Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: September 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

Acts 12,1-11. 16. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Acts 12,1-11 4912

16. Sonntag nach Trinitatis. 061

Linus, disciple of St. Paul, Bishop of Rome in 67. † 79.

Thecla, disciple of St. Paul, Virgin, Martyr, 1^st c. mentioned in the Acts of Paul and Thecla

23. September 2012

1. O Dear Lord, we suffer, like the apostles, and are tormented night and day by the foes of Your precious Church. Jesus Himself told us: as they have treated Me, so will they treat you. Too many times we are ignorant of the Christians who are persecuted and martyred around the world, downplay it or excuse it because it is too grievous a thing for us to ponder and bear. With Paul, Jesus has shown us that we do not even need to fear suffering, death and the grave, for Christ is the lord of life who promises to bear us up in every tribulation and escort us to everlasting life. Strengthen our faith so that we do not doubt Christ and His words, but that we rely on His good promise to be our strength, our resurrection and our life. Amen.

2. About that time King Herod laid violent hands on some who belonged to the Church. He killed James bar-Zebedee, the brother of John, with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread (of Passover). And when he had seized Peter, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying: „Get up quickly.“ And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him: „Dress yourself and put on your sandals.“ And he did so. And he said to him: „Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.“ And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said: „Now I am sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.“

3. The King Herod in our sermon text is Herod Agrippa I (10 BC – AD 44; ruled from 37-44); he was the grandson of Herod the Great and son of Aristobulus IV and Berenice. His territory comprised most of traditional Israel, including Iudaea, Galilee, Batanaea and Perea. From Galilee his territory extended east to Trachonitis. Emperor Claudius named him king, the first to bear the title and the territory since his grandfather. Herod martyred the first apostle, James bar Zebedee, one of the three of Jesus’ closest apostles, by beheading him with a sword. Herod desired to next martyr Peter. In quick succession, Herod could have dealt a devastating blow to the apostolic band and the Church.

4. Luke the Evangelist reminds us of the cost of following Jesus: it is not always happy, peaceful times for Christians. Often we are persecuted, tormented or martyred for the Name of Jesus and His gospel. Herod, by the account of contemporary historians, was a fair and just king. What accounts for his acts of violence against the fledgling New Testament Church? Luke lays out the cause: many Jews and an increasing number of Gentiles are becoming Christians. Herod wants to preserve the Jewish faith with its Mosaic covenant. He takes the action that we have seen so many rulers take throughout history: persecute and kill your opposition so as to force them into irrelevance.

5. The Church is tempted to acquiesce and yield to her foes with the hope that by doing so she may be granted a reprieve and survive. The Church in the 21. century is pressed upon on many sides. We are asked to water down the gospel and our doctrine for the sake of not offending others who believe differently. We are implored to loosen our morals and virtues so we can be more relevant to the popular culture. We are told not to speak unfavorably about politicians and their policies, or else .... Nothing has changed since the time of King Herod.

6. Fear and uncertainty begin to grip the Church. If they can kill one apostle and arrest another, then they will have no qualms rounding up the average rank and file Christian. The Church, however, does not give into fear and despair. She prays, and Jesus responds: Peter is miraculously freed from jail! Jesus ensures that His Church will continue to thrive in spite of, and on account of, persecution. The 2. century Church Father Tertullian commented on this phenomena: the more you mow us down, the thicker we rise: the seed is the blood of Christians (Tertullian 50,13).

7. This world and its tyrants still rage, and Christians bear the brunt of their wrath. Coptic Christians suffer and are persecuted in Egypt. Palestinian Christians are harassed when they try to worship in their churches. Attempts are made to stifle the free speech of Christians in America. Two days ago, Sarhadi Lutheran Church was burned to the ground in Mardan, Pakistan.

8. Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul encourages us with these words: »God has not given us a spirit of fear, for He gives us a spirit of power, love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us toa holy calling on account of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel« (2. Timothy 1,7-10).

