The Holy Matrimony of Mason Allen Daughters & Ashley Mae Ledbetter

The Holy Matrimony of Mason Daughters & Ashley Ledbetter – September 28, 2024

Psalm 127; Genesis 2:7, 18-24; Ephesians 5:1-2, 22-33

St. Matthew 19:4-6

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

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, performed His first miracle at a wedding in Cana, when He turned six large pots of water into wine. In so doing, He marked this institution as especially pleasing to God and dear to His heart.[1] Holy Matrimony is pleasing to God because it is man fulfilling to his utmost, his role in creation. God did not declare creation to be very good until He had created woman out of man and joined the two in Holy Matrimony.[2] The institution of marriage in the Garden of Eden is the final act of creation and it is the location of God’s first words of blessing to man, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”[3]

As the crown of creation, man and woman are to live as husband and wife primarily for two purposes. First, to fulfill this blessing and command of God, “Be fruitful and multiply.” God gave the entire world to Adam and Eve that they would multiply and subdue it, that is take care of all creation. The household is the foundation of society and the source of children. ‘Children are an heritage from the Lord,’ the psalmist says.^[4] Man does not create children. No effort of man creates life. The creation of new life is within the power of God alone and he has ordained that new life would spring forth from the union of man and wife.

When the two come together, they produce one new flesh. This is the unique blessing of marriage. Through man and wife, children are created; and through children, fathers and mothers are created. Therefore, the Christian marriage must be open to children. No effort of man may be made to stop the will of God in creating children. Such actions would be sinful, contrary to the Word and will of God.

According to creation, the second purpose of marriage is companionship. God declared that it was not good for man to be alone and that he required a helpmeet, a companion, someone who would be comparable to him. A parade of all the animals in the world could not fulfill this need for companionship. It required woman. It required that God make woman out of man’s side. In a sense, man is truly missing a part of himself until he is joined in holy matrimony to woman.

This purpose of marriage, this companionship, is a lifelong commitment to one another. Mason and Ashely will today vow before God, all of you, and each other, that they will take one another to have and hold for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and cherish till death parts them. Man is not free to cut the bonds of marriage. These two will be joined in one flesh. A new creation will be made this day that did not exist before. To separate this union is an act of violence.

It is also central to understand that man did not remain in bliss. Eve gave into the temptations of Satan, ate of the forbidden fruit, gave it to Adam, and he also ate. This sin, this breaking of God’s law, plunged all of creation into sin, corruption, and decay. It introduced death into the world. It also robbed Adam and Eve, and by consequence all men and women, of the original righteousness in which God created them. Now, every thought, word, and deed of man is corrupted by sin, including the institution of Holy Matrimony.

In the fallen state of the world, Holy Matrimony takes on a new purpose. It is for the avoidance of sin. Man is no longer perfectly in control of his faculties, meaning that selfishness, pride, anger, and especially lust now lurk within man’s soul. The estate of Marriage continues to be given to man as the God given outlet for lust and as a special protection against other sins. It is more difficult to be selfish when you have a wife, and doubly so should your marriage be blessed with children…or at least it ought to be. In Holy Marriage, being joined in one flesh means that you now live life for another. You have another person, or eventually persons, for whom to live and care.

However, Satan is crafty. He is cunning. He sees Holy Marriage and hates it. He hates any gift God gives to man and will always seek to corrupt it. For this reason, it will be necessary for you two to always be on guard. Mason, she is your most treasured possession. She is to be your wife, a gift greater than anything else creation has to offer you. You are to ensure she has a home, food, and a joyful life. Recognize her as the precious gift of God that she is. Recognize that focusing on your own wants and needs will always open the door to the temptation to resentment, frustration, and anger. Recognize also that the world will present temptations to neglect her or worse, to find fulfillment anywhere but in the precious treasure of the helpmeet given to you by God Almighty.

Ashley, he is your most precious possession. He is worthy of your time, attention, and submission. He is your head and provider. You are to trust him, provide him a home full of peace and rest. Look to him to provide for your needs. Recognize him as the precious gift of God that he is. Close your eyes to the attentions of other men and remember that he is always worth more time and attention than anything else in the world. You are a precious vessel that has been given to him to cherish. Support him, care for him, trust him, and show him honor by receiving all the good gifts he has to give to you.

