The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 25, 2022

Psalm 86; 1 Kings 17:8-16; Galatians 5:25-6:10

St. Matthew 6:24-34

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

The most destructive lies tell mostly the truth. One modern lie that uses this tactic so effectively is to take something that is black and white and claim it is a spectrum. You are either a man or a woman. There is no spectrum between these two options.

The flipside of this lie is also true, that is, taking something that is a spectrum and turning it into a binary. Republicans are good and Democrats are evil. Democrats are good and Republicans are evil. These statements are false even by our own ideals (that voting records and stances on issues are the most important factor) and yet seeing a certain letter next to someone’s name inevitably taints our view of him.

Satan would use the same lie on today’s text. He would have you believe that anxiety is a spectrum, that is, it is alright to be anxious for the right reasons. It is not a sin to be anxious is you have a diagnosis. Worrying is part of adult life.

Satan would also apply this lie to mammon. He would have you believe that seeking excessive wealth is certainly a sin but in order to get by in this life, you must focus on beating the next guy. ‘He who dies with the most toys wins.’ What’s more, Satan uses this lie on Christians with greater deception. He says that since children are a gift from God, their happiness is more important than regular attendance at church. He would have you believe that your brother’s name on a membership role is more important than his attendance at the Divine Service.

Christ is calling us to recognize mammon for what it is. Mammon is a gift of God. It is something you have been given to use. All types of mammon have been given to you to use to the glory of God and the benefit of your neighbor.

There is a medieval distinction between that which is to be used and that which is to be enjoyed. All things in creation have been given to man to be used. Only God is to be enjoyed. Certainly, you can find pleasure in the sound of the songbirds or the beauty of the lilies, but the idea is that you do not enjoy them for their own sake. You may find enjoyment in bird, lilies, fine food or drink only because these have been given to you from God. You find enjoyment in the Giver. You use the gift to find enjoyment in God.

It is so easy for us to place our fulfillment, our joy, our love on things of this world. Mammon includes money, possessions, reputation, and even relationships. Why set your heart on temporal things when they are so fleeting and trivial? The most difficult aspect of love is calling your beloved to repentance. But you endure this frightful difficulty for her sake. By calling her to repentance, you are drawing her into eternity. You are serving her eternal soul that you might enjoy the bliss of heaven together, forever. A little temporal suffering is worth an eternity of bliss.

Our Lord clearly defines what is at stake. He says that the heathen seeks after temporal gain.[1] He is saying that to set your heart on temporal things is the same as rejecting your Savior. One who places his fear, love, or trust in anything but God is committing idolatry and is in danger of hellfire. The heathen naturally concerns himself with temporal things because he knows nothing else. We Christians have the promise of eternal glory. We have the promise of eternal life with Christ. We have the promise of a heavenly mansion prepared for us by the Son of God, and any promise given by God is as certain as though it were already in your hand.

Why then do we worry over trifling things? We worry because of sin. We worry because our faith is frail and fragile. We worry because we refuse to see the promises of God. It is true. You cannot walk out those doors and see a mansion in the sky with your name on it. What you can do is open your bible and see what God has said to you. You can look to the Baptismal font and see that your sins have been washed away. You can look to the altar and see the image of Christ dying for your sins and the reality of His holy Body and precious Blood given to you that your body and soul would be strengthened and preserved unto life everlasting.

What you can do is come to your heavenly Father in prayer and tell Him that you are anxious. You can come to Him and beg that He grant you peace and pardon. Jesus died that you would have rest, not further anxiety. Jesus died that you would have peace with God and with your neighbor, which includes yourself. Jesus died that you would have eternal joy with Him. What God ordains is always good.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This insight is drawn from Johann Gerhard, Postilla, Volume 2, translated by O. Marc Tangner (Malone, TX: Repristination Press, 2007), 163.

The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

 The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 18, 2022

Psalm 84; Proverbs 4:10-23; Psalm 92; Galatians 5:16-24

St. Luke 17:11-19

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

 There is a distinction between being grateful and giving thanks. Both concern your reaction to receiving a gift but being grateful is oriented toward the gift itself. You are grateful to have received this specific thing. Giving thanks is directed toward the one who gave you the gift. Giving thanks recognizes the value of the gift in the person who loved you such that they gave you this gift.

