He Turned the Other Cheek

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

February 23, 2014

Matthew 5:38-48

He Turned the Other Cheek

In the name of Jesus.

I.

He went the extra mile.

They demanded that He go a mile or two to stand trial. He choose to go with them to His death and our salvation.

On the other hand, His disciples ran an extra mile or two, as they deserted Him as fast as they could go.

He turned the other cheek.

They slapped Him on His face, and He didn't leave, but instead stayed and turned His precious face to endure more punches, slaps, and abuse.

On the other hand, His disciple took out a sword and cut off the ear of an enemy.

He gave them the shirt off His back.

He allowed His enemies to take His shirt and cloak, which they then divided amongst themselves.

On the other hand, they had given Him their cloaks onto the road He traveled by donkey just days earlier, but now no one offered Him anything, except sour vinegar wine and their gawking and shouts of abuse.

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:38-48)

II.

David loved his enemy. His enemy was King Saul. David had risked his life to defend Saul's life and reputation. He had helped Saul when Saul had been sick. Saul repaid David's love by trying to pin him to a wall with a spear (1 Samuel 18). He failed and David got away.

And so we get to this wild incident of David's nighttime raid of Saul's camp. Saul was encamped because he was hunting David. And then David sneaks into the camp and steals the king's spear and water jug. Huh?

David should have killed Saul. No one would have objected to this very rational way to end this conflict. In the first place, David was already the rightful king of Israel—Samuel had annointed David king ten chapters ago. But David (unlike all the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) refused to take any shortcuts as he followed the promises of Jesus.

And above all, David would have just been following the age-old counsel that lives in the heart of every human: “Eye for an eye.” Saul had tried to kill David more than once. David had every right to do unto Saul as Saul had done unto him. Abishai knew it. He's telling David, “Just let me at him!! I'll do it for you; your hands will be clean. And I'll even do it humanely. One stab and he's gone—he won't feel a thing!”

David said no. Abishai must have been in shock. Or angry, “Why did we risk our lives to steal his water bottle?!?” If John Wayne had snuck into Berlin in 1942, and found himself standing next to a sleeping Adolf Hitler, do think his trusty sidekick, Ward Bond, is going to be cool with him shaving off his mustache? I don't think so.

III.

We rarely hold the life of our mortal enemy in our hands, but we do live and work closely with some people that sure seem like they're out to get us. (Or maybe they really are.) Maybe it's your spouse or your kid. Maybe it's your professor or your project leader.

We know that we're supposed to turn the other cheek, but this fact doesn't help turn anything. It just kills us. That's what Jesus is doing here. He's killing you. He gets in close and takes a spear and is pinning you to the wall. You can't get away. The Law that demands that you be perfect won't let you get away. You were so sure that life was all about you, but Jesus killed that person. So now what happens?

The Savior Jesus who killed you with the Law is the one who gets down into the grave with you. He died.

And then He rose. And He made you alive, too. A new person. A new you who is alive in the joy that everything isn't about you; it's about Him.

Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life. For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. (Romans 6:4-5)

He went the extra mile.

He turned the other cheek.

He gave them the shirt off His back.

He loved His closest enemy—you.

He died for His closest enemy—you.

He rose for His closest enemy—you.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Jesus Accomplished the Impossible for You

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 16, 2014

Matthew 5:21-37

with Luke 18:10-12

Jesus Accomplished the Impossible for You

In the name of Jesus.

I.

Easy Law

The Pharisee in Jesus' parable had it right: Keeping God's Law is pretty easy! Here's the story Jesus told.

Two men went up to the temple complex to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ (Luke 18:10-12)

He did some things for God. In his case, he didn't eat a couple of times a week; he was very generous with his money. He didn't cheat people out of their money. He didn't sleep around. He went to church, so he's a pretty good guy. He's a guy who was leading a blameless life, so blameless that an investigator vetting him for public office would come away pleased. No skeletons in his closet. He could be a pastor—a man who lead a very decent public life.

And God should be happy with that, he thought. The Pharisee had done God a favor by living a good life; God was in his debt.

II.

Spotting the Speck

It's easy to spot someone who's puffed up with themselves. Clearly, this Pharisee was in love with himself and thought that God should feel the same way. But if you'd pointed this out to the Pharisee, I think he'd be upset. “No,” he'd say, “I don't think I'm puffed up! How dare you judge me!”

