once again, such freedoms were very difficult to attain. Many suffered death by burning at the stake—something that Martin Luther, however, escaped. Others were innocent bystander casualties of violent mob-uprisings and bloody wars. And yet the freedom of the Gospel they fought for is now our most prized possession as Lutherans.

And so we are reluctant to believe it, or we are downright offended, when we hear that this freedom is actually something you receive as a gift. It would then turn out that you didn’t work for it, or possibly that you didn’t need to struggle for it. Saying that our freedom is something that God has already given us would also say that it was for nothing that those colonists fought the Revolutionary War, or that brother fought against brother in the Civil War. If you were to admit that Christ has achieved our freedom for us, then what need did we have of Martin Luther, or all the other players in the Reformation drama?

A gift is really demeaning to your proud sinful nature, if you want to be perfectly honest. It’s almost a game some people play at birthdays and Christmas to try quickly to match each other equally in their gift-giving. And nothing can be more satisfying but also at the same time offensive than when you have given better than what you got in return. Offensive because you know you deserve better and the other person is able to give better than they have. Satisfying because you’ve proven yourself to be the more generous, benevolent soul, and you have won the game of giving.

So God’s gift of freedom that He gives willy-nilly through His Son Jesus Christ is a gift that puts you on the wrong end of the game. It means you are not in control of yourself; you have no way of making your sinful nature proud. If you were free by what you yourself have done, then your freedom is on your terms. Freedom would be what you deserved as a birthright, just like the Jews imagined when they were talking to Jesus. “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.” They understood that if Jesus were to give the gift of freedom, then they, the recipients, would have to acknowledge that they were in a truly miserable position from birth. Not only were they in political bondage because Palestine was under strict control of the Roman Empire, but they were also in spiritual bondage to sin, death and the devil. The Jews’ claim of lineage from Abraham gave them the bragging rights to freedom in both political and spiritual realms, so they believed. They really earned it and no other ethnicity had those same bragging rights—and the Jewish religion has basically the same pride surviving to this very day.

Remember, though, that this gift of freedom is for you, too, no matter how much you also want to regard it as an achievement. You in your heart know that if your freedom in the Gospel can be thought of in your own terms, then you are independent. You would owe nothing to anybody. It would just be you and Jesus. You would then have every right to come in here, sit in the pew that you have claimed and reserved for years, you then fill ‘er up with the forgiveness that God has to give you as an individual, give just enough to cover your own part, and turn around and walk right out and drive home without having to do anything else. You get all the credit for going to church, and you still have time in the day to do something useful.

That is one kind of freedom, namely, freedom from everyone else. You are an individual, free from sin. This is how you normally think of it when you read the Bible—how does this apply to my personal relationship with God? What are the certain things I must do every day? I must repent of my sins, seek God’s forgiveness, and believe that He has given it to me. And you would be right. Christ has freed each and every individual you out there. You are His child, washed in the blood He shed on the cross and baptized into His name. No one else can believe for you. No one else has control over the salvation that you have. God the Father has specifically forgiven you and given eternal life to you.

But that’s when the devil wants to take over. He wants to capitalize on that individual, one-on-one concept that you have in your mind, and push out everything else. Satan keeps you focused on the time and commitment that you have given, and then he turns your attention to compare yourself against the others sitting in church with you. Someone in front of you has fallen asleep, someone else is always too disruptive; there are too many people who do not give their fair share. Those are the types of things that the devil uses to distract you, to pull you away from your Lord and your neighbor and they make you an isolated individual. And so the good of God’s freedom in the forgiveness of Jesus is twisted and contorted to be your declaration of independence from your brothers and sisters in the faith. In the end, that turns freedom into a bondage that says, “I can now do whatever I want,” but really you are fooling yourself, for you would then do what sin wants and what your Old Adam wants and your freedom would be lost.

The true freedom, the freedom for which Christ died and shed His blood, and the freedom that He lavishes upon you, is not only freedom from sin but also a freedom for living as His new creation. It’s freedom for being a disciple, so that your very existence is for the good of someone else. Because the waters of your baptism not only are your individual promise from God that your sins are forgiven, but they also kill the individual in you and remake you in the image of Jesus, joining you to His Body, the Church. The Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion are not just an extra assurance of forgiveness above and beyond all the forgiveness you already get in the rest of the church service. Even more than that assurance of forgiveness is the fact that Jesus joins Himself to you, giving you the perfect holy life and freedom that He is, right into your mouth! And along with Jesus giving Himself to you, He gives you to each and every other person kneeling at the rail with you, who believe and confess the very same faith you do and are joined to the very same Jesus that you are joined to. This is true freedom: freedom for each other.

Rather than a declaration of independence, this freedom for which Christ died and that He alone gives to you is a declaration of dependence on your fellow believers. In this new relationship, you bear one other’s burdens, trials, griefs and difficulties, but also their joys, love, and eternal hope, because those are the things that will last into eternity. The bad stuff will all be gone soon. This is why Jesus denied the Jews of their claim to true freedom by being the descendants of Abraham, because it was only freedom for themselves as individuals. But it also applies to you. If the freedom you have from the promises of the Lord is only your individual freedom from sin, then it really isn’t the true freedom Jesus is talking about, the freedom for serving those around you without expecting anything in return. If you don’t have this freedom for, you never really had the freedom from to begin with.

Martin Luther wrote that as a Christian you are completely free, subject to none—that is the first kind of freedom that I talked about, freedom from sin and death. But he also balanced it with the freedom for, saying that the Christian is also in a new type of bondage, a servant to all in the love given through Jesus Christ. In this understanding of freedom, there is still forgiveness, especially for you. Your sins of selfish pride and individualistic attitude are wiped away, and God remembers them no more. And as you live in true freedom, freedom for each other, remember that you do such nice things not because you have to put in your time like it was community service, but because there is nothing more free and natural than to help someone else. Jesus has won the eternal life that you could not earn. His freedom is yours, and when you sacrifice yourself for the good of someone else, something that your heavenly Father wants you to do in the first place, you still get rewarded, even when you had nothing to do with it! Test Him in this, He says, give up a little of yourself for others in whatever way you can, and you still get hundreds of times back what you gave. That is the true freedom of the Gospel: countless blessings above and beyond the forgiveness that is already yours.

So, fellow redeemed, the Church of the Reformation, stand fast, therefore, in the freedom by which Christ has made you free. Cherish it, not because you worked for it, but because it is God’s gift to you. For you are no longer under the yoke of bondage, but you are free for the benefit of one another, and you wait for the promised freedom of heaven, when you will be set free from the grip of sin, death and the devil for good. Thanks be to the Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ!

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

Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity: October 24, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

The Evangelist St. John doesn’t want us to forget about Cana. When, after His night meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus returns from Jerusalem to that hilltop city in Galilee, the miracle of today’s Gospel, of the father’s son made well, is meant to remind us and connect it to Our Lord’s first miracle, when He turned water into wine.

That is a strange miracle, and if you think about it in one sense, changing water into wine was one of the least practical if not the most impractical works Jesus performed, and certainly the most given to abuse. The wedding guests were well drunk on the ordinary stuff when Our Lord provided more and even better wine. Its beauty and delicate vintage were lost on most of them. They just wanted to keep their alcoholic buzz going, and it didn’t matter what kind of booze did the job.

Here in the second Cana miracle, when Jesus healed the Capernaum nobleman’s son, that seems much more practical. This is the sort of miracle Americans like. The kid was sick, dying, so heal him. That is real. That is important. That is not at all like making fancy wine in order to waste it on drunks. It makes about as much sense as if you were to give a Maserati to an Australian Outback bushman.

