Luke 16,19-31. Trinity 17

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 16,19-31

17. Sunday after Trinity, Proper 21C

Justina, Virgin and Martyr at Antioch in 304.

26. September 2010

O God, Heavenly Father, we beseech You in the Name of Your only-begotten Son, our dear Lord Jesus Christ, that You would embrace us with Your grace and help, so that we may know and have power to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You. Without Your help we are and continue to be a blemished sacrifice through our guilt. We greatly desire to supplant every lack in our sinful, imperfect sacrifice, through the merit of the holy sacrifice of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which, as our high priest, He offered upon the altar of the cross. In Him and through Him we offer and consecrate unto You this day and all our days, our soul with all its powers, memory, understanding, the will to love, our faith, our hope, and our heart with all its motives and desires, our body and life will all its spiritual and earthly powers, our health, power, strength, fortune, honor, and possessions, with the humble confession that it is all Your own; for, we have received all of Your great mercy without any worthiness or merit in us. We pray now for knowledge, power, strength, and wisdom to know and henceforth to serve You according to Your good pleasure. Amen.

Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from The Gospel according to St. Luke where the evangelist writes: ,,Now there was a rich man, and he was dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, celebrating in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was lain at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs falling from the rich man's table; and even the dogs were approaching and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. Then in hell the rich man was lifting up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and refresh my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. … And the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may solemnly testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ Then he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead shall go to them, then they will repent.’ But Abraham said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’“ This is our text.

English historian and moralist, Lord Acton, wrote in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887: ,,Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men“. In a nutshell, this is what has happened in Jesus’ story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Jesus tells a story of two men: One of them has God as his master, and the other is ruled by money (Bailey). The rich man has been absolutely corrupted by his great wealth so that his money and possessions are all he cares about. He does not care about Yahweh, the afterlife, and consequently this is played out in his complete lack of care for the needy and the community in which he dwells. What one believes influences one’s actions.

Lazarus, poor, without a family, and sick has not been absolutely corrupted by his situation in life. Many people when confronted with the tribulations endured by Lazarus would heed the advice of Job’s wife: Curse God, and die (Job 2,9), although they would just curse God and go on living without any thought or concern about God and His providence.

Last week’s Gospel Reading was the Parable of the Unjust Steward who reckoned with the judgment and responded appropriately. He was about to be unemployed and he ensured that he would be provided for after that happened. In today’s Gospel Reading, the rich man is concerned only about his sumptuous living during this earthly life and is not prepared for the afterlife while Lazarus is suffering in poverty and pestilence but is prepared for the afterlife. The story is about the impending judgment and responding to that judgment.

Both the rich man and Lazarus have at their disposal Moses and the Prophets, which is the how the Jesus and the Holy Gospels refer to the Old Testament. In those Holy Scriptures is the declaration that man is sinful, cursed, and will be judged according to his sinfulness. Yahweh, however, has promised to send a savior and redeem us from the curse and judgment of hell. Moses and the Prophets proclaimed the arrival of Christ Jesus. How does one respond to this promise?

The rich man has rejected Moses and the Prophets and their promise of the Christ, and therefore he does not have faith in Yahweh and His Christ. The rich man certainly has a god, but it is the idolatry of wealth and possessions. Lazarus, however, has accepted Moses and the Prophets and their promise of Christ, and therefore he does have faith in Yahweh and His Christ. Lazarus’ God is the true God, the God who promises to redeem and save fallen men and women.

Both men receive their rewards based on faith. The rich man, because he had rejected Christ and thereby put his trust in his enormous wealth, is rewarded with the eternal torments of hell. Lazarus, because he has received Christ and thereby has faith, is rewarded with the eternal wealth of heaven.

All mankind is in the place of the rich man and Lazarus. Each one of us has been dealt the life we have. Some are wealthy, while others are poor. Some have a life of relative comfort and ease, while others endure trials and tribulations. Every one of us has heard the gospel. What is the result of such hearing in our lives?

