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

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

“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

The breathless man obviously had it all together. He was young and vastly wealthy. He’s concerned about his salvation, so it seems that he’s wise. The fact that he came running to Jesus to ask the question tells us that here is a zealous man who wants to follow the Lord. He looks like an excellent prospect. This is the kind of guy who’s got his act together. He’s the kind of guy who would volunteer to serve on committees and get a lot of work done. He’s the kind of guy who would be an asset for whatever sort of plan or strategy that would need to be launched. The disciples must be breathing a sigh of relief, for it’s been a rough several weeks. First there was the fiasco after the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, when many disciples left the group. Then Jesus has been saying recently that He’s going to be crucified. But here’s a nice change: A young, rich, intelligent guy has appeared, who wants to be a disciple. This man is a slam dunk sure thing for joining any church.

But the conversation doesn’t seem to go well. The disciples don’t get their number one draft pick to join them. Who would ever imagine that this potential super-disciple would walk away sorrowful the next minute?

What happened? Listen to the exchange:

“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” And here the problem has already begun, because the question he asks has a flaw, a wrong assumption. What he is asking Jesus is this: “How much more of God’s Law do I have to keep in order to earn my way into eternal life? What do I have to do?” Although the man is sincere, he is far from having divine faith: He doesn’t want Jesus to save him from sin. Instead, he wants the Lord to approve of who he is and the good that he has done.

Since the man asks a question about keeping the commandments, Jesus gives him an answer about keeping the commandments: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.'” The man asked, “What shall I do?”, Jesus says, “You shall keep God’s commandments,” and then gives him some of the Ten.

But this only leaves the man in self-satisfaction: Is this all there is to it? Or perhaps he thinks it’s too good to be true—there must be something more, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth!

Then the bomb drops. Jesus, who loves this man, preaches one more bit of God’s Law: “One thing you lack,” says the Lord. “Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

This time, the man sees how God’s Law accuses him, and it crushes him. Jesus has just pointed out to him his sin. But what sin is that, exactly?

Wealth is not precisely the issue in this Gospel; Jesus does not condemn people for being rich. We must make this clear so that we can understand the true sin and the marvelous Gospel Word. Bible stories like this one have been misused to declare that wealth is innately sinful; the monks in Martin Luther’s time considered it a great work to sell all they had and make a vow of poverty, for poverty was considered to be more pleasing to God. But this is not what the Lord is saying. Granted, wealth has its dangers, as the Lord will go on to say: Those who have riches are tempted to trust in those riches instead of the Lord.

So, is this young man greedy? There is greed here, yes. Notice that the list of commandments that Jesus recited to him stopped just short of including, “Do not covet.” The man has much in the way of riches, and he would rather hoard his temporary wealth than love his neighbor and give his surplus to the poor. So, yes, the light of God’s Law illuminates some greed here, but that greed is not the major problem: There is a far more dangerous sin.

The man thinks that he can save himself by how well he works at keeping God’s commands. He believes that he can work his way into heaven by being good enough. When Jesus lists commands, He is saying in effect, “If you are so virtuous that you can keep all of God’s commandments as you say, then you shouldn’t be in love with your money; you’d be able to give it all away. Prove what you claim about yourself.”

Once it was considered Godly to be poor; in today’s world it’s the very opposite. It seems now that you are not blessed, you are not walking with the Lord, so to speak, if you aren’t successful or if you don’t have an abundance of earthly goods. God wants you to be happy, as many would say to entice you. If you truly believe, and if your moral life follows God’s plan for your life, then you’ll have nothing to worry about. But isn’t that exactly what Jesus points out in this rich young man? Isn’t this why the Lord says to the guy who has it all: one thing you lack? That one stumbling block for him may be trouble for you, too. Aren’t you tempted to think at times that God is pleased with you because of the good things you do, or on account of how many people you help, or how many lives you touch?

Now, the Lord showed the man that, since he was suffering from a form of greed, he wasn’t keeping all of God’s commands and couldn’t earn eternal life. The same is true for you. Yet, you trust in Jesus Christ, you believe that He saved you by His death and resurrection, and absolution is yours. But as long as that man, or anyone for that matter, believes that he can save himself, he does not trust in Jesus to save him; without true God-given faith, there can be no forgiveness. Any plan of self- salvation will utterly fail. If you trust in that route to peace with God, then anyone who is less than perfect will necessarily walk away sad, depressed, or worse.

