The Last Sunday in the Church Year

The Last Sunday in the Church Year – November 20, 2022

Psalm 39; Isaiah 65:17-25; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

St. Matthew 25:1-13

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

Wisdom requires effort. The wisdom of the five virgins consists of both knowledge and the ability to put that knowledge into action. We’ve all heard the platitude, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” The Book of Proverbs begins with a similar exhortation, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction;”[1] that is, the receiving of knowledge and wisdom includes effort, the willingness to bring wisdom into your heart, knowledge into your soul, and produce change. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”[2]

This is the wisdom of the virgins. They do not have secret knowledge that is unavailable to the foolish virgins. The foolish virgins have simply despised wisdom and instruction. The foolish virgins believe there is nothing they must ever do to enter the wedding feast. They know who the Bridegroom is and that is enough. The rest of their lives is spent in sloth—being lazy because nothing is expected of them.

The wise virgins have received the knowledge and wisdom of the Bridegroom and put it into practice. They have allowed this knowledge and wisdom to transform their hearts such that they are now new creations. They believe that when the Bridegroom says is true and they act accordingly.

Before you begin to think that you, or the wise virgins, are brought into the wedding hall by the Bridegroom because of your actions, merits, thoughts, or worthiness, stop. That is the thinking of the foolish virgins. They want to know the lowest common denominator. They want to know the easiest way to salvation. If that means a certain type of works, fine. If that means knowing a certain formula, fine. The foolish virgins want to know the lifehack that will guarantee success; the shortest route between where they are and where they want to be.

Such foolishness can even parade as gaining knowledge. This is the pursuit of facts without any idea of how such knowledge affects the world, your neighbor, or your heart. In our world, this is the proliferation of trivia. Social media, especially forms with video, are constantly moving toward shorter and shorter clips. Things like Youtube and Tiktok want you to believe that it is important for you to know a little about a lot of things; and when they say “things,” they mean everything from current geopolitics to the origin of a viral dance. The question we ought to be asking of such platforms is, “Does this knowledge help me or my neighbor? Does it affect the world that actually exists or only the world created by this knowledge itself?”

The wisdom of the wise virgins is quite simple. The Bridegroom has said that He is coming. From these words, the wise virgins believe the Bridegroom is coming, though they don’t know when. They then draw the conclusion that if these words are true, then it would be important to bring extra oil. If the Bridegroom is delayed, we might run out of oil. Therefore, we should bring extra. When the foolish virgins ask for their oil, the wise virgins again exercise their wisdom. “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you.”[3] They are not being rude, mean, or withholding. They are exercising wisdom. If there is only so much additional oil, and the Bridegroom is near but still delayed, we could all run out of oil. Therefore, we need the extra oil for ourselves.

The thought, and action, of bringing additional oil is not what saves the wise virgins. The Word of the Bridegroom saves them. The extra oil is only a consequence, a working out of that promise. Thus, the wisdom of the virgins originates in the Word of the Bridegroom that then transforms their minds such that their actions would prove the truth of that Word.

What then of you? What consequence does this parable have for you? In one sense, it is a call to wisdom. All ten virgins are Christians in the earthly sense. They are all members of the Church on earth. They are all probably baptized. Yet some are called foolish and some wise. All have received the same promise of Christ: He is returning to gather His people into the eternal wedding feast. Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church is His bride. These virgins stand, somewhat mysteriously, as both the attendants to the Bride and the Bride herself, since the Church, the Bride, is the saints God gathered to hear His Word and receive His sacraments.

The foolish believe that since they have received Baptism, since they have been present when the Word of God was read aloud, they are then entitled to receive a seat at the banquet hall. Nothing more is required. They have despised wisdom and instruction.

A name recorded on the membership list of a congregation is not a “get out of hell free” card; nor are a clerical collar, vestments, a position on a church board, or a family name on the founding documents. Holy Baptism is not a “get out of hell free” card. Holy Baptism bestows the very faith which also receives this most holy sacrament. It is a beautiful gift of God, a true miracle every time it occurs. Yet wisdom is required even of the Baptized. “Those who believe and are Baptized shall be saved. Those who do not believe shall be condemned.”[4]

The faith given in Holy Baptism must be nurtured and fed by the Word of God. This Word must be received throughout the life of the Christian, not just heard. When it is received, it will enter the heart of the Christian and transform his mind. It will renew his soul such that he desires to act in accord with the Word of God. His actions will then prove the truth and beauty of the death of Jesus, which has saved the Christian from his sins and bought him a seat at the eternal wedding feast.

