Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: June 2015

Monday, June 29, 2015

Synod president responds to SCOTUS same-sex marriage ruling

Our synodical president, The. Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, issued a letter re. the recent Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. The content of his letter is posted below.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress (Psalm 46:1–7).

A one-person majority of the U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong – again. Some 40 years ago, a similarly activist court legalized the killing of children in the womb. That decision has to date left a wake of some 55 million Americans dead. Today, the Court has imposed same-sex marriage upon the whole nation in a similar fashion. Five justices cannot determine natural or divine law. Now shall come the time of testing for Christians faithful to the Scriptures and the divine institution of marriage (Matthew 19:3–6), and indeed, a time of testing much more intense than what followed Roe v. Wade.

Like Roe v. Wade, this decision will be followed by a rash of lawsuits. Through coercive litigation, governments and popular culture continue to make the central post-modern value of sexual freedom override “the free exercise of religion” enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

The ramifications of this decision are seismic. Proponents will seek to drive Christians and Christian institutions out of education at all levels; they will press laws to force faithful Christian institutions and individuals to violate consciences in work practices and myriad other ways. We will have much more to say about this.

During some of the darkest days of Germany, a faithful Lutheran presciently described how governments lose their claim to legitimate authority according to Romans 13.

The Caesar cult in its manifold forms, the deification of the state, is one great form of the defection from the [true] idea of the state. There are also other possibilities of such defection. The government can forget and neglect its tasks. When it no longer distinguishes between right and wrong, when its courts are no longer governed by the strict desire for justice, but by special interests, when government no longer has the courage to exercise its law, fails to exercise its duties, undermines its own legal order, when it weakens through its family law parental authority and the estate of marriage, then it ceases to be governing authority.

Raising such a question can lead to heavy conflicts of conscience. But it is fundamentally conceivable, and it has time and again become reality in history, that a governing authority has ceased to be governing authority. In such a case there may indeed exist a submission to a superior power. But the duty of obedience against this power no longer exists. [Hermann Sasse, “What Is the State?”(1932)]

As faithful Christians, we shall continue to be obedient to just laws. We affirm the human rights of all individuals and the inherent and equal value of all people. We respect the divinely given dignity of all people, no matter their sexual preference. We recognize that, under the exacting and demanding laws of God, we are indeed sinners in thought, word and deed, just as are all (Romans 3:9ff.). We confess that the “blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all our sins” (1 John 1:7). We confess that God’s divine law of marriage and the entire Ten Commandments apply to all, and that so also the life-giving sacrifice of Christ on the cross is for all. It is a “righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22).

However, even as we struggle as a church to come to a unified response to this blatant rejection of the entire history of humankind and its practice of marriage, “We shall obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). Christians will now begin to learn what it means to be in a state of solemn conscientious objection against the state. We will resist its imposition of falsehood upon us, even as we continue to reach out to those who continue to be harmed by the ethic of radical sexual freedom, detached from God’s blessing of marriage. And we will stand shoulder to shoulder with Christians, churches and people of good will who are resolute on this issue.

God help us. Amen.

Pastor Matthew C. Harrison

Luke 6,36-42. 4. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Luke 6,36-42 3415

4. Trinitatis 049

Elisha, Prophet, 840 B.C.

28. Juni 2015

1. O God, Thou Source of life and Force for good. The evil ones seek to hinder the lives of our neighbors. Give us the hearts of love and strengthen us so that we may overcome evil with good (VELKD, Prayer for 2014’s 4. Trinitatis § 1). Amen.

2. »Jesus said to the crowd: „³⁶Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. ³⁷Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.“ ³⁹He also told them a parable: „Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. ⁴¹Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother: ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.“

3. St. Luke records perhaps the most misquoted and misinterpreted phrase spoken by Christ our Lord: »Judge not.« From these two words, Christians and non-Christians alike are fond of saying: „Who am I to judge?“ or „Don’t judge me!“ Many people interpret this to mean that Jesus has called us to be nonjudgmental and therefore not pass judgment upon other people. This is an extremely popular opinion in our politically-correct, over-sensitive culture.

