The Sixth Sunday after Trinity

 The Sixth Sunday after Trinity – July 27, 2023

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.

There are truly, only two religions in the world: a religion of the Law and a religion of the Gospel. Both are concerned with the righteousness of men. God has worked into men a sense of natural law, that is, a conscience, which understands there is such thing as right and wrong, good and evil in this world. Among those who still acknowledge a “higher power,” it is still acknowledged that some type of righteousness is required to enter heaven or whatever other afterlife they can imagine. Even those who claim to be atheists, recognizing neither a “higher power” nor eternal consequences for our earthly life, there is a sense that some actions are evil, deserving punishment, while others are good, deserving reward.

The religion of the Law demands that a man make or prove himself righteous to attain heaven. “One might suppose he can enter heaven if he lives a moral life or leads a generally useful life. Another supposes he can do so if he is religious, that is, if he prays diligently, goes to church, and remains with Christians. A third supposes he can enter heaven if he guards himself as much as possible from gross sins and vices. A fourth, who is one of the wicked, supposes he can earn eternal life if, despite all his transgressions and evil life, he can point to some good.”[1]

In short, the religion of the Law sets forth certain standards by which a man may save himself. Those standards might be revealed by a deity or a prophet. They might be created within a man himself. They may be strict or lenient. These standards may even be expressed with great sympathy: “So long as you tried,” “once you’ve done everything within you,” “insofar as you are able,” “with all your heart.” The bottom line is that the religion of the Law demands something of you, which if satisfied, will be rewarded with heaven.

Now what does Christ say? He says, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”[2] With these 21 words, Christ destroys any thought that man can achieve heaven by his own means or even by his own means when helped by God. So far as it was within them, the scribes and the Pharisees strictly kept the commands of God as it was read. Their lives were dedicated to fulfilling the letter of the Law. If the righteousness required to enter heaven is greater than this, then it is truly something greater than man is capable of.

The Law of God is good and wise. It is His eternal, immutable will. The Law does not change because God does not change. The Ten Commandments are the distillation, the summary of God’s Holy Law and all men, by virtue of being a creation of God, are held accountable to this Law.

As Christ teaches on the Fifth Commandment, He shows that on outward keeping of this commandment does not itself keep the Law. The Law demands to be kept both outwardly and inwardly; in the hands and in the heart. The righteousness of the Law is a matter of the soul which is then manifested in the work of the hands, and this righteousness demands perfection.

Just for a moment, let us consider a distinction between the Law of God and His commands. A command is an expression of God’s Law, His eternal will. God has commanded, “Thou shalt not kill.” This is an expression of God’s will that life and our physical being are precious to Him such that we should not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body but help and support him in every physical need. Anger harms our own bodies, think rising blood pressure, and it threatens the physical wellbeing of our neighbor. At the same time, some are given the authority to take life, to kill. God has given the sword to the state to punish the wicked. Soldiers are given the authority to take life to preserve life.

The authority of the executioner and the soldier is not a violation of the Fifth Commandment because they do not violate God’s will, even if a strict adherence only to the letter of the Law would make it seem to conflict. This does not even represent a conflict within God’s will. The specific vocations appointed by God to take life are for the very purpose of protecting life, the keeping of the Law as expressed in the Fifth Commandment.

Yet even in these specific vocations, the question must be asked if the individual carrying out God’s will is doing so according to the letter and the spirit of the Law. And even if he is, what about the rest of the Law? “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”[3] “For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”[4] The Law forbids all sins. If a man is guilty of one sin—one tiny stumble, one idle word, one lustful thought—he is guilty of the entire Law and unable to enter the kingdom of heaven. The Law even accuses man of omitting something which he could have done. “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”[5]

This is a harsh reality. It is the truth that stands behind any religion of the Law. No matter what a person believes might be true, the truth of God’s Word is that the Law demands perfection. And God could not demand anything less. He cannot change or repeal His Law for it is His eternal, holy will. To change one iota, one dot of the Law would make God inconsistent and untrustworthy. “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”[6] His standards do not change.

Where then is hope? Who can hope to attain the kingdom of heaven? The standards are too lofty for man. Even being the best Christian you can be doesn’t meet the standards of the Law. Now, of course the answer is in Christ. The God-Man, He who is without sin, fulfilled the Law, fulfilled every jot and dot of the Law on your behalf. He who is Life, gave Himself into death on your behalf, shedding His blood where your blood was required. He rose triumphant from the grave to pave the way for humanity to walk through the gates of heaven. The Key of David simultaneously bound the ancient dragon and unlocked the gates of pearl.

