When you hear the parable of the sower as Jesus told it in this morning’s text the first thing questions you might wonder are: what in the world is this sower guy thinking? Has he ever farmed before? What is he thinking throwing seed all over the place, on pathways, on rocky ground, in an area of thorns, and yes finally on fertile ground? Why waste good seed? Why the effort to sow where surely nothing of any profit will come forth and grow?

Well, this parable is obviously not a lesson in farming or gardening in the conventional sense. The purpose of this parable is to teach something else. This parable of Jesus teaches 2 major points for us to ponder about the reign of Jesus’ kingdom, in His earthly ministry and the Church.

The first point is that the ministry of the Church will not always look successful according to earthly measurements. Even Jesus’ own ministry does not seem very successful despite Jesus casting the seed of His Word through His teaching, preaching, and healing wherever He went. Now you may ask, “What are you talking about, pastor, the text says that there were great crowds coming and gathering around Jesus?” Yes it does. However, from the beginning of chapter 11 in Matthew onward, as Jesus revealed Himself as God’s Son and the Messiah, resistance began to arise not only from the Pharisees and Scribes, but the people as well.

Up to this time Jesus had been speaking in plain speech, but still the majority of the people did not get it. Chapter 12 shows that Jesus’ own earthly family did not quite understand and were actually trying to get Him to be quiet. Therefore, Jesus began speaking to the people in parables. The disciples came to Jesus in verses 10-17and asked Him specifically why He was suddenly speaking to the people in the hidden speech of parable, Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” In the ministry of Jesus and the Church, despite the presence of pure teaching and preaching, there will still be some who reject it, others who respond but then fade away in the face of persecution or hardship, and others who believe for a time but then let the cares and temptations of the world ensnare them and they are lost. For as Jesus explained it, the seed which the sower sowed is the Word of the kingdom, the very Word of God which is life, yet most of the seed that is sown never produces fruit.

This brings us to point 2. Point two is this, despite the lack of understanding, despite the rejection, despite the shallow roots and hearts of short lived believers, despite the easily distracted and unfaithfulness of people, God is still careless, reckless, and generous with His love and mercy. God is the sower who recklessly casts His Love through the message of His Word which is that seed.

Without His ongoing love and mercy shown to all people through the ministry of His Word and Sacrament who could be saved? Nobody. The soil, any soil, would just lay dormant with the exception of weeds. That is the condition of the human heart apart from the life giving truth of God’s Word. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Because of original sin and fallen human nature, all people are spiritually dead in their trespasses and sin and are weedy and hard packed soil with nothing good in themselves. A garden full of weeds does nothing to get itself weeded but seems to almost revel in its weediness, so to it is with humanity, seeing what masses of sin it can accumulate for itself while it has the time. Yes the weeds have their own flowers which bloom and produce seed, a flower and seed which the self-righteous sinner would call a good work and by it claim merit, but that flower and that seed produced is not of the same kind as the Lord’s. That human seed is but a false hope fashioned in sin according to mankind’s own design and shall lead nowhere but to fading glory and the destructive fires of hell.

Salvation must come from outside the thorny walls of this hard packed soil of fleshy, rocky infertility. And so it is that the Lord God, heavenly Father comes with His Word sowing it with reckless abandon and love. Never in our own earthly gardens have we seen such a seed, a seed that comes with the power to weed even as it plants, a seed that makes fertile the soil that which was infertile. What is this seed? Where did it come from? The seeds which were sown by the sower must have come from the abundance and fruitfulness of another plant. This good parent plant from which all good plants must come was the seed that descended from on high. This seed is God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, planted in the womb of the Virgin Mary, who lived in perfection keeping all statutes of His Father’s Law, so that He would be a perfect substitute for the sins of the world in His own death upon the cross and whose body was planted in the earth when He was buried. This does not sound like a successful ministry, yet as Jesus said “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” Was His death a waste of a perfectly good seed? No! By His death, death is undone, by His obedience, disobedience is forgiven as the transgressions of the world were accounted to Him as He was crucified.