This transformation involves wisdom. Wisdom requires effort. God clearly states, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”[5] God does not state when it is appropriate for a child to have her first cell phone. God does not state whether children should ever have a cell phone. The wise Christian must put in the effort to receive God’s Word, let it transform her mind, and then draw the appropriate consequences therefrom. The Bridegroom did not tell the virgins how long to wait. He did not tell them how long oil lasts in a lamp. He told them He was coming. Wisdom said they should bring some extra oil.

Another consequence of this parable for you is to console your heart. All ten virgins fell asleep. All ten lamps went out. Why do the virgins have lamps in the first place? They are waiting at night. There are no streetlamps. It is dark. It is so dark, should the Bridegroom arrive, He would not see their faces. If He does not see their faces, He cannot know who they are and will not bring them into the wedding hall.

And yet all ten virgins become drowsy, fall asleep, and let their lights go out. Clearly, all ten virgins fall into sin. All Christians sin. All Christians sin daily and much. Your lamp goes out every time you sin. Temptation besets all Christians and when you give in to those temptations, you are ignoring the Light of Christ, that which God Himself has placed within you. You are turning your back on your Redeemer, choosing that which is easy and provides immediate pleasure. But the pleasure of sin is fleeting. It causes you pain in the long run. Sin leads to more sin. More sin leads to greater sin and soon, you are not even able to kindle the small light of a lamp anymore.

 Consolation comes first from the idea that there is no temptation, no sin, that you experience that is not common to man. You are not the first man to cheat on his wife. You are not the first woman to reject the authority of your husband. You are not the first child to talk back to your parents or outright disobey them. This consolation only goes so far. It provides you with comradery, but it does not remove the sin plaguing your soul.

This comes when the coming of the Bridegroom is proclaimed. The virgins are forewarned of His imminent arrival. The cry goes out, “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!”[6] The virgins are roused from their sleep in time to light their lamps. The Bridegroom could have arrived in silence. He could have snuck past the sleeping virgins and left all ten in the outer darkness. He did not. This cry is the proclamation of God’s Word. It is the public reading of God’s Word in the services of the Church. It is contained in the printing dies which have made the bible available to you in every imaginable medium. The cry is sounded by those sent by the Bridegroom to raise awareness.

Me, speaking to you right now, is the cry heard in the middle of the night. Jesus Christ has promised to return, and He has promised to return at a time unknown by man. He will return suddenly but not without warning. You are hearing the warning right now. Such a warning is not strictly to inform you of danger, but to call you to vigilance. The Word you have heard proclaimed, the promise of the return of the Savior in judgement is true. The Body and Blood of Christ, given and shed for your forgiveness is a sign of His coming. The very clouds of the sky are a sign of His coming for He will return on a cloud, just as He ascended into heaven.

This is a cry of consolation because our Lord does not want you to be unawares. It is the opportunity to repent. It is the opportunity to light your lamp that the Lord of all will see your face as He enters the wedding hall. This is a cry of consolation because Jesus Christ loves His Church such that He would never sneak past her while she sleeps. He would never leave her in the outer darkness. It is only the foolish, those who refuse to receive the Word of God who will be left in the darkness.

Thus, the cry is the absolution of your sins, for having fallen asleep at the watch. It is the absolution for having put your word above His. It is also the call to wisdom. The call to take the Word which has been given to you and let it transform your mind. As your mind is transformed, then take the Word of God and put it into your members, that you would not be caught unawares, or worse, running around town looking for oil when the Bridegroom returns.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Proverbs 1:7.

[2] Romans 12:2.

[3] St. Matthew 25:9.

[4] St. Mark 16:16.

[5] Proverbs 22:6.

[6] St. Matthew 25:6.

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity – July 24, 2022

Psalm 28; Exodus 20:1-17; Romans 6:1-11

St. Matthew 5:17-26

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

Do not think that Christ came to destroy the Law. He came to fulfill it. Truly, I say to you, until Christ returns, not one tiny facet shall pass away from the Law. Until that time, whoever breaks even the least aspect of the Law shall be guilty of the whole Law. It is therefore necessary that your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees for you to attain salvation.[1]

No matter who you are or what you have done; no matter how much money you’ve given to international missions or how many orphans you’ve fed; your moral purity and perfection cannot exceed the Scribes and Pharisees. Your right conduct cannot attain heaven. No amount of training in ethics or morality can keep the Law, let alone fulfill it.

