Historic Reformation Sites

Martin Luther preached regularly at Stadtkirche (City Church, St. Mary's Church), Wittenberg and he posted his 95 Theses on the north doors of Schlosskirche (Castle Church, All Saints Church), Wittenberg on 31. October 1517. Here are links to both Lutheran churches:

Stadtkirche

Stadtkirche, English

Schlosskirche

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

In the Name of Jesus 

Mark 12,28-34 (cf. Matthew 22,24-40; Luke 10,25-28)
18. Trinitatis  063
James the brother of Jesus. Bishop of Jerusalem. Martyr 62
Severin, Bishop of Cologne, Germany. † 403.
23. October 2011

1.  O Holy Spirit, the Inspirer of the apostles, on this day in the Trinity Season we also remember the Apostle James, the brother of our Lord Jesus, first Bishop of Jerusalem, until he suffered martyrdom at the hands of the high priest just like his elder brother, Jesus. Like all the apostles, James testified to the resurrection of Jesus and preached the gospel that produced faith in Christ so that people believed their sins were forgiven and everlasting life was theirs. O help us, Spirit of God, to trust this precious gospel as we are pressured by the world and our sinful flesh to forsake the comforting words of Your promise. Bless also our preaching from this church and turn the hearts of men and women from themselves unto Christ who is the world’s Savior.  Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to Mark where the Evangelist Mark writes: ²⁸And one of the scribes came 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?“ ²⁹Jesus answered: „The most important is: »Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.« [Deuteronomy 6,4-5] ³¹The second is this: »You will love your neighbor as yourself.« [Leviticus 19,18] There is no other commandment greater than these.“ ³²And the scribe said to Him: „You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. ³³And 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.“ ³⁴And 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.  This is our text.

3. There’s a bit of tension in today’s Gospel Reading. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were two distinct parties within Judaism similarly like our nation has two major political parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. The Sadducees included the temple priests and their primary religious function was to ensure that the temple and the multitude of animal sacrifices proceeded smoothly and orderly. Additionally, they oversaw the Jewish military and acted as liaison to the Roman governing authorities. The Sadducees desired to keep peace with the Romans. The Pharisees included the synagogue rabbis and their primary religious function was to ensure that the Word of God was perfectly copied, that commentaries on the Bible were produced and taught, and that the people heard sermons on the Holy Scriptures. The biggest discord between the Sadducees and the Pharisees involved the resurrection. The Sadducees, in general, denied that there was a bodily resurrection on the last day. The Pharisees, in general, believed that there most certainly was a bodily resurrection on the last day. In today’s Gospel discussion, there is tension between the religious duties of the two Jewish groups: which was more important, the Word or the Sacrifices? The scribe, who was a Pharisee, put forth that the Word of God is much more than the sacrifices, while the Sadducees would bristle at that assertion and might respond that the sacrifices are much more than the sermons preached on the Sabbath. The same tension resides in the Lutheran Church today: What is more important: Preaching the Word or administering the Sacraments? Which mountain peak is higher in the Divine Service: The service of the Word or the service of the Lord’s Supper?

            4. The question is asked of Jesus: Which commandment is the greatest and noblest? Jesus had Ten Commandments to choose from. Well, actually He had Fourteen Commandments to choose from, for if you count up the specific commands in Exodus 20 you will discover there are thirteen distinct „shall“ commands and one „keep“ command. Judaism and Christianity have numbered the list at ten by combining similar commandments together so that the easy to remember number ten quickly brings to mind the ten precepts and laws God has put not only in our conscience but also before our eyes with the written Word.