Well, Jesus did. Jesus made it clear that the Pharisee went home without any righteousness to his name. On the other hand, Jesus sent the greedy tax collector home justified and righteousness. So what's the point of His story?

It's the same point of today's appointed Gospel. Jesus, as He promised, came to fulfill the Law, so that it would destroy any false human hope of possible salvation through the Law. He came to make the Law impossible for you.

Never killed anyone? So what? You've dreamed about it. You lose your temper. You hate and hold grudges. You talk angry about others.

Never cheated on your spouse? Jesus said

that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)

There's no wiggle room here. There's nowhere to hide. I'd never sleep with Bathsheba, says the Pharisee inside us. But truthfully we've sinned as we've had the opportunity. You aren't royalty, so you can't screw up royally. You don't have the power to point at someone and have them, but you have the power of the keyboard.

III.

Hold Your Fire

The Law says to us imperfect failures: “Be perfect, think perfect, talk perfect.” We had a decent fire going, mostly smoke, until the Law came around and dumped a bucket of ice water on it. We'd try to negotiate with the Law, we'd try to re-start the fire and coax some embers to re-light. But then Jesus came around like Smokey the Bear and stamped out our pathetic little sparks into dust and ashes.

But He doesn't leave us out in the wilderness to fend for ourselves. He says, “Come with Me to My fire. It's warm and cheerful. When the ranger comes by and asks whose fire it is, you can him that it's yours.” And it won't be a lie, because He's given it to you to be yours. It's a gift because you've done nothing to deserve it.

The Law isn't easy; it's impossible! Jesus told us that the Law is about one word: Love. Love perfectly, fully, without holding back, and you'll save yourself. But we never do, so He always does.

Jesus came to fulfill the Law, to keep it, to accomplish it, not for Himself, but for you. The wisest and most mature Christians go to church like the wretched, yet righteous, tax collector in Jesus' story. He went to church and said

God, have mercy on me—a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Remaining Salty in Sugar Land

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 9, 2014

Matthew 5:13-20

Remaining Salty in Sugar Land

In the name of Jesus.

I.

Salt is good and does good things. It gives food flavor, it melts ice, it preserves food—before refrigeration, civilization would be much smaller without salt making food last much longer. This is why Jesus compares Christians to salt.

You are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)

Jesus compares you to salt because you are good and you do good things. Salt has to be salty. Good people have to be good.

Right away, it needs to be said that good people have to be good, but not to be saved. Good people have to be good, because they are good people. Salt has to be salty because it is salt. Light has to shine because it is light.

The Word of God, Jesus Christ, has made you into a good person by His Word, and because of Him, you will produce good fruit. You will be salty, because that's what salt does.

II.

Now salt and sugar look the same. Everyone discovers this sooner or later that they taste very differently. In the same way, believers and unbelievers both do many good things. Believers and unbelievers can rescues babies from gas stations or give food to a food pantry or help their child with her math homework. But these “good works” start and end in different places, as distinct as sugar and salt.

The salt of the earth, Christians, rescue and give and help because they are alive through the Word of God. The sugar of the earth, non-Christians, can mimic good works, but in eyes of Jesus, they aren't salt and aren't salty.

“And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of Me.’ Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:40-46)

III.

Again, let us be clear: the righteous go into eternal life, because we have been given righteousness, from Christ to us through His Word. But until we are called home to heaven, we let this righteousness shine. We salt the earth.

We defend life. If we see murder, we try and stop it. It's simple as the Fifth Commandment: Don't murder; instead protect life. Don't murder by supporting abortion clinics; protect life by supporting pro-life clinics that show mothers their babies on ultrasound and offer living options for their children.

IV.

Here's the tough part: the sugar is going to call the salt poison. For example, a student from my days of being a high school teacher just wrote an article about being proudly addicted to alcohol. He wrote about how his church and family had preached and taught that being an alcoholic was dangerous for both body and soul. He condemned his church-run schools for speaking against alcoholism, so that he never felt safe admitting who he really was.

The article—really a testimonial—was filled for praise for his new friends and school, a Lutheran college in Minnesota. His pieced started by describing last year's Senior Day—he played football—when he came out as an alcoholic by walking onto midfield with a bottle of booze in hand. He exulted in his teammates and coaches who applauded and encouraged his addiction. They were the good guys; his own father, family, and pastor, who had spoken out against his love of alcohol, were condemned as poison.

