Reformation Sunday
at St. Paul's Lutheran Church
October 31, 2010
The Righteous Will Live By Faith
Romans 1:17
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends,
The two most important events in the last 2,010 years are the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and, coming in at a distant second place, the Reformation. An atheist who's had a pint of good Wittenberg beer has to be honest and admit that these events changed the world. If you really wanted to write a good sci-fi thriller, get into your Way Back Machine or DeLorean and travel to the year 1517 and remove the doors of the Castle Church, so that Martin Luther, the Augustinian friar, can't post his 95 Theses.
But do you really want to know why the Reformation happened? Luther posting the 95 Theses is a good touchstone for the Reformation, just like the Fourth of July is a good reference point for the Revolutionary War. We celebrate these days not because King George threw in the towel or because the pope took off his tiara, but because they have become days that we can point to as a bookmark into history.
So even though the 95 Theses were important, it wasn't Luther's concerns about bribing God with money—indulgences—that God used to spark the Reformation. For years good Catholic folks had been fed up with the false teaching that you could use money to buy forgiveness from the Church. Martin Luther was hardly original in his thinking on that point.
Here's secret of the Reformation. It happened because Luther went head-to-head with the question: “What is God's righteousness?” This is the key question of the Reformation.
For his whole life, Herr Doktor Luther had been taught and he believed that God's righteousness was the Law. He believed that whenever Holy Scriptures talked about God's righteousness—and they talk about it a lot—it meant that you needed to be perfect just like God is perfect (see Matthew 5:48). It was a demand to be holy without assistance in being holy. In fact God's righteousness was a death sentence.
And this freaked him out far more than any haunted house or corn maze. You can walk out of those; you can't just walk away from God's righteousness and what that means. Luther was a smart guy who was honest with himself—he knew he was bad by nature and by deed. His unrighteousness was the haunted house he lived in, day after day, with no escape.
Luther hated himself and hated God for what he thought God was doing to him. He hated the demand to be righteousness like God. Near the end of his life he wrote about his past,
“I hated that word, the righteousness of God... [meaning that] God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner... Though I lived as a monk with reproach, I felt, with the most disturbed conscience imaginable, that I was a sinner before God. I did not love, indeed I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners and secretly I was angry with God.”1
He hated righteousness... until he read Romans 1:17 and read it again and again and again and the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to the secret of the Reformation.
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed,
a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,
just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
When the Bible talks about God's righteousness, it means that God was, is, and always will be righteous and that He demands every human be just like Him. But God's righteousness also means the righteousness that God gives to you in Christ. God's righteousness is the Gospel.
This means that instead of going up to heaven and trying to grab righteousness from God, Christ came down to earth. You can't do a song and dance that will make God like you. But so to speak, Jesus sang and danced for you, in your place. He did this by living up to His own standard of righteousness and then transferring His righteousness to your favor. He transfers His righteousness to your favor through the Sacraments, when He washes away your sin and gives you His holiness in Baptism, Absolution, and Communion.
The secret of the Reformation—that God's righteousness isn't a demand, but a promise—changed everything for Luther. Now instead of trying to earn God's righteousness, he trusted that he already possessed God's righteousness in Christ and through the Sacraments. Instead of gazing at his navel, searching for something good, by faith in Christ he looked to his Savior's cross and to his holy Baptism. These are the concrete events in the world's history and in his own life and yours that changed everything.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood...
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law...
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him. (Romans 3:21-25, 28; 4:4-8)
Now that the secret of the Reformation was no longer a secret, Luther read the rest of Romans and the Psalms and Galatians and indeed the whole Bible with new eyes of faith. And as he read God's Word, he saw the most important event in history with joy and gladness, because it was the day he died to sin and was raised to life in Christ through Baptism. He and you and all believers are righteous and will live by faith!
Praise be to Christ, who is literally our Righteousness!
Amen!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
10/10/10
Slaves to Righteousness
Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Dear friends,
As I prepared for the sermon, I went over my notes on sermon text, Romans 6. I found a poem in margin of my notes that I had taken seven years ago. It is the poem Invictus and it ends like this:
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Invictus was written in 1875 by William Ernest Henley. This poet is convinced that he's in complete control of his future. This statement is based on personal observation, but concerning the one things that he needed, he was dead wrong. Humans do have ability to pick which crop to grow and who to marry and even sometimes correct injustice from a time. But when it comes to salvation, we are not in control. So the reason I made a note of this poem next to Romans 6:18 in my class notes was because this poem and verse 18 are opposites.
Mr. Henley the poet wrote, “I am the master of my fate.” St. Paul wrote, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18). The poet thought that he was in control of his fate. Paul knew the truth. We used to be slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to righteousness.
Slaves don't control anything. They are told what to do and when to do it. So slaves hope that they have a good master. But when your master is evil, life's bad.
St. Paul talked about this bad life. He described it from personal experience.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:14-25)
When we were conceived in our mother's womb, we were sold into slavery. And we were slaves to our evil impluses and desires. Our old master was the devil. But it goes deeper. Our sinful nature was our master, too. Like Paul said, he wanted good, but he did evil. There was a civil war going on inside of Paul, but it was a war Paul would have lost on his own.
But see how Paul ends? Not in defeat, but in victory! Who won? Jesus did and so did Paul because of Jesus. Jesus traded places with Paul on the cross. On the cross Jesus took responsibility for Paul by being punished for Paul's wretchedness. But Jesus also happily gave Paul the credit for Jesus' own lifetime of righteousness and perfection and goodness. God now looks at Paul and sees Jesus.