However, that need not be the end of the story. Jesus says the same to you: “You can’t save yourself. But I can save you. I will save you by going to the cross and dying for your sin. Do not trust in your own efforts, but in mine.”

Thus the Lord declares to this man the Gospel, telling him that He will bear the cross for him. But it’s too much to take. He arrived expecting the Lord’s blessing as a reward for his own keeping of the law-and perhaps for his well-run life and wealth; instead, he’s told to throw it all away and trust in the cross instead. This is not the way he wants salvation, and this is not the way he wants the Savior to be. Therefore, he walks away. The would-be disciple, the one who was excellent, the guy who had everything going his way, sadly walks away.

Jesus lets him go. Imagine, that Jesus would drive away such a shining prospect with His teaching. He loves the man, so He will not force the man to be repentant. He will, however, go to the cross and die for the sins of the rich young man; if, later on, the man repents of his sin, the benefits of the cross will be there for him.

The man walks away, and the disciples don’t understand. Because when Jesus says, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples are astonished. If a great man like that can’t get into heaven, who can? Now, I must include for you the next few verses after today’s Gospel reading cut off. You have probably heard some of it before. Without this context, the lesson might lose its meaning.

Jesus expands, saying: “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Disciples aren’t taking this as good news yet.

The Lord explains: “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Simply put, the Law says: You can’t. You can’t save yourself. The Gospel says: God can. He can save you because He sent His Son to the cross. He will pay the price with His own blood, then rise victoriously from the grave on the third day.

So, how many good works must you do in order to inherit eternal life? Can you do enough good things? The answer is: No. You can’t. Can you build your faith and maintain your salvation by your works? No. You can’t. “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

There is an answer and there is salvation, but it’s an answer to a different question. The question is not “What would Jesus do, so I can copy Him?” The question is, “What has the Lord done to give me eternal life?” And Jesus’ answer is Good News in abundance.

Think of all those commandments that the Good Teacher listed for the rich young man, He kept them. Perfectly. Did Jesus give all that He had to the poor? Yes: He gave up all His heavenly riches for all of us who were poor in spirit. He offered His back to those who scourged Him, His scalp to those who crowned Him with thorns. He allowed His hands, feet and side to be pierced for this sinful world. Did He give all? Yes, in a depth that we cannot even begin to contemplate. Unlike the rich young man, did He take up the cross? Yes. He took up the cross. And on that cross He died for the sins of the world. That is what the Lord has done.

But He is not finished. The Good Teacher now offers that cross to you. There are good works for you to do, but your Father is already pleased with you before you do them. He is pleased with you, because He is pleased with Jesus. He still warns and accuses of sin-not so that you would walk away sorrowful, but so that you might repent and turn away from that which would destroy you. And by His holy Gospel, He gives you His cross. He takes away your sins-you need not suffer and die for them because He already has. He gives you His righteousness, giving you the credit and benefits of all He did. He makes you His family, members of His household. He marks you with His cross in Holy Baptism, you are joined to His death. He gives you His body and blood in Holy Communion, that He might join you to His life.

You can’t, but He can; and He does. Faithfully, again and again granting you forgiveness for your sins. All things truly are possible with God.

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

Readings:
Amos 5:6–7, 10–15 Hate evil, love good; Establish justice
Ps. 90:12–17 teach us to number our days
Heb. 3:12–19 exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”
Mark 10:17–22 what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

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

What do you think would be the best marriage advice, the words that would do the most good for a couple who is about to get married? What would help them best overcome the pitfalls and barriers to a healthy marriage? What one gem of truth, if they could hold on to it right from the very start, would see them through to a long and blessed life together? Believe me, every time that I meet with an engaged couple to prepare for marriage, I ask myself those very questions. Marriage has always suffered many stresses, and has undergone countless attacks. There is no exception in our day and age. People get lots of attention if they can credibly claim that they have the secret to a divorce-proof relationship.

Divorce is something we have been forced to deal with more and more. Families who never had experienced a hint of this tragedy before can often be sent into a tailspin with one marriage after another suddenly falling like dominoes. Now, instead of saying that 50% or so of marriages end in divorce, experts have been trying to say things like, the average marriage only lasts a certain number of years, and I’ve heard as low a number as seven years. That’s almost like taking divorce as a given; as if marriage eventually dies like anything else that takes its natural life course. Everything that was once so close, so connected, so much in agreement, just drifts apart and nobody can stop it. We’re not in love anymore, or I can’t change your annoying habits, or I don’t like how you handle money, or the kids are all gone and we were just staying together as long as they were living with us. Attitudes like these are far from the life-long exclusive commitment that God had intended for marriage to be from the very beginning.

