The Second Sunday after Trinity

The Second Sunday after Trinity – June 26, 2022

Psalm 18; Proverbs 9:1-10; 1 John 3:13-18

St. Luke 14:15-24

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There are three groups invited to the feast given by the master in the parable. First, there are those already invited. These make excuses for their inability to attend. One must see to a bit of land, another to some oxen, and the third must see to his new wife. One is pulled away by power, one by greed, and another by lust.

The refusal of this first group to attend angers the man giving the feast. By this we know that this is a great man, a lord, possibly the king. It was a great honor he was showing to these people by inviting them into his household. These outwardly powerful individuals do not deserve to dine with the king, but he has graciously invited them under his roof. They returned his invitation for worldly reasons, pathetic worldly reasons at that. They would not even show him the respect of begging his pardon, or attending the dinner but leaving early. They also chose excuses over giving an honest reason for declining the king’s invitation.

This great man then sends his servant to bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind of the city. He is showing great mercy to these individuals who belong to the lowest classes of society. Like the first group, these do not deserve to feast with the king, but he chooses their company. They are brought to him and enjoy the great feast of their king.

The servant reports to the king that there is still room in the dining hall. He commands his servant to go outside the city and gather everyone he finds in the highways and byways, compelling them to come to the supper. This final group may not belong to the domain of the great man, but the invitation to his feast extends beyond the walls of his city. His word of invitation goes beyond the borders of human authority and draws in the foreigner and the sojourner. Like all the others, these outsiders are unworthy of attending the feast but have been graciously invited by the man to dine in splendor.

As with many of Christ’s parables, the “certain man” who is giving the feast is God. He sincerely sends His invitation to the Eternal Wedding Feast to all the peoples of the world, but many refuse this call. Those who prioritize wealth, power, or the pleasures of the flesh above the mercy of God are given precisely what they desire—they are given over to the passions of their flesh and the consequences thereof. God forces no one to believe. If you desire a god after your own heart, you shall have him. He will be wicked and unjust. He will judge you by your works and find you lacking in every way.

It is easy to place this parable in its historic context. Christ tells this parable during a dinner at the house of a Pharisee. It would be easy to see the first group—those already invited to the feast—as the Pharisees, Sadducees, and indeed all ethnic Jews who have abandoned the faith of Father Abraham. These are the chosen race of God and yet they have spurned His invitation.

In this case, the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind of the city would be the faithful remnant of the Jewish people. Belonging to this group would be the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, and even the tax collectors, prostitutes, and fishermen who call Christ their Lord. This faithful remnant are descendants of Abraham in both blood and faith. They have held to the promise of the coming Savior and see now that Jesus, born of Mary, is God in the flesh. God has come to them and called them His beautiful bride.

Finally, those who were compelled from outside the city are the Gentiles. These do not belong to the chosen people of God, yet they are still chosen by Him. They are chosen to receive the Word of God and as the witness of Scripture bears out, receive that Word with great joy. These, too, are the true children of Abraham. They are descendants by faith—trusting in the same promises delivered to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Knowing this, it is very easy to rejoice that we are among the third group. So far as I know, no one in this room is ethnically Jewish and so all who confess Christ is his Lord in this church would belong to those gathered from the highways and byways. Thanks be to God that His Word has gone to the ends of the earth and called all people, not by the contents of their blood, but by faith in the blood of Jesus. We are made one people and one body in the Body of Christ.

It would also be easy to ignore the other groups, but I can tell you now that every one of us belongs to all three categories. You have been called in from the highways and byways, but you are also lame, maimed, poor, and blind. You are these things because you cannot save yourself. It is true that God forces no one to believe but you are also not capable of turning to Christ yourself. This is the mystery of the doctrine of election. Before time began, God knew the number of the elect—those who would be saved. Everyone whom God has elected to salvation will be saved.

But do not make the mistake of assuming this means God has elected everyone else to go to hell. Scripture does not speak this way. Even in this parable, God sent a sincere invitation to everyone, including those who did not attend the feast. God desires that all men would be repent and be saved. Yet God is just and will grant to those who desire not salvation to have the desires of their heart—eternal damnation.

Neither is man capable of choosing God. The lame, the maimed, the poor, and the blind could not enter the king’s festal hall on their own power. This is not a parable concerning conversion but concerning election—the outcome of one’s faith. The Word of God had already come to all three groups in the parable on the lips of the servant. The invitation was received by all. This means they all received the same Word of God and possibly all received faith because of it. They know the identity of the man giving the feast. But some rejected the invitation. Those who attend the feast do not attend because of an act of their will but because of an act of the will of God, who called for them to be brought and compelled into the feast.

You are also the men making excuses. These give priority to worldly desires and pursuits over the sabbath rest of God. You say you do not have time to say the Apostles’ Creed every evening before bed? How much time do you spend checking text messages, emails, or Facebook at night? The Apostles’ Creed takes 47 seconds to confess. How about the Lord’s Prayer? 34 seconds. You don’t have time to read the bible every day? How long is your TV on during the day? You find the Divine Service or Bible Study to be too long at church but watching a 2-hour movie or an entire Chiefs game is no problem.

Worse yet, those in the parable make excuses that don’t even make sense. A feast is given in the evening. One does not travel to view a field or examine oxen as the sun is setting. You also don’t purchase a field or oxen without examining them first. As for the man with a new bride, why would he not want to bring her to the feast of his Lord?