An example might help clarify. If my wife gives me a tenon saw for Christmas, I am grateful to have received a saw that will help me make more precise cuts. I give thanks to my wife because she has listened to me talk about tenon saws and went through the effort of finding one and buying it for me.

In much the same way, there is a difference between praise and worship. We give praise to God by recounting what He has done for us. The Psalter is full of psalms of praise that tell the story of salvation. Worship is oriented toward the Person of God. In worship, we not only receive the things God gives us, but we recognize the origin of these gifts as being in the Person and attributes of God.

To be fair, these distinctions are not perfect. These words can be used in different ways. But to distinguish the concepts is very helpful. It is helpful because it places our focus not on what we are doing—being grateful, giving thanks, praising, worshiping—but on the object of these actions. On whom or toward what are we grateful, giving thanks, and offering worship or praise?

All ten lepers cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them. All ten lepers were grateful for the cleansing. They rejoiced to have received a life-altering miracle. Leprosy caused them to be separated from their families, their communities, and the life of the Temple, where God dwelt with man. The gift of healing meant these lepers would be reunited with mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and children. It meant they could go to church again, to receive the blessings of God. All ten lepers undoubtedly recognized the goodness in the gift of healing and were abundantly grateful.

It is possible, and quite likely, that all ten lepers praised God for what He had done. When they went to the priests, the lepers probably told the story of how they were healed. They proclaimed the works of God. This is the essence of praise—to recount what God has done for us.

Although all ten were grateful and possibly praised God for this miracle, only one gave thanks to God and worshiped Him. Only the Samaritan leper recognized the value of healing in the person of Christ and directed his worship toward God in the flesh. Only the Samaritan realized the true nature of the Man standing before him.

When Jesus commanded the lepers to show themselves to the priests, it was the Samaritan who realized that the true High Priest was standing before him. With a loud voice, he glorified God, fell on his face, and gave thanks to Jesus. This is an act of worship.

Our worship is oriented toward the Triune God: One God in Three Persons. We worship the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity. This means we see that the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are meaningless if they do not originate in the Person of God. If God is not a Person, that is, someone with whom you have a relationship, then He is not worthy of worship or thanks.

Our world is content with an ambiguous god. Quite often, we are content with an ambiguous god. Perhaps it is because we don’t like something the True God has said. Perhaps it is because we are afraid that we will say too much and so we purposely remain ignorant of who God is. Perhaps we know exactly who the True God is and yet we prefer a god of our own choosing.

Whatever the reason, an ambiguous god cannot save you. The abstract concept of a divine being who loves you just because will not save you. Even the idea that god loves you, if not given the flesh of meaning, is not enough to save you. The only god who saves is the God who took on your flesh, then died for your sins. The only god who saves is the God who calls you to repentance for your sins. It is this God alone who loves you such that He would die for you, rise from the grave, and call you out of the darkness of your sin and into His marvelous light. An ambiguous god can do no such thing because it is not a person.

God is love and this means He acts on your behalf. Leprosy kept these ten people from going to the Temple to be with God so God came to them wrapped in flesh. Your sin, both the sin from your birth and the sins you commit in thought, word, and deed, prevents you from drawing near to God. Your sin prevents God from smiling upon you for it is evil in His sight.

God is love and this means that He cannot abide His beloved children dwelling in evil. He comes to you, wrapped in flesh, that you might come to Him. He comes to you in water, where you are drowned in the first death. In Holy Baptism, you died. But if you died a death like His, you shall certainly rise in a resurrection like His. You rose from the waters of Holy Baptism a New Creation, breathing new life in Christ. Therefore, the faithful Christian has nothing to fear in temporal death. You have already died in Christ. Now, the sleep of death is a portal to eternity.

Between your death in the waters of Holy Baptism and your rest in the grave, God comes to you wrapped in bread and wine. He comes to you not as a performance, not as an act, but as your loving bridegroom. He comes to you just as certainly as He came to that village where ten lepers came out to meet Him. Your eyes of flesh do not see it, but the eyes of faith see the face of Christ in the Eucharist.

