Luke 9,57-62. Oculi: Third Sunday in Lent

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 9,57-62

Oculi (3. Sonntag der Passionszeit)  026 „My eyes“

Rupert, Founder of Salzburg, Apostle to the Bavarians in Regensburg, † 710

27. March 2011

            1. O Lord, our eyes look to You, for You are have redeemed Your fallen creation. Our discipleship is not faithful and our desires are not pure. We often set aside following You so that we may pursue other pursuits. We try to have the best of two worlds, the heavenly and the temporal, often desiring what the world demands instead of what heaven freely gives. Give us, we pray, all the blessings You promise to Your children. „We beseech You, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of Your humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of Your Majesty to be our defense against all our enemies“ (Book of Common Prayer 36). Amen.

            2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: ⁵⁷As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, „I will follow you wherever you go.“ ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, „Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.“ ⁵⁹To another He said, „Follow Me.“ But he said, „Lord, let me first go and bury my father.“ ⁶⁰And Jesus said to him, „Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the reign of God.“ ⁶¹Yet another said, „I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.“ ⁶²Jesus said to him, „No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the reign of God.“  This is our text.

            3. Luke 9,51 is the great apex in the Gospel according to Luke. Prior to verse 51, Luke notes that Jesus had been teaching, preaching, and doing miracles, all of which proclaimed that He is the Son of Man who was sent by God the Father to redeem the world. At verse 51 Jesus’ ministry entered the 4^th Quarter. He has set His face toward Jerusalem and journeys up to that holy city. As Jesus embarks on this journey, one boasts that he will follow Jesus anywhere, another is commanded by Jesus to follow Him, and a third also desires to follow Jesus. Each disciple does not fully comprehend what „following Jesus“ as His disciple entails.

            4. The first disciple is told that following Jesus means one must give up the basic needs of this life. The forest animals have their boroughs and nests wherein they can relax and sleep when night falls. Not so for Jesus! And not so for His disciples, either. Following Jesus entails a discipleship that must be willing to give up what this world entices with and promises, even the very necessities of life, including a roof under which to sleep and a comfortable bed in which to rest. A second disciple wants permission to first bury his father, and a third disciple also asks to be allowed to see his family one last time and exchange farewells. Both are told to forsake their family obligations.

            5. In fact, Jesus counters their requests with an absolute claim to the disciples’ allegiance (Gibbs 433). To follow Jesus will be to surrender all guarantees of comfort or predictably stable existence (Gibbs 433). These disciples have sought to qualify or demote the priority of Jesus and His authority (437). Jesus presents the disciples with the question of boundaries (Gibbs 439). Where will the line be drawn (Gibbs 439)? Which relationship will be primary (Gibbs 439). No one can remain a disciple of Jesus if he demotes the authority of Jesus to be on or even below the level of human authorities and responsibilities (Gibbs 439). No one can look the Son of God in the eye and say, „You are not first“ (Gibbs 439).

            6. Putting the Triune God first began in our Baptism. The question was asked of us: Do you renounce the devil, and all his works, and all his ways (Agenda 15)? Later we were asked the same question at our confirmation, where instead of someone else answering for us on our behalf we spoke for ourselves: Mr. devil I reject you and I confess my Lord Jesus Christ as first in my life. Aside from our days of Baptism and confirmation, on any given day we might struggle to keep this confession of „Christ first“ because our corrupt, sinful flesh always seeks to elevate itself to the top spot. Our fallible human reason is unable to grasp the full magnitude of what it means to place Christ first in our lives. Like the disciples in Luke 9, we might presume that we can put Christ first, until something else important comes along, and we temporarily move Jesus down a level or two, and at a later time re-elevate Him to the primacy. Such is the struggle we have during our earthly life.