Has the gospel produced faith in Christ and the resulting good works that follow such faith? Are we like Lazarus who, although this life may be one of misery and heartache, nevertheless praise Yahweh for all He does for us and by faith patiently endure the sufferings of this world knowing that when we enter heavenly Paradise that our reward will be great and overshadow all the tribulations of this sinful, fallen world? Or are we like the rich man who, although this life may be one of possessions and happiness, nevertheless stick our finger in God’s eye and concern ourselves with only me, myself, and I, and tough luck to every one else.

We Christians face a great challenge and temptation. Yahweh has blessed us with possessions, education, medical care, and many other resources and opportunities in America. Even the poor of this nation are wealthy compared to those who live in Third World slums. Wealth tends to corrupt and great wealth tends to corrupt absolutely. Jesus’ story is not critical of wealth and does not reprimand someone for making or possessing too much money. Jesus is critical of those who are irresponsible with their wealth.

First, we are tempted to serve our wealth at the expense of God. We should not allow the many blessing that our Heavenly Father gives us to divert our attention from Him, forgiveness, and eternal life. If faith is lost, what good are the possessions of this world when we die? We cannot take such things with us when we die. Faith and trust in Christ alone is the only means of inheriting the superabundant wealth that awaits us in heaven.

Second, we are tempted to serve our wealth at the expense of our neighbor. The Apostle James says, »If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ,,Go in peace, be warmed and filled,“ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself; if faith does not have works, then faith is dead« (James 2,15-17).

 

Christ Jesus, then, is the only person who has not been absolutely corrupted by wealth; He has served His neighbor in all things. The Apostle Paul tells us that although Christ has at His disposal all the wealth and possessions of His Heavenly Father, nevertheless, He put such wealth aside, humbled Himself to become a man, and served you, me, and the entire world by taking up His cross, died as payment for our sinfulness, and then rose in resurrected victory. (Philippians 2,5-8). On account of faith, the Holy Spirit will take a wealthy Christian and use that person’s wealth to benefit his or her neighbors. On account of faith, the Holy Spirit will take a poor, beggarly Christian and comfort him or her in the inheritance yet to arrive in heaven.

,,Let us then listen to the word of God and turn away from the false promises of this life. Jesus allows the self-serving, money worshiping world to crucify Him, but God raised Him up again. We have the testimony of Moses and the Prophets but also of the one who rose from the dead. Let us turn away from the desires of the world and follow Christ“ (Gibbs).

Only Christ alone opens up paradise so that we, like Lazarus, may recline at the heavenly banquet next to Abraham. Moses and the Prophets attest to and prophesize about Christ Jesus. The Holy Gospels and the Epistles testify to and proclaim Christ Jesus. We have heard the gospel, and the Holy Spirit has created faith in us; we believe and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. First faith, then works, is what James teaches, because the best works do us no good if we do not know how we are doing in our relationship with God (Bayer 284). Without faith the best work is dead (Bayer 284). Thus, God only knows about faith: either we believe or we don’t, and if we believe, then the good works will follow, with both faith and the works as gifts of the Holy Spirit to us. Moses and the Prophets preach Christ and the resurrection, both His and ours by His merit. Amen.

Let us pray. O Jesus, the Christ preached by Moses and the Prophets, strengthen our faith in Your crucifixion and resurrection alone and increase our good works to our neighbors, so that they may be blessed in their hour of need. 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.
   Bailey, Kenneth. ,,The Clothes Horse and the Beggar“.
   Bayer, Oswald. Martin Luther’s Theology. Copyright © 2008 William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Luke 16,1-17; The 16. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 16,1-17