9. Jesus, you see, makes all the difference. Christians throughout the ages have endured persecution by the providence of Jesus. His death and resurrection makes all the difference. This world can do what it will to us, for the the end is already settled. We are justified. We are forgiven. We are saved. Christ has done all this for us. The world cannot change this. Suffering and martyrdom cannot remove it from us. Jesus has secured our everlasting life with Him in heaven, therefore we can endure everything the world and her tyrants throw at us in this earthly life. We will be vindicated on the last day by Jesus Himself.

10. This great gospel promise prompted Martin Luther to write:

Though devils all the world should fill,

All eager to devour us.

We tremble not, we fear no ill,

They shall not overpower us.

This world’s prince may still

Scowl fierce as he will,

He can harm us none,

He’s judged; the deed is done;

One little word can fell him (656,3).

11. When her brother had died, Jesus promised Martha: »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« (John 11,25-26). Jesus is your Resurrection, and He is your Life. Jesus is the very Word of God made flesh. Though you suffer, though you are persecuted, though you may be martyred, yet you will live! Jesus has said it, and His word is certain and true. Amen.

12. 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, the very Mighty Fortress who shields us from our evil foes. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

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, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Tertullian. Apologeticus pro Christianis.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Galatians 5,25-26; 6,1-3.7-10. 15. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Galatians 5,25-26; 6,1-3.7-10 4812

15. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 060

Euphemia, Virgin, Martyr at Chalcedon, Turkey. † 307

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, Tunisia. Martyr 258

16. September 2012

1. Almighty God, we come once more to You our Faithful, Dear Lord and Father. We lament to You that 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 Yahweh, help our unbelief and increase our faith so that we trust Your Word and remain steadfast upon it. Supply us and our heart’s desire, for You 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 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, for You temporally and eternally preserve us with Your grace, in Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Redeemer and Savior. Amen.

2. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers and sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him or her in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

3. Jesus taught in His Beatitudes: »Seek first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you« (Matthew 6,33). Jesus teaches that a person should be concerned first and foremost with his or her salvation. „How do I stand before Yahweh? Is He my Judge or my Justifier?“ are questions of prime concern and personal reflection. Such spiritual reflection should come before the needs of the body and the neighbor.

4. The law reveals God to be our Condemning Judge. The law shows our sin and our unholy lives. The law casts us away from God’s presence. The gospel, however, reveals God to be our Comforting Justifier. The gospel shows us Jesus’ righteousness and holiness. The gospel draws us into God’s presence. Therefore, when Jesus tells us to: »Seek first the reign of God and His righteousness« He is ultimately telling us to seek Him. Yes, seek Jesus who is the world’s righteousness. Indeed, Jesus is Your righteousness.

5. What does Jesus’ righteous create? Jesus’ righteousness makes you righteous and justified in God’s sight. This means that you are forgiven, redeemed and saved. Jesus gave you His own righteousness in an exchange on the cross. What then flows from this justification? Sanctification flows from justification, and this is the content of our sermon text from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians.

6. The holy apostle exhorts us to: humility, pleasing one another, contentedness, gentle restoration of repentant sinners, watchfulness unto holy living, bearing one another’s burdens, and doing good to our neighbors. These are not works of self-righteousness. These are not means to earn good points with God the Father. The apostle’s exhortation is a description of the fruit that is born from a person justified by Christ and Him crucified. Just as an apple tree bears apples, so a person performs works. Every apple tree bears apples, but not all apple trees bear good apples. Some trees are rotten to the core, and as such they produce bruised and rotted apples that are unfit for eating. The truth is, you cannot tell whether an apple tree is healthy or rotted by merely looking at its apples, for both types of apples look good on the outside. It is only by eating the apple that one discovers whether it is pleasing or putrid. The same is true of people. There are many people who are humble, bear other’s burdens and do good things for people, but only one type of person is truly good. Wicked unbelievers can be nice to you, however their niceness is not a good fruit in the eyes of God but a rotted fruit. Only a Christian can bear fruit that is pleasing to God, and that is solely by the merit of Christ and the faith that takes hold of Him as Savior. Christ brings into our midst His heavenly reign with its justification and sanctification.