And this reality of Christ’s victory over sin and fulfilling the Law is all well and good, but it does not benefit you if His righteousness does not come upon you. Something can be objectively true and good without you receiving the benefit. So the pressing question is not just where the hope of salvation comes from, but how you receive the righteousness required for entry into heaven.

The answer is revealed in our reading from St. Paul this morning. You do not obtain this righteousness. You do not grasp hold of it. You do not seek it out and find it among the treasures of this world. God brings it to you. God delivers it to you. God scoops you up and wraps you in His righteousness, and He does this through death.

“Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death.”[7] There is so much that happens in Holy Baptism and it begins with death. The waters of Holy Baptism begin with our death to sin, as we are drown and dragged to the depths of the sea. This is prefigured in the Flood of Noah. Every imagination of the hearts of man had become wicked in the Fall and the Lord decided within Himself to wash away this wickedness in a watery death. Your death in Holy Baptism is no less real than all those who perished in the Flood. From the moment of your birth in the flesh, the minutes of your life have begun to count down. Holy Baptism points forward to this temporal reality but fast-forwards that clock spiritually. You were drowned and died in the flood of Holy Baptism.

It is a shame that our culture has become so afraid of death that it is almost unheard of for friends and family to be present at the actual burial, pouring of dirt, over the casket of a dead loved one, much less to even witness the lowering of the casket into the grave. This is to our shame because Holy Scripture reveals this as the reality of our Baptism. Not only are we drowned in the waters but we are in fact buried in the earth. We are swallowed by the very ground on which we once walked.

Yet Baptism does not end in death, just as Christ’s sacrifice did not end in death. Having been drowned, having been buried in the depths of the earth, we rise from the font to a new life. Just as Christ is raised from the dead, so too we rise from the dead. And just like the death of Holy Baptism, this points forward to the temporal reality of our resurrection in the flesh. It immediately is the reality of our spiritual new birth. We rise from the waters of Holy Baptism a new creation, created for New Life, the temple of the Holy Spirit and a new-born son of God.

“If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”[8]

Yet again, this new life is not the end of Holy Baptism. Just as our first parents were not sent out of the Garden with the Word of God’s promised salvation alone but clothed in the skin of a lamb, so too the new man who rises from the waters of Holy Baptism is given the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This robe is entirely foreign to you. You did nothing to earn it and if fact, you do nothing to maintain it. It is given to you by Christ, Himself. He takes the very shirt off His back and places it on you. And this righteous garment bears the very righteousness of God. “Be holy as Your Heavenly Father is holy.” This is how you come to possess the very righteousness, the very holiness of God.

Along with this righteousness comes the very hope, the very faith by which you receive that cloak of righteousness. Having been made a dwelling of the Holy Spirit and clothed in Christ’s righteousness, your mind is renewed and you are made fit to receive these glorious blessings of God’s mercy. Again, even the objective truth and reality of the blessings of Holy Baptism are of no benefit if they are not received by faith, yet even this faith is not of your own doing, your own reason, works, or emotions. This faith is itself a working of God.

So how do you know that you have met the requirements of the Law in order to gain entrance into heaven? How do you know that you have the faith that receives the righteousness of Christ? It is quite simple. Ask yourself, ‘Am I baptized?’ ‘What has Christ said about Holy Baptism?’ Christ has said that in Holy Baptism, the very name of God—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—has been placed on you, marking you as one of His own. If you are His, then you have been made a dwelling of the Holy Spirit and the robe of Christ’s righteousness has been placed on you. And if this is the case, and if faith is itself a working of God, then those blessed words of Christ are all you need, “All who believe and are baptized will be saved.”[9]

Not only has the shed blood of Christ opened the way to salvation, but He has given you His own credentials for admission. He has tightly woven His own righteousness around you such that nothing more is required. Is it possible to wriggle out of His righteousness? Of course! It is quite easy to do. But it is unthinkable for the Christian who realizes just what Christ has done and continues to do for you. “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”[10]

Now may Christ the life of all the living and the death of death our foe, guard your hearts and minds in the true and living faith once delivered to you in the waters of Holy Baptism now and forever.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Walther, Gospel Sermons, 55.

[2] St. Matthew 5:20.

[3] James 2:10.

[4] St. Matthew 12:36.

[5] James 4:17.

[6] Galatians 3:10.

[7] Romans 6:3-4.

[8] Romans 6:5-6.

[9] Cf. St. Mark 16:16.

[10] Romans 6:1-2.

