Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
9 E Homestead Ave. Palisades Park, NJ 07650 201-944-2107 Sundays 11:00 a.m. We preach Christ crucified (1. Corinthians 1,23)

Saturday, October 31, 2015

All Hallow's Eve and the Commemoration of the Reformation




On 31. October 1517, Martin Luther posted his Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences on the Schloßkirche (Castle Church) door in Wittenberg, Germany. His 95 Theses were an invitation to debate the issue of indulgences in the Medieval Church. Such debates on theological topics were commonplace in Luther’s day, but his treatise caused a firestorm to erupt that eventually culminated in the drafting of the Augsburg Confession in 1530 and the formalizing of Lutheran theology in the Church. We can summarize Luther’s treatise with 4 central points from his 95 Theses: 

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said poenitentiam agite [Repent], willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance. [Matthew 4,17] 

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.  

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.

62. The true treasure of the Church is the most holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God. 

A year later at Heidelberg in April 1518, Luther drew up 28 Theses for a theological disputation. The 26. Thesis reads: »The law says: „Do this!“, and it never is done. Grace says: „Believe in this one [Jesus]!“, and forthwith everything is done.«

This Reformation theology reaches its pinnacle in the Augsburg Confession of 1530 where Article 4 shines forth like Polaris in the night sky: Also our churches teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has 3] made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Romans 3 and 4. 

Happy Reformation Day and a blessed All Hallow's Eve, for by Christ we have been justified, forgiven and made saints through His crucifixion and resurrection. 

Monday, October 26, 2015

Matthew 5,38-48. 21st Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠
The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 
se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ 

Matthew 5,38-48; Luke 6,29-36   5115 21. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  066
Cleopas, Luke 24,18  
25. Oktober 2015 

