Jeremiah 29,1.4-7.10-14. 21st Sunday after Trinity (Reformation)

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠ 

Jeremiah 29,1.4-7.10-14

Gedenktag der Reformation   095, transferred  (21. S. n. Trinitatis  066) 5412

Simon Martyr in 1^st c.  and Jude/Thaddaeus Martyr in Edessa, Greece or Persia   

28. October 2012

1.  Almighty and Gracious Holy Spirit, You have given Your Church the means of grace (der Gnadenmittel) and the preaching office (das Predigtamt) so that absolution for the full remission of sins is proclaimed to guilty sinners crushed by Your holy law. At various times throughout this Church age, Satan and his wily servants have managed to sow doubt and distress among Your faithful people so that they despair of Your love and mercy. Each time You raise up banner-men of the faith who draw Your distraught people back to the means of grace and the comforting gospel. We give thanks for these men and women whose desire for pure doctrine, piety and the gospel promise have restored peace and tranquility to fainting spirits. Make each of us here today faithful heirs of these Christian banner-men so that our support for, and the proclamation of, the gospel is freely passed on to our neighbors and the next Christian generation.  Amen.   

2. ¹These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ⁴„Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, so that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. ⁷But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. ¹⁰For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you My promise and bring you back to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. ¹³You will seek Me and find Me. When you seek Me with all your heart, ¹⁴I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.“   

3. The Medieval Church in Luther’s day was, in the opinion of many Christians, a Church in exile. Others before Luther had urged for a reformation in the Church. Their uniform concern was that too much questionable stuff had slowly crept into the Church over the centuries, stuff that if left as is would eventually harm the faith of Christians. One example of this was the communion practice common in Martin Luther’s day: people only received the bread at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. No one could point to a specific resolution or conciliar decree that had authorized this practice; it just happened and was accepted by the average lay person to be the way Jesus instituted His Sacrament. Those who had access to the Holy Scriptures, and pondered the Word, realized that communion under one kind (species) was not how Jesus instituted this Sacrament. Some, like Jan Hus, even went so far as to reestablish communion with bread and wine as the proper, Scriptural  practice in their local churches. 

4. Another example was Medieval penance. The practice was developed as way for people to confess their sins and make temporal restitution for their guilt. Penance was supposed to alleviate your guilty conscience: just do the deeds proscribed by your Father Confessor and fret no more about your sins. This did not ease the conscience of all Christians, for they had an unrelenting conscience that was never satisfied by anything they did to cover the guilt of their sins. Luther was one of these guilt-ridden persons. He did everything he was told to do: he confessed his sins, he revered the holy relics, he went on pilgrimages, he purchased indulgences and he even added more stringent penances to himself beyond what his Father Confessor listed. Luther would starve himself, deny himself sleep and he even whipped himself bloody. He did all this to bring the certainty of forgiveness (Vergebunggewißheit) to his guilty conscience, but nothing worked. 

5. What finally liberated the downtrodden Luther was the Word of God. Luther’s Father Confessor sent him to Wittenberg University in 1511 to earn a doctorate in theology. Staupitz reasoned that if Luther spent time studying, teaching and preaching, then he would finally find the salve for his burdened conscience. From 1515-1517, Luther lectured on Romans and Galatians at Wittenberg University. During that period he came to see the gospel clearly for the first time while reading Romans 1,17 in preparation for a class lecture: »For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith in faith, as it is written: »The righteous will live by faith.«« (Habakkuk 2,4). 

6. Luther writes about that glorious moment: „First I saw this well, namely, that the free gift is absolutely necessary for obtaining the light and the heavenly life, and I worked anxiously and diligently to understand the well-known statement in Romans 1,17: »The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel.« [cf. AE 34,336-38] Then I sought and knocked for a long time (cf. Matthew 7,7), for that expression »the righteousness of God« stood in the way. It was commonly explained by saying that the righteousness of God is the power of God by which God Himself is formally righteous and condemns sinners. This is the way all teachers except Augustine had interpreted this passage: the righteousness of God, that is, the wrath of God. But every time I read this passage, I always wished that God had never revealed the Gospel—for who could love a God who is angry, judges, and condemns?—until finally, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, I weighed more carefully the passage in Habakkuk (2,4), where I read: »The righteous shall live by his faith.« From this I concluded that life must come from faith. In this way I related the abstract to the concrete, and all Holy Scripture and heaven itself were opened to me. At this time, however we see that great light very clearly, and we may enjoy it richly. But we despise and disdain this jewel and heavenly treasure. Accordingly, if one day it should be taken away again, we shall cry and knock once more, as Christ says about the foolish virgins in the parable (cf. Matthew 25,11). But we shall cry and knock in vain. Therefore let us fear God and be grateful. Above all, however, my own example and the example of others should move you. We lived in death and hell and did not have the blessing so abundantly as you have it. Therefore occupy yourselves diligently with the doctrine of the blessing, and think about it, in order that you may be able to keep it yourselves and also to make it known to others. As for ourselves, we have done our duty“ (Luther 158; WA 43,537). 