Jesus is the true seed, the righteous plant, the vine, who was crucified and then planted into the earth so that after three days He would rise again and the seed of His body would show forth the sign of the salvation and forgiveness which He has accomplished. He is by His resurrection the firstfruits of all the dead. By His death and resurrection the curse of sin, the accusation of the Law, and the power of the evil One are undone. This is the message of the Word which uproots the thorns of your heart. The Law of God tears and rips open our hearts like a plow and lays bare our sin so that repentance and hope in the mercy and Good News of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for your sins is able to be planted in you by water and the Word of Holy Baptism. There you also were crucified, buried, and brought to life through and in Christ and His precious blood. It is the Holy Spirit who grants faith, who gives ear to hear this Word of salvation, who overcomes sinful pride and hard hearts making them subject to the grace of His forgiveness. It is no gimmick, it is the truth of God’s reckless love and mercy that gives faith and life. The church does not need to market with gimmicks, this message, but continues using the tools which He has given: the true preaching of His Word in its purity, and the faithful administration of His Holy instruments of Grace, Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. It is the body and blood of Jesus Christ who is planted in your mouths in the receiving of this consecrated bread and wine. It is He who plants you in the faith and hope of His forgiveness.

But it is important that you come and receive the gifts through which this Word works. Another reality that the parable of the sower reveals is that there is much that is warring against the planting of this seed and the growth of its fruit. There is no, “Once saved always saved”. The devil is ever trying to pluck God’s Word from your ear by keeping you home instead of going to church, the thorns and cares of this world, the aggravating words and actions of those around us, the temptation of our flesh, the false teachings of the world around us, are all constantly trying to choke out your faith, and keep you and all God’s little ones from growing into Christ, but rather are seeking to destroy that faith, and replace it with eternal damnation.

But do not be afraid, by continuing to return to the cross, here to the place of forgiveness, here where He quenches you His little plants with the rainfall of living water in Word and Sacrament, your Lord and Savior will continue to keep you in that faith and protect you from your enemies. He will continue to give you His Holy Spirit to weed out your sins and remove their strangle hold in the confession of your sins and the receiving His forgiveness. He gives you ears to hear His Word and by His body and blood. He enables you to grow up into His fullness and bear His good fruit: Fruit of repentance, of love for your neighbor, of joy for this life and the life to come. Satan may try to pluck the hope of Jesus from your midst, but He cannot compete with the reckless casting of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. As you also live for Him and speak this message of Jesus Christ, do not become discouraged by lack of response. Keep sowing the seeds. His Word will not return to Him empty. As St. Peter says in his first epistle, “you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God”. Continue to rejoice in His Word and His reckless and abundant love as it sustains you in your vocation. Then return here to your Lord as He gives rest from your labor. Which He will continue to do until He calls you to His eternal rest, gathering you and all believers to Himself at His harvest time to live with Him forever in Jesus’ name and for His sake, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

The IRS defines a “dependent” as “a qualifying child or relative who relies on you for financial support” and is usually living with you. Therefore, a person might say that “independence” is becoming self-sufficient, a part of growing up and becoming an adult, without the need of outside support.

Yet as we think of independence and the concept of “independence” on this 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States. On July 4, 1776 when the representatives of the 13 colonies made that “Declaration of Independence”, we might want to consider what does independence mean?

For those who wished to form a new nation, independence meant not having to pay taxes to a king and parliament who did not listen to the wishes or needs of their citizens (or soon to be former citizens) who seemed to not give their colonies and dependents any recourse for self rule or representation. To the patriots, independence meant freedom for self determination. Therefore they declared what they did, took up arms and formed a new nation. But what the Patriots of this new nation were to find out was the same lesson that so many other people find out when they move out from under the roofs of their parents. Independence isn’t easy. There ae difficulties and growing pains of inexperience, of making mistakes because of the lack of oversight, of moving forward without established guidelines and rules established to help guide and restrain. Of Good intentions without proper knowledge and experience to follow through properly. Such is the way of gaining maturity. So laws had to be made. Taxes from abroad, which brought about the revolution, now had to be levied domestically in order to support the new government, much to the upset of some ideals. Other battles would yet have to be waged to form a more perfect union, and so it continues.

