Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: November 2015

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Matthew 25,1-13. Eternity Sunday

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Matthew 25,1-13 5515

Ewigkeitssonntag. Lr. Sn. d. Kirchenjahr (27. Trinitatis) 073

Caecilia, Virgin Martyr in the first 3 centuries

22. November 2015

1. O God, When You carry us when the way is unbearable, then we can go forward. When Your Light shines forth, then we can find the way. Draw near with Your Light and Your Help, Thou our Friend and Lord, our Comfort and Life. Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for Ewigkeitssonntag § 1 2015)

2. Jesus said: „Then the reign of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Go out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying: ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other bridesmaids arrived also, saying: ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered: ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.“

3. Some among the 1. generation of Christians expected the 2. Advent of Jesus to occur in their lifetime. In Thessalonica, the church there became concerned when their members began to die. They thought these deceased Christians would miss out on experiencing the glorious return of Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote them these comforting words: »But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the advent of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. Now concerning the times and the seasons, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief in the night. But God has destined us to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing« (1. Thessalonians 4,13-18; 5,1-2.9-11).

4. Paul’s exhortation reminds us of the parable Jesus spoke in today’s Gospel pericope. The bridesmaids were awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom, but his delay was so long that they all fell asleep. Right now, like the bridesmaids, we patiently await Jesus’ advent and the consummation of the wedding with its banquet. The Gospel Readings for the past few weeks have told us that Jesus’ second advent will be a surprise. We don’t know when it will occur, so we wait ready for His arrival. We will become drowsy and fall asleep as we await His return, but when the cry goes out we will awake and join the wedding procession behind Jesus. Jesus will arrive to take His Church into the heavenly reign. Whenever Jesus arrives, we know we will be ready for we have faith in Him.

5. What might this eternal life look like? One of the images Jesus used to describe eternal life in His presence is the image of a marriage feast. Wedding receptions are joyous events with plenty of food, alcohol, music and dancing. It is an event to be celebrated and enjoyed by all in attendance. The feast described in Matthew 25 will be celebrated in the new creation, for on the last day Jesus will create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21,1). He will also reunite our soul with our newly resurrected body. God will then dwell with men and women (Revelation 21,3). This is a renewal of the Garden of Eden, where Adam, Eve and God dwelt in holiness and perfection. John described this dwelling of God and mankind as the new Jerusalem. Jesus describes this holy city of God as an immense capital and built with the finest metals and gems. Twelve huge pearls form her open gates. Beautiful jewels of jasper, sapphire and emerald adorn the city. The streets will be paved with pure gold that is transparent as glass. Gold can be beaten thin enough to become transparent so that light passing through this thin gold appears light pink and greenish blue. Yahweh will dwell in our midst, and from His throne will flow a river. On each side of this river will grow the tree of life, with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. When Yahweh placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He intended for them to eat from the tree of life. In the new heaven and new earth, the tree of life will be before you, and you will be able, yes, encouraged by Yahweh, to eat of its invigorating, rejuvenating fruit.

6. Martin Luther to his Son Johannes [Hänschen]

[Coburg Castle] June 19, 1530

To my dearly beloved son Hänschen Luther at Wittenberg,

Grace and peace in Christ! My dearly beloved son, it pleases me to hear that you are studying well and praying diligently. Do this, my son, and keep it up. When I return home, I will bring you a nice gift from the fair. I know a pretty, lovely, pleasant garden, where many children go; they wear golden coats and gather nice apples, pears, cherries and plums from under the trees; they sing, jump and are merry. They also have pretty little horses with golden bridles and silver saddles. I asked the owner of the garden: „Whose children are these?“ He said: „These are the children who like to pray, study, and be pious.“ So I said: „My dear sir, I also have a son, his name is Hänschen Luther. Might he not enter into the garden, too, so that he might also eat such lovely apples and pears, ride such fine horses and play with these children?“ Then the man said: „If he likes to pray, study and be pious, then he, too, may enter the garden. Lippus [Melanchthon] and Jost [Jonas] as well. And if they all go together, they will also get whistles and drums, lutes and all kinds of stringed instruments; they will also dance and shoot with small crossbows.“ And he showed me a lovely lawn, all ready for dancing, where golden whistles and drums and fine silver crossbows hung. But it was still early, so the children hadn’t eaten yet, which is why I couldn’t wait for the dancing and said to the man: „Ah, dear Sir, I must hurry off and write all this to my dear son Hänschen, so that he will be sure to study diligently, pray well and be pious, so that he, too, may enter into this garden. But he has an Aunt Lena, whom he must bring as well.“ The man said: „That he can, go and write him thus.“