            7. It is not easy to follow Jesus and put Him first because we know that to do so means that we must take up the cross and follow Jesus. We were asked at our confirmation: Do you intend to continue in this confession and the Church and to suffer all, even, death, rather than fall away from it (Agenda 29)? In every day practice we more often fall away from our confession to believe in Jesus because it is simply easier and safer to step aside rather than bear the brunt of trials and tribulations. Furthermore, Jesus will not give us a special dispensation to temporarily set Him and His primacy aside, for He demands an absolute claim to our allegiance. Jesus forthrightly commands us to „Follow Me.“

            8. And where, pray tell, do we follow Jesus? Where is Jesus going? In verse 51 Jesus has set His gaze toward Jerusalem, and that city is where He bids us to follow Him in verse 59. The Son of Man goes to Jerusalem where He will suffer, die, and rise again as the redemption price for the world and its sinfulness (Luke 9,22). Jesus does what we cannot do, and He does it vicariously in our place, for Jesus follows His Heavenly Father’s will to surrender all guarantees of comfort and predictably stable existence (Gibbs 433). The Apostle Paul described it this way: »Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form/nature of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be held onto, but deprived Himself of power, taking on the form/nature of a slave; and being found in the likeness of men, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, death on a cross« (Philippians 2,5-11). Jesus does what He says: He puts His Father’s allegiance and will first and foremost, fulfilling what we in our sinful nature cannot do, and walks to Jerusalem, to the cross, into death, buried in the tomb, descends into hell, and rises again as our Victorious Redeemer.

            9. We may be tempted to think that Jesus’ obedient fulfillment of His Father’s will is something easy. St. Luke, however, reminds us that the passion and suffering Jesus endured was fraught with great distress. Jesus fervently prayed that if it were possible, that His Heavenly Father remove the cross and death He was about to endure (Luke 22,42). So stressful was His impending passion, that Jesus sweated blood (22,44). In spite of the horror of the crucifixion, Jesus followed His Father’s will and paid the costly redemption price in order to save each one of us.

            10. We can never meet the high, exacting standards of God’s law, but Jesus did. We do not go to the law when our failed attempts at discipleship beat us down with guilt, but we go to God’s gospel that is manifested in Christ Jesus. Striving to be better disciples does not merit in any way our justification and salvation. We should indeed strive to be better disciples, but we must never put any amount of trust in our striving or our discipleship as something to be added to our meriting righteousness. The gospel tells us that Jesus is the Faithful Disciple, and He Himself has merited pure righteousness; Jesus freely gives us this righteousness in our Baptism.

11. Christian discipleship is about following Jesus to the cross where He merits the forgiveness of sin for the entire world. This forgiveness is given out in the preached Word, in Holy Baptism, in receiving the Lord’s Supper, and in the confessing of sins and accepting the Absolution that promises that your sin is forgiven. All of this is received by faith which is a gracious, free gift given to us by the Holy Spirit. Christian discipleship is thus faith in Christ.

12. The wonderful story of the Holy Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is that Yahweh’s people fall into sin and never live up to the strict demands of discipleship, but Yahweh comes to His fallen and discouraged people and brings them the gospel of forgiveness that is grounded upon Christ crucified and risen for our justification and salvation. Christian discipleship is not about living the good, morally improving life – any philosophy, religion, or self-improvement methodology can offer that – but Christian discipleship is about Christ, believing in Him whole-heartedly for the forgiveness of sins and rejoicing in the amazing gospel that says you are saved, you are the beloved of the Heavenly Father – not because you have lived up to your Christian potential – but rather Christ has lived it for you and He gives it to you and me as a free gift. It is a gift that we cannot buy or earn by our good intentions or merits, but it is a gift that was earned by Christ so that He alone gives it to us through the Holy Spirit. This is the gospel, and its message is unique in all the world, and we have it by Christ alone for our eternal salvation.  Amen.

            13. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, who put Your hand to the plow and looked straight ahead as the one fit for the reign of God, we give thanks that You faithfully lived as the Faithful Disciple of Your Heavenly Father’s will. Apply to us the soothing balm of Your precious gospel, so that when we fail as Your disciples we can rejoice in Your success, a success that You accord to us according to Your holy merit.  Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

                All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson. 

                Agenda. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

                Book of Common Prayer. Copyright © 1771 Oxford University.

                Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 1:1– 11:1. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

                Just, Arthur A., Jr. Luke 9:51––24:53. Copyright © 1997 Concordia Publishing House.

                Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Mark 12,1-12. Reminiscere (2. Sunday in Lent)

In the Name of Jesus

Mark 12,1-12 (Matthew 21, 33-46; Luke 20,9-19)

Reminiszere (2. Sonntag der Passionszeit)  025 „Remember“

Archippus, relative of St. Paul. Colossians 4,17

20. March 2011

            1. O Heavenly Father, You gave us Your Holy Word and the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, Your only and beloved Son, who paid for our sins on the cross. Your Church is tempted to usurp the vineyard from You and plant her own doctrine and practice that is centered on man rather than the Triune God. Send forth pastors to be prophets in Your Church who will call the Church and all Christians who have strayed from Your word and will to repentance and bring them again with penitent hearts, look to Your grace upon all who have gone astray from Your ways, being steadfast in the faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word, Jesus Christ, Your Son.  Amen.