You see, the concept of “independence” can be a good thing if a person has a perspective that has already been formed within them from a morality and ethos formed by the law of God, if they understand that independence doesn’t mean freedom from responsibility and respect for their fellow man. The reality is that nobody is nor can they be truly “independent” of anybody or anything. We all are dependent upon God and our fellow man. We cannot provide all things for ourselves. That would be what true independence would mean. But God upholds all creation even as He created it as I said before. He continues to guide and direct all things, allowing rain to fall, the sun to shine, and life here on earth to flourish. Despite sin. God has established society and government through talents and skills of people. Not all can farm and grow their own food, not all can craft and build, not all can protect from the evil within and without the hearts of mankind, Not all can fathers, mothers, Therefore, society needs the various vocations and trades through which God establishes a semblance of order and provision. But this perspective that does not come into the hearts of men and women magically. This perspective must come from God who has created all things and continues to keep a semblance of order even after mankind’s fall into sin. He has established His law upon the hearts of men and women to restrain the flesh of people, even those who do not believe. He continues to use governments to restrain the evil within in our flesh. St. Paul speaks about the main core of the problem in the epistle lesson for today. We are by nature in our flesh: sinful.

You see, our flesh wants to rebel against the law of God which is written in our hearts, and the Law which He has revealed in Scripture. Such is the state of mankind since the fall into sin.

Sadly, because of sin and our fallen nature, for many, the idea of independence is not a maturity. Their concept of “independence” comes from an attitude of rebellion and selfish desire. A desire to throw off the shackles of responsibility, a desire to do whatever one wants to do while being answerable to no one… or certainly not to a higher power than themselves. To them “Independence” is “not wanting to be told what to do”.

That was the problem for Adam and Eve. They didn’t accept that they were dependent upon God and were therefore supposed to follow His rules for their good and protection. They rebelled against the way of truth and life, and now all humanity and creation have been tainted by sin, and a corrupted mind. Paul nails it on the head. Death has now entered the picture as a result of sin. Humans are not naturally good. Since the fall, we are selfish and sinful whose desires and actions are very often not healthy but selfish and destructive to ourselves and all too often for society as well.

As St. Paul points out: very often we may have high ideals about what good we wish to do, but our flesh gets in the way and messes it up, so that: “I do not do what we want, but I do the very thing I hate. I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

The reality is that we all need rescue. We are all sinners, we all have failed and spiritually do not have freedom but are in bondage to sin, and subject now to death and the punishment that sin deserves.

The good news is that God knows our needs. He has sends a hero to rescue, redeem, and rule in a way that no earthly government could.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is He.

Jesus Christ, comes as a king, not to enslave, not to rule for His own gain, but to release you from the bondage to sin, from the self-destruction of rebellion, to relieve you from the daily stresses and anxieties of trying to bear all things yourself in mad pursuit of an independence which cannot be obtained. The fact that we can be dependent upon God is a good thing.

Even though we wish like rebellious children to get out from the roof and rules of our parents who protect and provide for us, God continues to come to us, and remind us why He restrains and protects, why He applies the Law and at times, because He loves us. Therefore, He also provides the Gospel. The Good news that because Jesus Christ has come into the flesh, He has fulfilled the demands of the Law. Jesus has defeated death by dying on the cross. Therefore, we who have been imprisoned by sin, may truly be set free in Him by the forgiveness of sins. As we come to knowledge that we are dependent upon God for salvation by the forgiveness of sins which we could not attain, in that same faith, we become independent and set free from sin, death, and the power the devil. Our flesh is renewed in life by the power of Christ’s resurrection, even as it is set apart for resurrection at the last day.