1. O Merciful, Righteous and Eternal God, We appeal to Thee, for the evil one is bold and we are powerless against him. We call upon Thee to: overcome evil with good.  Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for 21. Sn. n. Trinitatis  § 1 2015) 
2. Jesus taught the crowds, saying: „You have heard that it was said: »An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.« [Leviticus 24,20] But I say to you: ‘Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.’ „You have heard that it was said: »You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.« [Leviticus 19,18] But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.’ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“ 
3. It is easy to read these verses of Jesus’ Beatitudes and conclude that Jesus is a kinder, gentler Moses, who softened the law into easier exhortations, such as loving God and neighbor from the heart (Horton). Instead of following a lot of rules such as are found in the old testament, God expects only love and heartfelt surrender in the new testament (Horton). Such an understanding would also make Jesus a kinder, gentler Pharisee. Jesus, it seems, reduced the Pharisees 613 laws, commandments and traditions into only two: love God and love your neighbor. 
4. But hear again what Jesus teaches. The old commandment said an eye for an eye, but Jesus says not just an eye for an eye but turn your cheek and be slapped on both sides of your face, walk the extra mile than is required, don’t just give you tunic but also your cloak and love both your friends and your enemies, and furthermore, pray for them. Jesus taught to go beyond what the Pharisees were teaching, and the Pharisees had a very rigorous ideal of law-keeping. The Pharisees believed they were righteous because they meticulously kept their 613 commandments. Jesus says you must go beyond righteousness and be perfect as God is perfect. Jesus is not a kinder, gentler Moses but a more rigorous and demanding Moses. These Beatitudes are not exhortations that leave us with the impression that God does not expect the perfect righteousness prescribed in the law, but a generally good heart and attitude and avoidance of major sins. Instead, the Beatitudes exhort us to perfect obedience to the law. 
5. Such an approach often leads us to despair and anguish. How can we be perfect when we know full well we do not measure up to what God expects of us? If the average Jewish person in Jesus day could not live up to the expectation of the Pharisees, then how can we live up to the more rigorous expectation of Jesus? Many Christians have lamented over this dilemma throughout the millennia. Martin Luther was one of those Christians who early in his life was filled with despair and utter terror. 
6. Luther tribulations revolved around the verse found in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: »The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel.« [1] Luther writes about his agonizing struggle and says: „It was commonly explained by saying that the righteousness of God is the power of God by which God Himself is formally righteous and condemns sinners. This is the way all teachers except Augustine had interpreted this passage: the righteousness of God, that is, the wrath of God. But every time I read this passage, I always wished that God had never revealed the gospel, for who could love a God who is angry, judges and condemns?“ (Luther 158; WA 43,537). 
7. Luther spent many anxious, sleepless nights wrestling over his unrighteousness. Luther spent countless hours reading the Bible in an attempt to extinguish the tormenting flames of his guilty conscience. Luther eventually had his eureka moment while re-reading Romans 1,17. He later preached in the Wittenberg Church: „Terrible. Unforgiving. That’s how I saw God. Punishing us in this life, committing us to purgatory after death, sentencing sinners to burn in hell for all eternity. But I was wrong. Those who see God as angry do not see Him rightly but look upon a curtain as if a dark storm cloud has been drawn across His face. If we truly believe that Christ is our Savior, then we have a God of love, and to see God in faith is to look upon His friendly heart. So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God. Where He is, there I shall be also“ [2] (Luther movie). 
8. Jesus demands perfection in His Beatitudes, but only God can be perfect. So Jesus is perfect for us in our place. Jesus kept every one of the Beatitudes He spoke in today’s Gospel pericope. He did so during His public ministry and more so in His suffering and crucifixion where He merited our righteousness and redemption. 
9. What does Jesus intend for us to now do with the Beatitudes? First, the Beatitudes are not a list of things we must do to earn or assure ourself of eternal life with God. Jesus has taken care of that by being our Savior; He has earned our salvation before God. Second, The Beatitudes are present tense declaratives and realities that Jesus spoke to His disciples. Jesus declares us perfect and He makes us perfect on account of His propitiation for sinfulness. Jesus has atoned for sin, paid the ransom price and has merited the forgiveness of sin. This is why you are now declared perfect by Jesus. 
10. The Beatitudes show us was a Christian life of faith looks like, and this life of faith is one of love. It is a love that suffers all for the neighbor and redeems them back to God the Father. How do we love? Just as Jesus loved us. It is a love that suffers all for the neighbor: helping them when they are in need, giving to our church so she can continue on with the proclamation of the gospel and putting the best construction on things that we hear people say or do. Such love is not easy, for it is a costly love, but Jesus gives us the strength and the will to love this way for this is how He loves us. May the Holy Spirit work in each of us to love in this way, for by such love the Holy Spirit uses His Church and His Christians to be a blessing to the world in many diverse ways. May the Holy Spirit work in each of us to: First, receive the promise that we are already perfect because Jesus has declared us to be perfect; second, strive to live this perfect life with the Beatitudes as our guide.
11. Let us pray. O Lord, Thou Steadfast Love of the Heavenly Father; inspire us to sing Your praise so that may hear of the righteousness and justification You have merited for us.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 
Lewis, C. S. The Complete C. S. Lewis. Signature Classics. Copyright © 2000 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 
Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 5: Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 26-30. „Preface to the New Testament“. Jaroslav Pelikan, Ed.; Walter A. Hansen, Ed. Copyright © 1968 Concordia Publishing House. 
Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 21 : The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat.  J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald and H. T. Lehmann, Ed. Copyright © 1956 Concordia Publishing House. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

[1] cf. AE 34,336-338

[2] „Anyone who regards Him as angry is not seeing Him correctly, but has pulled down a curtain and cover, more, a dark cloud over His face. But in Scriptural language to see His face means to recognize Him correctly as a gracious and faithful Father, on whom you can depend for every good thing. This happens only through faith in Christ.“ (Luther 21,37). 

