Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

The little town of Bethlehem. The background for the familiar Christmas story. Its name in Hebrew means “house of bread.” These days, Bethlehem is the locale of hostilities between Jew, Christian, and Muslim, and sadly, it’s a city cut in half by an ugly wall topped with forbidding barbed wire. Long ago, it was merely a tired old village that was overrun by all the family members from its former glory days, so much so that there was no room in the inn for Joseph and Mary, about to deliver a baby. But a manger, a box of food for animals, was available. So the lowliest location in the lowliest town named for lowly bread, here lowly people who are nothing like the great kings of their ancestry, bring forth a lowly baby, who nevertheless is the majestic Son of God, Savior of the World, true Bread for all nations. This was no accident, for this Almighty God and King is pleased to dwell in lowliness, claim it as His own and He is further destined for a shameful cross.

But there’s more than that to Bethlehem. Its Biblical history goes far back, all the way to the Book of Genesis. Jacob is the third generation of patriarchs, after his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham. Near the town of Bethel, the “house of God,” Jacob meets with God (this is after his famous wrestling match that took place on the other side of the river) and he is blessed with the blessing of his forefathers and given the name Israel. He and the many people and animals in his entourage then head south on a hard journey, perhaps even using the same route that Mary and Joseph would travel many centuries after them, and tragedy strikes them in the region of Ephrathah, meaning that they’re at or near the town of Bethlehem.

The tragedy is this. Rachel, the woman whom Jacob loved and worked for 14 years to marry, is great with child, just like Mary would be at this point. Already on this journey southward, there was a death in their group, Deborah, and 180-year-old Isaac, who was blind for most of his life, is very close to breathing his last. Then right there on the journey, Rachel’s labor hits her hard, and her delivery of Benjamin sadly takes her life. A pillar is set up on the road leading to Bethlehem, a monument of Jacob’s love and sorrow, a landmark that had still survived all the way up to the time of David, and perhaps might even have been there as Mary and Joseph passed by on that same road.

After the time of Moses and Joshua and during the rule of Israel’s Judges, Bethlehem surfaces again in Old Testament history. This time, the “house of bread” has an empty breadbasket. There is famine in the land and Naomi and her husband and sons leave for a foreign country. In the land of Moab, tragedy strikes again, and Naomi is left without her husband and her sons. Nothing is left for her except to move back home to Bethlehem in sorrow and brokenness. Only Ruth, also a widow, is left with her for comfort, but how could this foreign girl last through such heartache and struggle? She’s got nothing more to gain from Naomi, even in the impossible fantasy that her mother-in-law could marry again and have another baby and Ruth would help change the diapers on her future husband.

Yet, on the road to Bethlehem, Ruth resolves to Naomi in that well-known pledge, “Where you go, I will go, where youstay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God.” And it is in Bethlehem that the wonderful story of redeeming love plays out, where lowly, unlikely Ruth, marries the perfect match, Boaz (even if he’s a little older) and she becomes great-grandmother to King David, and an ancestor worthy of mention in the genealogy of Jesus Himself in the Gospel of Matthew.

It is, of course, the little town of Bethlehem to which God sends Samuel the prophet to anoint a new king to replace King Saul. Samuel makes the journey, tracing the same route of our Savior in Mary’s womb, and his expectations are disappointed. Even though he is the one called to speak for God, even he is misled by appearances and none of the strapping, noble, first seven sons of Jesse would be the choice God has made. But it is the eighth son who will be the Lord’s Anointed One, little red-headed David out there tending the sheep outside of Bethlehem, quite likely near the place where other shepherds much later would hear the Divine Song of the angels announcing Jesus’ birth. So the unlikely, lowly candidate for Israel’s great honor, would be selected king in lowly, unlikely Bethlehem, which you know from the Christmas story as the City of David.

It is to this Bethlehem, but about 200 years later, that Micah the prophet (who lived nearby in Moresheth) pronounces his unique prophecy that was read today. “Bethlehem, you are so small and insignificant that sometimes, you don’t even get counted…” You are a reminder of failed expectations, empty stomachs, grieving loved ones. But tiny, inadequate Bethlehem, with all of its history, some of it good, most of it sad, Bethlehem the house of bread will shoot forth an eternal Savior, the Son of God, yet born of a virgin in labor. To the King born in Bethlehem, the brothers and sisters of the Holy, Christian Church will return as the new Israel, as sheep to be tended by the Good Shepherd who spent at least His first night lying in a manger. His mighty Name will grant sustenance and peace to all Christians all over the world, even though the price of that peace would mean utter pain for Him in His suffering Divine punishment. That’s what awaits for you, O little, sleepy town of Bethlehem.

God our Father has a blessing also for you in Bethlehem, because there are times in your life when you can identify with the ups and downs of a village too small and insignificant to be counted. Perhaps tragedy has struck you or your family, and it seems too difficult to continue your journey. The hurt and pain stands like Jacob’s pillar as a monument that keeps the remembrance continually on your mind. Like Naomi on her homecoming, you may have had the time when you just didn’t feel like your cheerful self, yet for a while you were unaware of the true love and support that you had with you the whole time. Or like Samuel coming to Bethlehem looking for his next king, you were disappointed at something that happened because at the time things just didn’t look right. You may typically be one not to be fooled by appearances, but for a while, it just did not make sense to you, and you had to endure the consequences of your doubt. Or it is possible that, just like the modern city of Bethlehem, you are forced to acknowledge a nasty dividing wall in your life, covered with the barbed wire of hostility. You may be partly to blame for putting it up, or not at all, but it’s there all the same. As we examine ourselves and our lives according to God’s Word, we find out that, just like Bethlehem, our Savior Jesus Christ came to us even though we had nothing in us worthy of a mighty Lord and King, either.

The eternal Son of God retraced our tragic journeys through life, just like He traveled the Bethlehem road, going right by Rachel’s tomb, while in the womb of Mary. Just like Ruth promising her undying dedication to weeping Naomi, your Savior Immanuel promises never to leave you nor forsake you. He forgives your sins and shortcomings, and heals your disappointments and hurts. He does this by removing all this luggage that is too heavy to bear on your journey, and carrying it up the hill to Calvary’s cross, and there suffering and dying to make you forgiven and free. You did not have to achieve anything, you did not have to raise your lowly status on your own. Admit that you’re no different than a Bethlehem in human form, repent of who you are as a sinner, and this Christmas come to Christ your Shepherd who will be your peace, your fulfillment. As Ruth rejoiced in Boaz, her husband, so you welcome the loving voice of Christ the Church’s Bridegroom. Here in this house of bread, the Lord’s Body and Blood lie no more in a manger, but He still is found and even placed in your mouth in Bread and Wine.

As you can see, the heavenly Father had big plans for the little town of Bethlehem. After Jesus’ birth, the wise men will eventually get there to worship the King, even though, sure enough, they mistakenly stop in Jerusalem first. Micah’s recorded words will point them in the right direction just as surely as that guiding star did. Poor, neglected Bethlehem can remind us that Christ’s strength is shown in weakness. He does His mighty work here on earth through you, too. You may not realize it all that often, but your ups and downs of life’s journey are evidence of God’s gracious hand always there with you. Pay little heed to your Bethlehem-like lowliness now, for the day is coming when your Redeemer will raise you up from death, He’ll wipe away all your sorrow, and welcome you into His eternal mansions for a Christmas joy that will know no ending.

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

Readings:
Micah 5:2–5a But you, Bethleham Ephrathah, though you are little…
Psalm 80:1–7 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel
Heb. 10:5–10 sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
Luke 1:39–56 My soul magnifies the Lord

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Joy is something that we tend to expect as a given, especially now at this point, with Christmas barely more than a week away. You’d think joy would be quite plentiful, given how busy we are, trying to have fun and be a little friendlier than other times of the year. If you happen to be one of those people who don’t feel like being joyful or compassionate to others, then you run the risk of being lumped in with either the uncompassionate Scrooge, or the Grinch who stole Christmas.

Sadly, for many, the joys of this season are oftentimes overshadowed by sorrow, loss, grief, or depression. It’s especially hard on those who are widowed, divorced, those who live alone, who are estranged from their families, or happen to be far away from home. Yet again this year we have no lack of horrible violence that frightens us on the news.

When you have a taste of tragedy, stress, or setback, then all this holiday cheer that everyone talks about seems to last only as long as a fresh-cut Christmas tree from the corner lot. Its greenness is a symbol of life in the midst of wintry death, and yet even that has been dying from the moment it was cut off from nourishment. It makes you wonder how much of our joy within us is real enough to survive when the time of celebration and joy comes to a sudden halt.