Yet John insists that he sees a connection between the two miracles. He practically begs us to explore it. And the wine miracle is the more significant from his standpoint because it gives meaning to the healing and not the other way around. Every trickster miracle-worker claims to heal people. Only Jesus produces superfluous wine of the greatest quality and gives it to people who don’t and can’t appreciate it.

We can see some similarities. Both miracles had the goal of producing laughter and joy. A healthy child would cause more joy in the noble father’s household than when his son was sick, and it is written somewhere that God has given wine to make glad the hearts of men. Jesus didn’t just show pity for a sick kid. It is pity also for the distraught, at-the-end-of-his-rope father. The house has gone silent with fear and regret, and Jesus will restore its laughter, much like the giving of wine.

During the wedding in Cana, Jesus had a rebuke for His own mother, St. Mary. “Woman, what has that to do with Me? My time has not yet come.” Yet when the nobleman requested for Jesus to heal, He unleashes against the whole crowd: “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Yet St. Mary responds in faith, telling the servants, “Whatever He tells you to do, do it,” which is always good advice, so long as He is always Jesus. The man of Capernaum likewise responds with faith. John says the man “believed the Word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.”

Notice also a very slightly noticed but greatly significant alliance in these miracles. They both are immediate miracles that Jesus performed, but they include something of a delay in them and there’s some element of distance. At the wedding the servants are told to put water into the ceremonial washpots and then take that same water to the master of the feast. The master tastes the miracle wine, without knowing what happened, and assumes the bridegroom made a huge mistake. In the second miracle, the Word of Jesus instantly heals the nobleman’s son way down the hill in Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. But there is no internet connection, telegraphs, or even smoke signals. So the boy’s attendants in Capernaum don’t know how it happened. They only know that it did happen and at what time. They might have thought the nobleman doesn’t need to go find a miracle worker because one is no longer needed.

You can catch in both Cana miracles that Our Lord is reluctant to be a miracle worker, but He’s more explicit about that in the second. Indeed, there is something like disappointment or frustrated irritation in His voice as He says: “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will not believe.” It’s the kind of anger you get from a mother, perhaps–it feels like she’s yelling, but she doesn’t even have to raise her voice.

That makes us wonder, why wouldn’t Jesus want to do these miracles? Wouldn’t He instead be glad to step up and flex His God-muscles, if that will mean that more people will believe in Him? Wouldn’t that be the way you would like to think of Jesus in your life?

But there’s no need for you to be a PR agent for God. He doesn’t need your help. In fact, it is this exact unbelieving tendency to want to apologize for God, or explain Him away, that is the most responsible for heresy in the history of the Church. It is also blasphemous, as though you make yourself to be nicer than God is. Don’t do it.

In any case, the fact remains, the Lord did not really want to heal the nobleman’s son or provide wine at the wedding. But in both cases, He relented and performed those miracles anyway. He is moved to act because of His compassion. He is like a mother who tells her child “no, you can’t have a candy bar,” who then gives her child a candy bar anyway.

And here’s the difference, though. We fallen parents do that because we are weak. We are wore down. We want the kids to be quiet and quit their begging. We do it, but then we resent it, and wish we hadn’t. We wish we were more consistent, more patient, better parents. Or we do it because we feel guilty, because we know life is hard on these kids, we messed up somewhere along the way, or we don’t spend enough time with them or because we know we’ve just not been the parents that we should be. Or just because we want the kid to have some joy in his life and are hoping that somehow we can buy that for him with this candy bar. We do it because we are weak. The children beg, nag, and act shamefully, and our response is wrong and unhelpful.

Our Lord is different from us. We beg, nag, and act shamefully, worse than children throwing a fit, but His compassion is legit and has no weakness. He has no guile. He is selfless. He does not want to be known as a miracle worker, not because He lacks compassion or doesn’t think we deserve it, but because He does not want to rot our teeth, to use the candy analogy. That is to say that if He performs too many miracles He will spoil us and it will not be for our good. If He performs too many miracles we will lose sight of His ultimate mission and our real need. We will demand a bread king, one who meets only our daily bread temporary needs, whether they are about our health, wealth, or relationships, a Savior who looks and acts like we would and lets us sing only our favorite songs in church and makes us feel better about ourselves just as we are. Selfish sinners. That is a well-worn path to Hell. And Jesus is too wise to lead us down that way.

The healing and joy that Our Lord brings is not so much intended for this life as it is for the next. The joy we have now is anticipatory, a breaking-in of the real joy that will be. We rejoice based on the forgiveness of sins we have now and the promise for the future when not only will we be pronounced holy, but we will also be holy and sinless in every way. Our justification will match our sanctification.

The Lord Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, Creator of all things, has come into our human flesh to be a Sacrifice. He has come to suffer a bloody death, to become sin and a curse, to be forsaken by His Father as punishment for our sins. This is the Word that you need to believe: “Your son will live.” It is true for all the baptized, even if some of them have died and are buried. This is the word that Jesus speaks to you still: “You and your children will live because I live and I have overcome death.”

That’s what you need to take home with you today from the Cana miracles. Because that is a Word that brings comfort and joy in a world that you already know is still full of chaos, temptation, pain, and death. Jesus lives so that you and your sons will live.

Jesus bestows the wine of His Holy Spirit that makes glad the hearts of men in the forgiveness of sins for He has reconciled all the world to His Father in order to have you. “Whatever He tells you to do, do it,” says St. Mary, prototype of the Church, icon of motherhood, first of the saints. “Whatever He tells you to do, do it.” Today, He tells you, “Fill the Chalice with wine this time, not water, and take it to the Bride, not to the master. For I give her my best vintage: I give My very own Blood that was shed for her in a Holy Sacrifice, a guilt and a peace offering combined in one. You put in wine. The Church drinks Blood, she drinks of My Holy Spirit because I have made with her a New Covenant. Her sins are forgiven and she is joined to Me that I might give her sons.” And as Jesus said to the nobleman in Cana, not far from the famous wedding hall, so He says to you today at this very hour: “Your sons will live.”

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

Readings:
Gen. 1:1—2:3 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
Psalm 8 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers
Eph. 6:10–17 Put on the whole armor of God
John 4:46–54 Go your way; your son lives.

Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity: October 17, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Whenever a prophet appears on the scene, it means that it is a critical time for God’s people. It is a critical time because that prophet’s message is basically this: “God’s judgment is just around the corner, and time is running out for you to repent and turn back to Him.” It is not a happy message. Rather, it is dark and foreboding and it stings you with the fear of the Lord. Its weight is meant to crush you so that there is nothing left for you to claim. If you had happened to live during the time of one of God’s prophets, he would usually tell you that God is about to punish His chosen people for turning away from Him. There is no comforting word that ever comes from the mouth of a prophet until God’s people have heard that harsh message: stop your sinning! They don’t preach the Good News of God’s mercy until His Law has cut the hearers’ hearts in pieces and condemns them for the sinners that they really are.

Isaiah certainly had that message for the people who lived in and around Jerusalem over 700 years before Christ. How urgently did the Lord announce His totally free invitation! “Come, you thirsty, come to the waters and drink freely!” “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread?” “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” God told Isaiah that the people of God do not have to suffer His punishing wrath. You can turn to Him and be saved! Our Lord is a God of compassion and He will pardon those sinners who turn to Him. But if you continue in your godless ways and reject the One who made you His own, you will soon be destroyed. A foreign army will cut you down and trample you underfoot. If you don’t end up killed then you will be deported to a land you’ve never known with almost no chance of ever coming back again. This is none other than God’s judgment and you will not escape it. That was what Isaiah had to preach.