7. Luther’s rediscovery of the gospel was truly paradise, for „In much of medieval preaching, the Law and Gospel were so confused that the „Good News“ seemed to be that Jesus was a „kinder, gentler Moses,“ who softened the Law into easier exhortations, such as loving God and neighbor from the heart. The Reformers saw Rome as teaching that the Gospel was simply an easier „law“ than that of the Old Testament. Instead of following a lot of rules, God expects only love and heartfelt surrender“ (Horton). Luther’s Reformation liberated numerous Christians from the crushing burden of the law and their tormented conscience. The pure gospel of forgiveness on account of Christ alone transited the Church-in-exile into the Church-in-paradise.

8. The 21. century Church, however, has in many places returned to a self-imposed exile. Many churches in American Evangelicalism have returned to a preaching of Jesus as a kinder, gentler Moses. „Much of evangelical preaching today softens the Law and confuses the Gospel with exhortations, often leaving people with the impression that God does not expect the perfect righteousness prescribed in the Law, but a generally good heart and attitude and avoidance of major sins. A gentle moralism prevails in much of evangelical preaching today and one rarely hears the Law preached as God’s condemnation and wrath, but as helpful suggestions for a more fulfilled life. In the place of God’s Law, helpful tips for practical living are often offered ... as „Lifestyle Perspectives.“ ... The piety and faith of the biblical characters are often preached as examples to imitate, along with Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. As in Protestant liberalism, such preaching often fails to hold Christ forth as the divine savior of sinners, but instead as the coach whose play-book will show us how to achieve victory“ (Horton). 

9. Our sinful nature enjoys this sort of preaching. The law is too harsh and demanding, and the gospel of Christ crucified is too offensive. Preachers who lighten the burden of the law with a gospel chuck full of exhortations and moral lessons is to transform the pure gospel into the law lite. This is the sort of preaching we want and desire, for it strokes our ego, doesn’t make too many demands from us and ultimately confirms what we already believe about ourselves, namely that we are decent men and women who just need a little encouragement to be better individuals. 

10. This so-called 21. century gospel proclamation is not manna from heaven that satisfies our hunger, but toxic poison that kills our life. The good news is that Jesus promises to deliver us from our self-imposed exile. He does not coddle us. Jesus lets us feel the full blast of the law and its condemnation upon us. The law tells us that we are to love God and our neighbors, reveals that we miserably fail to do this and exhorts us to repent of our massive failure to live according to God’s will. The law threatens death and damnation upon those who are complacent with loving God and our neighbors. 

11. Jesus then comforts us with the gospel and it’s absolute certainty. The gospel proclaims that we are forgiven, loved and redeemed by God. The threats of the law have been silenced. The condemnation of the law has been commuted. Jesus is our substitute. He took our place under the law, lived it perfectly, suffered its condemnation for us in our place and rose from the grave in glorious victory. The good news for terrified sinners, people burdened by the law or seeking a way to live a better life in Jesus is: He has done it all for us and He gives us His righteousness. Jesus has found us and has restored our fortunes: this is the pure gospel.  

12. The Church must be semper reformanda, always reforming, for the Church is always tempted by the wicked world to give up the pure gospel in order to please men and women.  The Church is always going back to Christ and to His precious Word and Holy Sacraments.The Church must continue to confess, preach and teach the pure gospel. The work of Luther and the Reformers is as relevant today as it was in 1517. 

13. »The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek«. »The gospel of Christ crucified is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, but to those who are called to faith, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God« (1. Corinthians 1,23-24). »Righteousness will be reckoned to you who believe in God the Father who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead, who was handed over to death for your trespasses and was raised for your justification. Therefore, since you are justified by faith, you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. For while you were still weak, at the right time Christ died for, you, the ungodly. Therefore just as Adam’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so Jesus’ act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all, yes, for you!« (Romans 4,24-5,1.6.18). »There is therefore no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8,1), for Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for you who believe« (Romans 10,4). »Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord« (Romans 6,22-23). 

14. The gospel of Christ Jesus crucified and risen for you and your sinfulness justifies you: all your sins have been paid for and you are now righteous before God the Father. The gospel sanctifies you: the Holy Spirit daily works in you to create good works by which your neighbors are blessed. The gospel is revealed by faith and received by faith. You are saved. You are righteous. You are sanctified. Christ has made it so. The gospel proclaims it. Believe it, for the gospel is the power of God the Son working in your life through the Holy Scriptures, Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and Absolution. The gospel is yours by grace and it is free all on account of Christ. You can be certain of it.  Amen. 