That makes great anxiety and fear set in, the more you think about it. You could be concerned about whether your own kids and grandkids will be OK during the coming year – whether marriages will endure, or if your health will hold out. Those are the kinds of worries that can easily overwhelm one’s rejoicing, and anxiety is closely tied to our instinctive fear of death. The fact is we see death all around us – not just in the drying-up Christmas tree, or on the news, but even in ourselves. These observations raise our anxiety and threaten to take away our expectation of joy. And that’s precisely why we need God’s Word to point us to the joy which goes far beyond normal, commercial holiday cheer – that joy which is anchored in the love of God, grounded in the Incarnation of His Son, and seen in the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “The King of Israel, the Lord is in your midst,” the Prophet says in the Old Testament reading, and “never again will you fear evil.” “Rejoice, for the Lord is near.” That’s what we celebrate at Christmas – Christ’s conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, His becoming flesh, and making His dwelling among us.

But what about the people of Zephaniah’s time? The days when he preached were filled with anything but joy. The people were full of anxiety over the growing military threat from the north – and the knowledge that God was going to let in the invading armies of Babylon to wipe out the city of Jerusalem and cart her people off into exile in a day of wrath, distress, anguish, and ruin – a day of darkness, gloom, clouds and blackness – a day of trumpet and battle cries. Zephaniah’s name in Hebrew means, “The Lord is hidden” – and to be sure, it seemed as if God was nowhere to be seen – Yet the prophet was quick to add that the Hidden Lord could be found in the words of hope and rejoicing that this preacher spoke to them. The Lord may chasten, he reminded them, but He also heals. The Lord kills but He also makes alive. He brings down, but He also raises up. Even though because of sin the people would be forced to live in a land that wasn’t their own, just the same, because God’s mercy and love are always greater than our sin, God would also bring them home.

This is also God’s message to you today! You the Church – as the true Israel of these last times – are on this third Sunday in Advent being called on to sing, shout aloud, and be glad with all your hearts. And the Prophet gives you three good reasons for this rejoicing. The first is that the Lord has taken away your punishment and turned back your enemies. The Son of God came to do battle with the devil – to be tempted in the flesh even as we all are – to steadfastly resist it with the Word of His Father – to crush the head of the Serpent – and to beat the devil by dying and rising from the dead. The holy Law of God condemns and kills us as it makes its list and checks it twice and then finds out that we’re all naughty, not nice. But Jesus came into the world to overthrow the Law’s threats, to keep it perfectly and satisfy all its demands so that now as the Book of Romans says, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He was punished, He suffered and died as the Sinner in your place so that you might be spared that awful sentence on the Day of His coming. Remember, the ax that John the Baptist warned you about chopped down Jesus instead of you. He was nailed to the cursed tree of the cross, so that you might eat of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever.

Jesus came – wearing perfectly your flesh and blood – to do battle with and fully defeat your sin and the cause of every possible worry and anxiety. Sin is our enemy, there is no other possible course of action but to destroy it or it will destroy us. Indeed, we must not say nor may we believe, that “to sin is human” – for to sin is anything but human. It’s the very opposite of human. As a matter of fact, it’s inhuman. It’s an insult to our humanity that was created in the image and likeness of God. Since He was a Man without sin, Jesus the Son of God was the only man who possessed the fullness of humanity. He’s the Man to come and do the job – to destroy sin by absorbing it into His own flesh and nailing it to the cross, so that through His divine, human flesh you might be healed of this terrible spiritual cancer that invades and robs you of the true joy that you were created to expect. Is there any enemy greater than death? Of course not – not the Babylonian armies that the people of Zephaniah’s day feared, nor the threats that we face in our own age. Death is the curse that sin brings with it. It’s the enemy, not a friend, not a convenience when we feel overwhelmed. And Christ conquered death by dying – offering the Father a ransom in exchange for your life.

The second reason Zephaniah gives us for rejoicing is God’s real presence among His people and His power to save. Ours, you see, is not an absent God – lording over things from a distance. He’s not uninvolved and remote. Ours is a God who gets involved – who rolls up His sleeves and acts with an outstretched arm. He’s a “hands on” God who came to our world to touch us, to be one with us, and to be one of us. Sin leaves a person isolated and alone – isolated from others, focused on one’s self, and locked away from God. According to the prophecy of Isaiah, Jesus would be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” And He is “God with us” in the most intimate of ways. He is “God with us” from the manger crib to the cross, from the cradle to the grave, and then on into eternity.

This is more than God’s ability to be everywhere by sheer Divine power. This talk of God’s presence among His Church is special. Zephaniah is here speaking of God coming to be in a close relationship with us – that special, Gospel presence such as we find when He’s there for us and for our salvation in the womb of the Virgin Mary, in the manger, on the cross, in the water of Baptism, in the preached word of forgiveness, and in the Supper of His very body and blood given and shed for us sinners to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith. That is God’s Gospel presence with us and for our eternal benefit. And that’s the second reason for our Advent rejoicing.

The third reason Zephaniah gives for rejoicing is that the Lord “will take great delight in you.” In other words, God intended His joy to be your joy. What a beautiful statement the Prophet here brings to your ears! “He will quiet you with his love” the way a parent tenderly comforts a frightened child. “He will rejoice over you with singing” like a mother or father singing a lullaby, patiently rocking their child to sleep. God delights in you, dear child of God, but not because of anything you’ve done or haven’t done. Rather He takes His delight in you because He sees you as He looks through His Son, through His sacrifice, through His perfect obedience, and through His suffering and death. Sinner though you are, the crucifix gives you a picture of what God the Father sees when He looks your way. Because of this, you are the apple of His eye, as the Psalmist says. You are His beloved sons and daughters – His very own children called to belong to Him in the water of your Baptism. He quiets your fears with His love and rejoices over you with singing, for His song is His Son, and that song joyfully sings everything that has to do with Jesus.

Zephaniah heard the melody of that song – as did the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Aaron – even all the prophets up until the time of John the Baptist. They all heard God’s song of love. They taught others its beautiful, ancient melody as they watched for the signs of Christ’s coming. It’s the song of the angels that rang out in the fields around Bethlehem as shepherds were watching their sheep and they heard, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” It’s the song that rang out again in the darkness of Good Friday as God the Son sang out in the midst of His holy death, “It is finished.” It’s the song which the Holy Spirit sang at Pentecost, as Peter urged the people to “repent and be Baptized” – and thousands were added to the rolls of heaven thereby. It’s the song God sang to you at your Baptism – and every time the Supper is offered, you hear it yet again with the words, “Take, eat, this is My body given for you. Take, drink, this is My blood, shed for you.” Above and beyond anything you might think of as a blessing this Christmas, most of all, rejoice in this Christmas gift list of the prophet Zephaniah. God has taken away your punishment, and He’s turned back your enemies. He is with you to save you, He delights in you, He quiets you with His love, and He rejoices over you with singing.

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

Zeph. 3:14–20 Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Psalm 85 Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
Phil. 4:4–7 Rejoice in the Lord always
Luke 7:18–35 Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Here we are, feverishly trying to get in the mood and ready for Christmas and John the Baptist goes ahead and kills the holiday spirit! This odd, misfit son of a high priest preaches to you this Advent, and I assure you, your human nature is not going to like it. He says, “The Ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Ouch. Hey, Baptizer John, you might as well cut down our Christmas tree with those words. Why don’t you just go ahead and shut off our holiday music on the radio, and stomp on our heirloom decorations? We’re in Church, aren’t we? Why don’t we have some happy thoughts? I know— We’ll help others who must live without the blessings we take for granted, and we’ll remember Jesus is the reason for the season. That would be good enough for the Church’s preaching this time of year, wouldn’t it?

But John is not impressed. You can’t fool him. He won’t put up with your excuses, either. He doesn’t care that the Christmas holiday deadline is fast approaching. Advent remains Advent, and he’s the man to listen to right now. He says to you, “Repent. The Lord is coming soon. How can you love and serve others when your selfish heart is thinking about who’s number one?” Remember why you come to church in the first place.

John the Baptist points out the reality of your situation: The reality is that you are a poor, miserable sinner, and you deserve nothing but punishment. By sinful nature, from your conception and birth to the present day, you are subject to the temptation and influence of that old serpent, the devil, who through a tree overcame your ancestors Adam & Eve without a fight. As a tree, God’s Word in His holy Law points out that you have not produced good fruit. You have put your trust in other things. You have hurt others by your words and deeds, and you have offended God by your thoughts. You are an unfruitful tree, and John has just pronounced what God intends to do with unfruitful trees.

Your entire life and salvation hinge and depend upon the grace and Gospel of God. You need something to stand between you and the ax that is poised at the root of your unfaithful and unfruitful tree. For that ax would otherwise chop you down, and you would be thrown into the fire of everlasting punishment. It is the Lord’s gracious Gospel, and only that, which instead spares your life and enables you to grow and produce good fruit.

