He Doesn't Weep for You

Tenth Sunday after Trinity

July 31, 2016

Luke 19:41-42

He Doesn't Weep for You

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Jesus wept. It is not surprising that He cried, for He is true man, but when He wept. Earlier He had wept as He approached the tomb of His friend Lazarus (John 11). We understand weeping on the death of a friend.

But today's weeping was in the middle of the Palm Sunday ride into Jerusalem. He was on the donkey, people were shouting His praises, and the whole world was at His feet. Perhaps the Devil's offer to give Him control of great cities of the world returned to His mind, but He still refused. He still chose the suffering of the cross, instead of glory and painless pomp, because He agreed with His Father, “Thy will be done.”

So in the middle of this spectacle, He begin to sob. He has heard and seen the destruction of this great city before it happens. Indeed the pace of the terrible news today is quickening. Death and destruction are daily in the news. And when the news and the sounds and the images reach our eyes and ears, we are moved to sadness. We may even weep for strangers we do not know and for the places we've never been.

Jesus is both timeless God and a Man in time. He knows the news of Jerusalem's destruction before it happens. He knew that in forty years the Roman army would set up siege works and surround the city, in response to a war of independence started by the Jews.

Their war didn't go well. Their city was destroyed, the massive amounts of people were killed, women and children, too, and the Temple was demolished, save for the western wall. Imagine if the British had won and decided to show us who was in charge by burning Philadelphia and Boston and New York. We would weep.

Jesus wept for this city, that so often had rejected His preachers. In the past He had sent men like Jeremiah the prophet to warn them of the destruction that was coming, if they did not repent and return to His promises. He told Jeremiah:

⁴“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? ⁵Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. ⁶I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. ⁷Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:4-7)

And the majority of those who heard Jeremiah rejected his call to repent and trust in God's requirements. What are these requirements? Keeping the commandments and save yourself through following God's rules. No. Christ fulfilled the rules for you. He loves God with all His heart and soul and mind and He gives us this love to His own people.

We trust in our received righteousness that Jesus gives us, even though we are continually stubborn and hard-hearted. We are very much like the Jews of Jeremiah and Jesus' time. We go our own way like a charging war horse in battle. Instead of listening to the Master on our saddle, we go our own way. Do our minds wander at church? Do we feel that we are doing God a favor by even coming? Were you forced or bribed to come to church? Do I even bother to think about the sermon or prayers or the hymns I hear on Sunday morning? Do I find time to binge Netflix, but can't set aside five minutes for reading a few stories about Jesus' life?

So yes, we are more stupid than storks and other birds. Let us weep for ourselves; let us be ashamed of our sin.

But Jesus doesn't cry for you. He weeps not for you because you will never die. And if you die, for His sake you will live forever. He cries for the Jerusalems and the Bostons and the Rios and the Nices of this world, those living in all these cities who go their way and blind themselves to Jesus. So He weeps and so may we over these lost souls.

But rejoice! He doesn't cry for you!

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Alleluia! Amen!

Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Ninth Sunday after Trinity

July 24, 2016

Luke 16:1-9

Parable of the Shrewd Manager

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. (Luke 16:8)

There once was a rich man who had hired a manager to take care of his money. But after some time word got back to the master that this manager was wasting his money.

So the master called in the manager and asked him, “What is this I hear about you?” He was hoping that his manager would panic and spill the beans. But the manager keept cool. Like a seasoned suspect in police custody, he didn't say anything. So the master gave up and told him that he's fired. He wanted the manager to turn in his paperwork and get out.

The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ (Luke 16:3-4)

The manager analyzed his situation and realized that he needed friends. And he came up with a plan to make some friends fast.

So he called in each one of his master’s debtors [one at a time].

He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

He replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’

The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

He replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’

He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ (Luke 16:5-7)

These debtors were renters on the master's land. They paid their rent with goods like olive oil and wheat. The manager knew that as long as these renters still thought that he was the manager, he could act quickly, giving them deep discounts to their rent, and show himself and his master to be compassionate and caring.

So here's the rub. The master is stuck. The manager has returned the books, as requested, and it's quite possible that they both can hear cheering down in the village. It's a celebration in honor of their kind and generous master who has slashed their rents. If the master fires the manager now and then reverses the discounted bills (which the master had ever legal right to do, since the manager had been fired when he made the changes), the village will speak of the master as the old cold man in the big house on the hill who only cares about money. So this is what the master did.

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. (Luke 16:8a)

The master was impressed by how well the manager had analyzed his situation, determined what he needed most in the world, and then acted and boldly. The manager had also trusted that his master would honor these deep discounts. The manager knew what he would do.

And so Jesus ended His story and got to His point.