When we were born, we were slaves to sin. When we were baptized, we were born again as slaves to righteousness. Our new master, Jesus Christ, bought us. Dr. Luther said it best.
[Jesus] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.
All this He did that I should be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He has risen from death and lives and rules eternally. (Luther's Explanation to the Second Article)
We serve Jesus in righteousness. Because Jesus has set us free from our slavery to sin, we are now different kind of slaves. In the upper room on the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas, Jesus said to His disciples, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. This is My command: Love each other.” (John 15:14-17)
Slaves to righteousness love to love and love to do good. But the most important thing we share is our Master, who calls Himself our Friend and who died as our Savior. We were slaves to sin, but now we thank our Savior Jesus for our new status as slaves to Him, our righteousness, the One who God sees when He looks at us.
Therefore, I speak to you on behalf of Christ, our many sins have been forgiven and therefore we love much. Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace (cf. Luke 7).
Amen.
10/10/10
Slaves to Righteousness
Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Dear friends,
As I prepared for the sermon, I went over my notes on sermon text, Romans 6. I found a poem in margin of my notes that I had taken seven years ago. It is the poem Invictus and it ends like this:
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Invictus was written in 1875 by William Ernest Henley. This poet is convinced that he's in complete control of his future. This statement is based on personal observation, but concerning the one things that he needed, he was dead wrong. Humans do have ability to pick which crop to grow and who to marry and even sometimes correct injustice from a time. But when it comes to salvation, we are not in control. So the reason I made a note of this poem next to Romans 6:18 in my class notes was because this poem and verse 18 are opposites.
Mr. Henley the poet wrote, “I am the master of my fate.” St. Paul wrote, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18). The poet thought that he was in control of his fate. Paul knew the truth. We used to be slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to righteousness.
Slaves don't control anything. They are told what to do and when to do it. So slaves hope that they have a good master. But when your master is evil, life's bad.
St. Paul talked about this bad life. He described it from personal experience.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:14-25)
When we were conceived in our mother's womb, we were sold into slavery. And we were slaves to our evil impluses and desires. Our old master was the devil. But it goes deeper. Our sinful nature was our master, too. Like Paul said, he wanted good, but he did evil. There was a civil war going on inside of Paul, but it was a war Paul would have lost on his own.
But see how Paul ends? Not in defeat, but in victory! Who won? Jesus did and so did Paul because of Jesus. Jesus traded places with Paul on the cross. On the cross Jesus took responsibility for Paul by being punished for Paul's wretchedness. But Jesus also happily gave Paul the credit for Jesus' own lifetime of righteousness and perfection and goodness. God now looks at Paul and sees Jesus.
When we were born, we were slaves to sin. When we were baptized, we were born again as slaves to righteousness. Our new master, Jesus Christ, bought us. Dr. Luther said it best.
[Jesus] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.
All this He did that I should be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He has risen from death and lives and rules eternally. (Luther's Explanation to the Second Article)
We serve Jesus in righteousness. Because Jesus has set us free from our slavery to sin, we are now different kind of slaves. In the upper room on the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas, Jesus said to His disciples, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. This is My command: Love each other.” (John 15:14-17)
Slaves to righteousness love to love and love to do good. But the most important thing we share is our Master, who calls Himself our Friend and who died as our Savior. We were slaves to sin, but now we thank our Savior Jesus for our new status as slaves to Him, our righteousness, the One who God sees when He looks at us.
Therefore, I speak to you on behalf of Christ, our many sins have been forgiven and therefore we love much. Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace (cf. Luke 7).
Amen.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 3, 2010
Jesus Brings More of Everything
Revelation 2:8-11
To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Dear friends,
The final book of the Bible is a book that is filled with comfort. Jesus' revelation to St. John is a message of free forgiveness and accomplished victory. We see this victory that was won on the cross when Jesus introduces Himself as the Savior who died and came to life again.
He died and came back to life. He died and came back to life. This is too good to be true, but God does impossible things. So He died and came back to life. This is Jesus talking and when He speaks, we listen.
And this is what Jesus says. He tells you that He knows you, just like He knew each individual believer who lived in Smyrna around AD 90. (Smyrna was a port city on the eastern coast of Turkey. It was the location of an early Christian church.)
Jesus says that He knows your problems, just like He knew the problems in Smyrna. And listen carefully: He doesn't know about your problems; He knows your problems. We often know about the problems of others. And maybe for a moment we feel bad. But Jesus' concern and empathy—feeling the misery of others—isn't a fleeting feeling. He knows our problems, because He has experienced the same problems and suffered from them, too.
Hebrews 2:9, 17, 18 says that Jesus suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone... For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
Jesus knows how you suffer. And in this revelation to the church in Smyrna, Jesus knew the suffering that came to them because they were Christians. This kind of suffering is different than the suffering that believers and unbelievers alike endure from disease, calamity, and other people.
Jesus is telling those in Smyrna, “You are standing firm in My hidden glory because I have made you My people. Stand firm until this suffering is over. What waits for you when this is over is My glory made visible in you to all the earth.” Here's how He actually said it: I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!
We are poor and rich at the same time. We look poor to the world. We look poor to our children and friends. We even look poor to ourselves. We look poor to everyone because bad things do happen to us.
The Christians in Smyrna faced evil words, jail time, and violence. Today we face cruel words. Christians face these things because we follow Jesus. We look poor because we are Christians. Our lives are more difficult because we are Christians.
