The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity – September 22, 2024Psalm 119; Proverbs 25:6-14; Ephesians 4:1-6St. Luke 14:1-11
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When Christ our Lord went to the house
of a ruler of the Pharisees for dinner on the Sabbath, he posed a question to
the lawyers and Pharisees. He asked, “It is lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He
is not asking them to compare the Third and Fifth commandments. This is not a
question of whether it is more important to love God or love your neighbor. Rather,
our Lord is asking these experts in the Word of God which is more important,
the moral or ceremonial law?
When we consider the Law of God, we are
right to distinguish the laws given by God to man into three categories: the civil,
moral, and ceremonial laws. This division of the law is given by God, Himself
when He says, “Now this is the commandment, and these
are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has
commanded…”[1]
The civil law is a particularization of
the moral law, given by God, to produce a certain kind of outward behavior by
which the civil society might be best governed among the people of Israel, the
Old Testament nation of the Hebrew people.[2]
That is to say, the civil law takes the precepts of the moral law and makes
them fit the particular nation of God’s people in the Old Testament.
The moral law is written in the hearts
of man from the moment of creation.[3]
It is the eternal will of God and it is summarized most clearly in the Ten
Commandments. Our Lord summarizes the moral law even further when asked about
the greatest commandment in the Law, “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…and You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”[4]
The ceremonial law is a particularization of the moral law regarding the worship of the Triune God. Put another way, the ceremonial law is God’s description of how man is to keep the First, Second, and Third Commandments. However, the final purpose, or the goal of the ceremonial law is in three parts: 1) to be a reminder of sin;[5] 2) a shadow of what is to come, that is, Christ Himself;[6] and 3) to guard our consciences until the coming of Christ.[7]
Everything about the ceremonial law was
given so show our need for a savior and to tell us about Him. Therefore, once
the Christ came, once the Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among His people, once
He bore the sins of the world upon His shoulders and died to atone for them,
the ceremonial law was fulfilled and no longer had a purpose. God showed the
end of the ceremonial law to His people by tearing the temple curtain in half
from top to bottom at the death of Jesus.[8]
Our Lord’s question to the Pharisees is
the same as asking, “Which takes priority: the eternal will of God, rooted in
the love of God and love toward neighbor or the temporary law given to point to
the Savior who is sitting in your midst?” The silence of the lawyers and
Pharisees is deafening. When phrased this way, the answer to our Lord’s
question is obvious. It was probably obvious to you from the moment it was read
because you’ve read your bibles and listened to sermons on this text before. But,
if you allow your conscience to be silent and content not to meditate on the
meaning of the question, then you do not know the Scriptures nor the power
therein and your silence is as deafening as that of the Pharisees.[9]
“The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things.”[10]
By asking the Pharisees what seems like
a simple question, our Lord is asking if they are babes requiring spiritual
milk or if they are mature and prepared for spiritual meat.[11]
The same Word of God is spiritual milk for the unlearned and hearty meat for
the mature. These Pharisees, who thought themselves mature, are not willing to speak
up, to engage with Christ. They are also not willing to put their supposed
mature faith to practice as they would’ve done nothing for the dropsical man.
Their faith is sluggish and immature and yet they would claim to be the
teachers of Israel. In this way, our Lord is mocking the Pharisees that they
would see their error, repent, and begin anew to receive the Word of God.
The same is true of us. Our Lord’s words seem simple, but they hold a deeper challenge to our spirituality and our understanding of the Word of God. Upon hearing such a question that seems simple, your soul ought to begin to wonder, “Why is our Lord asking this question?” “Is He referencing the Old Testament?” “To whom is He speaking and what do I have in common with them?” Such questions will foster the faith given to you by the Holy Spirit into a more mature understanding of God’s Word. And, guided by the light of the Holy Spirit, you will find yourself growing in wisdom and understanding.[12]
And should you take an honest
assessment of yourself and find that you are the immature and in need of
spiritual milk, then you have the example of the man with dropsy. He was likely
a fellow Pharisee, though we don’t know for sure. He may have been a servant or
even someone passing by on the street. The only person recorded as speaking in
our reading is Christ but the man with dropsy is the only person who was not
expected to speak. He stood silent before the dinner party and silent before
Christ. Our Lord knew his needs without him saying a word. He came into the
presence of Jesus and our Lord healed him with three straight forward actions: He
took him, and healed him, and let him go.[13]
So too, Christ has had mercy on us all.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified,
died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again and ascended into heaven.