Yet as important as God’s Word is for marriage, there is even more that He says, something even deeper that He would not want us to neglect. For as the bond of marriage is crucial for the health of our society, that it must at all costs remain defined correctly in our government as a life-long public and legal bond of one man and one woman, so is the Word of our salvation absolutely necessary for our life everlasting. The Book of Hebrews may not have in it the hottest marriage advice that would draw an audience to an afternoon TV talk show, but our Epistle does lay out for us plainly how important it is not to drift away from our Lord’s great commitment to us, His Church.

Instead of exchanging vows back and forth with us, our Savior Jesus Christ came all on His own among us and lived in our own human flesh. He who was already perfect and the Son of the Everlasting Father, was made perfect through suffering in that flesh, since we always need to remember that without flesh it would not have been possible for Him to suffer in our place. He was made like His brothers, appearing as though He were of a lower status than the angels, sharing in the same things we suffered, especially sharing in the curse of our sin even though He had none and taking its heavy burden away from us. Jesus tasted death for everyone, drinking down to the bottom the cup of God’s holy wrath, so that we would be spared from tasting its bitter dregs. You can see how similar to a marriage this faith relationship is with our Lord, yet it is so much greater and farther-reaching. You were joined to Him, not when you decided to commit your life to Him for better or for worse, but rather you became an inheritor with Him when you heard the Word attested to you by those who heard Him directly and wrote it down by the Holy Spirit. The Apostles and Prophets spoke and wrote, but it was all God’s Word. God Himself bore witness to this relationship that He set up with you, not with rings and promises, but with the signs and wonders of Jesus’ miracles, His suffering and death for you on the cross, and the visible Word of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, distributed as His precious gifts among you here according to His will.

How great a gift this salvation is, and yet we neglect it! You may be quick to give all this wonderful advice to young newlyweds, but you fail from time to time to follow that same advice yourself. The qualities you absolutely despise in other people end up creeping out of your very own life and conduct. You get distracted from prayer, drift away from God’s Word, break off your relationships in a false sense of righteous anger when you get hurt, you redefine what you want to get out of your life as a Christian. Everything that is attacking marriage in our society is also in some way threatening your bond of faith with God your heavenly Father. Even if your marriage isn’t on the rocks or you actually aren’t a detriment to society, there still have been ways in which you rejected God, you ignored His Commandments and despised some part of His calling in life that He gave you.

Because of your sinful nature inside you, you were born into death and held under its power. The devil, who has attacked everyone on earth beginning with the very first married couple, had as his sworn goal your lifelong slavery to his evil devices. I know this all sounds abstract and story-like, like it’s hard to believe—we seem to have bigger problems to worry about. One would even wonder whether we should focus on our nation and the big decisions that we have to make in a few weeks with the election. However, those issues only seem to be greater because their consequences are more immediate. You can feel the effects. But with salvation, on the other hand, it’s all hidden and the eternal life or eternal punishment—that’s all way off in the future to our minds. Dealing with spiritual matters like sin and forgiveness just seems like a waste of time right now. Yet Hebrews jars you with the reality: you thought that neglecting the law brought bad consequences, well, neglecting the Gospel would be disastrous, because then you would be saying no to forgiveness.

Last week you heard that God has sent His mighty angels to guard and keep you, most especially to lead you to believe with all your heart that your name is written in the Lord’s Book of Life in heaven. Jesus came to this earth not to help angels (as great as angels are) but to reach out to you and raise you up above the angels with Him. This in fact could be another clue as to why angels don’t want us to worship them—the truth is, you and I have been exalted in Christ above even the angels! The lesser always praises the greater. The angels may appear greater and be more powerful, but they know that you have been washed with the Blood of Jesus and granted the place of privilege over everything else that the Lord has made, including the mighty angels.

So also this week, as Christ our Lord protects and extols marriage in His teaching, and as He welcomes children into His gracious presence, giving them the hands of His blessing, know that He does all of this to proclaim to you the message of your salvation. Sure, He wants marriages to be strong, our country to be morally grounded, our world to be more peaceful. But more than all of those put together, He wants you to pay close attention to the Gospel Word of forgiveness that you hear. Don’t crowd that Word out with your own ideas, wants and self-centered desires. That’s what leads to hardness of heart. Believe that the welcome that Jesus gave to the little children and infants, is the same open arms of blessing that He extends to you today. He does not want you to drift away. He wants to strengthen His relationship of faith with you because He is forever committed to you.