7. 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.

8. Jesus 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 in every way and each day that your Heavenly Father provides your earthly needs. Jesus 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 you that no matter the trial or temptation, no matter how difficult this life may seem, nevertheless He watches over you, protects you and desires only good things for you. Jesus brings the reign of God and promises you that God truly loves you and cares for you. You are worth more to your Heavenly Father than a flock of birds and a field of flowers. You are so precious to Jesus that He shed His blood to redeem you. If Jesus will provide all your earthly needs for this life, then He will also provide all good fruit of the sanctified life, and in abundance, unto you.

9. The reign of God is a reign of 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.

10. „In His Incarnation Jesus lived the truth that no hair, no sparrow, falls without the Father knowledge. The grass of the field 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“ (Nagel § 10-16).

11. These multiple folds are the fruit that Jesus brings forth in your lives through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul lists some of that sanctified fruit: humility, pleasing one another, contentedness, gentle restoration of repentant sinners, watchfulness unto holy living, bearing one another’s burdens, and doing good to our neighbors. This is Second Table of the Decalogue stuff, namely, love your neighbor and do good to, and for, your neighbor. Vocation is also some of this fruit. What is your vocation in life? What stations do you hold? If you teach, then teach well. If you are a parent, then discipline your children, raise them in the Christian faith and mold them into good citizens. If you are merely a paper pusher, then push those papers with efficiency and joy as you help the larger cogs in the corporation turn smoothly. Such is what Jesus brings to fruition in your life, and even more. He brings forth these good works in blessed abundance, yes, thirty-, sixty- and an hundredfold. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Yahweh, our Good and Gracious God, today we taste and see that You are good; we have heard it preached into our hearts and we will receive it upon our lips in the Sacrament. Through these means of grace comfort and assure us that the person is blessed who takes refuge in 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.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

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.

1. Thessalonians 1,2-10. 14. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

1. Thessalonians 1,2-10 4712

14. Sonntag nach Trinitatis. 059

Gorgonius, Dorotheus and Peter, Martyrs at Rome 304 (Emperor Diocletian)

9. September 2012

1. O Lord Jesus Christ, we know that true Christian faith and hearty confidence in Your Name is the pure and noble gift of the Holy Spirit unto those who are love to Your Word. We thank You that You have also kindled this light in our lives, and granted that even we, though yet in great weakness, with such weak faith, may rest all our trust in You alone. Dear Savior, maintain and increase our faith within us. We do believe: O help our unbelief at all times. Let not the bruised reed be broken nor the smoking flax be quenched so long as we live; so that we may always embrace You in a believing heart, trust You without our whole hearts’ confidence, delighting always in the heavenly treasure of Your grace, unto our own peace and comfort and daily find our joy in You, even unto the end (Löhe 242-3). Amen.

2. We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the Living and True God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

3. The Apostle Paul devotes a good portion of his two epistles to the Thessalonians on the doctrinal topic of the 2. advent of Jesus. In today’s sermon text he writes: »we wait for God’s Son from heaven«. The return of Christ to this earth is a central Christian belief that is codified in the three Creeds of Christendom. These Creeds all confess that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead.

4. The Thessalonian Christians had an odd understanding of Jesus’ return. They thought that those Christians who died before His return would miss out on the event and only be present after it had occurred. Paul responds that this simply not the case. The apostle argues that those Christians who have died will first be resurrected to new life and will enjoy the Lord’s return at the same time as those Christians who are alive at the time. Paul writes: » But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words« (1. Thessalonians 4,13-18).