4. The problem with this popular interpretation is that if it is true, then Jesus failed to follow His own teachings. Jesus actually judged people on a regular basis, and quite harshly at times. He began His public ministry by telling His fellow Nazarenes in the synagogue: »Truly, I say to you: no prophet is acceptable in his hometown« (Luke 4,24). We know Jesus was judging His fellow Nazarenes because their reaction to this statement was to become filled with wrath, whereupon they drove Jesus out of town and tried to throw H down the cliff (Luke 4,28-29). Jesus judged the traditions of the Jewish elders by doing on the Sabbath what tradition said was illegal (Luke 6,1-5). Jesus judged His own disciples when He called out from among them twelve men whom He anointed as His apostles (Luke 6,12-13). Jesus judged people when He taught them using parables. »To you, My disciples, it has been give to know the secrets of the reign of God, but for others they are in parables so that they may hear but not understand« (Luke 8,9-15). Jesus called lawyers and the Pharisees fools and pronounced woes upon them; the lawyers and Pharisees were insulted by these statements Jesus said against them (Luke 11,37-54).

5. We might interpret this as unloving on the part of Jesus, but Jesus judged people so they would recognize their sin, repent and turn unto Him for mercy. Judging people, properly done, is a Godly and important action for people to perform. We are to pass judgment on criminals and punish them for breaking society’s laws. We judge people with the Ten Commandments to show them their sin. We judge ourselves with those same Commandments so that we also recognize our sinfulness.

6. Jesus tells us to evaluate ourselves under the law. He tells us the reason why: »First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your neighbor’s eye.« „Our log is not only so large but also so near to us that it blocks our vision and we do not even see it. Jesus is the one who gives sight to the blind. He reaches out His hand to our log and pulls it out. ‘This must go. I want you to see.’ Jesus takes the logs out of our eyes. He drags them to Calvary, and on the timber that blinds and kills, He is killed. Jesus dies for our sins, and the wood we have supplied becomes, by His death, a declaration of that sin’s forgiveness. When the logs from our eyes have been through Calvary, we see. We see Jesus on the cross supplied by us, for us. We see ourselves as forgiven sinners. Then, when we bump into another sinner, we are able to help, for love comes sideways. We know the things that contradict Christ and the pain and ruin they work. We want each person we meet to be freed of them, and we are there to help him or her“ (Nagel 170,4-5).

7. Running these logs and specks through Jesus makes all the difference. Jesus began this periscope by saying: »Be merciful, even as your Heavenly Father is merciful.« We see God’s mercy on full display at the crucifixion of His Son, for on that cross God’s mercy is revealed in the crucified Jesus. Then Jesus says: »Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;« God’s judgement and condemnation were poured out in full upon the crucified Jesus. He has born all our sinful judgement and condemnation under the law, suffered as one found guilty under the law. On the cross, God’s judgement and condemnation have been poured out, satisfied and fulfilled in Christ Jesus. How does God forgive? He forgives through Jesus who is the Certainty of our forgiveness and salvation. Thus the Apostle Paul can proclaim: »There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit« (Romans 8,1-4). »Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.« Is there any more a gracious giver than God? He gives to us abundantly through Christ Jesus. He holds nothing back, for He pours out His grace so that it overflows. Again Paul: »Sin reigned in death, but grace also reigns through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord« (Romans 5,21).

8. There is sin in our lives, sin as big and bulky as logs. But we have a Lumberjack who is good at taking logs out of peoples’ eyes and sending those logs down river to be disposed of at the cross „You have some logs to confess, logs to be pulled out and dragged to Calvary. Cleansed and forgiven, you may then see as a servant sees, as a burden-bearing Savior sees. Lord, take from us, though it hurts, all that blinds us and hinders the flow of Your love“ (Nagel 172,11).