Sugar always tries to call itself good and is always shouting that the salt is bad.

This news wearies my soul. I knew Kyle; he was a nice young man. He is probably a nice young man still, as far as that goes. But sadly, this is exactly what Jesus spoke about.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? (Matthew 5:13)

Kyle's soul isn't in danger because of his love of alcohol; he's in eternal danger because he loves himself. No one is in hell because they were alcoholics or because of any other sinful behavior. All the sugar in hell is there because they loved themselves and called it salt.

There is still hope for Kyle. His only hope is in Christ, who reveals Himself through Word and Sacraments. Kyle can't be saved by throwing away his bottle; good behavior or bad behavior has never saved anyone. The salt's prayer for the all sugar of the world is that the Word of God takes sugar and turns it into salt. Kyle's hope is that the Word of God takes his belief in himself and transforms it into belief in the true God.

V.

The job of salt is be salt. The job of believers is to believe. Sugar is not helped when the salt starts calling some types of sugar okay. If the salt start saying that everything is salt, then the salt has lost its taste and is worthless.

Sugar calls evil good and good evil;

salt calls a thing what it really is. (Luther, paraphrased)

You are salt. You used to be sugar, but Christ turned you into salt. And that's just the beginning of His mercy for you. And now you by His mercy get to give away the gift of speaking the truth in love to others, just as He has spoken to you.

You are salt; be salty.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

I Depart in Peace Because He Is Enough

The Presentation of our Lord

February 2, 2014

Luke 2:22-40

I Depart in Peace Because He Is Enough

In the name of Jesus.

I.

Simeon and Anna were people who were always at church. In Jerusalem the church of the Jews, the only church, was the Temple. Before the Baby Jesus was brought into its courts, it had seen thousands of people come and go. But Simeon and Anna were unique. They were the Noahs of the Temple.

People must have asked Noah why he was building a huge barge in his backyard. Because he was waiting, he'd tell them. Waiting for what? they'd ask. For God to keep His promise, he'd say. And they saw—even though they all doubted him—that he obeyed the promise of God.

When the Temple pastors, the priests, came over to talk to Simeon, he no doubt told them what he was doing there. “I'm waiting for the Consolation of Israel,” he'd say.

In the time that Anna and Simeon spent at the Temple, all heard and could see that they were praying for the Lord's Anointed One, the Christ. They were waiting, like Noah, for God to keep His promise. And that was enough for them.

II.

And on Jesus' 40th day, their waiting was over. Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to present Him to the Lord God. This might seem strange or redundant since Jesus is God. But so much of what Jesus does and has done to Him seems redundant to His creatures. He is the Lord in the flesh; they present Him to the Lord. He is the perfectly clean non-sinner; He is baptized. But He does these things so that He might step into our tangled lives to cut into the righteousness of God, His righteousness.

Jesus needed to do two things, or rather be two things, to make us right with God. He had to be punished for our sin and make right what we put wrong.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

He also had to obey the righteous ways of God with His thoughts, His words, and His actions. He purposely put Himself under the relentless demands of His own right and wrong to save us.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Galatians 4:4-5)

He was presented to the Lord so that He might serve us with His full obedience. He does this because we are—above all—always trying to get away from Him and escape back into our goodness. By nature we do not wait for the Father.

III.

By grace Simeon was waiting. Now most assume that Simeon was an old man. Since we are wrapped in the things of this world—today is indeed the high holy day of sport and materialism in a delicious bowl—we assume that only an old man would say what Simeon said. Basically we hear an old man saying, “Oh good, my bucket list is complete. I saw Jesus. It's okay to die now.” We assume that only the very old or very sad should think about spiritual things. We think it's unhealthy for anyone else to think about these things.

We show this assumption because prayer is not enough for us. We become so tangled up in the many good things of this world that prayer doesn't seem like it would ever be enough. But perhaps how we see prayer isn't helping us see how valuable it is.

Prayer is not making a list and submitting it to our Santa God. It is repeating through word and song the promises of Christ out loud to ourselves and others.

Simeon wasn't telling the people passing by that he had just asked God for a long life; he was telling them that he would live long enough to see Jesus. That was his prayer. And when God answered his prayer, Simeon held Jesus in his arms, he said, “It is enough.” And when you see Jesus in the Sacrament and return to your place after holding Him in your hand, you sing the same, “It is enough. He is enough.”

“Lord, now You let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people: a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.