Our worship is oriented toward Christ. Physically, we orient ourselves toward the altar as the primary symbol of that which is truly happening. Jesus Christ comes to you today and every day. He comes to you today in Word and Sacrament. He comes to you every day as you pray, sing, read the Scriptures, and obey His commandments while serving your neighbor.

There is nothing fake about what happens when we worship. There is nothing theatrical about giving thanks to God. Thanksgiving and worship of the Triune God cannot be done without sincerity because to do anything else would be to deny that God is a Person.

In + Jesus’ name.  Amen.

In Memoriam + Judith A Rodriguez +

 In Memoriam + Judith A Rodriguez + – September 17, 2022

Psalm 23; Psalm 84; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

St. Luke 17:11-19

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

The problem with leprosy is that severs the relationship between the brain and the body. Judith knew this all too well. She did not suffer from leprosy, but she did suffer from separation. She also suffered from various illnesses which turned her own body against her. There is plenty of physical suffering which results from a stroke, but the most frustrating effect is the difficulty in communication. The brain knows what to say and how to say it but the relationship between the brain and the muscles of the mouth is severed.

The lepers in Luke’s gospel had been severed from their families, from their community, and from the Temple. They could not go to that place where God promised to dwell with His people. These outcasts found one another and formed another, surrogate community, but such a leper colony could never replace mother, daughter, husband, or brother.

This is one way in which leprosy signifies sin. It separates us from God and our fellow man. Original sin severs the relationship between God and man. Manifest sin, those sins we commit in thought, word, and deed, severs the relationship between neighbors. Sin isolates. Sin divides. Sin hurts you and everyone around you.

Only the One who is without sin could health this amputation. The lepers could not go to where God promised to be so God came to them. The Second Person of the Trinity took on flesh so He could come to man, crossing the great chasm caused by sin and bringing man Himself.

How is such a miraculous gift given to us? Through death. Not the death of the flesh. This death is the wage of sin. It is the just punishment for our sin. Rather, it is by dying in the waters of Holy Baptism. Christians have nothing to fear in death because you have already died. Your first death was by drowning. There is now only the portal of death, the closing of your eyes in sleep.

It is this view of death which causes us to pray, “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God…Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You.”[1] With these words, the Christian prays for two things. He prays to be in Church. He longs for the Divine Service. He longs to be in the House of the Lord and to receive the gifts of God through Word and Sacrament. Blessed are those who dwell in the Church, for they will praise God day and night.

 Secondly, the Christian prays for the bliss of heaven. The courts of the Lord are in the presence of the Lord and while God is present everywhere, the Christian longs to be as close to God as possible. God has come to man in the Incarnation and now man longs to go to God, not by his own works or merits but by invitation. Blessed are those who sleep in Christ, for they are already praising God day and night in nearer proximity to Him.

One day in the bliss of heaven is better than a thousand on this side of glory. Yet if you have Christ, you have everything. One day in Christ on this side of glory is better than a thousand in the tents of the wicked. And, believe it or not, one day in the tents of the wicked is better than a thousand in hell. Such a day is better because it still provides the opportunity for repentance. God desires that all men would be saved and be reunited with their Creator in glory. Jesus died for all men. Jesus came to save sinners, not those who need no repentance. So long as a man draws breath, repentance is possible.

Our Lord has promised to be with you even to the end of the age. He is with you now, even though you cannot see Him with your physical eyes. This means you are already in His presence. Already being in the presence of Christ, you have the fullness of Him. You are the light of Christ in the world. At the same time, the soul of the righteous longs to be closer to Christ.

When a man goes on a business trip, he remains married to his wife. The whole time he is gone, if he is a righteous man, he longs to be closer to his wife. He might have the same feeling each day when he goes to work, but it is likely less intense. The man is finally at peace when he comes home to the arms of his beloved wife.

It is the same with the Christian. While we are here, we long to be with Christ. In death, we are closer to Christ and yet long for the day when body and soul will be reunited. On the last day, in body and soul, we will be in the arms of our Beloved. We will also be in the presence of one another. We will be united in one body and under one head.

Just as the Samaritan leper returned to Christ to give thanks and praise, so too does the Christian return to the place of her first death, the Baptismal font, to give thanks and praise to the God who came to her. Judith has returned to the earth from when man was made in eager anticipation of the Resurrection, when body and soul will be reunited. Until that time, she enjoys the bliss of heaven, looking upon the face of the Anointed and crying out, “O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Psalm 84:2, 4.