            5. Jesus, furthermore, pares down the Commandments to only two: love God and love your neighbor. Jesus also has four distinct Greek verbs to choose from for the word „love“. Jesus used the Greek verb agaph which means „unconditional love“. Jesus exhorts us to love God to such an extent that no sacrifice or service on our part is too great for Him, and to love our neighbor like he or she were our dearest and best friend. Such commands sound simple and easy, and you rightly conclude that our depraved, narcissistic society could use a good dose of taking this loving both God and neighbor more seriously. Keeping this law of love, however, is extremely difficult. On one occasion Yahweh came to visit Abraham and told him: „Dear Abraham, I know you love Me with all your heart. Go, and sacrifice your one and only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering to Me.“ At the beginning of creation we see Eve yielding to the temptation of the devil. And yet, there is Adam, who surely unconditionally loved his beautiful wife, but he fails to act as he idly stands there and lets that lying Satan deceive his wife into breaking Yahweh’s one and only command. Loving God and loving our neighbor are the most difficult commands Jesus exhorts from us.

            6. Nevertheless, as difficult as it is to love, Jesus still commands us to do so. Yes, love God and love your neighbor. He placed such laws deep down inside the conscience of Adam and Eve when He created them in His Divine image and likeness. Such laws He gave to Moses and Israel at Sinai. Such laws, He proclaimed, are the greatest and noblest of all the commands of Yahweh, including the commands in the old testament to sacrifice animals and thus take away the sins of Israel. Love God; love your neighbor. You will spend your entire life striving to fulfill these laws and yet you will never completely fulfill them. But nevertheless strive to love God and your neighbor!

            7. Jesus praises the Pharisaic scribe in today’s Gospel Reading. We don’t often hear such words escape Jesus’ lips in the Four Gospels. 99.9% of the time Jesus is castigating the Pharisees, but here He commends a Pharisee (although four verses later He denounces the scribes). Jesus acknowledges that this scribe has indeed answered wisely. He even goes a step further: „Dear scribe, you are not far from the reign of God.“

            8. This scribe was standing within the doorway of the reign of God! One more step forward, and he is definitely in the heavenly reign. Our Lectionary, unfortunately, as it is want to do, lops off that one further step. The next step to take is to answer the question: Who is the Messiah? (Mark 12,35). Jesus picks up this dialogue immediately after our Gospel Reading for this morning.

            9. What do you make of the Christ? The scribes and Pharisees endlessly debated this question in Jesus’ day. Two thousand years later in the twenty-first century, people continue to discuss this very question: What is the Christ all about? The very reign of God orbits this very question.

            10. The Christ is both God and man. He is one hundred percent Divine and at the same time He is one hundred percent human together in one, distinct Person, by the name Jesus bar-Joseph of Nazareth. Mark the Evangelist, companion of both the Apostles Paul and Peter, begins his Gospel with these words: »The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.« Furthermore, when Mark announces the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, he succinctly writes: »Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying: „The time is fulfilled and the reign of God has come near; repent and believe in the gospel“« (Mark 1,14-15).

            11. The law is summarized by love, and love is manifested in Christ Jesus. Christ perfectly kept the law: He loves His Heavenly Father with all His heart and His neighbor as Himself. Jesus willingly became the Greater Isaac who was offered up by His Father for your sins. Jesus is the Second Adam who overcame the devil and freed Eve’s descendants from hellish tyranny. Jesus showed this unconditional love for God and neighbor on the cross.

            12. It is common to hear people say that „God is love.“ and „God is a loving God.“ This is most certainly true, but many people utter this Scriptural truth ignorant of how deep and wonderful God’s love truly is. Such declarations are not mere sentiments or philosophical ideals, but „God is love“ is grounded in real, harsh reality. Jesus really suffered; He was crucified in a rough cross; He truly died and was buried. Jesus endured these tribulations for the sake of the world and for you. You know that Jesus is love because He suffered in your place and He bore the punishment of your sins. Jesus took your spot so that God’s wrath would not strike you down. This, dear congregation, is love, yes, unconditional love.

            13. 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.

            14. May the Holy Spirit give you opportunities to draw your neighbors unto the threshold of the reign of God. May you invite your neighbors here on Sunday morning so they can experience the reign of God in Christ Jesus, for „through Christ, by His love for us, we are in the reign of God, not merely close to it. Is not it wonderful that we have such a lovable God?“ (Martens § 17). Yes, it is wonderful! You can now sit here today, and you can walk out these church doors, with full confidence that your sins are forgiven. On the last day when you stand face to face with God the Awesome Judge, you can stand before Him with all boldness and joy, for you will stand before the Great Judge with all your sins forgiven by the merit of Jesus. Truly our Triune God is a loving God!  Amen.