Without the Good news of Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin, your trunk would not survive the sharp blows that chip away your puffed-up pride and arrogance. You imagine yourself in Eden’s lushness, standing firm and strong, thanks to how good you think you are, but really you are more like the desolate wilderness where John the Baptist likes to preach and baptize. The Ten Commandments strip away the bark façade you’ve put forth, then the wood underneath melts into mush because your sinfulness has eaten it all away. Don’t try to compare your impressive height or fruitfulness of good works with other Christian trees that you see around you. They are just as empty and hollow inside as you are. The truth is, as John has already proclaimed, you all, all of us sinners, need to be chopped down.

Your heavenly father wants to transplant you in His garden. He wants to make a new tree out of you, a shoot that will stand stronger and firmer than ever before. He wants to forgive your sins and conform your life to that of Jesus Christ, His dear Son. God desires for you to be identified not by the righteous things that you have tried to do, but to call you His own through your Baptism into Christ. The Lord is not interested in pounding more and more morals into your head, morals that you have failed to uphold. He wants to raise you from death and give you new life, the only life there really is.

And since your sinful nature does not want that new life, but it prefers the death into which we all were born, you need John the Baptist to jar you with His one-word sermon, “Repent!” What he means by Repent is: there must necessarily be some change and indication in your life to confess that your life is in fact, a life completely in Christ, cut off from yourself and joined, even grafted into Him by faith. That’s what repentance is. That’s the only way you can be made into a fruitful tree.

So, what is the life that you live in Christ going to look like? It’s going to vary in its specifics from one person to the next, according to your circumstances and place in life. But, in general, it means that you serve your neighbor as Christ Jesus serves you—not selfishly, but sacrificially; not for any personal gain, but simply because you are His. And the particulars of all that are spelled out for you (by God, and according to His Word,) in the specific demands and responsibilities of your vocations. You do what those vocations require of you (in faith toward God, and in love toward your neighbor), neither neglecting your duties, nor abusing your position and authority. John did this in his desert sermons on the Catechism by answering a few questions from people in various callings in life.

As a husband and father, or as a wife and mother, you serve your spouse and family. And as a son or daughter, you honor your father and mother, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. As a worker, you serve your employer, your clients and customers, by faithfully doing your job. As a citizen, you serve your community and your country. And as a member of the church on earth, you serve your congregation and your brothers and sisters in Christ, with your time, treasures and talents, according to the needs of the church and the gifts and abilities with which the Lord has blessed you.

In each and all of these ways, you bear the fruits worthy of repentance, confessing that your faith and your life are in Christ Jesus, by serving your neighbors in love, just as Christ served you. And when you serve your neighbor, Jesus assures you that in reality you are serving Him, as He is hidden in the skin and bones of that person in need. This is what it means to produce good fruit, those good works that come from the new tree that God has planted in you. It won’t do any good for someone’s salvation to impersonate Christian charity, even at Christmas time, when at the same time you refuse to repent and confess your sins and receive God’s gift of forgiveness.

None of us produce these genuine fruits of repentance as faithfully as we should. Even if we could, and even if we did, those good works would still not save us. They’re not meant to, nor does it work that way. Rather, the fruits worthy of repentance demonstrate and give evidence of just the opposite! Namely, that you do not rely upon yourself, nor upon your own sincerity, efforts, works or accomplishments—not at all—but you rely entirely upon Jesus Christ.

Because the real heart of repentance and faith, and your only real hope, is to be turned away from yourself (away from your sin, but also your good deeds too), and turned toward the Lord Jesus Christ, who is alone your Savior and Redeemer, your Life and Salvation. His harsh law has cut you down, but His sweet forgiving word of Gospel raises you up better than ever before. And Jesus backs up His Words with His actions.

He is the One who suffered the axe and the fire that threaten you; which is to say that He suffered all the righteous wrath of God and all of the judgments and punishment of the Law. And all of this He suffers in your place, in order to spare you from the death and damnation you deserve. What is more, He suffers and bears all the burden of your sin as well, in His own body, all the way to the Cross. That is, all the hurt and harm that you have done or caused by your sin (and all that has been done to you), He has taken also that upon Himself; not for retribution or revenge, but for mercy and forgiveness, that you and your neighbor might be reconciled, in Him, to God and to each other. He was cut down, only to rise again on the third day.

He is the One who feeds and clothes you with Himself, who showers you with all His riches, who heals you, guards and protects you, and gives to you His own divine, eternal life. Indeed, all that the Law requires, as far as love for your neighbor, all those things the dear Lord Jesus does for you. There’s nothing for you to earn or obtain for yourself; He’s already accomplished it for you. Now He gives it all to you by grace, as He has done beginning with your Holy Baptism. There by the washing of the water with His Word, He shared His Cross & Resurrection with you personally. You died and rose with Him in those waters. That’s what repentance is! Being crucified and resurrected with Jesus Christ. It is dying to sin, death and hell, and rising to new life in Him through the forgiveness of all your sins. He is uniting you with Himself, in His Cross & Resurrection. He also bestowed upon you His own beloved Sonship, the inheritance privileges, and anointed you with His Holy Spirit; so that you are no longer the brood of vipers that John condemns, but a dear child of your dear Father in heaven.

The reality is that He and His Cross are truly the good Tree of Life, which bears the only worthy fruits there are for the forgiveness of your sins—for life and salvation in Him. Above all, these very fruits of Christ and His Cross are given to you here, from this Altar in His own holy body and precious blood. Come, therefore, not to work or produce, but to cut down your worthless tree of sinful selfishness and to receive and trust in the fruits worthy of your repentance: the fruits of His redemption, given and poured out for you. And then, even John the Baptist says, you will truly be ready, at least spiritually ready, for Christmas.

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

Readings:
Mal. 3:1–7b I send My messenger … who can endure the day of His coming?
Psalm 66:1–12 He turned the sea into dry land
Phil. 1:2–11 that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.
Luke 3:1–20 the voice of one crying in the wilderness

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Jesus sent two disciples to find Him a colt to ride. Jesus also gave these two disciples a sermon to preach along the way: “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it,’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”

Even though this story sounds like Palm Sunday and Holy Week, it has long been used for the beginning of Advent. This is our Savior who not only will come again at the end of the world, and not only is it a preparation for the celebration of Christmas in three weeks from now, but this is our Savior who continually comes among us today, and this is a clue into how our mighty Savior comes among us on a daily basis. This is our glorious King, yet it seems like He’s a poor and lowly beggar. Let’s zero in on the key words that Jesus would have the disciples preach to anyone who asked them about their strange-looking behavior.

These Words, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ show us a clear picture of the God who has come into our midst, in order to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21) and to be with us forever (Matthew 1:23).

The Words, ‘The Lord has need of it’ also depict your God’s favorite way of dealing with each of us personally- you and me and all the baptized of Christ’s kingdom.

First, this is The God Who Has Come to Us.

Our Lord declares in His book of Job, ‘Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine’ (Job 41:11). He even says in the Psalm, “Every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle on a thousand hills.” (Psalm 50:10) Yet this very same God- the penniless God bumming a cheap ride in today’s Gospel- needs to borrow a donkey. God thunders from the clouds of heaven, ‘If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine’ (Psalm 50:12). God has no needs! Yet the God-Who-Has-No-Needs now tells people to say in today’s Gospel, ‘The Lord has need of it.’

This striking poverty of Jesus is the mark of an extraordinarily loving and exceedingly merciful God! NOTHING was so important to our Savior that He wasn’t willing to give it up for us. Thus it is written concerning Jesus:

Christ Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7). These Words mean that God the Son did not cling to anything for Himself. He fully opened His fingers and dropped everything that He once had, so that He may gain and grasp and take possession of us. I laid down my life, (that is to say, everything,) that I may take it up again, which means Jesus was no longer laden down in a state of humiliation after He rose from the dead.

‘[This is] the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich’ (2 Corinthians 8:9). Stated another way, the Lord and Creator of the Universe so abandoned everything that, in today’s Gospel, now He needs to bum a ride to head toward His own cross and death.

Secondly, The God Who Uses Stuff to Come to Us.

‘The Lord has need of it.’ These Words do much more than describe our Lord’s poverty for our sake. While that makes us ponder the wondrous mystery well enough, there is more to this simple detail of the Palm Sunday story that we may easily miss. ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head,’ says the Lord (Luke 9:58). Even so, the Lord has need of that donkey in today’s Gospel more for us than for Himself! What do I mean by that? He wants to use that donkey as a means, so to speak, a means of granting us the benefits of His precious death, burial, and resurrection. He had need of the cross, in an odd way to think about it, so that He could die on it for your salvation. He had need of Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, so that He would be buried and on the third day walk out of it! The Lord has need of that donkey in very much the same way that He likewise has need of water for His gift of Baptism, or bread and wine for His gift of Holy Communion. The Lord has need of these things, not for Himself, but for us and for our salvation; for our assurance and certainty; for our consolation and our comfort. Simply stated, ‘The Lord has need of it’ because GOD WORKS THROUGH STUFF.