You say you don’t have time to study the bible but what you mean is that you don’t like what it has to say. You say your sister has a faith of her own even though she doesn’t go to church because you are unwilling to show her the consequences of rejecting the invitation really are. The opinions of man matter more than the Word of God.

For this, we all must repent. Repent that you would so take your faith for granted that you would desire a moment of the power, riches, and pleasures of this life over an eternity with God. Repent and hear the Word of God as it has been delivered to you.

The doctrine of election is of great comfort because we belong to all three categories of invitees. If we had a role to play in our salvation, there would be no hope. We would ask to be excused from the feast and never return. Thanks be to God that being in that place where you hear God speaking to you, that is, the church, tells you that your salvation belongs to Him. Your invitation is secure because although you sin daily and grievously, you also see the infirmity of your legs. You are lame, maimed, poor, and blind. You cannot save yourself and yet you have the promise of salvation. Your ancestors couldn’t even save you, meaning you are also sitting outside the walls, along the highways and byways. Christ alone could save you. Christ alone could take your flesh and redeem it with His precious blood.

And should the shadow of doubt every cross your mind, remember Christ died for the sins of the world. Are you in the world? Yes. Then Christ died for your sins. So long as you do not return the invitation with an excuse preferring damnation, you are among the elect because you are receiving the Word of God at this very moment.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

 The Nativity of St. John the Baptist – June 24, 2022

Introit – St. Luke 1:68, 76-79; Isaiah 40:1-5; Acts 13:13-26

St. Luke 1:57-80

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

         Who has set thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings

hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies,

         That thou mightiest still the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

         The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

         And the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,

         And hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;

         Thou hast put all things under hi feet:

All sheep and oxen,

         Yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,

         And whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psalm 8, KJV)

Today we rejoice that God has seen fit to deliver our nation from the tyranny of a supposed right to kill children in the womb. It is by divine providence, that is, the foreknowledge and working of God in the world, that this decision by the Supreme Court was handed down on the same day as the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Today is a day of great rejoicing.

Tomorrow, our rejoicing will be slightly tempered. Tomorrow, we ought to remember that while this decision removes a national mandate allowing the murder of children, it does not prevent the murder of children. This decision allows states to decide how and when they will allow mothers to ask doctors to kill their babies. I give thanks to God that there will be states protecting children, especially the state of Missouri. Our Attorney General certified the overturning of Roe vs. Wade this morning, meaning all abortions not absolutely medically necessary, are illegal in our state. Yet I still mourn the children sacrificed on the altars of pleasure, self-importance, and pride because they were conceived in a state unwilling to protect them.

But today, our rejoicing is great. We rejoice for out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, God has ordained strength in the face of His enemies. We especially rejoice for that one who is the greatest among men born of women. St. John the Baptist is the forerunner of Christ, who was called by God before his birth to announce the coming of the Savior.

Next Saturday, we celebrate the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that day when the Virgin Mary visits her relative, Elizabeth, and the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps at the sound of Mary’s voice. St. John, who was himself around six months gestation, hears the sound of Mary’s voice, knows the presence of the Christ, and leaps for joy. Like a calf leaping forth from his stall, St. John rejoices at the presence of His Lord because it means salvation has come to man in the flesh of Jesus.[1]

There is a plethora of details surrounding the birth of St. John, each pointing to Christ, and more than could be understood in one evening. Tonight, we will focus on how and why he came to be named “John.” It was a surprise to everyone when Zacharias came out from offering the evening burning of incense and sacrifice and was silent. It was his duty to pronounce the benediction over the people. Having offered sacrifice to God, it was Zacharias’s duty to place the name of God on His people.

But his lips were sealed. Zacharias’s lips were sealed for a lack of faith. He did not believe God was able to give his aged and barren wife a son, let alone that this son would be the forerunner of the Christ.

The sealing of Zacharias’s lips is a mirror of the duty given to his son. John would be the voice crying in the wilderness. He would be the forerunner of the Christ through the preaching of God’s Word, especially that word of repentance.

Only on the day of John’s birth and only at the occasion of the gathered crowds who would not believe Elizabeth’s claim that the child was to be named John, were Zacharias’s lips unsealed. He wrote the name “John” and simultaneously spoke aloud. The voice of Zacharias was heard for the first time in ninth months. While his lips were sealed before he could bless the people, they were loosed for him to say, “His name is John.”

The name “John” means “gracious” or “benevolent.” The high priest at the time of the building of Solomon’s Temple was also named “Johanan.”[2] It is fitting that as the building of the spiritual temple of the Kingdom of God was being carried out by the heavenly Solomon, namely Jesus Christ, a man named John would serve as a priest carrying out a ministry greater than any of the Old Testament in preparing the hearts of man to receive their Lord.[3] [4]

It was the solemn duty of St. John to prepare the hearts of man by plowing the hearts inflated by pride and sin until they were plane, and raising up those who were sunk deep in the valley of despair. Through a baptism of repentance, St. John prepared the way of the Lord.

When we say that the ministry of John was a ministry of repentance, we mean the term “repentance” broadly, as including both the Law and the Gospel. John proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to fulfill the oath God swore to Abraham, the mercy promised to our fathers of old, and the holiness and righteousness of God who would deliver mankind from the hand of our enemies—sin death, and the devil.[5]

Then came the day when his own cousin, Jesus of Nazareth, came to John to be baptized. St. John knew Him to be the Christ, the promised Savior, and at first declined because of his unworthiness. Yet Christ proclaimed it was necessary that He be baptized by John so that they might fulfill all righteousness. Thus, Christ was baptized in the Jordan River, sanctifying all waters to be a washing of rebirth and regeneration.