9. And with the logs removed from our eyes we now see clearly God’s love for us and our neighbors. God’s love is a salve on our eyes and helps us to in turn love others. That love is manifested as the Apostle Paul describes it in his Epistle to the Romans: »Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.« This is the love that Jesus shows to us, and it is the love we in turn show to our neighbor. We first receive forgiveness before we forgive; before we are merciful, we must receive mercy from God (Luther 102,15). God shows us forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ. „Our Savior gives us all things, physical and spiritual, earthly and eternal, gratuitously [freely] and out of pure goodness“ (Luther 100,10). May the Holy Spirit move in our hearts to love others as Christ loves us and loves them. Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, we give thanks to You and sing praises to Your Name, O Most High, bless us with Your love so that we in turn can share that love to our neighbors and be a blessing to them in this world that often oppresses people. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

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

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Luke 15,11-32. 3. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Luke 15,11-32 3315

3. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 048

Albanus, Martyr 286/303. Albanus, Martyr 404

21. Juni 2015

1. O Heavenly Father, Thou generous and merciful God, we give thanks to You for patiently and faithfully waiting for Your lost sons and daughters to return home so that Your joy is complete and Your home is full of celebration. Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for 3. Sn. n. Trinitatis § 1)

2. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying: „This man receives sinners and eats with them.“ So He told them this parable: „There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father: ‘Father, give me the share of property that is my inheritance.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.“

3. Jesus told three parables in Luke 15, and they all deal with something that was lost and then was found. The context tells us that the lost are the sinners Jesus was eating with. Thus, the third parable is also about the relationship between the Pharisee and the sinful Jew. In the parable, the Pharisee is the dutiful older brother and the sinner is the disrespectful younger brother. The parable is also about getting what one is owed.

4. The younger brother wanted his due. His father was a wealthy man, and even as the younger of the two sons his inheritance would be quite substantial. This younger son, however, could not wait for his father to die. He wanted his inheritance now. He had plans, and he needed his share of the family wealth to fulfill those plans. His attitude was selfish and disrespectful. Nevertheless, the father divides the property among his sons. What happens next is despicable. The younger son liquidates his inheritance into cash, leaves the family and lives a life of reckless spending. He has shown no respect for his father or his older brother. He all but said I wish my father would die already so I can receive my inheritance. Then he goes and sells his share of the family property, property that would have been in the family for generations and handed down from father to son. Furthermore, he up and leaves to enjoy his life. On the other hand, the elder son remained with his father, worked the land, respected him, served him and obeyed everything his father said.

5. The Pharisee rightly saw himself as the elder brother. He spent many years serving the Lord and obeyed His commandments. He was loving, dutiful and respectful. He was the perfect son, therefore if anyone deserved the Lord’s love, favor and praise it was he, and not the sinful younger brother, for the Pharisee had done everything asked of the Lord; he had earned the Lord’s praise. What had the younger brother done to earn the Lord’s favor? Absolutely nothing! The sinner did not love the Lord. He disrespected Him at every opportunity. Spending his blessings in reckless living. Cavorting with other reprehensible people. Breaking the commandments left and right. Ignoring the traditions of the elders. The younger brother may have been of the lineage of Abraham and born a Jew, but he lived like a unclean, pagan Gentile. At best, he might grovel himself before the Lord, become His servant, work off his sinful debt and after years of such service be granted the title of son once again.

5. God is the father in this parable. He does not live up the the expectations of either son. The younger son expected to be received back not as a son but as a hired servant. He knew he had sinned greatly against his father, and he had no expectations to be received back graciously. He was content to work for food, clothing and shelter. He did not expect to have any comforts or blessings associated with sonship.

6. All three parables teach that there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. When his prodigal son returned,the father did not chastise him, treat him as a slave, nor turn him away. The father welcomed his son home; indeed, he had spent everyday since his departure looking down the road for his return. »Then the father said to his servants: ‘Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate« (Luke 15,22-24).

7. Jesus teaches in this parable the overflowing mercy of His Father. For every sinner lost and separated from Him, God the Father looks each day for his return. Every time a sinner repents and seeks God’s mercy, God gladly and abundantly offers forgiveness and acceptance. Every time someone believes in Jesus for salvation, God the Father is waiting to welcome this new Christian into His heavenly realm.