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Matthew 22,33-46. 20th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠
The Word of the Lord Endures Forever
Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Matthew 22,33-46; Mark 12,1-12   5015
20. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  065
Luke, physician, Evangelist, Colossians 4,14. Martyr 84
18. Oktober 2015 

1. O Eternal God, Thou Source of all life, we praise You, for You created us by Your Will, shaped by Your Love, enlivened by Your Breath. We pray: Hear our prayers. (VELKD Prayer for 20. Trinitatis § 1).  Amen. 
2. Jesus said: „Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying: ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves: ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?“ They said to him: „He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.“ Jesus said to them: „Have you never read in the Scriptures: »The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes«? [Psalm 118,22-23] Therefore I tell you, the reign of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; and when It falls on anyone, It will crush him.“ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him to be a prophet.  
3. Both the Pharisees and the crowds didn’t get Jesus. Most of the Pharisees rejected Jesus outright. He healed on the Sabbath, ate with tax collectors and sinners, failed to uphold the traditions of the elders and forgave people like He was God. It was clear to the Pharisees that Jesus was a blasphemer who claimed to be Divine. He thus deserved to die, but the Pharisees were afraid to arrest Jesus because the crowds esteemed Him to be a prophet. 
4. At least the crowds perceived Jesus to be a prophet sent from God. Truly He is a prophet but He is so much more than a prophet; such a realization went over the heads of many people in the crowds. They also had a nostalgic view of the days of the prophets. They looked back on the good old days when the prophets spoke the Word of God to His people. They forgot that the prophets were sent when Israel rebelled against God and refused to keep His covenant. The days of the prophets were not the good old days but the wicked evil days and a time when judgment would befall Israel unless they heeded the prophetic word, repented and worshipped God alone.  
5. If God was sending His people a prophet, then it meant the time was dire for the nation and judgment was close at hand. And so it was: »In those days John the Baptizer arrived preaching in the wilderness of Judea: „Repent, for the reign of heaven is at hand!“ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: „You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is arriving after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire“« (Matthew 3,1-2.7.10-12). Shortly after telling His parable against the Pharisees, Jesus went to the hills outside the city and prophesied: »O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!« (Matthew 23,37). 
6. What had happened that Israel had fallen so far away from God? He had given Israel a land, a vineyard, for them to enjoy. Historically, Israel squandered this gracious gift. When God sought His first fruits of the harvest, Israel refused to give up what they perceived as their hard-earned labor. God sent them prophets to remind them that His vineyard was graciously given as a gift and His first fruits a joyous tithe with all the rest for them to enjoy. Things had gotten so bad by Jesus’ time that the traditions of the elders took priority and many were burdened by their failure to keep the covenant. The vineyard has ceased to be a gift and had become a tedious chore with over six hundred laws to be meticulously followed. God had had enough, and so He sent Israel His Son. 
7. Jesus arrived and taught His people new ways. His words began to win over the crowds and the old teachers became threatened. Jesus broke the old rules steeped in tradition and questioned those in powerful positions. Then to those who prided themselves on hammer of the law, Jesus gave them the anvil to strike them with their precious law: »Have you never read in the Scriptures: The Stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?« (Matthew 21,42). Jesus is that Cornerstone: you can either believe and be built upon His foundation or you can reject Him and be crushed by Him when He builds His reign. Or in the image of today’s parable: new wine must be put in new wine skins otherwise it would burst the old wine skins (Matthew 9,17). The Pharisees and the Mosaic covenant were the old wine in old wine skins; Jesus and His New Testament are the new wine in new wine skins. Jesus had arrived to fill the Mosaic covenant and the Pharisaic approach was simply unable to handle who Jesus is and what He gives. 
8. The Apostle Paul exhorts the supremacy of this new testament over the old in his Epistle to the Galatians: »I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the Holy Spirit who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. For we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but is justified through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because no one will be justified by works of the law. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons and daughters of Abraham. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written: Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them [Deuteronomy 27,26]. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for The righteous shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2,4]. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree [Deuteronomy 21,23]. To give a human example: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. For the inheritance does not come by the law but by the promise for God gave the inheritance to Abraham by a promise. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ arrived, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has arrived, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons and daughters of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise« (Galatians 1,6-7; 2,16.21; 3,7.9-11.13.15.18.21.24-27.29). 
9. It is clear why the scribes and Pharisees vehemently opposed Jesus: He was a radical who taught that He was going to fulfill the old testament and its law, and furthermore that this was His plan all along when He established this testament with Israel through Moses. Jesus fulfilled this at His crucifixion where He became the Paschal Lamb who took away the sin of the world. With this redemption complete, He tore the temple veil that separated the people from the presence of God. 
10. This judgment chastised the exceptionalism that the Pharisees prided themselves in as keepers of the old law. Jesus opened up the mercy of God to all the other nations, and this mercy is received by faith just as Abraham and others under the old testament received it. We are one story built upon this foundation with Christ the Cornerstone a foundation that traces back all the way to Adam and Eve. The Apostle Paul teaches that this promise is far superior to the law that was given to Israel hundreds of years later for this promise is received by faith and is founded upon Christ Jesus Himself. St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Colossians: »Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to arrive, but the substance belongs to Christ. With Christ we died to the elemental spirits of the world and therefore we do not submit to regulations such as do not handle, do not taste and do not touch things that the old testament forbid as unclean. These regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.« (Colossians 2,16-23). 
11. God gives us the vineyard as a gift, and we receive it by faith. God gives us forgiveness of all our sins, and we receive it by faith. God gives us eternal life, and we receive it by faith. God gives us all these things through Jesus, His Only Son. Jesus has done it all and we receive His grace and mercy through faith.  Amen.
12. Let us pray. O Lord, teach us the way of Your statutes, and and will observe them to the end, for therein is judgment and promise so that we are convicted of our sinfulness and confess our forgiveness through Your law and gospel.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 
Soli Deo Gloria