Jesus declared that John would participate in the fulfilling of all righteousness. This was not because St. John had distinguished himself by ascetic living or devotion to God. John himself confessed that he was not worthy to tie the sandal strap of the Christ, let alone participate in the filling of righteousness. Yet it is the gracious Lord who brings John into the fulfillment of righteousness.

In your holy baptism, Christ also invites you to participate in the fulfilling of all righteousness. You are not then expected to do this on your own. You are still unworthy to tie the sandal of God in yourself. But you are also no longer alone. You are the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, the habitation of the Lord, Himself. The Son of God was made lower than the angels when He took on your flesh and He has now washed you in His blood. The Father looks upon you and sees His beloved children. In this state, it is a loving and gracious act of the Almighty God to invite you to participate in His loving works by serving your neighbor and showing love to God.

Your participation does not make you holy. It is a consequence of your holiness, just as John baptizing Christ in the Jordan did not grant John salvation—it was the consequence of what God declared concerning John before his birth. John would go before the Lord to prepare his ways, by preaching repentance and the knowledge of salvation to the people of God.

On this holy day, we celebrate the birth of the forerunner of Christ at the same time that we celebrate an act of our government to protect the lives of thousands of children. It is by divine providence that the day we celebrate the one who leapt in the womb at the presence of his Lord, we also celebrate the striking down of Roe vs. Wade. We celebrate John the forerunner and the preservation of the lives of children because God Himself was born a child at Bethlehem. The Son of God took on your flesh, was born of a virgin, that by bearing your sins into the death of the cross, He would redeem your flesh. Jesus ascended into heaven still bearing the flesh of man so that all mankind, from the smallest child in the womb, to the eldest among us, would be guided into the way of peace.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

Let us now rise and sing together the Te Deum, as found in hymn #941, glorifying God for the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

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[1] Malachi 4:2.

[2] 1 Chronicles 6:10.

[3] Johann Gerhard, Postille: Exegesis and Explanation of Sunday and Main Festival Gospels; Part Three: Apostle and Other Festival Days, translated by Elmer M. Hohle, edited by Heidi D. Sias (Fort Wayne, IN: Lutheran Legacy, 2012), 67.

[4] 2 Corinthians 3:6-9.

[5] St. Luke 1:68-79. The Benedictus.

The First Sunday after Trinity

 In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Since the day of Pentecost, the Church has struggled to understand the interaction between the Old Testament and the New. A very common question is how the saints of the Old Testament were saved before the death and resurrection of Christ. God does not change. This is part of who and what He is. As such, the requirements of salvation are also unchanging. They have existed since the beginning of time at the Creation.

Man is saved by faith in Christ, the Son of God, who takes on human flesh to redeem mankind. Faith is trust in things unseen. God came to Abraham and promised to be his God and to deliver to him an heir of his own flesh and descendants numbering more than the stars of heaven. Abraham believed this word of God and it was counted to him as righteousness, that is, Abraham’s name was written in the Book of Life.[1]

This is the same process by which you have received faith. Whether as an infant or an adult, the Word of God came to you on the lips of man, and you believed it. The Word itself planted faith within your heart. The Holy Spirit watered this seed at the font of Holy Baptism, and it grew into the mighty mustard plant by the further illumination of God’s Word.

The same is true of the beggar Lazarus. St. John Chrysostom lists nine ways in which Lazarus suffered greatly, among which is the uncertainty of the future.[2] In the eyes of man, one who prospers is blessed by God and must be loved by Him. One who suffers must be cursed by God and despised by Him. While Lazarus had certainly heard the promise of the coming Savior, his sickness and poverty must have caused doubt in his mind. He could not afford any sacrifices at the Temple. He could not attend any synagogue or services at the Temple because of his disease. Like all the saints of the Old Testament, Lazarus could only see the coming Savior through the veil of Moses, a dim and distant hope.

While Lazarus had heard of Job’s proclamation of seeing God in his own flesh after his skin is destroyed;[3] and David’s words in Psalm 16: For thou [O Lord] wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption;[4] and the comforting promise of Isaiah that the Lord of hosts will swallow up death forever…wipe away tears from all faces…and it will be said in that day, ‘Behold this is our God; We have waited for Him and He will save us,[5] it is unclear to him just how this salvation will come to him personally.

We have been blessed to live in the days following the Resurrection of Christ. We have been blessed because we have the full revelation of the Word of God. We can call not just upon the coming Messiah, but upon Jesus Christ, True God and True Man. We can hear the Words of God, spoken through the lips of man, which promise that we have been adopted as heirs of heaven, Sons of the Living God, new creations of the Holy Spirit. This confidence brings much hope—although it can still be difficult to retain.

Lazarus experienced poverty beyond imagining. Even crumbs from the table of the rich man were denied to him. His illness was so great, he could not wave away the dogs licking at his sores. He could not move himself to find shelter. Someone left him on the doorstep of the rich man. By this circumstance, in his great poverty and sickness, Lazarus daily watched the rich man feasting, laughing, enjoying company, and participating fully in the life of the synagogue and community.