I know it’s hard to take the Bible’s Word for what it is, and not just because you and I have our sinful natures. It’s difficult to believe because we don’t see good things happening. Hebrews nails it: “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him.” We don’t see around us the love of our neighbor or the sense of accountability to God that has made our nation great since it began. We get discouraged when we are called upon to bear heavy crosses and burdens with seemingly no end in sight. But soon, we will see everything in subjection to Christ, we will behold all things as they really are. Like the disciples of Jesus who momentarily saw demons fleeing left and right as they were preaching in His name. The end that is sure to come will bring to us a crown of glory and honor that would far outshine the radiance of any bride on her wedding day.

So as you think of the advice that would save and preserve someone’s marriage, apply that advice also to yourself, as it deals with your soul. Pay close attention to the Gospel, His Word that removes your sins and strengthens you in the difficulties of life with His peace. Do not neglect what you have heard, because His vow, His promise to you will never fail. He is not giving you requirements for living up to your end of the deal, but He is handing out to you your very life and forgiveness, your release from everything that oppresses and stresses you. He has made you children of Abraham, sons of those who believe in Jesus and that faith is counted as though you did everything right. And whether He stems the spread of cultural rot in our land, or the bad just keeps getting worse, you still know you have a merciful and faithful high priest in Jesus Christ who has suffered everything for you, and eternal life in His kingdom is yours now, and yours to see very soon.

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

Readings
Gen. 2:18–25 It is not good that man should be alone
Ps. 128 Yes, may you see your children’s children.
Heb. 2:1–18 we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard
Mark 10:2–16 what God has joined together, let not man separate.

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

The festival day of St. Michael and all Angels was yesterday the 29th. In our church calendar, through which we took a tour a couple months ago, there is a noticeable shift at this point of the year. The harvest is approaching, fall is in the air, but the Christian is reminded during this time of year of another coming, the coming of heaven upon the triumphant return of Jesus Christ, followed by a fresh celebration of Advent and Christmas. And so, to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord, we must remain aware that He is always with us, giving us the protection of His holy angels.

Now, when it comes to talking about angels, one of two basic problems quickly come forward. On the one hand, there seems to be a lot that comes from the imagination. Movies about angels are so plentiful that they could be in a whole category by themselves. We hope to explain to ourselves the existence and activity of an entirely unseen world that somehow overlaps with the world that we can see. There is something genuinely fascinating to our human minds that there could be an angel standing above you or sitting next to you, and protecting you wherever you go. Our curiosity then gets the better of us and we let our own thoughts and feelings become the experts and we believe all sorts of things about those mysterious spiritual beings.

On the other hand, all of this mysterious and other-worldly language could discourage someone from thinking any further about angels and what they do. It seems angels and spirits are on everyone’s mind just because it is the latest fad. Our minds are still programmed with that idea of “What you see is what you get.” There needs to be enough proof laid out before our very eyes or else we will not become convinced. Of course you could believe in angels, but just as long as it doesn’t mean that your life in the so-called real world will be any different because of them.

It is so easy to make-believe in this whole other spiritual realm, just like you’re telling a story, but if someone starts getting really serious about it, then skeptical questions arise. Questions like: “If God sends angels to protect us, then why are there still accidents and terrorists and destruction? Where are the guardian angels when these things happen?” So when it seems possible that there could be more than meets the eye, we tend to abandon what our faith says in favor of what our senses tell us instead.

There was a time when Jesus had sent seventy-two preachers out to the various surrounding villages. They were to proclaim that God’s kingdom is here. The long-awaited Savior, the God in whom all the faithful put their hope—He is walking around even now healing people and preaching the good news of salvation. That was the message of these preachers; that was what they said. What they saw—rather, what God allowed their eyes to see—was something truly spectacular. The demons, those evil angels who serve not the Lord but the devil, they were fleeing like mad before these mere mortals! But then, when the disciples tell Jesus, it seems like He just shoots them down. He said this: “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20) As amazing as it was that they were witnessing a spirit-world struggle, our Lord reminds them not to be fixed on what their eyes were telling them.

