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 Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity – September 22, 2024

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

St. Luke 14:1-11

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

When Christ our Lord went to the house of a ruler of the Pharisees for dinner on the Sabbath, he posed a question to the lawyers and Pharisees. He asked, “It is lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He is not asking them to compare the Third and Fifth commandments. This is not a question of whether it is more important to love God or love your neighbor. Rather, our Lord is asking these experts in the Word of God which is more important, the moral or ceremonial law?

When we consider the Law of God, we are right to distinguish the laws given by God to man into three categories: the civil, moral, and ceremonial laws. This division of the law is given by God, Himself when He says, “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded…”[1]

The civil law is a particularization of the moral law, given by God, to produce a certain kind of outward behavior by which the civil society might be best governed among the people of Israel, the Old Testament nation of the Hebrew people.[2] That is to say, the civil law takes the precepts of the moral law and makes them fit the particular nation of God’s people in the Old Testament.

The moral law is written in the hearts of man from the moment of creation.[3] It is the eternal will of God and it is summarized most clearly in the Ten Commandments. Our Lord summarizes the moral law even further when asked about the greatest commandment in the Law, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[4]

The ceremonial law is a particularization of the moral law regarding the worship of the Triune God. Put another way, the ceremonial law is God’s description of how man is to keep the First, Second, and Third Commandments. However, the final purpose, or the goal of the ceremonial law is in three parts: 1) to be a reminder of sin;[5] 2) a shadow of what is to come, that is, Christ Himself;[6] and 3) to guard our consciences until the coming of Christ.[7]

Everything about the ceremonial law was given so show our need for a savior and to tell us about Him. Therefore, once the Christ came, once the Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among His people, once He bore the sins of the world upon His shoulders and died to atone for them, the ceremonial law was fulfilled and no longer had a purpose. God showed the end of the ceremonial law to His people by tearing the temple curtain in half from top to bottom at the death of Jesus.[8]

Our Lord’s question to the Pharisees is the same as asking, “Which takes priority: the eternal will of God, rooted in the love of God and love toward neighbor or the temporary law given to point to the Savior who is sitting in your midst?” The silence of the lawyers and Pharisees is deafening. When phrased this way, the answer to our Lord’s question is obvious. It was probably obvious to you from the moment it was read because you’ve read your bibles and listened to sermons on this text before. But, if you allow your conscience to be silent and content not to meditate on the meaning of the question, then you do not know the Scriptures nor the power therein and your silence is as deafening as that of the Pharisees.[9] “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things.”[10]

By asking the Pharisees what seems like a simple question, our Lord is asking if they are babes requiring spiritual milk or if they are mature and prepared for spiritual meat.[11] The same Word of God is spiritual milk for the unlearned and hearty meat for the mature. These Pharisees, who thought themselves mature, are not willing to speak up, to engage with Christ. They are also not willing to put their supposed mature faith to practice as they would’ve done nothing for the dropsical man. Their faith is sluggish and immature and yet they would claim to be the teachers of Israel. In this way, our Lord is mocking the Pharisees that they would see their error, repent, and begin anew to receive the Word of God.

The same is true of us. Our Lord’s words seem simple, but they hold a deeper challenge to our spirituality and our understanding of the Word of God. Upon hearing such a question that seems simple, your soul ought to begin to wonder, “Why is our Lord asking this question?” “Is He referencing the Old Testament?” “To whom is He speaking and what do I have in common with them?” Such questions will foster the faith given to you by the Holy Spirit into a more mature understanding of God’s Word. And, guided by the light of the Holy Spirit, you will find yourself growing in wisdom and understanding.[12]

And should you take an honest assessment of yourself and find that you are the immature and in need of spiritual milk, then you have the example of the man with dropsy. He was likely a fellow Pharisee, though we don’t know for sure. He may have been a servant or even someone passing by on the street. The only person recorded as speaking in our reading is Christ but the man with dropsy is the only person who was not expected to speak. He stood silent before the dinner party and silent before Christ. Our Lord knew his needs without him saying a word. He came into the presence of Jesus and our Lord healed him with three straight forward actions: He took him, and healed him, and let him go.[13]

So too, Christ has had mercy on us all. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again and ascended into heaven. Such a simple, straightforward miracle for the recovery of your soul from hell. There is an infinite depth of understanding to be had in these words, but the simple truth is easy to grasp for all the immature requiring spiritual milk.