Lent Midweek 3

 Lent Midweek 3 – March 26, 2025

Psalm 19; Exodus 20:12-24a

St. Matthew 15:1-20

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

The text before us this evening presents one cohesive unit concerning what truly makes a man unclean – sin. This discourse comes in two parts: first, how the oral traditions of the elders compare with the commandments of God; and second, that sin proceeds from the heart.

We don’t know as much about the oral traditions of the elders as we would like. What we do know is that these traditions began to spring up during the time in between the testaments. We also know that the Pharisees often tried to take the Mosaic laws that applied to priests and apply them to all believers, turning specific laws into general ones. Some of these traditions took laws of Moses and amplified them. For instance, the law against work on the Sabbath was amplified to mean that you could not sit on chairs or stools on the Sabbath because you might slide one of the legs against the ground, creating a small furrow in the earth as though you were tilling the ground and that would be work.

We also know that not all of the oral traditions were the same in every place and at every time. So when these Pharisees asked Jesus about the transgression of His disciples, it could be that they were seeking to debate about conflicting traditions, wanting to prove why their tradition was better than His. But our Lord has no interest in allowing the Pharisees to set the terms of debate. In a turn that might surprise us, Christ answers their question with another question, and He phrases it in an offensive way. The Pharisees asked, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?” and Christ responds, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?”

It is very important to understand precisely what Christ is condemning in this passage. He does not condemn traditions. He does not even condemn oral traditions that are used within the Church. What He is condemning is the elevation of such traditions to the same status as the Word of God. He even provides an example that has nothing to do with washing hands so that the underlying principle might be understood.

The Pharisees had another oral tradition that a man could, maybe even should, give his wealth to the Temple to receive great blessing, even if that meant his parents spent their latter years in poverty. This created a loophole wherein a man would be exempt from caring for his aged mother and father, something directly commanded by God in the Fourth Commandment. The Pharisees had elevated this oral tradition to supersede the commandments of God, allowing a loophole by which a man needed tradition but not the Word of God.

This general principle is then to be applied to the tradition of handwashing, although this one is more subtle. It doesn’t seem that the Pharisees’ handwashing tradition created a loophole to get around the commandments of God. Washing one’s hands didn’t suddenly make unclean foods clean. What it did was bind the consciences of those who did not wash their hands according to this tradition. The Pharisees had laid another layer of sanctification on top of the dietary commandments of God and treated it as equal to that of God. To transgress the tradition was the same as to transgress God.

In so doing, the Pharisees have now set themselves up as the sole authority that determines what is sin and what isn’t. They have claimed the authority of Christ for themselves. ‘Do as we say, or else God will punish you.’ What’s worse, and will be discussed in a minute, is that the Pharisees have declared that one’s relationship with God, one’s salvation, is almost entirely (if not exclusively) bound up in the outward keeping of the oral tradition. Under threat of excommunication, man must keep the outward traditions of the Pharisees.

Our Lord harshly rebukes the Pharisees, applying the words of Isaiah to them, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of Men.”[1] The worship of the Pharisees is false because they worship God with their works, trust in their works, and obey traditions of men rather than the commandments of God. They claim to worship the true God with their lips but worship themselves by setting their own traditions above God’s Word.

Having rebuked the Pharisees, Jesus calls the multitude to Himself and continues His teaching, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Again, our Lord is not commenting on dietary laws. He is teaching concerning sin and its true origins, as He makes clear when speaking to Peter, “Our of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.”[2]

Sin is a matter of the heart long before it is an action in the hands. This is not to say that sin is simply the result of intention. One can have the best of intentions and still commit a sin. Rather, sin is the result of our sinful condition, of the sin that clings to our hearts and minds, not just our flesh. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.

A word that is very helpful in understanding this concept is “orientation.” To be oriented toward something is to be turned in its direction, even if it is not the sole focus of your attention. For example, I am currently oriented toward all of you, even if I am not looking directly at you, individually, in this moment. When considering sin, the hearts and minds of Christians are oriented toward the things of God. Yet the Christian still sins because of the sin which clings to his body. He is oriented toward God even if he fails to meet God’s standards in every way. The unbeliever is always oriented away from God even if he outwardly does something that conforms to God’s will.

In the case of the Pharisees, they have oriented themselves away from God and toward their oral tradition. Many of their traditions sought to outwardly uphold the Law of God but their hearts were turned away from Him. Thus they honor Him with their lips but their hearts are far away.

