Invocabit (Lent 1)

Invocabit – February 18, 2024

Psalm 91; Genesis 3:1-21; 2 Corinthians 6:1-10

St. Matthew 4:1-11

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

The first and most important lesson to take from the Temptation of Christ is that He suffered the temptations of Satan and overcame them on your behalf. The war between Jesus and the devil begins right after Jesus’ birth, as the servant of Satan, Herod, sought to murder the infant Jesus. But on that occasion, the devil worked through his agent to assault the Son of God. It is not until Jesus is Baptized, anointed by the Holy Spirit, and marked by the Word of the Father as being a pleasing and acceptable sacrifice for the sins of man that the devil took a personal stake in assaulting Jesus.

Baptized by John, Jesus is immediately hurled into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. It was the will of God that Jesus be tempted in the wilderness. He willingly submitted to this temptation. If He had not, then the devil could not tempt Him. The devil is powerful, but he is not omnipotent. He is not the “equal-but-opposite” of God. The devil is, after all, an angel, a created being, a spiritual being.

Why might Christ will to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness? To win the victory on your behalf. When Adam and Eve were tempted in the garden, they fell, choosing to listen to the word of the serpent and eat the forbidden fruit. When the Israelites were tempted in the wilderness, they fell, complaining against Moses, Aaron, and God, and saying they preferred slavery in Egypt over freedom with God. When given the land of Canaan, the Israelites were tempted to worship the false gods of the Canaanites, and they fell, worshiping Baal and Asherah.

By contrast, our Lord was cast into the wilderness to be tempted and win the victory. But He did not win the victory for Himself. “He battled as the Surety, the Mediator, the Substitute of the whole human race, for all men, for us who are gathered here. Through sin all men sold themselves to Satan; all became his servants and subjects of his kingdom. To redeem and save men Christ came as the real Owner of all the souls of men in order to conquer Satan, destroy his kingdom, take his booty away again, free us from his power, and lead all men through the kingdom of grace into the kingdom of eternal glory.”[1]

So it is that we can see Christ taking the place of all mankind in the struggle against sin, death, and the devil. He is winning the victory that you cannot win. He humbly and willfully submits to being tempted by Satan to fulfill the Law of God. Your salvation was not won by breaking any rules. God did not simply assert His authority over all creation and rewrite the laws of reality. Instead, He entered into reality, into creation, that He would win the prize of your salvation according to the Laws which He already wove into the world. When He told Adam and Eve that in eating the fruit, “dying you shall die,” He meant it. The consequence of sin is death. In order to fulfill this Law, someone must die.

Thus, being anointed as the acceptable sacrifice for sin, Jesus submits to being tempted that He might fulfill the whole Law. Where man has failed, Christ has stood steadfast and won the victory. By His overcoming temptation, we see that He is truly the unblemished Lamb, acceptable as the perfect sacrifice for all ages. This is by far and away the most important truth of the temptation of Christ.

Knowing that Christ was tempted on your behalf and won the victory over temptation on your behalf, you are now free to see His actions as an example for your own. Such an example should never overtake the fact that Jesus defeated Satan for you, but it is the necessary consequence. Seeing David strike down Goliath, the Israelites were spurred on to victory, chasing down the Philistines and killing every last soldier and plundering their tents.[2] The actions of the army would be impossible, let alone insignificant, if not for the actions of the lowly shepherd boy from Bethlehem. So much more is this true of the actions of Christ and the resulting actions of all Christians. We have seen our Almighty General conquer in the fight. This should then rouse our souls to imitate His glorious victory as we chase down and smite the remnants of the devil’s pitiful army.

The example of Christ for us to follow in fighting against the temptations of Satan are three-fold. First, we see that Christ has been in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights without food or water. He has been fasting. At first, this seems like a weakness. At first, it seems as though Christ would be at His weakest and that is the reason that Satan has chosen to tempt Him at this time. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”[3] This fast of Christ is an example of the spiritual discipline of fasting which strengthens you against the temptations of the flesh.

