13th Sunday after Pentecost (August 10, 2008)

“Mouth, Heart, & Foot Faith”
Romans 10:5-17

INI

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

There is an impression that exists today in the Christian church on earth that there are different kinds of faith. You especially see the reality of this when you walk into a Christian bookstore. These books will tell you how to refine certain qualities of your faith. For example, there are books that will tell you how to have a vibrant faith. There are books that will tell you how to have a living faith. There are books that will tell you how to have a purpose-driven faith. Now all of these adjectives used to describe faith suggest that you can have faith…but it might not be the right kind of faith. So you can have faith…but it might not be a vibrant faith. You can have faith…but it might not be a living faith. You can have faith...but it might not be a purpose-driven faith.

This is really a fallacy that exists today…that there are all kinds of different brands of faith…and that they’re like cars that you trade in for a newer model. “Time to get rid of that stagnant faith and upgrade to a dynamic faith!” The truth is that the Bible never talks about faith in such a way. Now it will use words like active and living to describe faith…but it uses those words to describe the faith God gives to all Christians, and never suggests that a person might not have the right kind of faith. In today’s Epistle from Romans 10, St. Paul gives us a very good picture of faith…and of what faith does. And what St. Paul says about the one Christian faith, can be said of the faith that lives within each and every one of you here today. That faith is the one that St. Paul says gives us righteousness. It means that when God looks at a person with faith…he sees that person as righteous…as perfect…he sees a person without sin. And furthermore, he says that this faith is not something that you and I get for ourselves. Faith is something that God gives to each and every one of us. “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” In other words, don’t think that faith and the righteousness it gives is something you get for yourself. On the contrary, it’s something that God gives to you. He’s responsible for your faith…and he doesn’t give some people an active faith…and to some people a vibrant faith…and to others a living faith. The faith he gives to each and every one of us gives us righteousness…a right standing with God our Father.

But not a single one of us should think then that faith does nothing…in fact, to quite the contrary, the faith that God gives us is something connected to different parts of our body. St. Paul tells us in our text that faith is something that is believed with the heart. It’s also something that is confessed with the mouth. And then it is delivered with the feet. Therefore, the faith that God gives each and every one of us is (as I’ve called it in the sermon), “heart, mouth, and foot faith.” What that means is that God does not give us a faith which just sits there…it’s not just a quality in each of us…like our hair color or eye color. It is something that is indeed vibrant and living and active…and that is the case within each and every one of us.

The first peace of “body language” we’ll examine from St. Paul is the heart. And it is the heart where Paul tells us belief takes place. Within our heart, God through the power of the Holy Spirit creates faith. The unique thing about the heart is that there is nothing you can really do yourself to impact what’s in your heart. Think about how people try to recapture feelings from an earlier point in their lives. Couples who go through marriage problems try to recreate the emotions they felt when they first met. You know some of those feelings…the first time you kissed your spouse…the first time you looked at a child after it was born…maybe the way you felt when the Vikings won the Super Bowl (oh, wait…that’s never happened before). The point is, those feelings really can’t be recreated…we can’t control the heart. But God can put faith in our hearts and that is how we come to trust in God and Jesus Christ…God gives it to us. God puts it there. Righteousness is not trying to reach up and grab hold of Jesus…righteousness is not reaching down into some unknown depths to locate him. God takes hold of you…in your baptism, as he’s done for Kahli and Hannah this morning…and he gives you his righteousness.

Paul also tells us that the faith in our heart is confessed with our mouths. “With the mouth one confesses and is saved.” The faith that you have in your hearts naturally comes out of your mouth. And you and I confessed that faith when we said the Creed right before the sermon. I read an author some time ago who talked about “confessing” as being a better word than “witnessing.” Many people talk about the importance of “witnessing” to Christ to other people. Well, the problem with “witnessing” is that not a one of us saw Jesus’ death firsthand…we did not see his resurrection first hand…we did not hear his teaching firsthand…so we didn’t really witness it! In fact, the Bible only uses the word “witness” to refer to Jesus’ disciples and those who saw his earthly ministry. A better word for you and I to think about is confessing. When you confess your faith, you speak about the object of your faith. What comes out of your mouth reveals what is in your heart. Think about a married couple…think about the importance of telling your spouse, “I love you.” When a spouse doesn’t say, “I love you,” there’s very good reason to suspect if that love really exists. But when there really is love in the heart, you can’t help but talk about it. That’s confessing. That’s what happens when you have faith in your heart.

