Matthew 28,16-20. The 6. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 28,16-20
6. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  051
Joseph of Arimathea
Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, France, † 448.
31. Juli 2011

            1. O Holy Spirit, our Gift from heaven sent by Christ Jesus, we live in a dark and wicked generation where people hold fast to spirituality and religion but neither know the True God nor the Christian faith. Worse yet, our culture glorifies and praises religious pluralism while vilifying Christianity. O God: Work in our midst, proclaim the pure Word of God from our church, use each one of us as disciples of Your gospel, enlighten the minds of men and women, prepare their hearts for the gospel, create faith where it does not exist, and embolden faith where it already is. Make the proclamation of Christ crucified real in our lives, a beacon in this borough, and the light unto the fallen world.  Amen.  
            2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to Matthew where the holy evangelist writes: ¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, „All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.“  This is our text.
3. „Our congregation is a mission church, a congregation of people from different countries, inviting and calling people to faith and to know Jesus Christ. Why do we deliberately evangelize here in [this borough] as well as in other cities and countries? There are three answers here in today’s Holy Gospel from St. Matthew of the day. We go to all nations,

I.   because Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth
II.  because we keep everything Jesus has commanded us
III. because Jesus is with us every day“ (Martens § 3).

I.

            4. Following Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, His Heavenly Father gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth. The signs and miracles of Jesus during His public ministry involved reestablishing Yahweh’s authority upon a fallen, sinful earth so that just as God’s will is perfectly done in heaven so too will it be done on earth. By the authority of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were sent out to evangelize the world. Luke gives us an overview of some of this evangelization in his Acts of the Apostles which focuses particularly on the Apostle Paul’s travels throughout the Roman Empire as he preached the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
            5. Jesus describes how this evangelization will be carried out: the apostles are to baptize people in the Triune Name of God and teach them to observe Jesus’ teachings. The Church continues this apostolic mandate to this very day as she baptizes people and teaches them about Jesus. Particularly useful in this task are the Holy Scriptures, especially the Four Gospels which give us the content of Jesus’ teachings and actions, and the Apostolic Epistles which show how the law and gospel can be applied in specific instances and places.
            6. The 21^st century Church finds herself in a similar situation that the 1^st century Church was in. The 1^st century Greco-Roman culture was one of pluralism and religious choices. Many different cultures and ideologies bumped into each other, merged, and formed variations of the original. One could worship the classic Greco-Roman pantheon, follow the exotic Eastern mystery religions like Mithraism or Zoroastrianism, become a God-fearing follower of Judaism, be baptized a Christian, or opt to worship no god at all. Although such religious freedom was granted by Rome, as the 1^st century ticked by Rome became more and more hostile to the Church so that in some locations Christians were robbed of property, possessions, and their lives.

II.

            7. Amidst the many, diverse challenges of the 21^st century, some churches abandon the foundational teachings of Jesus. They do this hoping to fit in with the society and culture in which they find themselves, believing that doing so will make people more open to them and their proclamation. Unfortunately, the Church has her own culture that is unique from that of the cultures that surround her. The farther a given culture is removed from the Judeo-Christian foundation, the more adversity and conflict that culture will have with the Church. Trying to fit in with the surrounding culture will not completely remove those adversities and conflicts, because the average person will always view the Church as an entity that has a different way of thinking from the prevailing culture.
            8. Case in point: the Church upholds Jesus’ teaching that the way of salvation as through Christ alone. Jesus clearly taught this when He said: »I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me« (John 14,6). This is anathema in our society, for one can believe anything he or she wishes except the solus Christus principle. The world tempts the Church and Christians with the promise that if this doctrine is set aside then all friendship with the world is eagerly awaiting. Too many Christians and churches believe the world and give up, water down, or conveniently forget that a person is only saved through faith in Jesus Christ.
            9. It is not easy for the Church and her Christians to stand solidly upon Christ and His Word. Our culture is quite happy to have a compliant Church and eager Christians who will focus on morality, virtues, helping those in society who are in need of assistance, and the like. O our culture will squirm a bit and voice their annoyance when the Church calls the culture to embrace life rather than abortion or keep marriage a union between a man and a woman. The world can get along with a moral, virtuous Church because after all, at the end of the day, the world realizes that having good, caring citizens is conducive to calm social order. The problem is that morality, virtues, and a good social conscience do not save a person. Yes, they are valuable traits that God exhorts in us, but these traits will not and cannot save us.
            10. The world is not enough, for a person needs the gospel in order to be saved. You are God’s elect and chosen on account of the gospel. The world, with all its wickedness, and our culture, with all its mischievous ideals, needs the gospel. Jesus suffered on the cross and rose in victory to redeem the world from sin. The apostles and the pastors who followed them preached this crucified Christ throughout the world. The Church that would be faithful to Jesus must and does preach this same gospel today.

III.

            11. There is no guarantee that this gospel will produce the number of fruit that we expect, want, or demand. The Holy Spirit produces faith when and where He wills (AC V,2). The gospel falls upon different types of people: some are hard-hearted and never give the gospel any consideration whatsoever, some have faith for a while but for one reason or another they abandon the faith to pursue the cares and wealth of this world or because the cost is too high and the suffering too great when they are ridiculed by the world for being a Christian, but others hear the gospel, faith is created, and their faith blooms with much fruit.
            12. In the midst of uncertainty, Jesus promises to be with you and His Church. The journey may be light and easy, but more often than not the path is rocky and dangerous. The gospel and its preaching is fraught with much grief and hardship. All of Jesus’ apostles suffered, and all but one was martyred for their faith. The Church now exists in a society and culture that is more and more increasingly hostile toward her and her proclamation. Our American culture was founded on the teaching of Jesus and the foundation of the Church’s principles, but the American culture is becoming less Christian and more pagan. Other religions and philosophies compete with the Church, and our culture is enamored with anything that is not Christian. Jesus’ word, however, greater than our American culture and society, and our Lord promises: »Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.« Take this promise to heart, let it comfort you, and rejoice for your sins are forgiven, eternal life awaits you, and Jesus is your Lord.  Amen.
            13. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, who is praised by Your holy people, send forth the Holy Spirit to enable Your Church and this congregation to proclaim You Name to all people so that in hearing the law they repent of their sins and in hearing the gospel they receive absolution and inherit life everlasting.  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. 
                Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 19. July 2009 (6. Trinitatis) in Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany on Matthew 16,16-20. Copyright © 2009 The Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.