Jesus, the Christ, your king speaks tenderly to you: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Dear friends, it is ok to be dependent upon God in Jesus Christ. It is important that we give Him thanks for the earthly governments that He provides to rule our society and celebrate the freedom that we have to worship Him here and to serve Him in this nation, but let us remember that we are citizens of a better nation, a heavenly kingdom which is a place of true rescue and freedom. In Christ, we are truly set free from sin, from fear, from death, and the rages of our sinful flesh.

Come and receive from Him mercy and comfort in His Word. It is good to be His children, to dwell within His household, to not seek independence from Him. Independence from Him is to return to relying on our own power which is powerless a future which is not pursuing happiness and life, but rather death and despair. In the household of the Church and His kingdom, our king provides life, mercy, forgiveness, peace, true maturity, and strength. Eat and drink at His table and be made strong in Him as your King comes to you righteous with His salvation for you in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

The Words of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading may seem jarring as He says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” These words seem out of place for Jesus whom we also call the “Prince of Peace”.

The words of our Gospel text are a continuation of the previous verses of Matthew 10 which we heard last week. Jesus was talking originally to His disciples as He was sending them out for a time of service of preaching and teaching as practical experience for the time after He had ascended. He was letting them know that as they preached and taught this message, there would be definite reactions. There would be some who receive it, but there would also be many not only rejecting this message but who would react to the message of God’s truth by actively seeking to persecute them and those who would follow their teaching. In the verses for today, Jesus continues to describe the turmoil and grief that will most likely follow His disciples.

He mentions division in families. Is the message of Jesus anti-family as He says, that “He has come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and that a person’s enemies will be those of his own household”? No, Jesus doesn’t hate families, nor does He say that His disciples or believers must give up family ties in order to follow Him. Jesus is describing the results that may occur from the sword which He came to bring and wield.

You see, this sword which He brings is a powerful sword. It is not a sword and weapon used to cut people down and kill them mortally in the flesh, but His Sword is used to cut people down spiritually by the power of the Holy Spirit. This sword which Jesus has come to bring is the truth of God’s Word: His Law and His Gospel. St. Paul referred to God’s Word in such a way as he encouraged the Christians in Ephesians to be armored with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. Why would the Word of God be described as a sword? Scripture says in Hebrews 4: “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

The Word of God is not a stagnant monument to ancient opinions of a few people. The Word of God is living and active, dynamic and powerful to its purpose, a purpose which the world, our own flesh, and Satan do not like one bit. The Word of God pierces, slices, and cuts. It does not kill the mortal body but it does kill the flesh and the temptations and weaknesses of the flesh spiritually and morally.

This is the purpose of the Law which St. Paul described so well in our Epistle lesson for today. It’s wonderful to see how these readings fit together. The purpose of the Law is to cut away at the hypocrisy of sin, to cleave away at people’s false exteriors and expose that sin so that it might be put to death. The Law kills. It shows a sinner that they deserve to die according to the Law, and it shows the hypocrite that they too are a sinner and cannot save themselves according to the Law, but are only fooling themselves. The Law kills, but its proper purpose is to bring the hope of healing by the forgiveness of sin. The Law exposes the sin, so that the necessity of salvation is seen outside oneself, to repent, seeking God’s mercy. The Gospel is the message of forgiveness and mercy outside oneself, the message that Jesus is the only One who can bring true peace, not the temporary peace and prosperity of this world, but peace with the Father now and throughout eternity. Peace that could only be earned through Jesus Christ’s active keeping of the Law in all its righteous demands, going to the cross to be crucified and pierced for mankind’s iniquities. In and through His flesh, He undertook the sword of righteousness to make war against Satan, the world, and sinful flesh to bring about the victory of peace and the promise of eternal life through forgiveness of sin given through faith in Him. Jesus does promise peace but As Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27) And again: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Dear Friends, this is why Jesus said in today’s text, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The world and sinful flesh balk and rebel against that sword which is the Word of God. Our sinful flesh and the flesh of the world does not want to be subjected to the uncomfortable truth of God’s Word. We all, like our parents before us, going all the way back to Adam and Eve want to make ourselves: god. As little gods, humans make rules which make us feel better about ourselves, and then we make exceptions to those rules to excuse us when we don’t live up to our own self-made definitions of piety. This is why proclaiming God’s Word in its truth and purity is not popular and can seem divisive, it is because when the Law does its job of killing pride; pride doesn’t want to die. The flesh wants to keep on in its sin. It doesn’t matter to our flesh that God sees through the hypocrisy of lip service when we have every intention of returning to our sin: to our adulteries, our slanders, our blasphemies. To live in such a way is to live bearing fruit only for death: eternal death. The flesh doesn’t want to be rebuked, the flesh does not want to hear that it cannot contribute to salvation, therefore its response is often venom, hatred, and persecution. It doesn’t want to be subject to God’s Word and its active piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

