The Sixth Sunday after Trinity

 The Sixth Sunday after Trinity – July 27, 2023

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

St. Matthew 5:17-26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] Walther, Gospel Sermons, 55.

[2] St. Matthew 5:20.

[3] James 2:10.

[4] St. Matthew 12:36.

[5] James 4:17.

[6] Galatians 3:10.

[7] Romans 6:3-4.

[8] Romans 6:5-6.

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

[10] Romans 6:1-2.

Septuagesima

Septuagesima – February 16, 2025

Psalm 18; Exodus 17:1-7; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:4

St. Matthew 20:1-16

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

Christ calls you into the vineyard of His Church purely by grace. Notice that in the parable, none of the workers presents a resume or shows he is physically prepared to work in the vineyard. Likewise, the landowner does not evaluate the workers based on their skill or ability to work in the vineyard. He goes out early in the morning and calls workers into His vineyard. This is a call by grace; grace that is undeserved and unmerited. The call is the activity of the Lord alone. Even the acceptance of the workers is by grace. He does not invite them or open the door so that the workers can choose to pass through. He calls them and tells them to go into the vineyard. This is most apparent in the calling of the final group of workers. The landowner literally commands them to work in the vineyard rather than offering a job contract.

The calling of the workers is the calling of people into the Church. It is how Christians are made. They hear the Word of the Lord and are called, gathered, enlightened, sanctified, and kept in the Holy Christian Church by that Word. The Holy Spirit works on the heart of man to turn it from a stony heart, set against God, to a heart of flesh, warmed by the love of God. This call is not deserved by anyone. The greatest philanthropist in the world is not called into the vineyard by his works of love toward his fellow man. He isn’t even prepared to receive the love of God by his acts of charity toward man. The heart of man is set against God by his conception. It is the miraculous call of God alone that brings man into the Church.

This call comes at different times and in different circumstances to different men. The landowner goes out five times to call workers into His vineyard. Each time, He finds different workers who, for one reason or another, did not receive the earlier calls. Perhaps they were standing there from the wee hours of the morning, heard the earlier calls and rejected them. Perhaps they slept in.

From this, we see that Christians receive the call of faith at different stages in life. Some are born into Christian families and raised in the faith. Their entire life is one spent working in the vineyard. Others come at midday, perhaps being converted to the faith as teenagers or young adults. Then there are those who are called near life’s end. They have spent the days of their lives idly standing in the marketplace, consumed by the cares of this life. But in the eleventh hour, the Lord called them by His Word to join the workers in the vineyard.

We can also see these different stages of life simultaneously. There are those of you who have labored in the vineyard seventy, eighty, ninety or more years. You are among the first called to work the vineyard and have born the burden and the heat of the day. There are those of you in middle age, who were called at the third, sixth, or ninth hour. And then there are the little ones, the children, who by comparison were called late in the day. You, little ones, have been called at the eleventh hour and are the newest workers called into the vineyard. No matter the time spent in the vineyard or the circumstances, the call was by grace and received through faith.

Those called into the vineyard are called to work in the vineyard. They are laborers. What then, is the work that you have been called to do as one called into the vineyard of Christ’s Church? The first work is to hear and receive the Word of God. This is not a work given only to the “professional” theologians but to every Christian. Every Christian is called to give a defense for the hope that resides in him.[1] As such, it is necessary that Christians not only force their eyes to glide over words on a page of the bible but to ponder those words in your heart. As you read or hear the words of Scripture, you need to consider their meaning. Think about what the words mean in their immediate context and how they interact with the rest of the Scriptures.[2]

Don’t just sit and passively listen to sermons. Hear the words and consider them in your heart. Perhaps you didn’t understand something. Ask your pastor for clarification later on. Perhaps your pastor misspoke. Gently show him where he was wrong from the Scriptures or give him the chance to correct a poor choice of words. Maybe he needs to repent.[3] Perhaps he has given an example within the sermon that doesn’t exactly fit your circumstance. Think about how what he said might apply to you and if you are struggling to see how it fits, talk to him. Ask him.

Attend bible study and do not focus on the warmth of your coffee or the taste of the sugary treat. Consider the words, the topic at hand. What do these words mean? What do they mean for you? How do they impact your faith and life? This type of active listening is, in fact, an encounter and interaction with God through His Word. It takes practice and it takes effort. But in this effort, you will be greatly rewarded. You will be rewarded with the wage promised at the beginning of the day, the day of your call to faith wherein eternal life was promised to you.