16. Sunday after Trinity, Proper 20C

19. September 2010

Lord Jesus Christ, we realize not only from Your Word, but our own experience in the world frequently teaches us, how the presumptive knowledge and selfish wisdom of our flesh, the puffed up exaltation of our human understanding, the discoveries of reason and its powers, are not satisfied to exercise their limited functions in that which is visible and created, but, behold, these presume even upon spiritual and heavenly things whose source and ruler You only, Lord Jesus Christ, are evermore. Renew, O Lord, our body sin, and, by Your grace, change the old Adam in us. Sprinkle our unworthy flesh with Your precious blood that we become wholly clean. Turn all our weakness and nothingness into Divine strength, our helplessness into Divine power, and our body into a dwelling of Your Spirit. Grant, therefore, that we put off the old Adam of sin and begin now to bear Your image, as new men and women conceived after the mind of God, to follow You in all humility, and constantly to grow in Your likeness; so that, in the day when Your return, we may be found blameless and without blemish in body and soul, unto the glory of God, Your Father, with whom You live and reign , in unity with the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen. (Löhe 110, 114,115).

Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to Luke where the holy evangelists writes: ,,The one who is faithful in an insignificant thing is also faithful in a significant thing, and the one who is dishonest in an insignificant thing is also dishonest in a significant thing. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? A house servant cannot serve two lords; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and think nothing of the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.“ Now the Pharisees, who were fond of possessions, were listening to all these things and were ridiculing Him. So Jesus said to them, ,,You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The Law and the Prophets were as far as and included John the Baptizer; since then the gospel of the reign of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into that reign. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to come to an end.“ This is our text.

The events and history of this world is twofold. There is the obvious course of events and activities that the news media, commentators, and history books capture. What often is neglected in the secular realm is that behind all these historical events is a spiritual depth that only Christians can properly glimpse and understand. It is like going to Best Buy and looking at the televisions. Yes, the standard transmission is good and the colors look nice. But when you put that standard transmission next to an Aquos HDTV with red, blue, green, and yellow colors and the transmission is stunning, bright, and extremely colorful. You see things you did not see before. The secular recording of history is like the old standard TV signal, and the Christian understanding of history is like the high tech HDTV with its amazing TV signal.

Case in point. In 312, Constantine and Maxentius were fighting for control of the Roman Empire. Both desired to unite the empire again under one emperor (Constantine defeated Licinius in 325 to become sole augustus and emperor). The average history text book will describe how this was a power struggle between two powerful augusti, examine the military strategies, and other such things. What was also going on was what Yahweh was doing through this power struggle. Yahweh works in and through human history and events for the benefit and the expansion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The key spiritual understanding of Constantine’s rise to Roman emperor was that the Church benefited from his rule with the Edict of Milan (313) which guaranteed religious tolerance and restored the buildings and property taken from the Church during the Diocletian’s imperial persecution.

Jesus’ Parable of the Dishonest Steward teaches us about stewardship. Jesus uses an earthly example to teach a greater spiritual truth. First and foremost, stewardship is about Christ Jesus, the gospel, eternal life, and faith in Christ. Christians, then, are either faithful or dishonest stewards of God’s gifts. The stewards of God’s gifts in Jesus’ day were the Pharisees. They studied the Holy Scriptures, they made judgments on laws and the text, and regulated Jewish life. Yet, when the Word of God arrived in their midst in the flesh, these stewards of Israel rejected and opposed Jesus. The Pharisees loved money more than God. They attempted to justify themselves before the average Jewish man and woman with their obedience to the law and their good works, but the hearts of the Pharisees were an abomination before their Heavenly Father for they were hypocrites: the Pharisees neither keep the law nor do they always do good works. They are filthy sinners in need of Yahweh’s grace, gospel, and forgiveness.