Such a simple, straightforward miracle for the recovery of your soul from hell.
There is an infinite depth of understanding to be had in these words, but the
simple truth is easy to grasp for all the immature requiring spiritual milk.
It is fashionable among Lutherans to
always speak of how we are all children before God and therefore we require
nothing but spiritual milk. Christ even says, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”[14]
But these words are often misunderstood (at best) and abused (at worst). It
would be false humility to make a show of being immature. It would be false
humility to assert your rights as being more humble than someone else. It would
be false humility to insist that no one is exalted. Such false humility is
nothing but the height of sinful pride.
Pride
is the love of your own excellence, even if you’ve fallen in love with your
excellence in false humility.[15] “[True] humility
is the virtue by which a man recognizes his own unworthiness because he really
knows himself” and agrees with God’s assessment of man.[16]
It is so very easy for us to overlook our own pride because it brings results.
Results make us feel better. Feeling better about ourselves causes us to love
our own efforts, our own ideas, ourselves for our own excellence.
Pride is not the same as striving for
excellence, or godly ambition. As a Christian, you are called to grow in wisdom
and understanding of God’s Word. The entire life of the Christian is one of
catechesis, growing in the Word of God. No one ever outgrows the Word of God.
There is always more to learn and more to receive.
Striving for excellence is not the same
as loving your excellence. Loving your excellence is thinking highly of
yourself; striving for excellence for the sake of recognition from others; and
seeking worldly gain solely based on how great you are. This is pride. This is
sin.
Humility, on the other hand, is the basis of our salvation. The Son of God humbled Himself to be born of a virgin. He took on our flesh and made Himself unworthy of salvation by bearing the sin of the world. He who knew no sin became sin for you, so that you would become worthy of His salvation.[17] It could even be said that Christ humbled Himself so that He could learn our suffering, and having learned our suffering, He might bear it to the cross and bring it to an end.
It is because the Son of God took on
flesh for our salvation that humility is the fundamental Christian virtue. It
is the basis of the Christian life – humility to confess, repent, learn, grow,
and receive the gifts of God with a pure heart. The Christian must always
strive toward humility because such an endeavor means you are striving to live
as Christ.
There is a single road between sin and
salvation. Each step toward salvation is a step away from sin and each step
toward sin is a step away from salvation. Thanks be to God we are not left
alone on this journey. Christ died for you that you would share in His life.
The victory over sin and death is won for you. The gates of eternity stand
open. The days of your life on this side of glory are perilous because they
contain temptations to pride. Every day presents you with manifold
opportunities to turn away from salvation and indulge in your pride, the love
of your own excellence; to take the highest seat of honor and stick up your
nose at those less fortunate than you.
Yet every day also presents you with
the opportunity to repent. Every day offers you the opportunity to look at
yourself and recognize yourself for who you are. You are a sinner. Sin lies at
the door, waiting to devour you.[18] You are
unworthy of salvation because your heart is willing to turn from God and
indulge your flesh.
You are also a child of God. You have
been washed in the waters of Holy Baptism. You are the temple of the Holy
Spirit, who forms your prayers to be acceptable to the Father.[19] You have
received the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Because you know the mercy and love
of God, you have access to the Father. You may come to Him and beg forgiveness.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
[1]
Deuteronomy 6:1.
[2]
This definition comes from Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, Chemnitz’s
Works, Volume 8, translated by J. A. O. Preus (St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House, 2008), 619.
[3]
Romans 2:15.
[4]
St. Matthew 22:37-39.
[5]
Hebrews 10:3.
[6]
Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1; 8:5.
[7]
Galatians 3:24.
[8]
St. Luke 23:44-46; St. Matthew 27:51; St. Mark 15:38-39.
[9]
St. Matthew 22:29; St. Mark 12:24.
[10]
1 Corinthians 2:14-15.
[11]
Hebrews 5:12-14.
[12]
Psalm 119:105; St. John 16:13-15.
[13]
St. Luke 14:4.
[14]
St. Luke 14:11.
[15]
Bernard of Clairvaux, “On the Steps of Humility and Pride,” Bernard of
Clairvaux: Selected Works, The Classics of Western Spirituality, translated
by G.R. Evans (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1987), IV.14 [112].
[16]
Bernard of Clairvaux, “On Humility and Pride,” I.2 [103].
[17]
2 Corinthians 5:21.
[18]
Genesis 4:7.
[19]
Romans 8:26-27.
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