8. Consider the father’s response in the parable: »And the prodigal son arose and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him« (Luke 15,20). This is God the Father’s response to each one of us when we return to Him: God meets us before we get to Him, He gives us overflowing grace and love as He welcomes us back as His son or daughter.

9. The mercy of God will bless many people. When we finally gather in heaven on the last day to celebrate the banquet meal hosted by our Heavenly Father, we will most surely see people we know or historical figures, and we may wonder: I did not expect to see that person here. He was such a scoundrel during his life. And that is the wonderfulness of God’s grace: His grace covers all sins, even the most heinous sins, so that whoever trusts on Christ will have salvation and be welcomed into the inheritance of God the Father.

10. What is lost, is found. The Prophet Ezekiel tells us that this has been the Lord desire all along: »For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord who is the Lord; so turn, and live« (Ezekiel 18,32). God celebrates when sons and daughters are returned to His home. We should celebrate also. We have all been in the place of the prodigal son. God rejoiced and celebrated with us when we were brought into His household. The finding of the lost is the work of God. This is why the Father sent His Only Son to the earth. Jesus was sent to those who were sick and lost. He went to them, found them in their sin and brought them back to His father. His crucifixion and resurrection were the payment price for the world’s redemption. God in Christ saved the entire world. No one should ever be left outside God’s home as a lost person not enjoying the celebration. Salvation has been procured for every man and woman. This salvation is given to all people as grace that is received through faith. We cannot earn God good favor. We cannot coerce Him to receive us back into His home. He has already merited His good favor; He has already received us back; Jesus, the Son of God, has earned for us the good ending that He tells in His parable. Amen.

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You show us that our Heavenly Father is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness, You have taught this truth to us in Your Parable of the Prodigal Son, so that we may be reassured that we have a merciful and loving Heavenly Father. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Luke 14,15-24. 2. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Luke 14,15-24 3215

2. Trinitatis 047

Elisha, Prophet, 840 B.C.

14. Juni 2015

1. O Good and Eternal God, You are Righteous, Friendly and the Fullness of life. We thank You for Your good gifts: the summer time with its longer day light, all the blessings of Your creation and the gift of sumptuous food and fine drink. To You we pray and proclaim: Kyrie eleison (VELKD, Prayer for 2. Trinitatis § 1). Amen.

2. »When one of those who reclined at table with Jesus heard these things, he said to Him: „Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the reign of God!“ But He said to him: „A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servantto say to those who had been invited: ‘Draw near, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him: ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said: ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said: ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant: ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said: ‘Lord, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant: ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you,none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’“

3. This parable was told at a banquet that Jesus had attended. During the course of the meal, »Jesus said to the man who had invited him: „When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous“ (Luke 14,12-14). Then a certain man, quite probably a Pharisee, rightly said to Jesus: „Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the reign of God!“ How true that Pharisee’s statement is, but who will be the ones who are blessed?

4. While the man rightly acknowledges the blessedness of the reign of God, Jesus immediately teaches in His parable that there are many who will not enjoy this blessed banquet. Who in their right mind would ignore the invitation to the Lord’s heavenly banquet? Quite a few, unfortunately. The invitation first went out to well-respected Jews such as the Pharisees, scribes and other prominent people in Judaism. Surely Yahweh’s banquet merits some priority in their lives? Jesus tells those around him, that no, it does not. First John the Baptizer and then Jesus invited them, but these upstanding Jews rejected their invitation to the Lord’s banquet. They had excuses. Who is this John who looks like a wild-man living out in the wilderness? Who is this Jesus who cavorts with sinners and tax collectors? They were offended by John and Jesus, and so they rejected the invitation these men of God extended to them. The Pharisees had been invited by John the Baptizer and Jesus to the Heavenly Father’s great banquet of salvation, but these very Pharisees and other proud Jews not only rejected both John and Jesus but they actively thwarted the preaching of both great men because their preaching did not meet their Pharisaic interpretations of Holy Scripture.