The fact is, this whole other world actually exists, even though it is unseen. It not only exists, but this unseen world is the way things really are in God’s kingdom of heaven. It is the realm in which St. Michael the archangel and all the angel armies defeated Satan and cast him down like a bolt of lightning from the presence of Almighty God. It is the realm in which those miserable demons flee at the mere speaking of God’s Word. In the spiritual realm, there are angels right here among us and protecting us even now. In the realm that we can see, all that appears is a dead man hanging on a cross; in the spiritual realm, the devil’s head is crushed, he is thrown out of heaven and sin and death are completely wiped out.

Brothers and sisters, do not be ignorant of the way things really are. You may understand and believe with all your heart that your sins are taken away and that one day you will be in heaven. But it is still possible to believe that and still imagine that you are your own person, that you don’t need God’s help in your day-to-day life. God’s grace could easily become for you just a safety net for you to fall back on when you can’t help yourself out of your own mess. You have a deep-seated desire within you to be self-reliant, to be independent of God. It’s a temptation raised to your attention by the devil himself. For he wants you to believe that you can get by in life without God’s help, so that then you become easy prey to fall into the hands of the evil one. Even though he has been defeated forever and cast out of heaven, he can still bring you down to hell with him, and he knows his time of opportunity is short.

There is a whole other dimension to God’s grace. Above and beyond giving you the free forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven, our Lord has given you more. He always gives you more. He has entrusted your safety to his most powerful servants even while you are still on this earth. He promises that He will send His angels to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and cobra and trample them underfoot. Even though the devil like a roaring lion prowls about, waiting to devour you, he will not come near you, because God has given you Michael and all the heavenly armies to watch over you. Every day that you are alive is a gift with which God richly blesses you, and that gift is especially yours thanks to the work of His holy angels.

But, again, don’t get carried away. As much as the angels do for you, they are still God’s humble servants. They deserve no worship, thanks or praise for their work—they themselves would tell you that all glory goes to God alone who made them and who gave them their power. For it is that power that can be so fascinating. Those 72 preachers whom Jesus sent were for a moment allowed to see the heavenly realm and God’s powerful wrath unleashed against evil.

Do you want that power? Do you want to call down fire and brimstone against a backstabbing friend or the driver who cut you off on the freeway? Are you so sick and tired of the devil’s attacks and temptations that you wish you could just say the word and they would all be gone? Wouldn’t your life be easier if you could just make the angels do what you want them to do?

Fortunately for you, God does not want to show you His power. God’s power is none other than His punishment—and we already know that He punishes all those who hate Him. If you wish to see God’s power, then you wouldn’t be living long, because His punishment condemns all of us sinners. God’s power was instead unleashed against His only Son Jesus as He was hanging on the cross. He stood condemned before God the Father’s holy anger, not because of anything He had done, but He had your sin and mine clinging to His Body. In Christ hanging on the cross there truly is God’s power—but that power remains hidden within God’s love that He had—and still has—for you. That is a love that causes all the hosts of angels to rejoice over one sinner who admits his sin and asks for forgiveness.

God’s love is more amazing and even more awesome than His power. His love is seen in Jesus your Savior, who gave up all He had and became obedient to death, even death on a cross—and all for your sake. God knows that you are a sinner and that you deserve punishment, but with Jesus standing in your place, He no longer looks upon you with punishment and condemnation. Instead He abundantly showers His love on you for the sake of Jesus, who kept the law and suffered its punishment for you. Jesus gives you His very own Body and Blood, which was the price He paid for your sins, in order that you may join with Him and the angels of heaven in receiving salvation even now, both for your body and for your soul. In Holy Communion, God gives you a powerful assurance that your name is certainly written in heaven.

It is truly a mystery—as deep as a bottomless well—when it comes to thinking about God’s love. Even the angels themselves wonder in amazement at how great the love of God is for you, His precious creation. His special messengers gladly bring us Good News of God’s love, just like they did to the shepherds at Christmas, and to the women and the disciples on the first Easter. We then join with them in their heavenly song so that with angels and archangels we laud and magnify God’s glorious name.