Yet in the midst of this suffering, Lazarus retained faith in God. He was not saved on account of his poverty but on account of his faith, which was counted to him as righteousness. Despite his eyes being covered in the veil of Moses, Lazarus saw the promise delivered to Abraham and trusted that God above counted him among the stars born to Father Abraham. His mortal eyes caused doubt, but the eyes of faith knew God to be faithful. Lazarus awaited the sleep of death such that his eyes would be opened to the fullness of God.

You, who have the full revelation of the Scriptures, of the Name of Jesus, and the saving work of the cross, you have even greater reason to rejoice and believe in God. You have witnessed the first fruits of the resurrection of all flesh and have been born from above by the waters of Holy Baptism. You have partaken of the victory feast of Christ, fed on His own Body and Blood.

What reason do you then have to worry over pain, sickness, poverty, and death? We, unlike Lazarus, have been clearly told by our Heavenly Father that such suffering is the cross His children bear in this world on account of sin. It is unpleasant. Like Lazarus, you may certainly mourn tragedy and suffering, but you have been freed from the anxiety concerning your salvation. In this way, the saints of the New Testament are free to have more joy and comfort in Christ because we have a fullness the saints of the Old Testament were waiting for.

At the same time, we have a greater duty than the saints of old.[6] It is easy to imagine the precepts of the Old Testament as a great and severe burden, yet the vast majority of these pointed to outward works—either ceremonial or civil law. These laws have been entirely fulfilled in the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The moral law has also been fulfilled by Christ but is an eternal expression of the Will of God.

Christ our Lord says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”[7] Jesus is not changing the Law of God, but He is bringing greater clarity to it. Sin begins in the heart, and it is in the heart that sin will condemn a man.

This is the heart of the parable. The rich man almost certainly was a pillar of the community. He regularly attended the synagogue, but he did this to be seen by others. He heard the Word of God read and preached but he did not believe it. He trusted in the sight of his earthly blessings as the sign of his salvation. Even as he is burning in the torments of hell, the rich man does not beg for mercy or salvation, but commands Lazarus to serve him before insisting on a miracle for the salvation of his brothers. Abraham responds, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”[8]

This Word of God was left on the lobes of his ears and did not enter his heart. Had it entered his heart, he would have shown mercy to poor Lazarus. One cannot hear the glorious news that while you deserve the eternal torments of hell, God has taken this punishment in your place and delivered to you eternal life and salvation, without it necessarily affecting his outward life.

It is this Word of God which delivers the one who has risen from the dead. It is this Word of God that finds its substance in the flesh of Christ, crucified for your sins and risen for your justification. It is this Word of God which enters your heart and enlightens to you the Scriptures. It is this Word of God by which the saints of the Old Testament are saved. It is this Word of God by which you are saved.

Hell is a very real and present danger for all mankind. It is a certainty for all who die without repentance and faith in Christ, but it is still a danger for those who attend the gathering of the Church. It is a danger because the sinful flesh still clings to all of us. The temptations to abandon the faith are many but we have the saints of old, like the beggar Lazarus, to show us how the mercy of God is worked in the world. There was not a single outward reason for Lazarus to thank God for his existence, yet he trusted in the Lord for salvation. At the last, he was born upon the arms of angels to heaven.

You will endure suffering, loss, and temptation. You will endure pain, sickness, and unless the Lord returns, you will die. All of these will be more difficult and harsher for you than the unbeliever because you know man was not created to suffer. However, you have a hope the world cannot give. You know that this suffering and pain is the chastisement of a loving God against sin. You know that loss and sickness are the crosses Christians bear in this world. You know that temptation and death are the wages of sin, but that Christ has defeated your death such that it is now only a portal to eternal life.

Take heart when you suffer for you have a God who can sympathize with your every suffering.[9] You have a God who bears your flesh and knows your pain. You also have brothers and sisters in the faith, stretching from Adam to our own little Judah, who have likewise endured the tribulations of this world but for whom the Lord has given eternal life.

Strengthened by this knowledge, be a light to those around you. If you have been given earthly blessings, share them. You do not need to be counted rich to have a friendly conversation. You do not need to daily feast sumptuously to treat a fellow man to lunch. You do not need an advanced degree in theology to comfort a woman mourning the loss of her father. All you need is Jesus, who has been given to you in the Word of God, by Moses and the Prophets.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 15:1-6.

[2] St. John Chrysostom, “Discourse I: A Homily delivered at Antioch on the Second Day of the Month,” Four Discourses, Chiefly on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, available at https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chrysostom_four_discourses_01_discourse1.htm accessed June 17, 2022.

[3] Job 19:26-27.

[4] Psalm 16:10 (KJV)

[5] Isaiah 25:8-9.

[6] This thought comes from Gregory the Great, Homily 40 on the Gospels, beginning in section 3. https://sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home/luke-commentary/gregory-the-great-homily-40-on-the-gospels, accessed June 17, 2022.

[7] St. Matthew 5:21-22.

[8] St. Luke 16:31.

[9] Hebrews 4:15.

The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

12 June, A+D 2022 

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All Christians should spend a little more time each year becoming familiar with the Athanasian Creed.[1] It is the most simple and clear explanation of the Holy Trinity we have and yet we generally confess this Creed only once a year. Within this simplicity, the Athanasian Creed gives great detail about the doctrine of the Trinity.