Faith in the heart…confessed with the mouth…moved with the feet. Paul writes, “”How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” There’s a bit of humor in what Paul says about feet being beautiful. Actually, many people are repulsed by feet! I’ll bet for many people…if there is one part of your body you want to stay covered up the most, it’s probably your feet…feet get blisters…callouses…bunions…ingrown toenails…fungus…admit it, they are absolutely disgusting. Now imagine Paul’s day when people wore sandals and walked everywhere! Paul didn’t have Dr. Scholl’s or Nike running shoes. And yet he calls the feet of one who proclaims the Gospel, “beautiful.” Not only is faith planted in the heart…and then confessed with the mouth…but the Holy Spirit moves us to go and share it with people, and that doesn’t happen if a person sits at home, with faith in the heart and confessing coming out of the mouth. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God sends people…pastors…missionaries…and each of you to speak the faith in your hearts out of your mouth…by going with your feet.

This faith is in the heart of every single Christian. Each and every one of you, who has received the faith in baptism...through the Gospel…has a faith in your heart that comes out of your mouth and is delivered with your feet. The problem is not with your faith. And yet, let’s be honest. You and I both know that our hearts don’t always seem to trust in God but have wicked thoughts and intentions. You and I both know that our mouths don’t always confess the faith and speak about Christ…they speak evil things…gossip…slander…foul language. You and I both know that our feet don’t always go…we’re not always on the move talking about Christ with our neighbors in this world. The problem is not the faith. God gave us all the faith we need, in fact you probably remember the parable from Matthew 13 where faith as “small as a mustard seed” can move a mountain.

The answer to things in your heart that seem to stifle faith…it’s not some sort of dynamic program to give you a “vibrant faith.” The answer to sharing the Gospel and doing evangelism is not some sort of fancy mission program or creating a dynamic worship atmosphere. The problem that all of us have is not our faith…the problem is our sin. So what do you and I do with sin? We put sin to death, just as God did for Hannah and Kahli this morning. We drown sin in the waters of baptism where we are joined to our Lord Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. We lay our sins before the cross and hear the good news of Jesus Christ’s victory over sin. We receive the body and blood of Jesus at the altar. Jesus puts sin to death. Jesus is the source of faith. If nothing else is clear in the course of this sermon, let it be this. God does it all through his Son Jesus Christ. It’s all taken care of in the cross. The cross does the job. The cross takes away the sin. Through the cross, there is faith in our hearts. Through Jesus’ work on the cross, our mouths confess that cross. Through Jesus’ work on the cross, we have the Holy Spirit that moves our feet to share those words.

You have faith—it is God’s work. You have the Gospel good news of Jesus on the cross that puts sin to death which stifles the work of faith in our hearts, mouths, and feet. God uses you to grow his church. Every one of us wants to see the church grow…wants to see Shepherd of the Lake grow and prosper. Well, here’s how that will happen. Come here on Sundays and hear the Gospel. Have your sins forgiven. Eat Christ’s body and drink his blood. And then, having your faith fed and nourished through that Word and Sacrament, you will go out on your feet and confess the faith in your heart with the words of your mouth. People will hear that Word and be moved to faith themselves. Paul lays it all out very clearly in the text: “How are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”

I heard a pastor recently say that the primary place of evangelism is not the hour you spend in church—it’s the 6 days and 23 hours a week you spend out in the world with your faith, living in your vocation, going about by foot and confessing your faith with you mouth. That faith lives in each and every one of you. God is behind our “heart, mouth, and foot faith.” As you and I gather to receive the Word and Sacraments, God is carrying out that faith, and through each and every one of us, growing his Church. In Jesus’ name…Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

This Is Strange

The Packers seem a little more likable now that his Royal Omnipotent Holiness, Saint Brett, has left town. I'm sitting here watching the Packers preseason game against the Bengals, and I find I'm rooting for Aaron Rodgers.

Pre-Favre, the Packers were one of my favorite teams. For some reason Favre irritated me. But I'd better quit with all this gushing for the Packers. I'm in Viking country now!!!

Have You Heard the Buzz...

about Twilight? People in Harry Potter circles are all giddy over this series by Stephanie Meyer. I picked up the first volume tonight.

I guess the storyline is about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Not really my cup of tea, but I guess it's worth finding out if the buzz is legitimate.

It's Becoming Apparent...