            2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Mark where the holy evangelist writes: ¹And Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. ²When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. ⁶He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ⁸And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Have you not read this Scripture: »The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone; ¹¹this was the Yahweh’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes« (Psalm 118,22-23)? ¹²And they were seeking to arrest Him but feared the people, for they perceived that He had told the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.  This is our text.

            3. Jesus spoke this parable during Holy Week which was the last week of His public ministry. Jesus had entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and had already cleared out the temple. Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard when He tells this parable. His audience was probably diverse, including, His disciples, some from the crowds who had heard Him teach before, Jewish religious leaders, including Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees, and any number of extra-national Jews who lived outside Judea but were in the courtyard to celebrate the Feast of Passover.

            4. With this parable, Jesus teaches what the reaction will soon be regarding Yahweh’s plan of salvation (Heilsgeschichte). He begins by recounting the Prophet Isaiah who compared Israel to Yahweh’s vineyard. Yahweh had made Israel the choicest of His vineyards, and after all His meticulous care for the nation, Israel nevertheless (dennoch) yielded wild grapes instead of the expected grapes, meaning that Israel historically rebelled against Yahweh and His prophets. Israel opted more often than not to worship the idols held in high esteem by the nations around them. Eight centuries later, Israel’s intractable stance toward Yahweh and His prophets had not changed. O to be sure, the Pharisees and the scribes could boast that by and large the nation as a whole worshipped Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that the feasts and the covenant were properly celebrated and administered. Yet, when Yahweh sent His prophets, the religious leaders were apathetic towards John the Baptizer and His successor, Jesus.

            5. While on the outside Israel looked like a faithful nation who truly worshipped Yahweh, on the inside they were a tomb of decay for many did not heed or believe John or Jesus. The religious leaders were constantly at odds with Jesus and His preaching. Many in the crowds failed to believe what Jesus taught them. Only a small band of apostles and disciples, perhaps roughly 120 in number could be counted as actual believers and disciples of Jesus (Acts 1,15). The rest of the nation was either indifferent or openly hostile.

            6. Jesus knew this about Israel and the crowds, thus He began His public ministry by preaching, »The time has been fulfilled, and the reign of God has arrived; repent and believe in the gospel« (Mark 1,15). Jesus called His chosen people to repent of their wrong and distorted view of Yahweh’s deliverance from sin. Repent, O Israel, for seeking and attempting to take the vineyard, which is Yahweh’s free gift to you, to take the vineyard for yourselves and in the attempt you ignored and murdered the prophets and the very Messiah sent to you. Repent, O Church, for making the ministry all about you rather than about Christ crucified for you.

            7. Christ, in this parable, exhorts His people to „remember“. The antiphon of the Introit gives us the theme for each Sunday’s Divine Service (Gottesdienst). Today’s antiphon proclaims: »Remember Your tender mercy, O Yahweh, and Your steadfast love, for they have been from of old« (Psalm 25,6). Yahweh’s remembrance extends all the way back to the beginning of human history when He made the first gospel promise spoken against the devil and spoken to encourage Adam and Eve who had sinned: »I put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He will bruise your head, and you will bruise His heel« (Genesis 3,15). Yahweh reminded each patriarchal generation of this wonderful promise of redemption from sin, death, and the devil. Yahweh’s covenant of salvation was manifested and fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord.

            8. »The Stone that the builders rejected became the Cornerstone; this was the Yahweh’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes« (Psalm 118,22-23). After three years of preaching, teaching, and miraculously showing that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, many of the religious leaders and the crowds nevertheless refused to have Jesus as their heavenly-sent Messiah. Failure to repent of this sin had drastic consequences: Jerusalem was attacked, the temple was destroyed, and many Jews were exiled from Judea.

            9. Jesus’ judgment upon those who refused and rejected Him as the Messiah was harsh: My Heavenly Father will destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others (12,9). Those who reject Jesus will likewise be rejected by God the Father.