And so the true reason why there are angels is so that you may believe and finally realize that your name is written in heaven. That is what our Lord Jesus said to His joyful missionaries, and that is what He says to you today. Anything more or less than this simply misses the point. Whether you focus too much on the angels or deny that they have any bearing on your life, then doubt and unbelief have the chance to creep in and destroy your faith. Remember first of all that you are saved and that your name is written in heaven and that no one can take that from you. Depend on Him for everything, and not on yourself. Then give thanks to God for sending His angels to remind you of that blessed truth and to protect you on every side from the attacks of the devil. All this He does because He loves you. So as Martin Luther once directed to do twice a day, along with all your fellow saints on earth, pray to the Lord, “Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.”

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

Readings:
Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3 those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake
Revelation 12:7-12 they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb…
Matthew 18:1-11 unless you turn and become like children

October, 2017

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

The end seemed to be on the horizon for those disciples. Jesus, who has been their leader for some time now, He was starting to talk a lot about being delivered into the hands of sinful men and being killed. Secretly, they must have all hoped that the government would be overthrown and the Roman scourge would finally leave their Holy Land. But the way Jesus was talking, it didn’t sound like that would be the way it would turn out. The followers were faced with the inevitable fact that their leader would no longer be with them. Though they were told He was the Son of God and that He would rise from the grave three days after being killed, it just didn’t sink in for them. They were slow of heart to believe, they had doubts, their faith was weak.

And so, when some of the disciples were faced with the reality that Jesus was going to leave them, they began to struggle and argue and position themselves to take over as the new leader of their movement. They fell for the very temptations that James spoke about in his warnings to fellow pastors and preachers of God’s Word. They were in love with the world, and in danger of being at enmity with God. The questions that matter most to the world were the questions that swirled in their heads: Who of them was going to be the greatest? Who would receive the mantle of leadership and take over for the Christ?

But hold on a minute– what kind of honor would that be anyway? Already they were going about from place to place hoping for a meal and a place to sleep. Jesus Himself said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Even the greatest among the disciples was still going to be no better off than a beggar. And yet they argued over it as if some lucrative political position were up for grabs. Imagine: the creator of heaven and earth, living in human flesh, was walking with them on the road teaching them, saying He will give His very life for them, and they were preoccupied about who would be at the top of their little totem pole!

This was one of the disciples’ lowest moments. Not long ago three of them experienced the mountaintop experience of Jesus’ transfiguration. They got to see their Teacher lit up like a flash of lightning, talking to Moses and Elijah in a glimpse of heaven on earth. It seemed like they had all the proof they would need to believe that this Jesus truly is the Son of God and they would take Him at His Word. He would be killed, and then He would rise on the third day. Instead, they did not understand, and more than that, they turned their back on the way of humility and lowliness, and immediately they rubbed Jesus out of the picture and fought with one another about who would take over as the greatest.

And so, fears, doubts and trials in your life leave you dumbfounded just like they were. Perhaps for a little while you had the great, grand experience where you felt the Lord had really reached out to you. It was great during that time to be a Christian and fervently on fire for the Lord. And then, probably something happened that you didn’t expect. A sudden change in your income may have set you back, or maybe it was increasing tension in your family, or a close friend could have betrayed you. Now what would happen? Where was God when you needed Him the most? It was something you couldn’t understand, and yet you were afraid to admit it.

It’s easy to listen to the words of Jesus here and then turn around and beat yourself with them. You could take what He says as an impossible standard that you have failed to meet over and over again. You think, So many times I have dropped the ball–no, I’m not always acting like the servant of everyone I deal with on a daily basis. I could be more helpful to my neighbor than I am. I am in greater friendship with this sinful world than I am with my merciful Savior who has rescued me precisely from this world. I tend to argue with my loved ones and try to make myself to be the greatest. And to tell the truth, your conscience that condemns you with these things would be absolutely right in doing so. For you are a sinner, and you have a habit of doing the things sinners do.

But you would have also missed the point of Jesus’ Word here for you today. Your Lord Christ is not here just to remind you of your shortcomings and then turn His back on you. In fact, His talk about being a servant isn’t really about you at all. Jesus is giving you Himself in what He says. It was He who made Himself the least, the Almighty God who became a lowly servant, so that you could have the greatest honor of life forever in the arms of your heavenly Father.

You see, this was the very message that Christ was giving to His followers and they wouldn’t understand it. You wouldn’t understand it either if you preoccupy yourself solely in making this present life better or more comfortable for you. Your Lord has a reason for talking so much about His own death and resurrection. This is the source of true life for you; it is yours as a gift. This is the source of true greatness in God’s eyes. For Jesus became the least not merely when He was born into a poor carpenter’s home and walked about Galilee without a place to call home. He truly became the least for you when He took the load of sins from your back and laid it on His own. He served you in all humility when He was nailed to the cross and when He died for you in order for your sins and shortcomings to be wiped out.