Today’s Gospel gives us a good picture of how and why God sees fit to work through stuff- through donkeys, crosses, tombs, and through water, through bread and wine. Think about the situation in today’s Gospel:

Yes, Jesus is as poor as a church mouse. Nevertheless, Jesus is still God! By a command from this man’s mouth, bodies get healed and dead people get raised. Despite His poverty, we must not forget that Jesus is still the man who effortlessly walks on the water (Mark 6:48-49). This is the man who strolled right through the angry lynch mob at Nazareth (Luke 4:29-30). In the book of Acts, Jesus made His servant Philip disappear from one place and then suddenly reappear in another place, ten or twenty miles away (Acts 8:39-40). Now in today’s Gospel, Jesus needs a ride.

Yes, Jesus needs a ride. ‘The Lord has need of it,’ not for Himself, and not merely because He has no money for the bus. Jesus needs a ride for our sake- for our certainty and for our salvation. In today’s Gospel, Jesus wants us to know beyond all doubt that He is the fulfillment of God’s ancient promise to us, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’ (Zechariah 9:9). Jesus has need of a donkey because knows we need to see the donkey!

Jesus is our God. That means Jesus personally does not need the water of Baptism any more than He needs some smelly donkey. Yet Jesus knows how much we need the water. By riding a donkey in today’s Gospel, Jesus gave those crowds of people an historical record. He gave them a specific act for their salvation. In this Gospel, Jesus gave His dear people something to which they could cling; something to which they could return; something they could cherish for the rest of their lives:

And as He rode along [on that skittish, un-ridden-before colt], they spread their cloaks on the road. ‘ the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’

An historical record, a specific act they can see and understand, something to cherish for the rest of their lives- all accomplished by Jesus borrowing a donkey. Has not your God likewise accomplished the same thing for you in your Baptism? Jesus is God. He does not need any water. He could save you by the mere blink of His human eye- and yet He calls for water, just as He called for a donkey in today’s Gospel. The Lord has need of the water of Baptism in the same way that He has need of a donkey: He needs Baptismal water for us and for our salvation. Jesus needs to come to us through water for our certainty and assurance. Jesus needs the bread and wine of Holy Communion so that we have something to hold; something to remember; something that will cause us also to rejoice with those crowds and say as we do every week in the liturgy, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Jesus rode to His suffering and death by means of a donkey. Now Jesus rides away from His cross-victorious over sin and death- and He arrives among us, you may even say, riding on bread and wine. ‘We are talking about the presence of the living Christ, knowing that death no longer has dominion over Him’ (AP X.4).

‘The Lord has need of it.’ These Words describe the very essence of God’s tender mercy toward us. Impoverished for our forgiveness and salvation, the Lord Jesus needs to borrow a donkey, so that He may ride to His cross and our forgiveness-which He fully accomplished for us. ‘The Lord has need of it.’ Victorious over everything that would destroy us, our God in Christ still loves to ride stuff around. He uses stuff to do gracious things for us, strange and ineffective as these liturgical actions may look in the eyes of the world looking at us, yet He uses them nevertheless to give us His gifts of forgiveness, that we may never doubt His on-going Advent among us.

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

Readings:
Jer. 33:14–16 a branch of righteousness … The LORD Our Righteousness
Ps. 25:1–10 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
1 Thess. 3:9–13 that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father
Luke 19:28–40 entry into Jerusalem on a colt
Luke 21:25–36 look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near
Apology of the Augsburg Confession – Article X Paragraph 4

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

“Stay awake, keep watch!” Jesus tells you this three times. Certainly, this must mean that without our Lord’s Word and command, it would be difficult for you to keep from sleeping. “But what does He really want me to do?” you may ask. If Jesus is talking in figures of speech, then what does it mean to be sleeping and what does it mean to keep awake and watch? What is He really talking about? Remember that last week we started to hear our Savior speaking about the signs of the end and judgment day. However, His opening words weren’t about the signs of the end at all. He gave this warning, and it is the most important thing a Christian can do as you wait in expectation, which is simply this: “See that no one leads you astray. Many impostors will come in my name, saying ‘I am the Christ!’ and will lead many astray. False prophets will make it seem like they are preaching to you the truth, but they will try to deceive you with sweet-sounding, even Biblical-sounding phrases, and try to plant within your heart contempt for God’s grace.”

This is what keeping awake means. Fight that sleepy, sinful human nature within you. Guard the deposit of Biblical truth that you have been given, the God-given truth of Scripture that guarantees to you for the sake of Christ that you are forgiven. Do not yield to the temptation to abuse the Lord’s free grace. And yet it is all too easy to do. Like the disciples who were literally falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane just before Jesus was arrested, you have heavy eyelids in your spiritual life. It is much easier to think only of yourself over and above your family. Why don’t we ever do what I want? Or you may be lulled into security because you’ve gotten yourself out of bed on the weekend after Thanksgiving, propped yourself upright in the pew, dropped your envelope in the offering plate saying to yourself, “I’m all set. I have done my part, and that’s more than can be said of most people in this church.” And after you pat yourself on the back, you go and resume your snoozing in self-centered slumber. Or you think, “Others in this church are better off financially than I am. I shouldn’t have to give until I’m in better shape.” Please take notice what I’m saying about this: that the problem is not in whether or not you do such things like giving offering or helping others, but it’s in the attitude of your heart while you do these things. All of this points to what Jesus wants you to avoid, so that your faith in Him does not fall into danger. In God’s eyes, you have preferred a spiritual sleep, rather than staying awake; you doze in a state of apathy for your neighbor, instead of being watchful for the coming of Christ.

Repent. Staying awake and keeping watch is not a one-time activity, nor is it a once-every-Sunday thing. Repent, and claim anew for yourself the promises that God your Father made to you in baptism. Think back to when you were confirmed. It would not be accurate to say you were at that time renewing any vows that you had made when you were baptized. For one thing, when you were washed in Water and the Word, you made no vows, and no one was making vows in your place, either. In baptism, God makes all the vows and you get the benefit of them. That’s why baptism is for babies as well as adults in the first place. It’s all about the promises God has made to you. All through your life you have been taught and re-taught concerning all the gifts that God gave you as a Christian at the very moment when you were baptized. Every day you are called upon to confess as a baptized

Christian that your Lord Jesus died even for you and that your only hope for eternal life is planted in the Father’s promises to you. Confident of this fact, you would forsake all things, even your own life, rather than turn away from His gift of eternal life.

Wake up to what the Alpha and Omega is proclaiming as He prepares you for His glorious, imminent return. Own up to what the Bible says about you, that you are a poor, miserable sinner with no ability to believe or come to the Lord by your own reason or strength. Return to the waters of baptism that have washed over you, and be cleansed of your sleepy sinfulness. Confess your sins to Him, whether in public here in the worship service or in private before your pastor, and the word of forgiveness that you hear is the Word coming from the mouth of your Savior Himself, who is also your judge. You see, absolution is in reality a little bit of Judgment Day at the end of the world coming into your life right now. Because of the forgiveness you have today, you know with God’s full assurance that you will inherit eternal salvation at the Last Day. It’s the same thing with Holy Communion, which is a taste of the heavenly banquet when time will be no more. Feast on His Body and Blood (at your next opportunity) here on earth and the forgiveness and life of the Son of God comes right into your own mouth.

He is the one keeping you spiritually awake, so that you are prepared by His Holy Spirit for His glorious coming in clouds on the last day. His Word and promise are all you need. He was certainly the strength and confidence that filled the hearts of our dearly departed loved ones, whom you are thinking about quite a bit now as the holidays have begun. They are asleep, however the Bible uses that term in a different way in their case. The faithful saints who have gone to be with the Lord are not spiritually asleep in the sense that Jesus is talking about in Mark chapter 13. Instead, they rest from their labors, they are free from the thorns and thistles of life that remind us still of the curse of sin. But for them, they partake of unending joy in the presence of the risen Lord, while at the same time they pray for you, and for the whole church, as we all together in one unbroken Communion await the resurrection of our bodies (as well as theirs) on the glorious final Day. It will not be a time of self-centered sloth, rather an exuberant, celebratory rest that is filled with the goodness of our Triune God that knows no end.

Jesus’ promise to you is firm: heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. Like you heard last week, there are some pretty fearful signs out there. Lots of tribulation, suffering and disaster, and they are all saying that the end is near. Some people are convinced that we have less than a month to go! But do not let the signs scare you or distract you from Christ. As strong and secure-looking as the heavens and the earth are, remember that they were created in the very beginning by God simply speaking. His words created heaven and earth, and after they pass away, His unfailing words will still be there, and God will create a new heavens and a new earth as your new home. Let these powerful words sink into your ears this day and forever, for in His words, there is your life.