This objection can only be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the power of that Word of God as it works through Scripture, through preaching, teaching, rebuking, reproving, so that when all hope and faith in self and sins of the flesh are put to death in repentance, then the sweet salve and balm of God’s Word is applied in Jesus Christ. This is what happened in your baptism, the old sinful flesh was put death and crucified with Christ and so that by His Holy Spirit Christ is now placed upon you and living in you.

This name of the Holy Triune and the mark of the cross marks you as belonging to Him, as a child of promise and forgiveness in Jesus’ name. As such, however, you will be marked by your heavenly father’s enemies as one to attack. Who are these enemies? St. Paul says “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Yes they will attack the truth of God’s Word, they will invite you to doubt whether God really said this or that. They will perhaps use family, friends, and coworkers to weaken the steadfastness of your confession, who will say you are being too hardnosed about your doctrine and confession. That you are a hater for rebuking sin, and calling truth truth. Satan will try to whisper doubt and confusion in understanding that the Gospel means nothing unless the Law is applied, yet you must also be able and willing to follow the Law proclamation with the life giving message of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins.

As Jesus said, I now say to you: Have no fear, do not be afraid: Look to the cross and remember Jesus Christ has overcome the world. So too by His strength and power He will bring you safely through all your troubles, hardships, pains, aches, and persecutions. As a believer you called to continue to battle against your flesh, the world, and the devil who would tempt you away from God. When you sin, you are called by God to examine yourself by His Word of the Law and repent as we do in confession and absolution. Then peace between you and God is restored in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are forgiven, you are His precious child. Continue to abide in Him and His Word and you will not be moved. Take and eat, take and drink, here is the true body and blood of Jesus Christ given for you for peace, forgiveness, and strength as you hold fast to His teaching until the end. He will give you the strength by His Word to confess His name. You are able to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” The Holy Spirit puts this armor on you as you come here to be served by Him in Word and Sacrament, as you pray, and as you come to Bible Study and be subjects and students of His Word, which is His sword. It is His living and active sword of the spirit acting to pierce the evil by the Law and give life and salvation by the Good News that Jesus Christ is crucified, resurrected and ascended. He has overcome the world for you, and by His forgiveness you have overcome the world already, and at the last day you will in fullness receive His glory, eternal peace, and resurrected victory in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) Jesus had compassion. The Greek is esplagxnisthay. This refers to a deep visceral pain deep within himself, a primal response from deep within the essence of His being. This, we are told, happened at a few different points of His Ministry. He suffers on behalf of his pathos for the suffering of people. This compassion of Jesus is one of the deepest, richest, and most comforting of His qualities for any believer in this life. He knows what you are going through and He suffers with and for you.

The reason for this compassion within Jesus in today’s Gospel is the spiritual state of the people. They were like unprotected sheep: Sheep without a shepherd. As such, they are described as wearied, harassed, the Greek implies that they were “cast away”. How? Why? What does this mean? It means that those who were supposed to be spiritual caregivers, leaders, and guides were not doing their job. Like all too often in the Old Testament, those whom God had established to be spiritual caregivers were shirking their duties. The Levites and the Priests were not teaching the people rightly, they had not been preparing them to live in humble faith and repentance.