The primary purpose of fasting is to remind you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.[4] The result is the training of your flesh, bringing it under the control of your faith. Fasting, if you are not used to it, is difficult. Remember, fasting is not just “giving something up for Lent.” To fast is not to eat. Christians have always practiced fasting, but the guidelines have been different at different times and in different places. Sadly, these guidelines have sometimes become the basis of controversy in the church as though God had commanded a specific method of this discipline.

The basic guideline to fasting is to not eat for a period of time. If this is something new for you, you might begin on Sunday mornings. Do not eat until after you have received the Sacrament. By the time we get to the Lord’s Supper in the Divine Service, you will notice how hungry you are and the first sustenance you receive will be the Body and Blood of Christ. If you would like to go a step further, choose a day of the week—historically Wednesday or Friday—on which you will not eat from sunup to sundown. When you do eat, it should be a lighter meal for the practical reason that gorging yourself on an empty stomach is not good for your gut but for the spiritual reason that fasting is not an excuse for gluttony. And if you would like to go even a step further, then fast on your chosen day from the time you wake up until you go back to sleep.

The second tactic to learn from Christ is how to counter the temptations of Satan. The devil tempts Jesus with corrupted versions of creation and the Word of God. He tells half truths and offers that which he has no right to give. Such temptations are incredibly enticing for man. Yet we see Jesus not only parry, or deflect, such attacks of Satan, but He delivers a riposte, or counterattack. How? He rightly uses the Word of God. He rightly takes that given to Him by the Father and uses it against such false teachings.

For you to use such a tactic first means you must know the Word of God. You must be familiar with the teachings of Scripture. It is one thing to quote Scripture. Even the devil can do that. It is another entirely to use it appropriately. This requires that you read the bible every day. You must be steeped in the Word of God. The pace at which you read the bible is dependent upon you. Maybe you are only capable of reading a few paragraphs a day. Maybe a chapter. Maybe multiple chapters. I can tell you that you are capable of reading more than you think. Challenge yourself to read more than you think you can. There are myriad bible reading plans out there. If you need one, let me know and I’ll get you one.

Being familiar with the Word of God, being steeped in it, is only the beginning. It is necessary that you commit the Word of God to memory. No matter your age or your relative ability to memorize, it is possible. Start with the verses you already know. Almost everyone in this room knows John 3:16. Excellent. Then, think of every time we sing or speak verses of Scripture in the liturgy. You probably already have those memorized. Most everyone here today could participate in the Divine Service without looking at your hymnal for the ordinaries, that is, the parts of the liturgy that don’t change.

From there, think of the verses that are used in the catechism and those verses choses for the Congregation at Prayer which correspond to the catechism. If you worked to memorize only those passages I’ve already mentioned, you would arm yourself with close to 100 verses of Holy Scripture. The next step would be practicing using those passages. When you are tempted to sin, speak aloud a corresponding Word of God. Tempted to gluttony, then say, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”[5] Tempted by anger, then say, “Do not avenge [yourself], but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”[6]

The final tactic to be learned from our Lord is reliance on God and his ministers, specifically the Holy Angels. Amid temptation, it is vital that you remember relief is at hand. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for [the Lord is] with me.”[7] Though they are unseen, God has appointed the Holy Angels to be ministers to His beloved, a mighty army encamped around the children of God.[8] No amount of suffering or temptation will last forever for those who trust in the Lord. “And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, those these all be gone, the victory has been won, the kingdom ours remaineth.”[9]

The comfort and ministration of the Holy Angels may not always be as apparent as those who ministered to Christ after His temptation, but your temptations are also not as apparent as the Devil whisking you away to top of the temple nor showing you all the kingdoms of the earth. Just as your temptations are real so too is the ministry of the Holy Angels real. Whether in the guise of mortals or simply working unseen, the Holy Angels will and do minister to all of you. In fact, they always guide and protect you. Be strengthened in the knowledge that all the heavenly host is on your side and fighting with you against Satan, all his works and all his ways.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] C. F. W. Walther, Gospel Sermons, Volume 1, translated by Donald E. Heck (St. Louis, MO: CPH, 2013), 160.

[2] 1 Samuel 17:51-53.

[3] 1 Corinthians 1:27.

[4] St. Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3.

[5] St. Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3.

[6] Romans 12:19.