            15. Let us pray. O Lord, our Loving God, Your friendship is for those who fear You; in Your Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, You have made known to us Your new testament so that we are assured of our forgiveness and salvation.  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, Mark © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson. 

                Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 11. October 2009 (18. Trinitatis) in Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany on Mark 12,28-34. Copyright © 2011 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.

Romans 10,9-17. The 17th Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Romans 10,9-17.[18]
17. Trinitatis 062
Gallus, Abbot of St. Gallen, Switzerland, † appr. 646
1611-2011: 400^th anniversary of the King James Bible  
16. October 2011

1.  O Holy Spirit, who inspired the Prophets and Apostles to write the Holy Scriptures, grant unto us faithful pastors and bishops to preach Your Word in truth and purity. We also give thanks for those devoted Christians who over the millennia preserved the Scriptural manuscripts and codices and for others who undertook to translate the Bible from its original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into their native language so that countless people would have access to the very words of life. We especially thank You for the desire of King James I to order an English translation of the Bible and for those scholars who carried out this laudable task.  Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Epistle to the Romans where the Apostle Paul writes: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹For the Scripture says: »Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.« [Isaiah 28,16] ¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. ¹³For »everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.« [Joel 2,23] ¹⁴But how are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written: »How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel!« [Isaiah 52,7] ¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says: »O Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?« [Isaiah 53,1] ¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. ¹⁸But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for »Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.« [Psalm 19,4]  This is our text.

3. This year marks the 400. anniversary of the King James Bible. This Bible of King James was the third official English translation used in England (the first having been the Great Bible commissioned by the Church of England that was printed in 1539 under the direction of Myles Coverdale, and the second was the Bishop’s Bible of 1568). King James VI of Scotland was crowned King James I of England and Ireland in 1603 and he is perhaps the most theologically astute monarch to ever be crowned in Great Britain. In 1604 the king commissioned 47 scholars to update the English Bible and in 1611, while the English colonists in Jamestown, VA were four years into building their settlement, the King James Bible began leaving British printing presses. To view the entire digitalized King James Bible check out the link at our church’s website.

4. The King James Bible was not the first official English translation. The followers of John Wycliffe undertook the first complete English translations of the Holy Scriptures in the 15th century. In 1525, William Tyndale, an English contemporary of Martin Luther, undertook a translation of the New Testament and Tyndale used Luther’s German Bible as a framework regarding poetry and translation style. Tyndale’s translation was the first printed Bible in English. Tyndale’s New Testament and his incomplete work on the Old Testament became the basis for the 1539 Great Bible. The 1568 Bishop’s Bible became the English source text for the 1611 King James Bible.

5. Why was the King James Bible so important for English men and women in the 16. and 17. centuries? Prior to the 1539 Great Bible, those living in England would have on Sunday Divine Service heard the Bible read or preached in a language other than their native English. Were you back then standing in an English church on Sunday morning you would have heard the 17. verse from today’s Epistle Reading as: »ergo fides ex auditu auditus autem per verbum Christi«. Prior to Tyndale’s translation and the 1539 Great Bible, all Scripture was read in Jerome’s 5. century Latin translation of the Bible known as the Vulgate, which was the official Roman Catholic Bible translation from the time of Jerome’s printing of it in 405 until the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). To this very day, the King James Bible is a treasure of English poetry and prose, in addition to providing the English framework for all succeeding English translations, including the English Standard Version that we use each week for our lectionary.

6. Faith comes from hearing the word of Christ in one’s native language. The Apostle Paul wrote his Romans epistle in Greek which was the common tongue of the first century. We read his letter in contemporary English so that we can understand the gospel he proclaims. Therefore, after hearing the word of Christ, we:  

I.   confess,

II.  believe, and 

III. are justified. 

I.