Then He was raised in all glory to the greatest position in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus humbled Himself to the utmost and then He was exalted to the highest place. And since you are baptized into Christ and forever connected with Him, you as a sinner were also killed with Him, dead and buried; and you as a new creation are raised to life as well along with Him. He rules and reigns to all eternity, and because you belong to Him, you reign forever with Him. Christ the least has become Christ the greatest and the benefits are all yours. You have the privilege to eat and drink this Godly greatness when you kneel before this altar. For the body and blood of Jesus who was made the least for you is the very food that gives you the true life. This gift of forgiveness and life from God conquers all the worldly distractions that cause you concern every day.

Once you are filled with Jesus and His Holy Spirit, all those things that this world considers as great become worthless in comparison to Him. Providing for yourself and your family moves from your responsibility to God’s responsibility, where it belongs. Arguing with your neighbor and scraping against others to get earthly greatness seems absolutely silly in comparison to the wonderful gift your Lord is handing out to you. Worrying about the future of the church is displaced with confidence that God will reap His harvest as He pleases. Receive your Lord Jesus and the Father who sent Him. Be forgiven, washed clean by your lowly servant and highly exalted King, Jesus. He can remove the doubts and fears that shake your faith. He won’t remove the cross nor the trials from you, but He will strengthen you to withstand them and lay hold of His victory. He has promised never to leave you. Finally, at your last hour of death, your Lord has promised that He will take you into His arms as His little child. And you, who have been considered last in the eyes of this sinful world, will be first as you enjoy the presence of God in His heavenly kingdom.

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

Readings:
Jer. 11:18–20 Oh LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart
Ps. 54 Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.
James 3:13—4:10 the wisdom that is from above is first pure… Submit to God, resist the devil
Mark 9:30–37 Whoever receives one of these little children in My name…

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

Welcome aboard! For centuries, the Church has been described in terms of a boat or ship. So much so, that you even hear nautical terms being used from time to time. The area in which you are seated is called the nave, from the Latin for ship. The pulpit was the point where the navigator steered the ship with the wheel. Speaking of the Church in this way was first of all inspired by the writers of the Bible themselves. In chapter three of the Epistle of James, the brother of our Lord Jesus speaks to his fellow teachers of doctrine, that is, to fellow pastors. Of course, the words James writes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit specifically for the vocation of his brothers in the ministry can also be applied in a general way by all Christians as they pursue their various callings in life. Now, the part of the ship that James is concerned with here is not something large and obvious like the mast or mainsail, nor even something that would look important like the captain or the charts and compass. No, for this miniature parable, we need to go below the water’s surface, sweep away all the muck and algae, and focus attention on the rudder.

Such a small instrument, notes James, that can turn such a massive vessel. In the same way that bit and bridle, small as they are, can exert control upon a powerful horse. In terms of something more common today, thanks to electronics and hydraulics, a little tap of the foot on the brake pedal stops a whole car! We just expect it work that way, but it is still impressive. Well, the small, yet mighty instrument that moves the ship of the Church is the tongue of the preacher that proclaims God’s Word for all in the nave to hear it. And to speak rightly without stumbling, that preacher is to be completely trained. Here in the Epistle, the phrase “perfect man” should not be taken to mean “one without sin,” but rather a “fully prepared preacher.” The course must be set on the one hand with the righteous Law of God, given to us in summary form in the Ten Commandments. This Law directs us in our life, but it also always accuses and condemns our sin and leaves us no option but to plead to Christ for help. On the other hand, proper steering of the ship comes from the preaching tongue’s proclamation of the Gospel, namely, the gracious works of God for our sake leading to and including the holy death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

While the tongue of the preacher is the small, yet mighty rudder that directs the course of the Church according to God’s Word, your own tongues in a similar way have important roles. Whatever callings that your heavenly Father has bestowed upon you, He who was the first ever to speak, has also given you your tongue to proclaim and teach His Word in the context that is appropriate for you. What you say is immensely important, perhaps more now than ever. They don’t call this the “information age” for nothing. Messages can go to millions of people, all around the world, in seconds. Communication must be preserved pure and pristine, or else business would falter, relationships would crumble, and nations would erupt into chaos. Quick, convenient information can really help us, yet now, we can’t afford not to be careful over what other people may know about us.