15. Let us pray. O Lord, Your steadfast love and justice endure forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands. Keep the doctrine pure in our midst, the gospel free and the offerings liberal so that the proclamation of Christ crucified may continually be proclaimed from this corner. 

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. 

   ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

Horton, Michael. http://www.whitehorseinn.org/free-articles/the-law-the-gospel-by-michael-horton.html

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 5: Lectures on Genesis, Chapters 26-30. „Preface to the New Testament“. Jaroslav Pelikan, Ed.; Walter A. Hansen, Ed. Copyright © 1968 Concordia Publishing House.

1. Corinthians 7,29-31. 20th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

1. Corinthians 7,29-31   5312

20. Sonntag nach Trinitatis. 065 

21 Ursula with her companions, Virgins, Martyrs, 453

21. October 2012

1.  O Almighty and Merciful God, of Your bountiful goodness, keep us from all things that may hurt us; so that we, being ready both in body and soul, may with free hearts accomplish those things that You would have done.  Amen. 

2. This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. 

3. The Early Church believed in, and expected, the imminent return of Jesus. A number of the Apostle Paul’s epistles teach this doctrine. As the apostolic martyrdoms added up one after another, as the persecutions mounted against the Church and when the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem, the Christians in the first century A.D. expected the Lord to return in their lifetime. Thus Paul counsels the Corinthian Christians to live with this expectation. 

4. The apostolic doctrine: »the present form of this world is passing away« is as true today as it was for the apostle 2000 years ago. We are exhorted and encouraged to live with this doctrinal expectation. The difficulty is that we become complacent when things don’t happen right away or when we long for them to happen. Yahweh, for reasons only He knows, has delayed His return for nearly 2000 years. It does not appear that His return is on the horizon. This leads the Church into sinful activity. 

5. When we do not expect the Lord to return at any day now, one of the first things that goes by the wayside is the desire to evangelize the world. The apostles and their churches went far and wide with the proclamation of the gospel. No resource was squandered, no risk too foolhardy and no sacrifice was unbearable. The gospel was carried to the four corners of the Roman Empire, and beyond! Apostles died on account of this proclamation. In the 21. century we have greater means of quick, inexpensive travel, instant communication and publishing capabilities, and financial resources that dwarf the first century Christians. Nevertheless, our evangelistic endeavors pale in comparison to Paul and his contemporaries.  

6. While the Early Church was not perfect in her unity, she was far more united in doctrine and practice than we are today. We let the smallest details derail us from preaching the gospel and supporting our church. We become divided over minute issues. We are quick to sever fellowship rather than endure for the sake of the gospel, the Church and unity. 

7. During the Reformation, the Lutherans desired to remain with the Roman Church. They had rediscovered the pure gospel that comforts sinners, the great Pauline proclamation: »we are justified by faith apart from works of the law« (Romans 3,28), and they earnestly desired the reform of the Roman Church. Therefore, the, Lutheran Church claims to be a Catholic Church in the strictest sense of the word: she acknowledges her identity with the orthodox Church of all times and places, and asserts that in doctrine and ceremonies, nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church, contra scripturam aut ecclesiam catholicam (Sasse 90). The Lutheran Reformers were prepared to make great concessions to prevent a schism (Sasse 84!)! Every line of the Augsburg Confession records their desire for agreement with Rome (Sasse 84). Melanchthon’s reservation when he signed Luther’s Smalkald Article, penning: „I, Philip Melanchthon, also approve the above articles as right and Christian. But regarding the pope, I hold that, if he would allow the gospel, we could agree to his superiority over the bishops, which he has otherwise by human right. This would be for the sake of peace and the general unity of those Christians who are also under him and may be under him hereafter“ [1] 

 (463,6-464,7). In addition, Melanchthon’s irenic tone with the Treatise represents the most far-reaching concessions ever made to the papacy by any evangelical church (Sasse 87-88). 

8. The return of Christ could be any day. The Apostle Paul describes it this way: »the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night« (1. Thessalonians 5,2). Paul exhorts us to be ready and prepared for that day, writing: »Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 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 5,8-10). Paul elsewhere lists faith, love and hope, writing: »Faith, hope and love endure, these three; and the greatest of these is love« (1. Corinthians 13,13). 