5. Yahweh is rightly angry at their response, but He is not deterred: He proceeds to invite others to His heavenly banquet. The call goes out to the outcasts in Jewish society and then to the Gentiles. Many in these two despised groups gladly receive the invitation. Our Heavenly Father’s banquet hall will be filled to capacity, and its guests will be those who were wicked sinners, the sick, the poor and the very nations of this earth. The Holy Scriptures proclaim that all the nations will draw unto Yahweh’s presence and worship Him (Micah 4,2). Jesus and the Apostles invited and gathered in those few wealthy and respected Jews who were not offended by Jesus, those Jews who were sick, sinful outcasts and the Gentile nations who were pagans. Such people are those who will inherit the reign of God; they are blessed while many of the self-righteous Pharisees and other respectable Jewish invitees are barred.

6. The scribes and the Pharisees aren’t the only ones who can reject Jesus’ invitation. Even you can reject the Lord’s invitation to eternal life. „One should never despise the servant and his Lord’s invitation, but rather heed the word spoken by the Lord’s prophets: ‘Today, if you will hear His Voice, then do not harden your hearts!’“ (Löhe 368 § 8). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself has invited you to the great banquet of eternal life in His everlasting presence. Each Sunday He calls you to enjoy the appetizers of this banquet by offering you His preached Word and the Holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Christ Jesus is loving and gracious; He freely gives you the holy absolution in His Word and the Sacrament.

7. May the Almighty and Merciful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, keep us receptive of His merciful invitation. You have been invited by Christ Jesus Himself to His Heavenly Father’s glorious banquet of eternal life. Our Divine Service (Gottesdienst) of the Word and the Sacraments of Holy Baptism, Absolution and the Lord’s Supper are a foretaste of the heavenly feast to come. Do not excuse yourself from Christ’s invitation, but continue to receive His invitation with joy and thanksgiving for He has established and instituted His Church for your blessing and salvation. Amen.

8. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, our Strength and our Rock, defend and deliver us from all that would tempt us to reject Your heavenly invitation so that we may praise You as the Lord of lords at the banquet on the last day. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Evangelien-Postille für die Sonn- und Festage des Kirchenjahres. Copyright © 1859 Samuel Gottlieb Liesching. A sermon preached on Luke 14,16-24 for The 2. Sunday after Trinity. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2011.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Luke 16,19-31. 1. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Luke 16,19-31 3115

1. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 046

Paul, Bishop of Constantinople, Martyr 350

Deocar, Abbot at Herrieden, ✠ 850

7. Juni 2015

1. O Eternal and Merciful God, You save, help and answer when we seek You. Have mercy upon us and deliver us. Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for 1. Sn. n. Trinitatis § 1)

2. »Jesus said to the Pharisees: „There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.The rich man also died and was buried, and in hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out: ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said: ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said: ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house – for I have five brothers– so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said: ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said: ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him: ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’“

3. Jesus spoke this parable in the greater context to the Pharisees who were in the crowd. The Pharisees were lovers of money and they justified themselves before men (Luke 16,14-15). This parable put the Pharisees in a difficult spot. They would ordinarily declare the rich man (Dives) as one who is blessed by God and thus a righteous man, however, the rich man in the parable despises his poor neighbor and ignore his plight. Such an attitude clearly violated the law that the Pharisees prided themselves in keeping. Being lawyers, the Pharisees could have parsed the law so that legally the rich man was exonerated and justified in how he treated Lazarus. Consider three indictments Jesus earlier spoke against the Pharisees concerning that very action. »You, Pharisees, have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said: Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20,12); and, Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die (Leviticus 20,9). But you say: „If a man tells his father or his mother ‘Whatever you would have gained from me is given to God’“[1], then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do« (Mark 7,9-3). »Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering« (Luke 11,42.52). »But God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God« (Luke 16,15).

4. The rich man’s treatment of Lazarus was an abomination before God. The law accused him of this abomination and no amount of parsing the law or his immense wealth could change that accusation. The rich man did not fear, love and trust God, and this was born out by his wicked treatment of Lazarus, for the rich man did not love his neighbor either.