            10. Now before we castigate those wicked, unbelieving Jews in Jesus’ day, we must also recognize that each one of us stands under the law as a likewise wicked sinner whose sinful life rejects and refuses Christ Jesus. Today’s Introit reminds us of our fallen nature: »For Your Name’s sake, O Yahweh, pardon my guilt, for my guilt is great« (Psalm 25,11).

            11. For the very reason that our guilt is great, and because Yahweh’s chosen people historically and continually rejected Him, Christ Jesus was made man. Jesus arrived for sinners like you and me, like Israel and the Gentiles, yes, for the entire world. And what was God the Father’s great plan of salvation (Heilsgeschichte) for this world of sinners? His Son becomes the Rejected One in order to ransom the very ones who reject Him! The inescapable plan of God calls for His eschatological prophet to die in Jerusalem (Just 764), and this death happens on the cross at Passover. Christ Jesus was crucified in our place and for our sin; He became the ransom price.

            12. In the 21^st century this Christ crucified is a stumbling block for people just as it was a stumbling block in the 1^st century. Paul the Apostle explains why this is: Jews ask for signs and Gentiles seek wisdom (1 Corinthians 1,22). Yahweh has given them Christ suffering and dying on the cross. Thus ministers preach Christ crucified which is a stumbling block for the Jews and foolishness for the Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1,23). Today in our culture people want Jesus to simply be a life coach like Dr. Phil or Oprah. People want Jesus to be a teacher of morals and values like Joel Olsteen. Such a Jesus is a safe Jesus. Anyone and everyone can accept and have this sort of Jesus no matter what philosophical or religious persuasion.

            13. Life coach Jesus and Moral Jesus, however, is not the Crucified Jesus. Life coach Jesus and Moral Jesus do not redeem people from the problem they have with God and His fierce anger against them and their sin. Only the Crucified Jesus solves the God problem. Christ crucified delivers people from their sinfulness. Christ crucified appeases the Heavenly Father’s wrath against sinners and reveals His true and deep love for sinners. Christ crucified saves people.

            14. The world does not want the Crucified Jesus, because the Crucified Jesus is divisive. Christ crucified is exclusive because Christ declares that only He is the way, the truth, and the life. The road to heaven runs through Christ dying on the cross for our sins. That cross causes all manner of people to stumble, but Christ crucified is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Christ crucified is our salvation and eternal life. The vineyard, then, is ours, for it given as a gift by Yahweh, and that gift is ours through Christ the Cornerstone. It is Yahweh’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Remember.  Amen.

            15. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, You show His love for us in that Jesus Christ died for us while we were still sinners, may we never stumble over this proclamation nor reject this great gift of grace so that we may remain in the Christian faith unto eternal life.  Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

                All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson. 

                Just, Arthur A., Jr. Luke 9:51––24:53. Copyright © 1997 Concordia Publishing House.

Invocavit Sunday. Matthew 4,1-11

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 4,1-11 (Mark 1, 12-13; Luke 4,1-13)

Invocavit (1. Sonntag der Passionszeit) „He will call“

Euphrasia, Virgin in Egypt, † 410

13. March 2011

            1. O Jesus, Faithful Savior, who once for us fought a difficult, grueling battle, behold, we are now assembled to consider it from Your Precious Word. Let it be to the salvation of our bodies and souls; let Your believers among us be mightily strengthened by it in their faith, but let no one among us leave here who is not mightily awakened to embrace You in faith. O Dearest Lord Jesus, You alone know how many still lie enslaved in the power of darkness. O rise up and fight also now for these lives. Make the dead living, raise the fallen, make the despondent happy, give the faint courage and zeal, and also today conquer again among us through Your Word. Your shall be the glory, O Jesus always and eternally (Walther 42). Amen.

            2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Matthew where the holy evangelist writes: ¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. ³And the tempter came and said to Him, „If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.“ ⁴But He answered, „It is written, »Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.«“ ⁵Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶and said to Him, „If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, »He will command His angels concerning you,« and »On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.«“ ⁷Jesus said to him, „Again it is written, »You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.«“ ⁸Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹And he said to Him, „All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, „Be gone, Satan! For it is written, »You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.«“ ¹¹Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to Him.  This is our text.