9. Paul teaches that Christ’s first advent has radically changed the course of history. Those who are now believers in Jesus as the Savior from sin, death and the devil. We are of the day, that great and glorious day of Jesus’ second advent. Furthermore, Paul says we are prepared for this day, for the Holy Spirit has given us faith, hope and love. In Paul’s day, Roman legionnaires went into battle in armor, and two key pieces of this armor were the breastplate and the helmet. Still in the 21. century, soldiers and riot police, still wear similar armor (bullet-proof vests and hard helmets) to keep them safe. Paul says our Christian armor is the breastplate of faith and love, for these two gifts protect our precious organ, the heart, from whence resides faith and love flows forth. We think faith resides in our mind and love in our heart. Not so Paul. The proper Judeo-Christian thought resides both faith and love in the heart, for it is core for our trust and emotions. Our heart, therefore, must be protected, and is protected by the Holy Spirit. Our brain is the source of our thoughts and reason. Paul says hope resides there, and this hope is grounded up the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1. Peter 1,3). 

10. With faith, love and hope, grounding us in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are ready for the last day of Christ’s 2. advent. This present world is fading and passing away, yes, awaiting the return of Christ as eagerly as we are, for »the creation was subjected to futility by God, and creation will be set free by God from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory on the last day« (Romans 8,20-21). The pure gospel proclaims this certainty of salvation (Heilsgewißheit), and it is imperative that the Church ensure that this pure gospel remains pure so that Christians are edified and secure in their faith. 

11. The pure gospel is simply this: the gracious promise of the forgiveness of sins on account of Christ. This forgiveness is by solus Christus. Jesus, and solum Iesum, is the sinners’ salvation from sin, death and the devil. This forgiveness is given to us by Jesus through sola gratia and is received by us through sola fides. No works of ours are needed or required to be forgiven, for Jesus has done it all; His merit has secured our redemption and everlasting life. 

12. This gospel proclamation is a radically different message from any other in the world. No other religion, save Christianity, gives God all the glory and in mankind’s redemptions. Jesus has saved each one of you. He has changed your life. Your life in this world is not lived as unbelievers live. You have a purpose, and that is to ensure the proclamation of the gospel. This will involve great sacrifices of time and money. You will be persecuted and ridiculed by the world. With His Divine Providence, Jesus supplies all you need to support the gospel and He protects you in every tribulation.  Amen. 

13. Let us pray. O Lord, who gives us His Holy Word of law and gospel, teach us the way of Your statutes, send us the Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with the gospel so that by the power of the gospel we may observe Your instructions to the end.  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. 

All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 5. Edition © 1963 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

Sasse, Hermann. Here We Stand. Copyright © 1979 Lutheran Publishing House. 

[1] Ich Philippus Melanthon halt diese obgestallte Artikel auch fur recht und christlich, vom Bapst aber halt ich, so er das Evangelium wollte zulassen, daß ihm umb Friedens und gemeiner Einigkeit willen derjenigen Christen, so auch unter ihm sind und kunftig sein möchten, sein Superiortät uber die Bischofe, die er hat jure humano, auch von uns zuzulassen [und zu geben] sei. 

James 5,13-16. 19th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠ 

James 5,13-16    5212

19. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  064

Calixtus, Bishop of Rome. Martyr 222   

14. October 2012

1. O Triune God, for as much as without You, we are not able to please You; grant that the working of Your mercy may in all things direct and rule our hearts.  Amen.   

2. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great strength as it is working.   

3. Not just any prayer will do. The Apostle James says it must be a prayer of faith, and the only true faith is that which trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. This comes from James, an apostle, one of the three pillars (Peter and John bar-Zebedee are the other two) in the mother church in Jerusalem, and younger brother of Jesus. This is apostolic authority at its finest. 

4. Too often we give mere lip service to the apostolic authority. When the holy apostle speaks of faith, our multicultural and polytheistic ears hear „any sort of faith“. We think: the Mormon has his faith, the Jew has his faith and the Wiccan has her faith. They all pray to their God or higher spiritual power, and God (either our Christian God or theirs) hears their pray and it is thus effective (efficacious). James says something entirely different, and all the other apostles echo his teaching: there is only One True God, there is only one true faith and thus there is only one proper prayer that is heard. The One True God is the Triune God who has revealed Himself in the Holy Scriptures. The one true faith is faith in Jesus, that is, Christianity. The one proper prayer that is heard and answered by the Triune God are those prayers offered to Him by His Christian people. Any other god or goddess is not the One True God. Any other religion is not the one true faith. Any other prayer is simply no prayer at all. It is Christ alone and His Christian Church that counts. 

5. The apostle says: »The prayer of a righteous person has great strength.« Righteousness is the central theme of the Bible. God created Adam and Eve in His Divine image and likeness; He created them righteous, but Adam lost this righteousness, exchanged it for sinfulness and passed original sin on to every one of us. Paradise was lost and our righteousness was gone. How do we regain it? God tells us how we regain it in His Bible. 