7. The Apostle Paul tells us the straight truth: »If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved« (10,9). Many, however, hear but do not believe. The consequence of unbelief is eternal death and damnation. Such is the lot that awaits sinful humanity. We have rebelled against God, and our punishment is death and everlasting banishment from His holy presence. Yahweh, however, would not see mankind, His crown of creation, lost forever in perdition. Yahweh instituted His Heilsgeschichte (salvation history) to redeem fallen mankind. He promised this redemption to Eve moments after her fall into sin. He reminded each generation of patriarchs of the gospel promise. He bound this promise to Abraham’s heir and David’s son. God the Father fulfilled this promise when He sent His only son, Jesus the Christ, into this lost world. This Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Preachers and pastors proclaim this gospel, and people hear it. No one has an excuse to not be saved, for Yahweh has saved His fallen creation and proclaimed this wonderful truth through His Church. Those who remain separated from Yahweh cannot blame Him, but must acknowledge that they alone are responsible for remaining separated from the Triune God. 

II.

8. Confessing Jesus as our crucified and risen Savior who is our redeemer from sin, death and hell leads to faith. Those who believe in Christ will be saved. Notice, however, that the Apostle Paul does not say a generic belief in Christ, such as Christ existed or Christ was a prophet and good, moral teacher or some other confession that the world would have no discomfort believing. Rather, Paul says those who believe in the risen and resurrected Christ will be saved.

9. The resurrection of Christ makes all the difference. The risen Christ is the victor over sin, death and hell. Your sin is forgiven. Your death will lead you to eternal life with Christ. Your destiny is no longer the perdition of hell. The risen Christ does this, and none other.  

III.

10. The Apostle Paul furthermore proclaims that those who believe in the risen Christ are justified. The Greek word δικαίωσιν (justification) is often translated into English as righteousness or made righteous. The term is theologically significant because Yahweh created Adam and Eve with original righteousness. They were created in the image and likeness of God Himself. When Adam sinned, however, he exchanged his original righteousness for original sin. Furthermore, Adam has passed on to you and me this original sin and its curse of physical death and eternal damnation.

11. Yahweh’s Heilsgeschichte involves restoring in you the original righteousness that He always intended for you to have. To do this, God the Father imputes Jesus Christ’s own righteousness to you. Martin Luther called this „die fröhliche Wechsel“ (the blessed exchange). Yahweh is not simply content to cleanse and wipe away all your sins, but He wants to remake you in His holy image and likeness. Christ took upon Himself your original sin and gave you in exchange His own holiness, namely original righteousness. The Holy Spirit has committed this gospel to His Church and has established that ordained ministers preach this gospel from the pulpit and that they give out this gospel in the Sacraments. You hear that you are justified, you then confess it, believe it, and have it by virtue of your faith in what God Himself has said.

12. The Apostle Paul speaks very highly of preaching this very word of life and salvation. At one time, this could be done using the original Greek, Hebrew and Latin languages. Such languages form the foundation of a classical, liberal education that was the hallmark of both the European and American education system. At one time, Latin was still taught in American schools at the junior high level. At one time, the average person had a working knowledge of Latin. Our culture no longer emphasizes the classical education format, and so knowledge of basic Latin and other liberal arts have been lost to many college graduates. No longer is it efficacious to proclaim: »ergo fides ex auditu auditus autem per verbum Christi«. Many American Lutheran pastors no longer understand the proclamation: »So kommt der Glaube aus der Predigt, das Predigen aber aus dem Wort Gottes«. The Word of God needs to be preached in the vernacular language of the people. For many that is English, for others it is Korean or Spanish. »Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.« The Word of God does not return void. You have heard the gospel; you have believed this gospel; on account of the gospel, you are righteous before God Almighty.  Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You have the words of eternal life! Bring success to our singing of Your steadfast love so that we make known Your faithfulness to succeeding generations and through Your gospel they believe unto life everlasting.  Amen.