[7] Psalm 23:4.

[8] Psalm 34:7.

[9] A Mighty Fortress, Stanza 4.

In Memoriam + Alan Kelvin Viets +

In Memoriam + Alan Kelvin Viets + – November 6, 2022

Psalm 23; Genesis 3:8-21; Revelation 21:1-7

St. John 11:17-27

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

It is typical of Near-Eastern, and hence Old Testament, thinking to view time as a cycle. Perhaps an image more familiar to many of us is an extended slinky. Viewed from the top down, you see only a circle. From the side, this circle becomes a continuous spiral. Having that picture in your head, it is quite easy to apply to time. Seasons come and go, always in a cycle. Months begin and then months end – another cycle. We gather every seven days to celebrate the Lord’s Day. In the smallest sense, each day is its own cycle. There is evening and there is morning, another day.

The Holy Spirit has used this cyclical nature of time throughout the Scriptures to teach us concerning salvation. Aside from the repetition of evening and morning in the days of creation, we are not given an indication of when particular events occur until we hear that the Lord came walking in the cool of the day.

The picture painted for us is of a cosmic day. Everything is created through the Word of God in the beginning, that is, the beginning of the cosmic day. It was then during the heat of the day that the serpent, the Ancient Dragon, deceived Eve. The early to mid-afternoon is a particularly vulnerable time for man. He has been tending the garden all day. It is now halfway between lunch and supper. Stomachs begin to rumble, and it is time for a snack.

It is also, as I said, the heat of the day. While the work of Adam and Eve in the garden was no toil, it was still work. They did not ache from their labors, but they certainly grew hungry. Perhaps they grew tired. Whatever they were feeling, we can be relatively certain that Satan waited until Adam and Eve were at their weakest before tempting them with the forbidden fruit.

Such is the way with Satan and temptation. It makes little sense to tempt the strong. That requires too much work. It is far more opportune to attack the weak. Yet even Satan knows not to look at strength and weakness through the eyes of man. The Pharisees would be seen by man to be strong in faith, yet Satan knew the weakness of their hearts. He knew to tempt them with power over their fellow man. The weakness of the Pharisees is the desire to be like God, commanding men and receiving their worship. Such weakness makes them vulnerable to the temptations of Satan.

Having fallen to temptation, Adam and Eve hide among the trees and bushes as they fashion clothing for themselves. The sun begins to set, and the day has become cool. It is then that God comes looking for His beloved creation. The setting of the sun indicates darkness is creeping over the land. God already knew what had happened, yet for love of man He called out that man might return to the Lord, His God.

The cosmic day continues to turn toward evening as God pronounces judgment upon Satan, promising the day when the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and the serpent would strike His heel. He also curses woman with pain in childbearing and desire for the authority of her husband. The land is cursed because of the man, and he is cursed to labor and toil all the days of his life. He will laud his authority over woman and life in strife because of it. The day grows darker.

Yet even in this darkness, there is the light of promise. There is the lamp of the promised Seed, God’s Anointed One, who at the fullness of time would come to save the world. When Jesus is crucified, as He breathes His last, the sky goes dark. This is often seen as creation itself mourning the death of the Son of God. What’s more is that the cosmic day has reached the darkest night. For those three days of rest for Christ in the tomb, the cosmic day sat at midnight. The light of Christ had gone dark in a tomb of stone.

It is not until the first light on the third day that it is revealed that death could not hold Him. Death could not restrain the Son of God. No one lights a lamp to place it beneath a basket. A lamp is lit to be held high, giving light to all who look upon it. Jesus Christ is the light of the world and darkness cannot overcome Him. The darkest night and deepest tomb cannot hold our God because He is the Almighty Word by which creation came into being. By death, He defeated death. By submitting to the darkness of the tomb, He conquered the night. By rising the third day, He has promised everlasting light to all who receive Him, who believe in His name.

At the last, when Christ has returned to gather His faithful as a hen gathers her flock, the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire. When all has been destroyed, a new creation will arise. This new creation will have no need for sun, moon, or stars; no need for lights, lamps, and fire. The Son of God, sitting on the throne, will be all the light we need. He will shine in glory with the radiance glimpsed by Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. In that day, the faithful will rejoice and sing in the presence of Christ because we shall be like Him, sharing in His glory.

The resurrection of Christ on that first Easter morning was the beginning of a new day. This is the new day of Christ’s church. What was foretold to our fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has come to pass. A new day has dawned. But this new day is not the final dawn. It is not the final day. This new cosmic day is fast waning. We find ourselves already facing the darkening night of the new day. In this sense, we must look to Christ both as our Redeemer and as our example.

When I say example, I don’t mean that you, too, must be crucified for the sins of the world. Nor by your obedience will you merit eternal life for yourself or anyone else. What I mean is that we must take up our cross and follow Him. We must see that on this side of glory, the life of the Christian is to bear a cross. Suffering has been promised to us. Loss has been promised to us.

Being children of Adam and Eve, death will come for us all, so long as Christ waits to return. Death will come for us, and it is never pleasant. We can fool ourselves into thinking that someone died peacefully in her sleep, or that “that was the way he would’ve wanted to go,” but that is not true. No one wants to go. No one wants to die. Death is terrifying because the experience of death is the tearing apart of body and soul. Death comes for you in the darkness of night.

Death is the outcome of the crosses we bear—our own death and the death of loved ones. We ought to mourn Alan and all who have died in Christ because death is painful. It is not good. But we should never mourn without hope. We mourn with hope because we know that dawn is coming. Like the wise virgins, we are prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. We are prepared the dawning of the final day.

Martha is prepared for the dawning of the final day. She is confident that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world.[1] But Martha had also fallen asleep. Remember that in the parable of the ten virgins, both the foolish and the wise fall asleep. All ten virgins fall asleep when they are supposed to be watching for the Bridegroom.

Martha has likewise fallen asleep because in focusing on the dawning of the final day, she has forgotten that the Christ, the Son of the Living God is present with her right now. She is standing in His presence. The Resurrection and the Life is standing before her in flesh. With man, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.[2]

It is good, meet, and salutary to look forward to the dawning of the final day, when you will be reunited in the flesh with your father, husband, friend, and brother. That will be a glorious day. You will see Alan’s face by the glorious light of Christ, a light that will never fail nor falter. But do not forget to rejoice in the union you presently have with Alan. You are a member of the Body of Christ. In Holy Baptism, you too were made a member of the Body of Christ. You, Alan, and all the Baptized Saints of God are gathered in the One Body of Christ.

Although there is presently a separation in time and space, there is still unity in Jesus. He is the Resurrection and the Life, something both you and Alan possess. This is especially true during the Divine Service. So much of what we sing is borrowed from those portions of Scripture where visions of the worship in heaven is recorded. We are singing the songs of the heavenly host. We are singing the songs of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. We are singing them together. We never worship God alone for we are members of His body.

Thus, we boldly confess with Martha that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God who has come into the world. We confess that He is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome. We also confess that this Light is present with us now. As the world turns toward darkness, as suffering on this side of glory grips our hearts and wearies our souls, we look to the coming of the dawn.

We look to the horizon and eagerly await the coming of the Christ because we have His promise that He will come to gather us home. The promise of the return of Christ is as sure and certain as the promise that He would crush the head of the serpent. The certainty of this promise is written in stone such that it is as good as though it had already happened. We can look to the dawning of that first Easter morning to see what our own resurrection will look like.

And since we know the end of the story, since we know the dawn of the final cosmic day will come, we can bear our crosses, endure suffering, mourn with hope, and travel this world of darkening night in joy. We can go about our days in peace and joy. We can remember Alan and all the departed saints in joy because we know they are not dead but living. We are in the near presence of Christ, and they are in His nearer presence. It is now evening and there will be morning, the final, glorious day.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. John 11:27.

[2] St. Matthew 19:26.

In Memoriam + Susan Kay Fields +

In Memoriam + Susan Kay Fields + – November 1, 2022

Psalm 23; Job 19:21-27; Romans 3:19-28

St. Luke 2:25-32

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

Although Scripture does not tell us his actual age, it is presumed that Simeon is an old man when he sings the words just read. “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant, depart in peace, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples.”[1] Presumably many years before, the Lord revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the coming of the Lord’s Christ. When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple, Simeon joyfully took up the child and burst forth in song.

What Simeon is praying for is death. He is praying that God would release him from this veil of tears because the Word of God had been fulfilled. The Savior had been born to save the world from sin. Confident that the Christ had come to forgive his sins, Simeon tells God that he is ready to die in peace.

Be very careful not to misunderstand these words of Simeon. When he asks to depart in peace, Simeon is not asking for a quiet death. He is not praying to fall asleep with a pleasant dream and simply not wake up on this side of glory. The peace in which Simeon prays to depart is peace with God. This peace is only possible with the coming of the Savior, the coming of the Son of God in human flesh, the coming of Jesus Christ.

St. Paul writes that “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in [God’s] sight…for there is no difference; all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”[2] To be justified in God’s sight is to be declared, to be made, righteous, and yet there is nothing to be done according to the deeds of the law for man to make himself righteous. All have fallen short. All have sinned. All have sinned first through the original sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, and then through the sins of your own flesh; sins in thought, word, and deed.

What are these sins? They are the works of the flesh: adultery, fornication, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, wrath, selfishness, dissensions, envy, murder, drunkenness, and the like.[3] Anything that is contrary to the will of God is sin and there is no one who is free from sin. All have fallen short of the glory of God.

Falling short of God’s glory would not present a problem if God was unjust. If God was unfair, unjust, and played by inconsistent rules, then sin would not matter. God would choose those whom He likes, or who please Him, and they would be saved. Those He doesn’t like; they would be damned. But the True and Living God cannot be persuaded. He cannot be bribed. He is not partial and He is not unfair. God is just.

God’s justice means that the only fair punishment for rebelling against His Word is death…eternal death. All sin is worthy of eternal death no matter how slight in your eyes because all sin is a despising of the God who created you. According to God’s justice alone, man does not stand a chance.

The evidence of sin and the consequences thereof lay before us today. Susan died because of sin. Do not misunderstand me, she did not die because God was punishing a specific sin. God is not so petty as to punish a lewd joke with a terrible disease. No; Susan died because she is human and in being human, she has participated in the sins common to all mankind. The wages of sin is death.

Thanks be to God that He is not only just. He is also the justifier of man. What does this mean? It means that God Himself is the one who took on human flesh. It means that God Himself lived a perfect life. He was born without sin because He was born of a virgin, without inheriting the sin of Adam. As Jesus walked through Galilee and Judea, teaching and healing, He was also gathering the sin of man upon His shoulders. When the Pharisees and the mob took Him to Pilate and demanded Jesus be crucified, He humbly submitted to an unjust death.

Where God is perfectly just, man is unjust. Therefore, God submitted Himself to an unjust death. The sins of man that He bore on His shoulders, He carried with Him to the cross. As Jesus Christ breathed out His final breath on the cross, He died the death that every human deserves. He endured the anguish not only of His own torturous death on the cross, but the physical and spiritual torment due to every human at every time and in every place. There is no suffering common to man which our Lord did not endure.

This same Jesus rested in the tomb for three days and then rose again. Christ rose from the dead not only because He is God, but because death had no claim to Him. He had not sinned in any way. The wages of sin is death and He had not earned death. Because of this, Jesus broke the power of death. He broke the chains of death. He ripped the teeth out of the vicious dog.

This is what Jesus means when He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”[4] The death and resurrection of Jesus is the opening of the doorway to eternal life. Death no longer has dominion over those who are in Christ Jesus. Thus, when Simeon prays for a peaceful death, he is not rushing to die. He is not trying to hurry along. He is not looking for a death with dignity. He is asking that God would deliver to him the joys of salvation, that which has been promised to him in the death and resurrection of the Christ.

There was not a moment of Susan’s illness that was not torturous. Aggressive cancer is an ugly sight. It is an ugly sight because it is a visual reminder of the ugliness and the terrible effects of sin. It is the body consuming itself through growth against the will of man and the will of God. How can a just and merciful God allow such suffering, especially to one of His dear children?