6. Many think they can earn this righteousness. Polls conducted among Christians who say they believe that a person is saved by faith alone consistently reveal that one-half of those whose say this don’t actually believe what they have just said. This should not really be any surprise, because God created us with a conscience and a perfect knowledge of the law. Even after the Fall, we have the vestiges of this law in our conscience; we are hard-wired to understand the law; we are comfortable in and with the law. Our fallen and corrupt nature honestly thinks we can earn righteousness before God, either by doing the commandments of the law or by making our own list of precepts by which we hope to earn God’s favor. 

7. Righteousness is not earned; it is given to us by God as a free gift. We do not need to plead with God, entice Him or make promises to Him, for He gives us His very righteousness on account of His loving mercy and kindness. 

8. This does not mean this righteousness was achieved easily or lightly. It cost God the Father His very best, His only begotten Son, to merit us our righteousness. Jesus went through hell to make us righteous. He suffered the scorn of friends and family who could not, and would not, believe that He was Yahweh’s Christ. He suffered harsh, condemning words from the religious leaders in His day. One of His own apostles betrayed him and handed Him over to be executed. Another apostle and close friend betrayed Him not once, not twice, but three times denied His acquaintance in the span of an evening. His own chosen people cried for, and demanded from Pilate, His execution. All but one apostle and a few women forsook Him while He was crucified. He endured inhuman humility and agonizing suffering for six hours on the cross. Even His Heavenly Father forsook Him that Friday afternoon. Jesus endured all this, and more, for you so that He could declare you righteous and justified. 

9. Your righteousness is, rightly speaking, Jesus’ righteousness. On account of Christ’s righteousness you suffer patiently, you cheerfully praise God, you pray for the sick, you are forgiven, you forgive and pray with might. Jesus is your righteousness. Jesus suffered patiently, cheerfully praises God, heals the sick, forgives your sins and prays for you, both during His earthly ministry 2000 years ago and now in 2012. Jesus is the First Pastor and Elder of His beloved bride, the Church. Everything that James exhorts in his epistle, Jesus completely fulfilled when He lived and walked upon this earth in the 1. century. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, »and in gentleness you warmly receive the implanted Word, who is able to save your life« (James 1,21b). Not only is Jesus able to save your life, but He is willing to save your life. Your salvation is His sole concern and priority until He returns on the last day to raise up your body. This Divine concern, dear Christian brothers and sisters, is the pure, comforting gospel. 

10. Martin Luther wrote the following in his Preface to the New Testament: „For „gospel“ [Euangelium] is a Greek word and means in Greek a good message, good tidings, good news, a good report, which one sings and tells with gladness. For example, when David overcame the gigantic Goliath, there came among the Jewish people the good report and encouraging news that their terrible enemy had been struck down and that they had been rescued and given joy and peace; and they sang and danced and were glad for it [1. Samuel 18,6].

11. „Thus this gospel of God or New Testament is a good story and report, sounded forth into all the world by the apostles, telling of a True David who strove with sin, death and the devil, and overcame them, and thereby rescued all those who were captive in sin, afflicted with death and overpowered by the devil. Without any merit of their own Jesus made them righteous, gave them life and saved them, so that they were given peace and brought back to God. For this they sing, and thank and praise God and are glad forever, if only they believe firmly and remain steadfast in faith.

12. „This report and encouraging tidings, or evangelical and Divine news, is also called a New Testament. For it is a testament when a dying man bequeaths his property, after his death, to his legally defined heirs.

 And Christ, before His death, commanded and ordained that His gospel be preached after His death in all the world [Luke 24,44-47]. Thereby He gave to all who believe, as their possession, everything that He had. This included: His life, in which He swallowed up death; His righteousness, by which He blotted out sin; and His salvation, with which He overcame everlasting damnation. A poor person, dead in sin and consigned to hell, can hear nothing more comforting than this precious and tender message about Christ; from the bottom of your heart you must laugh and be glad over it, if you believes it true. Now to strengthen this faith, God has promised this gospel in many ways by the prophets in the Old Testament“ (Luther 358-59) and the apostles in the New Testament. 

13. Jesus is not some moralistic, therapeutic god who is tame enough and generic enough to keep society moral and civilized. Such a Jesus is not the Biblical Christian Jesus but a deistic Jesus who is embraced as the lowest common denominator, a Jesus who never offends anyone, keeps everyone happy and can be accepted by all people. The Biblical Christian Jesus is a Christological, Sacramental justifying Jesus. Jesus is the Christ, the one chosen by God the Father to save the world from sin, death and the devil. Jesus is  sacramental: He gives to us the gifts of forgiveness and righteousness in the preached Word, the waters of Baptism and with the bread and wine of His holy Supper. Jesus has justified us by His death and resurrection; He has made us holy and righteous. He does not stop there, however. Jesus works in us and through us, uses the righteousness He has given to us, to bless the world and our neighbors. 