Stay awake. Keep watch! Let His words of law kill the sinner that you are, so that His loving, Gospel words of forgiveness can raise you up as a new creation each day, awake and watchful for His visible second coming, whenever it does finally come. Your Lord Jesus prepares you completely for the coming of the end of the world. When He comes as your judge and the true King of all the universe, rejoice! Because your judge at the end of the world is the

same as your Savior who has already come for your life. And as we begin again a new Advent season leading up to Christmas, Christ will continue to come to you in the flesh with all His gifts and forgiveness. By the power of the Holy Spirit alone that His Word has placed in your heart, you will also be able to keep watch for Him and stay awake.

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

Readings:
Is. 51:4–6 My salvation will be forever
Dan. 7:9–10, 13–14 behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven!
Ps. 93 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty
Jude 20–25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling
Rev. 1:4b–8 I am the Alpha and the Omaga, the Beginning and the End
Mark 13:24–37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!
John 18:33–37 My kingdom is not of this world

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Pay attention to what Jesus says about the signs of the end of the world. Pay attention also to what He does not say. He does not say, for instance, that you will be able to decipher an actual time when this will take place. Nor does your Lord want you overly concerned about the signs themselves, because earthly things like destroyed temples, famines, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars have no power over your eternal, heavenly salvation. Give only a passing glance to these “highway signs” because Christ wants your eyes to remain on the road ahead.

If you read the Holy Gospel for today once again, note that Jesus does not answer the question that His disciples ask Him so urgently, you could almost sense the worry that is going through their minds. They were concerned about the signs—these stones that were so huge that they would outweigh nearly every vehicle we have today out on the roads. If such heavy and imposing stone walls will be soon reduced to piles of rubble, then we had better fear for our lives! But Jesus gave no thought to their concern, it was like He changed the subject.

However, He was warning them not to make the coming destruction of the temple building their number one focus. For one thing, the actual destruction that Jesus predicted would happen in 70 A.D., about forty years in the future from this point. But most importantly, the Lord is telling His disciples, and that includes you here today, that there is yet a greater danger, and it is one that you will probably not see coming, were it not for these other little signs.

“See that no one leads you astray,” Jesus says. The signs and birth pains of the end of the world are mild compared to the deception of the devil. For God’s greatest enemy, who is also your enemy since the time of your baptism, Satan and his wicked servants prowl around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and all the more as the end of the world approaches. Revelation tells us his time is short, and Martin Luther warned us that in every church the devil has set up his own chapel of deception.

Though he cannot pry you out of the hand of your heavenly Father, the great Deceiver will come instead in the name of the Son, claiming “I am Jesus, follow what I say. Give up on God and think for yourself! Do whatever it takes, bend the truth a little here and there, to get the results that you will like. Make appearance and image the most important thing. Your opinion should be your truth.” These are his lies to strengthen the sinful nature within you and turn your heart away. Even the closest, most loving family is subject to satanic chaos, in that brother will deliver brother over to death, the father betrays his own child and children will put to death their own parents. Forget about that pile of broken temple stones in the eastern corner of old Jerusalem—the ancient serpent has greater destruction in mind for those of you living in God’s kingdom.

He is subtle in some places, and shows his full ugliness and violence in other places. For you gathered here in this place, you have the God-given privilege to meet together as a Christian congregation without the immediate threat that the next Amen you speak will be your last. It is a blessing that Christian American citizens seldom cherish as they ought. But if you were to open your eyes to persecution both around the world today and in the most recent past, you would see that the solemn prediction and warning that comes from Jesus’ lips is still coming true.

For a time, I once had the privilege of instructing and pastoring some Christian refugees from southern Sudan. Some of them had witnessed the bloody execution of their loved ones merely on the suspicion of performing subversive activities against an outspoken anti-Christian government. Last century, when more Christians were killed than in all the previous nineteen centuries combined, the world saw the atheist Soviet regime try unsuccessfully to quash Christianity, though a river of blood was spilt. These disciples of Jesus, just like the rest of you, have their full hope in the only innocent blood that exists, the blood of Christ. Whether you lose your life or limb for being a Christian or not, your Lord asks you to follow Him this day and until the end of time, to the cross. For these warnings about the end of the world were first spoken as Jesus was preparing for the day He would enter the holy place of Calvary to give up His body on the cross and shed His blood for you. He, your brother, was delivered over to death so that you might live, even though you die. He stood trial before Pilate and the bloodthirsty Jewish teachers, so that if you were commanded to give a confession of your faith, the Holy Spirit would bring to your mind the doctrine you have studied and learned, and had written on your mind and heart.

Even in Soviet Russia, the Church was hidden, and yet she prevailed, with pastors in prison preaching from Scripture passages they had memorized. Hymnals and Bibles were burned, yet still their heavenly words were passed on by word of mouth to the younger generations. All of this is by God’s mighty hand, and He is able to work just as mightily and just as miraculously in this congregation. But He will be the One who does it. Only the Lord Christ can change the stubborn, self-centered hearts of stone that we all have into the loving heart of Jesus, concerned for each other and for the fallen world around us. And this will happen, if only we heed our Lord’s warning: “Watch out that no one leads you astray.” Stay close to the true and life-giving Word of God. Hear it and hold on to its forgiveness for dear life. Eat and drink this forgiveness and salvation for body and soul that is in the Body and Blood of Jesus found on this altar.

These gifts are all the preparation you need for the end-times. In fact, in this time that we are given to meet together, you are receiving the end of the world and beyond as these future events break in a little at a time each week. Though chaos and violence against the Christian faith boils all around you, the Lord still brings you through. The gifts and benefits that do such great things are hidden for now, hidden in the words of forgiveness spoken by your sinful, imperfect pastor, hidden in a sprinkle of water, hidden in wine and wafer, but through them comes God’s grace and the strength you need to withstand the deceptions of the devil. These sacramental signs in which your Jesus hides Himself are not as fearful, but they are much more important than the earthly signs of the end you see around you, the signs that will continue to cause many others to fear. But since you the Church have the Father’s promise that your name is written in His book, be sure to encourage one another as you see the great Day approaching, and as you are filled with the Lord’s heavenly gifts, you too shall stand firm to the end and be saved.

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

Readings:
I Peter 5:6-11 Be sober, vigilant
Dan. 12:1–3 many…who sleep…shall awake
Ps. 16 Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. … Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption
Heb. 10:11–25 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
Mark 13:1–13 he who endures to the end will be saved.

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Have you ever wondered: Why is there so much talk about money in the Bible? If the Holy Scriptures were written to bear witness to God and what He has done to bring us to heaven, why does such an earthly, temporary subject receive such attention within them? Someone has pointed out that, as recorded in the Gospels, Jesus made more specific statements about money than He did talking about heaven! With so much to say about it, you would think that our Lord has a point to make.

And what Jesus says about money on this occasion can really make a person cock his head. It’s kind of like the dog in the famous American icon that’s looking strangely at the bell of a phonograph, as it listens with canine bewilderment to “His Master’s Voice.” You could just see the similar looks on those disciples’ faces: really, Jesus? Two small half-pennies turn out to be worth more than a large lump-sum? Not in my budget at least! The Gospel may be foolishness to the world, but that does not mean that any sort of foolishness all of a sudden becomes the Gospel! Or could it be possible that Jesus is commanding them and us that we are to give ourselves into financial ruin? Surely there’s no lasting benefit to the church that way, right? It seems to demand a reason from within the Bible itself why the Holy Spirit would be so concerned both about sins that are associated with money and possessions, as well as positive avenues that redeemed Christians may take with the resources that they have.

But is it really as simple as that? Could there be more to the Bible’s message on money than: on the one hand, stop stealing and acting greedy, and on the other hand, give all the money you can to help spread God’s Word to all nations? Sadly for many, that’s all they see within the Bible. Just directions for you to follow so you can live right. Sins for you to avoid if you want to go to heaven. There’s no more message to be found in the Scriptures for those who read them in that way. Because if we follow the principles that the Bible lays down and act like Godly people, then, so the common wisdom goes, we will receive blessings from the Father’s hand. If we perceive somehow that a decision we make is the one that God wanted us to make, then we look for something good to happen just because we seem to find that promise in His Word.

But I must tell you that that is a false and misguided way to look at the Bible. It brings in a dangerous philosophy, among others, that is called moralism. Now, morals are well and good and they are found in prominent places of God’s revealed Word like in the Ten Commandments. But Moral-ism takes morals and makes them the ONLY thing. As a result, the rest of the Bible gets thrown off-balance, so that its spiritual benefits get reduced or eliminated. And that leads to big problems later on.

So now that you know at least one pitfall to avoid, read over the Gospel story so that you can arrive at the true reason why this episode is recorded by the Divine Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The first thing that you should consider is the context of this event. Ask yourself, what has happened before this; what will soon happen afterward? All of Mark chapter 12 seems to have taken place within the Temple complex, which is a collection of buildings and open areas located on the highest point of the city of Jerusalem. You could imagine that the place was just getting all picked up and swept after Jesus overturned tables and kicked out the moneychangers the previous day. The time, of course, is Holy Week, just days before the final Passover, which would culminate in the sacrifice of Christ the Lamb of God on the cross.