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Mark 1,1-12. 19th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠
The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 
se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ 

Mark 2,1-12; Matthew 9,1-8; Luke 5,17-26; John 5,1-16 4915
19. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  064
Philip, Deacon 
Burkhard, Bishop of Würzburg, Germany. † 754 
11. Oktober 2015 

1. O Eternal God, Thou our Hope and our Life, who saved the world through Thine only-begotten Son. Send forth the Holy Spirit with Thy healing word to save us from the tribulations in this corrupt and fallen world.  Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for 19. Sn. n. Trinitatis  § 1 2015) 
2. And when Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And He was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic: „My son, your sins are forgiven.“ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: „Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?“ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them: „Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic: ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say: ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins“ – He said to the paralytic – “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.“ And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying: „We never saw anything like this!“ 
3. St. Mark doesn’t beat around the bush; he begins his Gospel by telling us straight up who Jesus is: »The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God« (Mark 1,1). One chapter later, Mark writes that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. 
4. The moment Jesus told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, the scribes sat up at took note. Jesus had said: »My son, your sins are forgiven.« The scribes had just heard Jesus commit blasphemy: He had just claimed to have the Divine authority to forgive a man his sins. Only God can do that. In their opinion, such a declaration by Jesus was a violation of the first two commandments: »You shall have no other gods be fore Me« and »You shall not take the Name of Yahweh your God in vain«
5. St. Mark tells us that Jesus forced people at the very beginning of His ministry to answer the question: Who are You, Jesus? Is Jesus a mere man, a great teacher of Holy Scripture and a blessed healer? Is Jesus something more than that? Is Jesus the Divine Son of God?  
6. The scribes refuse to accept the possibility that Jesus is God Himself. So Jesus gives the scribes a sign: He heals the paralytic. Can a mere man heal someone who is paralyzed? Here the scribes, and even we ourselves, are confronted with the old theological trilemma made popular by C. S. Lewis: Jesus must be a lunatic, Lucifer or the Lord. Lewis writes: 

„I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God“ (Lewis 36-37). 