14. O hold on to this dear Jesus! Don’t let the world water Him down. Don’t let the devil snatch His gospel away. Don’t let ministers, churches and other Christians turn the crucified and risen Jesus who saves you from our sins into a feel-good moralistic and therapeutic god. Let Jesus and His Word stand. If it offends, then let it be offensive to those who would refuse the gift of salvation Jesus freely gives. If it pleases, then let it be pleasing in all its justifying freedom! Jesus says you are righteous, and so you are. Believe it. The Holy Spirit will work out this righteousness in your life day after day.  Amen. 

15. Let us pray. O Lord, Your steadfast love is manifested in Your Beloved Son; Your steadfast love endures forever; You do not forsake the work of Your hands. Manifest Your steadfast love in us so that we are assured of our salvation and our neighbors blessed by our  deeds of love.  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. 

   ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I. „Preface to the New Testament“. Jaroslav Pelikan, Ed.; Hilton Oswald, Ed.; Helmut Lehmann, Ed. Copyright © 1960 Fortress Press.

Isaiah 49,1-6. 17. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠ 

Isaiah 49,1-6    5012

17. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  062

Jerome, Pastor and Translator, † 419  

30. September 2012

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 forget at times that You move in the world and work in our history. You do so to save us from ourselves and our sins. Help us to constantly look unto Jesus for our salvation.   Amen.   

2. Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. Yahweh called  Me from the womb, from the body of My mother He named My name. ²He made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He hid Me; He made Me a polished arrow; in His quiver He hid Me away. ³And He said to Me: „You are My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.“ ⁴But I said: „I have labored in vain; I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely My right is with Yahweh, and My recompense with My God.“ ⁵And now Yahweh says: „He who formed Me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him; and that Israel might be gathered to Him for I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh, and My God has become My strength“ and ⁶He says: „It is too light a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make You as a light for the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.“  

3. The last verse from our reading from Israel naturally recalls similar words spoken 700 years later by Simeon in the temple who, when he saw the infant Jesus, proclaimed: „a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel“. Both Isaiah and Simeon recognize, believe and confess that Yahweh’s Christ is for all people. First, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies given to His chosen people Israel. The Apostle Paul summarizes this succinctly when he writes: »My kinsmen are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever« (Romans 9,4-5). This glory is not for Israel only, for Yahweh desires all people to believe in Him and be saved. First Israel, then the Gentiles. The Prophet Isaiah foresaw this, prophesying: »Yahweh says: „I am Yahweh; I called You in righteousness; I take You by the hand and keep You; I give You as a Covenant for the people, a Light for the nations. I make You as a Light for the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth. And nations will come to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising“« (Isaiah 42,6; 49,6; 60,3).

4. Yahweh promised to redeem men and women from the curse of sin, death and the devil. In His unfolding plan of salvation history (Heilsgeschichte), Yahweh chose to give Abraham the promise of the messianic line. He made Israel His chosen people, and through Israel came the Christ, and thus through Israel on account of Christ who is Israel reduced to one, Yahweh saved all the nations, including you and me. Even at two months old, Jesus was fulfilling the law, and He fulfilled the law for us in our stead so that by fulfilling the law He has redeemed us from the curse of the law and has shined upon us the light of salvation and the glorious eternal life in His heavenly reign. God the Father has redeemed us from the law and has adopted us as His children (Galatians 4,5). We are no longer slaves to sin and the law, but we are children and heirs through God (Galatians 4,7) on account of Christ, the Son of God, our newborn Savior, who at the temple was named Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1,21). 

5. The term „Israel reduced to one“ was first coined by Lutheran theologian Dr. Horace Hummel in the 1970s, and was put into print in 1979 with his book The Word Becoming Flesh. Dr. Hummel explained the term this way: „Old Testament history really is our history via Christ…. Since Christ is ‘Israel reduced to one,’ and since Israel’s inner history was all recapitulated and consummated in Him, the ‘new Israel,’ the church, expresses [her] identity and mission in terms of the promise given the old Israel“ (Hummel 17). 

6. The Holy Scripture teaches that Christ Jesus is Israel reduced to one, standing in our place, as the Christus Victor who triumphs over our old, evil foes of sin, death, hell and the devil. 

7. Jesus stands in Israel’s place because Israel failed the testing Yahweh subjected them too in the Sinai Desert. Jesus stands in the place of all the nations because all the nations failed to trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for their deliverance. Jesus stands in our place because we were born in bondage to sin and Satan. 