The death of God’s Son in human flesh is right around the corner. Every screaming animal that gives its life in sacrifice all around Jesus and His disciples marks the time as getting closer and closer. Blood is everywhere as a constant reminder that your sins require blood to pay off the offensive debt you owe. The temple sacrifices persistently proclaim that bulls, goats, lambs and birds can’t take away your sin, only the coming Savior can. And now, there is the Savior, right in the Temple, right in and amidst those sacrifices and offerings. He’s taking a break from His steady preaching to the crowds, in order to observe a widow and privately teach His future pastors and servants of the Word.

In this poor widow’s action, your Lord and Savior spotted a clear reflection of His holy action. That is to say, when she gave up all that she had, even when she had nothing, she perfectly portrayed how Jesus, after setting aside heavenly glory in order to serve mankind, would soon give up everything to the point of death, even death on the cross. You see, Jesus points out the widow not to tell you what you should do, but to reveal before your very eyes what He has done and will continue to do for your salvation. Here’s how St. Paul said it years later: “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9) The disciples though, even at this late time in the story, were still not completely “getting it.” They were still stuck in some way on the idea that the promised Messiah would be a flashy, take-charge, overthrow the Roman government kind of Savior. If there would be any example of His outpouring of good for Israel, the disciples would have bet on the big givers, not the miserable, vulnerable widow.

But Jesus is not fooled by what seems wise in men’s eyes. His power is made perfect in weakness, as He pointed out personally to St. Paul years later. The Holy Spirit moved the Evangelist Mark to write about the widow not as a means to shame you on your stewardship, but to proclaim the magnificent, giving nature that God possesses. It is a giving from which you have benefited greatly. It is a giving nature that He plants within your heart, even as He desires to restore His divine image upon you.

Have you put that giving nature to work in your life? Or have you used what is yours for a less-than godly purpose? Often times the question on people’s minds in the area of stewardship is, what can I spare from my time, talent and treasure to give to the Lord…when the question ought to be, how much of God’s gifts to me in these three categories do I dare hoard for myself? There’s miles of difference between devoting to the Lord from your first fruits, than there is scraping up what’s left at the bottom. And while the giving and volunteering, and attending earn you nothing in the way of heaven, the lack of these are painfully telling of how much your sinful nature blocks the wealthy outpouring of God’s forgiveness and life. And if those gifts are finally rejected, the Last Judgment will not bode well.

Do not fear, O Christian! You need not slip away into a bleak future! Behold, in the unlikely symbol of the poor widow, at whom you first looked sideways, find your lowly, despised and crucified Savior Jesus, hanging on the cross. See, at this altar He is dropping His last two possessions, His Body and Blood, into the depository of your sinful flesh. In the one mere hour of this Divine Service, He has given you abundantly more than decades of financial success could ever hope to bestow. Using the power of Christ’s resurrection, God has renewed you in His image, so that you are able to find the greatest joy of your life in sharing from the blessings and talents you have received.

I hope and pray that you may be able to discover more of Jesus and what He has done for you in other Bible passages like this one, rather than approaching God’s Word as merely a set of rules and regulations. As the beautiful Advent hymn will soon proclaim to us yet again, Christ is the Key of David that unlocks for us the entire Scriptures. Soon, no matter where you look in the Good Book, even when the topic is about money, you’ll see Jesus behind it all. And if you can remember that passage you know that made you cock your head to one side the last time you read it, read it again and simply ask yourself, what does this say about Jesus? Perhaps it might clear up for you. If it still doesn’t, then follow Luther’s advice and give glory to God because He has given you His peace that always passes your understanding.

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

Readings:
1 Kings 17:8–16 The widow of Zarephath, the flour and the oil
Ps. 146 Do not put your trust in princes
Heb. 9:24–28 Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
Mark 12:38–44 The widow’s mite

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, CA
✝ sdg ✝

It all comes down to love. Boy, we could all use a little more love, now, couldn’t we? Wouldn’t things go so much better for our world, for our church, in our lives in general, if everyone just followed what Jesus says are the greatest commandments? Our Lord responded to a wise scribe, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Wow. If you get love wrong, then you’re going to get the whole Bible wrong.

So what is this love? The kind of love that Jesus speaks of here is the love of sacrificial service to others. It’s the kind of love that puts others and their needs before your own. Whenever I talked to a couple about their upcoming marriage, I had never encountered a couple who wasn’t in love at that moment, even the couple I had married in their 80s! But quickly in our sessions we would discuss not the momentary, come-and-go feelings of love, but love for the long-term, defined simply as “hard work.” It’s not easy being selfless and putting others first all the time. The sinful nature doesn’t want to do it.

Love isn’t easy. It’s hard work. But then again, good things don’t come easy in a sinful world; and you have to admit that the more people work hard at love, the better off this world is. There is a real danger of love growing cold, of Christians failing to love their neighbor as they should. If we stop working hard in our love of neighbor, the neighbor who is in need will suffer while we look only to our own interests. Furthermore, our failure to work hard at love for others is a bad witness to the faith that we confess—for if God is love, how can His people not be loving? Finally, your faith delights to love and do good works; this happens by God’s design in you as a new creation. If you hold back your faith from being active in love, then you’re doing your faith great harm.

Dear friends, it is important that we love, for God has commanded us to do so. And sadly, you and I cannot end any day saying that we have truly loved enough. Martin Luther’s evening prayer was written assuming that everyone who prays it will need to say “…and I pray that you would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong,…” praying those words at the end of every day of your life. Check it for yourself: there’s no footnote in the Catechism giving you a different prayer if you just happened to be perfect that day. There will always be times when we give in to selfishness. There will always be more people who needed love than we were willing or able to give. That’s the harsh truth of God’s Law.

This leads us to a second, greater and more dangerous sin: for it is a sin that hurts the proclamation of the Gospel. It is a teaching that goes like this: “God is love. Therefore, love is everything for us as Christians. As long as we are acting toward each other in love, then we are acting as God would have us act.” It sounds okay so far, but there’s something underneath it all that is left unsaid. If our central focus is love, then other things don’t have to matter as much: like purity. For example, take moral purity. I’ve heard more than one unmarried couple say, “We may not be married in the legal sense, but what matters is that we love each other.” That sounds so much better in terms of “love” than pointing out the fact that the couple is living in sin or fornication. In that case, their version of “love” has seemed to delete the Sixth Commandment, You shall not commit adultery.

In a similar vein, there is the argument that doctrinal purity isn’t as important as love. You can relax a bit on what you teach so that you can reach out with Christian love to more prospective believers. This idea has wreaked havoc in the Church for a couple of generations now, especially in America, where there’s so much freedom of choice in other matters. If you love people, goes the argument, you’re willing to sacrifice pure doctrine in order to care for them. And spiritual care isn’t discussed in terms of forgiveness of sins and strength through trials, but care is interpreted as changing your life behavior. Forgiveness fades off into the background because talk of sin takes time away from talking about love. So, if you insist on pure doctrine, then you are branded as unloving. Therefore, so this reasoning goes, you can either be loving or doctrinal. What a terrible either/or that is! It’s a false choice that no one has to make.

We need to make three responses to this argument, so there’s no misunderstanding:

First, it is absolutely true that God is love: the Bible says exactly that in I John 4. However, the Bible also declares that God is one—in fact, as our Old Testament lesson begins, God declares, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” There is no other. God is exclusive of all others pretending to take His place. Love and exclusivity and pure teaching and pure living all go together. To emphasize one over against the other, is to try to cut God into pieces and set Him against Himself. It’s to say that the Word made flesh must oppose the Word written and preserved in the Bible. That’s hardly loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. In other words, it is not godly to say that love and purity are opposed to each other.

The second response is this: in the Gospel for today, Jesus declares that love of God and love of neighbor are the two greatest commandments. These are the two greatest laws, for indeed they sum up the Ten Commandments. Romans 13:10 declares, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.” What is the purpose of the Law? It is not to save us, for we can never love enough. The purpose of the Law is to accuse us, to show us our sin (remember learning that it’s like a mirror?). It demonstrates that we in our sinfulness cannot save ourselves, but remain lost and condemned in our efforts. When Jesus commands us to love, He does so to show us how much we can’t love. He’s telling us that we are neither loving nor holy nor righteous nor pure.

And so, thirdly: it is neither wise nor true to say that the central focus of Christianity should be our love for other people. It is inaccurate even to say that we as the Church are out with the mission to transform people’s lives and behaviors. That would be to say that the central focus of Christianity is the Law, or all the stuff we do, and the Law cannot save us. No, our foundation and central focus, our evangelism, the whole point of the Christian faith is nothing about what we do but rather about Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

This is your Good News, your joy which will not depart, your hope which will not disappoint: you are not saved by your love and loving, but by God’s love for you. By God’s love, we mean His hard work. We mean His sacrificial service. As in “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). As in Jesus’ words to His disciples at the Last Supper, just hours before the nails were driven into His hands: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). That’s the love, that’s the hard work and sacrificial service that has achieved salvation for you.