5. In 21. century Western Christianity, it is all the vogue to read the signs and predict the return of Christ. Such date-setting always ends in futility and failure, as in the past 2000 yeas thee have been 200 predictions as to when the world will end; each one has been wrong. The most recent example occurred almost a year ago when Harold Camping predicted the return of Jesus in October 2011. I remember seeing the #166 buses traveling Broad Avenue with his end of the world advertisements. So also this year we have people declaring that Jesus must be coming back on 21. December 2012.

6. Paul commends the Thessalonian Christians on their prudence: they were not date-setters. »Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying: „There is peace and security,“ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers and sisters, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him« (1. Thessalonians 5,1-4.9-10). When we least expect it, Jesus will return and it will surprise everyone.

7. The apostle also deals with another concern expressed by many: Jesus’ return is to be greeted with fear and anxiety. It is easy to understand why this attitude pervades people’s thoughts: Jesus is returning to judge the world. Sinners focused on their sins will rightly greet the Lord’s return with fear and angst. Paul, however, comforts Christians with these words: » and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed« (2. Thessalonians 1,7-10). Paul makes two important doctrinal points here: 1. Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come. 2. God the Father has destined us to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him.

8. The apostle makes the point that Jesus’ return is a joyous event for Christians. His return ushers in the final stage of or eternal salvation. Jesus justified us by His crucifixion. Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection by His empty tomb. Jesus gives us the very resurrection of our body on the day He returns from heaven. That day is one to be eagerly awaited, for it brings us into the very presence of Christ for all eternity in holy perfection.

9. Paul does list one sign that alerts us to the return of Jesus. »Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders« (2. Thessalonians 2,3-4.9).

10. Paul is not specific here, although he had thoroughly instructed the Thessalonian Christians about this man of lawlessness. Nevertheless, we can gleam some things from Paul’s words. The apostle tells us that Christ’s return will not occur until a rebellion first arises. This rebellion is against Christ Jesus and His gospel. This rebellion rejects the gospel and replaces mankind’s justification by the means of the cross and empty tomb with a justification mingled with the works of men and women for the certainty of salvation. Paul encountered this in the Galatian churches who were adding to faith in Christ the adherence to Jewish circumcision and dietary regulations. The apostle replied with a forceful „no“. The Mosaic covenant does not save you. It does not even help save you in any way or make you a more justified Christian. Only faith in the crucified and risen Christ takes hold of God’s righteousness. After this rebellion against the gospel, a man of lawlessness will arise. Such a vile man will encourage others to reject the gospel of Christ crucified for salvation. He will direct all hearts to believe in him as the mediator of a new covenant of salvation, a covenant that denigrates Christ and the cross. To seal he deal, he will perform signs and wonders as proof that his false covenant is indeed one blessed by God and necessary if one is to be saved.

11. Such rebellion against the gospel, such lawless men and such deceiving wonders afflict our world today in the 21. century. Countless churches and preachers use scare tactics to draw people to a false comfort. They teach people to follow them and do the works they prescribe so that your burdened conscience may be soothed. O to be sure Jesus is in the mix somewhere, but you better send in a love offering, buy their latest book or have them pray for you if you want to be sure of your salvation. Such is the false gospel of the Christ clinchers. Other religions omit Christ altogether. O they may keep him as a good prophet or exceptional moral teacher, but they offer something better than Christ, a new prophet who fulfills what Christ failed to complete. They demand complete submission to God and new holy books that must be believed for they complete the incomplete Bible. In he end all they offer is a new way of self-righteousness that is achieved by doing x, y and z in your life.

12. Jesus and His apostles offer a completely new and radical way of salvation. There is no burdensome do this, and you will life regulation. The true path of justification and salvation runs through Christ. Jesus is the noun that runs the verbs for the direct object. Jesus paid the ransom price of sin for you. Jesus has done it all for you. Believe it Nd receive it in faith, for He freely gives you forgiveness and salvation.