Whatever can do a world of good, can also in this fallen world of ours be implemented to wreak a staggering blow of evil. The Apostle takes great pains to warn the Church of the evil capability of the tongue. Perhaps your life has suffered damage at one time or another, thanks to the raging fire set ablaze by the tongue. Your own tongue could easily have hurt another, even when you had no idea you were doing it. Sticks and stones, contrary to what the rhyme may say, have nothing on how hurtful the words of the tongue can be. And what makes the whole thing a lot worse is that the fire of the tongue is a chief instrument of the devil’s terror regime. The Holy Spirit warns us that our sinful tongues are set on fire by hell. That means Satan wants brothers and sisters in Christ setting off verbal grenades against each other. Nothing would bring a more swift demise to a congregation and sink the ship completely.

The fire is especially dangerous when it is kindled by the tongue of a pastor who takes away the clear teaching of the Word of God and substitutes his own opinion or simply spews out meaningless garbage. Doesn’t a ship run aground when it sails in shallow water? Doctrine that does not measure up to the Truth of the Bible is false doctrine, no matter how good it may sound. And when a church is burning due to falsehood proclaimed from the pulpit, the first things to be destroyed are the forgiveness of sins, the comfort of the Gospel and the certainty of heaven. In midst of the ashes arises a hideous, man-made phoenix of trust not in the Lord and what He has done, but trust in yourself. Have I done enough good? Have I made enough promises or had a clear purpose to drive my life? You might recover the Bible from all the damage, but under the influence of an evil tongue, the Bible is turned into a mere book of rules; Jesus turns from gracious Savior into the impossible example that you could never follow perfectly.

James gives us a chilling dose of reality. No one can tame the tongue. We all stumble in many ways. The winds of fad and worldly desire blow us to and fro and, by ourselves, we cannot reset the proper bearing. Our sins will cast us into the whirlpool abyss of eternal punishment. The storms we face continually threaten to capsize the entire ship. So we need our Captain, Jesus Christ, to be aboard. We need His calming word of peace for our tempest-tossed souls. His death, the shedding of His blood, and His glorious resurrection from the dead are exactly the thing that bring the clear skies of forgiveness for our sins. You have heard this Gospel comfort from my tongue already; you will receive more words of grace from our Captain Himself before our time of worship together is complete. The galley, if you will, is set for the perfect Supper of our voyage, namely His holy Body and Blood given and shed for you.

Oftentimes passengers of a ship are “tendered” to shore for a short visit. But while they are on land, these people always keep in the back of their minds that they need to return to their ship so that the voyage may continue. I remember on the one cruise my whole family took together, we had lots of fun racing from one site to the other, but I was constantly looking at my watch so that I made sure the last tender to the ship wouldn’t leave without us! We’ve gotta get back to the ship! Likewise, your vocation, your various callings in your life “tender” you, so to speak, to the land of this world. And as St. John reminds you, we are in this world, but not of it. Indeed, while you are on land, there are works which God prepared in advance for you to do to help one another and to help your neighbor as His holy instrument. Prayer is needed both on the ship in church and on land in your daily life and work. But the land of this world is not home for you. For your spiritual strength and sustenance, you’ve gotta get back to the ship, here in the nave, back to your Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the other passengers you know who don’t think they need to get on board, that it would be abundantly beneficial for them to hear the Word of the Lord from the rudder-tongue who is called and ordained to proclaim that Word.

You may have been burned by the hellish fire of an evil tongue. Perhaps you have used your own tongue to devastate an entire forest of your own. The winds and currents may buffet you in your life, in your family, at work or school. A great fire of false teachings may from time to time set ablaze the Church gathered in one place or another. Do not fear when you come across these terrible pitfalls in your voyage.

You already know from other readings in the Bible that a boat that has Jesus in it will be just fine, no matter what the storm does. That’s exactly what you have here, in this nave, this ship of Christ’s holy Church. Our heavenly port of call awaits! And the Captain has promised to ensure safe passage straight to the Father’s waiting arms.

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

Readings:
Is. 50:4–10 I gave My back to those who struck me … I have set My face like a flint.
Ps. 116:1–9 I found trouble and sorrow Then I called upon name of the LORD…
James 3:1–12 let not many of you become teachers … the tongue is a fire
Mark 9:14–29 LOrd, I believe; help my unbelief