Susan was a humble woman. A part of her humility was never bothering to question why God brought her such suffering. Susan’s faith, her trust in God, was an example to us all. And yet, not all of us are capable of such humility. We may question. We may worry.

The 17^th century pastor and hymnwriter, Paul Gerhardt, can help us to understand Susan’s humility, and possibly help us to imitate her great faith:

8    Leave all to His direction;

            In wisdom He doth reign,

      And in a way most wondrous

            His course He will maintain.

      Soon He, His promise keeping,

            With wonder-working skill

      Shall put away the sorrows

            That now thy spirit fill.

9    A while His consolation

            He may to thee deny,

      And seem as though in trial

            He far from thee would fly;

      A while distress and anguish

            May compass thee around,

      Nor to thy supplication

            An answering voice be found.

 

10  But if thou perseverest,

            Thou shalt deliverance find.

      Behold, all unexpected

            He will thy soul unbind

      And from the heavy burden

            Thy heart will soon set free;

      And thou wilt see the blessing

            He had in mind for thee.

 

11  O faithful child of heaven,

            How blessed shalt thou be!

      With songs of glad thanksgiving

            A crown awaiteth thee.

      Into thy hand thy Maker

            Will give the victor’s palm,

      And thou to thy Deliverer

                  Shalt sing a joyous psalm.

(Paul Gerhardt, Commit Whatever Grieves Thee, stanzas 8-11, translation as found in The Lutheran Hymnal. Text is in the public domain.)

On this side of glory, the children of God will continue to suffer because there is sin in the world. There is sin in our flesh. Satan and his demons still lurk in the shadows and still seek to destroy our faith that we would join them in their eternal suffering. And yet God never leaves us alone. What is a lifetime of suffering compared to an eternity of bliss in the presence of Christ? What is a year of cancer compared to an eternity of perfected glory? What is the pain of seeing a loved one suffer compared to an eternity of seeing your Savior with your own two eyes?

We are brought together today because of death. We mourn the loss of Susan because we can no longer reach out and hold her. We can no longer spend evenings talking and laughing together. It is just and right to mourn because death is not good. Death is not the friend of anyone. It is not a part of the circle of life.

However, we also gather today to look forward. We look forward to the day when all who have died will be raised. There will come a day when Christ returns to gather His people as a mother hen gathers her flock. On that day, all who have died in Christ, all who believe in Christ alone for their salvation, all who look to Him as the way, the truth, and the life will be reunited for all eternity. We shall open our eyes and see the face of Christ in glory.

However, on that day, all who do not follow the way, the truth, and the life will also be raised, but they will be raised to everlasting destruction. These will look to the face of Christ and see only judgement. These will only receive the justice of God, a just punishment for their sin. This eternal punishment is far worse than any human can imagine.

It is for this reason that we, like Susan, must rely on Christ. We must go to where He has promised to be—in His Word and Sacraments. We must gather with the church so that our bodies and souls will be fed on the Bread from heaven. We must train our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls to trust on Jesus with everything that we have, praying that He would forgive our sins and strengthen us against the temptations of evil.

For a while, God may deny His consolations, His comforts to you. Susan certainly endured such a while. It may seem as though God is far off while distress and anguish surround you. And yet, if your faith perseveres, that is, if you trust that every act of God is for the good of those that love Him, then you know that He will find a way to bless you. When you least expect it, God will unbind your soul, releasing you from the burden of your sins, from pain and suffering. In Susan’s case, this meant calling her home to His side.

And then, with songs of glad thanksgiving, there will come the day when all His saints shall arise. With crowns of gold and palm branches of victory held high, the saints of God will sing His praises day and night. What a joyous day that will be. What a beautiful sight to behold. And all those who repent and believe in Christ will be there—with angels and archangels, with all the company of heaven, with Susan; and we will laud and magnify the glorious name of Christ forever and ever.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Luke 2:29-30.

[2] Romans 3:20, 22-23.

[3] Galatians 5:19-21.

[4] St. John 14:6.