13. Therefore, there is no need for you to fear the Last Judgment before Christ on His throne. He has born your judgment upon His own body and as such He has redeemed you and declared You righteous by His own merit. You may live each day in blissful security for before Christ will be Your Judge He was first Your Mediator. If you believe on Him, then you have eternal life, both now and on the day of Last Judgment, because Satan, the accuser of mankind before the Heavenly Father, has been judged, condemned and defeated by the risen Christ. The gospel will triumph over the rebellion waged against it. The man of lawlessness will be revealed as a preacher of false, discomforting promises. All his signs and wonders will be surpassed by the true sign of Christ returning and raising up life from bodies that are now dust and dirt in their graves. All creation will prosper when at the Last Judgment Christ casts Satan, his devils and all unbelieving sinners into hell while all believers in Jesus Christ will be welcomed into the joys of the new heaven and the new earth. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, who shows compassion to His children, help us to show compassion to our neighbors so that they see in us Your great compassion in Christ Jesus, they turn from heir sins, believe in Your Son and rejoice in the last day when Jesus returns to bring all His believers into heaven. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

Monday, September 3, 2012

Genesis 4,1-16. 13. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Genesis 4,1-16 4612

13. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 058

Hannah

Stephan, King of Hungary, † 1038.

Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig, Pastor and Danish Hymn writer. † 1872

2. September 2012

1. O Holy Spirit, help us to retain Your law and gospel, rejoicing that Jesus has fulfilled the law for us in our place and has freely given us the forgiveness of sins through the gospel of His crucifixion and resurrection. Give us opportunities, and guide us, to show mercy to our neighbors as Christ has shown mercy to us. Amen.

2. Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying: „I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.“ And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. At harvest time Cain brought to Yahweh an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And Yahweh had regard for Abel and his offering, but He paid no attention to Cain and his offering. So Cain was disappointed and very angry. Yahweh said to Cain: „Why are you disappointed and angry? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.“ Cain spoke to Abel his brother: „Let us go out to the field.“ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then Yahweh said to Cain: „Where is Abel your brother?“ He said: „I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?“ And Yahweh said: „What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it no longer yields to you its strength. You are a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.“ Cain said to Yahweh: „My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, You have driven me today away from the ground, and I am hidden from Your face. I am a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.“ Then Yahweh said to him: „Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.“ And Yahweh put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of Yahweh and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

3. A number of years ago I read John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden. In this book, Steinbeck explores a number of themes, such as depravity, kindness, love, the struggle for acceptance, greatness, the capacity for self-destruction and especially of guilt and freedom. He ties these themes together with many parallels to the story of Cain and Abel. In many ways, Steinbeck’s novel captures many of the lessons Genesis 4 teaches us.

4. One theme that appears immediately in the text of Genesis is the fact that Yahweh accepts Abel’s offering but rejects Cain’s. The text does not tell us why Yahweh treated each brother differently. Is God really that capricious? Cain’s offering was not inferior to Abel’s. Both suggest an offering of their labors. Many commentators indicate that the difference was faith. Abel offered his in faith, while Cain offered his without faith. This is not to suggest that Cain doubted or denied Yahweh’s existence, for Cain knows indeed that God exists and he even carries on a personal conversation with Him. Rather, Cain offered his sacrifice ex opere operato (by the mere performance of the rite) but Abel offered his in faith in the God who forgives. Cain offered his sacrifice because that is what Yahweh expects from him. Abel offered his sacrifice because he trusted in Yahweh and His love. We encounter this attitude in the Church. Some attend the Divine Service because that is what God expects from them. They put money in the offering plate because that is what they were taught to do. This attitude is contrasted to those who attend the Divine Service to receive the gifts Jesus lovingly and freely gives. They give an offering with joy in their heart to Jesus who has redeemed them. Yahweh clearly prefers the attitude of faith over that of obligation.