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

 The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 11, 2022

Psalm 74; 2 Chronicles 28:8-15; Galatians 3:15-22

St. Luke 10:23-37

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

God is no respecter of persons. He does not choose to love some and hate others. He does not have one set of expectations for kings and a different set of expectations for beggars which will determine their salvation.

At the same time, God knows each of you by name. God knows each of you to be an individual with unique needs. Last week, we heard of a miraculous healing in which Christ put His fingers in a man’s ears, spat, touched the man’s tongue, looked toward heaven, groaned, and finally said, “Be opened.”[1] No other miracles are recorded as being attended with such liturgical specificity. Each healing miracle seems to be unique. There could be many reasons, but at least one reason is because each ailing person is unique. One deaf man is not identical to another.

“Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”[2] The disciples are not blessed because they are humbler than the prophets. They are not blessed because they are poorer than the kings. They are not even blessed because they were in the right place at the right time.

The disciples are blessed because they hear and see the very Word of God in flesh. They are uniquely blessed because they behold the One True God in whom all other wants and desires are fulfilled. They are blessed because they receive the teachings of Christ directly into their ears and these teachings change who they are.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, we see that God is no respecter of persons. Sin and temptation beset the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and leave him half dead, that is, spiritually dead. He only lives in his flesh but his soul is given over to death. The priest and the Levite can only reveal the wounds of the man. This is the primary use of God’s Law: to reveal sin. They pass by on the other side as they cannot save the man’s soul.

It is only the Samaritan, the one who comes from a foreign place but has joined Himself to Man, that can save the man’s soul. He sooths the man’s soul with the oil of the Holy Gospel and purges the remaining sin with the antiseptic sting of the wine of the cross the man must bear. Jesus carries the man’s burden upon His own back as He brings him into the church, where he will be cared for by the servant, the under shepherd, of the Samaritan. The two coins are that by which the Church cares for the souls of man: the Word of God and the Sacraments. The Samaritan then promises to return and clear away any remnants of debt the man has incurred, bearing him at that time to eternal rest.

The Samaritan cared nothing for the history of the man on the side of the road. He cared nothing for the wealth or poverty of the man. He was no respecter of the type of person he might be, but the Samaritan cared deeply for the individual who was placed before Him.

This is the exhortation given to the young theologian. “Go and do likewise,” that is, “Go and be no respecter of persons, but care deeply for the individual placed before you.” The answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” is not “Everyone,” but rather, “He who has been placed before you.”

Jesus Christ is the Good Samaritan. He is the perfect Samaritan. It is He who has perfectly born your sin to the cross and died on your behalf. He died for the great and the small. He died for the weak and the strong. He died for the rich and the poor. He died for you.

You, beloved Christians, are called to go and do likewise. You are called to be holy as your Father is holy. You are called not to be a respecter of persons but to show genuine love for your neighbor, the one who has been placed before you.

Let us first begin in the Church. The Word of God has come for all men. No matter how someone might look, this Church exists for the salvation of man. We exist to bring the Light of Christ to individuals. That means that when someone comes through those doors, it doesn’t matter what they look like, they are to be treated the same as anyone who attends weekly and gives abundantly. Should they be dirty from having slept behind a dumpster, Jesus is for them. Should they drive a new, fully loaded pickup, Jesus is for them. If Jesus is for them, then Mount Calvary is for them. We are not a respecter of persons because God is not a respecter of persons.

It is neither Jesus nor His disciples who treat the sick, homeless, or demoniac as though they are dangerous or untouchable. Even when Jesus’ disciples do act this way, He rebukes them.

On the other hand, God nowhere commands His people to be foolish. We ought not cast pearls before swine or pretend the road between Jericho and Jerusalem is paved with roses. Yet caution is not the same as suspicion. Caution means being aware of your surroundings. Suspicion means assuming the worst-case scenario, something explicitly forbidden by the eighth commandment: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.”[3]

So, when someone comes to visit the church, do not treat him as a suspect. Do not stand 3 or 4 deep at the door, pointing and discussing the visitor. Likewise, do not sneak sideways glances to discern her mental state. This person has been placed before you just as the man in the ditch was placed before the Samaritan. Go and sit with him. Such a visitor is likely confused about how to follow the service. Do something about it. The Samaritan did not just throw money at a situation (though He did use His money to assist), but He did something for the man before Him.