Therefore, my dear son Hänschen, make sure to study and pray, and tell Lippus and Justen to do the same, so that they may study and pray, too. That way, all of you will get into the garden together. May you be herewith commended to God, and greet Aunt Lena and give her a kiss for me.

Your dear father

Martinus Luther

7. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that we will celebrate a banquet with Him where we will really eat and drink in this eternal life. John saw a vision of the new earth, and that included the ground, water, plants, animals, birds and fish. As we are now stewards of this earth, we shall be stewards on the new earth. We may farm, shepherd, invent and build. We may play sports, hike or lie in the shade under a tree and just think. There may be plays to see, concerts to hear, music to be produced and dances to be danced. Every extinct kind of animal and plant may be flourishing on the new earth. With the new earth as our home, then the universe may be our backyard to explore and exercise stewardship over. Imagine the potential that awaits us when our Divinely created human ingenuity is unshackled from the curse now imposed upon us!

8. Eternal life in God’s fellowship will be a return to His originally intended created order. We will have our Divine image and likeness fully restored. Original sin will be removed from our body and soul; original righteousness will be the foundation for our resurrected body. There will be no sin, no curse, no natural disasters, no disease, no infirmities, no disabilities, no strife, no violence, no hatred, no murders, no warfare and no death on the new heaven and earth. Jesus promised us full restoration and holiness.

9. The Triune God created men and women to be in perpetual fellowship with Him. For a short while, Adam and Eve experienced this fellowship. After Adam brought sin into the human race, God still desired to be in fellowship with His crowning jewel of creation, therefore He promised Eve a savior who would triumph over both sin and the serpent. Next week we begin the liturgical season of Advent with its preparation for the birth of this Savior in Bethlehem. Today we look ahead to the culmination of the salvation that our Savior Jesus brings us through His death, resurrection and second advent.

10. Jesus’ return is delayed; we do not know the day nor the hour of when He will return, therefore, we wait and watch for His second advent. Jesus will return, for He has a wedding to attend with His bride, the Church, and a splendid wedding reception to throw that is but the beginning of eternal joys for those who believe in Him as their savior from sin, death and hell.

11. Jesus teaches that when He arrives, those who were ready go in with Him to the marriage feast, and the door will be shut. Earlier, in His Beatitudes, Jesus taught: »Not everyone who says to Me: ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the reign of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.« (Matthew 7,21). Jesus explains this will in John 6: »For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day« (John 6,40). Thus Jesus exhorts us in Matthew 25 on this Ewigkeitssontag (Eternity Sunday) to be patient and be ready for His second advent. We believe in Him to be our Lord and Savior who will arrive to raise us up to everlasting life. Trust in Jesus to fulfill His promise, for He will do it. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, You make known to us the path of Life through Christ Jesus, so that in Your presence there is fullness of joy and abundant happiness forevermore. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

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.

Matthew 25,31-45. 2nd Last Sunday in the Church Year

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Matthew 25,31-46 5415

Vorletzter Sonntag des Kirchenjahres 071 (26. Trinitatis)

Desiderius, Bishop of Cahors, France ✠ 654

Albertus Magnus, Bishop of Regensburg (1260-63), ✠ 1280

Johannes Kepler, Mathematician and Astronomer, ✠ 1630

15. November 2015

1. O Merciful and Gracious God, Thou our Judge and Savior, we pray: put forward Your justice and justification in this fallen world so that the wicked are punished for their crimes and sinners are absolved of their sin. (VELKD Prayer for Vorletzter Sn. d. Kirchenjahres § 1). Amen.

