The Ascension of our Lord

 The Ascension of our Lord – May 29, 2025

Psalm 47; 2 Kings 2:5-15; Acts 1:1-11

St. Luke 24:44-53

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

The Ascension of our Lord is one of the chief feasts of the Christian Church and ought to be considered as standing right beside Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. Every time we confess the Apostles and Nicene creeds; we confess that Christ ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. It is the capstone of Christ’s activities for your salvation. Tonight, we seek to answer two questions regarding Christ’s ascension: 1) to where did He ascend; and 2) why did He ascend.

The Ascension of Christ took place in an actual upward motion, a gradual rising up of Christ, until a cloud received Him and He passed from human sight.[1] We can’t say much about His motions after being received into the cloud because Scripture doesn’t reveal any details on this point. As for where Christ ascended, we can give two answers. The first answer is to the paradise of the redeemed, that place where those who are His dwell with Him forever. St. Paul speaks of this place in Philippians 1 when he says, I have a “desire to depart and be with Christ.”[2] Christ also speaks of this place when He tells the thief on the cross, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”[3] This is the place we usually call “heaven,” though it is also called the “intermediate state” since it is somewhat temporary, being replaced by the new heavens and the new earth in the Resurrection on the Last Day.[4]

Of all that could be said about this intermediate state, the part that overlaps with the Ascension is that Christ dwells with those in glory as both God and Man. He ascends to the Father in His flesh and so dwells with His beloved in that same flesh. He still bears the marks in His hands, feet, and side as a testament to the saints in glory that their victory over sin has been won in His risen flesh. His flesh in glory is also a promise of the resurrection in that those who are His will follow in His train. “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”[5]

The second answer to the question of where Christ is going is the right hand of the Father, but this is not so much a place as it is an office. Christ “ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.”[6] “The right hand of the Majesty on High”[7] is that office of Christ as Lord and Messiah over all creation. In a sense, Christ’s ascension is His coronation into the full use of His authority over all heaven and earth as both God and Man. Christ is King. He is the ruling Monarch of the universe, seated on His throne of power, as He reigns over all. On Pentecost, St. Peter preaches from Psalm 110, “the Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool,” applying these words not to David but Christ, saying “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” [8]

This leads us directly into our second question for this evening, why did Christ ascend? In the first place, it was to assume His seat on the throne of God’s power at the right hand of the Father, that is, to assume His office as King of the heavens and earth.

In the second place, it was to transition from His local presence to His illocal presence. That is, He is no longer in one place at a time such that we can draw a line around His body, but is present in all places. If Christ had not ascended to the Father, even if He was present in all places at all times, which is His divine right, our human minds would find it incomprehensible. Imagine, for a moment, that Christ was still present, in His local body, sitting in every pew. There would still be space in between each of these bodies and would lead our minds to wonder, ‘Is Christ in those spaces, too?’ Or our imaginations would run wild, beginning to think that there were multiple Christs, some better than others. And when we recede into our own minds, because we could see Christ standing next to us, we would begin to wonder if He could really know our hearts and minds, if He really understood the depth of sin hiding in my heart or the pain and sorrow I feel deep in my soul.

By removing His local presence, Christ is, in fact, demonstrating His glorious final words of promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”[9] As He becomes hidden to our eyes of flesh, He becomes abundantly clear to our eyes of faith.

He is especially present for us sacramentally in His Word and Sacraments. The flesh of Christ cannot be separated from His Word and the Word cannot be separated from His flesh. He is the Word that was in the beginning, was with God, and is God.[10] So, too, are His Body and Blood given from this altar and the altars of every faithful congregation throughout the world. We needn’t be deceived by our eyes because His Body is not visibly present in other places. We can firmly believe His Words because He has said, “This is My Body,” and where His Word is, there is His flesh.

In the third place, Christ told His disciples that He would go before them to prepare a place for them in the house of His Father.[11] This promise is fulfilled in the Ascension. Christ ascends to the Father in His flesh, meaning that a man sits on the right hand of the Father. He ascended in His flesh to make way for the flesh of all His beloved in the heavenly mansions of His Father. His flesh paved the way for your flesh to dwell eternally with Him. Through His ascension, He is elevating the flesh of man.