Obviously, no one in the Old Testament would have liked to be a prophet. Their message is never easy to proclaim. Moses had pleaded with the Lord, using one excuse after another and then finally saying, “Please send someone else!” before he actually went to Egypt in obedience to God’s command. Jeremiah complained that he was only a child and that he didn’t know how to speak in front of God’s people as a prophet. One man after another is thrown into the task of going to sinners and telling them that the time of God’s judgment is near.

But not only is proclaiming the message a difficult task for a prophet to do, the response to that message usually makes it even worse. People with itching ears who want to hear only what sounds good have a real problem with hearing about their sin. Deep down, whether you realize it or not, you also don’t want to be stung with the fear of the Lord. For that would mean that you have failed, that you are not better than those other “hypocrites” and “sinners” whom you know. That would mean that the good things you do contribute nothing to your standing before God. To hear and believe God’s Word spoken by His prophet is nothing more than giving up on helping yourself and trusting in Christ instead to save you. Nobody is ever ready for a prophet’s harsh message, and some may even try their hardest to keep that message quiet.

And so, prophets will be persecuted for the sake of God’s Word. According to a Christian tradition, Isaiah was said to be murdered by being sawn into two pieces, as mentioned in Hebrews 11:37 but without specifying who that might have been. God sends one servant after another into His vineyard, and the workers continue to beat, kill and stone them. But not only did God not stop sending preachers at crucial times pleading with His people to repent, He then sent Jesus! His death, and the deaths of every prophet who preached before Him, these deaths were none other than the Lord’s doing. Every time we remember it, it is marvelous in our eyes. Isaiah himself says about Jesus: “It was the will of the Lord to crush Him.” (Is. 53) As it happened to the prophets, so it also happened to Jesus.

For our Lord, just like His prophets, appeared at a critical time, too. According to God the Father’s own design, just like in the parable, He sent His Son. The message Jesus preached sounded like that of the prophets through whom He preached in time past. He also preached that God’s judgment was right around the corner. And yet here was the difference: God’s final, once-for-all judgment was not going to fall on His sinful people, but instead it would destroy Jesus as He stood in their place. With His crucifixion only days away, Jesus spoke with urgency in His voice to call sinners to repent of their own ways, to stop sinning, and instead trust in Him to take away their sins. My thoughts are not your thoughts. I desire for you to live, not die, says the Lord. Jesus wanted those who were rejecting Him and planning His death to give up on trying to please God by their own good deeds and instead receive His free forgiveness and absolution. It was truly a critical time for God’s people—it was indeed the fullness of time. For God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that He would get the punishment and we would have God’s righteousness and good favor.

Fellow citizens of heaven, this is a critical time for you! God’s judgment is right around the corner, and time is of the essence. The day of God’s final verdict is at hand. All those other times when God handed out punishment, those were really the first installments of the great Last Day, the Second Coming of Christ that will soon be here. I tell you now, be ready for that day! Stop your sinful thoughts, words and deeds that test the patience of your heavenly Father. God’s punishment is still very real and we have every reason to fear His wrath. Why? Because it is all too easy to reject God’s Word. It is all too easy for you to say, “I know all this stuff already.” But do you believe it? Can you defend it if someone challenges you? All who refuse to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins will be deported to the permanent punishment and damnation in the everlasting fire of hell. This would have been your future were it not for Jesus, who took your place and He already suffered hell for you.

So if you are crushed under the weight of your own sin and you realize that there is nothing within you that pleases God, then the sight of Jesus despised and rejected, hanging on the cross—this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in your eyes. Your sins are all paid for, and your guilt is taken away. The coming day of God’s judgment is a day when you will finally see your Lord face-to-face and He will welcome you with open arms.

Though you were torn down and destroyed by the law and God’s condemnation, you are now replanted as a new vineyard by the Gospel. You are an heir of eternal life, a citizen of heaven. Christ has made good on the promise that God will abundantly pardon. You as a fruitful branch are connected to Jesus the true Vine, and He uses you to bear good fruit in His vineyard, the Church. The very body and blood of Christ feeds you and waters you, and you are grafted into Him. Jesus has planted you Himself and you are the vineyard of His good pleasure. He gives you His Holy Spirit, so that by His power working in you, you can then, instead of sinning, serve others whom God has put in your path and so bring glory to Him. You had no ability within you to do good things, but it is Jesus and His Holy Spirit within you that bears the good fruit, in whatever responsibility in life or calling that God has given you.

Hear God’s Word from the mouth of His holy prophets and receive what it gives. God’s judgment is right around the corner—so do not reject His message. Believe in Jesus Christ, His Son, who was sent to tear you down and destroy your sinful pride and replant you as His own vineyard, a Garden in which He delights. For the Son who was sent to the vineyard and killed—He is no longer dead. That is the happy Easter message, your punishment is gone. And joined with Christ, you too shall rise from the dead to be with Him on that last judgment day.

Until that time you have your Lord and Savior here in front of your very eyes, giving you His life-giving body and blood and proclaiming forgiveness to you. You are the vineyard of the Lord, and He has promised to take care of you until the great harvest day.

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

Readings:
Isaiah 55:1–9 Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters
Psalm 27:1–9 that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life
Eph. 5:15–21 redeeming the time, because the days are evil
Matt. 22:1–14 as many as you find, invite to the wedding
  or
Matt. 21:33–44 This is the heir. Come, let us…

Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity: October 10, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

The very fact that you are here today, the reality of your sitting in this holy place in the presence of God is truly a miracle. More likely than not, the fact that you have faith in Jesus Christ and are not lost in despair and unbelief is in some way due to the efforts of others. It all started with your parents, for they heeded the Divine command to protect life even as that life, your life and body, was forming in the womb. Perhaps also it was those same people who trusted in the salvation of their Lord that is found in the waters of Holy Baptism. Because of the faith that the Holy Spirit created in their hearts, they brought you to the font so that you would receive that same washing of rebirth and renewal for yourself.

Perhaps, though, other people besides your natural parents were involved, and because of their love for you and their desire for you to have faith, that’s what made it possible for you to be near Jesus. A few of you may have wandered and strayed from the Christianity you had embraced as a child, and thanks in part to a devout and faithful mentor, Christ your good Shepherd brought you back into His fold.

What could you possibly owe these spiritual fathers and mothers in thanksgiving for such a great and lasting gift? Nothing, really. For it was God working through them who did everything. He was the one who gave you the faith that receives His gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation. They were His instruments. Of course, because of their faith in Christ, they prayed for you, and took time and other personal resources so that it all could come about, but they could not believe for you. Really, all they needed to do was to bring you near Jesus and He did the rest.

For this is exactly how God’s kingdom comes among us, it is how He gives us His Holy Spirit so that by His grace we believe His Holy Word and lead godly lives both here in time and hereafter in eternity. This does not happen automatically, there is no angel dropping down out of heaven to cram salvation down your throat.

Nor is it because of your personal choice, as if God would leave your eternal fate solely up to your own decision. In His Word, in Baptism, in Holy Communion, your Lord is with you, drowning the sinful Old Adam that you are and raising you back to life as a new creation. He gives the gifts and He creates the faith in your heart that receives these gifts. His salvation is truly yours, full and free from the mouth of Jesus.