        One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

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

John 11. The 16th Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

John 11,1-3.17-27.41-45 (Luke 7,11-21)

16. Trinitatis 061
Abraham, Patriarch; Dionysius the Areopagite, Martyr, Acts 17,34; Leif Eriksen, † 1020
9. October 2011


     1.  O Dear Lord, we are poor sinners who, like Lazarus, will one day sleep in our own grave. You have been gracious to us in Your Only Son Jesus Christ. He has purchased the forgiveness of our sin and has born the wrath and damnation we rightly deserve as rebellious human beings. Too many times we ignore death, downplay it or sugarcoat it because it is too grievous a thing for us to ponder and bear. With Lazarus, Jesus has shown us that we do not even need to fear death and the grave, for He is the lord of life and Jesus promises to give us this very life forever and ever. Strengthen our faith so that we do not doubt Christ and His words, but that we rely on His good promise to be our resurrection and our life.  Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to John where the holy apostle and evangelist writes: Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³So the sisters sent to Him, saying: „Lord, he whom You love is ill.“ ¹⁷Now when Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰So when Martha heard that Jesus was arriving, she went and met Him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹Martha said to Jesus: „Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.“ ²³Jesus said to her: „Your brother will rise again.“ ²⁴Martha said to Him: „I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.“ ²⁵Jesus said to her, „I Am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet he will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?“ ²⁷She said to Him: „Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.“ ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said: „Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴²I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You sent Me.“ ⁴³When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice: „Lazarus, come out.“ ⁴⁴The man who had died came out: his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them: „Unbind him, and let him go.“ ⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him.  This is our text.

I.

3. Christianity is not the only religion or philosophy that believes in a resurrection of the body. Orthodox Judaism believes in a bodily resurrection. The ancient Egyptians believed in a bodily resurrection, so much so that they mummified the bodies of the deceased, the pharaohs built elaborate pyramids and filled them with food, servants and other items that the deceased would need once they arrived in the heavenly afterlife. Muslims also believe in the resurrection of the body. Even Buddhism has a type of bodily resurrection with their philosophy of reincarnation.

4. The doctrine of the bodily resurrection is constantly attacked. In Jesus’ day, the Sadducees, which included the temple priests, denied the validity of the bodily resurrection. The Pharisees, however, adamantly believed in the resurrection of the body. John 11 reveals that Jesus, Mary and Martha, and countless other first century Jews were comforted by the doctrine of the resurrection. Today, only the Orthodox Jews tenaciously cling to the bodily resurrection as a Jewish tenet of faith.

5. The Early Church taught and proclaimed the resurrection of the body to a world that was heavily influenced by the Greek philosophy of the mere immortality of the soul. The body was a prison, and the soul was set free at death. In the 17^th century, the Church was countering the Enlightenment’s religion of Deism. Deism allowed for God as the first cause of creation, but Deists denied any significant personal or relational interaction with God and humanity. God was seen as a grand clock maker who created the universe, but after winding up nature with physical laws, such as gravity and thermodynamics, He merely sits back and lets creation run on its own. Deism, which was largely led by rationality and reason, allowed a belief in the immortality of the soul, but not necessarily in the resurrection of the dead. Deism has influenced American culture and religion since the 18^th entury. Influenced by Deism, many churches have de-emphasized the bodily resurrection and instead emphasize the soul’s immortality. Therefore, it behooves the Church to consistently and patiently proclaim the Scriptural teaching of the bodily resurrection, for we are constantly bombarded by temptations to downplay or outright disbelieve the resurrection of all flesh.

II.

6. Dead is dead. You know that, and you have experienced this fact many times at funerals. Lazarus was dead. There was no doubt about that fact, for he had been buried in the tomb for four days. The popular Jewish piety of Jesus’ day believed that one’s soul hung around for three days after death hoping desperately to reunite with the dead body (Martens § 6). By the fourth day every Jew knew: this person is dead and gone and there was no way for him or her to be resuscitated back to life. Thus Jesus deliberately waited to arrive in Bethany so that everyone would see that He is the lord over death and the grave.