 Like me, you probably know the doctrine of the Trinity is important to the Christian faith but struggle to see how it impacts you and your faith directly. According to the Athanasian Creed, there is nothing more fundamental to the Christian faith, for we explicitly confessed, “whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.”[2]

Unless they repent, all who deny the Trinity will be damned. This includes all who belong to the Mormon church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam, or modern Judaism. It also includes all who refuse to make a confession of the Trinity, including the Freemasons, who insist on the vagaries of the Great Architect such that all members can claim to be united in their Freemasonry, even if they are divided in their memberships on Sunday morning; and all other groups who require adherence to a doctrine of a vague god but refuse to name him. By their silence, they deny the Triune God.

There are more in danger. Those who are spiritual but not religious; those who claim to have their own spirituality but do not find that spirituality in the gathering of God’s saints around Word and Sacrament; those claiming to be agnostic or who recognize a god but question who or what he is; and those who believe there is one god but many roads to reach him and many names by which he is called—all these deny the True God. They will be damned unless they repent of this idolatry. They have cut themselves off from the saving work of God, His atoning sacrifice for their sins, and the grace by which He delivers this salvation to man.

 Ignorance and denial of the Holy Trinity damn a person, whether the ignorance is willful or not, whether the denial is implicit or explicit. That sounds harsh. You may not like it. It feels wrong because God is Love. How it sounds or feels to you or me is not what establishes the character of God. The Word of God describes who God is and what God does. “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?”[3] Our God is a “jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him.”[4]

Because God is Love, He will never force Himself upon man. Forced love is no love at all. It is the result of force, enticement, or deceit. The one who gains love in this way does so from a covetous heart, a sin which God forbids in the tenth commandment.

Along with Love, God is Just. He will not tolerate rejection and blasphemy. Those who reject the Trinity, reject the work of the Trinity. They receive the just punishment of their sins. Salvation is gained only when the work of the Trinity covers the sinful nature into which man is born. To reject the Trinity is to reject salvation.  “Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.”[5]

It would be beneficial for us all to spend more time contemplating the Athanasian Creed and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Not only is this doctrine fundamental to your salvation but spending time contemplating it will teach you humility. You will be humbled by the fact that you do not understand it. The Trinity is not a mathematical formula or even something to make comparisons to.

For centuries, Christians have made similes to help in understanding the Trinity, but they all fall short. The Trinity is like the sun having heat, light, and radiance. The Trinity is like an herb having odor, taste, and effect. The Trinity is like water, which is a solid, liquid, and gas. Yet there is only one sun, one herb, and one element of water. These similes may be a place to begin understanding the Trinity, but they quickly introduce as many false doctrines as teach the true.

In contemplating the Trinity, you will be forced to acknowledge your humility before the mystery of God, but this should not make you stop confessing the Trinity. If you could comprehend the very essence of God, He would not be God. If you could understand the Trinity, it would not be a mystery. If you knew everything concerning the plurality of Persons and the Unity of the Godhead, you would then be superior to God Himself. Spending time thinking on the Holy Trinity ought to draw you deeper into the mystery of your faith, rather than be cause to abandon it. Remember, whoever desires to be saved, must confess the Trinity.

For this reason, do not be discouraged as you realize you cannot comprehend the Trinity. The desire to know God in His fullness is the desire to draw closer to God. This is a good, pious desire, driven within you by the Holy Spirit. It is difficult. It may frustrate you and make your head spin. It is not something to be conquered. It is something to be fostered. A little frustration and a little head-spinning is good for you. It is how you grow as a person and as a Christian.

To this point, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity seems like strict, condemning Law, or at least an academic pursuit required of all Christians. The Athanasian Creed is helpful in our contemplation of the Trinity because it gives us useful language to express the teachings revealed by God concerning Himself. It also gives us categories for organizing our knowledge of God. The Creed gives clear definition of what is acceptable regarding the Trinity and what is damnable; what is in and what is out. There is no multiple-choice test necessary for entering heaven. Faith is not a test of memory or formulations.

Faith, in the end, is a relationship. Such language is often mocked by doctrinal Christians, but it is true. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity reveals God’s love for us in Christ. It also reveals that the Three Persons of the Godhead, united in One Divine Essence, are a family. The Persons are defined as Father, Son, and Spirit. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. A Father cannot be a Father without a Son and a Son requires a Father. There is a bond between them, Love which proceeds from both and returns to both. This is the Spirit. The Father loves, the Son is loved, and the Spirit is Love.

It is this same Spirit that is sent by the Son from the Father to witness to man concerning the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Son. In this way, the Spirit being love, the Love of God is made manifest in us. We are not the natural sons and daughters of the Father. The Son is the Only Begotten of the Father. But we are born again, born from above, begotten of the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

We must never forget that Holy Baptism is an act of the Trinity, not just one Person within the Trinity. The clearest revelation of the Three Persons is at the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. The Son rises from the waters. The Spirit descends as a dove. The Father opens the heavens and proclaims, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Although not marked by such a spectacular visual miracle, your own baptism was attended by the Holy Trinity in the same manner. You were washed in the blood of the Son, flowing in the font. The Spirit descended upon you in the Word spoken through the lips of man but emanating from the Love of God. The Father looked upon you and declared, “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” You now have the right to call God your Father and to come to Him in prayer.

The Holy Supper is also an act of the Trinity. Christ has provided His own Body and Blood as the feast. The Father has accepted the sacrifice of the Son and declared the food to be worthy of His children for all eternity. The Spirit delivers to you the gift of faith by which your sins are forgiven, and this divine meal strengthens your soul.