When an unbelieving relative dies, we can't sugarcoat it by pretending that they'll be in heaven. We take this tragedy personally and it hurts. Unbelievers can lie to themselves, but we can't. Knowing the truth can bring more pain into your life. But knowing the truth of Jesus and His cross also bring us peace.
As Jesus' followers we have more of everything: more pain, but also more peace. Just go to the deathbed of a believer and be amazed at the peace they possess and confess in Christ. They know they have a crown. Jesus gave them this crown. It is a crown that proclaims that they are forgiven. This victory wreath on top of their heads shouts that when Jesus died and rose from the dead, they too were connected to this victory in Baptism. Perhaps they remember their confirmation verse: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. What sweet comfort this sentence gives!
Our suffering and pain often threaten to hide our crowns. But in a strange way, they are marks of our Christian faith. When you are agonizing over a sin that you know is too cruel to be forgiven, remember that you are in agony because you take God's Word seriously. John's fellow apostle Peter urged his fellow believers to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)
When you feel this war in your soul, remember not only the Law, but also the Gospel. Hear the words of Paul in Romans 5 as he rejoices: The law was added so that [sin] might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
This grace, this crown which He puts on your head, these riches that He pours out on you are gifts from Jesus. He wants you to have them because He knows that since you belong to Him, your life will tougher. You will suffer more. You will experience more pain. So He gives you more comfort, more peace, more joy because He died and came back to life. He died and came back to life.
Amen.
October 3, 2010
Jesus Brings More of Everything
Revelation 2:8-11
To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Dear friends,
The final book of the Bible is a book that is filled with comfort. Jesus' revelation to St. John is a message of free forgiveness and accomplished victory. We see this victory that was won on the cross when Jesus introduces Himself as the Savior who died and came to life again.
He died and came back to life. He died and came back to life. This is too good to be true, but God does impossible things. So He died and came back to life. This is Jesus talking and when He speaks, we listen.
And this is what Jesus says. He tells you that He knows you, just like He knew each individual believer who lived in Smyrna around AD 90. (Smyrna was a port city on the eastern coast of Turkey. It was the location of an early Christian church.)
Jesus says that He knows your problems, just like He knew the problems in Smyrna. And listen carefully: He doesn't know about your problems; He knows your problems. We often know about the problems of others. And maybe for a moment we feel bad. But Jesus' concern and empathy—feeling the misery of others—isn't a fleeting feeling. He knows our problems, because He has experienced the same problems and suffered from them, too.
Hebrews 2:9, 17, 18 says that Jesus suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone... For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
Jesus knows how you suffer. And in this revelation to the church in Smyrna, Jesus knew the suffering that came to them because they were Christians. This kind of suffering is different than the suffering that believers and unbelievers alike endure from disease, calamity, and other people.
Jesus is telling those in Smyrna, “You are standing firm in My hidden glory because I have made you My people. Stand firm until this suffering is over. What waits for you when this is over is My glory made visible in you to all the earth.” Here's how He actually said it: I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!
We are poor and rich at the same time. We look poor to the world. We look poor to our children and friends. We even look poor to ourselves. We look poor to everyone because bad things do happen to us.
The Christians in Smyrna faced evil words, jail time, and violence. Today we face cruel words. Christians face these things because we follow Jesus. We look poor because we are Christians. Our lives are more difficult because we are Christians.
When an unbelieving relative dies, we can't sugarcoat it by pretending that they'll be in heaven. We take this tragedy personally and it hurts. Unbelievers can lie to themselves, but we can't. Knowing the truth can bring more pain into your life. But knowing the truth of Jesus and His cross also bring us peace.
As Jesus' followers we have more of everything: more pain, but also more peace. Just go to the deathbed of a believer and be amazed at the peace they possess and confess in Christ. They know they have a crown. Jesus gave them this crown. It is a crown that proclaims that they are forgiven. This victory wreath on top of their heads shouts that when Jesus died and rose from the dead, they too were connected to this victory in Baptism. Perhaps they remember their confirmation verse: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. What sweet comfort this sentence gives!
Our suffering and pain often threaten to hide our crowns. But in a strange way, they are marks of our Christian faith. When you are agonizing over a sin that you know is too cruel to be forgiven, remember that you are in agony because you take God's Word seriously. John's fellow apostle Peter urged his fellow believers to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)
When you feel this war in your soul, remember not only the Law, but also the Gospel. Hear the words of Paul in Romans 5 as he rejoices: The law was added so that [sin] might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
This grace, this crown which He puts on your head, these riches that He pours out on you are gifts from Jesus. He wants you to have them because He knows that since you belong to Him, your life will tougher. You will suffer more. You will experience more pain. So He gives you more comfort, more peace, more joy because He died and came back to life. He died and came back to life.
Amen.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 5, 2010
Love Takes Time
Amazed at Christ’s Love—He Calls Me His Child!
1 John 3:1-2
Hosea's life was a picture of unfaithfulness. But not Hosea's unfaithfulness; the unfaithfulness pictured was of his nation—Israel. God told Hosea to marry an unfaithful wife named Gomer and when she had children, God told Hosea to give them special names.
After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah [Hebrew: “not My loved one”], Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, "Call him Lo-Ammi [Hebrew: “not My people”], for you are not My people, and I am not your God. (Hosea 1:8-9)
Gomer was to Hosea what Israel was to God. Gomer and Israel were both unfaithful. Gomer slept with other men; Israel worshiped themselves and pagan statues and heathen rituals. Hosea's marriage to Gomer was a living and breathing visual aid to remind the Israelites of their unfaithfulness.