5. We see the rotten fruit of this rich man’s callousness born out in our midst too. How many children are brought up are brought up to fear, love and trust God? How many are taught discipline, the Bible stories or basic teachings of the Christian faith? What will the outcome to be if Christians are not taught to fear, love and trust God? The Church will have Christian people who do not know the Scriptures, and therefore cannot make and defend simple apologetic arguments against those who are not Christians. When trials and persecutions arrive, they will not be able to give an account or be a witness for the faith. As more and more immoral behavior is tolerated, affirmed and legalized, they will not be able to defend and promote the virtues of Christian morality. In the end, this effects our attitude and we will neglect to help our neighbor because we are too busy, do not want to be bothered or simply do not care about their well-being. Our very inaction is proof that we do not love God, nor our neighbor, as we should but the only true love we consistently have is the love for me, myself and I.

5. Our Heavenly Father is not pleased with our narcissistic attitude and behavior that is no different from that of the rich man. The Apostle Paul describes God’s reaction in his Epistle to the Romans: »For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men and women, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.« (Romans 1,18). Sometimes this wrath is poured out upon individuals and cultures by God in this temporal world. God uses one person to punish another. This happens in prison. Notorious murderers and vile criminals often receive their discipline at the hands of their fellow prisoners. The rich man in Jesus’ parable did not receive punishment during his earthly life. His punishment was meted out by God in the afterlife. The rich man was punished in hades where he lived in eternal torment.

6. Contrasted with the rich man is Lazarus who is enjoying paradise at Abraham’s side. Lazarus was rewarded a blessed life. He did not enjoy many blessings during his temporal life, but in the afterlife he was blessed abundantly. Lazarus isn’t enjoying paradise because he was sick and destitute in his temporal life. The rich man isn’t languishing in hades because he was a wealthy man. Lazarus is in paradise because of his faith, and the rich man is in hades because of his lack of faith.

7. Jesus teaches that hearing Moses and the Prophets creates faith. The Holy Scriptures are about Jesus, and when we hear those Scripture faith in Jesus is created and nurtured. When we believe in Jesus, then someone rising from the dead is also believable. The one rising from the dead is none other than Jesus. Moses and the Prophets is a common way to refer to the books of the Bible we call the Old Testament. Likewise, we could refer to the books of the Bible we call the New Testament as the Evangelists and Apostles thus referring to the Gospels and the Epistles. If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.

8. We can distill the Holy Scriptures into five doctrinal loci (points):

i. All children of Adam and Eve are sinful and have sinned (Erbsünde). Romans 3,23.

ii. The penalty for sin is death, both physical and eternal (Die Strafe für die Sünde). Romans 6,23.

iii. Jesus paid that penalty by His crucifixion (substitutionem poenali; solus Christus). Romans 5,8.

iv. Justification is pure gift and not your works (sola iustia; iustia imputata). Ephesians 2,8-9.

v. The assurance that you are right now justified before God (Heilsgewißheit). Romans 1; John 5,12-13.

9. Both Lazarus and the rich man were sinful and received the penalty for sin which is death. Lazarus then enjoyed eternal bliss in Paradise, but the rich man was punished with eternal torment in hades. The difference between them was faith: Lazarus had it, but the rich man did not. Therefore, Lazarus believed and trusted in the messiah who would pay for the penalty for sin with His own death by crucifixion. Jesus’ crucifixion has universally purchased the forgiveness of all people, including unbelievers like the rich man. This is pure justification that is a free gift given to us by Jesus; we cannot earn it or improve upon it by our own works and deeds. The assurance that faith gives is that we are right now justified, forgiven and saved before God.

10. Where does one find the proof of this assurance? We find the proof that we are justified before God in the Holy Scriptures. Moses and the Prophets, the Evangelists and the Apostles, tell us again and again and again that God has redeemed us and saved us. God the Father even sent His Only Son into this world to be the Word made flesh so that we would hear from His own lips and see in His deeds that our Heavenly Father indeed justifies us through the vicarious sacrifice of His Son.