The words harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd tell us that the people were the constant target of an evil bully. They were like a flock of sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves. The wolves constantly probing, nipping, consuming. Who were these? The false teachers. The Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees, religious movements whose members emphasized the study of the Law and Old Testament not for the sake of understanding God and His mercy and to grow in faith but for the sake of vain philosophy and pride in doing more works than others. As Jesus said in Matthew 22: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. (Mt. 23: 15, 23)

These false teachers, hypocrites, and blind guides, were the wolves seeking to take God’s Word, twist it and use it to deceive and destroy, while casting out as refuse and worthless those who lived simply by faith in the Messianic promises as repentant believers. Therefore Jesus groans for them and said to His disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Mt. 9:37-38)

With that, we are introduced to the 12 disciples and their names. These are they whom Jesus chose to be an answer to those wolves, and to supplant those who had been appointed to be shepherds but had only been unfaithful hirelings protecting God’s flock. Interesting fact here. Notice the language used. Only 2 Weeks ago on Trinity Sunday, we heard Jesus send out the disciples with the command: ” Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” But here Jesus sends them out saying: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Interesting. 2 things here. One is that this was temporary sending out of the disciples. This was like their internship or as we use in our churches, a type of vicarage. A time of trial for the disciples in a prophetic role which they would continue later. But this time also had a slightly different message content. It was a sending out to continue the message of preparation by repentance as John the Baptizer had proclaimed. It was to show that the kingdom of heaven was about to be proclaimed and redeemed in the very person and work of Jesus the Christ, the promised Messiah, the true and faithful Shepherd of God’s flock. The second sending was a message that redemption had been accomplished.

The second point regarding this is to answer the question “why were they sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel this time and not all nations?” Well, the reason is because these were already sheep. They were believers though weak and set upon by the wolves. This message was one of encouragement. Hang in there. Keep the faith. Do not give in to the temptations to despair or turn to a false religion of works, philosophy, or anything that Satan would try using to steal them away. Your Shepherd King is fighting for you and will deliver you from the Devil and his wolfish sons of hell!

Do you think Satan likes his lies to be debated? Do you think wolves who are feasting wish to have their lunch interrupted? O course not! That is why Jesus a few passage later in Mt. 10 tells the disciples: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

He warns them that the enemy will not be easily defeated by words and deeds, but that the Lord would protect and deliver them.

Dear Friends in Christ, the battle continues even today. There are today many false shepherds who are hirelings, false prophets, and wolves in the employ of Satan seeking to harass, destroy, and consume people in spiritual darkness, unbelief, and misbelief.
They know how to appeal to your heart and mind as you struggle in your own flesh with the wolf of human pride within. I struggle too. That voice which says “take the easy way, do your own thing” or “God doesn’t love you” or “I am pretty great”.

Jesus the Great and Good Shepherd knows what is going on in your hearts and minds even if nobody else knows or understands. Jesus in His compassion and love came for you. He came to take your sin, your troubles, the weight of your spiritual enemies off of you. Be comforted! Repent and believe that Jesus has died upon the cross for you to take your sins, to defeat the enemy. To keep you from being consumed by the wolves, to be taken to the depths of hell. Jesus became exhausted by His work and the attacks of the devil as He died so that you may be given strength by the forgiveness of sins which He has won for you by His sacrifice. He has won for you the kingdom of heaven, so that you may eternally rest in Him with the Father, Holy Spirit, the angels, and all the saints. But you are able to rest in Him now. You are able to be comforted now.

This is why He continues to send out His Word, why He sends out pastors today to be His shepherds striving to be faithful in proclaiming His Word, protecting His flocks, teaching them to fight back against the Devil, the World and the flesh, in the name of Jesus Christ who is your Savior Redeemer. He is the one who fulfilled God’s justice, by God’s mercy and faithfulness in Him.

You were lost, but God found you with His Word and brought you into His flock by Baptism into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There you received the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection and made you His child and part of the harvest of believers. Remember God’s promise to you here.