8. After Jesus had been conceived, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said: »Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins« (Matthew 1,20-21). The name Jesus is derived from the word „yeshu’ah“, which is Hebrew for „salvation“. 

9. The temptation we have today is that we want to make Jesus into a 21. century Westerner complete with our unique outlook and culture. Jesus, however, is not this sort of man, because the Jesus we discover in the Bible is a 1. century Jewish man. There are some rather large gaps in outlook between these two cultures. First, notice the subject of the pronouns in Isaiah 49. I, Yahweh, will do this. I, Yahweh, will do that. It is Yahweh who does the verbs. 21. century Westerners don’t think that way. We are more prone to make ourselves the subject of the verbs. I will pull myself up by my bootstraps. I will approach God. I will have some say in my salvation. Second, our nation is an heir of the philosophy of the Enlightenment, which was a cultural movement of intellectuals in 18. century Europe and the American colonies. Its purpose was to reform society using reason (rather than tradition, faith and revelation) and advance knowledge through science. Jesus’ cultural context in the first century was faith, revelation and tradition. So we in the 21. century Western Church have the tension of both reason and science against faith, revelation and tradition. The two need not be diametrically opposed to each other. Both theology and science have their own respective spheres. Science should not make religious dogmas, and theology should not posit scientific theorems. The two, however, can, and do, work in tandem. Theology says who created the universe and how it happened. Science helps us discover and apply the many wonders in this universe. 

10. Jesus is our true Enlightenment. The Apostle John writes in his Gospel: »In Jesus was Life, and the Life was the Light of men« (John 1,4). Jesus Himself proclaimed: »I am the Light of the world« (John 8,12). Jesus is our salvation, for He hangs in our place on the cross. Jesus bore our guilt, received our punishment and died as our vicarious substitute. The road to salvation leads to the cross, and from the cross Jesus saved the entire world from its sin. As the gospel is preached throughout the world, people hear the gospel, believe it and  salvation spreads to individuals. 

11. Jesus is God the Father’s Servant, and in Him God the Father is glorified. Jesus is also our Servant, and therefore we are glorified. Jesus’ glory is our glory. Jesus’ Light is our Light. Jesus’ Life is our Life, yes eternal and everlasting Life. Jesus is our Israel who fulfills the Mosaic covenant for us. The new covenant that God established is a covenant of faith in Jesus the Christ. Faith in Jesus is belief that we are redeemed and forgiven, for He has merited our justification and salvation. Jesus is the only path that leads to salvation, and this path reaches every corner of the world. Jesus is Israel reduced to one, and only Jesus makes us righteous in His Father’s sight.  Amen. 

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You are faithful to all generations, help us to sing of Your steadfast love so that our hearts and minds may be at peace in this tumultuous life.  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. 

   ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.  

Matthew 15,21-28. 17. Sunday after Trinity

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you

Matthew 15,21-28                5012

17. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  062

Jerome, Pastor and Translator, + 419

30. September 2012

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 forget at times that You move in the world and work in our history. You do so to save us from ourselves and our sins. Help us to constantly look unto Jesus for our salvation.  Amen.

Our sermon text this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to Matthew, where the holy apostle writes: And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then a Canaanite woman from that region came out crying, saying: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying: “Send her away, because she’s crying out after us.” But He answered and said: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and bowed down before Him, saying: “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said: “It’s not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the house dogs.” But she said: “Yes, Lord; because even the house dogs eat the small crumbs falling from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her: “O woman, your faith is great: let it be done for you as you desire.”And her daughter was healed that very hour. This is our text.

As the Gospel of Matthew unfolds Christ’s ministry, we have now heard two instances where Jesus remarks upon faith. The first was in Matthew 8 where Jesus remarks that He hasn’t found such faith in Israel as He has seen in the Roman centurion. And the second is Matthew 15 where Jesus remarks that this Canaanite woman’s faith is great.

In the ministry of Jesus, we are still a chapter away from the great declaration of the apostles that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And even after this declaration of faith, we often wonder just how much these apostles understood this confession of faith. The same is true among the other disciples of Jesus; just how much do they know about Him? Is their faith like those of the centurion or the woman?

This woman, like the centurion, is not Jewish. She’s a Gentile. What business does she have knowing about Christ, let alone believing in Him? After all, she’s a Canaanite, a descendant of Israel’s ancient Old Testament enemies. Her people are idolaters. What can she possibly expect from Jesus.

Well, this poor woman has a terrible problem. Her daughter is demon-possessed. And it’s pretty serious. It’s on the order of “The Exorcist” severity. Life can’t continue on like this. No one should have to endure such torment, let alone a little girl.