If you are concerned about the safety of those around you based on the visitor’s actions, you should also go and sit with him. Engaging the individual presents you with far more opportunities to diffuse a situation without escalating to violence than standing afar off. Jesus died even for this person, who intends violence. Be no respecter of persons but engage the individual.

What is true here in the church is true also in your daily lives. Everyone in the whole world is not your neighbor, but everyone in the whole world has the potential to be your neighbor. Your neighbor is the one who is placed in front of you. This is first your family. You have a responsibility to your family that goes beyond making sure there is food on the table. Scripture says that we are all born half dead, that is spiritually dead, and must be made alive through the Word and Sacraments. You are given to foster that faith within your family.

Yes, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home, fields, cattle, and all other goods are blessed gifts of God. Yes, these must be provided for. But these are never the primary concern of the Christian. The primary concern of the Christian concerns the soul. More than a full belly, the Christian mother desires her child have a love of Truth, the Word of God. More than a high-yield retirement plan, the Christian father desires his son to have the harvest of the fruits of the Spirit.

Beyond the family, it becomes difficult for a preacher to address. Why? Because you are individuals. The neighbors God has placed on your road are individuals. It is impossible for the preacher to address every situation in which you will find yourselves. You have the Scriptures. You have the Holy Spirit. You have the sanctified wisdom of the Christian to guide you in your ways.

If it is frustrating that the Pastor cannot tell you what to do in every situation, it is either because you want an answer to all things so that you don’t have to think or because you haven’t read the Scriptures, especially the Wisdom literature such as Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Psalms. Or possibly, it is because you wish that every person you encountered was the same, that human interaction could follow a prescribed set of rules, drawn in your favor, so that you would not have to engage the person before you. That is not human interaction. That is the internet.

No one is the Good Samaritan in the way that our Lord, Jesus Christ, is. He is the Good Samaritan who dragged your sinful body out of the ditch and has given you rest. You cannot be perfect in this lifetime, but you have been called to make a beginning. You have been called to love your neighbor, whomever has been placed in your path. God is not a respecter of persons. God loves individuals. Beloved child of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, go and do likewise.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Mark 7:33-34.

[2] St. Luke 10:23-24.

[3] The Small Catechism.

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

 The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity – September 7, 2022

Psalm 70; Isaiah 29:17-24; 2 Corinthians 3:4-11

St. Mark 7:31-37

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

When Christ takes the deaf man aside, He puts His fingers in his ears, spits, touches his tongue, then lifts His eyes to heaven, groans, and finally says, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”[1] This is the only time Christ is said to groan in this way. He is displeased with the current circumstances.

Jesus is not displeased that a suffering man has come to Him for help. He is not displeased that a crowd brought this man to Jesus that he might be healed. Christ cares about this man’s physical body just as He cares for his soul. Your flesh is the temple of the Holy Spirit. God cares a great deal for your body and His compassion moves Him to perform miracles of healing.

Our Lord is groaning in displeasure over the fact that while He is trying to preach, to establish a pulpit from which He will proclaim the Word of God which replaces the stony heart of man with a heart of flesh, the multitudes cry out for miracles.

Some time after the events of Mark 7, the formerly deaf man died. If Jesus had not opened his ears and loosed his tongue, he still would have died. He would have died with the ability to hear or without. The miracle performed for him was a band-aid over the more serious wound of his sin.

There are times when a band-aid is necessary. If you suffered a gun shot wound, someone would need to put pressure on it until you got to the hospital. The dish cloth pressed firmly into the wound is not the permanent fix, but it sure helped get you there. The miracles of Christ are similar. They are a helpful band-aid, demonstrating that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. They demonstrate that God is merciful. He cares for your body and your soul. Yet the miracles are not what will save your life. Ultimately, they do not save your body either.

I do not expect Jesus to walk through those doors any time soon for the purpose of loosing tongues and healing wounds. I pray that He would come quickly, but that is another matter. If we are not looking for Jesus to perform miracles with spitting, sighing, groaning, and commanding words, what then does this matter to us?