However, God still longed to call them His children, but they continued to be unfaithful. They ran away from their true love, just like the selfish son ran away from his father in Jesus' parable (cf. Luke 15).
So even among these damning words of the Law from the Lord—”not My loved one” and “not My people”—we hear words of promise:
"Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited. (Hosea 1:10-11)
Just like Jesus' parable, the son who had squandered his father's lavish inheritance was welcomed back by that very same father.
We are unfaithful people by nature. We love to run away from Jesus. We are not loving; we are selfish. Our thoughts are constantly on what we can get. Our minds are always frustrated that we don't have as much as we deserve. Our emotions are controlled by the desire to be in control, which is always just outside of our reach.
But Jesus changed all this. He showed us love and how to love. This month we'll learn that love takes time. We sing this truth in our worship and proclaim it in our sermons and study it in our Bible studies.
In order to benefit from this truth, we will need to keep first things first. The first thing is the love that Jesus showed to us. Our love that takes time is the result of Jesus' love and His activity on our behalf. With His death on the cross, He paid the price of sin for all sinners. With your Baptism, He made you His own dear child.
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God. (1 John 3:1-2)
Amen.
September 5, 2010
Love Takes Time
Amazed at Christ’s Love—He Calls Me His Child!
1 John 3:1-2
Hosea's life was a picture of unfaithfulness. But not Hosea's unfaithfulness; the unfaithfulness pictured was of his nation—Israel. God told Hosea to marry an unfaithful wife named Gomer and when she had children, God told Hosea to give them special names.
After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah [Hebrew: “not My loved one”], Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, "Call him Lo-Ammi [Hebrew: “not My people”], for you are not My people, and I am not your God. (Hosea 1:8-9)
Gomer was to Hosea what Israel was to God. Gomer and Israel were both unfaithful. Gomer slept with other men; Israel worshiped themselves and pagan statues and heathen rituals. Hosea's marriage to Gomer was a living and breathing visual aid to remind the Israelites of their unfaithfulness.
However, God still longed to call them His children, but they continued to be unfaithful. They ran away from their true love, just like the selfish son ran away from his father in Jesus' parable (cf. Luke 15).
So even among these damning words of the Law from the Lord—”not My loved one” and “not My people”—we hear words of promise:
"Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited. (Hosea 1:10-11)
Just like Jesus' parable, the son who had squandered his father's lavish inheritance was welcomed back by that very same father.
We are unfaithful people by nature. We love to run away from Jesus. We are not loving; we are selfish. Our thoughts are constantly on what we can get. Our minds are always frustrated that we don't have as much as we deserve. Our emotions are controlled by the desire to be in control, which is always just outside of our reach.
But Jesus changed all this. He showed us love and how to love. This month we'll learn that love takes time. We sing this truth in our worship and proclaim it in our sermons and study it in our Bible studies.
In order to benefit from this truth, we will need to keep first things first. The first thing is the love that Jesus showed to us. Our love that takes time is the result of Jesus' love and His activity on our behalf. With His death on the cross, He paid the price of sin for all sinners. With your Baptism, He made you His own dear child.
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God. (1 John 3:1-2)
Amen.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 29, 2010
Do I Know You?
Luke 13:22-30
22Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way to Jerusalem. 23Someone asked Him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"
He said to them, 24"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.'
"But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'
26"Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'
27"But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'
28"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On a Galilean beach after the first Easter, Peter got a little nosy:
Peter turned and saw that [John] was following them... When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me." (John 21:20-22)
“What is that to you?” Jesus told Peter to mind his own business. Before Jesus was arrested and crucified in our place, He spent three years traveling and teaching. Often a crowd would gather and listen to Him. Sometimes they'd ask questions.
Some unnamed person in the crowd asked Jesus, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" Instead of answering this question, He chose to answer a better question, “Do I know you?” The first question—are only a few going to heaven—is a nosy question that is between those other people and Jesus. The second question—do I know you—is a question that is between you and Jesus. It's the better question.
Does Jesus know you? Jesus answered this most important question with a short story about the owner of a house who shut his doors. (I always pictured this story happening at night.) But there were people outside the house who wanted to get inside. But they couldn't. The doors were shut. So they started shouting and banging on the door.
The owner told them that he wouldn't open the door because he didn't know them. In those days it wasn't safe to open your home to strangers at night. (That's still good advice today.)
But the strangers insisted: “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” We spent time with you. How can you pretend to not know us?!
But the owner was just as persistent: “I don't know you.” The strangers were telling the truth—the owner had spent time with them and had even taught them. But the owner didn't have a bad memory. Nor was he pretending not to know them. The owner was saying that just because they knew his name or spent time with him, did not make them friends. They were strangers. I don't know you.
What is Jesus saying to us with the owner's I-don't-know-you? His point is that there are many who use His name and many who spend time in His churches and in His Word, but He doesn't know them. Jesus quoted His prophet Isaiah (29:13) to describe these strangers who pretend to be His friends, “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).
Jesus also said: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23)
There are members who never come to church. There are members who move away and never attend or join the local church. Does this mean they are pretend believers? Since we can't see their hearts, Jesus calls us to study their words and actions.
This is why we visit them or call them if they are far away. We listen to them and then speak about the teachings of the Bible that match their situation. To those who are too ashamed to come to church because they have done something terrible, we preach Jesus' forgiveness and mercy.
But if they are despising God's Word by making work or family or sport a higher priority, out of loving concern we will warn them of their selfishness and urge them to stop their lip service. Jesus said that out of the heart come evil thoughts and words and deeds (Matthew 15:19). When we hear the lip service from those used to eat and drink with us, we must speak out of love.