2. „When the Son of Man arrives in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will be seated on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right: ‘Enter, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you went to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will answer them: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’ Then He will say to those on His left: ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.“

3. One single word separates the two groups before Jesus in Matthew 25, and that word is: inherit. The words spoken to both groups follow the same pattern: enter/depart, blessed/cursed, heavenly reign/eternal fire. The only difference is that Jesus tells those who are blessed: inherit the heavenly reign, but to those who are damned: depart to the fiery hell. It is precisely this verb, inherit, that assures us that entrance into heaven is by God’s loving grace and not by the good works commanded by the law.

4. People will wind up in hell because they will have earned it. Those who refuse to believe in Jesus and reject the forgiveness He freely gives to all the world by grace will have earned their place in hell. Those who want to separate themselves from God and every vestige of His existence will get what they desire, for hell is the one place in all of creation where God has removed His presence. To such people the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 11 apply: »Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you« (Matthew 11,21-24).

5. But it need not be this way. Jesus entered this fallen world in order to redeem every man and woman. Jesus died on the cross in our place to be the vicarious sacrifice who as the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. Jesus promises us: »Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light« (Matthew 11,28-30).

6. Saint Paul speaks of this light burden and easy yoke: »We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because no one will be justified by works of the law« (Galatians 2,16). The inheritance Jesus promises us is justification and eternal life, and this inheritance is received by faith alone.

7. Faith receives Jesus, and in receiving Jesus we also receive our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. We live in a time that is becoming similar to the time of Jesus: the world is bolstered in persecuting Christians with renewed vigor. Not that the world ever stopped persecuting Christ’s Church, but now the authorities that once kept such persecution at bay have been removed or weakened. Western democratic societies that once revered Christianity are more and more the very agents of ever-increasing persecution of Christians, their values and the Church. How one treats Christians and the Church is how one treats Christ, for Christ and His people are inseparably linked together by His blood and testament.

8. As we slough ever forward to the last day when Christ will return, we find that the world will mistreat, persecute and martyr Christians. It is happening in greater frequency in the Middle East and even frequently in Western nations. Persecuted Christians will be hungry and thirsty, outcast and destitute, sick and imprisoned. Many times such state of affairs will be the direct result of persecution for their faith as Christians and the Church will bear the brunt of the world’s hatred of Jesus Christ. We have seen this unfold as Christians in the Middle East are imprisoned, threatened, martyred or forced to immigrate elsewhere solely because of their faith in Jesus.

9. We are in this together as brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Ben Franklin said at the Continental Congress: „We must hang together, gentlemen, or else we shall most assuredly hang separately“ (Continental Congress, 1776). Christians must stick together for the same reason. Jesus spoke of the last day on Maundy Thursday when He comforted the apostles by saying: »If the world hates you, then know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, then the world would love you as its own; you are not of the world, for I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. If they persecuted Me, then they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, then they will also keep your word« (John 15,18-20). »They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is arriving when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor Me. A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me« (John 16,2-3.16). »I have said these things to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have triumphed over the world« (John 16,33). »This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another« (John 15,12-17).

10. The Apostle John commented on these words of Jesus in his epistle: »Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in Jesus and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the True Light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever« (1. John 2,7-11.15-17).

11. Eternal life is determined by what is done: the law says by what we have done, but the gospel says by what Jesus has done. The Calvary cross became the great crossing of the law and the gospel. As man, Jesus represented all men and women when He bore their sinfulness. As God, His sacrifice effected all people. Jesus received what every man and woman deserves for what they have done in their body. Jesus bore this sin, paid the redemptive price for it and covered the demands of the law. Jesus was judged and condemned so we would not be.

12. We receive this gospel by faith. When we finally stand before Jesus and His judgment seat we will stand there as inheritors of God’s heavenly reign. We are saved by Him and His good merits recognized by the law. Jesus declares us righteous because He has made us righteous.

13. We do not, however, ignore our neighbor. We help and attend neighbors when they are in need. This happens as a result of faith doing works of love. Jesus reminds us that many times we will be oblivious to doing these works on behalf of our neighbor as they are just what the faithful who believe in Christ do.