For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. (Luke 16:8b)

Unbelievers are more shrewd than us. They analyze their situation, they determine what they need most in all the world, and they act boldly and decisively to get it. So many unbelievers say they want to be rich and then they get busy making money. Everything else comes second. Others want to save the world from pollution or hunger or immorality and then they commit their lives boldly to that end.

Unbelievers are consistent, but they have based their analysis on false assumptions. They think that the things of this world are the most important things in this life. They are wrong; they don't see the big picture.

Believers have the big picture. This world is temporary; it will end soon. Jesus is coming back, hopefully today; until He returns, He is with us now through His Gospel Sacraments.

So all the money we have now isn't ours. It is on loan from Jesus to us to use wisely. Like the manager of the story, we are taking care of someone else's money. Like the manager of the story, we often mismanage our Master's money. We assume that the money we have is ours to make ourselves comfortable and happy. It is truly a miracle that knowing how we treat God's money, worshiping the gift, instead of the Giver, that Jesus still gives us money.

Jesus gives us brains and hands and bodies to make money through our work. This money is put into your care for a short time. (Just think of how many $20 bills will go in and out of your purse in 80 or 90 years.) So use your money shrewdly. Analyze your situation, determine what you need most in the world, and then act boldly.

Our situation was grim. We are sinners who were born hating Jesus. We thought that everyone around us should worship and serve us. But then everything changed, when your Pastor baptized you and spoke you into life through the Words of Jesus: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And he keeps on bringing Jesus to you every Sunday: “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is using the pastor's voice to say, “I love you.”

Everything looks different now. We look around shrewdly and see not people who should serve us, but neighbors we get to serve. We get to use “our” money to take care of them. After the receiving of God's forgiveness together, there is nothing less important than caring for the physical needs of others. And so we act boldly and decisively to take care of them.

So look around and be shrewd. First, analyze your situation. You are a forgiven baptized soul whom Jesus has entrusted with many gifts and some money. Now determine what is most important in all the world: receiving Jesus for the salvation of your soul. Now act boldly and decisively with this joy with the promise of Jesus ringing in your ears:

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9)

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Alleluia! Amen!

Buying without Money Sounds Like the Gospel

Eighth Sunday after Trinity

July 17, 2016

Isaiah 55:1

Buying without Money Sounds Like the Gospel

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

We never hear of Jesus selling anything. We might assume that He sold furniture as a carpenter in order to care for His mother, but during His ministry we never hear of any selling on His part. He gave His life as a ransom for many, but He never sold Himself.

Indeed Jesus is the opposite of a seller. Sellers aren't trusted because they so often bend the truth or omit it. They might play on your greed and exploit your lust. Now there are honest salesmen and when you find one, you treasure him like an honest auto mechanic, but the expection proves the rule.

But Jesus doesn't sell. He is the honest Man. We note how often His listeners go away disappointed or even angry because He doesn't tell them what they want to hear. He doesn't bend the truth to sell Himself to them; He doesn't leave out part of who He is to suit His audience. Instead He gave them what they needed, which was the truth, the whole wonderful truth.

He is the God's Servant, who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He came to die; He came to rise. He came to feed us with Himself.

And so He calls out to us:

¹“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

(Isaiah 55:1 NIV 1984)

Dearly beloved, come, buy without money. But how do you buy without money? You might think of buying on credit, but then you still need to pay. The bill is still due, and usually means you end up paying more in the end. You might think of payments in kind: you don't have money, but you can work off your bill.

But Jesus says buy without money. He rejects our payment schemes: He doesn't need your money and your hard work isn't enough to pay the bill. The bill is massive. All your sin, arrogance, false humility, doubts, lust, and greed, and more.

So Jesus' solution is to pay your bill for you. Without gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent sufferings and death. Simply put, buying without money is the Gospel, Jesus' death and resurrection paid for you and credited to you.

Buying without money isn't really a thing. Attempts to make it real always involve a trick. But Jesus dying for you is no trick. Indeed buying without money, getting something for free, is the definition of a GIFT.

So, come, buy His Baptism for you.

Come, buy His word of forgiveness.

Come, buy His holy body and blood.

All without money, effort, or goodness from you, because it is ALL from Him.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Alleluia! Amen!

Seven Loaves to Feed the Stomachs of Eager Hearers

Seventh Sunday after Trinity

July 10, 2016

Mark 8:1-9a

Seven Loaves to Feed the Stomachs of Eager Hearers

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

A couple of chapters ago—in Mark 6—Jesus feed the 5,000. Now He repeats this miracle for His eager listeners who devoured every word that came from His mouth.