The second work in the vineyard is to attend to your vocations. Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, employer, or employee? A neighbor, citizen, or leader? Attend to those vocations according to the Word of God. Being a Christian certainly means you have duties to your congregation. These duties begin with regularly attending the Divine Service and devoting yourself to the Word of God and prayer but also include supporting the work of the congregation through your time, talents, and treasure. This Wednesday, weather permitting, is an excellent opportunity to serve the congregation as we gather to clean the interior of the building. Serving the congregation might mean volunteering for leadership positions or being ready to take a meal to a brother or sister in need. It might also mean simply talking to them, showing interest in them as people.

Such work in the congregation might mean submitting to those already in leadership positions or even just those who have more experience in whatever need you are helping to meet. Sometimes it means venturing into something in which no one has experience. In any situation, setting about the work of the congregation requires communication and humility. Asserting your own way by right is not love, nor is assuming everyone thinks the same way as you. Communication is key. Humility is key.

Sometimes this humility means raising up and preparing others for the works that you once did. Each time workers were added to the vineyard, the amount of work for each worker was divided among a larger labor force. One worker took what he was doing and gave a portion of it to another. On the one hand, that meant less work for each individual. On the other hand, in giving some of that work to another, it means giving up a portion of control. The former cannot control every work of the latter. The foundation laid by the first is important and essential, but the efforts of the last are just as important. There comes a time when the work must be divided among the laborers and this requires communication and humility. It requires the first to be prepared to give authority to others and the last to humbly learn from his forebearers.

The third work of the vineyard is evangelism. In the parable, it is the landowner directly calling the workers into the vineyard. However, we also see that the landowner employs stewards, that is, He works through means. The Word of God is delivered to the world through the lips of Christians. It is the work of every Christian to be the light of the world, shining the love of God in the dark world, both in deed and in word.[4]

Experience shows that while pastors have been given to the public proclamation of the word, it is the lips of the laity that most often reaches the ears of the unbelieving world and draws men to the Church. How do you best accomplish this? Most important is to build relationships with people. Listen to them. Ask questions. When someone makes a comment like, “I have a relationship with God, I just don’t go to church,” ask them, “What do you mean by that?” or “Tell me more about that.” Give them the opportunity to clarify what they mean. Most often, they are simply repeating words or phrases they’ve heard without giving it much thought. Giving them the chance to really consider what they mean will often give you the opportunity to say, “This is what I believe about God and the Church.”

However you go about establishing such a relationship, it should always lead to a conversation about faith and where Christ has promised to be (in His Word and Sacraments). Someone might enjoy walking through those doors because you are a nice bunch of people but that should never be why they are here. If it is, then they are set up to be hypocrites – those who act like the faithful but will find themselves locked out of the wedding feast when Christ returns.[5] The reason to be here is because Christ has promised to be here, giving you His word of forgiveness and especially giving you Himself in the Holy Supper. To hear the Word of God and receive His Sacraments is and always will be the primary purpose of the Church because it is the definition of the Church.

When it comes time to distribute the wages, they are given out from last to first. If we understand the last to be those called into the church late in life, they truly have spent the least time working in the vineyard and likely have suffered the least for the name of Christ. Yet these are rewarded the same as the rest of the workers – eternal life with Christ. If we understand the last to be the children, who have also spent the least time working in the Church and likely suffered the least for the name of Christ, they too are rewarded with eternal life in Christ.

In fact, there are many things we can learn from the faith of those called at the eleventh hour, whoever they may be. Christ commends the faith of little children, saying, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”[6] Children trust that what you say is true. They are also curious, always asking, “Why?” This is to be commended. How shall they learn without someone to teach them?[7]

With age and experience, we tend to keep the questions but lose the trust. We assume that we always know better or even that every source of knowledge is questionable. We question the motives of everyone around us. Are there charlatans? Of course. We shouldn’t be naive. But we should put the best construction on everything, especially when dealing with brothers and sisters in the faith. If something sounds off, ask questions. “What do you mean by that?” “Tell me more about that.” Loves suffers long and is kind, not insisting on its own way but rejoicing in truth.[8]

This is doubly true when confronted with God’s Word. A child wants to know why something happens in Scripture because they are not as familiar with the whole bible. An adult often doesn’t like what they hear and wants to find a loophole. An adult asks ‘why’ hoping to find a way that it doesn’t apply to him.