14. As this world’s days get shorter and darker, we will have more opportunities to faithfully love our fellow Christians. May the Holy Spirit grant us the strength and courage to stand with our brothers and sisters in the faith. We know and believe that Christ Jesus stands with them, and with us, this day and in the tribulation yet to arrive. »By this we know love, that Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters in the Christian faith. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? For this is His commandment: that we believe in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that God abides in us, by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us« (1. John 3,16-17.23-24). For the Holy Spirit comforts us with this promise: »Enter, you who are blessed by God the Father, and inherit the reign He prepared for you from the foundation of the world.« Amen.

15. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Judge of all mankind, You declare us righteousness so that we inherit it as a merciful gift from Your hands that bear the marks of the cross and then do good works of love for our neighbors. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Matthew 24,15-28. 3rd Last Sunday in the Church Year

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Mt 24,[1-2].15-28; Mk 13,14-23; Lk 21,20-24.17,23-24.37 5315

Drittlezter Sn. d. Kirchenjahres (25. Trinitatis) 070

The Four Crowned Martyrs, at Rome 304

Johannes von Staupitz, Luther’s Father Confessor. ✠ 1524

8. November 2015

1. O Merciful God, look upon us and Your creation, for we pray in the Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come, and so it has and so it will in the advent of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen. (VELKD, Prayer for den Sn. im Kirchenjahr § 1 2015)

2. Jesus left the temple and was going away, when His disciples came to point out to Him the buildings of the temple. But He answered them: „You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the Prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you: ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you: ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say: ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning arrives from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the advent of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.“

3. In Matthew 24, the end of Jesus’ ministry was drawing to a close. He was in Jerusalem and Holy Week was in full swing. The cross and the empty tomb were nigh; Jesus would soon inaugurate the last days. The apostles, however, were admiring the wonders of the city and its crowning jewel: the temple. They were pining for the good old days of Israel’s power and influence in Palestine. They were hoping that Jesus would restore those long lost days with a renewed Jewish kingdom, but Jesus dashed their hopes for glory: these buildings and this marvelous temple will be demolished so that only individual stones remain in a pile of rubble. This is nothing short of saying that the Mosaic covenant will be coming to an end. No temple means no sacrifices, and no sacrifices means no forgiveness being given out. It is the end.

4. Jesus used the historical example of Antiochus Epiphanes IV who in 168 bc had entered Jerusalem and offered up a desolating sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering (1. Maccabees 1,54). Antiochus had also placed a statue of Zeus in the most holy place of the temple, thereby turning Yahweh ’s temple into a temple of idolatry. Jesus explained to His apostles that just as Antiochus desecrated the temple, when the apostles see another abomination which causes desolation standing in the temple then they should flee from the area. Jesus’ warning came to pass a few decades later when the Jews revolted in ad 66. By ad 70 General Titus lead his legions into Jerusalem, crushed the Jewish rebellion against Emperor Vespatian, planted the Imperial eagle standard on holy ground and destroyed the city and the temple. Three years later he captured the last few Jewish holdouts in Masada. By ad 73 Rome had brought peace to the region again, but it cost 1 million lives to do so.

4. Well-meaning, but false, messengers cried out: God will save us! Behold, the Christ is on His way to drive the Roman pagans out of holy Jerusalem! The Christians, however, heeded Jesus’ warning from Matthew 24. When the Jews revolted, the Christians fled Judea and Jerusalem because they knew Jesus was not returning to save the city. Most of the war’s 1 million casualties were civilians who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They succumbed to violence and famine after the Romans laid siege to the city. Failure to heed Jesus’ words led to destruction, but faithfulness to Jesus’ words led to salvation.

5. This action by the Romans brought the Mosaic covenant to an end. It was now the old testament and it has been replaced by the new testament. The old covenant was tied to the animal sacrifices and located at the temple in Jerusalem. With the temple gone and the city razed, the old testament and its sacrifices for sin were brought to an end. The temple has never been rebuilt and the animal sacrifices have ceased. The old testament has come to an end, the new testament is now in effect and this was God’s will. The wine is now given in new wineskins. Jesus is the new wine of the new testament. His vicarious sacrifice on the cross is the one sacrifice that redeemed all the world back unto God the Father. The effects of this one sacrifice are given out though the means of grace. Where the Word is preached and the Sacraments administered, there the grace and forgiveness of God though Jesus Christ are given and received.