In Memoriam + Judith A Rodriguez +

 In Memoriam + Judith A Rodriguez + – September 17, 2022

Psalm 23; Psalm 84; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

St. Luke 17:11-19

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

The problem with leprosy is that severs the relationship between the brain and the body. Judith knew this all too well. She did not suffer from leprosy, but she did suffer from separation. She also suffered from various illnesses which turned her own body against her. There is plenty of physical suffering which results from a stroke, but the most frustrating effect is the difficulty in communication. The brain knows what to say and how to say it but the relationship between the brain and the muscles of the mouth is severed.

The lepers in Luke’s gospel had been severed from their families, from their community, and from the Temple. They could not go to that place where God promised to dwell with His people. These outcasts found one another and formed another, surrogate community, but such a leper colony could never replace mother, daughter, husband, or brother.

This is one way in which leprosy signifies sin. It separates us from God and our fellow man. Original sin severs the relationship between God and man. Manifest sin, those sins we commit in thought, word, and deed, severs the relationship between neighbors. Sin isolates. Sin divides. Sin hurts you and everyone around you.

Only the One who is without sin could health this amputation. The lepers could not go to where God promised to be so God came to them. The Second Person of the Trinity took on flesh so He could come to man, crossing the great chasm caused by sin and bringing man Himself.

How is such a miraculous gift given to us? Through death. Not the death of the flesh. This death is the wage of sin. It is the just punishment for our sin. Rather, it is by dying in the waters of Holy Baptism. Christians have nothing to fear in death because you have already died. Your first death was by drowning. There is now only the portal of death, the closing of your eyes in sleep.

It is this view of death which causes us to pray, “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God…Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You.”[1] With these words, the Christian prays for two things. He prays to be in Church. He longs for the Divine Service. He longs to be in the House of the Lord and to receive the gifts of God through Word and Sacrament. Blessed are those who dwell in the Church, for they will praise God day and night.

 Secondly, the Christian prays for the bliss of heaven. The courts of the Lord are in the presence of the Lord and while God is present everywhere, the Christian longs to be as close to God as possible. God has come to man in the Incarnation and now man longs to go to God, not by his own works or merits but by invitation. Blessed are those who sleep in Christ, for they are already praising God day and night in nearer proximity to Him.

One day in the bliss of heaven is better than a thousand on this side of glory. Yet if you have Christ, you have everything. One day in Christ on this side of glory is better than a thousand in the tents of the wicked. And, believe it or not, one day in the tents of the wicked is better than a thousand in hell. Such a day is better because it still provides the opportunity for repentance. God desires that all men would be saved and be reunited with their Creator in glory. Jesus died for all men. Jesus came to save sinners, not those who need no repentance. So long as a man draws breath, repentance is possible.

Our Lord has promised to be with you even to the end of the age. He is with you now, even though you cannot see Him with your physical eyes. This means you are already in His presence. Already being in the presence of Christ, you have the fullness of Him. You are the light of Christ in the world. At the same time, the soul of the righteous longs to be closer to Christ.

When a man goes on a business trip, he remains married to his wife. The whole time he is gone, if he is a righteous man, he longs to be closer to his wife. He might have the same feeling each day when he goes to work, but it is likely less intense. The man is finally at peace when he comes home to the arms of his beloved wife.

It is the same with the Christian. While we are here, we long to be with Christ. In death, we are closer to Christ and yet long for the day when body and soul will be reunited. On the last day, in body and soul, we will be in the arms of our Beloved. We will also be in the presence of one another. We will be united in one body and under one head.

Just as the Samaritan leper returned to Christ to give thanks and praise, so too does the Christian return to the place of her first death, the Baptismal font, to give thanks and praise to the God who came to her. Judith has returned to the earth from when man was made in eager anticipation of the Resurrection, when body and soul will be reunited. Until that time, she enjoys the bliss of heaven, looking upon the face of the Anointed and crying out, “O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Psalm 84:2, 4.

In Memoriam + Norman Eugene Fields +

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

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

St. John 6:27-40

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 2:15-25.

[2] Genesis 1:28.

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

[4] Romans 6:23.

[5] 1 Peter 5:8.

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

[7] Genesis 3:21.

[8] Genesis 3:15.

[9] Romans 1:3-4.

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

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

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

[13] St. Luke 23:43.

[14] Revelation 7:9-12.

[15] St. John 11:35.

[16] St. John 6:35.

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

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