The Eighth Sunday after Trinity

 The Eighth Sunday after Trinity – August 10, 2025

Psalm 48; Jeremiah 23:16-29; Romans 8:12-17

St. Matthew 7:15-23

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

“Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.” The Second Commandment consists of two parts: the Name of God and the proper use of His Name. The Name of God of course refers to the many ways He has given to us to address Him: God, Lord, Almighty, Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, etc. His name also refers to every statement that He has made about Himself. Another way we could think of this is pure doctrine. The teachings of the Scriptures are God’s own Words, and they reveal Him to you. As such, everything we belief, teach, and confess is a statement concerning God’s Name, and is governed by the Second Commandment.

The act of believing, teaching, and confessing regards the proper use of His Name and everything that He has revealed about Himself – including His will for the salvation of man and our conduct in accordance with His Word. In the Small Catechism, we state that this commandment means “we should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.” To curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, and deceive in God’s name is to confess a false doctrine. The false prophets of whom Christ speaks preach false doctrine in the name of the Lord. In this, they violate the Second Commandment on top of whichever other commandments they violate with the wicked fruits of their actions.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing have plagued the church from the very beginning, when Satan donned the robes of a serpent to tempt Eve.[1] Aaron, appointed high priest by God, led the people of Israel in the false worship of the golden calf.[2] Many kings of both Israel and Judah led the people in the worship idols, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. During Christ’s ministry, the Pharisees and Sadducees claimed to teach the word of God but, in reality, they taught the doctrines of man.[3] St. Paul taught against the Judaizers and St. John against the Gnostics. There were the heretics of the Early Church, teaching such blasphemies as denying the Trinity, that the Son of God was a creation of the Father, or that the Holy Spirit was nothing more than an emanation of power from the Father and not a Person of the Holy Trinity.

During the Middle Ages, prior to the Reformation, there were many false prophets who claimed the Name of God. The Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars (covering the 7^th through 13^th centuries) each preached some form of dualism in which the material world was evil and only the spiritual world was good, denying that the Almighty God was Lord of heaven and earth. Of course, there were the false teachings of the pope, including the invocation of the saints, indulgences, monasticism, and a form of Semi-Pelagianism in which man must add his righteous deeds to the work of Christ in order to receive salvation.

During and after the Reformation, we see the multiplication of false teachers, each with his own agenda and method of blaspheming God’s Name. Many of these begin with the denial of the Holy Sacraments and eventually lead to the errors so rampant today: salvation by an act of man’s choosing God, the “prosperity gospel,” salvation by equality or social justice, dispensationalism, Zionism, the denial of the orders of creation, and the denial that Scripture is the very Word of God.

Not all false teachings are equal. It is entirely possible for a person to go through life believing that Holy Baptism is an act of obedience telling God that he has accepted Him into his heart and still be saved. But to believe that Jesus Christ is not truly God or that God does not exist as three distinct Persons in One Divine Godhead, closes the door to salvation. Every false teaching is like adding some number of dead bugs to your soup. Can you eat a bowl of soup with one bug in it? Sure. But every bug, including the first, carries the possibility of adding a deadly toxin to your food. Likewise, every false teaching adds a little leaven to your faith, such that at some point, the whole lump of your soul will be leavened.

Now, we don’t have the time to describe, define, and refute every false teaching in the world. However, you likely already think of the various false prophets as falling into either doctrinal error or moral error. This morning it is important to realize that this distinction doesn’t matter. Christ says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”[4] False morality is false doctrine, and false doctrine will show itself in false morality.

After warning His disciples to beware false prophets, Christ tells them that these false prophets will be known by their fruits. These fruits are both the teachings that come out of their mouths and the actions of their lives. A good tree bears good fruit because the tree itself is good. Yet we, as humans, cannot see the inner quality of the tree. We cannot read the hearts of man. We must judge the quality, the character, of the tree by what we can see and hear, that is, the fruits which the tree produces.

And when our Lord speaks of the last day, when many will say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” He speaks of everyone who claims the Name of Christ without holding the purity of His doctrine. They have persisted against the Second Commandment and yet claim to have done mighty wonders in Christ’s Name.

So what then of the noble pagan, the unbeliever who does objectively good things in this world. Don’t their fruits point to a righteous heart? From our point of view, the fruits of such a noble pagan look delicious. So did the apple offered to Snow White yet it was filled with poison. “Anything done apart from faith is sin.”[5] Apart from faith, all the noble works of the unbeliever are sin and a disgrace to the Name of God. If a work is done without thanks, praise, and in service and obedience to God, then it is sin before Him. So though our eyes are dulled by the sin which clings to us still, even such an appealing fruit reveals the rot within.

There is not much on the surface of this text in the way of comfort. It is a text of warning; warning against the false teachers of this world, against false belief, and the consequences of believing false doctrine.

At the same time, the circumstances of the text provide nothing but comfort. Why does a father require his teenage daughter to be home by 10pm? Because he loves her and because he knows the dangers of the world. What comes across to the daughter as strict warning and even unfair limitation is in fact an act of love. Christ warns you concerning false doctrine and the breaking of the Second Commandment because He loves you.

It is Christ who wept at the fall of Adam and Eve and death of Abel. It is Christ who longed for His people to delivered from the hand of wicked Pharaoh. And it is Christ who shoulders the great weight of your sin and carries it to Calvary. That weight was so great, He stumbled twice on His journey to death. Then, after defeating death by His own glorious crucifixion, He descended into hell to proclaim His victory over the grave. This is the victory He has won for you. He nailed your guilt and shame to the cross that it would forever be left behind in the tomb.

And having done all this for you, He wants you to receive the eternal rewards that are your inheritance through Holy Baptism. This, this great love for you is why He is warning you against false doctrine, false prophets, and sinful living. He has given you His Name as a sign and seal of your salvation when He put it on you in Holy Baptism. You have been given His Name to use it, to honor it, and to glorify it. You sons and daughters of God, who have received the Spirit of adoption and are heirs of heaven with Christ, flee every false way and seek the will of the Father.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] Genesis 3:1.

[2] Exodus 32.

[3] St. Matthew 15:9; cf. Isaiah 29:13.

[4] St. Matthew 7:21.

[5] Romans 14:23.

Ad Te Levavi (Advent 1)

Ad Te Levavi (Advent 1) – December 1, 2024

Psalm 25; Jeremiah 23:5-8; Romans 13:8-14

St. Matthew 21:1-9

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

The shape and flow of the Church Year has been handed down to us by our forefathers in the faith. It was built up over a few centuries and has endured in the majority of Christendom ever since. It was created for our use and is instructive to our faith. The year ends by focusing on the last things, when Christ reveals Himself on the last day and gathers all the faithful to Himself for all eternity. The year begins as Christ rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, coming to His people in the Holy City to die for your sins and rise for your justification.

Even as we mark today as the beginning of a new year, it is part of a cycle that will last until that last day. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”[1] Even the secular calendar reflects this cyclical nature God has molded into creation. In some ways, January 1^st seems arbitrary. January 1^st does not mark the beginning of winter. If we didn’t call it “New Year’s Day,” we would hardly notice the change. But at the same time, we hang new calendars, make resolutions, and rewrite the date on checks until our muscles catch up with our minds in realizing it is a new year.

So too, as the Church calendar turns over, we flow from the coming of Christ in glory to His coming in humility, riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. St. Matthew notes that there were two animals—the mother donkey and her colt. One is old and one is new. He also notes that as Christ enters Jerusalem, He is surrounded by a crowd—those who go before and those who come after. In both the animals and the crowd, we see a picture of the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments. At the center of these Testaments, we find the King of glory, the Son of David, the One who comes in the name of the Lord.

From this, we see that Christ is truly at the center of the Old and New Testaments. Apart from faith in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures are a closed book. Sure, you can derive facts of history from these pages, but the meaning is obscure. The Pharisees, and those like them, who had the words of the Old Testament but lacked faith, are told by Christ, ‘you know not the Scriptures nor the power of God.”[2] The person and work of Christ sit at the center of the Holy Scriptures. He is the key to understanding every verse from “In the beginning” to “Amen.”[3]

And which work of Christ sits at the center of those Scriptures? His sacrifice on the cross. He is the branch of righteousness, our righteousness, that must be tossed on the fires of hell that we would be spared.[4]

But what good would that sacrifice be if it was only a historic event? If Christ rode only, or even primarily, with the crowd that follows behind? It would be for your ultimate benefit. It would mean that some day, in the far future, you would be resurrected and be with Christ for eternity. That is certainly our hope, our salvation. But what about when the diagnosis comes? Or the child in the womb is found without heartbeat? Or the cares of this life begin to weigh you down such that getting out of bed takes more effort than you can muster? What then? If Christ rode into Jerusalem to die and rise but then left His people alone, He would be a tyrant. He would be an absent Father. He would be the watchmaker God, who creates the universe, sets it in motion, then sits back and lets the world play out as it will.

No, no. It is for this reason that He is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord. He is not the One who came in the Name of the Lord. He comes. He comes to you in His Holy Word. He comes to you in Holy Baptism. What looks to our eyes as water is a miracle of God, attended by the Holy Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gather around each font every time a beloved child is Baptized. He comes in the Holy Supper. There, He comes physically to you. He is seated on the paten and riding in the chalice. Our eyes see bread and wine, but our faith sees the very body that rode on the donkey, was crucified and was raised. He comes to you every day, as you sleep, as you wake, as you walk, as you talk, as you serve your neighbor, and as you rest in Him and His gifts.

The Baptized child of God is never alone. The communicant Christian receives His body and blood to the strengthening of body and soul. He is the One who goes with you and will never leave you nor forsake you.[5] Christ’s ascension does not mark His absence from His people but His presence. He is with you always, even to the end of the age.[6]

In this knowledge, and in this comfort, in His presence, we can face the diagnosis, the loss, the depression. We can turn toward the world and know that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor power, no things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[7]

What, then, are we to do on this New Year’s Day? We revel in the presence of the Christ who comes to us and we prepare for His glorious return. How do we prepare? With prayer, fasting, and repentance. But not as work or slavish demands. We prepare with joy and in gladness. “To You, O Lord, I life up my soul. O my God, in You I trust; let me not be put to shame. Let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for You shall be put to shame.”[8]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] Genesis 8:22.

[2] St. Matthew 22:29.

[3] Genesis 1:1; Revelation 22:21.

[4] Jeremiah 23:5, 6.

[5] Deuteronomy 31:6.

[6] St. Matthew 28:20.

[7] Romans 8:38-39.

[8] Psalm 25:1-3a.

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity – July 21, 2024

Psalm 48; Jeremiah 23:16-29; Romans 8:12-17

St. Matthew 7:15-23

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

The phrase, “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” is often used to describe someone or something that outwardly appears good, helpful, pleasant, or beneficial, but turns out to be harmful, dangerous, painful, or evil. Such a common use of the phrase is good. It reminds us that Western society is founded on the words of Scripture. But the common use of this phrase is lacking the intensity with which our Lord first spoke it. The result of listening to these false prophets is not bad feelings, sadness, or even death. It is eternal death, condemnation in hell.

Pure doctrine is a matter of eternal life and eternal death. Just before the Gospel text for today, our Lord says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”[1] This sets the stakes for dealing with wolves in sheep’s clothing.