6. Too often we are tempted to exchange the certain promise of Christ given in the means of grace with nebulous predictions of His return. We live in world that is enthralled with the future. Some Christians and even entire denominations stake their claim on predicting when Jesus will return. Since Jesus ascended to heaven, over 240 predictions of when He will return have been prognosticated. (That’s an average of one new prediction every 8.2625 years!) In 2008, Mark Biltz began teaching that Christ’s return would correspond with the 28. September 2015 lunar eclipse. His teaching became known as the Blood Moon Prophecy, and it eventually became a constant theme that John Hagee pounded from his pulpit (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions_and_claims_for_the_Second_Coming_of_Christ). Another small fringe Christian group known as eBible Fellowship also picked up on this teaching and tied it with Harold Campings failed prediction of the end of the world in October 2011. Chris McCann, leader of the fellowship, boldly proclaimed: „According to what the Bible is presenting it does appear that 7. October will be the day that God has spoken of: in which, the world will pass away. It’ll be gone forever. Annihilated“ (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/06/end-of-world-7-october-ebible-fellowship).

7. Christians often look for and desire for Jesus to return at an event of great tragedy. There have been numerous world-changing events that seemed like the end of the world as we knew it, but Jesus has not returned during any of those tragic historical events. Jesus Himself tells us: »Then if anyone says to you: ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.« Even St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians these encouraging words regarding the second advent of Christ Jesus: »But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the advent of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 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. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing« (1. Thessalonians 4,13-18. 1. Thessalonians 5,9-11).

8. Notice how St. Paul grounds the discussion on the promise of Christ’s providence and protection rather than attempting to set a definitive date for His return. This is the universal approach of the apostles in their New Testament epistles when they deal with the topic of Jesus’ second advent.

9. We long for the return of Christ Jesus, for we are wearied and burdened by false christs who promise salvation, by false prophets who offer false hope and law burdens disguised as gospel, by those who wear us down with their incessant dating of Christ’s return, by those who persecute our Christian brothers and sisters around the world, by those who ridicule and defame Christians in our society and by the cares and duties of this fallen world that weigh us down as if a millstone were hung around our necks. The pure gospel of the crucified and risen Christ soothes burdened consciences. Every generation sees its share of tribulations that threaten to overwhelm the Church. The gospel brings us this blessed assurance (seligste Versicherung): Fear not, dear Christians, fear not, for we are saved by Christ alone (solus Christus) and no one and nothing can snatch us out of Christ’s redeeming hands: not our sins, not false teachers, not the tribulations of the world and not even the devil himself. We are free; we are forgiven; we belong to Jesus. His vicarious and substitutionary death solves our real, deadly problem: (which is our) sin. There is now full and complete peace between God the Father and us. We are righteous and justified on account of Christ’s merits which have now been credited to us. This is the doctrine of justification that Christ Jesus established for you and your salvation. Let the world and the devil press against us with tribulations, doubts and despair! We have Christ, and He has rescued us from the fallen world and the hordes of devils that surround us. Christ is our Victor and Deliverer.

10. The way of Christ is often that of a victory disguised as a defeat. His suffering and death on the cross seemed like a victory for His Jewish adversaries. His dead corpse buried in a tomb looked like a victory that not even God can overcome death, even His death. The complete destruction of Jerusalem and the temple looked like a complete victory of God promises. On Palm Sunday Jesus taught: »The hour has arrived for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, then the Father will honor him« (John 12,23-26). Jesus’ crucifixion was the fulfilling of the law to make payment for the world’s sin. The serpent used the cross to bruise Christ’s heel, and Jesus used that same cross to smash the serpent’s head. Jesus’ resurrection shows that not even death and hades can defeat God. Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection, and we will be the resurrection harvest when He returns on the last day. The razing of the temple proclaims once and for all that the old testament has been fulfilled by Jesus and that He has now given us an even better new testament grounded upon Himself as the Word of God made flesh who is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. The Muslims can have the temple mount in Jerusalem and their Mosque built on the Mount Zion. We don’t need the Temple Mount and a new temple dedicated to old testament sacrifices because we have the new temple who is Jesus Christ in the flesh who is our Lord and Savior. The Jews can have their Wailing Wall, for we have a Mighty Fortress who is our God and the gates of hades dash themselves to pieces against Him. We do not weep and cry but sing and rejoice because for us fights the Valiant One whom God Himself elected.

