Ash Wednesday (Quadragesima) – February 14, 2024Psalm 57; Joel 2:12-19; 2 Peter 1:2-11St. Matthew 6:16-21
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It might seem like our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount is driving
toward a simple lesson – a good work done with sincerity is better than a good
work done for selfish gain. If that was the case, then Jesus wouldn’t be
telling you anything different than any other religion in the world. The
Buddha, Mohammed, and Oprah all have access to this teaching. They will all
teach you that to give to the poor with a sincere heart is better for the poor
man and for you than giving for tax breaks or even for recognition from others.
At some point, we’ve all been told that we should do nice things for other
people because it makes you feel good.
They aren’t wrong on
this point. Jesus even confirms this teaching is true when He says, “Assuredly,
I say to you, they [the hypocrites] have their reward.”[1]
He is saying that those who do good works—with or without faith—receive a
reward. That reward might be prestige among men. Maybe they will be given an
award by the local Chamber of Commerce for going above and beyond their civic
duty. Maybe they will be given a large tax refund for their generosity. Maybe
they will be given a good reputation by the community in recognition of their
good actions. Any kind of objectively good work will receive a reward.
But these rewards are temporal. They are fleeting. They are
insignificant when compared to the scale of eternity. If the goal of good works
is not rewards and if our Lord is not focused on the sincerity of our works,
then what is the role of Good Works in the life of the Christian? What is the
main idea of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount?
In the first place, it is that good works cannot save you. Your
works of the Law do not contribute to your salvation. For most of you, this is
not a shocking statement. By your working of the Law, you do not gain
salvation. By your agreeing to the Law, you do not gain salvation.
There is a crass rejection of the Law of God by which man would create good works of his own choosing. In Martin Luther’s hymn summarizing Psalm 12, he places these words in the mouths of false teachers, “Now, where is he [God], that shall our speech forbid us? By right or might we shall prevail; What we determine cannot fail; We own no lord and master.”[2] Those who would rebel against the very Law written on their hearts deny the right of any authority higher than themselves. “Who would dare to curb our speech? Who would dare tell us we cannot say whatever we want? We will destroy our enemies by asserting our rights and if that doesn’t work, we will use force. No one, not God or man, will be lord or master over us.”
Those who hold to this autonomy seek to create a law of
their own choosing. They believe that by living according to their own
standards—standards which are inconsistent and move about according to every
wind of emotion, hormonal imbalance, and change in the culture—they will be
saved. What they will be saved from or who determines what that salvation entails
is always vague. It is vague because they are striving against anything
objective, anything outside of themselves. It is like someone trying to create
their own universe without basing it on God and His creation. The result will
either be unintelligible or a vain imitation of that thing they sought to
avoid.
It should be obvious that salvation is not gained through
such self-made works that seek to avoid God at all costs. There is another type
of good work, that which aligns with Natural Law. Natural Law is the order of
creation, the “plan” which God has woven into the very fabric of reality. This
is the Law written on man’s heart. By nature alone—that is, by Creation
alone—human beings can deduce what it means to live virtuously. We can
determine what aligns with the order of the world and what does not.
Externally, the works of the repentant Christian and the
rank unbeliever might look the same. Both might give alms to the poor, fast
from meat, or strive for virtuous living. These look the same because of
Creation. Whether Christian or not, man is created by God. Man has been created
by God according to His order. Within this order, there are objective truths
that must be followed in the world. One does not need to be a Christian to
recognize that a man is a man no matter what clothes he wears or the number of
surgeries he uses to mangle his body.
There is value in works according to Natural Law. These at
least recognize the created order such that there is such thing as objective
truth and reality. Conversation can be had regarding virtue and whether one
course of action is better than another. Recognition of Natural Law means it
can be determined that murdering babies in the womb is wicked while raising
children to care for others is virtuous.
But even works according to Natural Law will not save you.
Being a “good person” by outward standards is still lacking in the sight of
God. A parent should raise children to be virtuous, but the beginning of wisdom
is the fear of the Lord. Teaching a child to share or respect his elders is
good but it will not save his soul. If that is the bottom line of parenting,
then you are raising whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but dead on the
inside.
Which raises a third type of good works by which you cannot be saved. Even good works done according to the Word of God will not save you. Remember, the Pharisees were the “good guys” of the first century. They were the example of godly living. They were the example of civic duty and good works toward man. They were the example of biblical scholarship, knowledge, and wisdom. And yet, they too, were whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but dead on the inside.
Even today, you can find those who speak of our works
providing consolation to Christ, as though He is pained by our sins and needs
us to feed a homeless man for Him to feel better. There is a strain of
Christian false teaching that would have you believe that Jesus is held captive
to your works—good works mean relief for Him while sins mean Him greater harm.