And those who brought you near this Jesus, this wellspring of salvation, they may never even realize what God did through them. I would guess that a few of you can think of at least one time when you were surprised that you actually “got through” to someone whom you were carefully and prayerfully working on. Whether you are aware of it or not, your heavenly Father has created you to be His instrument to bring others into His presence. He has placed you in your specific calling and vocation in life to do this very thing—whether you are a mom at home, a student at school, a worker on the job or a retired grandparent. Every day, God sets people in your path as it were for you to bring them near Jesus.

Has there been a time when you failed to bring someone before the Lord when you had the chance? Maybe it seemed too hard or you were just too busy to take the time necessary. Your prayers for people such as these have often wavered and eventually you forget all about them. Perhaps you felt that they didn’t deserve your constant attention. They were unresponsive to your efforts or ungrateful one too many times and rather than recognizing your concern, they treated you like dirt and so you decide it’s all right now to give up on them; all the while telling yourself that it’s not worth the effort anymore.

Attitudes such as these are part and parcel of your sinful human nature, your flesh that would follow your own lead rather than submit to God’s will. As a sinner, standing on your own before God you are not like those four men who opened the roof of that crowded house and lowered their friend to Jesus. You are instead the paralytic, unable to overcome the sin and doubt that renders you unable to move. You can do nothing to change your debilitated situation. Even if you are helpful and do good things for others, the pride in your heart puffs up and you remain spiritually crippled. You can try to lead others to believe that you are righteous, caring, fully committed to your church and family—and you may convince them. But to God, who sees all and will judge all on the Last Day, you by yourself are able to please Him and keep His commandments just as much as that paralytic is able by himself to break the world record in hurdles. It’s simply not going to happen.

However, it is to a paralytic such as you that your Lord Jesus speaks these healing words: “Your sins are forgiven.” Who can forgive sins but God alone? Indeed Jesus Christ is God alone. Only God alone, the Son of Man, can make the paralytic walk again. He is God who alone lived a perfect life in total obedience to the Father’s will. He is God alone who was fully committed to rescue you in your sorry state. He is God who went to the cross—alone—and took the full punishment for sin that you had deserved—He is God alone.

And so, He alone has authority on earth to forgive sins, and following His resurrection from the dead, He proclaims that daily He has compassion on you, He treads your iniquities under foot, and He casts all your sins into the depths of the sea. Each day you die and are buried together with Him in Baptism, and each day you arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. His forgiveness is healing even for you. You are no longer paralyzed in your sins, but freed from them. You are free to do what you’ve been created to do: that is, love God and serve your neighbors, thinking of their every need, and bringing them near the healing hand and life-giving mouth of Jesus.

Whenever you hear the healing word of Jesus, He is near. If you hear in this place that your sins are forgiven, then I urge you to believe it, because Jesus is here speaking with all His authority behind it. If you hear that the bread you eat is the Body of Christ and the chalice you drink pours forth His precious Blood, then say Amen to God’s promise and His gift.

The Son of Man’s authority to forgive sins is exercised in this place on earth up to this very day, and God willing, it will until the Lord returns in glory on the Last Day. As Jacob said after his vision of the ladder to heaven, this truly is none other than the house of God, the very gate to heaven. We find out later in the Bible that this ladder, this connection between God and Man, is Christ crucified Himself.

And so give thanks to Jesus for those faithful believers in your life who brought you near Him. Give thanks for our church, our schools and other organizations whom God uses to do this sort of thing on a regular basis. And remember, your Jesus heals you with His forgiveness. He who is able to give life and strength to the paralytic bids you arise, sins forgiven, your disease taken away.

He did not let the sun go down on the Father’s punishing anger that Good Friday without achieving full reconciliation with you. That anger has turned away, now all God has toward you is love, you have put on the new self, and you now have an ever-renewed love for your neighbor. And as the paralyzed man went home that day healed and renewed, you will be sure one day to go to your home in heaven, and gladly await your own resurrection.

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

Readings:
    Gen. 28:10–17 a ladder was set up…its top reached to heaven
    Psalm 84 O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
    Eph. 4:22–28 put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man
    Matt. 9:1–8 which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?

Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity: October 3, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

You know, there’s a lot of stuff to learn in the Bible. All those 66 books, from Genesis to Revelation, yield a mountain of content that truly takes a lifetime to absorb and reflect upon just a part of it. Those Pharisees, the most frequent nemeses of Jesus’ teaching, tend to look at the Bible and see a jumbled list of rules. In fact, their rabbis numbered 613 different laws out of the Scriptures, and categorized those commandments carefully in a hierarchy that was absolutely dizzying. Why all that effort? Each of them wanted to be able to say, “I’m a good person. I am doing just what God wants me to do.” That meant they also had to justify or make excuses for their words and actions when they might be called into question. You see, sometimes keeping one law put you in danger of breaking another law, and so they were constantly searching: what was the one Commandment that would supersede all the others? And once they identified one, of course there was another expert who could impeach it in favor of another more important statute. To the Pharisees, knowing God’s Word was all about keeping the outward rules well enough to earn a passing grade from God.

Do you ever find yourself thinking like that, and then being on the defensive and trying to justify yourself? You lose your temper and let someone have it and then justify yourself by thinking, “At least I’m in church on Sundays, unlike others I know.” I speed sometimes, but there are others who are always going faster and running the stop signs. I could probably do more to help others around me, but God knows how busy I am. Because we are self-centered by nature, it is very easy to see the Bible as God’s rules which we had better keep if we want to get to Heaven. The thinking is: “It’s all about me.”

Jesus’ answer, however, points in a completely different direction. Instead of seeing individual trees in the forest of laws, Jesus perfectly described the whole forest: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

It’s all about love. First of all, there is the vertical love for God. This is not a part-time, half-hearted love. This is a complete, all or nothing devotion. Think of what it means to throw your heart into your work or a project at home. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when you wake up. You give it all the time and effort you possibly can and you don’t mind. It is the last thing in your mind before you drift off to sleep. The Law commands all-out love for God above all else all the time. Along with that is the horizontal love for one’s neighbor, that is anyone whom we can help in any way. It is not the warm feeling we get when someone does something nice for us, but rather wanting to do good for another and then doing it.

The Pharisees and we too by nature want to pick certain trees in the forest as our favorites—laws which we think we keep fairly well. But when we fail to act from a loving heart, we have already torched the entire forest! “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). It’s foolish then to point to a few smoldering stumps, hang our hopes on them, and say, “It’s not too bad. I’ve done pretty well.” It is all about love in the heart not outward obedience to rules.

It’s all about love, but it is a love which we do not have in and of ourselves. None of us would dare to say before God: “I’ve done it. I have loved You with a pure and perfect heart every moment of my life, and it is evident in everything I have said and done. In love for You I have loved my neighbor and shown him every bit as much, if not more, care and concern than I have for my own wellbeing.” We know better. There is no one good, not a one! “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; rather, through the Law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:20). “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). It is all about love: a love commanded by God’s Law, a love we don’t have in our hearts, and a love we have not practiced in our daily lives.

That’s why all the Bible, the Law and the Prophets and beyond, hangs on love like coats hanging in the closet. Take away the hooks and hangers, and the whole teaching of the Bible gets confused and ends up on the floor in a jumbled heap! Our salvation is all about love, but not our faulty love for God. Instead the love that matters for our eternal life is His perfect love for us. Notice again what the commandment says: “You shall love the Lord your God.” If God is known as “your” God then there must be a relationship, a connection. He is yours because you are His, named His own when you were baptized. He has made you that. His name “Lord” stresses that He is the faithful God of loving promise. When He promises to help, He does. He reminded Israel of that just before He gave them the Ten Commandments. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2)

We have come to know our gracious Lord in Jesus. “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known” (John 1:18). The Pharisees were looking for an earthly Messiah who would reestablish the golden age of David and Solomon when Israel was politically powerful and economically prosperous. They acknowledged the Messiah would be a descendant of King David according to the prophecies of Scripture. But Jesus showed them from David’s own words that David knew his descendant would be much more than a man. He would be David’s “Lord,” a divine Helper, God Himself.