11. Consider what John Donne said of this risen Christ in his 1630 Easter sermon: „I was crucified with Christ upon Friday, says Chrysologus, Et hodie resurgo, Today I rose with Him again; Et gloria reeurrectionis sepelivit injuriam morientis, The ingloriousness of having been buried in the dust, is recompensed in the glory I rise too, Liber inter mortuos; that which David says, and, (by St. Augustine’s application) of Christ, is true of me too; Christ was, and I am Liber inter mortuos, Free amongst the dead, undetainable in the state of death. For, says St. Peter: »It was not possible Christ should be holden of death.« Not possible for Christ, because of the prediction of so many prophets, whose words had an infallibility in them; not possible especially, because of the union of the Divine nature: not possible for me neither, because God hath afforded me the marks of His election, and thereby made me partaker of the Divine nature too. But yet these things might, perchance, not fall into the consideration of these women; they did not; but they might, they should have done; for, as the angel tells them here, Christ had told them of this before; sicut dixit, He is risen, as He said“ (http://www.biblestudytools.com/classics/the-works-of-john-donne-vol-1/sermon-xxiii.html).

12. Furthermore, the comforting words of Luther in time of tribulation and doubt: „If we truly believe that Christ is our Savior, then we have a God of love, and to see God in faith is to look upon His friendly heart. So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God. Where He is, there I shall be also“ (Luther movie). And so it is. Amen and Amen.

10. Let us pray. O to Son of God, we give thanks to You, for Your Name is near in Your Word and the Sacraments, grant us peace in these days of ever-increasing tribulation for Your Church so that we may stand firm in faith that You are our Shield and Defender. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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Monday, November 2, 2015

Matthew 18,21-35. The Commemoration of the Reformation

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Matthew 18,21-35; Luke 17,3-4 5215

22. Trinitatis 067. The Commemoration of the Reformation

All Saints

1. November 2015

1. O Merciful God, Your Word bestows wisdom. Blessed are those who hear You. Help us to rightly fear, love and trust in Your Word so that the soothing gospel is a balm for our guilty conscience and that we receive Your promise that we are righteous by the merits of Christ Jesus our Savior. (VELKD Prayer for Prayer for the Commemoration of the Reformation § 1). Amen.

2. Then Peter went up and said to Jesus: „Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?“ Jesus said to him: „I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Therefore the reign of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying: ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him: ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.“

3. On 31. October 1517, Martin Luther posted his Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences on the Schloßkirche (Castle Church) door in Wittenberg, Germany. His 95 Theses were an invitation to debate the issue of indulgences in the Medieval Church. Such debates on theological topics were commonplace in Luther’s day, but his treatise caused a firestorm to erupt that eventually culminated in the drafting of the Augsburg Confession in 1530 and the formalizing of Lutheran theology in the Church. We can summarize Luther’s treatise with 4 central points from his 95 Theses:

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said poenitentiam agite [Repent], willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance. [Matthew 4,17]

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.

62. The true treasure of the Church is the most holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

Did you notice how these theses dovetail with today’s Gospel pericope? St. Matthew writes: »Then Peter went up and said to Jesus: „Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?“ Jesus said to him: „I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.“«

4. This is often a far cry from how most people think about God. Recall Luther’s anguish as an Augustinian friar before 1517: „Terrible. Unforgiving. That’s how I saw God. Punishing us in this life, committing us to purgatory after death, sentencing sinners to burn in hell for all eternity“ (Luther movie). Luther was at this point only seeing God through the lens of the law. The Apostle Peter was also viewing God the same way 1500 years earlier when he asked Jesus: »Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?« If we calculate forgiveness that way, then we are assigning forgiveness with the value of law. How much forgiving must we do before we are allowed to stop? Where is the limit when we can say: you’ve reached your forgiveness quota; no more forgiveness for you! If we believe God runs forgiveness like a quota system then it is no wonder many people today think that God is petty, cruel and plagues mankind with suffering.