It is fashionable among Lutherans to always speak of how we are all children before God and therefore we require nothing but spiritual milk. Christ even says, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”[14] But these words are often misunderstood (at best) and abused (at worst). It would be false humility to make a show of being immature. It would be false humility to assert your rights as being more humble than someone else. It would be false humility to insist that no one is exalted. Such false humility is nothing but the height of sinful pride.

 Pride is the love of your own excellence, even if you’ve fallen in love with your excellence in false humility.^[15] “[True] humility is the virtue by which a man recognizes his own unworthiness because he really knows himself” and agrees with God’s assessment of man.^[16] It is so very easy for us to overlook our own pride because it brings results. Results make us feel better. Feeling better about ourselves causes us to love our own efforts, our own ideas, ourselves for our own excellence.

Pride is not the same as striving for excellence, or godly ambition. As a Christian, you are called to grow in wisdom and understanding of God’s Word. The entire life of the Christian is one of catechesis, growing in the Word of God. No one ever outgrows the Word of God. There is always more to learn and more to receive.

Striving for excellence is not the same as loving your excellence. Loving your excellence is thinking highly of yourself; striving for excellence for the sake of recognition from others; and seeking worldly gain solely based on how great you are. This is pride. This is sin.

Humility, on the other hand, is the basis of our salvation. The Son of God humbled Himself to be born of a virgin. He took on our flesh and made Himself unworthy of salvation by bearing the sin of the world. He who knew no sin became sin for you, so that you would become worthy of His salvation.^[17] It could even be said that Christ humbled Himself so that He could learn our suffering, and having learned our suffering, He might bear it to the cross and bring it to an end.

It is because the Son of God took on flesh for our salvation that humility is the fundamental Christian virtue. It is the basis of the Christian life – humility to confess, repent, learn, grow, and receive the gifts of God with a pure heart. The Christian must always strive toward humility because such an endeavor means you are striving to live as Christ.

There is a single road between sin and salvation. Each step toward salvation is a step away from sin and each step toward sin is a step away from salvation. Thanks be to God we are not left alone on this journey. Christ died for you that you would share in His life. The victory over sin and death is won for you. The gates of eternity stand open. The days of your life on this side of glory are perilous because they contain temptations to pride. Every day presents you with manifold opportunities to turn away from salvation and indulge in your pride, the love of your own excellence; to take the highest seat of honor and stick up your nose at those less fortunate than you.

Yet every day also presents you with the opportunity to repent. Every day offers you the opportunity to look at yourself and recognize yourself for who you are. You are a sinner. Sin lies at the door, waiting to devour you.^[18] You are unworthy of salvation because your heart is willing to turn from God and indulge your flesh.

You are also a child of God. You have been washed in the waters of Holy Baptism. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who forms your prayers to be acceptable to the Father.^[19] You have received the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Because you know the mercy and love of God, you have access to the Father. You may come to Him and beg forgiveness.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Deuteronomy 6:1.

[2] This definition comes from Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, Chemnitz’s Works, Volume 8, translated by J. A. O. Preus (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2008), 619.

[3] Romans 2:15.

[4] St. Matthew 22:37-39.

[5] Hebrews 10:3.

[6] Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1; 8:5.

[7] Galatians 3:24.

[8] St. Luke 23:44-46; St. Matthew 27:51; St. Mark 15:38-39.

[9] St. Matthew 22:29; St. Mark 12:24.

[10] 1 Corinthians 2:14-15.

[11] Hebrews 5:12-14.

[12] Psalm 119:105; St. John 16:13-15.

[13] St. Luke 14:4.

[14] St. Luke 14:11.

[15] Bernard of Clairvaux, “On the Steps of Humility and Pride,” Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works, The Classics of Western Spirituality, translated by G.R. Evans (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1987), IV.14 [112].

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

[17] 2 Corinthians 5:21.

[18] Genesis 4:7.

[19] Romans 8:26-27.