To this point, I’ve really only described the purposes and blessings of marriage according to creation. These are incredibly important, especially in our day and age when the world wants to deny creation. From our constant engagement in digital media – streaming services, the internet, social media, etc. – to the denial of creation as fundamental to reality. Our world wants to define creation according to our desires and feelings rather than being that which God has ordered and continues to govern.

But there is a fourth, and perhaps the greatest, purpose of marriage. The union of man and wife in Holy Matrimony is the image of Christ’s relationship to the church. Holy Marriage is dear to the heart of God because it is the image of God’s own sacrifice and love for the church. Adam and Eve plunged the world into sin when they submitted to temptation in the garden. And just as all mankind fell in one man’s fall, so too is all mankind redeemed in the Blood of Jesus.

In prophecy, in parable, and in doctrine, our Lord loves to compare His love for the church to weddings. The Son of God took on human flesh that He would die for us. His death is the ultimate fulfilling of the call for husbands to love their wives even that a man would die for her. Jesus Christ joined Himself to His bride in our flesh when He was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He then died the death that man had earned for himself because of His great love for us.

In the same way, we are called to submit to Christ as our head. He is the God of all creation. Christ is King. And we, while still mired in the filth of our sins, have been called by Him to be washed in His blood, made clean and spotless, washed of water by the Word of God, that we might be presented to Him glorious, holy, and without blemish.

We gather today to witness the joining of Mason and Ashley in Holy Matrimony, but we are called to see this union as the earthly image of Christ being joined to His holy Bride, the Church. We are here to worship the Triune God who has cleansed of our sins.

It is for this reason, that Mason and Ashley, you are called to keep your marriage holy and undefiled. On your own, you can’t do this. I promise you, you will sin against one another, against yourselves, and against others. Satan is cunning and he will lead you astray. Remember that you have been washed in the waters of Holy Baptism. Remember that you have been saved by the Blood of the Lamb. Continue to be steadfast in your faith.

Mason, it is your job as the head of the household to bring your wife to church. It is your responsibility to continue to grow in wisdom and knowledge of God and His Word. Christ willingly endured mocking, torture, and crucifixion because he loves his bride. You are called to do the same. Swallow your pride and love your wife. Be bold in providing for her and protecting her from the dangers of the world. Ensure she remains steadfast in the Word of God and that she raises your children in the faith.

Ashley, it is your job to support Mason in his faith and to encourage him. It is also your responsibility to come to church and encourage Mason to do the same. Remember that he is your beloved. The church lovingly submits to Christ her head but is unafraid to cry out in lament. We look to Christ for every good thing. Even when it seems he is not listening, we trust that he is caring for us, giving us what we need. When Mason needs correction, do it lovingly and in private, that his reputation would not be harmed before others. Should God bless you with children, raise them in the faith. Ensure Mason is teaching them the catechism and reading to them from the bible.

Read the bible together, every day. Pray together, every day. The most powerful words either of you can speak are “I forgive you. I love you.” Do not forget to say them! And, Lord willing many years from now, you two will join with the heavenly choirs of angels and all the host of heaven in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb; when all who trust in Christ will join together in the worship of our Lord forever. Love one another as Christ has loved the Church. Hold fast to one another. May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. John 2:1-12.

[2] Genesis 1:31.

[3] Genesis 1:28.

[4] Psalm 127.

In Memoriam + Norman Eugene Fields +

In Memoriam + Norman Eugene Fields + – September 1, 2022

Psalm 23; Isaiah 46:3-4; Romans 6:1-11

St. John 6:27-40

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

Death inherently involves separation. For the one who dies, death is the separation of body and soul. For those left behind, it is the separation from an uncle, a dad, a brother, or a friend. Death often leaves a sense of isolation in the wake of this separation. Being forcefully separated from the ones you love always causes you to desire nothing more than to be with them. Because you can’t do anything to be with them right now, you feel isolated, alone.

This is not the way God created man. Man is created to live in community—first with God and then with fellow man. Creation was not called very good until Eve was created, a suitable helpmeet for Adam.[1] Even then, God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.[2] Through these our first parents, God commanded man to fill the earth with relatives to love and to be loved by.