Love is the fulfillment of the Law. In perfect love for you, Jesus has fulfilled the Law in your place. He came as the Son of God, disguised in human flesh as a lowly son of David. He has dealt with all men mercifully. He fulfilled all the commandments, even those you failed to keep. Where you have spread tales and gossip and groundless speculation, He has only spoken the truth. Where you have borne a grudge against others, He sacrificed Himself to save even His accusers. Where you have failed to rebuke your neighbor and call him to repentance, Jesus proclaimed His Law and called all of us to repentance. He did not take vengeance upon those who hated Him, but prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they were truly forgiven.

And having perfectly kept all of the commandments, He then suffered God’s judgment for every sin and every lack of love that was committed by all mankind. He laid down His life as the Sacrifice for the sins of the world. He laid down His life out of love for you, to redeem you from sin for eternal life.

Your Savior still works hard in love for you today. He sits at the right hand of God not to rest, but to continue to deliver grace and faith and life to you. In love and service to you at the baptismal font, He declared, “I baptize you. I have kept all the commandments in My life, and so I share that life with you. I have died for your sins, and so I join you to My death so that you don’t have to die for yourself.” In His Holy Absolution, He declares, “I forgive you all of your sins, because I have already borne them to the cross out of My love for you.” And when He invites you to His Supper, He is the host who serves, giving you His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. That’s why it is called Divine Service, because first and foremost it is the divine Son of God who serves us. It is His love that matters, not ours. And because He first loves us, we are then set free to love others.

So we as the Church who last week celebrated the Reformation, we gladly and joyfully proclaim Christ and Him crucified, for that is the message of God’s love for your salvation. By the grace of God, we also rejoice to keep His pure doctrine, because every error has the potential to lead you away from Jesus Christ— who is the Way, the Truth and your Life. It all comes down to love. And when you hear about love, it’s God’s love—not yours, not mine. Why would you spend your time hearing a sermon that told you to do things that you know anyway, and you know that you can never do those things well enough for your salvation? You didn’t call your pastor to be a talk show host. Instead I can truthfully say that it is a privilege and joy rather to declare Jesus’ love for you—His love which saves all sinners for eternity. Your love for your neighbor is just as much a privilege for you.

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

Readings:
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Hebrews 9:11-14 when Christ appeared as a high priest
Mark 12:28-37 You are not far from the kingdom of God.

Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝

Jeremiah the prophet relayed the Lord’s threat that He will make this house, meaning the temple, like Shiloh. He was referring to the first holy place that was set aside by Joshua once all the children of Israel had conquered the Holy Land and received their inheritance from the Lord. Here at Shiloh was a place where the LORD would be graciously present with His people. Here He gave the faithful His good gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. The House of God was at Shiloh. Not long afterwards the church officials and the priests became corrupt and we are informed by Holy Scripture that they set up a graven image “until the day of the captivity of the land” and “as long as the house of God was at Shiloh” (Judges 18:30-31). It was here in Shiloh, when “the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down within the Temple of the LORD, where the Ark of God was,” that “the LORD called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!'” (1 Samuel 3:3). Samuel himself would bring God’s judgment down on the corruption and of what it was doing to hinder God’s grace from reaching His people. Finally, the Holy Spirit informs us, through Psalm 78, that God “forsook his Dwelling at Shiloh, the Tent where He dwelt among men, and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe. He gave His people over to the sword, and vented His wrath on His heritage” (Psalm 78:60-62).

So because of unrepented sin and unbelief, there was no more gracious presence at Shiloh. The LORD departed from there and left it desolate. His Church still existed, but in another place. People may have continued to assemble there until the day of destruction, but they did so apart from the Presence of the LORD. They practiced idolatry instead. Shiloh, as it once was, is no more. Thus Jeremiah the prophet conveys the Word of the LORD to those in Jerusalem, “Thus says the LORD: ‘If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law – My Instruction – My Doctrine which I have set before you, and to listen to the words of My servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make this House like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.'”

As we go on to Jerusalem, we remember that Jesus, the Word Who is the LORD, spoke to that Holy City where His Temple was, saying “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate” (Matthew 23:37-38). The House of Prayer had become a den of robbers as corrupt religious leaders brokered power to coerce more money out of the faithful, and even worse, withholding from them the free gift of eternal life.

Thus the LORD rejected also the Temple at Jerusalem. As He did with Shiloh, the LORD departed from Jerusalem and His Church was no longer there, for the time of His gracious Presence had come and they did not know that it had ended until the day of destruction. Once the gracious Christ is gone; He departs for another place and people. And though they may have continued to assemble in the Temple until it was destroyed, they did so apart from the Presence of the LORD.

Jerusalem may be called a Holy City still today for the tourists, but Jerusalem as it once was, is no more. Jeremiah’s threat came true: “Thus says the LORD: ‘If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My Doctrine which I have set before you,… I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.'”

The Word of the LORD went forth to other nations. Thanks to the mission work of St. Paul, Sts. Simon and Jude as well as others, churches began in Asia Minor, Galatia, Ephesus, Laodicea and so on. Pastor and people gathered together in the Name of the LORD God, Who was now graciously present with the Church there. But it didn’t stay that way. They did not continue steadfastly to devote “themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the Breaking of Bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

Jesus Himself warned them, too, as John writes in Revelation:
“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false; I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for My Name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Rev. 2:2-5).

They did not take the Lord’s Word seriously and the lampstand was removed from the Church at Ephesus; that is, the LORD departed from Ephesus and the original congregation, once thriving, is no longer there. Ephesus is now overwhelmingly Muslim.

That lampstand of God’s Word came to Rome, but they too let it die and Rome is now under the control of the Pope. Germany and Sweden had it, but now it has been removed, in favor of state churches filled with politicians and infidels. England had it, but they too have become largely godless, except for a recent sudden growth of Islam.

The Word of the LORD came to the United States of America. What better place, with the liberties upon which this nation is founded for the freedom of the Church to flourish? The men, women, and children made Godly and excellent use of this liberty to begin congregations wherein the Word of God was taught and preached in its truth and purity, and the Sacraments administered properly. Thousands of Lutheran congregations were founded, including the Perry County settlements in Southeast Missouri. Here the LORD was graciously with His people and they entered into His Presence to receive the gifts that He bountifully desires to have showered upon His Church.

It was truly a blessed time. They were united in the doctrine they taught, and if someone challenged it, they studied the Scriptures and resolved the issue decisively. People flocked to churches, schools—reformation events with no-nonsense orthodox Gospel preaching were huge affairs, less than a hundred years ago, some perhaps in your memories. Simply stated, the truth enjoyed some worldly success, according to God’s holy will. It has been said that the Missouri Synod today is not the same as in the days of our grandfathers. That should make us wonder, especially on this most popular of Lutheran observances, the Reformation.

Because we don’t see these worldly successes for the Lutheran Church like they once were, we are tempted to ask, Is the Lord actually removing His lampstand of Gospel truth from congregations here in our nation? In our Synod? Are the fleeting desires of the people crowding out the gifts of God’s grace; namely, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation? That same light is now shining more often in Sudan, Russia and Kenya. Here in the United States, there are major cities where you are not able to find one church that uses the historic liturgy of the Church. Young pastors right out of seminary are going to places and being pressured by congregations and lay leaders, from day one, to violate their ordination vows and their consciences. Other men, who are called to be pastors, are either giving in to the pressure or are actively deceiving faithful congregations and hastening the day when the gracious presence of the LORD in that place will be no more. What is going to be our standard of truth on which we finally rely? The Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, or some resolutions passed by a certain convention or appointed commission? Our Synod’s missionaries have to raise their own money to go assist the poor churches overseas. Granted this problem didn’t happen overnight, yet the Synod, as currently structured, is unable fully to support them or their work, yet as God wills, the work will still get done somehow.

Does the future necessarily look bleak? No, the Reformation is proof positive that the Word of God indeed is the most powerful thing, the greatest influence the Church can wield, if we dare to accept and proclaim its radical truth of forgiveness. Our human natures may want edifices, monuments, legacies, memories, and those can be fine, but only if they don’t crowd out what really brings us together as the people of the Lord.

Give ear to the prophet Jeremiah, who stands and speaks with one voice with Saints Simon and Jude and the whole Church, saying,

Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the House of the LORD all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a Word. It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.”