He would come to establish not an earthly but an eternal, spiritual kingdom. And He would do it with love, not military force. He was born under the Law to redeem those who were under the law. The Law demands perfect love of each of us. Jesus took the place of each of us. In our place He loved the Father with all His heart, soul, and mind. He humbled Himself and was born an infant in the poorest of circumstances. Even though the Lord of all, He obeyed Mary and Joseph, His teachers, and the government. In obedience to His Father He allowed His enemies to arrest and crucify Him. In our place He loved His neighbor as Himself. He laid down His own holy life as the payment for the sins of all people. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). He conquered sin, death, and Hell just as God had promised. When He hung on the cross all the Law and the Prophets hung there too. It is all about love. Through Jesus God sees us as having fulfilled His command to love. He pronounces us holy and pleasing to Him in every way.

Because Jesus has given us the free gift of that love, a day will come when you and I truly will be able to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor perfectly too. We all like to dream of the wonders of Heaven and try to imagine the glories waiting for us there. One of the best things will be freedom from all sin, selfishness, and pride which mar our lives now. When Jesus raises us on the Last Day, our Old Adam will be left behind in the grave. We will finally be free to love God and each other wholeheartedly as we were meant to.

But there is more good news to this message. We don’t have to wait for the resurrection to start loving. Our new life in Christ has already begun, and it grows as we grow in God’s Word. Remember, it’s all about love. When we see that God demands pure and perfect love, not just outward obedience to rules, our sin is exposed and our excuses shot down. When we confess our guilt and throw ourselves on the Lord’s mercy, the Holy Spirit raises us to new life in Christ and produces fruits of love in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 13 or 1 John for more insights on love’s fruits. John writes: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Sure, there’s a lot of stuff to learn in the Bible. There are a lot of coats in the closet! But keep in mind that you have the hangers that all those details hang on, and the reason to be assured that all of God’s blessings are yours. It’s all about love: love commanded, love received, and love to live. It’s all about love, and it always will be!

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

Readings:
Deut. 10:12–21 what does the LORD your God require of you
Psalm 34:8–22 Who is the man who desires life
1 Cor. 1:1–9 called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord
Matt. 22:34–46 which is the great commandment in the law?

September 26, 2021 (Using Trinity 17, Historic)

The liturgy needs to be taught, or else it will eventually become ignored. So this commentary that we’re using today was designed for you to take home with you and study the Bible passages that relate to each part of the Divine Service, which has two parts: both Service of the Word and Service of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper.

All the Scriptures and prayers, even the Catechism portions that we read together—that all looks forward to this, the Divine Service, the primary way our God comes among us to grant us forgiveness and unity with Him at this altar, united in one pure and correct confession of the faith.

As was just mentioned, the sermon fits into the order of the Service not simply for the pastor to share some opinions with you!
Rather, pastors prepare their weekly sermon to carry the ball further on to the goal, which is the Sacrament. The theme that each of the readings contributed to help us understand what these gifts are that our risen Lord Jesus is handing out to you today.

The pastor’s sermon preparation time is very important. I read and study the Scriptures, preparing to read them aloud in church and apply them to me and you. I pray for Christ to be laid out for you plainly and accurately. I ask for the Holy Spirit to guide me—not in the same way those fanatical preachers think, because here are my notes, for one thing—but He does guide me and my words as they reach your heart. The Holy Spirit preaches the Word especially for you and to give you the hunger and thirst for righteousness that you receive at this altar.

I shouldn’t normally be lecturing you about forgiveness (like I’m doing now) but handing it out to you in my sermon—you actually receive Christ and His gifts because He has promised to come to you in a unique way here and now.

That’s what the liturgy really is at its very center, the liturgy’s not a book or a bulletin or even an organ, Liturgy actually is God coming to you and you believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sins.
Why anyone would want to tinker with that is completely beyond me! Possibly our sinful nature tempts us not to trust that Christ will give us His gifts this way, or that we don’t like the way that He chose, or we let ourselves get distracted and we blame someone else for why we don’t get anything out of the service. As we heard from the Apostle Paul in the second reading, the Epistle, God gave pastors to preach sermons that would equip you, His saints, build you up as the body of Christ, and help you attain to fuller knowledge of Jesus, all of which happens right here in the Liturgy.

So what I propose to you as you prepare to hear a sermon in the Divine Service is to pray…
When I get up as the hymn is concluding, I kneel here and pray these words from Psalm 19: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
You could perhaps pray one of the prayers in the hymnal to bless your hearing of the Word,
Or simply say, Lord, please teach me, guide me, forgive me, and give me new life today as I hear your Word proclaimed.
You could also say “Amen” out loud when I give you the blessing of the Apostles just like now…here’s practice: Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now, as you listen to a sermon, you’re looking, of course, for information, teaching, doctrine, application to daily life—all of those.
But there’s more, Jesus is right here, right now, ready to give you all His precious gifts—starting with forgiveness. When He teaches about humility, for example, in the Old Testament and Gospel readings, He is in that teaching giving you Himself and His gifts in a special way, rather than just telling you how you should act.

It’s one thing to just understand how forgiveness works.
Quite another to then have it happen right then and there—a Lutheran sermon should excel at both, explaining forgiveness and delivering it to you.

The way a sermon does that is for you to listen to two key themes that are proclaimed throughout the Scriptures—Law and Gospel, and we can take a look at the reading from Luke that our lectionary assigned to today:

LAW– That is, what do we find in the reading that tells us what God wants us to do to fulfill His will? Of what does He hold us guilty of sin against Him or against our neighbor? Today’s Gospel reading from Luke 14 has two sections, in the first of which Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath in the presence of those who want to catch Him breaking a ceremonial commandment. The second part is a parable that Jesus tells, presumably about table manners. But there’s more to this reading that both joins together these two parts, and applies it more directly to us today. The man with a debilitating and disfiguring disease holding him down illustrates for us our helplessness before God who has been wronged by our every sin. But Jesus turns the focus from the healed man to the experts in Jewish law watching His every move. These men, out of their zeal for keeping minor points of the written code, rejected the Sabbath as God’s gift and made out of it a pathetic method of earning righteousness for oneself, which is doomed to fail.

GOSPEL– The Gospel, that is to say, the specific Words of forgiveness, life and salvation that form the main theme of the Divine Service, is found in the Words Jesus Himself spoke in both portions of our reading. We who were bound down and overburdened with sin have been released and set free by our gracious Lord. The Creator of the Universe made all that exists, and then blessed the day of rest not to give us yet another impossible rule to keep, but rather to assure us of His loving presence with us for life everlasting. As for the advice to take the lower place at the table, we note how Jesus Himself, although as the very Son of God He deserved ultimate honor, He made Himself take the lowest place among us for our salvation, so that He, and we along with Him, joined to Him by our Baptism, would be exalted to the eternal honor of God our heavenly Father.

This humble faith that acknowledges our wretchedness and clings to Jesus Christ is yours as a gift as you hear the words of your Savior Jesus speak forgiveness to you today in the sermon, as well as in all the rest of the Divine Service.

In fact, I would not want you to leave here today if all you heard in the sermon was just an inspirational message calling for you to rely on your own strength or worthiness inside you. Nor is it my intention for you to use this reading to compare your religious life with anyone else.