7. Jesus proves this by raising Lazarus from his tomb. Mary already confessed her proper Jewish belief that the body would be raised to new life on the last day. We also confess this, as we have done in the Apostles’ Creed: I believe … in the resurrection of the body, and the life X everlasting. Like Martha, we know and believe that on the last day Lazarus and all who have died will rise again. On that day in Bethany, 2000 years ago, the last day arrived early for Lazarus because Jesus entered his midst.

8. At Bethany, Jesus and Martha engaged in a discussion that is one of the most well-know, and most comforting, in all of Holy Scripture. Jesus’ words from John 11 are commonly heard, quite naturally, at Christian funerals and committals. Listen to His wonderful promise again: »I Am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet he will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.« Even had Jesus not raised his dear friend Lazarus back to life that day, those words would still have comforted Martha because Jesus promised her that on the last day Lazarus would be bodily risen, and Jesus would be the one to do the raising on this last day.

9. At Lazarus’ tomb Jesus exercised His Divine power and authority over death, the grave and Abraham’s bosom. All people die; it is the curse imposed upon us for Adam’s rebellion in Eden. Every day you diligently work to keep death at bay. You exercise, watch what you, eat take vitamins to keep your body strong and healthy. You take medications to lower your blood pressure, control diabetes, Coumadin to prevent blood clots, and a host of other prescriptions for a myriad of diseases. My grandfather once told me a few years ago that all he seems to do now is go to this doctor and that doctor several days a week to manage his physical ailments. The price of reaching old age is a plethora of pills and ever increasing doctors appointments. None of this will stave off death forever, for eventually the body weakens and in exhaustion the heart stops pumping blood and the lungs stop drawing in oxygen. The world has been given a sober reminder of this a few days ago as the world mourns the loss of perhaps the most talented computer entrepreneur yet known: Steve Jobs. One day the grave will somberly welcome each one of us, and over the years maggots and bugs will aid the decay of our bodies until only the skeleton bones are left and centuries later only dust will be kept safely in our coffins.

10. Jesus arrived to change this horrible and depressing state of fallen men and women. Jesus promises to reverse death. Jesus promises to open every grave and call forth the bodies therein. From dust He will form a new body. He will clothe bones with muscle and flesh. Jesus will even open the gates of Abraham’s bosom where the faithful in Yahweh await with bliss and comfort the resurrection of the body. Thus Jesus raised Lazarus as a preview of what He will do on the last day.

11. „Jesus speaks to the dead and decaying Lazarus as a living person“ (Löhe § 7) by commanding him: „Lazarus, come out!“ Just as Jesus has the power and authority to call forth Lazarus from his grave, so Jesus also does the same in His own grave, for Jesus has the power to lay down His life and take it back again. In the Lord’s own death and grave we find that His words assure us that what at first worries us, namely that we will die and be buried, is now overcome in Jesus’ resurrection from the grave (Löhe § 7). Yes, Jesus gives everlasting life to both body and soul, and not merely life eternal but everlasting life in a resurrected and glorious body reunited with the soul all of which is free from sin, decay and infirmities.

III.

12. Many of the Jews who had seen what Christ had done for Lazarus believed in Jesus. The Lord promises everlasting life in a resurrected body. The Lord manifests this promise in the raising of Lazarus. The Lord seals this promise by raising His own body on the third day. The resurrection leads to faith in Jesus.

13. This faith is created in your Baptism where you have been united both to Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection. This faith is nurtured by the Word and the Sacraments. This faith clings only to the crucified and risen Christ. This faith receives the gospel with joy. The next time you sit at the bedside of a Christian friend who is dying, the gospel assures you that soon that dear friend will be in the presence of Jesus. As you mourn at the grave of a Christian relative, the gospel assures you that you will be bodily reunited with him or her in Paradise.