Finally, Christ ascends to the Father to prepare His Church for His return. Now ‘return’ is not the most accurate way to describe what Christ will do on the Last Day because it implies that He has been absent throughout the time between the Ascension and the Last Day. A better word is His ‘revealing’ or ‘revelation’ on the Last Day. I hope by now you understand that Christ is not absent after His ascension, rather His mode of presence has simply changed. And He has promised to reveal Himself on the Last Day just as He was removed from the sight of the disciples at the ascension. He ascended into a cloud and will reveal Himself descending on a cloud. By ascending in this manner, He has given the world the very sign by which we will know His return. He will not be born again, lowly and in a cattle stall, but will descend on a cloud to the sound of heavenly trumpets. All eyes (those of flesh and those of faith) will see Him descend and every knee will bow before the King of all Creation.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Acts 1:9.

[2] Philippians 1:23.

[3] St. Luke 23:43.

[4] Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1.

[5] 1 John 3:3.

[6] Ephesians 4:10.

[7] Hebrews 1:3.

[8] Acts 2:34-36; Psalm 110:1.

[9] St. Matthew 28:20.

[10] St. John 1:1.

[11] St. John 14:2-3.

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity – October 6, 2024

Psalm 78; Genesis 28:10-17; Ephesians 4:22-24

St. Matthew 9:1-8

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

The friends of the paralytic are rightly concerned about him. They do not take him to see a physician nor to the Pharisees. It is possible that they’ve already tried these other remedies. Scripture is silent as to whether this is their first course of action or a last-ditch effort on behalf of a sick friend.

Our Lord’s response would suggest they have brought their friend to see Jesus as soon as they heard He was near. He is impressed by their faith. These men heard the Messiah had come back to Capernaum and they knew just what their friend needed.

Remember, this is said to be Jesus’ own city, that is, Capernaum, the city He adopted as a base of operations in His adult life. We can infer that this paralytic and those who brought him were known to Jesus and that they knew Jesus prior to the beginning of His miracles in Cana. These are the good ol’ boys from down the street. They didn’t grow up with Jesus, but they did know Him as an adult.

 Notice their behavior when they bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Our text does not record any speech on their behalf. Even the parallel accounts, each giving a few different details, do not give words to the friends. They just lay the paralyzed man before Jesus.

From this, we learn how to pray for our friends, our brothers, and our sisters. Seeing the paralyzed man, Jesus does not ask the diagnosis. He does not ask the opinion of the doctors or how it happened. The friends are not eager to share the details of how this man fell from the roof while patching it or stumbled down a small cliff while carousing. Jesus does not probe for more information regarding the difference between a spinal injury or a neurological disease. The men lay their friend before Jesus, trusting that the Son of Man would heal him in body and soul.

It is this faith that moves Jesus to forgive the man his sins. The paralytic may very well have been disappointed. “My friends went to all this work and there is nothing to show for it. They even impressed this Jesus fella and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”

Or not. Perhaps the paralytic is included in the ones who had faith. Perhaps he is one of the “they” whose faith impressed Jesus. In this case, he is content to have his sins forgiven. There is a very real chance that this man’s conscience is in fact more bothered by his sins than by his sickness. He is content not because it made feeling return to his legs but because he trusts that whatever Jesus was going to do, it was the right thing for him. Faith is trust without verification.

Jesus came into this situation to forgive the paralytic, in effect, telling him that forgiveness is the greater portion and the paralysis is a cross he must bear in this world. This is the purpose behind our Lord’s statement, “Be of good cheer; take heart; be courageous!” He is saying, depart in the forgiveness of sins to bear the cross of your paralysis for you will be greatly rewarded in the life to come.”

This is the response that is most common to our prayers for healing. Rarely are we given relief from the physical ailment. But we are told to receive the peace that is beyond all understanding. This peace is not just regarding our conscience. This Peace, Christ Himself, does provide relief to our flesh. It is beyond our comprehension how this Peace settles our body and soul, but we have the promise that it does. So, pray for healing. Pray for the healing of your neighbor and know that your faith has healed you.

To pray for someone, especially as we do in the Divine Service, it is enough to lay them before Jesus. God knows what he needs. I don’t need to tell God. If it is good enough for God for the person to be laid before Him, then it is also good enough for me.