Be strengthened as His sheep huddled closely under the cross of your Shepherd, draw near to Him by hearing His Word in Scripture, hymnody, and the liturgy, wherein you hear His voice soothing and singing to you as He leads and guides you through this life as you grow in His wisdom, love, and faith.

Know that the victory of Jesus Christ over sin, death, and the devil is already yours. You have confessed your sins and have been absolved, now by the hand of His undershepherd, be fed the Holy things which bring Christ’s forgiveness for you. Be comforted as you eat and drink Christ’s body and blood in the bread and the wine. This is our victory feast in Christ Jesus. Here is where your exhaustion from the taunts and torments of the week may be shed from you and placed upon Christ once more.

Then go from here fearless even in the face of the daily battles that await. Your Father in heaven has sent you the Holy Spirit which you received in this Word and these gifts. He who has redeemed you will keep you in this faith. He who has spoken His Word to you has given you means to silence the Devil by confessing that faith which has been given unto you in Christ.
You are not helpless. You are not a sheep without a Shepherd. Your Shepherd Jesus Christ loves you and continues to not only “feel for you”, but He loves you and actively fights for you, intercedes for you, redeems you. Continue to confess and believe Jesus Christ crucified and raised and He who is faithful, will bring you safely to our eternal joy and rest: the full realization of the kingdom of heaven, in Jesus Christ, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas

Today’s Gospel lesson teaches us a spiritual truth while using rather conventional wisdom. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

How do you know that you are sick instead of well and should go to see the physician? Usually the symptoms. You have a fever? You must be sick. You have a cough, weakness, pain, etc., you must be sick. There you go. Of course, the sick should go to the doctor, to find out how to become well once more or at least alleviate the symptoms. The “well”, that is the “healthy” should probably save their money as they have no trouble that needs treatment.

Ah, but you see the trouble is this: some illnesses have few visible symptoms until it is far advanced. This is not to terrify you, but it is the truth. Recently, for example, 41 year old NASCAR driver Kyle Busch died of sepsis, which is the catastrophic collapse and shutting down of the body in response to some other issue or illness within the body. He had some symptoms, but he and his doctors did not take them seriously until it was too late. Many other things are like that. Heart Disease, Various cancers, etc. When it comes to our physical health, there may not be signs and symptoms, but then again there may be signs and symptoms, but a person may not recognize them, or they may choose to ignore them: “I’m just getting old”, “I don’t want to bother anyone”, “I’m tough, I can handle it”, “I hate doctors”. You see, they do not want to admit that there is a problem until it is too late.

Such is also the case when it comes to the Spiritual state of mankind. The difference between the Spiritual and the physical health of people is that I would argue that the symptoms of spiritual illness are far more obvious and definitive than many of our physical ailments. I am sure all of you know what this disease is: It is sin. What is the symptom? Death… and all its accompaniments: sickness, evil, frustration, sadness, thorns, poverty, greed, pride, etc. Sin is the falling short of God’s perfect healthy Law which Adam and Eve were first created to live. Before sin, there was nothing but good health of both the body and the soul. When Adam and Eve sinned, death entered into the picture. You see, there is a direct connection between the spirit and the body and its well being. They are not separate. Once the spirit and mind became tainted with sin by rebellion against the health of God’s pure Law, the bodies of humanity began to wear and bear the symptoms of sin and death even as God had warned them. Sin is the sickness: a disease that effects the mind, and then also the body ending in a terminal prognosis: death, death of the body here in time, but also eternal death and punishment in Hell. Holy Scripture reveals the diagnosis, the prognosis, and the solution. Creation itself, beautiful as it is, tells us that something is wrong through death and violent events.

There are some people who do not know how to read the signs within themselves, society, or creation correctly nor understand what exactly is wrong or what to do about it because they have not heard the truth of Holy Scripture. But there are others who simply do not care to deal with it, even if they have been told the why in Christian witness. They choose to ignore the symptoms of spiritual illness and collapse. There are many, who when told what is the matter and what is the cure still insist that they are well and/or have no need of help. They will use similar excuses as those who can detect something is amiss with their physical bodies but mysteriously refuse treatment. Perhaps some even enjoy and take pride in the symptoms of this disease of sin. Or they say something like: “I’m not that bad a sinner”. “I don’t need God. I can handle it myself.” “How dare you call me a sinner”?