Thanks be to God that this is the purpose of the Incarnation. Christ became man to fulfill the Law because you sinners can’t do it. Before your day of birth, even from your conception, you and all the earth stand condemned and lost. Not only are you turned away from God, but you constantly deny Him.[2]

Jesus took on your flesh and bore your sins upon His perfect shoulders to fulfill the Law. He who knew no sin became sin on your behalf.[3] He perfectly obeyed the law, every jot and tittle, yet submitted Himself to the death of the worst sinner. By this, your sins are forgiven. The Law is fulfilled in His sacrifice because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.[4] His death for your life. This is the fulfilling of the Law.

And yet there is a time between the fulfilling of the Law and the passing away of the heavens and the earth. At the Incarnation, Christ did not come to judge the earth, but to fulfill the Law. There will come a time when Christ will return in judgment. In those days, the heavens and the earth will pass away. So too will the need for the Law to reveal our sin. Our baptisms will be made whole on that day because with the heaven and earth, the sinful nature which still clings to us will be finally destroyed.

But until then, we must do battle against this sinful nature. You who have been washed in the Blood of Jesus at your baptism, must fight against the urges of the sinful man within you. This is the teaching of Christ our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount. He speaks not of moral perfection. That is the teaching of the Pharisees. When He calls you to a righteousness greater than the morally pure Pharisees, He is calling you to His own righteousness. He is calling you to the righteousness found in no other name under heaven.

This righteousness of Christ is yours in the waters of Holy Baptism. Because it is yours, it also necessarily affects you. You cannot wash your hands and claim there is no difference afterward. Something has changed. In this case, you have become the dwelling of the Holy Ghost. You are now a holy one of God, a saint, a true child of your Heavenly Father. Christ dwells in you and you are a new creation.

What does this mean when it comes to temptation? The Pharisees would say that it means you must outwardly obey the Law. “Thou shalt not kill” means you shall not take the life of another person. The Pharisees teach in the line of Cain.

Christ, however, teaches in the line of Abel. “Thou shalt not kill” means you “should fear and love God that [you] may not hurt nor harm [your] neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.”[5] Even if you hate your brother in your heart, you’ve already killed him. When Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by God, the Lord came to Him and said, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”[6]

Cain had already killed Abel in his heart, but the Lord is calling him to repent. This sin, if left unchecked, will boil up from Cain’s heart into his hands. If it gets that far, Satan is waiting to receive Cain into the fire of hell.

So it is with you. Are you angry with your brother, wife, mother, or neighbor? If so, you’ve killed him in your heart. Satan is sitting at your door, ready to welcome you into the fires of hell. Do not give him the advantage. Quench the fire of sin in your heart by being reconciled to your brother, wife, mother, or neighbor. Repent of your sin before God and your neighbor so that Satan would not have another companion in his torment. This is what Christ is calling you to do.

What does it mean to be reconciled? It means to repent of your sins to your neighbor. It means to restore something that you have broken. If you have hurt or harmed your neighbor in his body, reconciliation might look like not only repenting but mowing his lawn until his ankle is healed. Maybe it looks like picking up the medical bill or paying to have his fender fixed.

Reconciliation does not mean pretending that nothing has happened. If your sister has something against you, repent and offer to help. If she refuses your apology or refuses to accept your help, there is nothing you can do. You are not bound by another’s actions. You are bound by your own. A bridge cannot be built from one shore. Christ is teaching you today concerning your own sins and how to be reconciled when you are legitimately the one at fault.[7] No one is above these sins against our neighbor. Take time to examine your conscience and see where you have broken even the least of these commands. I’m certain you will find something because the Law will always accuse your conscience, even as it instructs you how to love and trust in God and keep His commands.

Jesus has died in your place to fulfill the Law. He is calling us this day not to fulfill the Law ourselves; nor even to ‘do our part after He’s done His part.’ He is calling us to believe what He has done for us and to show forth the fruits of salvation so that we do not join Cain, Saul, Ahab, Judas, and Simon in eternity.

Give thanks to God! Your baptism revives your soul and makes you whole. So use it well, because you are a new creation in Christ! Live out your vocation in faith, being reconciled to those around you. Then shall come the day when Christ will place the glorious robe of righteousness, which you have possessed since the day of your baptism, upon your shoulders forever.[8]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This paragraph is a summary of St. Matthew 5:17-20.

[2] The preceding two sentences are a summary of stanza 2 of All Christians Who Have Been Baptized, by Paul Gerhardt, as found in Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), hymn 596.

[3] 2 Corinthians 5:21.

[4] Hebrews 9:22.

[5] Small Catechism, 5^th Commandment.

[6] Genesis 4:6-7.

[7] For instruction on reconciliation when you have been sinned against, see St. Matthew 6:8-15; 18:15-20.

[8] All Christians Who Have Been Baptized, stanzas 5-6.

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.

---

[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.

---

[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).