Nicodemus sought the truth when he came to Jesus by night. He confessed that God was with Jesus, but he lacked clarity. Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel and yet he did not contemplate the mysteries of God. He was content with the simplicity of a vague God. He was content to have his vision clouded by the veil of Moses, the weight of the Law hanging heavy on his eyelids. In other words, he believed in a god but did not know Him.

Christ was a bit harsh with Nicodemus, shaming him for his lack of faith and knowledge of the Word of God. Christ also comforted him by speaking concerning the work of the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit have worked together since the foundations of the earth were laid for the salvation of man. This was accomplished when the Father “gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”[6]

The doctrine of the Trinity has direct implications for the daily exercise of your faith. It is the foundation and substance of your faith because it is the family into which you have been adopted. To know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is to know your Father, your Brother, and the Love which flows from them to you. “Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.”[7] 

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This sermon is based on a sermon by Rev. David H. Petersen, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN, available at https://cyberstones.org/sermon/trinity-2021/, accessed 2022.6.10.

[2] Athanasian Creed 26 (acc. to LSB versification).

[3] Romans 11:36

[4] The Small Catechism, What does God say about all these commandments?

[5] Athanasian Creed 26 (acc. to LSB versification).

[6] St. John 3:16.

[7] Athanasian Creed 26 (acc. to LSB versification).

The Feast of Pentecost (Whitsunday)

5 June, A+D 2022

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pentecost is the zenith of the Easter season. It is the day on which the Church is born, and the Gospel is sent out into all the world. “Pentecost” literally means “fiftieth day,” as it is the fiftieth day since the Resurrection of our Lord. In the English language, it is also called “Whitsunday.” This strange name comes from simply smushing the words “white” and “Sunday” together. This “white-Sunday” comes from the garments worn by the baptismal candidates who were baptized on this day.

In northern Europe, the home of the English language, it would be too cold to observe the custom of baptizing converts at the Easter Vigil. These baptisms were delayed until the warmer spring months, fifty days after the Resurrection. What a beautiful way to commemorate the birth of the Church than to observe the new birth of Christians into the Body of Christ!

The Feast of Pentecost existed before the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. It celebrated two things. First, Pentecost was a harvest festival. The faithful of Israel would bring grain offerings to the Temple in thanksgiving for the harvest with which God had blessed them. Pentecost was at the beginning of their harvest and the faithful would bring the first fruits of their harvest to God.

We have much to learn from our forefathers. They did not wait to ensure the harvest was complete before returning thanks to God. They did not wait to ensure they saw 80% or 90% of what was planted grow to maturity. That which they harvested first was given back to God in thanksgiving, showing they trusted their heavenly Father to provide the rest.

In this way, we see a model for our giving to the church. We are free in the Gospel, no longer commanded by God to give 10%, a tithe, of our income to support the Temple. Rather, we are free to give more. We are free to give more because we are no longer under the Law but have been made free children of the Father.

The blessings of God in the Old Testament were shadows of the blessings in the New. So too were the offerings of the faithful in the Old Testament shadows of the New. Neither diminishes after the Resurrection of Christ. They are magnified. Circumcision was a sign in the flesh of men that they were part of God’s covenant. In the New Testament, Holy Baptism fulfills this sign in the flesh by being offered to men and women, and rather than a removal of our flesh, it places the robe of Christ’s righteousness upon us. God’s blessing is magnified, not diminished.

Our financial support of God’s church looks to the Old Testament to find a place to begin. The first fruits of the harvest were offered to God, 10% was required of all the faithful, each year. In the New Testament, in the age of the Church following the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord, 10% is a great place to begin returning thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon you. Remember, everything you have, like the grain harvest of old, comes from the Father and will eventually return to Him. You are the steward of these earthly blessings. If the Lord has blessed you handsomely, return thanks handsomely. Ten percent is a great place to start, but the Lord loves a cheerful giver, no matter the dollar amount you give.

The second purpose of Pentecost prior to the Ascension of our Lord was to commemorate the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Here we see the clearest connections to the descent of the Holy Spirit. At Mount Sinai, the people were commanded not to touch the mountain for its holiness. Moses alone could approach the presence of God. A great cloud descended upon the mountain with thunder, lightning, and the terrifying sound of a mighty trumpet. Fire flashed from the top of the mountain. The people became frightened and stood afar off.

The coming of God upon Mount Saini indicates the nature of what was given. The Law reveals God’s wrath over our sin. It reveals our sin, shows it plainly by the lightning flash of God’s Word, and thunders loudly in our hearts. The sound of the trumpet announces judgment is near. In our sin, we flee from these signs, knowing our fate is sealed in our mortal state, consigned to the eternal fire of God’s wrath.

At Pentecost, however, the Holy Spirit descends with the sound of a mighty, rushing wind. This sound is only described as the sound of rushing wind but must itself be something more. I believe it is the sound of the Holy Gospel, being spoken by the Holy Spirit, Himself. No matter what the sound was, it did not inspire fear in the apostles nor in the people gathered in Jerusalem. This sound of the Holy Spirit brought to remembrance all the words of Christ in the hearts of the apostles. The crowds in Jerusalem, gathered for the harvest feast and to commemorate the giving of the Law, are drawn toward the sound.

Whereas the people at Mount Sinai were kept away from the Mountain of the Lord, the voice of the Holy Spirit draws the crowds in. The Holy Spirit descends in fire, just as He did on Mount Sinai, but this time it is not frightening. He descends as tongues of flame, bringing the Words of the Gospel of Christ to the apostles to be shared with the world. The crowd gathering at this sound is somewhat skeptical, yet they are drawn to the sounds of the apostles beginning to preach.