What’s more, God, Himself, walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He came to them and walked in the cool of the day. He talked to them. He communed with them. God created man to be in communion with Him.

But when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil, they broke the commandment of God.[3] They separated themselves from the Love of God by sundering their relationship to Him. They had betrayed their Creator. The wages of sin is death because sin separates us from God and death is separation.[4]

What’s worse is that separation from God does not simply leave man alone. Man is not cast out of the Garden to fend for himself out of the sight of God. God is not a spiteful father kicking his bum of a son out of the basement. Man’s sin cuts directly at the heart of God because it is a denial of Who God is. Man’s sin invokes the wrath of God.

Because of the severity of this separation between God and man, the punishment for sin does not end with temporal death. The punishment for sin begins with suffering in life, continues in physical death, then lasts forever in the torture of hell. This is the just and rightful fate of all men who sin against God. Satan and his wicked angels have been condemned to this torment and would love nothing more than drag, tempt, and coerce every man into hell to join them.[5]

“I walk in danger all the way. The thought shall never leave me, that Satan, who has marked his prey, is plotting to deceive me. This foe with hidden snares may seize me unawares if I should fail to watch and pray. I walk in danger all the way.”[6]

What shall we say then? Is God wicked and spiteful? By no means. At the same time, He cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden, He sacrificed an animal for them and made clothes from its skin.[7] He promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of Satan and atone for the sin of man.[8] This promised Seed is God Himself.[9] The Seed is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of the Father, Jesus Christ.

The Son came down to man, just as He did when He walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve. He took on our flesh because we had severed the relationship between God and man and man is incapable of healing such a cosmic wound. God became man to die. God became man to die the death that you and I deserve.

But death did not have a claim to the Son of God.[10] He was born without sin. He committed no sin. Jesus Christ was tortured and executed for your sin because He didn’t have any. Not having sin, death could not hold Him. He had not earned a wage of death. Instead, He was laid in a virgin grave to rest for three days.

When Jesus spoke of the food which endures to everlasting life, the crowds immediately asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”[11] To believe in the Son of God is to realize the severity of your situation, the depth of your sin, and your inability to make things right with God. To believe in the Son of God is to look at your own sins with hatred because your sin is what separates you from God and earns death. To believe in the Son of God is to confess your sins and trust that Christ has died to destroy them; to trust that Christ has died for you.

In 1956, when Norm was baptized, he died. He was drowned in those waters because he was born a creature of this world. He was buried in those waters, but he was not buried alone. He was buried into Christ Jesus, and if he was buried into Christ Jesus then he was buried into Christ’s death. If then, Norm was baptized into the death of Jesus, then he will certainly be raised in a resurrection like Christ’s. His old man, the sinful nature with which Norm was born, was crucified with Christ, and buried in the grave.

This happened so that when Norm arose from the waters of Holy Baptism, he would arise a new creation. He had become a new creation in Christ. As such, death no longer has dominion over Norm, just as it has no authority over Christ.

“I walk with Jesus all the way, His guidance never fails me; within His wounds I find a stay when Satan’s power assails me; and by His footsteps led, my path I safely tred. No evil leads my soul astray; I walk with Jesus all the way.”[12]

Why then are we gathered here today? We are gathered because the last remnants of sin which cling to Norm’s flesh must also be buried. They too must be buried in the ground and return to the dust from whence they came. This is true for all mortal men.

For the Christian, for the Baptized children of God, while his body returns to dust, his soul is with Christ.[13] Right now, Norm has joined the choir immortal, singing with the angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven. He is reunited with Della and together they are worshiping Christ day and night.[14]

We are gathered here today to mourn the separation we now experience from our beloved Norm.[15] We do not get to play cards with him, talk baseball, or watch him patiently and lovingly play with children. We do not get to hear his voice, and no matter how hard he might try, he does not get to entertain each of you when you stop by.

These are beautiful memories of a beloved uncle, dad, brother, and friend, yet they are also the bread of earth. Man needs the bread of earth. We need each other. But we ultimately need the bread come down from heaven. We need to receive the Bread broken and given for you. We need to receive the Blood, given and shed for you. Jesus calls Himself the Bread from heaven, the Bread of life. All who come to Him shall never hunger nor thirst.[16]

We are gathered here today to give thanks, to worship, and to praise the Triune God. It is through the heavenly bread of Jesus’ Body and the heavenly drink of His Blood that we will be reunited with Norm, Della, and all the saints in heaven for eternity. In the sacred wounds of Jesus, we too will have eternal life.