Why then, might your pastor ask for more information about someone you’ve asked to be put on the prayer list? It is to help him diagnose the state of your soul. He wants to know what kind of care you might require. As for your paralytic friend, it is enough to lay him before Jesus. It is enough to place his name among the sick and the sorrowing, those who mourn and the lonely, those in need and distress, the homebound and the infirm.

It is enough in your prayers to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ. It is enough to lay them before Jesus for He knows what they need. Demanding more information does nothing but satisfy your curiosity. If the desire for more information is for the sake of helping, that is, actually attending to their needs, then it is best to obtain that information directly from the one in need. Details are a matter of care, not a matter of knowledge.

On the one hand, Jesus already knows the cause of this man’s paralysis. We even see Him peer into the hearts of the scribes, knowing the evil that is going on behind their closed lips. But it is also instructive to us that He does not ask for the details of the sickness. The most important thing to know about paralysis, or any affliction, is that it is caused by sin. The sinful state of man is the root cause of all sickness, distress, and death. Therefore, the treatment most necessary is the forgiveness of sins. That is what matters more than remedies, medications, and surgeries.

Which brings us to a detail of today’s account that is easily overlooked. These men brought to Jesus a paralytic lying on a bed. They did not sit at home and wait for Jesus to drop by. They did not expect Jesus to hear from Sue, who heard from Louise, who heard from Jim that someone had palsy. A man was paralyzed and they took him to Jesus.

What does this mean for you? If you are sick, if you are injured, if you are grieving, if you are sorrowful, pray to Jesus and call your pastor. Do not expect others to communicate on your behalf. Every child knows the dangers of communicating important information via a game of telephone. Do not wait for the pastor to hear through the grapevine what you need. It doesn’t work. If you were experiencing a heart attack, you wouldn’t lay on the floor and hope the ambulance driver comes by soon, and then blame the ambulance for not arriving soon enough. You would call the ambulance immediately. You wouldn’t call your sister and ask her to tell her friend to get the ER prepped. You would call 911. Why expect the Church to operate any differently?

Jesus is God. He knows all things. For a time, He set aside the use of His divine attributes and yet, in our text, He makes a momentary use of them to know the thoughts of the scribes. Yet even with the all-knowing Son of Man, these men bring the paralytic to Him.

It is true that these men are helping their paralytic friend. They are interceding for him. But what they aren’t doing is seeing a friend in need, then sending a messenger boy to tell someone close to Jesus what is going on. Nor are they standing next to the paralytic and yelling into space what their friend wants. They pick him up and take him to Jesus. They do the thing he is incapable of doing. He can’t move so they move him. They fill his lack, nothing more and nothing less.

After Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic, He commanded Him to get up, gather his bedding, and go home. The paralytic, immediately healed, obeys Jesus’ commands. He does not groan over needing to carry his ragged bed mat. He does not sigh with being told to get back to daily chores. This healing miracle probably meant more hardship for the paralytic. Now he has to work. Now he has to engage with other people. Now he has to feed himself.

Yet the paralytic doesn’t complain. He doesn’t talk back to Jesus. You might be thinking, “Of course, he’s just happy not to be paralyzed anymore.” I’m sure that’s true. But the concise language suggests that this man arose and set about his new life as one charged by Christ, as a new man, as a new creation of Christ. He does not need years of therapy to overcome the mental anguish of having been paralyzed. He will need to adjust to his new life. He will need to be taught or at least relearn how to do the physical labor that will be required of him. He will be reintroduced to pain in the lower back, something he couldn’t feel when paralyzed.

But the text doesn’t give a single word to these struggles. It is enough for the man that his sins are forgiven. It is enough to obey the words of Christ. It is enough for him to go about his new life in Christ with the knowledge that He is forgiven. It is enough for him to set about his vocation knowing that his identity is found in the God who created, forgave, and recreated him.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity – September 22, 2024

Psalm 119; Proverbs 25:6-14; Ephesians 4:1-6

St. 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.

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[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.

The Second Last Sunday in the Church Year

The Second Last Sunday in the Church Year – November 13, 2022

Psalm 54; Daniel 7:9-14; 2 Peter 3:3-14

St. Matthew 25:31-46

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

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”[1] Faith is born in you, is created in you, by the hearing of the Word of God. This is not your own doing; it is the work and the will of the Holy Spirit. The act of hearing itself is not your work. Hearing is a passive, or receptive, activity. You hear when someone else speaks. You receive their words into your ears.