This isn't being nosy, unless pushing someone out of oncoming traffic is being nosy. (Sure, these days the rescuee might sue you because your saving shove caused them to stub their toe.) This is often the reaction we get from Jesus' lip servants.
But Christ loves them, and so do we. We will do what friends do—help each other to serve Christ above all things with our hearts, minds, souls, and lips.
Cling to the cross that saves you. Our family may desert us. Our friends may run away. You will disappoint yourself. But Christ never fails. His cross, which you received in the visible Gospel of Holy Baptism, will never stop forgiving you, and that is why your salvation is an accomplished fact. Jesus knows you and He always will.
Amen.
August 29, 2010
Do I Know You?
Luke 13:22-30
22Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way to Jerusalem. 23Someone asked Him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"
He said to them, 24"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.'
"But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'
26"Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'
27"But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'
28"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On a Galilean beach after the first Easter, Peter got a little nosy:
Peter turned and saw that [John] was following them... When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me." (John 21:20-22)
“What is that to you?” Jesus told Peter to mind his own business. Before Jesus was arrested and crucified in our place, He spent three years traveling and teaching. Often a crowd would gather and listen to Him. Sometimes they'd ask questions.
Some unnamed person in the crowd asked Jesus, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" Instead of answering this question, He chose to answer a better question, “Do I know you?” The first question—are only a few going to heaven—is a nosy question that is between those other people and Jesus. The second question—do I know you—is a question that is between you and Jesus. It's the better question.
Does Jesus know you? Jesus answered this most important question with a short story about the owner of a house who shut his doors. (I always pictured this story happening at night.) But there were people outside the house who wanted to get inside. But they couldn't. The doors were shut. So they started shouting and banging on the door.
The owner told them that he wouldn't open the door because he didn't know them. In those days it wasn't safe to open your home to strangers at night. (That's still good advice today.)
But the strangers insisted: “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” We spent time with you. How can you pretend to not know us?!
But the owner was just as persistent: “I don't know you.” The strangers were telling the truth—the owner had spent time with them and had even taught them. But the owner didn't have a bad memory. Nor was he pretending not to know them. The owner was saying that just because they knew his name or spent time with him, did not make them friends. They were strangers. I don't know you.
What is Jesus saying to us with the owner's I-don't-know-you? His point is that there are many who use His name and many who spend time in His churches and in His Word, but He doesn't know them. Jesus quoted His prophet Isaiah (29:13) to describe these strangers who pretend to be His friends, “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).
Jesus also said: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23)
There are members who never come to church. There are members who move away and never attend or join the local church. Does this mean they are pretend believers? Since we can't see their hearts, Jesus calls us to study their words and actions.
This is why we visit them or call them if they are far away. We listen to them and then speak about the teachings of the Bible that match their situation. To those who are too ashamed to come to church because they have done something terrible, we preach Jesus' forgiveness and mercy.
But if they are despising God's Word by making work or family or sport a higher priority, out of loving concern we will warn them of their selfishness and urge them to stop their lip service. Jesus said that out of the heart come evil thoughts and words and deeds (Matthew 15:19). When we hear the lip service from those used to eat and drink with us, we must speak out of love.
This isn't being nosy, unless pushing someone out of oncoming traffic is being nosy. (Sure, these days the rescuee might sue you because your saving shove caused them to stub their toe.) This is often the reaction we get from Jesus' lip servants.
But Christ loves them, and so do we. We will do what friends do—help each other to serve Christ above all things with our hearts, minds, souls, and lips.
Cling to the cross that saves you. Our family may desert us. Our friends may run away. You will disappoint yourself. But Christ never fails. His cross, which you received in the visible Gospel of Holy Baptism, will never stop forgiving you, and that is why your salvation is an accomplished fact. Jesus knows you and He always will.
Amen.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 22, 2010
Psalm 139:1-5
Is Free Will Real?
Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther, and the other Reformers read Psalm 139 hundreds of times during their lives.
O Lord, You have searched me
and You know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
You know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in—behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me.
They studied this psalm and wrestled with the question: “Is free will real?” This is their answer from Holy Scripture: Article 18 of the Defense of the Augsburg Confession.
We do not deny freedom to the human will. The human will has freedom in the choice of works and things that reason understands by itself. To a certain extent reason can display public righteousness or the righteousness of works. It can speak of God, offer to God a certain service by an outward work, and obey public officials and parents. In choosing an outward work, it can hold back the hand from murder, adultery, and theft. Because human nature has been left with reason and judgment about objects subjected to the senses, choice between these things, the liberty and power to produce public righteousness are also left. Scripture calls this the righteousness of the flesh, which the carnal nature (that is, reason) produces by itself, without the Holy Spirit. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 70)
We have free will in matters under the sun, as Solomon might say. You decide who to marry. Where to go to college. How fast to travel in a 45 mph speed zone. Whether to go to church. What to eat for dinner tonight. How many knots in your shoelaces.
All people, whether they trust in Christ or not, possess the free will to make these and a million other decisions under the sun. But even though unbelievers have free will, they often misuse it.
However, the power of lustful desire is such that people more often obey evil inclinations than sound judgment. The devil, who is powerful in the godless... [stirs] up this weak nature to various offenses, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:2 (“in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient”). For these reasons even public righteousness is rare among people. Not even the philosophers, who seem to have hoped for this righteousness, achieved it. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 71)
This world is messed up because our free will keeps choosing selfish things. We choose selfish things because what we refer to as “free will” isn't free at all. Our will is bound to sin and self. Our will is the will of Satan and of the world and of our selves. God recognized this before and after Noah's flood and said: “Every inclination of [man's] heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21). Humans have wills, but they aren't free. Our wills are sinful selfish wills.