It matters a great deal. It teaches us that the most important thing in the world is the Word of God. Christ may not walk Himself through those doors, but He has called and ordained a servant to do it on His behalf. God calls men to be pastors to proclaim His Word to the Church. He calls men to steward the sacraments which are His Word connected to physical elements. Christ has ordered His church such that the ministers of the Gospel are to attend to the preaching and teaching of the Word and the right administration of the sacraments.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.[2] Thus the pulpit on Sunday morning is the beginning of all pastoral care. The Divine Service is the foundation upon which the minister of God brings the Word of God and distributes the Sacraments to you, the people of God. All other activities and works of the Church must proceed from this one thing most needful.

As such, the Pastor must spend a majority of his time devoted to the Word of God. The Pastor is a man, like any other. He does not have perfect knowledge of the mind of God. He must spend time studying the Word of God so that he can rightly bring it to you. Sermons, bible studies, and devotions do not spring forth from a last minute of hurried preparation—or at least they shouldn’t. Even the study of the conduct of the liturgy itself should be a priority for every Pastor because it is that place in which God comes to His people most intimately.

There is also the truth that the Divine Service on Sunday morning is a very small proportion of the week. It represents only an hour or an hour and a half each week, leaving 166 hours outside of the Divine Service each week. Like the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, we cannot abandon the world to encamp in glory.[3] Rather, we must bear the glory of Christ throughout the week. We must take that which we have received on Sunday morning and carry it throughout all our days.

This begins with Bible Study on Sunday morning. Bible study is little more than an extension of the Divine Service. It is an opportunity to continue learning about God’s Word. The only real difference is the ability to dialogue with your teacher, the Pastor. Carrying the light of Christ into the world continues by daily reading of your bible. You cannot bear the light of Christ into the world if you do not know what that light says. As the week stretches on, it means preparing yourself once again to enter through those doors and receive the Word of God, the Holy Supper, and the forgiveness of sins.

Yet there is still more. Bearing the light of Christ means being the best machine operator you can be. It means being the best mother you can be. It means being the best grandfather, cousin, sister, manager, clerk, secretary, and son you can be. Fulfilling your vocations to the best of your abilities is fulfilling the Love of God toward your neighbor.

Striving to be promoted at work so that you make more money is delightful in the eyes of God, so long as you do so with an honest heart. Do not learn from the world to lie and cheat to gain favor. Gain favor by being the best you can be. Then with your increased earnings, support the Word of God by supporting the local church, supporting the planting of new churches, or even supporting your sister in Christ who could use a little help.

All these activities then flow directly back into the Divine Service. Carrying the light of Christ into the world means guiding the world to that place where they will receive Christ—the Church. It also means showing the world your humility in needing the Word of God. Christ came for the sinners, not for those who counted themselves righteous. Simply by showing the world that you need forgiveness, that you need the Word of God, speaks volumes about the value of Christ and His death to forgive your sins. Everything in the Church, everything in the life of the Christian, flows from and flows toward the Divine Service.

Jesus groans as He opens the ears and looses the tongue of the deaf man. He commands the friends of the formerly deaf man to be silent about the miracle and yet they persistently proclaim the miracle throughout the region. Jesus groans and commands silence because He knows human nature will see only the miracle and stop all ears from the Word of God. We hear what we want to hear, and we speak without thinking, bound to the language of the world.

This miracle shows that Christians are called to the exact opposite. Christians are called to be silent before the Word of God, to receive it daily and live by it at every moment. Christians are then called to speak that Word of God plainly throughout the world, just as the tongue of the formerly deaf man was unbound so that he could speak plainly.

Pastors are solemnly charged with teaching you the Word of God, something which requires great study. Yet, just as Jesus could not refuse the miracle of healing this man, pastors cannot refuse the other duties throughout the church. Jesus could not refuse the miracle of healing because of His compassion. The ears and tongue of this man are precious to Jesus. In the resurrection, this man’s ears and tongue will be perfected because God created him to be perfect in body and soul.

From the color of the carpet to the orientation of the Fellowship Hall, everything that happens in the church is theological in nature. It is theological because it either flows from and toward the Divine Service or it doesn’t. If it does, then it should be promoted, enhanced, and featured. If it doesn’t, then it needs to be corrected.