The reception of faith is then always connected with another person. We might call this the incarnational aspect of faith. Faith comes by hearing when the Word of God issues forth from the mouth of another human being. In this way, the Word of God becomes wrapped in flesh. Whether it is your mother singing to you in your nursery, your father reading the Scriptures to the family at night, or the public reading of the Holy Gospel by the ministers of God in the Divine Service, your faith was brought to you in the Word of God wrapped in the lips of another person.

The Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error. Yet in writing the Word of God, in its transmission, God saw fit to inspire holy men. God works through means. There is not an “Epistle of the Holy Spirit to the Church in Missouri.” Words did not miraculously appear on pages. The Son of God took on flesh, became incarnate, that He would physically die the death you deserve. After His physical resurrection but before His physical ascent into heaven, our Lord, Jesus Christ, breathed on His apostles.[2] He breathed the Holy Spirit upon them so that whoever hears them would hear Christ.[3] This is the Apostolic Doctrine once delivered to the saints.[4] This is the one faith into which we are all baptized.[5] It is the Word of God, and it is the Word of God delivered by means of fleshly mouths.

The propagation of the faith by the mouth of Christians to the ears of new Christians is how the Sheep are created. The Sheep are those who have received the Word of God in faith. Yet receiving the Word of God is not quite enough. The Word must take root. The Word must change the stony heart of the Goat into a fleshly heart of a Sheep. In fact, the Goats are surprised to be called such. They are surprised because they thought themselves to be Sheep. They thought their actions had proven the wool of their Sheep coats.

The difference between these two animals in the parable is the presence of faith. The Sheep and the Goats are separated based on what they are. One is a new creation, having received the Word of God in faith and growing into that Word accordingly. The other is the Old Creation. The Goats may have heard the Word of God, but it took no root in their hearts. The Goats may outwardly appear to be sheep but are little more than Goats in wool coats.

What does it mean, then, that faith take root in your heart? In this parable, it is presented as the works born of faith. The blossoming of faith is described as feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, housing the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned. Associating the hungry, thirsty, stranger, etc., with Christ, Himself, tells us that the object of these good deeds is those who have brought the faith to you. It is the way in which the Sheep have treated their brothers and sisters in Christ. In a general sense, we can say the division of the Sheep and the Goats is based on the reaction each has shown to the hearing of the Word of God.

However, the Scriptures get more specific in this parable. Christ says, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”[6] When our Lord speaks of “His brethren,” it is a reference to the Apostles. More specifically, it is a reference to the Apostles when they are acting in the stead of Christ. So, while it is true that the division of the Sheep and the Goats speaks to your reaction to and treatment of the Church, this parable speaks specifically of your reaction to and treatment of the ministers of the Church.

Some of the actions listed are necessities. It is necessary that the ministers of the Church have food, drink, and clothing. It is not necessary for this life, that he be taken in when he is a stranger. It is not necessary that he be visited when he is sick. What this tells us is that Christ is speaking of more than meeting the basic needs of His ministers. He is speaking also of hospitality shown toward them.

In this light, we can see that the Sheep recognize the Office of the Holy Ministry to be the vocation of highest honor on this side of glory. They recognize the difficulties of the Office and that a man of flesh and blood must fill this Office. The Sheep also recognize that it is the ministers of Christ who bring to them the one thing needful – Jesus. The Office is honorable, difficult, to be respected, and mentioned in this parable not because of the men who fill it. The Office is honorable, difficult, and respectable because of who instituted this Office – Jesus.

On this side of glory, men are placed into the Office of Christ so that His Word would continue to work faith in the hearts of man. Men are placed into the Office of Christ so that His Body and Blood would continue to feed and sustain His church. Men are placed into the Office of Christ so that your sins would be forgiven through the Words of a human mouth—a human mouth in poor imitation of the lips of the One who died for your forgiveness.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Romans 10:17.

[2] St. John 20:21-23.

[3] St. Luke 10:16.

[4] Jude 1:3.

[5] Ephesians 4:4-6.

[6] St. Matthew 25:40. Emphasis added.