7. The scribes choose a different answer: they believed Jesus did these mighty deeds by the power of the devil. Just a chapter later from today’s Gospel pericope, St. Mark tells us: »And the scribes who went down from Jerusalem were saying: „Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul,“ and „by the prince of demons he casts out the demons“« (Mark 3,22). Beelzebul was a common proper name for the devil in Jesus’ day. 
8. Jesus acknowledged the truth that sometimes the devil tries to deceive by wondrous signs. Jesus said about the abomination of desolation: »False christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect« (Mark 13,22). The Apostle Paul wrote bout the second advent of Jesus in his epistle to the Thessalonians: »Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive, unless the rebellion arrives first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. The advent of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power, false signs and wonders« (2. Thessalonians 2,3-4.9). 
9. In response to the bold blasphemy against Jesus, our Lord told the scribes: »How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, then that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, then that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, then he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house« (Mark 3,23-27). Jesus says He overcomes Satan because He is God. Jesus is Satan’s Creator, and He has more power and authority than 12 legions of angels. Jesus exhibited this Divine power and authority when He forgave the paralytic of all His sins and then cured his paralysis. Jesus is the true christ and the true prophet. His signs and wonders do not lead people away from God but draw them closer into His midst. His words and miracles promise people forgiveness and a new life, both in this terrestrial world and the spiritual world. 
10. In response to all this there is the joyful proclamation of the crowds: „We never saw anything like this!“ Jesus taught and healed with His own authority, and not like the scribes. Jesus forgave people by His own Divine authority. The Gospels proclaim that Jesus is neither a liar or a lunatic; Jesus is the Lord and the Son of God. 
11. The result is that the words and miracles of Jesus are not the end result of His ministry, nor are they the primary goal of His ministry. The teachings and signs of Jesus are the opening salvo on a war against Satan that ends with Satan defeated and plundered. Jesus was crucified and resurrected to put us right with God and give us a fresh start (Lewis 37). Jesus gives us this righteousness and fresh start in Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Faith receives these and has what they promise: forgiveness and eternal life. These are not some future, spiritual blessings but real, here-and-now blessings that He gives to us through His Church. Christ offers us something for nothing: He even offers everything for nothing (Lewis 81). The paralytic was brought to Jesus hoping to be made whole; he received more than he ever dreamed: he was made whole, and all his sins were forgiven too! He was brought to Jesus looking for a doctor, but He walked away as Jesus’ disciple. Jesus has done the same for each one of us too. We have His gospel and the promise of forgiveness and everlasting life. We receive it by faith, faith in Jesus who is God Himself.  Amen. 
12. Let us pray. O Lord, Your steadfast love endures forever. You have not forsaken the work of Your hands, for You have sent the world Your own Son to die and rise for us so that we are now sons and daughters in Your heavenly reign.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 
   Lewis, C. S. The Complete C. S. Lewis. Signature Classics. Copyright © 2000 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Monday, October 5, 2015

Mark 12,28-34. 18th Sunday after Trinity


✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠
The Word of the Lord Endures Forever
Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Mark 12,28-34; Matthew 22,34-40; Luke 10,25-28 4615
18. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  063
Francis of Assisi, France. Founder of a monastic order, ✠ 1226
4. Oktober 2015 