This entire topic is called sanctification, or the life of the Christian. You are declared righteous by God in an instant—the moment faith entered your heart, causing you to repent of your sins and trust in the forgiveness of Christ. But the life of sanctification continues throughout all your days on this side of glory. Learning to receive the Word of God, learning how to bear the light of Christ into the world, and learning to strive against your own sins is a task you cannot complete on this side of heaven.

This process of sanctification is a burden, but it is light. It is a yoke, but it is sweet. It is sweet and light because the victory over your sin has already been won. The deaf man did not have to be trained to speak, his tongue was loosed in an instant and he spoke plainly. The victory was already won for him. But he had a lifetime of dry mouth, sore throats, and other ailments to face before he received the eternal reward for Christ’s victory over his disabilities.

You too, have days of trials and suffering ahead of you. You have sins to fight against—both your own and the sins of those around you. But the victory has been won. Jesus has done everything well. He makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. He has conquered your sin and given you the victory.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Mark 7:33-34.

[2] Romans 10:17.

[3] St. Matthew 17:1-9.

In Memoriam + Norman Eugene Fields +

In Memoriam + Norman Eugene Fields + – September 1, 2022

Psalm 23; Isaiah 46:3-4; Romans 6:1-11

St. John 6:27-40

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

Death inherently involves separation. For the one who dies, death is the separation of body and soul. For those left behind, it is the separation from an uncle, a dad, a brother, or a friend. Death often leaves a sense of isolation in the wake of this separation. Being forcefully separated from the ones you love always causes you to desire nothing more than to be with them. Because you can’t do anything to be with them right now, you feel isolated, alone.

This is not the way God created man. Man is created to live in community—first with God and then with fellow man. Creation was not called very good until Eve was created, a suitable helpmeet for Adam.[1] Even then, God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.[2] Through these our first parents, God commanded man to fill the earth with relatives to love and to be loved by.

What’s more, God, Himself, walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He came to them and walked in the cool of the day. He talked to them. He communed with them. God created man to be in communion with Him.

But when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil, they broke the commandment of God.[3] They separated themselves from the Love of God by sundering their relationship to Him. They had betrayed their Creator. The wages of sin is death because sin separates us from God and death is separation.[4]

What’s worse is that separation from God does not simply leave man alone. Man is not cast out of the Garden to fend for himself out of the sight of God. God is not a spiteful father kicking his bum of a son out of the basement. Man’s sin cuts directly at the heart of God because it is a denial of Who God is. Man’s sin invokes the wrath of God.

Because of the severity of this separation between God and man, the punishment for sin does not end with temporal death. The punishment for sin begins with suffering in life, continues in physical death, then lasts forever in the torture of hell. This is the just and rightful fate of all men who sin against God. Satan and his wicked angels have been condemned to this torment and would love nothing more than drag, tempt, and coerce every man into hell to join them.[5]

“I walk in danger all the way. The thought shall never leave me, that Satan, who has marked his prey, is plotting to deceive me. This foe with hidden snares may seize me unawares if I should fail to watch and pray. I walk in danger all the way.”[6]

What shall we say then? Is God wicked and spiteful? By no means. At the same time, He cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden, He sacrificed an animal for them and made clothes from its skin.[7] He promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of Satan and atone for the sin of man.[8] This promised Seed is God Himself.[9] The Seed is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of the Father, Jesus Christ.

The Son came down to man, just as He did when He walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve. He took on our flesh because we had severed the relationship between God and man and man is incapable of healing such a cosmic wound. God became man to die. God became man to die the death that you and I deserve.

But death did not have a claim to the Son of God.[10] He was born without sin. He committed no sin. Jesus Christ was tortured and executed for your sin because He didn’t have any. Not having sin, death could not hold Him. He had not earned a wage of death. Instead, He was laid in a virgin grave to rest for three days.

When Jesus spoke of the food which endures to everlasting life, the crowds immediately asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”[11] To believe in the Son of God is to realize the severity of your situation, the depth of your sin, and your inability to make things right with God. To believe in the Son of God is to look at your own sins with hatred because your sin is what separates you from God and earns death. To believe in the Son of God is to confess your sins and trust that Christ has died to destroy them; to trust that Christ has died for you.