            3. When Jesus was baptized, His heavenly Father spoke from heaven: „This is My beloved Son, in whom I am pleased. “ Immediately after this, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus had arrived vicariously for the nation of Israel, to be in its place and to repeat its history (Gibbs 193). When Israel went into the desert under Moses, God tested the people for faith and righteousness (Gibbs 193). Israel failed, however, falling into sin and gross idolatry time and time again (Gibbs 193). Now that the true Son has arrived in the place of Israel, He will be tempted to sin by Satan himself (Gibbs 193). Because the people of Israel failed the testing, Jesus must be subject to the tempting in their place (Gibbs 188). This is the Father’s good pleasure, and this Son will show His perfect Sonship by perfect obedience (Gibbs 193).

            4. The term „Israel reduced to one“ was first coined by Lutheran theologian Dr. Horace Hummel in the 1970s, and was put into print in 1979 with his book The Word Becoming Flesh. Dr. Hummel explained the term this way: „That is to say that Old Testament history really is our history via Christ…. Since Christ is ‘Israel reduced to one,’ and since Israel’s inner history was all recapitulated and consummated in Him, the ‘new Israel,’ the church, expresses [her] identity and mission in terms of the promise given the old Israel“ (Hummel 17).

            5. In Jesus’ temptation, we see a dovetailing of two Christological themes: Jesus, as Israel reduced to one, standing in our place, as the Christus Victor who triumphs victorious over our old, evil foe, the devil.

            6. Jesus stands in Israel’s place because Israel failed the testing Yahweh subjected them too in the Sinai Desert. Jesus stands in the place of all the nations because all the nations failed to  trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their deliverance. Jesus stands in our place because we were born in bondage to sin and Satan.

            7. In his Gospel, Matthew uses three different nouns to describe the devil. He is called „the tempter“ (4,3), for he is one who tempts people to sin against Yahweh’s law. He is called „diabolos, the devil, the slanderer“ (4,5), for he is one who slanders the good name and honor of people. He is finally called „Satan, the adversary“ (4,10), for he is one who works against God’s will in people’s lives. In each of his temptations, the devil’s attack against Jesus call up for review the nature of Jesus’ identity as God’s Son (Gibbs 198). Satan tries to get Jesus to misunderstand or contradict what it means for Him to live out His mission as God’s Son (Gibbs 198). In other words, it is a question of grasping His identity (Gibbs 198). Jesus overcomes each temptation, for in Jesus we do not see a Messiah of power nor a Messiah who abuses or misunderstands God’s power, but a Messiah of faithful obedience and service to God and to God’s people whom He will save from their sins (Gibbs 197). Jesus is Israel reduced to one, for He stands in Israel’s place and in our place as the one who overcomes the devil for us for we  haplessly fall for the devil’s wily temptations time and again.

            8. Jesus’ temptation, then, is not about seeing Jesus as our moral example, so that if we just quote the right Bible verses then we too will overcome the devil. The fact is, we often do not have the right verses at hand to duel with the devil, and even when we do we often fall into sin any way because the devil is much more knowledgeable and more powerful than we are. The law reveals that we daily fall prey to the devil’s temptations and sin. We are in bondage to the devil, and we have no way to free ourselves from that horrendous captivity.

            9. Jesus’ temptation, then, is about seeing and trusting Jesus as our savior. Jesus is tempted by the devil just as we are, and His temptation is His Heavenly Father’s will. Jesus is tempted in our place, and in our place He is victorious. The devil’s trickery does not trip up Jesus. Jesus overcomes. Jesus knows who He is. He is the Son of God who lives by the Word of God. He is the Son of God who trusts His Heavenly Father when trials and tribulations come His way. He is the Son of God who will do His Father’s will and none others, not even the devil’s.

            10. In his Gospel, Matthew presents Jesus’ work, and in Chapter 4 His work is to be our Savior. Jesus was triumphantly victorious over the devil. Jesus is Christus Victor over the devil on behalf of Israel, the nations, and also you and me (Gibbs 198).

            11. As Jesus’ disciples, we can learn to recognize the devil’s temptations as attacks on our identity as God’s children, and on what it means to live out that identity in the world and in our vocations (Gibbs 198). From Jesus’ temptation we learn this: Know from God’s Word who we are and how that identity as God’s baptized, adopted child is to be lived out (Gibbs 198). Jesus is our Victor. No matter how many times we fall to the devil’s temptations, Jesus has overcome the devil. Christ’s victory is our victory. We have it by our Baptism in God’s Triune Name. We have it by faith in Jesus. We have it by Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are saved, and Jesus did everything necessary to merit our salvation.  Amen.