5. Isn’t it insightful how Jesus uses Peter’s calculation of forgiveness? Peter thought he was be gracious because the Pharisees used to say you are only required to forgive someone who sins against you three times. Peter’s seven is a doubling of their three plus one added on for good measure. He sort of has the right idea, but he was still thinking of forgiveness in terms of the law. Jesus counters with: not 7 times but seventy times seven! Jesus has just changed the nature of the discussion. Seventy times is a whole order of magnitude than a mere doubling. Jesus taught the apostles that with God forgiveness is a matter of grace. Jesus could have really driven the point home even farther if He had said: Furthermore, your Heavenly Father forgives you 70,000 times 7. Jesus didn’t use that example, but His parable shows us that God’s forgiveness has no bounds for it is merciful and limitless.

6. Luther’s 95 Theses began to unpack the gospel promise that he would later write about several years later in his Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew: „Anyone who regards God as angry is not seeing Him correctly, but has pulled down a curtain and cover, more, a dark cloud over His face. But in Scriptural language to see His face is to recognize Him correctly as a gracious and faithful Father, on whom you can depend for every good thing. This happens only through faith in Christ“ (Luther 21,37).

7. We see this further developed a year later when Luther drew up 28 Theses for a theological disputation at Heidelberg in April 1518. The 26. Thesis reads: »The law says: „Do this!“, and it never is done. Grace says: „Believe in this one [Jesus]!“, and forthwith everything is done« (Heidelberg Disputation § 26). In God’s Divine calculation, we can never do anything to cover our sins. No amount of law-keeping, good morals, pristine virtues or any other good work can satisfy the demands of the law for sinfulness. Our debt is too high, our trespasses too many and our sacrifice counts as nothing. The Prophet Isaiah says: »We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness deeds are like filthy rags. We all fade like a leaf, and all our iniquities take us away like the wind« (Isaiah 64,6). In God’s calculation we needed a savior, and not just any human savior but a Divine Savior who would be both God and man. We sang about this Savior in our Hymn of the Day: „With might of ours can naught be done, Soon were our loss effected; But for us fights the Valiant One, Whom God Himself elected. Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is, Of Sabaoth Lord, And there’s none other God; He holds the field forever“ (A Mighty Fortress 2).

8. God the Father placed all the sins of the world upon His Valiant Son. He paid the debt in full. He bore every trespass. He is the sacrificed Lamb of God. He has taken away all the sin of the world. Forgiveness is yours as a free and gracious gift. His forgiveness never ceases. He forgives you seventy times seven, and even more.

9. Absolute certainty of forgiveness is the hallmark of Christ and His gospel. We have this certainty because Christ on the cross has redeemed you from God’s wrath and His condemning judgment. The gates of hell are now barred and closed to you, and the doors into heaven are unlocked and wide open for you because 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, for Christ alone is your Righteousness.

10. Let me be clear here, the emphasis is not on ourselves or the faith, but the emphasis is on the subject of the faith, which is Christ. Faith looks to Christ and only Christ (solus Christus). Faith looks to Christ Jesus who suffered on the cross as the ransom price for our sins and who then rose on the third day in victory over sin, death, and the devil. Christ on the cross and Christ risen from the dead are the only merits that please our Heavenly Father. Christ pleases God on our behalf, and faith trusts in Christ and therefore has Christ’s good pleasure credited to the individual who believes in Jesus. Thus faith pleases God.

11. Faith believes the gospel. St. Paul tells us: »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). Jesus makes us saints and holy ones for He is the Holiest One. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Lord, You heal those brokenhearted by their sin; bind up our wounds so that we may live peacefully knowing that You are not angry at us but that You are accepting of us. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Matthew 25,1-13. Eternity Sunday

Matthew 25,31-45. 2nd Last Sunday in the Church Year

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Matthew 24,15-28. 3rd Last Sunday in the Church Year

Monday, November 2, 2015

Matthew 18,21-35. The Commemoration of the Reformation