Jesus points out the truth: The lust for wealth leads to poor stewardship. Perhaps our economic meltdown is God’s way of showing us that the unbridled pursuit of wealth hurts the Church and our Christian stewardship. Luther commented in 1528 that for more than seventy-five years the Muslim Ottoman Turks had cast a menacing shadow over Europe. The Turks had conquered Constantinople in 1453 and by 1500 they had expanded their empire to Southeaster Europe’s Danube River. In 1529 and 1532 the Turks were at the gates of Vienna, Austria and threatening westward to attack Europe. Luther commented on all this, saying that ,,the Turk is the rod of the wrath of the Lord our God and the servant of the raging devil“ (AE 46:170). Luther noted that the Turk was God’s plague upon the Church and Christians who had allowed the tyranny of the papacy, tolerated false doctrine for centuries, and paid no attention to the gospel silence in the pulpit.

We should not think ourselves above God’s punishment. Too often we are consumed with the accumulation of wealth. What suffers is our stewardship to Christ whether that is being stingy in the offering plate or content with the status of our sinful lives. Little thought is given to the important aspects of stewardship, namely, eternal life, forgiveness, and faith. So Yahweh sends tribulations and distress into our lives in order to shake us out of our sinful sloth.

Jesus tells us that if we act like the Pharisees and depend on our possessions or hypocrisy as a way into the reign of God, then He calls us to make a violent break from those means and enter into Jesus’ reign through faith in His mercy (Just 625). This calls for repentance and confession of sins. Our hearts must be pierced by the sword of Yahweh’s law. We must recognize our sinfulness. We must repent and confess. We have been dishonest stewards of Yahweh’s wonderful, rich blessings of eternal life, forgiveness, and faith – all of which He gives us free of charge, but we consider them dross while we are enamored with our wealth and good merits by which we attempt to give to Yahweh as our entrance fee into heaven.

In the 2003 movie ,,Luther“ Frederick the Wise laments that he has received the golden rose from the Pope Leo X on 3. September 1518 to express his highest esteem for Frederick’s lordship, heroic loyalty and devotion to the Church with the intention to entice Frederick to hand Luther over to Rome. Sir Peter Ustinov wonderfully agonizes Frederick’s broken heart, saying ,,When I was a child I thought like a child, I was a child, I played like a child. And now, thanks to the adults, I’ve had to join the world of adults. And I am appalled by how easy they thought it was to bribe me.“

We cannot bribe our Heavenly Father and Protector with our own golden roses of possessions, good works, or any other item we use to merit His attention and favor. We must repent of our bribery, cast aside our meritorious golden roses, and look to the true Golden Rose of our Heavenly Father, who is Christ Jesus our Savior. The tax collectors and sinners entered Jesus’ reign through the ,,violence“ of repentance— dying to sin— and faith in Jesus (Just 626).

The Holy Gospels give us the historical and spiritual account of Jesus’ public ministry in which He follows John the Baptizer, preaches the reign of God, whereby He gives us the benefit of eternal life.

Jesus did what we can never do: He suffered a violent death by crucifixion, and upon that cross He bore all of our sins. He took upon Himself our sins of dishonest stewardship, our trust in our wealth and good deeds, our iniquitous attempts to bribe our Heavenly Father, and countless other transgressions both known and unknown to us, and made those sins His own sins. Jesus bore the brunt of His Heavenly Father’s wrath that was poured out in full measure for mankind’s sinfulness. Therefore, the reign of God is opened up to us because Jesus is our Mediator and Propitiator before God the Father.

And you know what the really great part of this all is? The Holy Gospels are not proclaiming some ancient action by Jesus that has no relevance in our lives today. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are not some historical fact recorded in dusty books shelved away in the rare book room from the sight of library patrons. The gospel of Jesus Christ is still fresh and active in the 21^st century, just as it was in the 1^st century.

The Holy Spirit has drawn us into this majestic gospel story. The Holy Spirit uses the liturgy and the Divine Service (Gottesdienst) as the means by which He gives us the benefits that Christ has purchased via the cross and the empty tomb. We are in the midst of the spectacular reign of God for this blessed reign is embodied by Christ and this reign is given out to us in the Word and the Sacraments.