11. This gospel soothes consciences burdened by false christs and false prophets who seek to lead the elect away with great signs and wonders (Matthew 25,24). Every generation sees its share of false prophets who peddles a gospel mingled with the law and things we must do to be assured of our salvation. The gospel brings you blessed assurance (seligste Versicherung): Fear not, dear Christians, fear not, for you are saved by Christ alone (solus Christus) and no one and no thing can snatch you out of Christ’s redeeming hands: not your sins, not false teachers, not the tribulations of the world and not even the devil himself. You are free; you are forgiven; you belong to Jesus. Christ’s vicarious and substitutionary death solves your real problem: sin. There is now full and complete peace between God the Father and you. You are righteous and justified on account of Christ’s merits which have now been credited to you.

12. Jesus tells us: »The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.« This is the destination for all who believe in Jesus as the Christ. Abraham believed, and so He is also in the presence of Christ Jesus. Paradise is a place of bliss and relief from all earthly toils and tribulations. But the end of our Christian journey is not the Paradise of God. Jesus spoke about another Lazarus. This Lazarus became sick, died and was buried in his tomb. Four days after his burial, Jesus arrived and Bethany and raised His friend Lazarus from the grave. Soon thereafter Jesus would be crucified, died, be buried and raise Himself from His own grave on the third day. Paradise is just the way-station in everlasting life. Paradise is the abode of the disembodied souls who have died in the faith. Our final destination is everlasting life with God and the heavenly host as resurrected people with a purified body and soul. Lazarus of Bethany, Abraham and the poor man Lazarus are all in Paradise in the presence of Christ enjoying the bliss of that state, but nevertheless awaiting with all believers who have joined them there for the last day when Jesus returns and raises up their bodies once more. On that day, the angelic hosts will sing a marvelous song of praise for the goodness of the Lord through Christ Jesus. Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Your testimonies are righteous forever; give us understanding of Your grace so that we may live on this earth in joyous expectation of the eternal life that is to be ours with You. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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[1] Corban is the Hebrew word for the phrase „given to God“.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

John 3,1-8. The Feast of the Holy Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

John 3,1-8 [9-17] 3015

Tag der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit (Trinitatis) 045

Petronella, Virgin, disciple of the apostles

✠ Memorial Day for all Crusaders and Christian soldiers who died for the Church & State. ✠

31. Mai 2015

1. O Incomprehensible and Unfathomable God, we do not know where we carry the words, when we are looking for You: O Reason of all that lives, O Hope of the world, O Consolation of those who wait for You, Let our prayers reach You. (VELKD, Prayer for Trinitatis § 1). Amen.

2. »Now Jesus there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesusby night and said to Him: „Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.“ Jesus answered him: „Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born againhe cannot see the reign of God.“ Nicodemus said to Him: „How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?“ Jesus answered: „Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the reign of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.Do not marvel that I said to you: ‘You must be born again.’ The windblows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.“ Nicodemus said to Him: „How can these things be?“ Jesus answered him: „Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world,that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.“

3. Trinity Sunday brings with it the Athanasian Creed and thoughts about the Trinity. If you look through the pages of the Bible, you will not find the word „trinity“ in the Holy Scriptures. While the word may not be found in the Bible, the concept and the doctrine of the Trinity weaves its way throughout the Holy Scriptures.

4. The history and theology of Christianity is rich and complex. During the early centuries of the Church, Christians attempted to express the concept of the Triune God. Disagreements, arguments and councils struggled to reach a confession that is faithful to what the Bible presents in its holy pages. The Nicene Creed dealt with the Trinity in two stages. The Council of Nicaea (325) confessed that Jesus is the Son of God and not the first creation of God the Father. Decades later, the Council of Constantinople (381) confessed that the Holy Spirit is an Independent Person in the Godhead and not some nebulous spiritual force. The Athanasian Creed confesses point by point what this confession in the Triune God means.

5. In its verbosity, the Athanasian Creed confesses two doctrines about God:

1. The God we worship is the Triune God comprised of One God made up of Three Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and

2. We worship Jesus who was incarnate of the virgin Mary, thus adoring Him as both God and man in one Person. (Athanasian Creed 15-16.25-28).