This is what it means when I say that God is more interested in the orientation of your heart than the nature of your sin. That doesn’t mean God doesn’t care what sins you commit. Quite the opposite! The sins you commit reflect the condition of your heart. But what is really important is how your heart is oriented. For the sinner whose heart is oriented toward God, sin is abhorrent. It is unclean. It is a thing to be despised. And when one whose heart is oriented toward God finds sin within himself, he desires to be relieved of that sin. He wants to flee to the One who can remove that sin. He wants to hear the words, “In the stead and by the command of My Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

And such a one as this, because his heart has been made anew and turned toward God by the action of the Holy Spirit, knows and believes this forgiveness to be true. He is confident that whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven.[3] Such a one finds delight in the Law of the Lord because it is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.[4]

Thus it is not keeping the tradition of the elders that makes one clean. Nor does breaking the tradition of the elders make one unclean. That which proceeds from a sinful heart dirties the man and the Word of God alone makes him pure.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Isaiah 29:13; St. Matthew 15:8-9.

[2] St. Matthew 15:19.

[3] St. Matthew 16:19.

[4] Psalm 19:8-9.

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 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.

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[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).

The Feast of Pentecost (Whitsunday)

5 June, A+D 2022

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

Pentecost is the zenith of the Easter season. It is the day on which the Church is born, and the Gospel is sent out into all the world. “Pentecost” literally means “fiftieth day,” as it is the fiftieth day since the Resurrection of our Lord. In the English language, it is also called “Whitsunday.” This strange name comes from simply smushing the words “white” and “Sunday” together. This “white-Sunday” comes from the garments worn by the baptismal candidates who were baptized on this day.

In northern Europe, the home of the English language, it would be too cold to observe the custom of baptizing converts at the Easter Vigil. These baptisms were delayed until the warmer spring months, fifty days after the Resurrection. What a beautiful way to commemorate the birth of the Church than to observe the new birth of Christians into the Body of Christ!

The Feast of Pentecost existed before the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. It celebrated two things. First, Pentecost was a harvest festival. The faithful of Israel would bring grain offerings to the Temple in thanksgiving for the harvest with which God had blessed them. Pentecost was at the beginning of their harvest and the faithful would bring the first fruits of their harvest to God.

We have much to learn from our forefathers. They did not wait to ensure the harvest was complete before returning thanks to God. They did not wait to ensure they saw 80% or 90% of what was planted grow to maturity. That which they harvested first was given back to God in thanksgiving, showing they trusted their heavenly Father to provide the rest.

In this way, we see a model for our giving to the church. We are free in the Gospel, no longer commanded by God to give 10%, a tithe, of our income to support the Temple. Rather, we are free to give more. We are free to give more because we are no longer under the Law but have been made free children of the Father.

The blessings of God in the Old Testament were shadows of the blessings in the New. So too were the offerings of the faithful in the Old Testament shadows of the New. Neither diminishes after the Resurrection of Christ. They are magnified. Circumcision was a sign in the flesh of men that they were part of God’s covenant. In the New Testament, Holy Baptism fulfills this sign in the flesh by being offered to men and women, and rather than a removal of our flesh, it places the robe of Christ’s righteousness upon us. God’s blessing is magnified, not diminished.

Our financial support of God’s church looks to the Old Testament to find a place to begin. The first fruits of the harvest were offered to God, 10% was required of all the faithful, each year. In the New Testament, in the age of the Church following the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord, 10% is a great place to begin returning thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon you. Remember, everything you have, like the grain harvest of old, comes from the Father and will eventually return to Him. You are the steward of these earthly blessings. If the Lord has blessed you handsomely, return thanks handsomely. Ten percent is a great place to start, but the Lord loves a cheerful giver, no matter the dollar amount you give.

The second purpose of Pentecost prior to the Ascension of our Lord was to commemorate the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Here we see the clearest connections to the descent of the Holy Spirit. At Mount Sinai, the people were commanded not to touch the mountain for its holiness. Moses alone could approach the presence of God. A great cloud descended upon the mountain with thunder, lightning, and the terrifying sound of a mighty trumpet. Fire flashed from the top of the mountain. The people became frightened and stood afar off.

The coming of God upon Mount Saini indicates the nature of what was given. The Law reveals God’s wrath over our sin. It reveals our sin, shows it plainly by the lightning flash of God’s Word, and thunders loudly in our hearts. The sound of the trumpet announces judgment is near. In our sin, we flee from these signs, knowing our fate is sealed in our mortal state, consigned to the eternal fire of God’s wrath.