Then will come the last day, the resurrection of all flesh. The Baptized, who were buried in a death like His will be raised to a new life like His. This body we lay in the grave today will be reunited with the soul that is already enjoying the presence of Christ. On that day, and for all eternity, Norm will enjoy the company of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and all Christians in our flesh. With these eyes, Norm will see you.[17] He will know you. He will rejoice to see you and proclaim, “Glad you got to see me!”

All mankind will be raised on that last day but not all will join the company of heaven. Those who do not believe, those who reject the Bread of Heaven will join Satan and his wicked angels in torment. There will be a great chasm set between those above and those below, such that none may cross over. These are the stakes of eternity.

Norm and all who die in Christ eagerly await the resurrection of all flesh because the resurrection means unity. It means body and soul being reunited. It means brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, dear friends and beloved uncles will be reunited in the flesh for all eternity.

“My walk is heavenward all the way; await, my soul, the morrow, when God’s good healing shall allay all suffering, sin, and sorrow. Then, worldly pomp, begone! To heaven I now press on. For all the world I would not stay; my walk is heavenward all the way.”[18]  

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 2:15-25.

[2] Genesis 1:28.

[3] Genesis 1:29-30; 2:15-17; 3:19.

[4] Romans 6:23.

[5] 1 Peter 5:8.

[6] Hans Adolf Brorson, I Walk in Danger All the Way, stanza 1.

[7] Genesis 3:21.

[8] Genesis 3:15.

[9] Romans 1:3-4.

[10] 1 Corinthians 15:20; Romans 6:8-11.

[11] St. John 6:28-29.

[12] Brorson, I Walk in Danger All the Way, stanza 5.

[13] St. Luke 23:43.

[14] Revelation 7:9-12.

[15] St. John 11:35.

[16] St. John 6:35.

[17] Job 19:26-27; St. Luke 16:22; Revelation 7:9.

[18] Brorson, I Walk in Danger All the Way, stanza 6.

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity – July 31, 2022

Psalm 47; Genesis 2:7-17; Romans 6:19-23

St. Mark 8:1-9

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

The disciples hear of the compassion of Christ and are aghast. Rational thought denies the possibility of providing food to 4,000 men plus women and children, probably 12,000, or so, in all. So much for using reason to determine the actions of God. Reason itself is a good gift of God but when set against the clear Word of God it becomes the worst of blasphemies. Forcing the Word of God to fit into our rational mind has led to many, if not most, of the worst heresies of the Church.

It doesn’t make sense that Jesus’ has two natures, human and divine, in one person. It doesn’t make sense that a Virgin would conceive and bear the Son of God. It doesn’t make sense that the Incarnate Body and Blood of Jesus is present on altars throughout the world. It doesn’t make sense that God inspired human men to write the words of Scripture without allowing sin to corrupt the words.[1] It doesn’t even make sense that Christ has forgiven your sin and yet you still suffer the effects of sin on this side of heaven.

Thanks be to God we are not called to make sense of these things. Our rational minds react to these mysteries like the disciples, “No one could do that! That’s not possible!” The eyes of faith, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, the heart of flesh which has replaced our hearts of stone—these react like the multitude, “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.[2] I will sit at the feet of my Lord and receive all He will give me. If he should appoint me to die this day, I know it is good for me because He has promised to give me all good things.” Even those sitting in the second and third row must’ve seen the paltry loaves and fish Christ was blessing, yet they react in faith, trusting that Christ would provide for each of them.

Here you might ask, “If Christ is such a gracious provider to His beloved Church, why are there Christians who suffer lack? Why does God allow Christians throughout the world to suffer poverty and hunger?” This is a fair question, and the answer is in three parts.

First, the Kingdom of Christ to which He has called you and in which you have citizenship, is not a temporal kingdom. A temporal kingdom is composed of the things of this world: house and home, wife and children, land, animals, governments of man, and all we have. A spiritual kingdom is founded composed of that which is eternal: God and man in both body and soul.