The goal today, as with any Divine Service, is that you would have actually received real forgiveness and Christ’s true gifts. The liturgy that we’re examining in detail in today’s service helps ensure that for all generations.

From that source of forgiveness may you receive a courageous as well as humble faith for your life this coming week, and for the rest of your life into eternity! I close the sermon with the Baptismal words that seal that forgiveness upon your forehead and on your heart as signified in the sign of the cross. Feel free to trace that cross upon yourself as you receive the blessing with faith in your heart:

In the name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

And quoting the Apostle Paul’s blessing found in Philippians chapter 4: The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Pr. Stirdivant

Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity: September 19, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Who’s next? I’m sorry that it’s a morbid subject and I don’t want to sound flippant about something that is truly hurting our flock here at Good Shepherd right now. But the grim truth of death lingers over us, both at the times when we feel its presence, like now, and at the times when we don’t. Death is there, attacking us, gripping us, threatening us in every way that it can. One of us will be the next to be called to the waiting arms of Jesus in heavenly glory. And the rest of us will have to mourn and hurt and weep all over again. When will this sad story end? When will death be finally defeated, like we proclaim at Easter and at funerals? Why can we be so sure that the story truly ends this way? What tells us that “It’s all over?”

You know when you’re watching the ball game, you usually know when you’ve come to the time when it’s safe to say, “It’s all over.” A big home run, that key interception, or clinching goal seals the deal and it’s about time to beat the crowds to get out to the parking lot, or to let someone else have their way with the TV remote control. If you were reading a mystery novel, once you’ve passed that point in the story, the pages start flipping by in rapid succession, as you anticipate the inevitable conclusion, and before you know it, the book is back on the shelf. I would suppose that the closer this climactic turn gets to the very end, the more suspenseful the story or sporting event would be.

The Evangelist Luke was inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell you a story, a true story, of course. He notes at the very beginning of his book that he worked very carefully in putting it together, so that those who heard this great, true story of Jesus would be granted the Divine gift of faith and incorporated into the family of believers. And when you’re in the family of believers, you have the direct assurance from the Lord of Life Himself that your sworn enemy, death, will not touch you. As you read Luke’s Gospel, you can spot a decisive moment when “It’s all over“, and victory is assured.

That moment is here, in the Gospel you just heard for today. As Luke describes the chain of events in the story of Jesus, this is the first time our Lord raises someone from the dead. Many miracles had preceded this one, and crowds were starting to form to hear the words of Grace pouring forth from Jesus’ mouth. Demons were fleeing His presence in terror, the chains of paralysis were breaking free, and it would seem impossible, but even diseases and fevers actually were cowering at His stern rebuke. But as St. Paul wrote, the last enemy to be destroyed is death. A mere miracle worker would be painfully aware of his limitations once he confronted that hideous monster.

And Jesus knows that He’s not just a street performer doing tricks. He knows that these people need more than just a day-to-day friend who will merely dust them off when they get knocked down. They need a Savior to stand between them and that final enemy. For they are just like you, precious creatures caught in the web of evil, and who through blindness of sin became enemies against the God who created them. The cruel grasp of death, whether it ravages the young or the old, turns your stomach, just like Luke tells us in literal Greek that it turned Christ’s stomach with compassion to see such a sad sight. You see, the Lord knows that it was not just the widow’s son at Nain who was a victim of death, nor any other loved one you might have known that was gone way before it seemed to be their time; we all are its victims. Last week we were made painfully aware of that.

Think also of the widow herself. The young man was her only-begotten son, which is a phrase you may have heard before. He was all she had, and not just her only reason to live another day, but he was the only means she had to live as a widow in that day. No other option for her personal survival was left. Without her husband and her son, she had nobody, so death was a real and frightening menace for that widow as well. So it is for you: not only are you also completely dead because of your sin, you are also helpless like the woman, unable to save yourself.

So Luke now introduces the dramatic moment so that you can see that it was a decisive moment, not only for the widow and her son, but also as a turning point for you. The scene is at the town gate. That makes it the only way in and out, at least on this side. And on this threshold between worlds, between Nain and the outside, between heaven and earth, Jesus the true God and true Man stops the sad funeral procession, and with just a few brief yet all-powerful words, it’s all over. For the widow, He says, “Do not weep,” and to him who was gripped by death, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” It’s all over.

Now, the words “Do not weep” come not as a rebuke, as if Jesus were saying that she had no right to cry or lament. Indeed, Jesus Himself shed tears and He could completely identify with us mourning human beings. Rather, His words are a gift, a bit of a release for her. “Do not weep” is more in the sense of, “Weep no more, I will allow this sadness to grow in your heart not one moment longer and I promise you that Death will not have the last word. I, your Lord and Savior, will have the last Word.”

When it comes to the young man, Jesus (and Luke for the first time in his narration expressly calls Him “the Lord”) Jesus the Lord commands resurrection not with thunder and booming voice like at Lazarus’ grave, and not even with stretching out His body over the corpse like Elijah had to do with the widow’s son in the Old Testament reading, but Jesus did it simply and with a gentle touch of the coffin bier, so that the Lord could soak in all the death and uncleanness into His own body. The word “arise” is exactly the same word that the Gospel writers and disciples would use when they speak of the risen Jesus. Luke is putting in all the clues as he tells the story to make sure you know, once Jesus the Lord has performed this first resurrection miracle, it’s all over for death’s hold upon you.

And boy, was the suspense on the edge of your seat. It would have been a matter of moments and that young man’s body would have been sealed in the ground or in a tomb. But thanks to Jesus, He stepped in at just the right time, standing there at the gate to the city on the short passageway to the body’s resting place. For here you are today, in the brief passage way of your life, making the short crossing from cradle to grave. The sin with which you were born and the sins you have added by yourself were taking you on the path directly leading to God’s eternal punishment. Yet Jesus, the Lord, the only-begotten (see, you’ve heard it again!), the unique Son of God, stepped in. You didn’t invite Him, you were the one dead. He came on His own and raised you. He spoke the gentle Word of forgiveness of all your sins. He may not have stretched His body out on top of yours, but He did stretch out His arms in great love for you as He died on the cross. Your sin and death has been conquered; It’s over! And as today’s pivotal moment said without a doubt, He who raised the dead would also break the tomb’s hold on Himself and it’s hold on you, on that triumphant third day.

The crowd attending this funeral procession were initially struck with fear, but then they recalled the prophecies of the Bible, and rejoiced that God had visited His faithful people. When the Lord paid a visit, He rescued them and gave them what they most needed at the time. Do you yearn for that kind of visitation today? Do you think there’s something left missing for you that drives you to plead to Him for it? Look no further than where you are right now, for God is visiting you in His Word today. He hands out the precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ on this altar for the forgiveness of your sins, for your rescue from death and the devil, and healing for you in body and in soul. We didn’t skip that part last week, and we won’t skip it today. He may not give you what you thought you needed, at the time you thought you needed it, but don’t forget that He daily and richly gives you all you need and more.