5. Another theme in Genesis 4 is Cain’s duplicity. He is willing to meet the Divine obligation to offer a sacrifice to Yahweh, but he is unwilling to fulfill his obligation to care for his neighbor. Cain’s intense anger leads him to murder his very own brother and thus violate in the most heinous manner the obligation to love his neighbor. In His Beatitudes, Jesus reveals the duplicity that lies just under the surface in each of our hearts. We are willing to speak praises to God but then slander our neighbor without flinching. O we would never actually pull the trigger and murder our neighbors in cold blood, but we have no problem scheming against them, thwarting them at every turn and secretly wishing them harm. Jesus rightly and justly reveals our hypocrisy when he condemns those who harbor ill intentions toward their neighbors as a murderer.

6. Cain also accuses Yahweh of being too harsh in His discipline and punishment. Abel’s blood is probably still warm on the ground where Cain slew him and he complains that God’s punishment is too much to bear! Abel’s lifeless body lies hidden in the field and Cain does not like the verdict that he will now be a fugitive. Cain values his own life and fears being killed by his siblings when earlier in the day he had absolutely no regard for Abel’s life.

7. Furthermore, Cain accuses Yahweh of actions and attitudes that He has not put forward. Cain bemoans the punishment that Yahweh has forbidden him to farm the earth and has exiled him from His Divine presence, but Yahweh had done no such thing. The earth will no longer yield its strength to Cain, but he is not forbidden from tilling the earth. Just as the earth yielded thorns and thistles to Adam in punishment for his sin, so now the earth will be even more fickle to Cain when he works the ground. Cain must now put even more effort into farming if he expects to harvest a sustainable crop. Yes, Yahweh says Cain will be a fugitive and a wanderer, how else do you expect people will treat Cain when they learn that he is a murderer (no one wants a convicted murderer living next to them), but Yahweh never implied that He would now abandon Cain and ignore him. It was not Yahweh who left Cain’s presence but Cain who exiled himself from Yahweh: Cain went away from the presence of Yahweh.

8. It is the sinful nature of mankind to hide from Yahweh’s presence. When Adam and Eve had sinned, they straightaway hid when they heard Yahweh’s voice. They made excuses to legitimize their rebellious actions. Likewise, Cain. He did not know where Abel was nor his disposition. Surely he wasn’t his brother’s keeper! So also us. Surely God really isn’t serious about that love your neighbor commandment. Surely He doesn’t expect us to watch out for, and watch over, our neighbor. He just wants us to be nice to them and help them out of a difficult spot once in a very long while. Come on, Jesus, this daily loving, forgiving and helping our neighbor every day is just way to much to ask and demand of us; we are very busy people, after all. Thus our excuses.

9. What does Jesus do with us excuse-making sinners? He comes into our presence to confront us with our sin and then saves us from that very sin. He comes to Cain, not in fierce anger brandishing a weapon demanding to know why He has murdered his brother, rather He comes to Cain and gives him the opportunity to admit his guilt, repent and seek Yahweh’s mercy. He punished Cain for his serious crime, but Yahweh is not the fierce ogre Cain slanders Him to be. Yahweh showed him mercy. He refused to forsake Cain and even gave him a mark to protect him from those who would kill Cain for being a kin-slayer.

10. Jesus came to save His fallen creation. He brought eternal life to those poor sinners whose guilt weighed them down like a millstone. Jesus removed this over-bearing guilt and bore it upon His shoulders. He brought everlasting salvation to those who were self-righteous in their keeping of the law and believed they merited Yahweh’s justification and wore it as a badge of honor. Jesus lived this law and did everything perfectly in contrast to those who thought they kept the law but soon realized from Jesus that the law demanded far more from them than they ever imagined.

11. Jesus became the Second Abel who was murdered by all humanity, the corporate Cain. You, me and the entire world slew the innocent Jesus. We are ashamed of our guilt, but Jesus nobly bore this guilt for us, in our place, upon the cross. Jesus’ innocent blood flowed from the cross and pooled on the earth as a propitiation for our sinfulness.