The LORD God does not force you to receive His gifts of forgiveness, eternal life and salvation. These are free gifts because of Jesus’ sin-atoning Death and death-defeating Resurrection. The One True God does not impose His means of grace on anyone, for that would not be grace. The Holy Spirit will depart from you, that is, if you reject the Lord and His Gospel. If this happens then Christ will no longer be graciously present with you, and if you or I, through our own fault and neglect, gradually slide into such a fallen condition, God’s departure may not even be noticed, even with the name Lutheran on our church sign. That’s a scary thought and one that ought to cause sober pondering and continued repentance.

We pray and we work that this would not be so today or tomorrow. Will the generations yet unborn be able to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen? Will our

children’s infants be able to be baptized in this font? Will the congregation be able to make the confession of sins and hear, as you have heard today, that you are forgiven of all your sins in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Will the Body and the Blood of Jesus, that was given and shed for you for the remission of all your sins, be administered here? In short, “Will This Be Our Grandchildren’s Church?” May God, in His mercy, grant it for Jesus’ sake. Receive Reformation encouragement from the book of Hebrews:

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the Sanctuary by the Blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His Flesh, and since we have a great Priest over the House of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Hebrews 10:19-25).

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

Readings:
Jeremiah 26:1-16 speak to them; do not hold back a word
I Peter 1:3-9 the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls
John 15:17-21 A servant is not greater than his master

Pr. Eric Kaelberer
IN NOMINE IESU

Beloved Sheep of our Good Shepherd,
It is so good to be back in the I.E. and here at Good Shepherd – here with you! You hold a special place in my heart and I dearly love not only you but your dear Pastor and his family. I am honored to be here!

We have a grand lesson before us in this dear Gospel. It is the continuation of the lesson from last week, and yet it is not merely “part b”, indeed it is a huge shift from “inheriting eternal life” to now what it means to truly enter the Kingdom of God.

Yes, a rich young man comes to Jesus and he has a very sincere question for the God in our flesh whom he calls the good teacher. He doesn’t want a Savior, for he thinks that his own righteousness will be good enough… except… deep down this rich young man knows that he is lacking something. So, approaching Jesus who has healed the sick, raised the dead, multiplied the loaves and fish to feed the 5,000, and again, to feed the 4,000, deaf are made to hear, the blind now see. You may recall how John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus and asked if He was the One who was promised or if they should look for another. In Matthew 11 and Luke 11 where Isaiah 61 is quoted and more to the point where at Jesus reads and comments on this as He begins His public ministry in the Synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus is the One who is claiming to be the full Son of God and redeemer of all flesh.

This rich young man is confronted by these facts, these miracles, and so coming to Jesus his own self-righteousness which has been his comfort now has a been shown to have a huge dent, some rust, and a hole in it. In sincerity I believe, this young man approaches Jesus and asks what he must do to INHERIT eternal life? This dear young man sees Jesus as a teacher, yes, a good or righteous teacher, but that Jesus is not the giver of heaven to sinners. There is so much more to that lesson which I know Pastor Stirdivant covered beautifully last week.

This young man went away deeply saddened because he had great wealth – he couldn’t, at this point, give up all his wealth and follow Jesus. That wealth for you and me may be money or it may be a thousand other things. Now our text opens with Jesus telling His Apostles how wealth in all its forms makes it so difficult TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM, yes, more difficult than having a camel being able to go through the eye of a needle. Here is the Law in its fullness. Jesus is not saying that money is evil. He does say that the love of it is the root of all evil. This is something that Paul echoed to Timothy:
ESV 1 Timothy 6:10 For the LOVE OF money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Jesus is setting up the impossible standard that self-righteousness will not allow anyone to enter into heaven. Ah, but this is not something that is impossible for our Savior God. You see, the setting here is the week just before the Triumphal Entry of Jesus on Palm Sunday. Things are coming to their sweet conclusion. To skip to the end of our reading we find that Jesus – He will become the last that we become the first. Yes, this Gospel, this continuation of the encounter with the Rich Young Man is all about pointing to the full effect of sin and its only and true answer is found in Jesus, God who is perfect and sinless, eternal and loving, to be emptied out, to become the last and the least, all to lift us up. The Cross is now lifted before the Apostles, lifted before the Church, lifted before you this morning, beloved!

Entering into the Kingdom of God as an adopted child is the key. How do you enter the Kingdom of God? It cannot be by what you do. In the Ecclesiastes lesson this morning King Solomon tells us that we bring nothing in and we take nothing out of this world, that all our labors mean nothing… nothing that is that can earn our way, nothing that can pay for our sins. It is not an indictment of those works done in Christ, the times when we love others with His love, when we serve from the strength of His service. It points to the fact that all our Good works are indeed wrought in Christ (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13). Yes, the Kingdom of our Lord comes to us purely as gift. Any and all other means of entry will not work. There is very clearly a cross shaped key to heaven and it is faith in Christ and His finished work, a faith that is God’s gift to us and nothing less!

Ah, here is some good news: To know that our efforts in salvation do indeed amount to nothing is so freeing. Going back to the rich young man and his wealth, we see our sinful selves reflected clearly, or at least we should. We know that there are many things that distract us, things that we put first before our Lord. We are indeed children of Adam and Eve. The leaves we have sown to cover our sins grow dry and hard, and when the wind blows, we are exposed. We need the covering of shed blood, the shed blood of the Son of God for us.

We are children of the Fall… and yet, amid the misunderstanding of the Apostles, their worry that entering the Kingdom of Heaven is impossible by our strength, Jesus calls them CHILDREN! Jesus names them children of God. How is this child to be named? Then comes the joining of the child’s name with the Name of the Triune God. This name change is huge.
As we said earlier, but now to repeat: Jesus is headed to the Cross. Indeed, the timing of all this encounter with the Rich Young Man in Capernaum is something that takes place perhaps a week or so from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem where He will die, where He will care for His children, for the Church, yes, for the World.

“Children,” Jesus said, “it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a man with wealth to enter the kingdom!” The rich young man could not then let go of his wealth to follow Jesus. Ah, but you and I beloved, wear his sandals. We have so many things that matter to us that are not the blood of Jesus. I don’t need to point the finger at you. It is true for me! I am indeed that son of Adam. And yet… in His Baptismal grace I am a child of God. So, beloved, are you! That Baptismal grace you celebrate each and every time you confess your sins and receive His Holy Forgiveness, His sweet absolution. Yes, with man this is impossible, but all things, including your forgiveness and welcome into the Kingdom of God, all things are possible with Jesus!

If we cannot save ourselves, this is a grand thing, indeed! Children of the fall are now called children of God. What is impossible for us, entering the Kingdom, this is His gift to you, yes, and it is for all. John 3:16 should be echoing in your heart about now. What is impossible, than anyone could be able to enter into the Kingdom of God, even as a visitor, this God has done through Jesus, not to have us visit His Kingdom as an outsider, but that we would be welcomed not only into the Kingdom, but as children of the King! Dear Princes and Princesses of the King, behold His Kingdom here in this place where we gather around His gifts of Word and Sacraments, where fellow sinner/saints confess our need, our sin, and confess His amazing grace toward us!

Ah, these Apostles are starting to get the impossibility of self-justification. Peter reminds Jesus that they have given up all to follow Him. Now Jesus’ answer is so sweet. Here I am reminded of something that happened earlier in Mark’s Gospel. You may remember how in Mark chapter 3 that Jesus spoke of the forgiveness of sins, something that only God can do! Then someone showed Him that His mother and brothers were present just outside. His answer is that “here are my mother and brothers for whoever does the will of My Father is my brother and my sister and my mother!” (3:34-35) You see, those who gave up house or brothers or sisters, mother or father, children or field will through much struggle, distress, or persecution receive in this life 100-fold of whatever they have given up.

Look around this place, this Holy House of the Lord where His family gathers to confess our sins, to receive His absolution, to eat and drink His true Body and Blood, where young are taught and the elderly are comforted, where those in distress find peace, even if the boat is filling with much water from the tempestuous sea. He surely though seemingly asleep on the cushion in the stern of the boat is none the less with you in the boat. Because the payment was made for your sins on that awful Tree atop Golgotha, you are His own and so are these, your brothers and sisters, your mothers and father, in this amazing house and out there in that vast open field where we are planted.

I gave you the full meaning of first being last and last being first as fulfilled in Christ. This passage ends though with Jesus giving us the reality that giving up house and family for the Kingdom means that all we have done is to take our wealth, all by His strength and His Word of forgiveness and life, and putting it all in His nail-pierced hands, we who have given up our rights and our firsts, who serve as He has first served us, these, yes, you, who are last He now calls first.

Do you want to be great in the Kingdom? What must you do to inherit the Kingdom? How about this: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! How about this: Rejoice not that the spirits bowed to you, but that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Even so, to Christ belongs all the glory forever and ever. Amen!

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Readings:
Eccl. 5:10–20 the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep
Ps. 119:9–16 Your word have I hidden in my heart
Heb. 4:1–16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace
Mark 10:23–31 easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle