The Feast of Pentecost

 The Feast of Pentecost – June 8, 2025

Psalm 68; Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-24

St. John 14:23-31a

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

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 Sinai 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.

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity – October 16, 2022

Psalm 122; Deuteronomy 10:12-21; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

St. Matthew 22:34-46

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

Our Lord’s encounter with the Pharisees can be seen as a summary of the Scriptures and an outline of your salvation recorded in three parts: The Law, The Gospel, and the application thereof.

First, we have the Law. The Pharisees approach Jesus to test Him. It is not clear if they are trying to boast that they are able to do what the Sadducees could not do, that is, trick Jesus into accusing Himself; or if they see Jesus as the enemy of their enemy and thus a friend at least for a time. The exact motivation of the Pharisees isn’t important. What we do know is that they are up to no good. It is the week of the crucifixion and they have been plotting the death of Jesus for some time. They are not now looking to make amends with Jesus.

A representative comes forward and asks Jesus which commandment is greatest. This is not a stupid question. It is important. But we must also understand the question. He is not asking which commandment is so important that it renders the other commandments unimportant. He is asking which commandment is the standard by which all commandments are measured.

Scripture tells us that all sin is worthy of death. All sin is a transgression of the will of God and thus deserving of the same eternal punishment. However, God shows particular disdain for certain sins, chiefly murder, adultery, and idolatry. If we insist that all sins are equal in every way, it will lead us to hell. It leads to hell because it says that having a lustful thought is the same as physically sleeping with someone other than your wife. It leads to hell because it says a harsh word about the guy who cut you off in traffic is the same as cutting his throat. It leads to hell because whether you choose to spank your child or beat him doesn’t matter.

Our Lord offers the proper response. “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.” Love is the summary of the Law. Love God and love your neighbor. Love is an action. It is a verb. It is something you do. It is not an emotion. How then are we to show our love for God? What actions are we to take to show love for God? By loving our neighbor. You love God by loving your neighbor. Your actions toward your neighbor demonstrate the love you have toward God because your relationship to God necessarily changes who you are and how you treat others.

The problem is that we don’t keep these laws. We do not keep the commandments to love God and love neighbor. You do not treat your neighbor as yourself. The fact that you have money in a bank account says that you do not love your neighbor as yourself. It means that you are storing some money for yourself that you have not given to someone that is in need. If you were in their shoes, you would use the money you currently have stored. Thus, you are not treating them as yourself. You are treating them as a neighbor.

This is not an admonition to empty your bank account. Rather, it is an illustration to show that we always consider our own comfort before we consider the needs of our neighbor. Not only this, we do not love God with our entire being. We chafe at His Law. We chafe at His love. How is it that God can forgive someone like Jeffrey Dahmer when I am trying to be a good person? How is it that God can expect me to forgive when even He condemns the unrepentant? How is it that God expects me to actually separate myself from the culture when He has placed me here? I need a job, so I can go along to get along.

The Law of God is good and wise. It tells us what God desires for us. It tells us how to live according to the will of God so that we might begin to please our heavenly Father. Yet even as much as the Law instructs the Christian, it will always accuse your conscience. You cannot and will not ever keep the Law perfectly. You are incapable of perfect love—perfect love toward God or neighbor. It is for this reason the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees must continue.

Our Lord asks the Pharisees concerning the Christ and whose Son He is. They answer this first question rightly. “He is the Son of David.” Then Jesus intensifies the question. “How then, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, does David call the Christ his Lord? No father, let alone a king, would call his son, ‘Lord’. That is absurd.”

Jesus is teaching the Pharisees concerning His own divinity. He is confessing that the Christ is True Man and True God. The Christ, the Messiah, the Savior must be True God and True Man. He must be the son of David and the Son of God. He must be these things because He must keep the Law to love God and love His neighbor perfectly. He must keep these commandments perfectly so that the Law would be fulfilled in totality.

There is a promise of salvation in the Law. However, this promise is conditional. For the Law to give you salvation, you must keep it perfectly, with every breath you take. With man, this is impossible. From the moment of your conception, you are created in iniquity, bearing the sin of your fathers. You are born in the image of your fathers, all the way back to Adam. The Christ, however, bears the image of His Father. He bears the original righteousness of God Himself. This purity then allows Him to lead a perfect life, fulfilling the Law in a way that man cannot.

Yet if the Christ were only some demi-god, born of the union between a divine father and a mortal mother, his death would only save himself. Your salvation required the death of a True Man because God cannot die. Your salvation also required the resurrection of the True God because God is life. The Christ took the Law and the prophets and hung them on a cross. He nailed your sin to the foot of the cross, making you and all sinners His footstool.

In doing this, He fulfilled the Law of God. There are no more demands for the salvation of man. Everything necessary for you to sit in heavenly glory has been accomplished. This is the Gospel. It is a man. It is God. It is the Christ, fulfilling the Law and dying in your place. It is Jesus, rising victorious over the grave so that death would no longer have a claim on your soul.

The Holy Spirit concludes this section of Scripture with a summary statement. “No one was able to answer Jesus a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.” These two statements are an invitation for you to do what no one was able to do during that first Holy Week. You are now called by the Holy Spirit to answer Jesus’ question. You are being called to confess who the Christ is. You are being called to confess whose Son the Christ is.

We do this every Sunday morning when we confess the Nicene Creed. Hopefully, you do this every day as you recite the Apostles’ Creed. But you are also being called to confess the Christ in your life by loving God and loving your neighbor. You are being called to make the bold confession of your faith in word and action, every day of your life.

You have been freed from the bondage of the Law because it has been fulfilled. You are now free to strive to obey the Law because it no longer carries the punishment of eternal death for those who are in Christ. You are free to love God and love your neighbor because you have no need to fear the Law. You can now love the Law as we pray in Psalm 119.

The Holy Spirit is also calling you to dare to question Jesus. By this, the Holy Spirit is calling you to prayer. What are you praying for? Are you praying for wisdom? Are you praying for a fervent faith? Are you praying that God would not let you fall away from the faith? Are you praying for strength in the face of temptation, that you would never have need to fear the law of God, so long as you breathe?

You are a Christian. You have the freedom to boldly approach God’s throne and ask him as dear children ask their dear Father. You have this freedom because the Son of God took your flesh. The Son of God loved His Father’s will and loved you as His neighbor such that He would obey the commandments of God unto death, even death on a cross. Use this freedom to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Use this freedom to loudly confess the Christ is the son of David and the Son of God.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Third Sunday after Trinity

The Third Sunday after Trinity – July 3, 2022

Psalm 25; Micah 7:18-20; 1 Peter 5:6-11

St. Luke 15:1-32

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

God never acts without reason. There is a reason Jesus tells the Pharisees three parables concerning lost things. Each parable follows a similar pattern: something is lost, that thing is found, and there is great rejoicing. The significance of the repetition comes in the differences. The numbers are likely significant, but I confess that I do not have a thorough understanding of this mystery. First, one sheep in a hundred is lost. Then, one coin in ten. Finally, one of two sons—one percent, ten percent, fifty percent.

A more revealing difference is the person who lost the objects. In the first parable, a shepherd has lost one of his sheep. This is a reference to the Office of the Holy Ministry and specifically to the Pharisees. It is also a reference to anyone who has authority over the spiritual welfare of another, such as fathers who are the head of their household and responsible for handing down the faith.

Through negligence or poor instruction, one of those given into his care has gone astray. The phrasing of this parable assumes that every man would leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness to seek out the lost one. This is to the shame of the Pharisees. They stand mocking Jesus for associating with tax collectors and sinners. They don’t even mock Jesus to His face, they prefer to scorn Him behind His back.

The parable is unclear if, having found the lost sheep, the shepherd returns to gather the ninety-nine. I’m inclined to say that he doesn’t. He left them in the wilderness, the place of beasts and demons. It is quite possible that the sheep who was lost recognized that the entire flock was in danger. Fleeing from the danger, the sheep found himself lost and in need of a Savior.

Somehow, the sheep became aware that he was dwelling in the house of Satan. He realized his inability to rescue himself, but he didn’t know where to flee. The Shepherd came to this lost sheep and bore him on His shoulders to the safety of the village. The Shepherd returns with the sheep who fled the beasts and demons, calling his friends and neighbors together for a feast. He rejoices that he has found what was once lost.

The Law always reveals your sin. Even as it instructs the Christian, it also reveals the ways in which you fail to meet God’s standards. The promise of salvation connected to the Law is conditional. You must always keep it perfectly to receive salvation from the Law. Since man is sinful from birth, there is no chance for you to receive salvation from the Law. This also means the Law cannot convert, that is, turn the heart of man toward God.

Just as the sheep realized the danger of dwelling in the wilderness but did not know where to flee to safety, when man sees his sin, he does not naturally know where to turn. At the depth of his sin, he knows he needs a savior but does not know where to find him. Thanks be to God the Shepherd descends from Mount Zion into your flesh that He might find you hiding beneath the bushes and carry you to the safe quarters of the Church.

The woman who loses a coin is a representation of this safe dwelling, the Church. She loses one coin, lights a lamp, and sweeps vigorously. The light is the true light of the Gospel, and the sweeping is the harsh condemnation of the Law. The Church must use both edges of the Sword of the Word of God. Sinners must be called to repentance. The Light of Christ must illumine their hearts. Like the lost sheep, if the Church only sweeps the floor but does not light the lamp, the coin can never be found. The sinner would be lost.

Rejoice that the mercy of God is for sinners only. You who have no sin, have no need for forgiveness. You who will not confess your sins, have no need to hear the Word of God. You who would remain proudly in your sins, have only the fires of hell to light your way.

In the third parable, the younger son represents everything the Pharisees hate. He is impudent, disrespectful, associates with harlots, and lives flamboyantly. When he runs out of money, he sleeps and eats with pigs. There is nothing to like about this man. Yet when he returns to his father, the father is overjoyed to see his son. He calls for a feast, new clothes, a costly ring, and new sandals.

This third parable includes a coda, or epilogue, the other two parable lack. Once the younger son is found, everyone rejoices except the older son. He stands outside the feast, indignant that his father would celebrate the son who wished his father was dead. Like the Shepherd seeking the lost sheep, the father comes seeking his older son. The father reveals that the older son already has everything he could ever want but it is the rebirth of the younger son which is the cause for joy.

Jesus does not give an ending to this parable so that the Pharisees, and those who read or hear this Gospel, would see themselves in the place of the older brother. Will you likewise repent and enter the feast? Or will you stubbornly remain outside, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? One must wonder if the older brother is the one who is lost throughout the third parable, rather than the younger.

Remember, the Pharisees complained among themselves about the actions of Jesus. “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”[1] These Pharisees are clearly speaking behind the back of Jesus. Yet of course, He hears them. This is the occasion of the parables.

The 8^th commandment requires that Christians do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.[2] It is very easy to break the 8^th commandment because we are all afraid of what others think about us. It is difficult to confront someone but much easier to tell your friend about what he’s done to you.

It is also easy to abuse the 8^th Commandment, as though there was never a place to criticize the actions of another without months of personal conversation. This is a lesson for another day but remember that the abuse of something never negates its use.

At the heart of the 8^th Commandment is the idea of explaining everything in the kindest way. In the account before us this day, this would look like the Pharisees approaching Jesus and saying, “Why is it that you associate with these sinners?” They might even ask this question with a hint of anger, feeling betrayed that this man who just shared a meal with them the chapter before, is now associating with tax collectors. To the Pharisees, it might seem like Jesus is equating them to the tax collectors and harlots.

The Pharisees might also have asked if Jesus knew who these people were and if he understood that His actions could make Him unclean, unfit to gather in the Temple. While such a statement would reveal the ignorance of the Pharisees, if asked in honesty, it would be an attempt to show a brother His sin, that He might repent.

This is the problem with gossip and hearsay. If you are too afraid to speak to someone who has sinned against you, or whose actions have bothered you in some way, and you choose to tell someone else instead, you have deprived him of the opportunity to repent. You have also deprived him of the opportunity to answer your questions. The blindness of sin affects all men, and we are barely aware of the multitude of sins we commit each day. When one of these sins cuts to the heart of another, who wouldn’t want to become aware of it, that he might repent and be reconciled to his brother or sister in Christ?

If, on the other hand, no sin has been committed, but you are displeased with something and choose not to speak to the one who has displeased you, beware. Satan stalks about like a roaring lion and sin lies at the door, both seeking an opportunity to devour you.[3] If allowed to fester, an unaddressed displeasure often becomes resentment. This resentment will provide the cover necessary for Satan to approach your camp. Should the resentment become hatred, the devil will pounce.[4] No one can hate his brother and dwell in the love Christ.[5]

Such failure to love one’s neighbors is what leads Christ to teach on the parables of the lost. In each case, when that which was lost is found, it is the occasion for rejoicing. Jesus is first calling the Pharisees to repent, then to rejoice over the repentance of any sinner whom the Savior has found. He is calling us this day to repent and rejoice as well. All sin darkens our eyes to the light of Christ.

Only sinners who see their sin and are abhorred by it have need of a Savior. Only the God of our fathers pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage.[6] Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, knowing that the Father loves you. He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy.[7]

You can know the Father loves you because He has slaughtered the fatted Calf in your place. The fatted calf is His own Son, Jesus Christ. He is fatted by taking into Himself the sins of the world. Just as His sides were about to burst from the great girth of your sin, He was slaughtered upon the cross.

This is an occasion for rejoicing. Rejoice because in the slaughter of the calf, all sinners have been given a great feast. You have been given a great feast. The royal robe, once belonging to the Son of God has been placed on your shoulders. The Father falls upon your neck in love and showers you with kisses. The ring is the wedding ring, given to the Bride of Christ.

The Word of God works through the Church, first to vigorously sweep you, scratching deep into your skin to reveal the blemishes of your sin. These sinful blemishes are then exposed to the light of Christ, disappearing in His blood. Only those who have sin need forgiveness. Only those who repent and abhor the sins of their flesh have need to feast on the fatted calf. God has called for His servants to set the table. He has invited His friends and neighbors, the angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven, to rejoice over you and all sinners who repent, those who were lost and now are found.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Luke 15:2.

[2] Martin Luther, Small Catechism.

[3] 1 Peter 5:8; Genesis 4:7.

[4] 1 Peter 5:8-9.

[5] 1 John 2:9-11.

[6] Micah 7:18.

[7] Micah 7:18.

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.

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

 The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity – October 3, 2021

Psalm 122; Deuteronomy 10:12-21; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

St. Matthew 22:34-46

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

The twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of St. Matthew’s Gospel are marked by outright confrontations between our Lord and his enemies. First, the chief priests and elders of the people challenge his authority.[1] Then the Pharisees perceive his parables to be about them and seek to physically strike him but are afraid of the crowds.[2] After more parables, the Pharisees depart to plot how they might entangle Jesus in his own teaching.[3] They send their disciples to catch Jesus endorsing paying taxes to Caesar but are again marveled by his teaching.[4] Then the Sadducees take their turn. They try to catch Jesus in a foolish question about the Resurrection. Our Lord cuts to the quick and silences the Sadducees.[5]

Believing Jesus to be caught on the ropes, the Pharisees return for another volley. They’ve brought an expert in the Law to ask what appears to be a simple question, “which is the great commandment in the law?” Atypically, Jesus gives him a direct response, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”[6] But he doesn’t stop there. “And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”[7]

The Pharisees were all experts in the Law and wanted to catch Jesus somehow denying an aspect of the Law. Their question was not genuine. The answer is part of the Shema, the daily prayer of the Jews, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”[8] This prayer was as important to them as the Our Father is to us. Asking this question would be like asking President Harrison what the fourth petition is. The answer is obvious.

The trick of the Pharisees is to get Jesus to claim his divinity. If Christ calls himself the Son of God or accepts worship, then, in their eyes, he is in violation of this first and greatest commandment. Since Jesus rarely gives a simple answer, they tee him up to ensnare himself in blasphemy.

Of course, he doesn’t. He speaks the truth – more than they were prepared to hear. The Pharisees were experts in the Law and believed the Law to be center of God’s Word. They had forgotten the other center of God’s Word – the Gospel.

These two teachings of God, the Law and the Gospel, must be properly distinguished. However, to properly distinguish them is the highest art. Only a lifetime of enlightenment by the Holy Spirit can begin to teach man how to distinguish God’s Word and yet every Christian must understand the distinction and strive to see how it is done.

The Law is that which God commands. It is good and wise. God commands men and women to be chaste inside and outside of marriage. He commands fathers to protect and provide for their families and he commands mothers to bear children, feed, and tend to them. God’s Law commands rulers to protect the innocent and punish the evil doer. God’s Law commands pastors to preach the whole counsel of God and laity to provide for their pastors. The Law is good. It is perfect. It is holy.

But since the fall, the holiness of the Law condemns us all. We cannot perfectly keep God’s Law and so our sinful blemishes stand out like red paint on a white canvass when compared to God’s Holy Law. No matter what we do, try as hard as we might, nothing of our own doing will compare to God’s Law. Its holiness condemns us.

When we look into the mirror of the Law, we will always see our shortcomings. Have you kept the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods”? “To whom have you looked for the highest good? Have you doubted God’s Word and thus committed idolatry by seeking the highest good from other sources? Which was more important in your daily decisions: God or yourself? What do you fear, what do you love, what do you trust more than God? Have good times deluded you into thinking you are in control? Are you tempted to think you have God and everything you need when you have money and earthly goods? Have bad times caused you to despair and lose hope and trust in God? Have you doubted God’s love for you when you have money problems, loss of possessions, sickness, or injury? Have you been discontent with what God has spoken of Himself in Jesus Christ and in the Scriptures? Have you put your own notions or the notions of others above what the Scriptures say about God?”[9]

The summary of the whole Law is to love God with your whole being and to love your neighbor as yourself. In many ways, these two commandments are really one. To love God with your whole self will manifest itself in love for your neighbor. In loving God, you will show forth love to God’s beloved. It is true that the Law and the Prophets, that is, the Old Testament, hangs on these commandments.

While the Old Testament may hang on these commandments, they are not the center of the Old Testament, nor any of the Word of God. If they were, then keeping these Laws would be the center of the Christian life, the way of salvation, and the only hope for man. “The Law is good; but since the fall its holiness condemns us all; it dooms us for our sin to die and has no pow’r to justify.”[10]

When the mirror of the Law has revealed the sin of our flesh, our minds, and our hearts, we must cry out for mercy. Satan would tempt us to despair saying, “This is the Word of God! There is nothing you can do! Despair and be lost! The Word of God itself has said that you can do nothing, and you are worth nothing. Curse God and die.”

The Christian knows better. The Christian, who has read from St. Matthew, knows there is another Word of God. “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”[11] Jesus reveals himself to be the heart and center of the Word of God. In his flesh is the Gospel, that which God has done for us.

The Gospel is a promise that is already fulfilled. The Gospel is the flesh of Jesus, which was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, died, and was buried. The Gospel is the flesh of Jesus risen on the third day, ascended into heaven, and now comes to you by Word and Sacrament. The Gospel is more than the forgiveness of sin, it is the flesh of Jesus by which you are made whole. The Law says, “Do this.” The Gospel says, “It is finished.”

When Satan tempts you to despair because the Law has convicted your sin, the Christian response is, “Yes, I am a poor miserable sinner, but I have the blood of Jesus. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! And he already has! Begone Satan, for I have the stronger Word of God, the Gospel, by which my sins are forgiven, and I am a child of the Heavenly Father!”

For the young in the faith, this is the beginning of distinguishing between the Law and the Gospel: to know the Law is command and the Gospel is promise. The task of this distinction is hard enough for many. But for the aged in the faith, it becomes more difficult. The temptation is to claim specific verses of Scripture as either Law or Gospel, as though it were always the same. This is not true. Remember, the Law and the Gospel are not opposed. They both come from God himself. The distinction is in us, on account of our sin. God commands man to be fruitful and multiply yet only God can create life.[12] A command and a promise are bound together in Holy Matrimony. It is only because of our sinful nature that the command becomes labor, and the promise is sometimes not realized.

So too, different stations in life receive the Law and the Gospel differently according to the situation. The command to baptize and teach is the sweetest Gospel, undeserved and unmerited gift for the one who receives these holy sacraments. However, for the pastor, the man called to deliver the gifts of Word and Sacrament, they are a solemn duty, a command, the failure to perform bringing harsh condemnation.[13]

The proper distinction between the Law and the Gospel is of the highest art and yet necessary for every Christian to strive toward. The Pharisees believed the Law to be the highest good of God and while it is good, the Law cannot justify. Its holiness demands perfection of man, and we cannot attain it. Yet the entire Old Testament hangs upon it because the Son of David, Jesus Christ, came to fulfill the Law. The flesh of Jesus, his Incarnation, perfect life, death, resurrection, and ascension, fulfilled the demands of the Law. He perfectly loved God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his mind. He perfectly loved you, his neighbor, as himself, by dying in your place. This is the Gospel, the center of the Scriptures. The Old Testament hangs on these commandments because Jesus fulfilled the promise to keep them.

In T Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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[1] St. Matthew 21:23.

[2] St. Matthew 21:45-46.

[3] St. Matthew 22:15.

[4] St. Matthew 22:22.

[5] St. Matthew 22:33-34.

[6] St. Matthew 22:37.

[7] St. Matthew 22:39-40.

[8] Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

[9] “Beichtspiegel, The First Commandment,” Brotherhood Prayer Book (Emmanuel Press, 2007), 611.

[10] “The Law of God is Good and Wise,” stanza 5.

[11] St. Matthew 22:41.

[12] Genesis 1:28; Psalm 127:3.

[13] James 3:1.