And most especially, don’t forget that it’s all over for the death that you and I face each and every day. You have been healed and forgiven, then restored to the Church, so that you can care for and nurture one another as the unified Body of Christ. Betty cared for us in many and various ways, and last week when she needed help, so many of you rushed to her side, while the rest of us prayed as God would want us to do for one another. It’s strikingly similar to that young man in the story, for he was raised from the dead and given back to his mother. He could take care of her, just like he was doing before as a dutiful son. Likewise you look after and care for your neighbors around you, whom God places in your path. He provides opportunities to serve in the church, not to give busybodies something to do, but to live out the life of service that God created you to give. Yet even as you’re progressing in a sanctified and holy life, do not forget that at the very same time, every day you approach Jesus as someone dead, sinful, in need of forgiveness. He will raise you up continually, just like He will raise up your mortal body at the Last Day, along with Betty and all the faithful believers in Christ’s flock. And thanks be to God, by His rich grace, whether you’re next or it’s someone else, you know how that story ends for you.

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

Readings:
1 Kings 17:17–24 See, your son lives!
Psalm 30 His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life
Eph. 3:13–21 what is the width and length and depth and height
Luke 7:11–17 Young man, I say to you, arise.

Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity: September 12, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

When you pray for your heavenly Father to give you daily bread, like you do in the Lord’s Prayer, you would have thought that would be enough. As you may already know, the Catechism teaches that daily bread means everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. And it’s not that you won’t get your daily bread if you forget to pray for it. You don’t even have to believe in God in order for Him to meet your earthly needs. You are well taken-care of in this life, regardless of your destiny in the life that is to come.

And so you would have thought that it would be enough for Jesus to teach you to pray in the Lord’s Prayer for daily bread. After all, in praying this petition you are asking that the Holy Spirit would lead you to realize that it is God who gives it all to you in the first place. Then, that He would prompt you by faith to receive your daily bread with thanksgiving. But it is not enough for Jesus to leave the matter simply with praying the Lord’s Prayer. It is not enough to remind you that Jesus is the Son of God, more specifically the Word of the Father through whom all things were created and are continually sustained. Why is it not enough? One reason has to do with you, and the other reason has to do with Jesus Himself.

First, your Lord and Creator knows your heart. He would not plop you down into this world without taking care of your earthly needs, but He knows that in your heart, you wouldn’t trust Him completely to come through on His promises. And the visible result of that lack of trust is the anxiety and worry in your life, sometimes a little anger you’ve had at God because He didn’t quite get it right the way you see it. Jesus nails you to the wall with a cut-and-dried absolute statement: No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and Money. Nobody likes absolute demands. They’re so unforgiving. The popular thing is to say that something is right for one situation and one person, but not for another. But since it’s in fashion to throw out the standard by which to judge whether something is right or not, then the best way to describe our world was a refrain that was written thousands of years ago in the Book of Judges: Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.

And when you throw out God as the master to whom you are devoted, the only other master that’s left (besides yourself) is Money, and everything that money can buy. The inanimate objects that you possess, you give them a life of their own, and they proceed in short order to run your life. This other master (it also goes by the old Biblical name Mammon) it doesn’t necessarily want you to give up your Christian faith. It would be kind of silly to see someone taking out a dollar bill and start bowing down to it. No, that’s the great thing with serving Money instead of God (I’m speaking facetiously, to make a point): you can use the Christian faith as the means to getting and securing worldly things, and a lot of people do just that. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…” but then look at what you’ve got coming to you! It’s kind of like dividends: “…And all these things shall be given to you as well.” You’ve got the best of both worlds! You’re really serving Money and the things money can buy, but all the time it looks like you are living a good, strong Christian life. How does that happen? Here’s how the reasoning goes:

God wants me to be happy. I, for one, have learned that since I was very little. The eternal life that He has promised for me, the salvation that He wants me to choose, must necessarily be constant happiness. Therefore, the more I am happy being a Christian, the more likely I will remain committed to my Lord, and the more likely I will fulfill my personal mission in convincing others to make that eternal decision in their life. Doesn’t God want me to thank Him when things go right for me? So then the more God gives me, the more I can thank Him. It’s a beautiful thing

Did you notice what happened? The love of Money and things didn’t even have to be mentioned, but you knew they were there as you were hearing that line of reasoning. It was just under the surface, and all along the way the Christian faith seemed to justify your lust and desire for more and more. The critical, fatal step that allows that other master to grab the reins away from your heavenly Father is the step that assumes that believing in Jesus Christ is your decision. You may object to this, saying that Jesus Himself forces a decision upon you when He says: You must serve only one master. Not so. Take a look again. He really says: You cannot serve both. There’s no decision on your part anywhere in there. And what about “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…?” If that isn’t a requirement for a decision, I don’t know what is. But then again, if that means there’s a decision, which is a work, then what have you done with being saved by grace, not by works? Without that, all you have is what the pagans hopelessly run after, saying: “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?”

The danger that comes with serving Money/Mammon, but making it look like you’re serving God, is when trouble and hardship come your way. When you star as the leading role in the latest reality show on the book of Job, then your prayers to God for those earthly benefits look like they’re fizzling on their way up like a bad rocket. Persecutions, disapproving glances, tragedies—none of these things make you happy, so then you think that God does not want to bless you. You must have done something wrong. You think you must make a more committed decision. You must give your heart to Jesus even more so the good stuff and the happiness can return. The love of those added things has become your master, and worry over them dominates your life. Thus it is not enough for Jesus merely to teach you the Lord’s Prayer. You also need your head turned to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. God takes care of them, He’ll surely take care of you. In Jesus’ words, “O you of little faith,” the emphasis is on the little part, because Money, that other master demanding your attention, causes you anxiety and worry that in the end eats away at your trust in Jesus Christ.

However, the other reason why it is not enough for your Lord to teach you to ask for daily bread, is because Jesus wants to go out of His way to comfort you of little faith. And this time the proper emphasis is on the “faith” part. Because whether it is big or little, your faith comes completely from God the Holy Spirit, and He determines its size. It was planted in your heart when you were baptized. Faith was never your decision to come to the Lord. It was a gift that saved you by the Blood of your Savior. That salvation is your most precious possession, and your most urgent need. And so, Jesus is saying to you that even little faith is enough to trust in Him for all things and not to worry. Be assured that He’s not condemning you or chastising you. That’s what we often make a practice of doing to each other. But when Jesus says, Do not worry, at that moment a miracle happens because He is Almighty God. With those simple, Gospel words, He forgives you and changes your heart to make it so.

What is the kingdom and righteousness you are to seek? None other than Jesus Himself. Use the little faith that you already have, because without it you would never seek Him. Without it you would be running around after stuff with the pagans and putting tomorrow’s worries on today’s agenda. The eternal life and perpetual happiness are yours now, but you will experience them later. To know that you have it now, takes the faith that only the Holy Spirit can create. And as costly as it all is, although it cost Jesus His life on the cross and His blood shed in suffering for you, it still is free. It makes no requirement for you to fulfill in order to get its eternal benefits, and yet your life never is the same since you have God as your master.

And because of this, a wonderful irony takes shape: God assures you of the “added” things to be there for you a-plenty, when by seeking Christ you are ready and willing to give up on everything else but Him. All your daily bread falls into place for you morning by morning like Manna in the wilderness, once you have laid hold of Jesus the Bread of Life alone. It’s wrong to think that God’s against having stuff, but it is true that He is plainly against your stuff having you. Now, if you want to hear what Jesus suggests that you do with the stuff, or the unrighteous Mammon that you have, then look for His words on this subject as Luke records them in his gospel (Luke 16). For now, pray for your daily bread, not so that you would get it, but so that you would receive it with thanksgiving. And if that isn’t enough, take heed to what our Savior says and consider the birds of the air, and the flowers of the field, and be assured that your heavenly Father will take even better care of you.