            12. Let us pray. O Jesus Christ, the Son of God, daily destroy the evil works of Satan so that we shall be saved from sin, death, and the devil.  Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

                All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Matthew © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson. 

                Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 11:2 – 20:34. Copyright © 2010 Concordia Publishing House.

                Hummel, Horace. The Word Becoming Flesh. Copyright © 1979 Concordia Publishing House.

                Walther, C.F.W. Selected Sermons. Copyright © 1981. Concordia Publishing House.

O LORD deliver those in need!

We remember the Japanese and other in the Pacific who have born the brunt of earthquakes, tsunamai, and other calamities these past few days. You are in our prayers. LORD have mercy!

Almighty God,  Merciful Father, a very present help in time of trouble, again we are brought to realize that Your thoughts are not our thoughts. Your ways are not our ways. In Your wisdom You have permitted the disastrous earthquake and tsunami to be visited upon Japan and surrounding nations. We implore You, let not the hearts of Your people despair, but sustain and comfort them. Heal the injured, console the bereaved and afflicted, protect the innocent and helpless, and deliver any who are still in danger, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ash Wednesday: The First Day of Lent

In the Name of Jesus

2 Peter 1,2-11

Aschermittwoch (Ash Wednesday)

The Forty Knights, Martyrs at Sebaste, Armenia 320

9. March 2011

            1. Almighty and Everlasting God, who hates nothing that You have made and does forgive the sins of all those who are repentant: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, so that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of You, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness.  Amen.  

            2. Our sermon text for this evening, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Peter where the holy apostle writes: ²May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. ³His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, ⁴by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵For this very reason, diligently supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷and godliness with brotherly love (filadelfi,a|), and brotherly love (filadelfi,a|) with unconditional love (avga,phn). ⁸For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal reign of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This is our text.

            3.  Lent begins with ashes – the symbol of death and complete destruction – and thus, Lent begins with our recognition that one day we will become ashes. Hopefully for all of us, such will happen after decades and centuries of our body moldering and decaying in its grave, for the alternative is that we are turned to ashes in an instant by a fire or other such extreme tragedy. Ashes are the end result of God’s wrath and punishment upon sin and sinners. The curse of sin is death, and the after death comes the decay of the physical body until there are only ashes left. Even worse, after a millennia not even the ashes are left, unless you happen to be a mummified pharaoh. Where are Adam’s ashes? Abraham’s? Isaac’s? Jacob’s? Such patriarchs don’t even have ashes of their bodies anymore because so much time has passed that even their bodily ashes have broken down to molecules and atoms that have been reabsorbed by the ground and reprocessed elsewhere in nature. Ashes. They are the product of the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics: Energy spontaneously tends to flow only from being concentrated in one place to becoming diffused or dispersed and spread out. This is called entropy. Practically, this law is shown in the following example: A hot frying pan cools down when it is taken off the kitchen stove. Its thermal energy, which is „heat“, flows out to the cooler room air. The opposite never happens. British scientist and author C.P. Snow has an excellent way of remembering this law:  „You cannot break even. You cannot return to the same energy state, because there is always an increase in disorder; entropy always increases.“ This is the theme of Ash Wednesday and Lent.

            4. Yahweh’s law is damning. To Adam and Eve: if you eat from the forbidden tree, then you will die. To sinners: the life of the sinner will die. We live in a world that is ruled by the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics: sinners die; nature trembles with natural disasters; creation breaks down. The 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics is the result of this fallen world on account of man’s sin and Yahweh’s curse upon that sin. Yes, our end result is ashes, disorder, and entropy. O we can deny it, we can ignore it, but the results of sinful entropy surround us and press upon us every single day. The liturgy of our Divine Service pounds this horrible truth home every Sunday when we confess that everyone of us is a „poor, miserable sinner“. Our sins offend God and justly deserve His earthly and eternal punishment. Perhaps we have specific sins in mind when we make confession. Perhaps we just throw up our hands and say: „I cannot remember all my sins, I just know I am a filthy sinner and I cast my entire sinful body and soul before God in repentance of all I have done, spoken, or thought that has been sinful. “

            5. How do we know we are sinful? God’s holy law reveals our sinfulness. The Ten Commandments pierce our conscience, and we feel guilty. The commandments tell us that we are subject to the law of entropy and that one day we will become ashes. The law, however, does not grant us the remission of our sins. The law only reveals that we are sinful, that God is angry at us, and He threatens to punish us for our wickedness.