Christ has founded a spiritual kingdom, in which we seek and find eternal and divine possessions. This Kingdom is provided for by the Word of God, the Sacraments, the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. This Kingdom lacks nothing. A Christian, baptized into the Triune Name of God, has the entire Trinity at his disposal. He may call God his Father, Jesus his Lord and brother, and the Holy Spirit his Counselor and Comforter. If you have God, you lack nothing.

Even if the building is destroyed; even if you cannot receive the Sacrament because all Pastors have been rounded up and killed by the government; even if they take your life, goods, fame, child, and wife, though these all be gone, you have God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As such, you lack nothing. You have everything.

Christ would have us long for the eternal gifts of His Kingdom rather than pine for the things of this world. Temporal governments, rulers, fathers, and neighbors may provide or steal temporal goods, but they can never take away the eternal provisions of God.

Secondly, Christ would have all Christians exercise faith in all matters, temporal and eternal, in seeing that all things, temporal and eternal, are provided by Him. See the hands of Christ in your paycheck; in the calloused hands of the farmer providing your food; in the hands of the workman who builds your house; and even in your own hands when you change diapers, share a cup of coffee, or clean a neighbor’s house.

It is necessary that Christ provide not only for the Spiritual Kingdom of His salvation, but also for the temporal kingdom. The world continues to exist only because God provides for her. The world and all who dwell in her, exist for the support of the Church. If all Christians suddenly died, the world would end because there would be no reason for God to sustain it. Of course, this is not a concern for us since Christ has promised to return and gather the faithful to His breast.[3]

“But since the devil rules in the world and he is the enemy of Christ and of His Church, and since [the Church does not] seek the things of this world, they must suffer [temporal possessions] to be taken out of their mouths, and [to be] robbed of [that] which belongs to them. Here now Christ must help His Church and give where she suffers need and want, that she may continue to exist, that it may be called miraculous giving; and the Christians acknowledge that it is given by Him and that He shows forth continually in His [Church] such special miracles [of daily bread], so that they will have something to eat, drink, etc., even if the world gives nothing and grants no favors; but takes from her, and is jealous and hateful because of what God gives her.”[4]

So, when Christians are lacking, they know that what they can never lose is eternal life. No matter how impoverished a Christian is, he holds the entire world in his hand because Christ is with him. And should his stomach growl for lack of food, it is to remind him of things eternal.

Thirdly, Christians suffer lack in this world so that others might show them love. The multitudes suffered lack of food and the disciples were appointed to distribute the miraculous bread to them. Sometimes the vocation of a Christian requires him to be the one who is served, to be the object of another’s affection. This is a holy calling in life: to be the one to receive the good works of others. We are called to share all good things, holding all things in common. To serve one another, even when we believe the resources to be lacking, is a blessed work of God and a loving service to our neighbor.

Finally, we must see the Feeding of the Four Thousand as a blessed picture of the life of the Church. You walk through those doors every week, after seven long days of journeying in the wilderness. You are tired from the cares of this world; from your own sin, the sins of others, and temptation to sin. If you should continue on your journey alone, you would surely faint.

Yet Christ has compassion upon you. He has called you to follow Him, to hear His voice. Each Sunday, He teaches you in His Holy Word – the Introit, the Old Testament, the Gradual, the Epistle, and especially in the Holy Gospel. He is speaking to you now in the words of this sermon, through the lips of an imperfect vessel. When the teaching for the day is done, He calls you to gather before Him. He takes bread, blesses it and gives thanks, then breaks it and calls His servant to distribute it to you. Your body and soul are then satisfied with the Living Bread from Heaven. On the strength of this bread, you return to the way, the path of life in this world, until that day when your journey on this side of heaven is complete and you enter eternal life, where the feast will never end.

‘What Jesus does for the multitude, He does today. At that time, He acted visibly while today He acts invisibly. Then, He fed the body. Today, He feeds body and soul. At that time, He gave men perishable bread. Today He gives you the Eternal, Living Bread from Heaven. We, the Baptized, need the nourishment of Christ’s own Body and Blood to support us on the journey through the wilderness of this life toward our heavenly fatherland.’[5]

O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; and His mercy endureth forever.[6]

In + Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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[1] This is a reference to the autographs of the original human authors of Scripture. I recognize there have been errors in the transmission of the written texts, however the Word of God is infallible and communicates the entire truth of Scripture, even if minor errors have been made in transmission of the text.