The proclaimed Word today and the Sacrament of the Altar not only give us the very forgiveness that Jesus has purchased for us on the cross, but the Word and the Sacrament give us eternal life and salvation. These means of grace are not only for our justification, but they also empower, enable, and strengthen us to be good stewards of our Heavenly Father’s immeasurable wealth and possessions. He gives, we receive, and we are thus blessed beyond measure. Jesus is the Perfect and Faithful Steward of His Heavenly Father’s gifts, and He has made us good and faithful stewards through His shed blood and risen body. Amen.

Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, the one Mediator between God and men, who gave Yourself as a ransom for all people, make us faithful stewards of the mysteries of eternal life and salvation, not that we might earn them by our faithful stewardship but that we draw unto You alone as the one who has redeemed us back to our Heavenly Father and that we have salvation and forgiveness by faith alone. 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. Concordia Commentary: 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.
   Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 46: The Christian in Society III. ,,On War against the Turk“. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, & Helmut. T. Lehmann, Ed. Copyright © 1967 Fortress Press: Philadelphia.

1 Timothy 1, 12-17; 15. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus


1 Timothy 1,12-17
15. Sunday after Trinity, Proper 19C
12. September 2010

O Lord Jesus Christ, the Shepherd of Your Heavenly Father’s sheep, many are the days that we wander off, become lost, trapped, or endangered. In our sinful pride we think that we can find our way back to You, remove ourselves from our entrapment, and rescue ourselves from those who threaten and persecute us. We must acknowledge that we are unable to save ourselves, and humbling ourselves realize we are like foolish sheep or an inanimate coin that has no power to secure our liberation. O Christ Jesus, we give thanks and praise to You that we do not have to do anything in regards to our redemption, for You alone have sought us out, arrived in our midst, and redeemed us. You have returned us to Your Heavenly Father’s fold. You have now given us the great privileged of proclaiming that very gospel to our neighbors who find themselves lost, trapped, or endangered. Amen.

Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the 1st Epistle to Timothy where the holy apostle writes: I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who having strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service even though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent, disrespectful man, but I received mercy, because I acted unaware in unbelief; but the grace of our Lord overflowed with faith and love in Christ Jesus. The word is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance, because Christ Jesus arrived in the world to save sinners, of whom I am also the foremost. But I received mercy so that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ may display His perfect patience as an example to those who believe in Him for eternal life. To the Eternal King, the immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. This is our text.

The Apostle Paul lays out the pure and blessed gospel that Christ Jesus came into his life, rescued him from his life of sin and rebellion against Yahweh, and showed him love and forgiveness. Paul admits that he was an irony rascal before he believed in Christ. Paul says that he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent, disrespectful opponent of Christ Jesus. Paul blasphemed Jesus and God the Father by claiming to act in Yahweh’s Name and do Yahweh’s will by declaring that Jesus is not the Christ and by persecuting and handing over to arrest and possible death Jewish Christians who refused to recant their faith in Christ. Paul admits that he persecuted Christians and was a violent opponent against Yahweh. Paul thought he was doing Yahweh’s will, but when Jesus appeared to him on his way to Damascus, he realized that he was not only persecuting Jewish Christians, but, worse still, he was persecuting God the Father and Christ Jesus His only Son.

The same occurs in the 21st century. There are people who blaspheme, persecute, and violently oppose Christ, His Church, and His Christians. Such a threefold confrontation threatens to hinder the proclamation of the gospel. There are many outside Church who fight and struggle against the gospel and Jesus Christ because they believe that in doing so they are doing God’s will. Other religions and atheism deny Jesus is the Christ and seek ways to hinder the preaching of the gospel. As such, the Church is always struggling against the world and the forces of the devil. The temptation is to become diverted away from Christ and onto some other avenue.

In many parts of the world, the churches have succumbed to the temptations of the world and the devil, so that they have become lukewarm and in danger of not being churches anymore. The pattern is the same throughout history. A church stops preaching the gospel of Christ crucified and risen for our salvation. At first, all seems well because Christ is still preached as a moral teacher, a good person whom we should emulate, and that God still loves us. The longer, however, that the pure gospel remains silent and is not preached the quicker the church spirals downward into heresy and opposition to Jesus Christ. The first deviation that results from a lack of gospel preaching is a Christ based on each individual’s subjective experiences (pietism), then the gospel is assumed that people now where to go if you truly need the gospel, then the preaching just tacks Jesus on at the end to give credibility to merely moral teaching and positive thinking that encompasses the preached message, then relativism sets in where Jesus isn’t the only way to heaven, and finally there is full-blown apostasy where Christ is rejected and the Holy Scriptures have ceased to guide that church’s decisions. At this point, the church ceases to be a fellowship of believers whose sins are forgiven and faith in Christ strengthened and becomes merely a social club with a specific interest to be fulfilled, such as feeding the homeless or assisting those recovering from a natural calamity. Somewhere between tacking Jesus on and apostasy, the Bible ceases to be the inerrant, divine Word of Yahweh and becomes just another book written by man and thus has no more relevance in the church than any other good, pious writing.

Thus we see that many churches in America have ceased being churches or are in danger of ceasing to be churches. Once the gospel is lost, the only thing that can restore a church as a church is the very gospel itself. That which is in danger of being lost, or has been lost, must once again become the cornerstone and chief doctrine in a church. When Paul was persecuting the Church and handing Christians over to death, the only thing that could stop Paul and change his heart and mind was the very gospel of Jesus Christ that he was opposing and persecuting. When we are lost in our sins and guilt, the only thing that can give peace to our repentant conscience is the gospel of Christ who was crucified and risen for the forgiveness of our sin and the establishment of our salvation. Churches that have stop being churches, and Christians who have stopped believing in Christ, need the gospel to restore them to what the Holy Spirit has called them to be.

The Apostle Paul proclaims that Christ arrived in this world to save sinners, and that includes blasphemers, persecutors, and violent people who oppose Christ and His gospel. Just as a shepherd leaves his 99 sheep to search for the one who has become lost, and just as a woman who has 9 coins searches high and low for the one she has misplaced, so Jesus Christ arrived to save sinners such as you and me.

To seek and save the lost is the great unfolding story of Yahweh’s salvation history (Heilsgeschichte) as recorded in the pages of Holy Scripture and in the history of men and women. In spite of the sinful nature of mankind that is prone to curse Yahweh, trample upon His people, and do violence to the prophets, apostles, and rank-and-file believers, nevertheless (dennoch) Yahweh kept His promise to redeem fallen men and women. Yahweh’s word is His bond, and His bond is His word; Yahweh does what He promises.

This is why the Apostle John calls Christ Jesus »the Word of God«# (John 1,1) for He is the physical embodiment of His Heavenly Father’s will and promise. Thus, John proclaims that »the Word of God became flesh and tabernacled in our midst«1 (John 1,14). In Christ Jesus we see the Heavenly Father’s good and kind heart who’s will and joy it is to save sinners and give them faith and love. The Apostle Paul writes, »the grace of our Lord overflowed with faith and love in Christ Jesus«. In Christ, we have in our midst He who is His Heavenly Father’s delight. In Christ, we are now those in whom our Heavenly Father delights.

Faith in Christ as our crucified and risen savior for our salvation leads to love of God and our neighbors. By faith, we believe in and trust implicitly that on account of Christ we are forgiven and redeemed. From faith, the Holy Spirit stokes into a blaze the embers of our heart so that we fear, love, and trust in God above all things and when we love God we thus love our neighbor so that the Holy Spirit elicits from us numerous good works for our neighbors’ benefit. Amen.

Let us pray. O Holy Spirit, who gives and preserves the means of grace in the Church, Jesus has told us that there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Help us to never shy away from confession of our sin and a repentant heart, for we know that Divine grace and absolution are here for us who have become lost, trapped, and endangered by sin. According to Christ’s merit we have the forgiveness of our sins. 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, 4th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.

Luke 14,25-35 audio sermon. 14. Sunday after Trinity

Luke 14,25-35 audio

Luke 14,25-35. 14. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus


Luke 14,25-35
14. Sunday after Trinity, Proper 18C
5. September 2010

O Heavenly Father, whose mere word creates ex nihilo, pour out upon us the Holy Spirit, so that our hearts and minds are attuned to Your word and will. Amen.

Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to Luke where the holy evangelist writes: 25Now great crowds accompanied Jesus, and He turned and said to them, 26,,If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 33So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.“ This is our text.

Twenty-first century Christendom, especially our Evangelical-Reformed brothers and sisters, is focused on numbers. Watch any Christian televangelist and inevitably the camera will pan back and show rows upon rows of filled seats numbering in the thousands or even more than ten thousand. The focal point is front and center on the preacher. Putting the best construction on this means that the goal is to highlight the primacy of the Word of God that is preached. Unfortunately, naïve Christians and non-believers, who struggle with the weakness of the sinful flesh and reason, will interpret this as a focus on the individual so that the preacher becomes a cult of personality in the minds of many people. If you are fortunate, the program you watch might have a bare cross behind the preacher, but a majority of Christian televangelists lack even that unique symbol of Christianity. Finally after the preacher has finished preaching or lecturing, you will be treated with the distinct honor to buy all sorts of books or audio and video media that can help you improve your life.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus walked the countryside and did the exact opposite of many of today’s televangelists. Jesus did indeed gather large crowds, especially as His popularity grew as a prophet, miracle worker, and teacher. The Gospels indicate that at times four and five thousand men gathered to hear Him preach and teach. Add women and children to these numbers and at any given time ten to fifteen thousand people may have gathered in the rolling plains of Israel.

As more and more people followed Him, Jesus then let the hammer drop. Anyone who does not renounce all that he or she has cannot be My disciple. How many of those ten thousand or more adoring followers of Jesus still followed Him after that indicting statement? Shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, the Apostle Paul lists merely 500 disciples (1 Corinthians 15,6) and St. Luke lists a paltry 120 men at Pentecost.

Jesus demands from each one of us that if we want to be His disciples, then we must renounce all our possessions. Jesus is not calling us to a life of poverty, but He is telling us that we must not love our money and possessions more than Him. Jesus is telling us that following Him requires financial sacrifice as we give offerings to His Church to enable the proclamation of the gospel. The gospel takes precedence over our possessions and when the gospel is in danger of being lost, then Jesus’ disciples must give more of their possessions than they originally thought in order to preserve the gospel’s proclamation.

In the Holy Gospels, Jesus proclaimed that salvation is by Him alone, and this caused many of His disciples to leave (John 6,65-69). The Gospel according to Luke records 4 times that Jesus talked about His suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection (Luke 9,21-22.44; 17,25; 18,32-33). Jesus probably spoke about His death and resurrection many more times for it was the foundation of His preaching. Surprisingly, 21st century Christendom does not focus on Christ crucified. I heard one theologian remark that the focus of God in the Bible is the poor, and so Christendom should be about the social gospel of helping the poor. Just because you do a word search and discover the word ,,poor“ and ,,destitute“ appears 181 times does not mean the focus of the Holy Scripture is on the poor. The Bible also talks about the devil, Satan, and demons 158 times, but that doesn’t make the devil the focus of the Bible. The focus of the Bible is God’s plan of salvation history (Heilsgeschichte) by which He intends to redeem every man, woman, and child from sin, death, and the devil.

Nevertheless (Dennoch), you will hear churches and televangelists encourage people with positive thinking, getting all your deserved blessings from Jesus, or trying to parse each verse and word to convince people when Jesus will return again. Jesus and His apostles did not focus on such things. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian Christians that we apostles and evangelists are only concerned with preaching Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1,23) and His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). The book of Acts and the apostolic epistles bear witness to such Christian preaching as well. St. Paul then observes that preaching Christ crucified is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1,23).

The cross of Christ offends people, for the cross of Christ is the chief sign that salvation is only through Jesus. Christ has placed the cross as a roadblock on the pathway of salvation, and people must either pick up that cross, make it their own, and journey onward with Jesus or they must turn aside from the Divine plan of salvation and abandon Christ and His cross. Jesus tells us that if we want to be His disciples, then we must take up the cross and follow Him. This also offends people, especially those who want the Christian life to be a journey devoid of trials and tribulations.

Thus, what is usually presented to the masses in American Christendom (from at least the time the Third Awakening from 1850-1900 until the now) is a lowest common denominator Christianity where the preaching is in general terms, such as ,,God“ or ,,Lord“, rather than in specifics like ,,Christ“ or the Holy Trinity. Christ crucified and risen from the tomb is rarely mentioned and expounded upon whereas God’s favor and blessing is mentioned. To be silent on Christ is to proclaim a god that is radically different from the Triune God revealed in the Holy Scriptures. To give mere lip service to Christ crucified without any building upon that momentous act in God the Father’s salvation history (Heilsgeschichte) is to completely misunderstand how and why our Heavenly Father is favorable to us with His rich and manifold blessings.

Christ and His apostolic pastors speak and proclaim in specific terms. Jesus does tell us that He demands the utmost from us. We must put Him first in our lives, we must take up our own cross and follow Jesus to Jerusalem, and we must curb our love of money and possessions and give liberally to Christ and His Church. These words of law are harsh and unrelenting upon our conscience. We do not and cannot live up to these precepts of discipleship. Therefore, Jesus calls on us to acknowledge our faltering steps in discipleship and to repent of our failures to do as He has commanded us.

We fail to forsake family for Christ, but Jesus forsook His mother and siblings to preach the gospel and be our savior. We walk away from the cross and its suffering, but Jesus took up the cross, carried it, and upon it suffered the wrath of His Father as the sacrificial Lamb who bore the sin of the world and paid for that sin in full with His shed blood. We place our possessions ahead of Christ, but Jesus left behind His carpentry business and often had no place to lay His head during His public ministry (Luke 9,58). Therefore God the Father is well-pleased with His Son. Since He is well-pleased with Jesus, then He is also well-pleased with us. Christ and His merit has earned our righteousness and justification. Christ gives us His merit and righteousness so that we are justified before God the Father by grace alone. Our Heavenly Father is favorable to us with His rich and manifold blessings because of Jesus Christ.

Christ walked the path of the cross to Calvary. He bids and urges us to follow Him, for the path of the cross, the path to Calvary, leads to Christ’s death as our Redeemer, leads to Christ’s Resurrection as our Eternal Life, and finds its destination in the Paradise of God which is the dwelling place of the Triune God, the holy angels, and all Christians. Amen.

Let us pray. O Holy Spirit, who preserves the law and gospel for the Church, help us to follow the footsteps of the Apostle Paul and to boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we can understand that the world has been crucified to us, and we to the world, and our focus then is upon Christ Jesus our Savior. 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, 4th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.

We will soon return to our regular Divine Service Time

On Sunday, 12. September 2010 our Divine Service will be at 11:00 a.m.

This is our normal service time from basically September through May. Before Memorial Day we worship at 9:30 a.m. during the summer months.

Audio for Luke 14,1-14

I am trying to figure out the best way to put audio files of my sermons on the site. This is a possibility for now. The link below takes you to a site with several audio and text sermons. Just scroll down for the appropriate audio file for Luke 14,1-14. Pastor Peter

Luke 14,1-14