6. Right there the Creed puts the Christian faith at odds with every world religion. Over two billion Christians will say God is the Triune God of the Persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But one billion Muslims will say this God is only one person known as Allah. Others will be referring to Mother Earth (Gaia), Science or one of the many pagan understandings of God or the gods and goddesses. That then begs the question when we say in the United States „In God we trust.“ and „one nation under God“ just which god are we trusting in and under?

7. Of course, many might counter-argue that it doesn’t really matter which God or gods you believe in since all religions lead to an afterlife of bliss and blessing. That’s a rather enlightened, tolerant and multi-cultural declaration to make. Unfortunately, all the monotheistic religions in the world (which account for over one-half of the world’s population) disagree with that pie-in-the-sky notion of all roads lead to heaven.

8. The Athanasian Creed does not pull any punches here. The Creed boldly proclaims that if you want to be saved, then you must confess that there is only One God who is comprised of the Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, this Second Person known as the Son of God is Jesus Christ, and He is the only way unto eternal life and salvation.

9. Such a confession will find its way in the liturgy of the Church. Our Divine Language of the Triune God abounds in the Historic Liturgy of the Divine Service. Thus the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Church and the Episcopal Church have their liturgy centered upon the Holy Trinity.

10. Our Divine Service abounds with Trinitarian references. A cursory look reveals the following. The Invocation: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Absolution: I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Gloria Patri: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. The Kyrie: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us (where the first Lord is the Father and the last Lord is the Holy Spirit). The Gloria in Excelsis: Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. The Collect of the Day concludes: through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. The Triple Alleluia (one alleluia for each Person of the Trinity). The Creed: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty ... and in one Lord Jesus Christ ... and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life. The Sanctus: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth (one holy for each Person of the Trinity). The Nunc Dimittis: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. The Post-communion Collect: We give thanks to You, Almighty God, … through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God. The Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace (one Lord for each Person of the Trinity. The Triple Amen (one Amen for each Person of the Trinity) (Weedon’s Blog, Tuesday 14. June 2011).

11. How we worship shows what we really believe, and what we believe is shown in how we worship (lex orandi lex credendi). We worship the Triune God who is One God comprised of Three Persons. We find this Triune God in the Holy Scriptures. We confess this Triune God in both our liturgy and our Creeds.

12. We worship this Triune God because this Triune God has worked out our redemption from all sin and brought us eternal life and salvation. God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ into this fallen world. The Son of God merited the world’s salvation by suffering, dying and rising again. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, speaks through the Prophetic and Apostolic Scriptures and through those Scriptures reminds us of all that Christ has done and said.

13. Jesus told Nicodemus: „If you are born again, then you can see the reign of God.“ This rebirth happens when one hears the gospel and believes that gospel. Jesus is the embodiment of this gospel, and all who believe on Jesus are assured of their salvation. Jesus essentially tells Nicodemus:„If you believe in Me, then you will see the reign of God.“ We experience this reign of God through the Word and Sacraments. We are in the midst of God’s reign when we gather together and worship Him through our liturgy. We are in the midst of God’s reign when we receive the Sacrament of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through these means of grace we are brought into God’s presence, have the absolution spoken upon us and enjoy fellowship with the Triune God. We have this promise: „Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the Christian faith, that we worship One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the Persons nor dividing the Substance. And it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ who is at the same time both God and man“ (Athanasian Creed ¶ 1.4.27-28). This we believe; this we confess; this we receive from the Gracious Hand of God. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, You are worthy to be praised for Your mighty deeds, pour out upon us a measure of Your Glory so that we may comprehend and fathom Your Divinity to the best of our human capability. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

http://weedon.blogspot.com/2011/06/speaking-of-glorifying-holy-trinity.html

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Monday, June 29, 2015

Synod president responds to SCOTUS same-sex marriage ruling

Luke 6,36-42. 4. Sunday after Trinity

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Luke 15,11-32. 3. Sunday after Trinity

Luke 14,15-24. 2. Sunday after Trinity

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Luke 16,19-31. 1. Sunday after Trinity

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

John 3,1-8. The Feast of the Holy Trinity