At Pentecost, however, the Holy Spirit descends with the sound of a mighty, rushing wind. This sound is only described as the sound of rushing wind but must itself be something more. I believe it is the sound of the Holy Gospel, being spoken by the Holy Spirit, Himself. No matter what the sound was, it did not inspire fear in the apostles nor in the people gathered in Jerusalem. This sound of the Holy Spirit brought to remembrance all the words of Christ in the hearts of the apostles. The crowds in Jerusalem, gathered for the harvest feast and to commemorate the giving of the Law, are drawn toward the sound.

Whereas the people at Mount Sinai were kept away from the Mountain of the Lord, the voice of the Holy Spirit draws the crowds in. The Holy Spirit descends in fire, just as He did on Mount Sinai, but this time it is not frightening. He descends as tongues of flame, bringing the Words of the Gospel of Christ to the apostles to be shared with the world. The crowd gathering at this sound is somewhat skeptical, yet they are drawn to the sounds of the apostles beginning to preach.

Here, the various peoples from throughout the ancient world, heard the mighty works of God in their own languages. The apostles preached to them concerning the death and resurrection of Christ. These languages no longer separate the Elamite and the Mede, nor do they find their unity in these languages. They are unified in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are unified within the Body of Christ.

The Tower of Babel is often misunderstood. God commanded Noah and his sons to multiply and fill the earth. While Noah’s descendants multiplied, they did not fill the earth. Once they reached the plain of Shinar, they decided the land was ideal and they ceased to fill the earth. Working together, the men of the earth decided to build a tower to God, making a name for themselves.

God could not have this. The unity of man, even at the beginning, with only Adam and Eve, is not found in language, lineage, or ethnicity. The unity of man is found in God, in the Body of Christ, in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The men of earth desiring to make a name for themselves rejected the Body of Christ for the body of their own work. The name man makes for himself is Sin and Death.

The building of the Tower of Babel itself is somewhat of an engineering miracle. Our ancient ancestors were very intelligent and capable of great wonders. Such ability quickly goes from a blessing of the Most High into an idol. God has placed you into relationships with your fellow man such that you are to serve him in various ways. God has given abilities to engineers, pilots, carpenters, plumbers, managers, teachers, and store clerks. This is commendable.

Yet these careers are not the same as who and what you are. On the deathbed of a Christian, no one wants to hold his favorite chisel, or cling to his over-full timecard. A Christian desires to hold his family close and cling to the Word of God. A Christian desires a visit from his pastor to hear the Word of God and receive His gifts one more time on this side of glory.

While the accomplishments of this life are something to give thanks to God for, they are not the most important aspect of who you are. Your baptism is the most important aspect of who you are because it tells you whose you are. The name God gives to the Baptized is Life, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In your Holy Baptism, you find yourself a child of the Heavenly Father and a member of the Body of Christ. In this Body, you find unity with the Judean and Cappadocian. In this Body, you are one with the Phrygian and Pamphylian.

God punished the peoples at Babel by forcing them to spread out and fill the earth. This was God’s command from the very beginning. Languages would naturally develop as man spread out to cover the earth. God forced this process by dividing their languages while they dwelt together. Certainly, this is a punishment for those living in Babel as they could no longer communicate with friends and possibly even family. They must set out to different parts of the world and build lives where they could communicate.

 This dispersion of peoples is recognized even in heaven. When St. John sees a vision of heavenly worship in the Book of Revelation, he sees a multitude without number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.[1] This multitude is all praising the Lamb who is on the Throne of heaven, that is, they are united in their praise and worship of Christ. They are the united Body of Christ, retaining their individuality and individual languages.

From the beginning of man, God desired diversity of language and culture so that man could not mistake where unity is found. Unity is found in the Body of Christ. For this reason, the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles in tongues of flame. These gentle flames illumine the Word of God, setting the hearts of man on fire with the love of God. If the coming of the Law was terrifying for man, the coming of the Gospel is a great comfort. The dispersion of man at Babel was God enacting His Law upon man and the preaching of the Gospel on Pentecost is the fulfillment of God’s Law by uniting the multitude of nations, tribes, peoples, and languages in the Body of Christ.

Just as fire is both deadly and necessary for life, so too the Word of God kills and gives life. The Law comes to reveal our sin and cause us to flee. But we must ask, “To where shall I go? I am a poor, wretched sinner. Where is salvation found?” Then the Holy Spirit enters in with the satisfying warmth of the Gospel to reveal the deeds of Christ saying, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”[2] “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”[3]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Revelation 7:9-10.

[2] St. John 14:27.

[3] Acts 2:21.