And this is why those called first are indignant with the landowner. They are offended that those called late in the day would be paid the same wage when they haven’t put in the same work. They resent the landowner’s call and the landowner Himself. They are not concerned with the Word of God but their own interpretation of it. If God acts contrary to what they think is right, it is God’s fault, not theirs. He is unfair for not conforming to their idea of fairness.

By man’s standards, God isn’t fair. And thank God He isn’t. If God was fair, then we would all be doomed. If God was fair, He would give us what we deserve – His wrath and displeasure, temporal death, and eternal damnation.[9] Yet God is merciful by not giving us what we deserve. He is gracious to give us something we don’t deserve. His call into the Church is by grace. We don’t deserve it, but He gives it to us. From those called in the early morning to those called at the last hour, we are saved by God’s grace, completely undeserved and unmerited.

For those who insist on being recognized for their long hours, days, weeks, or years of service to the Church, the Landowner gives them their denarius and sends them out of the vineyard. He gives them their earthly due – the praises and respect of man. But He casts them into the outer darkness. They have no home with Him now or in eternity. Their great works toward man are but filthy rags before God because they were done without faith, without thanks for the gracious call into the vineyard.[10] Despising the Church is despising God.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] 1 Peter 3:15.

[2] Acts 17:11.

[3] St. Matthew 18:15; 1 Timothy 5:1-2.

[4] St. Matthew 5:14.

[5] St. Matthew 25:10-13.

[6] St. Matthew 18:3-5.

[7] Romans 10:14.

[8] 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

[9] Romans 6:21, 23.

[10] Isaiah 64:6.

The Commemoration of All Saints

The Commemoration of All Saints (obs.) – November 3, 2024

Psalm 31; Revelation 7:2-17; 1 John 3:1-3

St. Matthew 5:1-12

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

In Holy Baptism, your soul, stained with the impurity of your sin, is washed in the blood of the Lamb. It is made white in the purity and righteousness of Christ. His righteousness is imputed to you, that is, it is made yours by faith. This robe of righteousness is not strictly figurative. Christ is, Himself, united to you in Holy Baptism. And, since Christ is in the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, Holy Baptism joins the entire Trinity to you. This spiritual union is a glorious gift of God.

There is another union with Christ. The Sacramental Union with Christ occurs when you receive the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Savior. In the Holy Supper, Christ joins His physical body with yours. What is spiritually joined in Baptism is physically joined in the Supper. It is in this way that faith is strengthened and for this reason we can proclaim that the Holy Supper strengthens and preserves you in body and soul unto eternal life.

They physical union with Christ is necessary because we are physical beings. If we were somehow only spiritual, then a spiritual union with Christ would suffice. But we are created, embodied beings. We are the crown of creation. We have been given dominion over all the rest of creation and as such, it is meet and right that God would join Himself to us not only spiritually, but physically.

And if the Lord has said that He is physically present in the Supper, if He has said that This is His Body and This is His Blood, then who are we to deny it? Or who are we to treat it as common food? If we cannot trust the Lord who has joined Himself to us in such a physical manner, how can we trust His other physical promises?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, Blessed are those who mourn, Blessed are the meek, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Blessed are the merciful, Blessed are the pure in heart, Blessed are the peacemakers, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”[1]

Each of the Beatitudes praises and proclaims blessings on those who are seen as weak and reviled by the world. No one will advance in the world by seeking to be poor in spirit, mourning, meek, or pure. This is something Christ tells us directly, “because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”[2]

Almost every year, on the Commemoration of All Saints, I have taught that the Beatitudes have their first fulfillment in Christ. He fulfills each of these statements to their fullest. At the same time, the Beatitudes find fulfilment in you, Christians. This is precisely because Christ has joined Himself to you. You are spiritually and physically united with Him and if the world hates Christ, so too the world will hate you.

What is worse is the truth that hypocrites exist in the Church on earth. There are those who will persecute you and think they are doing service to God.[3] And these will seek to tempt, to deceive, to persuade even the elect, if possible, to join them in the persecution of the Church.[4] Therefore we must holdfast to the true Word of God. We must holdfast to the true Bridegroom of the Church, who has united Himself to all His people.

And it is, in fact, because of this union that we experience persecution, affliction, and suffering. This is, in fact, a promise and a blessing of God. By persecution, affliction, and suffering – both spiritual and physical – we know that we have been united to Christ. He has chosen you to be united with Him in a death like His, that you might also rise to a new life like His.[5] Like a father proudly training his son in the family business so that one day, he might inherit his father’s life’s work, Christ joins you to Himself. He joins you to His own suffering and affliction because He loves you. It is not torment. It is not masochistic. It is an act of love.

On the one hand, He does it so that you would be driven away from sin and into His loving arms. He allows the suffering of the saints on account of our sin and that we would know that we have been truly united to Him. Even the martyrs sit beneath the altar of the Lamb in glory, crying out ‘How long until our blood is avenged?’[6] They are not so arrogant as to believe their blood is more righteous than Christ’s. They are crying out for the vengeance against their persecutors on account of the Blood of Christ’s. It is Christ’s blood that speaks better things than that of Abel’s. Abel’s blood cries out for redemption in the very blood of Jesus.[7]

We do not seek out suffering. We don’t have to. The Lord has promised that it will come to His faithful because they have been united with Him. At the same time, we do not have to earn our rest. He has promised that our reward will be great in heaven.

We commemorate, today, all those who have received that reward, or at least have received it in part. The saints in glorious array who have fallen asleep in Christ enjoy the nearer presence of Christ. They enjoy a union with Christ that we, the Church on earth, are still looking forward to. While our union with Christ is by faith through Baptism and physical in the Holy Supper, their union is glorious as they stand before Christ in His flesh. Their souls enjoy the company of the whole host of heaven, and they are given to worship Christ, whom they can see with their own eyes.

And yet even these have something greater to look forward to. Their glorious union with Christ will be made complete in the resurrection of the flesh. Currently, they worship Him in soul, freed from sin and in joyous rest in Christ. At the resurrection, they and all the saints of God, will worship Him in their own flesh. At that time, our union with Christ will not be mediated by water, bread, or wine. It will be in actuality, in a way that we can only dream of now. St. John says “now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”[8]

While the saints in glory are at rest, even they long for the day when we will be made like Him, receiving bodies glorious as He is glorious; pure as He is pure. Thanks be to God that He has joined Himself to us, united us to His Holy Body and Precious Blood in spirit and truth; even if that means we must endure a time of suffering, just as our Lord did on our behalf. Let us rejoice with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven as we look forward to the day when we too, will be at rest in body and soul, united with Him in glory.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] St. Matthew 5:3-11.

[2] St. John 15:19-20.

[3] St. John 16:2.

[4] St. Matthew 24:24.

[5] Romans 6:5.

[6] Revelation 6:10.

[7] Genesis 4:10; Hebrews 12:24.

[8] 1 John 3:2-3.

The Commemoration of All Saints

The Commemoration of All Saints (Obs.) – November 6, 2022

Psalm 31; Revelation 7:2-17; 1 John 3:1-3

St. Matthew 5:1-12

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

The “Church Triumphant” is a term referring to the saints in glory. These Christians have come out of the great tribulation, rest from their labors, are before the throne of God day and night, neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun does not strike them, nor any heat, and God has wiped away every tear from their eyes. The Church Triumphant are presently gathered with angels and archangels in the eternal worship of the Lamb seated on the throne. The Church Triumphant have shed their sin-stained rages and put on the white robes won for them by the death of Jesus.

The “Church Militant” are the Christians on this side of glory. We are the Church Militant, who are amid the great tribulation, who struggle against our own sin, who struggle against the sinful world seeking to claim ou r souls for hell, who must cling to the Word of God as a sure and certain promise of eternity, who receive the Body and Blood of Jesus with the eyes of faith but whose physical eyes see only through a mirror dimly. Our white robes were won on the cross and given to us in Holy Baptism, but we must await to don them until our own transition into the Church Triumphant.

These terms, Church Militant and Church Triumphant, are very helpful. Militant reminds us that on this side of glory we are never without a struggle. The Church is continually in battle. Individuals must daily fight against sin – your own and the sins of others against you. As the Body of Christ, the Church Militant must daily fight against false doctrine, against the sinful world, and against the temptations seeking to snatch the sheep from the flock.