Here, the various peoples from throughout the ancient world, heard the mighty works of God in their own languages. The apostles preached to them concerning the death and resurrection of Christ. These languages no longer separate the Elamite and the Mede, nor do they find their unity in these languages. They are unified in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are unified within the Body of Christ.

The Tower of Babel is often misunderstood. God commanded Noah and his sons to multiply and fill the earth. While Noah’s descendants multiplied, they did not fill the earth. Once they reached the plain of Shinar, they decided the land was ideal and they ceased to fill the earth. Working together, the men of the earth decided to build a tower to God, making a name for themselves.

God could not have this. The unity of man, even at the beginning, with only Adam and Eve, is not found in language, lineage, or ethnicity. The unity of man is found in God, in the Body of Christ, in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The men of earth desiring to make a name for themselves rejected the Body of Christ for the body of their own work. The name man makes for himself is Sin and Death.

The building of the Tower of Babel itself is somewhat of an engineering miracle. Our ancient ancestors were very intelligent and capable of great wonders. Such ability quickly goes from a blessing of the Most High into an idol. God has placed you into relationships with your fellow man such that you are to serve him in various ways. God has given abilities to engineers, pilots, carpenters, plumbers, managers, teachers, and store clerks. This is commendable.

Yet these careers are not the same as who and what you are. On the deathbed of a Christian, no one wants to hold his favorite chisel, or cling to his over-full timecard. A Christian desires to hold his family close and cling to the Word of God. A Christian desires a visit from his pastor to hear the Word of God and receive His gifts one more time on this side of glory.

While the accomplishments of this life are something to give thanks to God for, they are not the most important aspect of who you are. Your baptism is the most important aspect of who you are because it tells you whose you are. The name God gives to the Baptized is Life, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In your Holy Baptism, you find yourself a child of the Heavenly Father and a member of the Body of Christ. In this Body, you find unity with the Judean and Cappadocian. In this Body, you are one with the Phrygian and Pamphylian.

God punished the peoples at Babel by forcing them to spread out and fill the earth. This was God’s command from the very beginning. Languages would naturally develop as man spread out to cover the earth. God forced this process by dividing their languages while they dwelt together. Certainly, this is a punishment for those living in Babel as they could no longer communicate with friends and possibly even family. They must set out to different parts of the world and build lives where they could communicate.

 This dispersion of peoples is recognized even in heaven. When St. John sees a vision of heavenly worship in the Book of Revelation, he sees a multitude without number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.[1] This multitude is all praising the Lamb who is on the Throne of heaven, that is, they are united in their praise and worship of Christ. They are the united Body of Christ, retaining their individuality and individual languages.

From the beginning of man, God desired diversity of language and culture so that man could not mistake where unity is found. Unity is found in the Body of Christ. For this reason, the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles in tongues of flame. These gentle flames illumine the Word of God, setting the hearts of man on fire with the love of God. If the coming of the Law was terrifying for man, the coming of the Gospel is a great comfort. The dispersion of man at Babel was God enacting His Law upon man and the preaching of the Gospel on Pentecost is the fulfillment of God’s Law by uniting the multitude of nations, tribes, peoples, and languages in the Body of Christ.

Just as fire is both deadly and necessary for life, so too the Word of God kills and gives life. The Law comes to reveal our sin and cause us to flee. But we must ask, “To where shall I go? I am a poor, wretched sinner. Where is salvation found?” Then the Holy Spirit enters in with the satisfying warmth of the Gospel to reveal the deeds of Christ saying, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”[2] “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”[3]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Revelation 7:9-10.

[2] St. John 14:27.

[3] Acts 2:21.

The Last Sunday in the Church Year

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is about the church. All ten are virgins, that is, they are pure. In the case of the church, we have been made pure. We are the ones amid the great tribulation, who have washed our robes white in the blood of the lamb. The virgins of the church are those who have been baptized, who hear the Word of God, and who receive his Sacraments.

However, there are five foolish virgins and five wise virgins. The foolish virgins are those who have been baptized but despise their baptism. The foolish virgins have heard the Word of God but refused to be instructed. They have received the Body and Blood of Christ without faith.

The wise virgins have been baptized and daily return to that baptism. The wise virgins read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God. They receive the Body and Blood of Christ because they know that within this Sacrament are forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. The wise virgins also submit themselves to the Will of God. They recognize their sins for what they are – deserving of hell. The wise virgins recognize God for who he is – God is Love. They trust that because God has said he would forgive their sins, their sins are forgiven. Though they cannot yet see it, eternal life belongs to the wise.

Both the foolish and the wise are waiting outside the wedding hall. They are like the bridesmaids who have quickly traveled from the church to the reception, only to be told to wait outside for the Bride and Groom to finish taking pictures before they may enter. All ten virgins have encountered the Bridegroom and are awaiting his return. The wise brought lamps and extra flasks of oil. The foolish brought lamps but no oil. In waiting for the Bridegroom, all ten virgins grew tired and fell asleep.

The time between the wedding of Christ and his Bride, the Church, and the consummation of this wedding, the Last Day, is where we currently find ourselves. We are the virgins awaiting the return of the Bridegroom. We are eagerly waiting for Christ to return. Like all ten of the virgins, we have also grown tired.