When you stand before Jesus Christ on the final day, it will be your doctrine that is judged. You cannot blame your misunderstandings or false doctrines on your parents or pastors.[2] Those given the office of preacher will be judged more harshly for they are responsible for communicating the Word of God but that does not excuse the hearer.[3] You must stand and confess your faith on your own.[4] It is your responsibility to maintain the true faith once delivered to the saints.[5]

Pure doctrine is not just facts or words to be memorized. Pure doctrine is to come to know the God who created, redeemed, and sanctified you most intimately. Learning pure doctrine is drawing near to the God who took on your flesh to die for your sins. Knowing the Word of God is knowing that Word that is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

For this reason, it is necessary that all Christians know the doctrines of Scripture. It is necessary that all Christians be able to evaluate, or judge, the doctrine of your preacher. How do you do that? By comparing his doctrine and life to the Word of God. The fruits of the good tree and the evil tree are both the teachings and actions of the prophets. Does he teach the Word of God? Are his teachings in line with the teachings of Scripture? Or does he tell you what you want to hear?[6] Does he tell you what is comfortable instead of what God has stated? Does he let sin go unjudged or does he call you to repentance? Does he lead a life that brings honor to the office of Christ? Is he pious and living outwardly such that he is above reproach? Or does he preach against adultery while committing sexual acts with someone other than his wife?

Now, none of this is to be judged by how you think or feel, what is comfortable or novel. It is to be judged by the Word of God.[7] For this reason, it is necessary that the sheep know the voice of the Good Shepherd; that you know the Scriptures for it is they that testify of Christ.[8] Do you rely on “what you’ve always thought,” or “what you’ve always been told”? Or do you search the Scriptures, seeking wisdom and strength?[9]

This is a difficult task. It is an essential task, but it is a difficult one. It is made even more difficult because the false prophets, the wolves, wear sheep’s clothing.[10] These wolves do not wear undershepherd’s clothing, but they hide among the sheep. What does that mean? It means that the false prophet will often hide his false teachings and his wicked life as being common, being “just the way things are done.” He might claim, “well, the Scriptures say that only men are to teach in the church, but that isn’t true here; we’ve always had women read the lessons.”

Such false doctrine is most obvious in the mainline denominations today.[11] Look at how quickly denominations have capitulated not only to women’s ordination, but to accepting, blessing, and upholding homosexuality. A hundred years ago, very few in the church would’ve dreamed of talking about such degeneracy, let alone blessing it. A hundred years before that, and it would be common for preachers to speak of strict legal punishment for such sins because they harm our society, our families, and our children, even if we, ourselves, don’t participate.

“But pastor,” you might say, “are you saying that only Lutherans go to heaven?” By no means! There are Christians in every denomination who confesses the doctrines of Scripture.[12] The Church is not constituted by human organizations. The Church is wherever Christians gather to hear the Word of God taught in its truth and purity and to receive the Holy Sacraments rightly administered.[13] However, every false doctrine they believe is like a dead bug in your soup. Can you survive eating one dead bug? Probably. What about two? Three? Each false doctrine believed by a denomination adds to the filth of their teaching until the whole soup is ruined. Jesus said, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.”[14]

“But pastor,” you might say again, “what if you are in one of those denominations (let’s say, the Methodists) but you don’t believe that false stuff. What then?” Thanks be to God you do not believe the false doctrines of the Methodists, but I would ask why you are still in fellowship with them? To be a member of a congregation is like being married to it.[15] If you are publicly married to one congregation but claim to believe differently, then you are secretly in bed with someone else, some other church. Make it right by joining yourself to the Church which teaching the purity of God’s Word.

What then are you to do, or what is a congregation to do, should you find yourself being led by a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a false prophet who is teaching evil doctrine or living a wicked life? The first thing to do is talk to him.[16] Call him to repentance. Make sure that in doing so, you are able to show him from the Scriptures where his error lies. Make sure it isn’t something that you just don’t like or are unhappy with. Which commandments is he breaking? Which doctrine is he violating? Where in Scripture is he wrong?

If he repents of his false doctrine, thanks be to God! You have won your brother from the fires of hell. Depending on the severity of the false doctrine or the manner in which it was taught, it is then incumbent upon him to publicly repent and teach the proper doctrine.

If he repents of wicked living, the matter is a bit more difficult. Was his sin something that disqualifies him from the Office of the Holy Ministry? If so, then the fruits of his repentance is to resign. If his sin was not to that degree, then again, rejoice for you have won your brother’s soul from hellfire.