Triumphant reminds us that the war is already won. Even when there are days where sin wins the battle, the war is already ours. Christ has held the battlefield and won the victory on our behalf. When Christ returns, there will only be the Church Triumphant. Suffering, temptation, and struggle will cease. War will cease. Spiritual war will cease. The Final Judgment is final and will pronounce the Church Triumphant.

Do not be confused, however. There are not two different Churches. Militant and Triumphant are two different battalions in the same Church. The Church Militant and the Church Triumphant are still one Body and Christ is our head. The Church Triumphant, those Christians whose bodies have been committed to the earth and whose souls enjoy the nearer presence of Christ, are not asleep nor transfixed in a zombie-like state of staring at Jesus. They are alive and active. They are singing the praises of Jesus, praying to him, and praying for you. According to the Revelation to St. John, they are at least aware of the passing of time on earth if not aware to some extent of the events on earth.^[1]

According to St. Paul, these same saints are gathered with us. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”^[2] St. Paul does not limit this surrounding of the great cloud of witnesses only to the worship service. He seems to indicate that the saints in glory are present with the saints on earth, even if the awareness of one another is only passing.

That said, the Church Militant and Church Triumphant are closest as we worship the Lamb on the Throne together. The veil between the sides of glory is thinnest during the divine service, which is how we can say, “with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven.” What’s more, the Church Triumphant is not joining us in an earthly song. God would never be so cruel as to ask the saints in glory to condescend to a worship created in the imagination of man.

Rather, the Church Militant is exalted to join the Church Triumphant in her song. We sing the song of heaven, “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Sabbaoth!” This is the song of the Holy Angels and the saints in glory. We are given to sing the eternal words of the heavenly worship each Sunday as we prepare to feast on the Body and Blood of the Eternal Word. Blessed are we who have inherited the Kingdom of God, we sons and daughters of the King.

The distinction of the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant, which are united in the Eternal Body of Christ, should help us to understand the Beatitudes. They are not a checklist for getting into heaven. They are not a menu of the rewards for specific deeds. The Beatitudes are a description of Christ and the virtues to which all Christians are called.

Each of the Beatitudes is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. Christ is purely poor in spirit, descending into our mortal flesh. Christ truly mourns the sin of the world and condemnation of the wicked yet is comforted by the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Angels. Christ humbled himself to born of a virgin. Christ hungers and thirsts for your righteousness. Christ is merciful to forgive your sins by dying your death. Christ is pure in heart and has seen the Father face to face from all eternity. Christ makes eternal peace between God and man. Christ was persecuted for the sake of your righteousness and was reviled beyond any contempt shown for man. Christ ultimately fulfills each of the Beatitudes.

Jesus also spoke these words to his disciples. He spoke them to the Church Militant. He is speaking them to you today. But again, the Beatitudes are not a checklist of requirements and rewards. Our Lord is telling us who it is He considers to be blessed and what the result of such blessing is.

It is undeniable that the pace of our world has increased tremendously. Information travels instantly across the globe. Not too long ago, even this instantaneous information was slowed by the fact that you must sit at a computer or television, attached to a wall, in order to receive it. Now it is as close as your pocket. Physically, cars have gotten faster. Speed limits have risen. What used to be a day trip is now only an hour or two away.

This rapid pace has dramatically affected our language. There isn’t time to carefully consider your words because any hesitation will put you behind the current thought. Emails and text messages expect a rapid response, and it is viewed as an insult to tarry. Books are shorter. Sentences are shorter. If you only have a few seconds to respond, your vocabulary must shrink. A smaller vocabulary means you have less options of words to use to express your thoughts. Less options mean less decisions. Less decisions mean faster responses.

The problem is that as our collective vocabulary dwindles, the ability to convey meaning also dwindles. We’ve assumed that synonyms all mean exactly the same thing so there is no use in a variety of language. Small does not mean the same thing as minute, even though they might be synonyms. Each has a certain color, a slight deviation in meaning that gives the word a unique meaning and helps you to communicate with your fellow man.

What does this change in our language have to do with the Beatitudes, aside from acknowledging our difficulty with some of the vocabulary? When was the last time you heard or read the word “blessed” outside of the holy Scriptures? What did it mean? I’m willing to bet it didn’t mean anything specific. “He led such a blessed life.” Usually this means that guy got lucky.