The tiredness of the virgins is temptation. “If you do not do well, sin lies at the door. Its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”[1] Everyone in the church experiences temptation. No one is above temptation. This is not the specific temptation to steal or lie, but the temptation to fall asleep. It is the temptation to ignore God and his Word. It is the temptation to divert your attention away from God and toward the passions of your flesh.

On the night when he was betrayed, our Lord took three disciples to a garden on the Mount of Olives. He charged Peter, James, and John with keeping watch while he prayed to the Father. Three times, our Lord found the disciples asleep at the watch. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”[2]

The sleeping disciples had sinned. By this sin, they had not lost all faith. What they did was abandon diligence. They “rested on their laurels.” They believed that their faith was strong enough to carry them through and so they could give into temptation. Thanks be to God that Jesus was near at hand to continually awaken Peter, James, and John or else perhaps they would’ve fallen asleep for eternity, the sleep of eternal torment.

You, like the disciples, are tired. You come to church. You hear the Word of God. You do devotions at home. So what if you don’t find a church while on vacation? So what if you miss a Sunday here and there? So what if you stop giving to the church for a while because it seems like the church is stable? So what? So what if you take a break?

Realize what this leads to – you are taking a break from God! Skipping church on vacation soon becomes the Sunday before vacation and the Sunday after. Sleeping in every other week soon becomes weekly. Skipping devotion this morning or tomorrow evening soon becomes twice, three times, seven times skipped each week. Ceasing to give leads to greed. The occasional glance at another woman becomes freedom to flirt but not touch, which becomes the freedom to touch, which becomes much more. Sin breeds sin, no matter the scale of where it starts. Sin is crouching at the door of all our houses. None is immune.

“What then,” you might say. “There is none righteous, no, not one…There is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”[3] This is no excuse for lack of diligence, for falling asleep on the watch. It is true – the foolish virgins, the wise virgins, the inner circle of Christ’s disciples, all fell asleep on their watch and so will you. Temptation will overwhelm you and you will sin.

The difference is in the preparation. Are you prepared for when you sin? Are you prepared for when Christ returns? Do you diligently await the return of Christ?

To be prepared for when you sin is to know the law of God. To be prepared for when you sin is know how to confess your sins and how to strive against temptation. Are you tempted to sloth? Recite Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you shall return.” Then recite Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Then recite the Ten Commandments and set about your work according to your station in life.[4]

Are you tempted by ignoring God’s Word? Recite John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” Then recite the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed, call your pastor and set up a time for a visit.

Are you tempted by lust? First recite 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Then turn to your spouse, tell her you love her, kiss her, and hold her tight. Do this even if you don’t feel like it. Do this especially when you don’t feel like it.

Are you prepared for when you fall asleep? When temptation overtakes you and you slip into spiritual unconsciousness? When you do this, confess your sins. Call your pastor, schedule a time, and come in for private absolution. Turn to the Word of God. When you see your sin for what it is, confess it and have the burden of guilt lifted from your soul.

In this way, you are also preparing for the return of Christ. The wise virgins trimmed their lamps and prepared spare oil. They would only bring spare oil if they believed the Bridegroom was certain to arrive but would take longer than might be expected. They trusted the word of the Bridegroom but also prepared for the time it would take for him to arrive. This oil is faith. This oil is reading the Word of God and committing it to memory. This oil is receiving the gifts of God. This oil is what sustains you until Christ returns. You must have abundant oil because you know neither the day nor the hour of Christ’s returning. You are tired, so be prepared.

The foolish virgins did not bring additional oil. They either didn’t trust the Bridegroom would actually return or that their preparation for the Bridegroom was unimportant. “The fool despises wisdom and instruction…Scorners delight in their scorning and fools hat knowledge.”[5] The hypocrites in the church either don’t believe Christ will return or that the manner in which they live has no impact on their faith. Persisting in sin will breed more sin. More sin will harden your heart. A hard heart will cause the Bridegroom to respond, “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.”[6]

The Bridegroom soon will call us. He will return and he will return soon. The watchmen of the Lord are sent out in the middle of the darkest night to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins. This watchman is telling you that Christ is coming soon. Be prepared by diligent repentance and faith. Turn from sin and receive all that God has to give you in his Word – forgiveness, a clean conscience, life, and salvation.

“The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”[7] The just judgment of the Lord is coming on the Last Day. There will be foolish virgins locked out of the heavenly Wedding Hall. Just as the fools who clung to the sides of the ark wished they had listened to the preaching of Noah, these virgins will wish they had clung to the ark of their Baptism and listened to the preaching of the watchman. The door is shut on both and both sent into eternal death.

But you, O wise virgins, awake, for the night of this world is quickly flying. Awake, virgin inhabitants of Jerusalem, arise! The Bridegroom is coming, take up the lamps of faith, God’s Word and his Holy Sacraments with great gladness. Prepare yourselves with the care of a virginal bride about to meet her beloved. Pray, “Come, Thou Blessed One, Lord Jesus, God’s own Son, Hail! Hosanna! We shall enter the wedding hall to eat the Supper at Thy call!”[8]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 4:7.

[2] St. Matthew 26:41.

[3] Romans 3:10, 22-24.

[4] The list of temptations and passages to recite are inspired by Jason Braaten, Consider the Ant, https://www.gottesdienst.org/gottesblog/2021/8/1/bugenghagen-2021-keynote-consider-the-ant?rq=bugenhagen

[5] Proverbs 1:7, 22.

[6] St. Matthew 25:12.

[7] Proverbs 13:9.

[8] This paragraph is based on Wachet Auf as found in LSB #516.