If you show your pastor where he has clearly erred – in doctrine or life – and he refuses to repent, then take it to the elders of the congregation and possibly involve the Circuit Visitor. If he still refuses to repent, then it is necessary that the congregation remove him from the Office. This should never be taken lightly, nor should it be the goal of calling the pastor to repentance. Just as the goal of excommunication is the salvation of souls, so too the removal of pastors is for the repentance of sins.

How do you arm yourself to judge the doctrine of your pastor? Immerse yourself in the teachings of Scripture. Too daunting? Begin with the Small Catechism. It is the summary of all doctrine necessary for salvation. Begin there and with reading God’s Word. Read the Bible from beginning to end. Start with the Gospels, then the histories of the Old Testament, then the Epistles, and finally the prophets. Pray the Psalms and the Proverbs. Do this over and over again and you will be equipped with everything to need to judge doctrine.

“We have thought on Your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple. As Your name, O God, so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filed with righteousness.”[17]

In T Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] St. Matthew 7:13-14.

[2] Ezekiel 33:1-11.

[3] James 3:1.

[4] Galatians 1:8.

[5] Jude 1:3.

[6] 2 Timothy 4:3.

[7] 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

[8] St. John 5:39.

[9] St. Matthew 22:29.

[10] St. Matthew 7:15.

[11] Ephesians 4:14.

[12] St. Luke 9:50.

[13] Ephesians 4:5-6; AC VII; SA XII.

[14] 1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9; St. Matthew 16:5-12.

[15] 2 Corinthians 6:14.

[16] St. Matthew 18:15-20. What follows is an outline of the teachings of this passage. It should be noted, though it was outside the scope of this sermon, that public sin (such as public teaching) does not always require private admonition. What is contained in this sermon assumes an existing relationship between the pastor and the parishioner.

[17] Psalm 48:9-10 (the antiphon to today’s introit).

Ad Te Levavi (Advent 1)

Ad Te Levavi (Advent 1) – November 27, 2022

Psalm 25; Jeremiah 23:5-8; Romans 13:[8-10] 11-14

St. Matthew 21:1-9

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

No one man, not even a group of men, sat down and created the Church Year, or the liturgy. It has developed over hundreds, even thousands of years. Because of this slow development, handed down over generations, there are some parts of the Church Year that don’t seem to make sense. This slow development has also led to many insights that one man alone could not conceive. The beginning of the Church Year occurring with Advent and the choice of the Triumphal Entry as the first Gospel reading of the year are just such magnificent insights.

The word “advent” means “coming.” Thus, in the season of Advent, we celebrate three times our Lord comes to man. First, He came in the flesh, born of a Virgin in Bethlehem. Second, He comes to us by grace, wherever His Word is spoken, and His sacraments received. Finally, He will come in power and might to judge the living and the dead.

The season of Advent is then the perfect bridge to bring us from the end of the Church Year to its beginning. We end the Church Year hearing our Lord’s teachings and warnings about His return. We heard of the division of the Sheep and the Goats, where many who believe they are Christians by their outward works will be condemned and those whose faith has taken hold in their hearts will be saved.[1] We heard also of the wise and foolish virgins, in which our Lord calls His beloved Church to vigilance, for we know not the day or the hour of His return.[2]

After this focus on Christ’s return in judgment, we hear of our Lord entering Jerusalem for the last time. He comes humbly, seated on a donkey, and rides into the city to die. He is coming to fulfill His ministry. He is coming to fulfill your salvation. He is coming to die that He would rise and conquer death. This text is heard in the context of Advent, the season immediately before Christmas, when we celebrate His coming in the flesh, the Incarnation. The Son of God must have taken on flesh so that He could die in your place. Therefore, we begin the Church Year by encompassing the two greatest feasts on our calendar: the Incarnation at Christmas, and the death and resurrection at Holy Week and Easter.

Christ’s entry into Jerusalem has another aspect that directly affects you today. The crowds that gather to hail our Lord proclaim, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”[3] You sing these words every Sunday, as you hail the coming of your Lord in and under the Bread and Wine. You sing them in the Sanctus. 