Who does Jesus say are blessed? The poor in spirit; those who mourn; the meek; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; the merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers; those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.[3] These are the virtues extolled by Christ. These are the virtues which Christ sees in His beloved Christians. These are also the virtues to which we ought to aspire.

You hear, “poor in spirit” and likely think of someone whose faith is a faintly burning wick. You probably think of this person as struggling with his faith. Jesus says he is blessed. Why is he blessed? He is blessed because he has faith. He is struggling against his sin and struggling to understand how a just and merciful God could love a poor miserable sinner like him. He is struggling against his flesh, trying to put of the old man but always doing that which he knows he shouldn’t and failing to do that which he should. He is poor in spirit, but he is blessed because the kingdom of heaven belongs to him.

The Beatitudes and the entire Sermon on the Mount can be classified as “wisdom literature.” This means it is intended to be read and reread. It is intended to be pondered over. Ruminating on the Beatitudes requires time. It requires a slow, lifelong effort. As a cow chews its cud, one must continually chew on the wisdom of God, thereby slowly gaining the spiritual nutrition offered therein.

Only by such rumination can you come to understand the Word of God, let alone such wisdom as is contained in the Beatitudes. It would be easy if there was a verse in the Bible that said, “Jimmy, you are meek because it is within your nature to put the needs of others before yourself, like when you chose to continue working 60 hours a week in the factory rather than take the high paying sales job which would require you to travel 5 days a week for the sake of your children.”

This would not require wisdom of Jimmy. It would not require wisdom of you. Wisdom requires you to read the word of God, consider its meaning, place it in the context of the whole counsel of God, and slowly see the word of God blossom into the reality of your mind, body, and soul. This is wisdom and this is wrought within you by the Holy Spirit.

Stop looking for the quick answer. Do not wait for a pastor or radio preacher to tell you exactly what to do in every situation. You may think that trusting the word of your pastor is the Christian thing to do but it is trusting in man. Assuming that any man—clergy, academic, or otherwise—to be correct in every situation is trusting the traditions of man as the word of God.

Instead, go to the source, ad fontes. Search the word of God and ruminate on it. Soak it in. Take responsibility for your own salvation by going to the word of God and to the place where Christ has promised to be with His people—the Church. Receive these words not so that you can make your own decisions about what it means, but so that you can receive the meaning of these words.

As part of this rumination, the Church looks to her saints, the Church Triumphant. We look not to these saints to help us, to intercede for us, or to make the definitive interpretation of the Scriptures. Rather, we look to see how the Word of God worked in their lives, in their thoughts, and in their hearts. We give thanks that God has worked faith in Jerome, Luther, and Walther. We are comforted that if such great sinners as Peter, Paul, Mary, and Augustine can be forgiven then we too shall be forgiven. Then we see the great works of faith demonstrated by Martin of Tours, John the Steadfast, Al Viets, and so many others, and we imitate these works.

We recognize in these works the blessings Jesus speaks of in the Beatitudes. We take these examples into consideration when we ruminate on the word of God as examples for how God’s wisdom may be faithfully shown forth in daily living. Thus the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant are again united in the working out of the faith as well as in the forgiveness of faith.

The comfort of the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant is our unity in the Body of Christ. If we abide in his word, he abides in us. If we abide in Christ, we abide together with Ron, Betty, Norm, Judith, Susan, and Al. This unity with the saints in glory cannot be taken away. Our experience of this unity can only grow as we too make our way into glory.

The Beatitudes progress from declaring those enduring temporal suffering to those demonstrating spiritual virtues, only to conclude in suffering persecution, reviling, and wicked deeds. The response to this is to “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”[4] Your reward in heaven is complete unity with all the saints and eternal worship of Christ. You will be like the glorified Christ and shall see Him as He is, face to face. You shall see him and know him. Blessed are the saints in glory, for their journey is complete. Blessed are you, for you are never alone. Blessed are we, for together we sing the praise of Christ, who has washed our robes and made them white in his blood.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

[1] Revelation 6:9-10, “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’”

[2] Hebrews 12:1-2.

[3] St. Matthew 5:3-10.

[4] St. Matthew 5:12.