But it is false to say whoever performs the works of the commandments without grace does not sin. [False teachers] add further that such works also merit the forgiveness of sins and justification in merely an agreeable way... For without the Holy Spirit, human hearts lack the fear of God. Without trust toward God, they do not believe that they are heard, forgiven, helped, and preserved by God. Therefore, they are godless. For “a diseased tree [cannot] bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18). And “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6). (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 72)
This means that your works of your sinful will, even though they may look good to the world around us, cannot make God want to spend time with you.
Although we admit that free will has the freedom and power to perform the extreme works of the Law, we do not assign spiritual matters to free will. These are to truly fear God, believe God, be confident and hold that He cares for us, hears us, and forgives us. These are the true works of the First Table, which the heart cannot produce without the Holy Spirit, as Paul says, “The natural person [namely, a person using only natural strength] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14). (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 73)
The first Lutherans explained the failure of working to make God love you. Unbelievers can—in an outward way—honor their parents, not murder, not commit adultery, not steal, and not give false testimony. At best they can avoid going to jail. But their sinful will can do no more than that. Consider your thoughts—if the police had access to your thoughts, how long would you remain out of jail? Unbelievers and their “free will” can never above all things fear, love, and trust in God. They can never properly use His name. They can never take His Word seriously.
People can determine this if they consider what their hearts believe about God’s will, whether they are truly confident God cares for and hears them. Even the saints find keeping this faith difficult (which is not possible in unbelievers). But, as we have said before, it begins when terrified hearts hear the Gospel and receive comfort. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 74)
Here the first Lutherans confess how a believer becomes a believer. It happens against our will. Our will loves sin; our will hates God's ways. But through the Gospel in the Sacraments and in the Word, the Holy Spirit break our stony sinful will into pieces and brings us the comfort of the saving work of Jesus that happened completely outside of us, and thankfully, outside of our supposedly free will.
Their distinction is helpful. Civil righteousness is assigned to free will, and spiritual righteousness is assigned to the governing of the Holy Spirit in the reborn. In this way, outward discipline is kept, because all people should know that God requires this civil righteousness and that, to some extent, we can achieve it. And yet a distinction is shown between human and spiritual righteousness, between philosophical teaching and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. It can be understood why the Holy Spirit is needed. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 75)
Each person has a will. But each person's will is not free to choose good or evil. Anyone who believes that they have a truly free will has bought the snake's oldest lie to Eve in the Garden of Eden: “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). It is a half-truth. Yes, now we can see the difference between good and evil, but we can't be good enough for God to love us. We know what good is, but we can't be good.
We did not invent this distinction; Scripture clearly teaches it. Augustine also presents it, and recently William of Paris has presented it very well. But those who dream that people can obey God’s Law without the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit is given so that obeying the Law may be considered meritorious, have wickedly hindered the distinction. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 76)
This teaching about free will is all from the Bible. It is a truth that has been preached by all faithful Christians through the centuries, Augustine in the 400s and William in the 1100s. Again they sum up the main point. Anyone can choose to avoid extreme wickedness. But we can't chose to believe in Jesus. We can't chose to be good enough to please God.
Instead Jesus is the superior solution. He gives us His goodness. He sends His Spirit through Word and Sacrament to create and sustain trust in Him. He gives us strength to do good works with which God is pleased.
Yes, you have a free will, but it can only send you to hell. But God's will was to send Christ to suffer hell for you. So yes, God knows your every thought. But instead of fear, this fact bring God's people joy and comfort. He is taking care of us, because that is His will.
Amen.
Book of Concord Source
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul T. McCain. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.
August 22, 2010
Psalm 139:1-5
Is Free Will Real?
Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther, and the other Reformers read Psalm 139 hundreds of times during their lives.
O Lord, You have searched me
and You know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
You know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in—behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me.
They studied this psalm and wrestled with the question: “Is free will real?” This is their answer from Holy Scripture: Article 18 of the Defense of the Augsburg Confession.
We do not deny freedom to the human will. The human will has freedom in the choice of works and things that reason understands by itself. To a certain extent reason can display public righteousness or the righteousness of works. It can speak of God, offer to God a certain service by an outward work, and obey public officials and parents. In choosing an outward work, it can hold back the hand from murder, adultery, and theft. Because human nature has been left with reason and judgment about objects subjected to the senses, choice between these things, the liberty and power to produce public righteousness are also left. Scripture calls this the righteousness of the flesh, which the carnal nature (that is, reason) produces by itself, without the Holy Spirit. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 70)
We have free will in matters under the sun, as Solomon might say. You decide who to marry. Where to go to college. How fast to travel in a 45 mph speed zone. Whether to go to church. What to eat for dinner tonight. How many knots in your shoelaces.
All people, whether they trust in Christ or not, possess the free will to make these and a million other decisions under the sun. But even though unbelievers have free will, they often misuse it.
However, the power of lustful desire is such that people more often obey evil inclinations than sound judgment. The devil, who is powerful in the godless... [stirs] up this weak nature to various offenses, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:2 (“in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient”). For these reasons even public righteousness is rare among people. Not even the philosophers, who seem to have hoped for this righteousness, achieved it. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 71)
This world is messed up because our free will keeps choosing selfish things. We choose selfish things because what we refer to as “free will” isn't free at all. Our will is bound to sin and self. Our will is the will of Satan and of the world and of our selves. God recognized this before and after Noah's flood and said: “Every inclination of [man's] heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21). Humans have wills, but they aren't free. Our wills are sinful selfish wills.