            6. Let’s be honest, though. Many try to use the law to earn their way to Jesus and salvation. Many will use Lent and the things they give up for the next forty days as ways to work their way into Jesus’ favor. Others will turn to other religions or philosophies, all of which are religions of law that tell you what you must do to get into God’s good graces.

            7. The law only reveals that we are sinful, that God is angry at us, and He threatens to punish us for our wickedness. The law shipwrecks our lives. Yahweh gave us the law with the intention that His law is supposed to finally take us to the feet of Christ. Well what does Christ then do with us who have been tossed and churned by the law and cast upon the shore at the feet of Jesus. Does Jesus pick us up and give us more laws to follow so that we might join Him in Paradise? Certainly not! Jesus takes those who have been beaten and battered by the law, their sinfulness, and the curse upon sin and gives them the gospel.

            8. Jesus tells us, „You have been beaten up by the law, and you are afraid of what awaits you when you die and your body turns to ashes, but do not fear, I will overturn death and entropy. You will live with me forever!“ Jesus accomplishes this for us and the entire world, and He accomplished it when He suffered and died on the cross in ransom payment for our sins, and He secured it when He triumphed over death when He Himself rose from death unto life, and not just any life, but eternal life never to die again. Jesus gives us these gospel gifts freely and we simply receive Jesus and His promise by faith.

            9. Ash Wednesday and the liturgical season of Lent, then, is about Christ, His death, and His resurrection. The Apostle Peter says great things are born from faith in Christ. »For this very reason, diligently supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly love, and brotherly love with unconditional love« (1,5-7). Here the holy apostle exhorts us to give evidence of our Christian faith with good works (Luther 155). „Since such a great blessing has been given to you through faith so that you truly have everything that is God, he wants to say, add to this … that is, let your faith break forth before the people, in order that it may be helpful, busy, powerful, and active, and may do many works and not remain sluggish and sterile. You have a good inheritance and a good field. But see to it that you do not let thistles or weeds grow in it“ (Luther 155).

            10. This is but to be like Christ. Faith sprouts good works just as an apple tree produces apples. Both the faith and the works are God’s power working in us which He has freely and graciously given to us. The gospel, therefore, is the opposite of the law of entropy. Rather than breaking down and becoming ashes, the gospel overturns entropy. Death leads to decay and ashes, but Jesus overcame death; He did not decay and His body did not rot away for centuries in a grave. Jesus arose in resurrected life and in doing so He has overcome entropy. Tonight it is Ash Wednesday but on the last day it will become Everlasting Life Wednesday when Christ raises each person up to life, some for eternal torment in hell, and others for everlasting life in heaven.

            11. Faith and the works that flow from faith are the beginning of Yahweh’s removal of the curse from creation, and when the curse is finally and fully removed, then the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics will cease to be a law for entropy will not exist in the new heavens and the new earth. The beginning of this new creation begins with Ash Wednesday and Lent, for in this liturgical season we acknowledge our sinfulness and repent of our sinfulness, once again take up our cross, the cross that Jesus will bear, and journey with Him to Calvary, His crucifixion, and ultimately His resurrection. And in following Jesus as the Christ, we know and believe that the ashes on our forehead that symbolize our mortality and humiliation will on the last day symbolize our immortality and glory that we have through Christ Jesus alone.

            12. We may not see the healing of the damage, but the sin can be forgiven, its dominion broken. Sin can no longer destroy us; it can no more destroy us than it can destroy Christ. He has answered for it all. You are free from the sting of death, free from the condemnation of the law, and free from the law of entropy, for in Christ Jesus ashes are raised up to new life with a physical body.  Amen.

            13. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, who does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities, do not remember against us our former iniquities and let Your compassion come speedily to meet us. Help us O God of our salvation, so that we may see, believe, and rejoice in the glory of Your Holy and Almighty Name.  Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

                All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

                Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 30:  The Catholic Epistles. Jaroslav Pelikan, Ed. Copyright © 1967 Concordia Publishing House.