14. Faith clings to Jesus who is the Resurrection and the Life. Horror movies sensationalize the afterlife, but rest assured Jesus will not raise you up like a mummy, a zombie or a grotesque Frankenstein monster (eine groteske Frankenstein-Monster), rather Jesus will raise your body up on the last day and He will breathe new life into that body so that it will live forever in His glorious presence. This resurrection and life are not some far off, future event, but they are a present reality for you and me this very day because you are connected to Christ and He is in communion with you (Martens § 14). He is with you now when you are young and healthy; He is with you when the doctor gives you bad news; He is with you when you take your last earthly breath; He is with you when your eyes close in sleep and then open as you awake in the light of heaven. Believe this gospel for it is yours on account of Jesus Christ who is the lord over sin, death and the grave.  Amen.

15. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Your Name is Holy and Awesome, keep our faith always and only on You so that we cling to the redemption You give to Your people and look forward to the resurrection of our bodies and souls for You truly are the Resurrection and the Life.  Amen.

 

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 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, John © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson. 

Löhe, Wilhelm. Evangelien-Postille für die Sonn- und Festage des Kirchenjahres. Copyright © 1859 Samuel Gottlieb Liesching. A sermon preached on Luke 7,11-21 for The 16th Sunday after the Trinity. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.

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 © 2011 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.

Matthew 6,24-34. The 15th Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Matthew 6,24-34

15. Trinitatis 060

Leodegar, Bishop of Autun, France. Martyr 678

2. October 2011 

1. Almighty God, Heavenly Lord and Merciful Father, we come once more to You our Faithful, Dear Lord and Father. We lament to You of our heartfelt need which we bring before You. Shameful unbelief plagues us again so that we do not entirely confide in You nor do we trust Your Word which promises that You will provide all our needs. Therefore, O God and Lord, we ask You, come and help our unbelief, and increase our faith so that we trust Your Word, and so that we do not deviate from it…. Therefore we cast our concerns, O Lord, upon You. Supply us and our heart’s desire, for You, our Lord, have promised to us that when we seek first the reign of God and its righteousness all is given to us. Therefore we will lay a hold of Your word in times of calamity and let You worry about how You will nourish us. We commend to You our bodies and souls, our homes and all our livelihoods. You temporally and eternally preserve us with Your grace, in Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Redeemer and Savior.  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 His disciples: „No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. ²⁵ Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.“  This is our text. 

3. As Jesus continues His sermon on the Mount, He, at this point in His teaching, focuses on the First Commandment: You shall have no other gods except Me. Idolatry and polytheism plague mankind; they have since the fall into sin. Even Christians, yes, faithful Christians who believe upon Jesus Christ as their savior, often struggle with, or actually have, idols in their lives. O it is not so obvious. You won’t find in a Christian’s home an altar dedicated to Baal, Thor, or Zeus, but many Christians struggle with the First Commandment. Jesus calls out and reveals the idol that secretly is worshipped; it is the idol of mammon. We don’t normally use that good old Aramaic word much today, but in Jesus day and culture the word was commonly used. Mammon means „wealth“. Mammon can also refer to „greed, avarice and unjust worldly gain“ (Wikipedia); it is often used to refer to excessive materialism or greed as a negative influence (Wikipedia). 

4. Today we want to focus on three aspects of Jesus’ sermon: 

I.    Divided loyalties leads to a despised loyalty.

II.  Our primary loyalty is to Christ. 

III. The reign of God is the first of many blessings. 

I.

5. Divided loyalties lead to a despised loyalty. A person cannot serve two masters because he will either love the one and despise the other or vice versa. Likewise, you cannot claim both Jesus and wealth as masters. Either you will love Jesus and despise wealth or you will despise Jesus and love wealth. You can only have one God. You have to choose. And it is not always an easy choice. 

6. It is easy to say wealth is not an idol, but human beings spend plenty of time amassing wealth and protecting it, fretting about food, clothing and home. When such items become your lord that you serve with all your heart, then you are enslaved by worry about whether you will have enough food, clothing, or wealth that are necessary for life. Such fretting and worry is common as we live in a temporal world that revolves around these necessities of life. Furthermore, we have numerous responsibilities and duties to provide the necessities of life for our families and other depending on our vocation. 