In Mark 8 Jesus had again attracted a large crowd who eagerly listened to Him . . . for three days! His teaching was God's truth and those who heard His words received comfort and peace. Three days and this after some of them had come from long distances. While many of them had very likely brought some food, all of that had run out. That tells us that they hadn't planned to stay for so long listening to Jesus. But they couldn't leave—they didn't want to risk missing anything that Jesus had to say.

Just to provide a small example of this kind of attentiveness, let's mention the days before DVRs and Netflix. In the days before you were able to pause live television, you had to wait until the commercials to get a drink of water or use the bathroom. If you left the room, you returned as soon as possible. You didn't want to miss a minute of the show.

This was the attitude of the crowd, but they were focused on eternal words from God's eternal Son! We might think of Mary and Martha here, when Jesus came to their house. Mary sat and listened to Jesus, while Martha prepared the food. Martha become upset with Mary, partly because she, too, wanted to listen, but, well, somebody's got to do the cooking.

So there they all are, four thousand men and more, eager ears with hearts like Mary's, who would rather listen to God with empty stomachs than to go and buy bread and risk missing anything Jesus said.

And Jesus had compassion on them. Perhaps some of these hearers were also fed as part of the 5,000 whom Jesus fed earlier. Indeed Jesus had compassion on that crowd, too.

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things. (Mark 6:34)

They were hungry for the Gospel, the teaching that Christ came to not be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He came to ransom His life, so they could have peace. And they couldn't get enough of His peaceful words.

It's hard to tell the attitude of the disciples here. They still seem a bit befuddled about the situation they were in yet again. Their reply to Jesus is a bit equivocal, “We're out in the boonies—there aren't any bread stores out here.” Comparing their conversation from the earlier feeding of the 5,000, they object only once this time. Was this a sign that they were learning?

In any case, Jesus chose to use His disciples again as He prepared to perform a miracle of bread. God took the seven loaves on hand and created enough for 4,000 to have enough and then some. A fast miracle for hungry people.

Look at the loaf of bread on your table. That's a slow miracle. It is only there because our Father in heaven gives us our daily bread even without our asking. He preserves us by richly and daily providing food and drink and everything we need for body and life. He causes the sun to shine and rain to fall and farmers to have hands and wisdom and give life to kids who grow up to be bakers and grocers.

The world is filling up with more and more who are agitated and suspicious. They deny their own sins and damn everyone else. They chase after justice and peace apart from Jesus, and so they tragically have no justice and no peace.

But with Jesus, we have it all, even in our turbulent world. Whether the miracle is fast or slow, the true body of Christ or seven loaves of bread, Christ our Savior is behind it all, bringing us all good things. And as His people we hang on His every word for our peace and comfort.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Alleluia! Amen!

Jesus Played by the Rules for You

Sixth Sunday after Trinity

July 3, 2016

Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus Played by the Rules for You

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

If you play, you have to play by the rules. This is true for basketball, mortgages, and political primaries. But what happens when they change the rules. For a while you don't know where to shoot your three-pointers from, you don't know how many years it's going to take to pay off your house, you don't know which district you get to vote in. But humans are good at making up rules and learning new ones.

God's Commandments are His rules that never change. They are simple and straight-forward. And no one can win by playing by these rules. Winning means entering the kingdom of heaven; the rules say be perfect.

My sinful flesh wants me to think that perfection means avoiding really bad stuff: “I've never murdered anyone.” Maybe I even adds extra rules: drive very carefully, recycle plastic, eat healthy food. And I can feel very good about how well I am keeping myself and others safe.

But feeling good and right in my own mind isn't always the same as being good and right before God. Jesus said:

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

How right and good were the Pharisees? They were a group of religious practitioners who wanted to good and right. They believed that observing all the rules down to the last dotted i and last crossed t would guarantee their goodness and rightness.

But their goodness and rightness didn't go far enough. They held grudges and hated Jesus, but they still felt they were avoiding murder. They spoke to Jesus, not to save Him, but to expose Him as a false prophet and then have the Roman authorities do the murdering for them. Even after Jesus was crucified, most Pharisees doubtlessly told themselves that they hadn't murdered Jesus. They had played by the rules and they thought they had won.

Jesus taught that no one can play by His rules.

²¹You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21-22)

We were in danger of hellfire. For this very reason Jesus came to keep the rules for us. During His life and on the cross, He prayed for His enemies and forgave them. He was good and right. And then through Baptism He made us good and right before His Father in heaven.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:4)

So the final ruling about us is based not on our rightness and goodness, but on the righteousness of Jesus that He has given to us.

The rules of this world are changing, but His decision about you will never change. You are His righteous brothers and sisters.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Alleluia! Amen!