But it is false to say whoever performs the works of the commandments without grace does not sin. [False teachers] add further that such works also merit the forgiveness of sins and justification in merely an agreeable way... For without the Holy Spirit, human hearts lack the fear of God. Without trust toward God, they do not believe that they are heard, forgiven, helped, and preserved by God. Therefore, they are godless. For “a diseased tree [cannot] bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18). And “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6). (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 72)
This means that your works of your sinful will, even though they may look good to the world around us, cannot make God want to spend time with you.
Although we admit that free will has the freedom and power to perform the extreme works of the Law, we do not assign spiritual matters to free will. These are to truly fear God, believe God, be confident and hold that He cares for us, hears us, and forgives us. These are the true works of the First Table, which the heart cannot produce without the Holy Spirit, as Paul says, “The natural person [namely, a person using only natural strength] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14). (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 73)
The first Lutherans explained the failure of working to make God love you. Unbelievers can—in an outward way—honor their parents, not murder, not commit adultery, not steal, and not give false testimony. At best they can avoid going to jail. But their sinful will can do no more than that. Consider your thoughts—if the police had access to your thoughts, how long would you remain out of jail? Unbelievers and their “free will” can never above all things fear, love, and trust in God. They can never properly use His name. They can never take His Word seriously.
People can determine this if they consider what their hearts believe about God’s will, whether they are truly confident God cares for and hears them. Even the saints find keeping this faith difficult (which is not possible in unbelievers). But, as we have said before, it begins when terrified hearts hear the Gospel and receive comfort. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 74)
Here the first Lutherans confess how a believer becomes a believer. It happens against our will. Our will loves sin; our will hates God's ways. But through the Gospel in the Sacraments and in the Word, the Holy Spirit break our stony sinful will into pieces and brings us the comfort of the saving work of Jesus that happened completely outside of us, and thankfully, outside of our supposedly free will.
Their distinction is helpful. Civil righteousness is assigned to free will, and spiritual righteousness is assigned to the governing of the Holy Spirit in the reborn. In this way, outward discipline is kept, because all people should know that God requires this civil righteousness and that, to some extent, we can achieve it. And yet a distinction is shown between human and spiritual righteousness, between philosophical teaching and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. It can be understood why the Holy Spirit is needed. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 75)
Each person has a will. But each person's will is not free to choose good or evil. Anyone who believes that they have a truly free will has bought the snake's oldest lie to Eve in the Garden of Eden: “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). It is a half-truth. Yes, now we can see the difference between good and evil, but we can't be good enough for God to love us. We know what good is, but we can't be good.
We did not invent this distinction; Scripture clearly teaches it. Augustine also presents it, and recently William of Paris has presented it very well. But those who dream that people can obey God’s Law without the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit is given so that obeying the Law may be considered meritorious, have wickedly hindered the distinction. (Ap XVIII, Paragraph 76)
This teaching about free will is all from the Bible. It is a truth that has been preached by all faithful Christians through the centuries, Augustine in the 400s and William in the 1100s. Again they sum up the main point. Anyone can choose to avoid extreme wickedness. But we can't chose to believe in Jesus. We can't chose to be good enough to please God.
Instead Jesus is the superior solution. He gives us His goodness. He sends His Spirit through Word and Sacrament to create and sustain trust in Him. He gives us strength to do good works with which God is pleased.
Yes, you have a free will, but it can only send you to hell. But God's will was to send Christ to suffer hell for you. So yes, God knows your every thought. But instead of fear, this fact bring God's people joy and comfort. He is taking care of us, because that is His will.
Amen.
Book of Concord Source
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul T. McCain. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
St. Mary, Mother of God
St. Mary, Mother of God
August 15, 2010
Luke 1:46-55
My Soul Magnifies My Savior
Sinners need salvation. And to get salvation, you need a Savior. Mary understood this basic fact. And so she sang:
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. (Luke 1:46-47)
Mary was not a perfect person. She was a sinful person from birth. She recognized this truth and was filled with joy when the angel Gabriel told her that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Savior.
From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name. (Luke 1:48-49)
You have every right to join the centuries of Christians who remember the blessed Virgin Mary. We call her blessed because God blessed her. Sure, there are some within the Christian church who claim that Mary was perfect and without sin. They have failed to take all of God's Word seriously, and specifically, the sentence before it. Mary called God her Savior and 40 weeks later she would give birth to Jesus. Jesus means savior and He is our Savior from sin.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. (Luke 1:50)
Mary sings of God's mercy and of how it lasts. Speaking for the Lord, the prophet Nathan declared this same joyful fact to King David 1000 years before Mary was born:
Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:16)
David's kingdom here is God's kingdom and it will endure from generation to generation because Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of David, is David's successor.
The kingdom of God is found among those who follow Jesus. In His kingdom, even the lowliest sinners are made into powerful princes. The Lord made humble David to be king over Israel. And even though she wasn't a queen, humble Mary was chosen to be the King's mother. Jesus is the King who rules forever, even though His mother was a lowly commoner and a lowly sinner. Great is God's mercy!