12. In Jesus we see God the Father’s love and mercy upon sinners. We are no longer fugitives and wanderers from God. We are no longer self-imposed exiles. We no longer fear for our lives, fearing the coming judgment upon us for our many sins. Jesus has paid the price and born all our guilt. He has redeemed us back to God our Heavenly Father. Q: What shall we do to inherit eternal life. A: Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and we will be saved.

13. You are now saved; you are free to be your brother’s keeper to both kin and stranger; you are free to be what Cain should have been to Abel: a good neighbor to any who are in need. Yes, go and do likewise, not out of fear or pride or obligation to merit your salvation under the law but by grace and mercy that flows from Christ’s love, grace and mercy given by the Holy Spirit. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ we praise Your Holy Name! Help us to proclaim Your Merciful Name to our neighbors, helping them when they are in physical or spiritual need, so that they may be cared for and give glory to You alone. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

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Acts 3,1-10. 12. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Acts 3,1-10 4512

12. Sonntag nach Trinitatis. 057

Samuel, Prophet, 1096 B.C.

26. August 2012

1. O Holy Spirit, Comforter of the Church, we grieve when foes bring tribulations our way. Our weak, sinful flesh enjoys peace and prosperity but complains when hardship and trials come our way. Rightly do we sympathize with Ananias who was concerned about helping the Church’s notorious persecutor. Nevertheless You assured Ananias of Your Providence, and likewise You comfort us all the same. May we faithfully respond: „Here I am, Lord.“ and help those who assail us on account of our faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.

2. Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at 3 p.m., which is the hour of prayer. And a man crippled from birth was being carried, whom they placed daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said: „Look at us.“ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said: „I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!“ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

3. First century Jewish society did not have Social Security, Medicare or Disability payments as we know them in 21. century America. Instead, 1. century Judaism had almsgiving. Middle Eastern culture took seriously the care of the neighbor, the stranger and the guest. The Commandments exhort us to love our neighbors, and almsgiving is doing good to a neighbor in need. Particularly, alms of money, food or other possessions are given to help the poor, the sick and the infirm.

4. Peter and John encountered a crippled man. He had been born this way. We do not know the exact nature of his infirmity, but it affected his feet and ankles. It may have been deformed feet or twisted ankles. He could not walk, and therefore, he could not work. He was at the mercy of other’s charity to have money for food, clothing and medical expenses. How many passed by this man and ignored his plight? How many tossed him a few coins to assist him?

5. Two of our Lord’s apostles meet him. Peter and John are now poor themselves. They cannot give him silver or gold as their alms, but they do have something in their possession: they have the authority of Christ Jesus. Early in His ministry, »Jesus called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority. So the apostles went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them« (Mark 6,7.12-13). Before He ascended back to heaven, »Jesus came and said to the apostles: „All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.“« (Matthew 28,18). In this morning’s Gospel Reading, we heard how Jesus Himself healed the sick, in particular a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. The apostles, therefore, continued the ministry of Jesus.

6. Peter and John straightaway dispense God’s gift: mercy. Although Jesus had ransomed all men and women by His death and resurrection, He did not forsake those destitute by human sinfulness. Jesus’ mercy involved both the earthly and spiritual. In the Name, and by the authority, of Jesus, Peter and John heal the crippled man who immediately praises Yahweh.

7. There are many accounts in the Gospels and the Book of Acts of Jesus and the apostles healing the sick. They did not heal every single sick person around them. The healings of Jesus and His apostles manifest the power of Yahweh and give proof that the gospel of Christ crucified is the only saving testament that Yahweh has established with His fallen creation.