While it is true that Christ rejoices over our faithfulness and mourns our
sins, His suffering and death are done and over. We do not provide comfort and
consolation to Jesus. He is our comfort. He is our consolation.
The hypocrites who feature in this section of the Sermon on
the Mount are striving to keep the Law of God. They are giving to the poor, praying,
and fasting. While Jesus highlights that they are doing these things to be seen
by men, He does not leave out the possibility that they are also doing them to
please God. It is entirely possible that they are sincerely trying to please
God by following His Law while simultaneously hoping to be noticed by their
fellow man. Even these works of the Law will not save them. They have their
rewards on this side of glory.
Searching the Scriptures, even the New Testament, to find
the admonitions to godly living and then living in this way, hoping that by
them you will be saved, is a futile endeavor. Praying in secret, for your
Father hears in secret, will not save you. Laying up treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroys, will not save you.
Then what’s the point? Is Jesus crossing His fingers behind
His back when He tells you to give alms, pray, fast, and lay up treasures in
heaven? Is it all an act? Is it an elaborate illustration to say that everything
you do is futile, or that it doesn’t matter what you do because it will be
stained with sin and will gain you no reward?
Of course not. The admonitions of Christ are just as sincere
as His promises of rewards in heaven. Even the promise of temporal rewards is
sincere. Doing a good work for your neighbor does make you feel good, even if
that feeling is fleeting and not the goal of your work. Recognition from the
community is a reward, even if it is fleeting and not the goal of your work.
The goal of your work is to grow in Christ. The goal of your
work is to shine forth the light which has been placed in you by Christ. These
works flow from faith. You are a new creature, recreated in Christ through Holy
Baptism. This change is true and sincere even if it is not something you feel
or understand. It is sincere because God has said it is. It is an objective
fact that you cannot deny or prove. And rather than try to prove it, you should
rejoice in it! You are baptized into Christ, and this means you are free from
the tyranny of the Law.
Having been freed from the tyranny of the Law, you are now free to revel in it. You are free to observe it because it too is spoken by God. Your good works are now fully in accord with Natural Law because they recognize that God is the head of creation. Man is man and woman is woman not just because they are made that way, but because it is God who has made them this way. These are not works of your own choosing, as though you need to design something to please God. They are according to your station in life. They are according to the gifts God has given you. They are the necessary consequence of your new life in Christ.
This freedom reveals another purpose, another use of God’s
Law. It is now a tool for you to use to train and restrain your flesh. You are
a new creature but the Old Adam clings to your flesh. You know what it is to
live without God and the consequences of such life. That knowledge is
terrifying because by it, you know how easy it is to fall into temptation. You
know how quickly you can go from faithful to faithless.
Thanks be to God that He has not left you to your own
devices. It is not up to you to figure out how to live or how to “console”
Christ. He has given you the tools for restraining your flesh; for training in
righteousness; for focusing your eyes on Him and Him alone.
First and foremost is repentance. The sacrifices of God are
a broken and contrite heart. He desires that you would examine your conscience
and root out the desires for sin. Such contrition does not make you holy in itself,
but it is the upkeep for those desiring to follow Christ. Examining your
conscience and repenting of your sins is not a pleasant activity but neither is
exercise. To build muscle, you must tear muscle. By doing this, you are growing
stronger and more resilient. So too, by examining your conscience, you are
learning to grow in righteousness.
Other physical and spiritual disciplines then become tools
to support your repentance and faith. Christ especially mentions almsgiving,
prayer, and fasting as particularly helpful disciplines. Almsgiving is our
weapon against the world and temptations to worldliness. Fasting is our weapon
against the flesh and the desires of the flesh. Prayer is our weapon against the
devil and all his works and all his ways.
Good works according to your station in life also serve as
tools against sin. Fulfilling your responsibility to feed, clothe, nurture, and
teach your children leaves little time for sins of idleness. Serving your
brothers and sisters in Christ through diligent volunteering in the
congregation will prevent sinful gossip and speculation as you become directly
involved in the life of the Church.
As we enter the Lenten season, do not fall for the lies that
your works do not matter before God. Nor the lie that you are helplessly
captive to your sinful nature or that asking “Being justified, how now should I
live” is only a question of the Old Adam. You are a baptized child of God and
that means something. It means that you have been set free from the tyranny of
the Law and invited by the Holy Ghost to participate in the righteousness of
God. I say participate in that it is a solemn and joyful duty of every
Christian to live according to the Word of God. You have marching orders that
no one else in creation has because you are of the household of faith.
In + Jesus’ name. Amen.
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