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:51-53)
See how beautifully Mary sings about God's ways. He makes the last first and the first last. Beware, socialists! You need not apply this verse! God isn't re-distributing wealth; He is paying for the sins of all. He is declaring those whom He has made faithful not guilty of their sins. He makes His faithful people first; those who rewrite His ways are made last.
Many rewrite His ways when they say that Mary was perfect. Or when they claim that Mary never died. But many rewrite God's ways when they reject remembering the blessings God has granted to His saints, like Mary. Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to not forget the history of the kingdom of God: Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
The first Lutherans kept thanking God for the saints, apostles, and martyrs:
[We approve] honoring the saints in three ways. The first is thanksgiving. We should thank God because He has shown examples of mercy, because He wishes to save people, and because He has given teachers and other gifts to the Church. These gifts, since they are the greatest, should be amplified. The saints themselves, who have faithfully used these gifts, should be praised just as Christ praises faithful businessmen (Matthew 25:21, 23). The second service is the strengthening of our faith. When we see Peter’s denial forgiven, we also are encouraged to believe all the more that grace truly superabounds over sin (Romans 5:20). The third honor is the imitation, first of faith, then of the other virtues. Everyone should imitate the saints according to his calling. (Apology XXI, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul T. McCain. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 202)
He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and His descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers. (Luke 1:54-55)
Before the Lord God changed Abram's name to Abraham to emphasize that he would be the father of a great nation, He promised him that Jesus was coming to save the world. Mary remembered God's promise.
The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3)
This promise was cherished by Abraham's family. And it was even repeated by God to Abraham's grandson Jacob (also known as Israel) during Jacob's dream of angels going up and down:
All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. (Genesis 28:14)
Mary knew her Savior. She knew that He was the Promised Savior, promised to lowly sinners like Abraham, Jacob, David, and her. This is why we thank our Savior for choosing Mary, not because she is special or holy in and of herself, but because she is just like us: a sinner whom God has declared a saint.
Dear Jesus, call us like You called Mary. Use us to do Your will and be Your hands here on earth. Make our voices the instruments of songs that declare the loving details of Your atonement for all and our justification by faith in You.
Amen.
August 15, 2010
Luke 1:46-55
My Soul Magnifies My Savior
Sinners need salvation. And to get salvation, you need a Savior. Mary understood this basic fact. And so she sang:
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. (Luke 1:46-47)
Mary was not a perfect person. She was a sinful person from birth. She recognized this truth and was filled with joy when the angel Gabriel told her that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Savior.
From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name. (Luke 1:48-49)
You have every right to join the centuries of Christians who remember the blessed Virgin Mary. We call her blessed because God blessed her. Sure, there are some within the Christian church who claim that Mary was perfect and without sin. They have failed to take all of God's Word seriously, and specifically, the sentence before it. Mary called God her Savior and 40 weeks later she would give birth to Jesus. Jesus means savior and He is our Savior from sin.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. (Luke 1:50)
Mary sings of God's mercy and of how it lasts. Speaking for the Lord, the prophet Nathan declared this same joyful fact to King David 1000 years before Mary was born:
Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:16)
David's kingdom here is God's kingdom and it will endure from generation to generation because Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of David, is David's successor.
The kingdom of God is found among those who follow Jesus. In His kingdom, even the lowliest sinners are made into powerful princes. The Lord made humble David to be king over Israel. And even though she wasn't a queen, humble Mary was chosen to be the King's mother. Jesus is the King who rules forever, even though His mother was a lowly commoner and a lowly sinner. Great is God's mercy!
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:51-53)
See how beautifully Mary sings about God's ways. He makes the last first and the first last. Beware, socialists! You need not apply this verse! God isn't re-distributing wealth; He is paying for the sins of all. He is declaring those whom He has made faithful not guilty of their sins. He makes His faithful people first; those who rewrite His ways are made last.
Many rewrite His ways when they say that Mary was perfect. Or when they claim that Mary never died. But many rewrite God's ways when they reject remembering the blessings God has granted to His saints, like Mary. Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to not forget the history of the kingdom of God: Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
The first Lutherans kept thanking God for the saints, apostles, and martyrs:
[We approve] honoring the saints in three ways. The first is thanksgiving. We should thank God because He has shown examples of mercy, because He wishes to save people, and because He has given teachers and other gifts to the Church. These gifts, since they are the greatest, should be amplified. The saints themselves, who have faithfully used these gifts, should be praised just as Christ praises faithful businessmen (Matthew 25:21, 23). The second service is the strengthening of our faith. When we see Peter’s denial forgiven, we also are encouraged to believe all the more that grace truly superabounds over sin (Romans 5:20). The third honor is the imitation, first of faith, then of the other virtues. Everyone should imitate the saints according to his calling. (Apology XXI, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul T. McCain. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 202)
He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and His descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers. (Luke 1:54-55)
Before the Lord God changed Abram's name to Abraham to emphasize that he would be the father of a great nation, He promised him that Jesus was coming to save the world. Mary remembered God's promise.
The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3)
This promise was cherished by Abraham's family. And it was even repeated by God to Abraham's grandson Jacob (also known as Israel) during Jacob's dream of angels going up and down:
All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. (Genesis 28:14)
Mary knew her Savior. She knew that He was the Promised Savior, promised to lowly sinners like Abraham, Jacob, David, and her. This is why we thank our Savior for choosing Mary, not because she is special or holy in and of herself, but because she is just like us: a sinner whom God has declared a saint.
Dear Jesus, call us like You called Mary. Use us to do Your will and be Your hands here on earth. Make our voices the instruments of songs that declare the loving details of Your atonement for all and our justification by faith in You.
Amen.
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