Wednesday Vespers following Populus Zion (Advent 2)

Wednesday Vespers following Populus Zion – December 7, 2022

Psalm 85; Malachi 3:1-5; 4:1-6

St. Matthew 11:11-15

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

The Book of the Prophet Malachi is somewhat of a mystery. We know it was written after the return from exile and after the restoration of the Temple. It seems that it was written either at the same time as Ezra or within a generation. Worship in the Temple had been restored and enough time had passed for both the people and the priests to grow weary of the temple sacrifices.

It is so easy to become weary with the things of God. Reading the same texts year in and year out becomes boring. The hymns of our fathers aren’t relevant.

Another way to become weary is to shift your focus. Rather than reading the Word of God, it is more exciting to listen to radio preachers, watch the History Channel, or let your pastor do the heavy lifting. “As long as he is preaching, I don’t need to read it.” If you can’t remember singing a hymn from your childhood, then it must not be a traditional hymn. Decorations, presents, and parties are the focus of Advent rather than repentance, the Word of God, and preparing to receive your Lord. The world is having fun so why can’t we?

In Malachi’s day, the people began to bring sick, blind, and lame animals to be offered as sacrifices. Our Lord denounces these actions for two reasons. First, they are disobeying His commandment. His people have been commanded to bring Him the first fruits of their labor, the best of what they have to offer. By bringing diseased animals, the people are mocking the Lord as though He wouldn’t notice or as though they are more worthy of a healthy beast than God.

Second, the people of God are despising His priests. The Levites were given no inheritance, no land on which to raise cattle or wheat. They were sustained by the offerings of the people. By offering sick and blind animals, the people are depriving the Levites of their wages. They are depriving the ministers of God of their rightful sustenance that they might dedicate their lives to God, His Word, and His people.

At the same time, our Lord denounces the priests as well. The priests have failed in their duty to warn the people. Rather than rebuke them for offering profaned sacrifices, the priests were accepting these sickly animals and proclaiming the people righteous for it. The priests failed both to teach the people concerning right sacrifice and to guard the Temple of the Lord from profane things.

It is again, so easy to become weary with the things of God. Why bring God a tenth of what you have when He already has everything? Why offer the sacrifice of prayer when God already knows what you need? Why worry about avoiding sin when God has promised to forgive your sins? When your sins have been washed away in Baptism? When you can come to confession?

Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.”[1] God will not sit idly by while His people become weary and His preachers become lazy. He sent His messenger in the person of St. John the Baptist, whose duty was to prepare the hearts of men to receive their Lord.[2] How is a heart prepared to receive his Lord? It is prepared by being confronted by sin. St. John did not have a pleasant job. He was not given the task of preaching concerning the vision of a beautiful heaven. He, like Malachi, was called to teach concerning the Law of God. When the people are not following the Law of God, John must show them their sin.

It is never fun to be told you are sinning. No one likes to hear his conscience say, “Don’t do that! God is watching!” let alone to have someone else do it. Cries of “Tyranny!” and “Who do you think you are?!” and “Who made you God?!” immediately burst from our lips.

At the same time, we ought to be thankful for Malachi and John. Men like these, sent by God, are messengers sent before the coming of the King. It is their duty to prepare you so that you will not be caught unawares.

“Who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?”[3] None can stand according to our sin. None can stand according to our nature. None can stand without having heard the preaching of men like Malachi and John.

When the Lord comes, “He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap.”[4] If you remain in your sins, if you reject the Word of God, if you reject the preaching of Malachi, you are a solid rod of dross. When the refiner’s fire is applied to the rod, it will be entirely burned up.

But to you who fear the Name of the Lord, you are a rod with a core of silver. When the refiner’s fire is applied to you, your sinful dross which still clings to you, will be purged from the rod. Such purgation will leave behind a pure rod, a rod of pure silver. It is this pure rod which can offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness, pleasant to the Lord.[5]

The faith of the people in Malachi’s day was revealed in their profane sacrifices. The faith of the priests was revealed in their sloth. No one needs to claim that we cannot see their hearts because their faith is revealed in the works of their hands. This has not changed. Your faith is seen in the works of your hands.

Now, do not mistake me. Do not lie awake tonight trembling over your works, “Have I done enough? Have I done the right things? How much more do I need to do?” These questions are useless. God is not concerned with the quantity of your works. Malachi is no where writing about such questions. God is concerned with the orientation of your heart. Do you seek to follow the Word of God? Do you fear the Name of the Lord?

“To you who fear [God’s] name, The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.”[6] To fear the name of the Lord is akin to loving Him. It means you do not want to disappoint Him. It means you understand that you are undeserving of His love. It means you trust that He has forgiven your sins by His mercy and that even still, you are as an ant to a young boy with a magnifying glass in hand. To fear the Name of the Lord is to desire never to disappoint your Heavenly Father and trust that He will always, always hold you tenderly in His hand.

The rising of the Sun of Righteousness points directly to the Incarnation of our Lord. It speaks of His descending into the flesh of man because in this flesh, He brought healing. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity became man so that He could die. By His death, you are healed. You are purged of the sin and filth of former times. You are made righteous, as in the days of old, as in former years, when Adam and Eve were made stewards over the earth but had not submitted to temptation.

Though your eyes cannot see it and experience tells you otherwise, this healing has already taken place. It occurred when Christ breathed His last on Friday and then breathed again on Easter morning. By this healing, “you shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that” Christ conquered death.[7] Though the world roar and foam; though Satan claw at your soul with his wickedly sharp talons; though your own heart would leap from your chest to obtain the objects of its lust; you shall trample such wickedness because Christ is yours. Because your heart has been turned toward your Father and His heart toward you.

Therefore, “remember the Law of Moses, [God’s] servant.”[8] That is, remember the Law of the Lord. Until Christ returns, it will never seem like you are trampling on the wicked. In fact, it will always appear that the wicked triumph and the Church suffers. In this age, it is necessary to remember the moral law, to recite the Ten Commandments and the Table of Duties, so that you would not grow weary. Do not grow weary of righteousness so that you will not be caught unawares. Do not grow weary of hearing the preaching of Malachi and John so that you too would be called to repentance. Repent for the sake of loving your Heavenly Father.

Repent now, for the reality is that the triumph of the wicked is only an illusion. The wicked are nothing more than a wolf backed into a corner. They lash out fiercely because they know they are soon to die. The war is won. The wicked are defeated. Any last efforts are only the final actions of a dead man, because the Sun of Righteousness has arisen and has brought healing to all who hear the Word of the Lord.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Malachi 3:1.

[2] St. Matthew 11:14.

[3] Malachi 3:2.

[4] Malachi 3:2.

[5] Malachi 3:2-4.

[6] Malachi 4:2.

[7] Malachi 4:3.

[8] Malachi 4:4.

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 Sixth Sunday after Trinity

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity – July 24, 2022

Psalm 28; Exodus 20:1-17; Romans 6:1-11

St. Matthew 5:17-26

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

Do not think that Christ came to destroy the Law. He came to fulfill it. Truly, I say to you, until Christ returns, not one tiny facet shall pass away from the Law. Until that time, whoever breaks even the least aspect of the Law shall be guilty of the whole Law. It is therefore necessary that your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees for you to attain salvation.[1]

No matter who you are or what you have done; no matter how much money you’ve given to international missions or how many orphans you’ve fed; your moral purity and perfection cannot exceed the Scribes and Pharisees. Your right conduct cannot attain heaven. No amount of training in ethics or morality can keep the Law, let alone fulfill it.

Thanks be to God that this is the purpose of the Incarnation. Christ became man to fulfill the Law because you sinners can’t do it. Before your day of birth, even from your conception, you and all the earth stand condemned and lost. Not only are you turned away from God, but you constantly deny Him.[2]

Jesus took on your flesh and bore your sins upon His perfect shoulders to fulfill the Law. He who knew no sin became sin on your behalf.[3] He perfectly obeyed the law, every jot and tittle, yet submitted Himself to the death of the worst sinner. By this, your sins are forgiven. The Law is fulfilled in His sacrifice because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.[4] His death for your life. This is the fulfilling of the Law.