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

Readings:
1 Kings 17:8–16 I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.
Psalm 146 Do not put your trust in princes
Gal. 5:25—6:10 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Matt. 6:24–34 Consider the lilies of the field

Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity: September 5, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Perhaps it may help you to pray, and really make it a central part of your daily routine, if you intentionally remind yourself, I am God’s dear child. He has commanded, even pleaded with me to pray to Him and trust in Him as a dear child asks for something from his or her dear father. Pray like a Child– It’s taught in the Catechism, it strengthens that bond of faith that you have that keeps you close to Jesus Christ your Brother who prayed in a similar way to His Father, and you can be certain that you are doing something truly pleasing to God your Father, instead of making up something you think or you hope will please Him and get for yourself what you want. That attitude is not faith; it’s self-centered, foolish, and it’s why the child-asking-the-father analogy can get corrupted with our evil desires that often cause us to stumble.

Instead of discarding completely the advice to Pray like a Child, I would suggest adding this also: Pray like a Leper. Whether they had specifically Hansen’s Disease, which is what I believe leprosy is called in today’s medical texts, or some other skin ailment, the lepers spoken of many times in the Bible were the original socially distanced community. They were to be avoided. They were not careful to protect themselves against something contagious. The Jewish temple courts, indeed, all access to the priests was permanently cut off to the lepers, so they were even kept distanced from God’s gifts. No remedy for health could get to them, because the caregiver would then be exposed to the disease, and become a leper himself. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Lepers are out of options; they cannot trust in themselves or in their own strength even to get the outside help that they need.

The Biblical analogy is clear. You are lepers, infected not with a skin disease or a bodily contagion but instead with what the Law calls sin. As King David admits on behalf of all of us in the human race, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Psalm 51:5) Conception and birth are themselves God’s precious gift, what was passed on through conception and birth did not come from God. You and I start out distanced from our Creator, and it’s not a safe or social or a physical distance. We are cut off from our one source of life, and, all that surrounds us, including the very skin on our bodies, is enveloped in death. The rebellion of all mankind, the raw anarchy that horrifies us when we see its gross outbreaks, that has always been with us since the beginning. Sin is your plague and you’re stuck in it. By yourself, you are out of options.

And what makes it even worse, you are not only victims, but also willing participants in sin. The selfish, evil heart that you’re born with keeps on thinking evil thoughts, saying evil words, doing evil actions. It’s no coincidence that this story involves 10 lepers; Jesus uses that detail to remind us of the 10 commandments, the statement of God’s Law we know from the Catechism that is on the one hand a lovely description of love for God and care for our neighbor, but too often on the other hand, those commandments condemn you and condemn me for the sinners that we are, marked by the sinful things we do that break those commandments. It’s just too easy to think of our situation in this world only as being victims. We can say we’re trying to protect ourselves by whatever means and we’re shielding our loved ones from death’s attack. We can deny it or try to cover it up any way we can, the plain truth remains: we are lepers. Death has me surrounded, and I am to blame.

Once you acknowledge that, you now have something to learn from the Ten Lepers of Luke chapter 17. This miniature congregation in an unnamed village had somehow heard the Word of God. They had at one time heard about the prophesied Savior, the Son of David foretold from centuries past. They believed what they were taught, that this Messiah would have both the power and the desire to heal anything that sin has touched and corrupted. He will not be kept away by distance. Israel’s true King would come close. Everything from sinful hearts to leprosy-eaten skin would be cleansed and renewed thanks to this Man Jesus, the Son of David. And here, this Mighty God in real human flesh was entering their village! These lepers have finally found their one opportunity, and you could be certain they would spend every ounce of energy they had calling to Jesus, the Master, for mercy.

What is mercy? It’s the kindness shown from one in a high place, toward one who is in a lower place. The Greek, Kyrie eleison was once a greeting to a generous king from his loyal subjects. The plea for mercy is a request for an undeserved gift. One time Jesus answered the prayer, Kyrie eleison, with “What do you want Me to do for you?” In this instance, our merciful Lord simply sent them to the priests. Go show ourselves to the priests? We’re lepers! Nobody would have let us in the first gate to the temple courtyard! Do you know what this means? By the time we get to Jerusalem, we’re going to have clean skin! We’re finally going to be able to get in to see the priests, because Jesus said we would! Let’s go! Run faster!

You have been given this same opportunity, with the Master, Jesus the Son of David passing by here in this place to give you gifts, forgiveness, the true healing that you need. Pray like a Leper, for you do not have to remain victimized with sin, nor are you trapped in the consequences of your rebellious choices any longer. Your time of salvation is now, and your Lord has heard your cry to Him for mercy. He, the Son of the Most High, has visited you in your lowly place, as we heard Mary sing in the Magnificat a few weeks ago. He has come to cleanse you, to speak healing to your heart and conscience, and to extend that mercy to the ones for whom you pray as a priest in your own calling.

Remember, though, how today’s Gospel story takes a twist. The ten lepers go, as Jesus told them to go, to the temple priests to receive God’s blessing through the touch of their hands and the sacrifice of an animal on their behalf to make them clean, fully accessible to worship with their fellow Jews once again. The one leper, the Samaritan, knew he would still be cut off from the temple, the priests, and the blessing accessed through the worship laws of Moses. His skin was cleansed, but this man was still a leper of another sort. He still had to keep social distance, even though his disease was taken away. He was the one who not only remembered to Pray like a Leper, but he also recalled the first rule of prayer that we know from the Catechism: Pray like a Child.

If only for an instant, this Samaritan might have felt, once again, out of options, lost, cut off from God’s love. But then He remembered Jesus, that He’s not merely the next best thing, but that He literally IS the best thing, who has come next, and one day because of Him and what He came to do, the temple, priests, and old rituals would be completed and done. Better than the hands of the priests, He’ll go to the healing, blessing Hands of God Himself! Better than the animal giving its life for cleansing, He’ll believe in the Suffering Savior who would give His life on the cross for the whole world. And so, the cleansed Samaritan goes back to Jesus and kneels in thankful adoration to the One True God standing before him. Leper no more, outcast no more in the sight of his Loving, heavenly Father.

Remember always, you have access directly to God your heavenly Father through Jesus Christ who is not only your healer, but also your Brother. He’s the Lamb of God Himself who was sacrificed once on the cross to bring you fully cleansed into the real, not the symbolic, or promised future presence of God. The touch of your pastor’s hands in absolution, the Body and Blood of Christ in your mouth and on your own tongue, these are not only your healing and forgiveness, but also your standing, currently-in-force guarantee of inheritance, resurrection, and everlasting life. That’s why the Lord’s Supper is for certain your strengthening food for body and soul, for both ongoing healing as well as one-time forgiveness, a joyful uniting with God as well as a somber remembrance of His sacrifice.

As our ancient Communion prayers state: it is truly good, right, and salutary to give thanks and glory to God as this one man did who returned to Jesus. For just like him, our leper-like and Samaritan-like distance has been overcome with reconciliation, forgiveness, grace undeserved. Your master, Jesus the Son of David, the true King, has had mercy on you. You are attacked, harassed, persecuted, cast out of whatever sort of club because of what you believe, but you are no longer victims. You no longer face the consequences that had threatened to do you in. Jesus said the Word, and life is yours, forever. And to help you understand that better, and apply it to your life constantly, He has commanded, urged, even pleaded with you and your family to keep on praying. If it helps remind you, then take this advice:

Pray like a Leper, so that then you can fully and rightly, Pray like a Child—even better, Pray As God’s Child!

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

Readings:
Prov. 4:10–23 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let it go
Psalm 119:9–16 How can a young man cleanse his way?
Gal. 5:16–24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace…
Luke 17:11–19 But where are the nine?