1. O Merciful God, without Your grace, the world is lost. Pour out Your mercy far and wide so that sin is forgiven and the enemies of life are driven out. (VELKD Prayer for 18. Trinitatis § 1).  Amen. 
2. And one of the scribes went up and heard Jesus and the Sadducees disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him: „Which commandment is the most important of all?“ Jesus answered: „The most important is: »Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.« The second is this: »You shall love your neighbor as yourself.« There is no other commandment greater than these.“ And the scribe said to Him: „You are right, teacher. You have truly said that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.“ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him: „You are not far from the reign of God.“ And after that no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions. 
3. In this discussion between Jesus and a scribe we see that both take the Law (torah) seriously, and so should we. Jesus tells us that the heart and will of God is that we first love Him and then our neighbor. Jesus exhorts the proclamation of the psalmist, who says by Divine inspiration: »Blessed is the person whose delight is in the torah of yahweh; and who meditates on His torah day and night« (Psalm 1,1-2). 
  4. This summation of the torah convicts many people. To the pious person who says: „I love God “, and worships God every week in church, gives a weekly offering, reads the Bible everyday and prays, but does not help or love his neighbor, such a person does not truly love God. To the philanthropist who says: „I love my neighbor“, and goes out of his way to help him, speaks well of him and gives liberally to charities, but does not love God or even denies His existence, such a person does not truly love his neighbor. For the Apostle John exhorts us: »We love because God first loved us. If anyone says: „I love God “, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Jesus: whoever loves God must also love his brother« (1. John 4,19-21). 
5. The two go together: love God and love your neighbor.  Understanding this is one thing, but it is another to practice this commandment for loving God and our neighbor is a difficult thing to do. Even more difficult is the next question Jesus answered. The scribes and Pharisees taught that loving God and loving the neighbor were the heart of the torah. The scribes and Pharisees also taught that the Christ is the son of David (Mark 12,35). This is also a difficult teaching, for how can this be when David himself declared: »The Lord said to my Lord: „Be seated at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet“ (Mark 12,36). Jesus then said: »David calls the Christ his Lord, so how then is the Christ David’s son?« (Mark 12,37). While the scribes and Pharisees could understand that loving God and neighbor is the central commandment, they could not answer how the Christ could be both David’s son and Lord. They only thought in human terms that the Christ was to be a human descendant of King David. They did not entertain the understanding that the Christ would also be Divine. Many people today hold the same view of Jesus. 
6. We do not worship and love a generic God. We do worship and love the Triune God who speaks a particular way and does specific things. The One True God is One God comprised of Three Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Apostle John writes in his epistle: »Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him« (1. John 4,15-16). 
7. God is not a generically loving God. He is a God who speaks about His love and acts on His love. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh who arrived on this earth to redeem fallen humanity (John 1,14). God the Father so loved the world that He gave His Only-begotten Son to save the world (John 3,16). Jesus is also the Love of God the Father made flesh. We see this in the Gospels where Jesus taught the crowds, prayed with people and for them, healed those who were sick and gathered in those cast out by the religious elite. 
8. Jesus told His apostles on Maundy Thursday: »Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends« (John 15,13). Jesus did this very thing the next day. We call this the passion of Christ. Jesus suffered humiliation, crucifixion and death on the cross. Jesus took up this vicarious sacrifice to save the world and make the payment for sin. Before He gave up His spirit and died, Jesus promised the seditionist crucified next to him: »Today, you will be with Me in paradise« (Luke 23,43). Jesus was buried in a grave and He descended into hades. 
9. Yes, the God who loves is revealed in Jesus Christ. He loves God His Father and you, His neighbor. Jesus has fulfilled the law and all its demands for you. Jesus sends to us the Holy Spirit who empowers us with the gospel to love God and our neighbors. 
10. The reign of God is not far from you. God’s reign was manifested with a dead Jesus hanging on the cross and a living Jesus risen from His tomb three days later. The reign of God is in your midst, and you have access to Jesus, to God’s reign and its benefits through faith in Jesus. God the Father loves you. He has forgiven you. He now sanctifies you to love God and your neighbor, and through this love you bear forth the fruits of faith for God’s glory and your neighbor’s benefit. The Apostle John teaches: »God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. We love because He first loved us« (1. John 4,19).  Amen. 
11. Let us pray. O Beloved Lord, who has established with the world a covenant of grace, teach us to fear, love and trust You so that we receive from Christ the everlasting life that He has obtained for us.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 
Soli Deo Gloria

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 
Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 27. September 2009 (16. Trinitatis) in Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany on John 11,1-3.17-27.41-45. Copyright © 209 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2015. 
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.