7. When wealth becomes an obsession, then it has become an idol. As an idol it is therefore a competing god with the One True God. Yahweh does not tolerate rival gods and idols. He is a zealous God who commands our respect, honor and worship. This command is not given out of pettiness or anger, but it is a command given out of love for Yahweh knows that He alone is God, He alone is our Creator and He alone can provide all our earthly and spiritual needs. 

II.

8. Our primary loyalty is to Christ. He does not want you to have divided loyalties, but He wants you to be properly loyal to Him alone. Our Heavenly Father sent His Only Son to this earth as our savior. Christ was, and is, completely loyal to God the Father. As the Son of God, Jesus faithfully carries out His Father’s will. Jesus is the Founder and Perfecter of our one holy Christian faith (Hebrews 12,12). 

9. Faith looks to Christ alone. He is the promised Christ and Messiah. He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Luke 24,44; John 1,45). He is the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world (John 1,29). He is our Prophet, Priest, and Prince. During His public ministry, Jesus preached to and healed both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus’ ministry proclaimed that: „Whatever things are necessary for this life God will overall provide; thus, they should not be a matter of great concern“ (Gerhard 165). 

III.

10. The reign of God is the first of many blessings. »The reign of God does not consist in talk but in power« (1. Corinthians 4,20). »Flesh and blood cannot inherit the reign of God« (1. Corinthians 15,50). The reign of God comes through Christ Jesus alone. 

11. The reign of God exhorts you to look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Jesus teaches that the reign of God promises you in every way and each day that your Heavenly Father provides your earthly needs. The reign of God points you to the lilies of the field. Even Solomon in all his wealth, power and glory was not arrayed like one of these lilies. Jesus assures us that no matter the trial or temptation, no matter how difficult this life may seem, nevertheless Jesus watches over you, protects you, and desires only good things for you. The reign of God is brought by Jesus and promises you that God does indeed love you and cares for you. You are worth more to your Heavenly Father than a flock of birds and a field of lilies. You are so precious to Jesus that He shed His blood to redeem you. 

12. The reign of God leads to righteousness. One is made righteous solely by Jesus. The reign of God is revealed in Christ Jesus suffering on the cross and dying for your sins. Jesus did that to purchase your forgiveness, and with forgiveness there is salvation and eternal life. 

13. In His Incarnation Jesus lived the truth that no hair, no sparrow falls, without the Father. The grass of the fields which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven. And Jesus too, in solidarity with the lot of all creatures. What all creatures bear, He bore more. The weight of all was upon His shoulders. He was thrown into the oven. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. There is Calvary and there is Easter. His – and yours! Yours, given to you in Baptism. A newness of life, from Him, with Him, and so, no more living as if He did not die and rise again for you. And so, no more anxiety. Those who choose to, remain alone – isolated items having to look out for themselves as if the Lord were not there, not caring or not caring well enough so that some alternatives have to be devised to fill in for His failures: idols, other gods, that last only as long as we can keep them going. Endless anxiety. Jesus calls you out of anxiety to grow as the little lily grows, with final confidence in God. Thirty fold, sixty fold and an hundred fold. The little flower in the hand of Jesus. Did He pull it up? It was His. Then its life was spent – telling of Him! Was ever flower more beautiful? You too! How much more you, than the grass of the fields and the birds of the air“ (Nagel § 10-16).  Amen. 

14. Let us pray. O Lord, our Good and Gracious God, today we taste and see that You are good; we have heard it preached and we will receive it on our lips in the Sacrament. Through these means of grace comfort and assure us that the person is blessed who takes refuge You so that we may be confident to cast all our anxieties and cares upon You alone and in doing so receive rest, peace and joy.  Amen. 

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

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

Gerhard, Johann. Postilla, Volume 2: Sermons for the Trinity Season. Copyright © 2007 O. Marc Tangner, Ph.D. 

Nagel, Dr. Norman. A sermon preached on 14. October 1985 (Pentecost 20) at Concordia Seminary Chapel on Matthew 6,25-34. Copyright © 1985 The Rev. Dr. Norman Nagel.