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity – October 9, 2022

Psalm 119; Proverbs 25:6-14; Ephesians 4:1-6

St. Luke 14:1-11

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

Sometime before being invited to dine at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, Christ was confronted by another Pharisee.[1] At that time, He was about to heal a woman who was bent in half by a spirit of infirmity in her bones for over eighteen years. It was again a Sabbath and this Pharisee tried to stop Jesus because of the Sabbath laws. Jesus called him a hypocrite and asked if he would not loose an ox or donkey on the Sabbath to drink water. If an animal should be loosed to drink water on the Sabbath, should not a true daughter of Abraham be loosed from her bonds on the Sabbath also?

Continuing His journey toward Jerusalem, our Lord came to be invited into the home of yet another Pharisee, this time a leader of the sect. It also seems that all the Sabbath dinner guests were carefully observing Jesus, scrutinizing His words and actions for flaws of which they could accuse Him. Seeing a man with dropsy, likely a temptation planted by the host of the dinner, our Lord did not wait to be admonished by the observant Pharisees. Instead, He opens the dialogue by asking if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath.

Our Lord’s question is not asking for information, nor testing the knowledge of the Pharisees. It is mocking their pride. These experts in the law know that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Everyone recognizes that it is lawful to heal, bless, cure, and save on the Sabbath. The questions of our Lord on this occasion leave the Pharisees caught in their own trap. If they say yes, it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath, then they are admitting the fault in their sinful attempts against Jesus. If they say no, they are denying the mercy and love of God, something that, despite their actions, they claim to uphold.

After the miracle, the Pharisees are rendered incapable of responding to Jesus. They have no words to say. Anything they might say will only further accuse them. They are silent in their shame. They are like a child who stands accused of breaking the window, trying to hide the baseball bat behind his back and afraid to speak. To speak would be to admit their sin. To remain silent is to deny the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God.

In this context, our Lord delivers a teaching on humility. He is not strictly giving the Pharisees a lesson in etiquette. It is true that according to human groups, you will gain more prestige by sitting in the lowest place and waiting to be invited to a higher seat. However, having such knowledge and using it to your advantage is not humility. It is pride masquerading as humility. Choosing the lower place to manipulate your host into inviting you higher is the same as manipulating your host into stroking your pride.

Pride is the love of your own excellence.[2] “Humility is the virtue by which a man recognizes his own unworthiness because he really knows himself.”[3] 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. As a Christian, you are called to be the best grandmother you can be. You are even called to strive to be a better salesman, machine operator, or writer than you currently are. You are called to strive to be better so that you can better serve your neighbor. As a better grandmother, you can help guide your grandchildren into virtuous lives. As a better salesman, you can better provide for your family and help connect your customers to the products they need, not just the products that will earn you a higher commission.

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. This is, in fact, the basis of sin.

Eve was drawn to eat the forbidden fruit by curiosity. She desired to taste, to know, that which had not been given to her to taste or know. This curiosity was an expression of pride. She believed the lie of Satan that God was holding something back from her and she believed that she was deserving of everything. She believed the knowledge of good and evil was the just reward for her excellence.

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.[4] 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. 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.

You recognize your unworthiness, and you know what to do about it. You come to God in prayer and beg for forgiveness, knowing that because of the blood of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. You can repent without fear because you know that Christ has died for you.

You are a saint. This is nothing to be ashamed of nor something about which to become prideful. You are a saint because you have been made a saint, a holy one. You are a saint of God who is worthy of eternal salvation. You are worthy of eternal bliss because you wear the robe of Christ’s righteousness. You have been called out of the darkness of your pride and into the marvelous light of Christ’s humility.[7]

You are a pilgrim, journeying with Christ through this side of glory until you are called home. You have been called to humility because you have been called to imitate Christ. You fulfill this call to humility by recognizing who and what you are in the sight of God. You are unworthy of His love, yet He loves you. You are unworthy of His mercy, yet He has had mercy on you. You are unworthy of His forgiveness, yet He forgives you. You are unworthy and yet in Christ, you are worthy of the glory of heaven.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Luke 13:10-17.

[2] 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].

[3] Bernard of Clairvaux, “On Humility and Pride,” I.2 [103].

[4] 2 Corinthians 5:21.

[5] Genesis 4:7.

[6] Romans 8:26-27.

[7] 1 Peter 2:9-10.