8. This is not to say that Jesus does not heal people today. We all can give testimony of the healing power of Jesus in peoples’ lives, people we know who have been healed after prayers were said for them. The Church continues to carry out the care of the sick, the infirm and the dying. In Acts 6, the Church set aside 7 men to become deacons. The apostles would continue the pastoral ministry of prayer and the ministry of the Word, while those deacons ordained by the apostles would serve tables. As the diaconal office grew, deacons and deaconesses feed the poor, cared for the needs of the destitute and were doctors and nurses to the sick. Hospitals, as we know them, are the result of the Church and her diaconal office. „The declaration of Christianity as the accepted religion in the Roman Empire drove an expansion of the provision of care. Following First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 construction of a hospital in every cathedral town was begun. Among the earliest were those built by the physician Saint Sampson in Constantinople and by Basil, Bishop of Caesarea,Turkey“ (Wikipedia).

9. Noted Luther scholar, Steven Ozment, recently wrote: „Consider Luther’s view on charity and the poor. He made the care of the poor an organized, civic obligation by proposing that a common chest be put in every German town; rather than skimp along with the traditional practice of almsgiving to the needy and deserving native poor, Luther proposed that they receive grants, or loans, from the chest. Each recipient would pledge to repay the borrowed amount after a timely recovery and return to self-sufficiency, thereby taking responsibility for both his neighbors and himself. This was love of one’s neighbor through shared civic responsibility, what the Lutherans still call „faith begetting charity.“ He who receives, recovers and profits from society in a time of need has a moral responsibility to pay society back by acting in turn as a strong citizen who can help fill the common chests and sacrifice for his now needy neighbors, who had once helped him. Such is the sacrificial Lutheran society. In classic Lutheran teaching, the salvation of the believer „by faith alone“ does not curtail the need for constant charitable good works, as ill-informed critics allege. Faith, rather, empowers the believer to act in the world by taking the worry out of his present and future religious life“ (Ozment).

10. Many of the earliest hospitals and colleges in colonial America were established by churches, pastors and lay people. „In the United States the traditional hospital is a non-profit hospital, usually sponsored by a religious denomination. One of the earliest of these „almshouses“ was started in 1713 by William Penn in Philadelphia“ (Wikipedia). Interesting how the first American hospitals were called „almshouses“. The 7 Ivy League colleges (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown and Dartmouth), plus William and Mary and Rutgers, are the earliest colleges in colonial America, and all 9 of these institutions were closely linked to a particular Christian denomination. Harvard trained Congregationalist (Puritan) and Unitarian ministers. William and Mary was founded to be a College of Divinity, Philosophy and Languages, plus the arts and sciences. Yale was established to train clergy and political leaders. Princeton was founded to train ministers. The University of Pennsylvania was started to train clergy and focus on other colleges of arts and sciences. Columbia was established by the activity of the Church of England. Brown was founded by the Baptists. Rutgers was established to train Dutch Reformed ministers. Dartmouth was founded by a Congregationalist (Puritan) minister.

11. Through these examples we see how Jesus continues to care for the destitute and heal the sick. Jesus works through His Christians to serve our neighbors. The gospel creates faith, faith believes in Jesus unto salvation, and faith bears forth works of mercy. Diaconal service brings Jesus’ mercy to the neighbor. Every time you utilize your talents, abilities or alms in service of your neighbor, you are being merciful to your neighbor. Through these acts of mercy the Holy Spirit brings proof of the validity of the gospel and its power to save men and women, both in body and soul, unto life everlasting. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Your Name is blessed at all times, send us the Holy Spirit so that we are empowered by the gospel to give alms for the benefit of our neighbors. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

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Ozment, Steven. „German Austerity’s Lutheran Core“. New York Times. Saturday 11. August 2012.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Friday, September 28, 2012

Acts 12,1-11. 16. Sunday after Trinity

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Galatians 5,25-26; 6,1-3.7-10. 15. Sunday after Trinity

1. Thessalonians 1,2-10. 14. Sunday after Trinity

Monday, September 3, 2012

Genesis 4,1-16. 13. Sunday after Trinity

Acts 3,1-10. 12. Sunday after Trinity