[2] Psalm 116:13.

[3] The section regarding the question of why Christ allows Christians to suffer lack is based on Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol 4, translated and edited by John Nicholas Lenker (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1983), 220-222.

[4] Luther, Sermons, 221-222.

[5] Pius Parsch, The Church’s Year of Grace, Vol 4 (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1964), 76-77.

[6] The Benedicamus.

The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

 The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity – October 24, 2021

Psalm 119; Genesis 1-2:3; Ephesians 6:10-17

St. John 4:46-54

In the name of the Father, and of the T Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The account of the healing of the nobleman’s son is all about faith. The word “faith” is repeated three times, as is the consequence of faith – life. While we are accustomed to focusing on the object of faith, this portion of Scripture is focused on the development of faith. The nobleman approaches Christ in faith. He hears Jesus has come down from Judea into Galilee and so he quickly travels from Capernaum to Galilee to implore the Lord to heal his son who is on the brink of death.

The nobleman approaches in faith but it is undeveloped faith. He comes with the faith of an adult, not the faith of a child. He trusts that Christ can heal his son. He trusts that Christ desires to heal his son. He is also insistent that Christ travel to Capernaum to perform the healing. This reveals the weakness of his faith. He insists Christ follow his commands in the manner and timing of the miracle.

We might compare this nobleman to the Canaanite woman, who likewise was insistent that Christ answer her prayer.[1] Jesus seemed to ignore her pleas, but the woman was insistent that he exorcise the demons from her daughter. Although both the Canaanite woman and the nobleman approach Christ in faith, the woman did not dictate the time or place in which she expected the blessing to occur. She only expected her Lord to be faithful to his promise to care for her daughter in body and soul. The nobleman expects the Lord to fulfill his promises, but he is insistent that it be done on his own terms – “Come down to my house and heal my son before he dies!” Thus, Christ commends the great faith of the Canaanite woman and rebukes the nobleman.

That is not to say the nobleman is without faith. He certainly looks to Christ for the salvation of his son in body and soul. Yet his is an undeveloped faith. How then is his faith developed? How does he go from the milk-faith of a stubborn adult to the meat-faith of a newborn child?

This development does not come from praying harder. It does not come from introspection. It does not come from additional time in nature with God nor from intellectual pursuits of Scripture. It does not come from singing louder or mission trips. The faith of the nobleman is developed through suffering.

Perhaps faith was born in the nobleman at the wedding at Cana, where our Lord turned water into wine. Perhaps he heard Christ preach or witnessed the teaching of John the Baptist and the Baptism of our Lord. Sometime after faith was born within him, the son of the nobleman fell ill. His beloved son was thrown down by an invisible disease and brought to the point of death. When the Beloved Son of the Heavenly Father returned to the region, the nobleman sought him out and expected the Son of God to obey his demands for the sake of life. Then Jesus rebukes him.

“Unless you see signs and wonders, you will absolutely never believe!”[2] Of all the rebukes of our Lord, none is perhaps as complex as this one. One the one hand, he is rebuking the nobleman for demanding something of God which has not been promised, namely the temporal healing of his son.

At the same time, this rebuke is intended to teach the nobleman. There is a temptation within the flesh of man to think faith is an internal matter, as though it exists entirely apart from the physical, external world. This is the origin of that terrible phrase, “I’m spiritual but not religious.” Those who hold to this creed believe their faith is a private matter between themselves and an ambiguous god. Such enthusiasts raise their own thoughts and desires above the external Word of God. They deny the Sacraments or treat them as magic rituals in which blessings of their own imagination are imparted.

The weak faith of the nobleman fits this creed. He has faith in Christ but has not submitted himself to the external Word of God. Through this rebuke, Christ is pointing him outside of himself. It is as though our Lord is saying, “Where were you when I created the heavens and the earth? Where were you when I formed your son in your wife’s womb? Do you presume to tell me how I am to love you and your son? Do you presume to know better the salvation of man than I, the Son of God, who has taken on flesh for this exact purpose? Do not look inside your own thoughts, desires, or imagination for a sign of the love of God. Look to me. Look for the sign of Jonah, the three days in the earth and the coming of the Dawn on the third day. Look for the sign and wonder of your salvation found when I come into my own kingdom, enthroned on a cross and crowned with thorns. Look to the sign of your salvation in me – my blood, my flesh, my washing, and my Word.”

The nobleman’s response shows a growth in his faith. The Word of God has worked on his heart and developed his faith. “Lord, come down before my son dies.”[3] While it is unclear if the nobleman understands the fullness of the Incarnation, the Holy Ghost is certainly teaching us through these words how it is the Lord saves us all from death. The Son of God came down from heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of the Blessed Virgin, and was made man. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity descended from the Father so that he would be raised up in the sacrifice of the Cross in our place. The Incarnation is the beginning of the work of salvation of our Lord.

The nobleman likely doesn’t understand what he is saying and yet he is confessing that by coming down from the Father into our flesh, Jesus will save his son from death, eternal death. By coming down from the Father into our flesh, Jesus will raise the nobleman’s son on the last day in the very flesh which was thrown down by illness. By coming down from the Father, the Son of God will cause the son of this man to live life eternal.

It is at this time that Jesus tells the man his son lives, and the man believes the word of Jesus. He has not yet seen the sign and wonder and yet he believes. His faith has developed. His faith is strengthened. How did this happen? By the Word of God. By suffering. By crying out to the Lord for salvation and then trusting that the Lord is good and will answer. Jesus pressed the nobleman into a corner to force him to rely on the Word of God and trust that the Lord would hear his prayer.

When the servants of the nobleman report that the son was healed at the very hour in which Jesus said, ‘he lives,’ the nobleman’s faith is again strengthened. This is the sign and wonder which he sought, but it is not the sign or wonder which confirmed his faith. How else could his entire household believe if the nobleman had not preached to them the Word of God? He must’ve returned home with the psalms on his lips and cried out to them that the Son of God has come down that we all may live. The milk-faith by which the nobleman was barely clinging to life and now become a feast of meat-faith by which he is able to provide for his family, his man-servants and maid-servants.

The Son of God comes to you today in the same way. The Lord sends you affliction. You have children who have left the faith. You have sinned and are ashamed. You look around and see “perfect people” in the church and believe you don’t belong. You beloved faces life-threatening surgery. You face illness unto death and worry for the sake of your loved ones. These afflictions are sent to you for the strengthening of your faith. Repent of your little faith, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”[4]

Like the nobleman, demand that the Lord come down to be with you and then look for the sign. Not the sign of miraculous healing of a tumor or a bird suddenly appearing in your window. “What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, [perfect health, wealth, children, and home,] and loses his own soul?”[5] Look to the sign of the cross. Look to the Body of Jesus, exalted on high for your sake. See the miracle of your salvation in the chalice. Hear the Word of God as it enters your ears and strengthens faith. “God is superabundantly generous in His grace: First, through the spoken Word, by which the forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world. Second, through Baptism. Third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourth, through the Power of the Keys. Also through the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren, ‘Where two or three are gathered…’”[6]

These are the signs and wonders given by God for the strengthening of your faith. Faith is not an ephemeral, intellectual, or strictly “spiritual” possession. It is given and strengthened by things external to you, objectively present in the world. Faith is then displayed externally. First by driving you to continually seek the Lord. Faith desires to see the signs and wonders given by God. Faith drives you to the Church where you receive the things of God and gather for the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren in the flesh. Our God is not virtual. Faith is not virtual. Faith never drives you to be alone. Faith gathers you into the bosom of Abraham, to be gathered with all the saints around and within the Body of Christ.

Faith then springs forth in external works, just as the nobleman preached to his family. If you have seen and tasted that the Lord is good; if you know salvation is in his flesh; if you know the Son of God lives and by his life you have life; you will desire this same grace for all whom you love.

In T Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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[1] St. Matthew 15:21-28.

[2] St. John 4:48.

[3] St. John 4:49.

[4] St. Mark 9:24.

[5] St. Matthew 16:26.

[6] Smalcald Articles, III IV. Reader’s Edition.