And yet there is a time between the fulfilling of the Law and the passing away of the heavens and the earth. At the Incarnation, Christ did not come to judge the earth, but to fulfill the Law. There will come a time when Christ will return in judgment. In those days, the heavens and the earth will pass away. So too will the need for the Law to reveal our sin. Our baptisms will be made whole on that day because with the heaven and earth, the sinful nature which still clings to us will be finally destroyed.

But until then, we must do battle against this sinful nature. You who have been washed in the Blood of Jesus at your baptism, must fight against the urges of the sinful man within you. This is the teaching of Christ our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount. He speaks not of moral perfection. That is the teaching of the Pharisees. When He calls you to a righteousness greater than the morally pure Pharisees, He is calling you to His own righteousness. He is calling you to the righteousness found in no other name under heaven.

This righteousness of Christ is yours in the waters of Holy Baptism. Because it is yours, it also necessarily affects you. You cannot wash your hands and claim there is no difference afterward. Something has changed. In this case, you have become the dwelling of the Holy Ghost. You are now a holy one of God, a saint, a true child of your Heavenly Father. Christ dwells in you and you are a new creation.

What does this mean when it comes to temptation? The Pharisees would say that it means you must outwardly obey the Law. “Thou shalt not kill” means you shall not take the life of another person. The Pharisees teach in the line of Cain.

Christ, however, teaches in the line of Abel. “Thou shalt not kill” means you “should fear and love God that [you] may not hurt nor harm [your] neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.”[5] Even if you hate your brother in your heart, you’ve already killed him. When Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by God, the Lord came to Him and said, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”[6]

Cain had already killed Abel in his heart, but the Lord is calling him to repent. This sin, if left unchecked, will boil up from Cain’s heart into his hands. If it gets that far, Satan is waiting to receive Cain into the fire of hell.

So it is with you. Are you angry with your brother, wife, mother, or neighbor? If so, you’ve killed him in your heart. Satan is sitting at your door, ready to welcome you into the fires of hell. Do not give him the advantage. Quench the fire of sin in your heart by being reconciled to your brother, wife, mother, or neighbor. Repent of your sin before God and your neighbor so that Satan would not have another companion in his torment. This is what Christ is calling you to do.

What does it mean to be reconciled? It means to repent of your sins to your neighbor. It means to restore something that you have broken. If you have hurt or harmed your neighbor in his body, reconciliation might look like not only repenting but mowing his lawn until his ankle is healed. Maybe it looks like picking up the medical bill or paying to have his fender fixed.

Reconciliation does not mean pretending that nothing has happened. If your sister has something against you, repent and offer to help. If she refuses your apology or refuses to accept your help, there is nothing you can do. You are not bound by another’s actions. You are bound by your own. A bridge cannot be built from one shore. Christ is teaching you today concerning your own sins and how to be reconciled when you are legitimately the one at fault.[7] No one is above these sins against our neighbor. Take time to examine your conscience and see where you have broken even the least of these commands. I’m certain you will find something because the Law will always accuse your conscience, even as it instructs you how to love and trust in God and keep His commands.

Jesus has died in your place to fulfill the Law. He is calling us this day not to fulfill the Law ourselves; nor even to ‘do our part after He’s done His part.’ He is calling us to believe what He has done for us and to show forth the fruits of salvation so that we do not join Cain, Saul, Ahab, Judas, and Simon in eternity.

Give thanks to God! Your baptism revives your soul and makes you whole. So use it well, because you are a new creation in Christ! Live out your vocation in faith, being reconciled to those around you. Then shall come the day when Christ will place the glorious robe of righteousness, which you have possessed since the day of your baptism, upon your shoulders forever.[8]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This paragraph is a summary of St. Matthew 5:17-20.

[2] The preceding two sentences are a summary of stanza 2 of All Christians Who Have Been Baptized, by Paul Gerhardt, as found in Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), hymn 596.

[3] 2 Corinthians 5:21.

[4] Hebrews 9:22.

[5] Small Catechism, 5^th Commandment.

[6] Genesis 4:6-7.

[7] For instruction on reconciliation when you have been sinned against, see St. Matthew 6:8-15; 18:15-20.

[8] All Christians Who Have Been Baptized, stanzas 5-6.