Nevertheless, Jesus tells this woman that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. She’s a Canaanite, and Jesus hasn’t finished His ministry among Israel, which comes first. I mean, even the apostles understood this. Jesus isn’t the fulfillment of a generic set of promises. God never promised that His Son would descend from one of the families of Canaan. God did, however, promise a number of times that His Son would descend through a specific family from the tribe of Judah. Jesus is the Son of David, the messiah of Israel.

Does this mean Jesus is only the messiah of Israel? Doesn’t He care about the Gentiles?

Our reading from Isaiah 56 shows us that Jesus also cares about the Gentiles, yes, even this Canaanite woman. Isaiah says that the Gentiles will join themselves to Yahweh (Isaiah 56.6). In fact, Isaiah promises twelve times throughout his book that Israel’s messiah will also be a blessing to the Gentiles. Isaiah prophesies that the Christ is to be a light to the Gentiles and God’s salvation as far as the end of the earth (Isaiah 49.6).

And this Canaanite woman knows this. She calls Jesus, “Lord, Son of David.” This phrase is an Israelite way of speaking. Only a handful of Pharisees called Jesus by this divine title, and perhaps only several hundred Israelites also use this title for Jesus during His ministry.

And her declaration “Lord, Son of David” links to Jesus’ declaration “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The messiah of Israel isn’t only for Israel, but He is for them first. The Apostle Paul followed a similar procedure: He preached the gospel to Israel first, and then to the Gentiles.

She not only agrees with Jesus, but she also understands that Jesus is the messiah of Israel and she’s merely a Canaanite. It’s enough for her to merely receive the crumbs of the messiah. She’s not asking for the children’s bread, but merely asking for the crumbs that are appointed from the messiah’s table for the Gentiles. She has a profound understanding of who Jesus is.

We all want to have a greater faith that is humble enough to realize that divine crumbs are enough. Faith isn’t great because our own selves. The Canaanite woman’s faith wasn’t great on her own account. Faith is great because of Jesus, for He is the object of our faith.

The crumbs from Jesus’ table were more than enough to cast out a demon that was severely possessing this woman’s daughter. What a comfort to us when we are in need of Christ’s mercy! And Luther picked up on this. Each section in his Small Catechism has a woodcut depicting an event from the Bible. Matthew 15.21-28 appears in his catechism, in the Lord’s Prayer, the 7^th Petition, which is: “But deliver us from evil. What does this mean? Answer: We pray in this petition … that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.”

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 15, and Luther reinforces it in his catechism, that all our solace and salvation stand within the clear word of the gospel. This gospel is God’s holy truth and His blessed word (Apology 12.3). And this solace and salvation are just the crumbs! Just a little bit from Christ is enough to calm our fears, deliver us from the worst the devil can inflict upon us, and provide for all our needs.

Do you see how loving and gracious our Lord Jesus Christ is to us? A few simple words are enough to put the devil to flight. Faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains. Plain words proclaim the gospel. A few handfuls of water bring a child into God’s reign. A little wafer and a sip of wine brings the forgiveness of our trespasses. These means are mere crumbs when compared to the awesome power and divinity of Christ Jesus.

But just a small sampling of Christ’s divinity is more than we will ever need to deal with the trials and tribulations of this world. The Canaanite woman knew this and believed this. Yes, Christ was ministering to the Israelites. Nevertheless, there’s enough of Him to go around and she only needs a few crumbs of His grace to heal her daughter, because a few crumbs from the Lord’s table is more satisfying than all the food consumed in the world in a day.

And we only need a little because Christ has given so much. His sacrifice on the cross was so enormous and universal that all the sins of the world have been forgiven. And with forgiveness comes the end the devil’s tyranny that manifests itself in our lives. “To be sure, we attain the forgiveness of sins through faith. This word is not our word, but the voice and word of Jesus Christ, our savior” (Apology 12.2).

Christian faith is the medium lepticon (the means of reception): a special creation and gift of God whose only purpose is to receive God’s gifts. And this faith is simple trust in Christ’s words. He says He forgives us, and we believe Him. We don’t need to comprehend all the particulars of this redemption. We don’t need to write an essay on forgiveness with many footnotes and impressive sounding Greek and Latin words. We only need to believe what Christ says. That’s it. And we have what He promises. Just like the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman. A little grace from our great savior, Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You build up Jerusalem and gather the outcasts of Israel, You heal the broken-hearted and binds up our wounds, send Your Holy Spirit to be a light to enlighten us, the Gentiles, with the assurance of our forgiveness and providence that comes from Your might hand. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 3^rd Edition © 1987 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart and The Greek New Testament, 3^rd Edition (Corrected) © 1983 by the United Bible Societies.

   All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12^th Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.