When the crowd proclaims them, they are reciting at least a portion of Psalm 118, if not the entire psalm. What is far more interesting is that they change the psalm. The twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth verses of Psalm 118 read, “Save now [or hosanna], I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.”[4] The crowd replaces the divine name, “O Lord” with “the Son of David.” This is a Messianic title. They are saying that Yahweh, the Lord God Almighty, is the Messiah, the Savior, the One who comes to save them. What’s more is that they are saying that this Jesus is that Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah who is the Lord God Almighty and has come to save them from sin, death, and the devil.

There is a problem, however. This same crowd, when asked about the identity of this man, will call Jesus nothing more than a prophet from Nazareth.[5] It is almost certain that a portion, if not the entirety, of this crowd will also be present days later when they cry out, “Crucify Him!” These subsequent actions force us to ask, “Did they know what they were saying on Palm Sunday? Did they know they were heralding the coming of the Son of God in the flesh?”

Scripture is silent as to their understanding and so we cannot answer this question. There were certainly some within the crowd who had faith and knew Jesus to be the Messiah. Even some of these likely got caught up in their own sin and joined in with the cries to crucify their Messiah.

A more fruitful answer to the question of just what the crowd understood is this, “Do you know what you are saying?” The danger of a set liturgy is it can become rote, memorized and repeated without thinking. How often do you find yourself reading from the page, responding from memory, or even forgetting to respond without thinking? How often do you look up from your morning devotion and not remember a single word you have read? How often have you not cared about what you say, chant, sing, or read?

These are truly dangers to your soul. Such sloth is dangerous because it is treating the Holy Word of God as less than common. If you can recite the stats of players from the Chiefs but not a psalm, then shame on you. If you know the words to the top 10 hits of any decade but cannot sing a hymn from memory, then shame on you. This is not from lack of access nor opportunity. It is from lack of desire.

It is true that memory is difficult and becomes far more difficult with age. The shame of which I speak does not come from the failure of your memory but from your misplaced priorities. The desire to know the Scriptures, to know what God says to you is part and parcel of faith. If only we recognized the multitude of gifts God has given us each day, we would shout with joy, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever!”[6] Instead, we grumble when trouble arises. We grumble with fear when facing a situation that seems hopeless. We accuse God of being unjust because we don’t get what we want. We sound like spoiled children. 

Nothing we sing, speak, read, or pray in the Church that just fills the silence. Drawn from Scripture, the Liturgy is God’s Word coming to you in manifold and rich ways. No one can be expected to know and understand every insight of the liturgy, but all are expected to receive it. All can sit in quiet contemplation of the Word of God. All can search the Word of God for the understanding of why we sing what we sing or say what we say. You may not find the answer to your specific question, but you will be enriched by the journey.

Lest we fall into the trap of moving from slothful ignorance of God’s Word to purely satisfying intellectual curiosity, remember that it is in the Word of God and His Holy sacraments that Christ comes to you today. He comes to you in that very Word which we sing, chant, speak, and read. He comes to you humbly, seated in Bread and Wine. He comes to you in grace, not on account of your preparations or worthiness, but on account of His love and mercy. He has descended into your flesh so that you would be elevated to be with Him in eternity.

Today, and at every celebration of the Lord’s Supper, when you sing the words of the Sanctus, remember that you stand with the crowds. You stand with them both as they hail the coming of their Lord and cry out for His death. You stand with them because you are prone to fall into sin. You stand with them as you hail the coming of your Savior. You also stand with them as you await the final coming of Christ, when He will descend not upon a donkey or a paten, but upon a cloud. You stand with the crowd in the shame of your sins and cry out to the one who has come to relieve you of those sins. You stand and sing because the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] St. Matthew 25:31-46; the Holy Gospel for Trinity 26, the Second Last Sunday in the Church Year.

[2] St. Matthew 25:1-13; the Holy Gospel for Trinity 27, the Last Sunday in the Church Year.

[3] St. Matthew 21:9.

[4] Psalm 118:25-26.

[5] St. Matthew 21:11.

[6] Psalm 118:1.