That was the case in the Gospel lesson for today. Many tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus to eat with Him and speak with Him and His disciples. At least this was the perspective of the Pharisees. The dregs of society are going to Jesus and He doesn’t send them away? How could He be a teacher sent from God? Surely, He would not want to hang with such scum if He were a “Holy Man”. For it was to the attitude of the Pharisees that Jesus said: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Did Jesus mean that only some are spiritually sick with sin and need help from God? That those who are spiritually well don’t need Him? As though there is a way to become well without His help? NO. that is not what He meant. As Romans 3:23 says: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. But you see, the Pharisees saw themselves as well, as spiritually holy, healthy, hale, and hearty. They are doing just fine. “I can keep the Law, thank you very much, and to show just how holy I am, I and my brother Pharisees will add to God’s Law to show just how healthy and good we are.”

But it was all for show. As Jesus laments in Matthew 23: “The scribes and the Pharisees do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues.” (Mt. 23:5,6)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So, you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Mt. 23:27,28)
To humans, appearances are deceiving, but God knows the heart. God desires mercy and not sacrifice. In other words, outward sacrifice with a heart that is proud and unrepentant is not well though it may appear so to others. Just saying that you are holy and just, that you are a good person and spiritually healthy and does not help does not make it so. In fact, the road to “spiritual wellness” and health is going to the physician Jesus Christ in repentance, by admitting that you are not well, that you are a sinner, that you need the help that only God can give by His mercy. This is the sacrifice that pleases God as it is written in Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, you will not despise, O Lord.”

So, we also flee to the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. The Law has exposed our death sentence and the seriousness of our sin, but Jesus tells us the cure: believe in Him. Have faith in His mercy and love. He will take your sin and mine, drawing it from you, and infusing it upon Himself. That is why Jesus came to earth. To be the right and true sacrifice. The One who takes the punishment, the burden, the sickness, and wretched estate of sin from us and places it upon His pure and Holy self. He died upon the cross with those sins, and each time that we look to Him, confess and are absolved, He removes those sins from us once more and covers us with the robes of His righteousness by the forgiveness of sins.

We then gather at table fellowship with Jesus. Now the world may look and see sinners of various kinds and labels us as such, but now for the sake of Christ, we are forgiven, we are healed and healing. We are declared spiritually well, and by the Holy Spirit working in us faith, gratitude, joy, and hope, we are then also made well.

Good Works, those things which the Pharisees took so much pride in, are important. But good works are not done in pride of ourselves, nor to show how good and healthy we now think we are compared to others. Lives of believers should strive to show good works to God’s glory, to the praise of Him, to the good of our neighbors. As Jesus said in Matthew 5: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

So then “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” applies to us in relation to our neighbor. We who have received mercy from God, we who have received the medicine of immortality in the Sacrament of the Altar in the precious blood and body of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, how could we not also show the symptom of Spiritual health by being merciful to others? We seek to care for and love others as God has loved us. We seek to heal people in their physical or mental troubles by pointing to them to their greater Spiritual needs and their fulfillment in Christ and faith in Him from which all true health begins.

Though we are made spiritually well by the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ, we will always have need for our Physician. We return week after week to the place of His Divine Service. This is more than a check up with an earthly doctor. This is where we come tired, battered, and bruised by the ongoing attacks of sin in our bodies and souls, attacked by the devil, the world, and our flesh. Here the Lord once more applies the salve and healing ointment of baptismal remembrance, He comforts us with the forgiveness of sins and His love in Jesus Christ, He prescribes His Word and Supper, and because Jesus Christ has been crucified and raised triumphant, we have our prognosis: eternal life and joy forever for Jesus Christ’s sake and in His name, Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas