Luke 19,41-48. The 10. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 19,41-48 

10. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  055

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo Regius, Algeria, † 430. 

28. August 2011

1. O Heavenly Father, You loved humanity in spite of its rebellious nature. You exhort us to pray, but many times we do not pray as we should. We know, however, that our borough desperately needs our prayers. Guide us, then, and teach us to pray for our community and neighbors. We begin with the Lord's Prayer and offer up specific petitions for the needs of those in our midst so that Your mercy and love are are manifested to Your great glory.  Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to Luke where the holy evangelist writes: ⁴¹And when Jesus drew near and saw Jerusalem, He wept over it, ⁴²saying: „Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.“ ⁴⁵And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶saying to them: „It is written: »My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of insurrectionists.«“ [Isaiah 56,7 ; Jeremiah 7,11] ⁴⁷And He was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy Him, ⁴⁸but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on His words.  This is our text. 

3. 10. August 70 is a date that lives in Jewish infamy, for that is the day the Romans, under General Titus, destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. Forty years prior Jesus was approaching Jerusalem where He would soon suffer, die and rise again for His people. As He approached the holy city, Jesus paused and gazed upon her splendor. He lifted up His eyes and beheld Jerusalem seated upon the hills in all her glory and the magnificent temple glittering in golden beauty. Jesus wept with sorrow over the impending judgment upon the city and the nation. 

4. Before Yahweh’s wrath struck down Jerusalem, Jesus had granted His people one last visitation before Divine events would unfold. The time of the visitation of God in Christ involved two things: 

1. The warning time before the judgment. 

2. The saving time of preaching in the house of God (Wenz § 6). 

5. Jesus, and John the Baptizer before Him, preached the law of Yahweh’s forthcoming destruction. John was »proclaiming a baptism of the repentance for the forgiveness of sins« (Luke 3,3). He exhorted the barren trees of Judah to fruits in keeping with repentance, for the ax was already laid at the root of the trees (Luke 3,8-9). John therefore threatened that »Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire« (Luke 3,9). 

6. Many people heeded John's cry of repentance. Average Jewish people shared with their neighbors. Tax collectors stopped overcharging people. Roman soldiers ceased extorting people and treated the Jews with respect and dignity. Others refused John's preaching. Pharisaic lawyers and Sadduccean priests scoffed at John and the Messiah whose way he prepared. After John was arrested, Jesus took up His older cousin’s call as He proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor was manifested in Him (Luke 4,19.21). His neighbors ran Him out of His hometown as an unwelcome preacher. 

7. The rotting corruption of unrepentant Jewish hearts and disrespectful behavior was deeply centered at the core of Judaism. Yahweh’s temple revolved around the Holy Scriptures and the sacrifices for forgiveness, but the priests and Pharisees had turned the sacramental temple from a house of prayer and worship into a den of insurrectionists. Jesus had attempted to reform the temple, but each time He left the temple reverted back to its damning corruption. This rot manifested itself in defiant rejection of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and it oversaw His trial, suffering, and crucifixion. 

8. The same threatens this place. If you reject Jesus, and refuse to receive Him as your savior, then God’s wrath will condemn you on the last day when Divine judgment is meted out. If you reject Jesus’ Word and the preaching of the same, you risk God’s punishment upon you in this temporal life. If you ignore Yahweh’s law and refuse to repent of your sinfulness, then you likewise reject His grace that is given for the sinner’s forgiveness. If this church ever shifts the focus of her existence from the Divine Service to that of some other reason to exist, such as a merely a culture club or only a concert hall, then she will have rebelled against God and must return to the reason for her existence: to offer the Word and Sacraments in the liturgy for the comfort of distraught sinners. 

9. It was not Yahweh’s will and desire that Jerusalem and the temple be destroyed. Jesus was born into this earth in order to save the world and spare Judah from destruction. For three years Jesus preached and taught in Galilee and Judea. Finally, as His hour drew near, Jesus taught in the temple every day during Holy Week. This Holy Week visit to the temple is „a time of purification and separation. Jesus does at the temple what is needed to avoid the judgment: He cleanses the temple from all earthly corruption and brings in the heavenly glory: prayer and the preaching of His Word“ (Wenz § 17). 

10. Jesus has wept over Jerusalem. Her fate is destruction because she rejected both her Messiah and His salvation. During Holy Week, Jesus teaches in the temple so that He plants seeds that will survive the temple's destruction and Yahweh's judgment. From the ruins and rubble of the temple, Jesus would raise a new temple. This temple is not built with marble, stone and gold, nor is it built with brick, mortar and stained glass. The new temple is Christ's Church and she exists where two or three Christians gather for worship in His Holy Name. The new temple, the holy Church, is founded upon Christ and His Word. At the end of Holy Week, Jesus promises that: »Heaven and earth will be destroyed, but My Word will never be destroyed« (Luke 21,33). 

11. This fallen, corrupt world is journeying headlong toward Yahweh's judgment that will be far greater than Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70. As Yahweh delays that inevitable and terrible day, the Holy Spirit uses the present time to plant seeds and prepare people to stand before Jesus and His judgment seat. Our church exists to plant and water these seeds. The Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith in Jesus through His Word and Sacraments. Yes, our Evangelical-Lutheran church on the corner of Broad and Homestead exists to proclaim the gospel of salvation to a community that speeds toward the final judgment. Our small and seemingly insignificant church? Our gathering of sinful and suffering people? Yes, you and me! The Holy Spirit has gathered us and placed us here to proclaim the precious gospel of Christ crucified. 

12. »Let your prayers rise before Yahweh as incense« (Psalm 141,2). Pray, struggle and weep over those who now reject Jesus and His grace. Pray that He would be merciful to them, spare them and bring them into the Christian fold. Petition the Holy Spirit to bless our church and synod in the proclamation of the gospel. Beseech Jesus that the gospel seeds would grow and be fruitful unto saving faith. Now is the time of salvation: make the most of it.  Amen. 

13. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus, You are our God and we are the people of Your pasture and the sheep of Your hand. Bless our house of prayer so that we may worship here in solemnity and be refreshed by the gospel of our forgiveness and encouraged to share the same with our neighbors  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.  

Wenz, Armin. A sermon preached on 10. August 2010 (10. Sunday after Trinity) in Oberursel, Germany on Luke 19,41-48. Copyright © 2010 The Rev. Dr. Armin Wenz. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011. 

Matthew 25,14-30. The 9th Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 25,14-30
9. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  054
Bonosus and Maximilianus, soldiers, Martyrs 363
21. August 2011

             1. O Lord Jesus, You have entrusted to us Your possessions. As Your stewards, help us to righty use those possessions for the glory of Your Holy Name. Chiefly, we ask that You would send the Holy Spirit to bless our words and our works so that through them we may have opportunity to proclaim the gospel of Your crucifixion and resurrection for the salvation of the 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: Jesus said to His disciples: ,,For the reign of heaven is like a man going on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions (resources) to them. He gave five talents to one slave, two to another, and one to another, each according to his own ability; then he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and invested them, and he made a profit of an additional five talents. Likewise, the one who had received the two talents made a profit of two additional talents. But the one who had received a single talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves returned and settled accounts with them. And the one having received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying: ‘Lord, you entrusted to me five talents; behold I gained five talents more.’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful slave, you have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your lord.’ And the one who also had the two talents came forward, saying: ‘Lord, you entrusted to me two talents; behold I gained two talents more.’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful slave, you have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying: ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered him: ‘You wicked and slothful slave! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you should have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will be rich; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away from him. And throw out the useless slave into the outermost darkness: where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.“  This is our text.
            3. Today, Jesus’ parable compares the Reign of heaven to a wealthy man entrusting a portion of his many talents to his slaves. In Jesus day, a single talent was exceedingly valuable, for it was equivalent to twenty-seven years’ worth of salary. One slave received five talents (135 years’ worth of salary), another slave two talents (54 years’ worth), and a third slave one talent (27 years’ worth).[1]  These eight talents are only a few of the many resources and wealth possessed by this exceptionally rich man.
            4. „This parable is about a wealthy man who is taking an extended trip abroad and in the meantime entrusted his property to his slaves, so that they should take care of it. He does not make them require a profitable return, he does not put them under pressure, he trusts that the slaves will simply do the right thing with his money“ (Martens § 4). Jesus draws our attention to three points of truth in this parable:

I.   the great trust of the Lord
II.  the great gift entrusted
III. the reward is great (Martens § 5).

I.

5. The wealthy lord in Jesus’ parable has great trust and confidence in his servants. These servants are stewards of their lord’s possessions, property, and wealth. Likewise, Jesus has great trust and confidence in you, His Christian disciples. A steward acts in the name, and on behalf, of the king. In his seven-volume fantasy novel A Song of Fire and Ice, George R. R. Martin has a prominent office referred to as the Hand of the King. This Hand is the king’s steward who speaks and acts for the king when he is absent or indisposed, and in the first two novels the Hand of the King essentially runs the kingdom for the king, the first of whom was too busy hunting or drinking, and the second of whom, the king’s son, who reigns after his father but is a young abusive tyrant.

6. Jesus is the wealthy lord in His parable who goes on a lengthy journey but eventually returns. In the meantime, He has given His disciples the right hand of stewardship to take care of His great wealth and possessions. Jesus has taken a lengthy journey, for He has left this earth and returned to the right hand of His Heavenly Father. He will one day return to this earth, and in the meantime between His ascension and His second advent, Jesus has entrusted you with His precious treasury.

7. A number of things could happen during this interval. The servants could take the wealth entrusted to them and establish themselves as powerful lords. The servants could use the wealth and lose some or all of it in bad ventures. The servants could just ignore the wealth and go about other tasks. The servants could use the wealth and earn more wealth for their absent lord. No matter what occurs, the lord has placed into the hands of his servants extreme riches and trusts them to do the right thing without any active oversight on his part. In the parable, only two outcomes occurs: the servants use the wealth and earn more wealth for their lord, while a third just hides the wealth and returns back exactly what he was entrusted with. Jesus trusts you so much that He knows that you will increase the value of what He has originally given to you.

8. How great and confident is our Lord Jesus Christ! And yet, how many Christians and churches squander the great wealth entrusted to them. Our Lord expects His people to use and invest His gifts so that at the very least interest would be earned on what was given out. Those who view Christ as a fearsome, vengeful lord view him wrongly. As a result, in their fear of His wrath, they refuse to take any chances, and instead hide the wealth entrusted to them, comforting themselves with the fact that they have not lost anything of what had been given to them. Stop fearing Jesus and His supposed wrathful response, but see Him as He truly is: a loving king who trusts you with His great wealth. This church needs to lose the nine decades’ old attitude of a hoarding servant who is afraid to fully put Jesus’ great gifts to use for fear of losing what little they have been entrusted with. Jesus does not want an attitude of fear and mistrust, but an attitude of faith and confidence that Jesus knows what He is doing by giving us a portion of His treasury to take care of in His absence.

II.

9. The wealthy lord in Jesus’ parable entrusted his servants with a great gift. This lord was worth millions of dollars in just the talents he distributed to three servants, but he also had millions of more dollars in his treasury. Each servant received according to his ability; some received more and others less, but each received an enormous sum of wealth. Jesus blesses each person differently. Some are financially wealthy, others are relatively poor. Some have many skills, others have a few or a single skill. But each is abundantly blessed by Jesus. Each church is likewise blessed by Jesus. Some have many members, others only a few. Some have great stores of financial wealth, others not so much. But each and every church is blessed abundantly by Jesus, for the true talent that is given equally and liberally to each and every church are the gifts of the Word and the Sacraments. „We are a rich church, because Christ has entrusted us with priceless treasures: the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, communion with the Living God – all of which we have in large quantities …: The more we hand out, the richer we become. We are a rich church, – no, we do not presume that we are so small and seemingly insignificant. On the contrary: The largest and most magnificent treasures of the world have entrusted to us, no matter how many or how few people can perceive this and also make use of it“ (Martens § 11).

10. Looking out upon you, I see how this gospel grounded upon Christ crucified and risen for you and your sins, how this gospel of forgiveness, has blessed each one of you. From this great talent more talent has been earned. Some here have the gift of encouragement, others technical skills, liberal givers, or selfless volunteers, and so much more. This is why Christ has such confidence in His disciples because He knows that what He has given out will return abundantly more.

11. Woe to you if you refuse to see the wealth that Jesus has given you and this church. Woe to if you ignore those gifts, bury them for safe keeping, or think you do not have need of what Jesus has wisely and richly supplied here. Woe to you if you are that faithless servant who only sees Jesus as an avenging Judge and consequently refuses to use His gifts out of fear of failure and punishment. Here Christ gives His very self in the preached Word and in the Holy Sacraments. Here you receive the forgiveness of sins and the promise of everlasting life. These great gifts are the bulwark of this church, and through them you are blessed and more gifts abound from these means of grace.  

III.

            12. In Jesus’ parable, when the lord returned, he gave out lavish rewards. This was unexpected. The lord was not bound to reward his fruitful servants. But we know that the lord in this parable will do so, for from the beginning he has been a generous, giving lord. Their lord rewarded them greatly. They had been faithful in a little bit of treasure, now they would be rewarded as stewards of even more wealth. You are not employees of Jesus, and neither are you bosses who make the decisions, rather you are Jesus’ disciples and receive everything from His giving hand gracefully and respectfully. You do not demand nor do you impose, but you merely receive the free gift. You receive the gift by faith in Jesus, and also on account of this faith you are rewarded. The incredible return on the investment is not the result of your wisdom or diligent work, but the mere fact that you trusted in Jesus to bless your endeavors. The immense gain is the result of Jesus who blessed and prospered all that you do through faith in Him.
            13. Those who are faithless will also get their just reward. Those who refuse to behold Jesus as a loving, forgiving, merciful Lord will behold a wrathful and terrible Judge they only thought Him to be. Those who attempt to force their way or impose their will upon Jesus’ gifts will likewise receive a forceful, imposing Jesus who will take away what was freely and lovingly given. Dear brothers and sisters, it need not be this way for you. Behold Jesus by faith. Receive Him in love and joy as the giving and gracious Lord He is. Don’t hinder your faith from turning you into a merciful copy of Jesus your Lord. His gifts are given to bless you; don’t refuse such a blessing, but by repentance and faith draw nigh unto Jesus who loves to give gifts and gives them abundantly.
            14. „You do not need to be afraid that you do not earn enough in your lives. You can gladly look to the completely undeserved reward that awaits you at the end, a reward that you have no right to but nevertheless a reward that Christ desires to present you with: namely, to share in eternal life, to eat the great feast in the reign God that will never end, to share a life in which God is with us in everything and will keep nothing for Himself. O how good that we belong to this Lord!“ (Martens § 16)  Amen.
            15. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, all who seek You rejoice and are glad in You, pour out Your love, Your mercy and Your gifts so that we rejoice in Your salvation and say continually, „Great is the LORD!“  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. 

                Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Jerusalem and Parousia: Jesus’ Eschatological Discourse in Matthew’s Gospel. Copyright © 2000 Jeffrey A. Gibbs.
                Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 9. August 2009 (9. Trinitatis) in Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany on Matthew 25,14-30. Copyright © 2011 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.

---

[1] Using the U.S. Federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour this calculates as: $2,035,800, $814,320 and $407,160. Eight talents would be at least $3,257,280.

Matthew 5,13-16. 8. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 5,13-16
8. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  053
Athanasia, Widow Abbess at Timia, Greece, 860
14. August 2011


            1.  O Heavenly Father, for whom Jesus is Spokesman, You have spoken to Your people in many times and in various ways upon the mountaintop. Since we are unable as sinners to ascend up to You, You have descended upon us to draw us into Your holy and glorious presence. You give us Your law and gospel so that we are taught by Your Holy Words, and in receiving Your Words we are blessed beyond measure. By the power of the Holy Spirit You dwell in us, we ask You to change our hearts so that we may be humble, merciful, pure in heart, pursuing righteousness and peace, as Jesus, Your Divine Word, promised to make us once on a mountainside.  Amen.  
            2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to Matthew where the holy evangelist writes: Jesus taught the disciples, saying: ¹³„You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.“  This is our text.
            3. As Jesus continues His grand teaching of the disciples and the crowds in Chapter 5, our Lord uses the images and metaphors of salt and light. Both salt and light are good and necessary, for they are a blessing to and in the world. Jesus compares His Christians, you and me, to salt and light. This is at odds with how some Christians view themselves and their church, those who view their church merely as an organization there just for themselves. This opinion is revealed when someone shows up demanding a church wedding despite the fact that the person hasn’t graced the church with his or her presence for twenty years. This view is one which sees their church as a self-serving end in which the congregation serves as a religious self-service store (Martens § 7). Others regard their Christianity and their church merely as a club of people with similar interests whereupon everyone is friendly and happy to meet with each other (Martens § 7), a sort of a Christianized version of the bar portrayed in ,,Cheers“. On the contrary, Jesus describes us as salt and light to the world. We, as individual Christians and as a church, are to be a blessing to the world.
            4. Jesus began His teaching with the Beatitudes at the beginning of Matthew 5. Those Beatitudes promise blessings upon Jesus’ Christians. Disciples are called by Jesus, and Matthew records how Jesus sought out and called His disciples, like Matthew himself. The connection between the blessings of the Beatitudes and the calling as His disciples are absolutely unbreakable (Gibbs 259). It is Jesus who calls you to be His disciples and it is Jesus who decides the nature and the character of His calling to you (Gibbs 259). Jesus’ disciples, then, are by definition the people who salt the earth and who light the world; no one else has this calling (Gibbs 259). You have been baptized in the Name of the Triune God: you are disciples of Jesus; you are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world. Only Jesus and His disciples can do for the fallen world what it needs (Gibbs 260).
            5. The key and the source of all this is Jesus. He has called you to be His disciples. He has sent the Holy Spirit to create faith in Him. He law exhorts you to repentance, and His gospel absolves you of your sins. Jesus came to this earth to be salt and light to you. He is the Salt that heals your wounds; He is the Light unto eternal salvation. He now sends you out to be salt and light to your neighbors.
            6. Q: What is this? How is this done? A: »A lamp is lit in order to bring light throughout all the house. Likewise, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.« Your good works flow from your vocation. Where has God placed you? How has He blessed you? What are your talents and abilities? Your good works are distributed through your vocational attributes and duties.
            7. The average person doesn’t usually think much about their vocational abilities, but every vocational skill utilized by Christians is important. Therefore, you must guard against the malaise that sets in that is content to exercise your vocation in ordinary ways. Christ exhorts His beloved disciples to live in their vocations in extraordinary ways, that is, in ways that go far and beyond what non-Christians do with their vocations (Gibbs 262). Others may be decent parents, but Christians are encouraged to be excellent parents. Others may be ho-hum white or blue collar workers, but Christians are expected to be outstanding white or blue collar workers. Others may be nice neighbors, but Christians are to be exceptional neighbors. Others may be law-abiding citizens, but Christians are to be the most responsible citizens in their community. Others may be charitable, but Christians are to be abundant when they put their offerings in the collection plate. Jesus’ disciples are to live lives of remarkable faithfulness, piety, and generosity (Gibbs 261) so that your words and deeds, in the power of faith and the Holy Spirit, will be like salt, like the light in the darkness (Gibbs 262).
            8. Christians often fall woefully short of these expectations, and this is true also in our dear church. Our members do not support their church as they should, they do not exhort one another in grace and love, but instead they are content to be part of the status quo, and their church and the members herein suffer on account of it.
            9. As Christians and as a church we must acknowledge our failures, and repent of our sins. We are unable and incapable of being salt and light to each other and the world on our own accord and by our own abilities and powers. We must rely completely and only on Jesus Christ, for He alone makes us salt and light among our neighbors.
            10. Jesus is a forgiving savior who is quick to forgive and eager to empower us to be a blessing to both church and neighbor. Each Christian man and woman stands as a disciple because of Jesus’ forgiveness and blessing, and receives Jesus’ calling to be salt and light (Gibbs 262). In the brightness of His light, our light will shine for the blessing and salvation of the world (Gibbs 262). The Psalmist David sings: »How precious is Your loving kindness, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your Light we see light. O continue Your loving kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright of heart!« (Psalm 36,7-10).
            11. You are the salt and light of the earth. Jesus has taken you, perfectly ordinary people, and  He uses you as a public relations campaign or an advertising medium (Martens § 15) to show the world how His grace and forgiveness touches individual lives for the better. Therefore, Jesus doesn’t want you to hide your light under a bushel basket and deny who you are, rather He wants you to let your light shine, just like a bright spot light or a colorful neon sign so that people see Jesus in you. Jesus is a wonderful Lord and a marvelous hope (Martens § 16), and He wants you, His redeemed Christian people, to point the way to Him as the Savior of the world.  Amen.
            12. Let us pray. O Lord, Your Name bespeaks Your glory, loving kindness and faithfulness!  You have called us to be the salt and the light of the earth, and through Jesus Christ and His merits You have made us that very salt and light so that we may be a rich blessing to this world.  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. 

                Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 1:1– 11:1. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.
                Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 2. August 2009 (8. Trinitatis) in Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany on Matthew 5,13-16. Copyright © 2011 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.

John 6,1-11. The 7. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

John 6,1-15

7. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  052

Afra, Martyr at Augsburg, Bavaria 304
7. August 2011

            1.  O Heavenly Father, Divine Providence for the world, help us to lose the taste for the wickedness of this world, that it would be bitter as gall, empty our hearts of what is unclean so that we can grasp the eternal good. Free us from carnal bondage so that we no more walk along the banks of the sinful life. Strengthen our desire for heaven, and make us satisfied to be conformed in Christ’s image now and when we awake fully in His image at the gate of heaven. Amen. (Löhe § 15)
            2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to John where the holy evangelist writes: ¹After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ²And a large crowd was following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick. ³Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with his disciples. ⁴Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵Lifting up His eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward Him, Jesus said to Philip: „Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?“ ⁶He said this to test him, for He himself knew what He would do. ⁷Philip answered Him: „Two hundred days of wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.“ ⁸One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him: ⁹„There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?“ ¹⁰Jesus said: „Have the people sit down.“ Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples: „Gather up the leftover fragments, so that nothing may be lost.“ ¹³So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said: „This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!“ ¹⁵Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.  This is our text.
            3. In the Holy Gospel, St. John focuses on the crowd, on the disciples and on Jesus Himself, so we want to look more precisely upon all three:

     I.   The crowd with their desire

     II.  The disciples with their distress

     III. Jesus and His gifts (Martens § 2).

I.

            4. Here in John 6, the holy apostle and evangelist records for us the miraculous feeding of the 5000. The large crowd needed to be fed, and Jesus fed them fully and satisfactory beginning with five loaves of bread and two fish. From these simple and limited means, Jesus multiplied the bread and fish so that what began as a small basketful of bread concluded with twelve baskets full of broken pieces of bread. The crowd was so impressed with this miraculous sign that they exclaimed: „Jesus is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!“ They believed that Jesus was the new Moses in their midst, for Moses had told Israel »Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers, and you shall listen to Him« (Deuteronomy 18,15).
            5. The crowd, however, wanted more than a prophet; they wanted Jesus to be their king. At this point they were thinking with their bellies. If Jesus can provide unlimited bread and fish, then they will never go hungry. History has shown time and again the masses elevating to king or president those who can provide their basic necessities, like food and safety. Therein lies the great temptation. Human nature is quick to think only of the physical realm and set aside the spiritual realm. Rather than be content with Jesus to be a great prophet who brings them God’s Word and performs wonderful miracles that beat back the devil’s tyranny, many want to crown Jesus as their king so that He can run the Romans out of Judea.
            6. John began his Gospel by noting: »Jesus came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him (John 1,11)«. The crowds who followed Jesus fell under this judgment, for many in the crowds were content to acclaim Him as a great prophet but they were unwilling to follow Him as a disciple. Nevertheless, their assessment of the man Jesus was correct: Jesus is the great prophet and successor to Moses, as John proclaims at the beginning of his Gospel: »For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ« (John 1,17).

II.

            7. Jesus’ own disciples don’t yet completely understand who He is. Jesus is their rabbi, and the promised messiah of Israel. They have seen Him teach the Word and perform mighty signs. In the midst of the 5000, Philip crunches the numbers: Jesus, it would take more than six months of wages to buy food for all these people. A quick consultation with Judas Iscariot who held the money would reveal they are woefully short of that amount of capital. Andrew notes that a young lad has five loaves of bread and two fish, but that would barely feed Jesus and His apostles let alone 5000 hungry men. The apostles are at a loss for what to do. They can’t buy the food necessary to feed the crowd; they can’t feed the crowd with the food on hand; they can’t send the crowd home hungry, for that would violate the traditions of hospitality. The disciples are distressed, and rightly so.

III.

            8. Jesus takes charge of the situation. He had been in control all the time, but He tested His apostles to gauge their maturity and wisdom regarding Him. Five loaves and two fish cannot feed 5000 people by human means. Jesus, however, is not merely a man but He is also God. He is the great prophet and king of Israel. Jesus will provide, just as He has always done. He takes the bread and the fish, gives thanks to the Heavenly Father and passes out the food.
            9. At the end of the meal, Jesus commanded the apostles: „Gather up the leftover fragments, so that nothing may be lost.“ Twelve baskets full of leftover bread were collected: one for each apostle. That is the way the Lord Jesus works: He takes what is at hand, blesses it, and gives it out. What is given out is insignificant, but what is received back is plenteous. That is how it is with Yahweh’s grace, and Jesus desires that nothing be lost. If Jesus cares this much about pieces of bread, then how much more does He care about individual people. The crowds learned that Jesus is blessed by Yahweh. The apostles learn that Jesus truly is the messiah sent by Yahweh. You learn that Jesus’ grace is sufficient in your lives.
            10. Today, bread and wine will be blessed and given out. You will receive it, and what is taken up is more than what was originally given out. You will receive Jesus’ body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins. This Sacrament is a promise from Jesus that you will not be lost, for the Sacrament is given to strengthen your faith in Jesus. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1,17). This grace is Christ’s vicarious sacrifice on the cross for you in your place. This grace is given out to you in the Sacrament of the Altar. This truth is Jesus’ promise to you that He has borne your sins and will feed you with the heavenly bread and fish that is eternal salvation. In Jesus you have this truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8,32).
            11. Your response is not to be amazed at Jesus and try to force Him to be an earthly king. Jesus will not allow Himself to be this sort of king, just as He did not allow the crowds to crown Him as such two thousand years ago. Your response should be to behold Him as a prophet, yes the heir of Moses who brings grace and salvation to those burdened and demolished by the law. Behold Jesus as the one who provides not only your earthly needs, but more importantly your heavenly needs of forgiveness and eternal life. Behold Jesus as your savior, for He is your savior from sin, death, and hell. He is your king, but He will not reveal Himself as such until His second advent. Until then, rejoice that He is your savior who keeps you in His hand and by His providence keeps you as His own.  Amen.
            12. Let us pray. O Lord, You cause the sun to rise and to set, and for this grand Providence we praise Your Name! As You provide all our earthly needs, so also remind us that you daily give us all our spiritual needs as well, so that we never forget that You are our Creator and our Redeemer.  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. 

                Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 26. July 2009 (7. Trinitatis) on John 6,1-15. Copyright © 2011 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.
                Löhe, Wilhelm. Evangelien-Postille für die Sonn- und Festage des Kirchenjahres. Copyright © 1859 Samuel Gottlieb Liesching. A sermon preached on John 6,1-15 for Laetare Sunday. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.