In 1956, when Norm was baptized, he died. He was drowned in those waters because he was born a creature of this world. He was buried in those waters, but he was not buried alone. He was buried into Christ Jesus, and if he was buried into Christ Jesus then he was buried into Christ’s death. If then, Norm was baptized into the death of Jesus, then he will certainly be raised in a resurrection like Christ’s. His old man, the sinful nature with which Norm was born, was crucified with Christ, and buried in the grave.

This happened so that when Norm arose from the waters of Holy Baptism, he would arise a new creation. He had become a new creation in Christ. As such, death no longer has dominion over Norm, just as it has no authority over Christ.

“I walk with Jesus all the way, His guidance never fails me; within His wounds I find a stay when Satan’s power assails me; and by His footsteps led, my path I safely tred. No evil leads my soul astray; I walk with Jesus all the way.”[12]

Why then are we gathered here today? We are gathered because the last remnants of sin which cling to Norm’s flesh must also be buried. They too must be buried in the ground and return to the dust from whence they came. This is true for all mortal men.

For the Christian, for the Baptized children of God, while his body returns to dust, his soul is with Christ.[13] Right now, Norm has joined the choir immortal, singing with the angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven. He is reunited with Della and together they are worshiping Christ day and night.[14]

We are gathered here today to mourn the separation we now experience from our beloved Norm.[15] We do not get to play cards with him, talk baseball, or watch him patiently and lovingly play with children. We do not get to hear his voice, and no matter how hard he might try, he does not get to entertain each of you when you stop by.

These are beautiful memories of a beloved uncle, dad, brother, and friend, yet they are also the bread of earth. Man needs the bread of earth. We need each other. But we ultimately need the bread come down from heaven. We need to receive the Bread broken and given for you. We need to receive the Blood, given and shed for you. Jesus calls Himself the Bread from heaven, the Bread of life. All who come to Him shall never hunger nor thirst.[16]

We are gathered here today to give thanks, to worship, and to praise the Triune God. It is through the heavenly bread of Jesus’ Body and the heavenly drink of His Blood that we will be reunited with Norm, Della, and all the saints in heaven for eternity. In the sacred wounds of Jesus, we too will have eternal life.

Then will come the last day, the resurrection of all flesh. The Baptized, who were buried in a death like His will be raised to a new life like His. This body we lay in the grave today will be reunited with the soul that is already enjoying the presence of Christ. On that day, and for all eternity, Norm will enjoy the company of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and all Christians in our flesh. With these eyes, Norm will see you.[17] He will know you. He will rejoice to see you and proclaim, “Glad you got to see me!”

All mankind will be raised on that last day but not all will join the company of heaven. Those who do not believe, those who reject the Bread of Heaven will join Satan and his wicked angels in torment. There will be a great chasm set between those above and those below, such that none may cross over. These are the stakes of eternity.

Norm and all who die in Christ eagerly await the resurrection of all flesh because the resurrection means unity. It means body and soul being reunited. It means brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, dear friends and beloved uncles will be reunited in the flesh for all eternity.

“My walk is heavenward all the way; await, my soul, the morrow, when God’s good healing shall allay all suffering, sin, and sorrow. Then, worldly pomp, begone! To heaven I now press on. For all the world I would not stay; my walk is heavenward all the way.”[18]  

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 2:15-25.

[2] Genesis 1:28.

[3] Genesis 1:29-30; 2:15-17; 3:19.

[4] Romans 6:23.

[5] 1 Peter 5:8.

[6] Hans Adolf Brorson, I Walk in Danger All the Way, stanza 1.

[7] Genesis 3:21.

[8] Genesis 3:15.

[9] Romans 1:3-4.

[10] 1 Corinthians 15:20; Romans 6:8-11.

[11] St. John 6:28-29.

[12] Brorson, I Walk in Danger All the Way, stanza 5.

[13] St. Luke 23:43.

[14] Revelation 7:9-12.

[15] St. John 11:35.

[16] St. John 6:35.

[17] Job 19:26-27; St. Luke 16:22; Revelation 7:9.

[18] Brorson, I Walk in Danger All the Way, stanza 6.