...that there is very little chance of Brett Favre becoming a Viking.

Does anyone else think that Brett Favre deserves whatever he gets (or doesn't get)?

I have to admit...it would be very fun to see ol' Brett in purple and gold!

12th Sunday after Pentecost (August 3, 2008)

“Are You SATISFIED?!?”
Matthew 14:13-21

INI

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

When a person says, “Are you satisfied?” it’s typically not an honest question. It’s a sarcastic question that you and I often hear when someone is upset at another person…and quite often that question is asked in marriages. When Dad lets the kids eat candy before dinner and then their appetites are ruined, Mom says to Dad, “Are you satisfied?” When Dad doesn’t give the kids a bath and they look like ragamuffins, Mom says to Dad, “Are you satisfied?” When Dad doesn’t get the kids down to bed at a decent hour and they’re exhausted the next day, Mom says to Dad, “Are you satisfied?” Come to think of it, it’s moms who seem to ask that question of dads most of the time! Wherever that question is asked, it’s seldom a genuine question. “Are you satisfied?” is a question asked to make a person feel guilty, as though a negative outcome has somehow been desired. Of course Dad doesn’t want the kids appetites spoiled…their hair full of grape jelly…unable to get out of bed the following morning. Dad isn’t satisfied when those things happen. But Mom wants him to feel a little guilty and therefore be sure to get the job done rightly the next time.

Jesus’ disciples in today’s Holy Gospel help to strike the contrast between sarcasm and genuine concern for satisfaction. Jesus spends a good chunk of the day healing the sick from among the crowds…so much so that it’s turning into evening and the day is drawing to the close. The disciples are constantly agitated and irritated by the people who come to Jesus. We read, “Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’” The disciples words have all the air of saying, “Are you satisfied, Jesus? You let these crowds come here and give them what they want…now we’ve got 5000+ people that are going to be hungry and cranky. Get rid of them!”

And yet Jesus comes not to satisfy the demands of the disciples, but the hunger of the people. He satisfies their need for healing…and goes above and beyond by filling their hungry bellies as well. You know, apart from the Easter resurrection, this is the only miracle that all four Gospel writers include. Each of them contributes different aspects of Jesus’ ministry to their Gospel. In fact, if you were to compile an account of Jesus’ life and ministry based on the unique material found in each Gospel, you would have quite an extensive record of Jesus’ earthly life. But obviously when Jesus chose to feed more than 5000 people, it was important to all of the Gospel writers to include this. As the Holy Spirit inspired them to write their accounts, perhaps he was telling them that aside from the resurrection, this is the most important miracle of all of them!

Whether or not that’s the case, we can’t be sure…but this miracle does find its way into our lives quite easily. Every single person on this earth longs for “satisfaction.” Everyone turns to something to give them that satisfaction…even Mick Jagger lamented over his poor state of affairs when he sang, “I can’t get no satisfaction!” If you are asked the question, “Are you satisfied?” that is not the same question as asking, “Are you getting everything you want?” It seems that regularly you and I are guilty of confusing satisfaction with “getting what we want.” There was a study that came out earlier this year about “seeker-sensitive” churches…and this is the model followed by a lot of really big churches who claim to be serious about evangelism. Many of these churches felt that if they gave people what they wanted, they would grow the church. So if people didn’t like liturgy…they didn’t have liturgy. If people didn’t like talk about sin…they didn’t talk about sin. If people wanted rock music on Sunday morning…they got rock music. The problem was that after people joined the church…since they were getting what they wanted…they soon realized that they weren’t being fed, so they left and found a church that focused on teaching God’s Word rather than giving people what they wanted.

Sometimes you and I are satisfied by things that you and I don’t even know that we want. I have that sort of attitude towards exercise. I don’t like to exercise. I can’t stand it. It’s not what I want to do. But I find that when I get into a regular habit of exercise, it satisfies something inside of me. It makes me feel better about myself…I feel healthier…I have more energy…I don’t get tired during the day. Even though it’s not something I want…it’s something that satisfies me in a way that I come to realize that I need. Most people don’t like to talk about sin and guilt. Most people don’t like to hear that they are guilty and need to repent of their wickedness. But does that mean the church should stop talking about sin? That would be like a man with a cholesterol level of 300 going to the doctor…the doctor tells him he needs to exercise and the man says, “I don’t like exercise”…so the doctor says, “Okay, instead of exercise eat a dozen doughnuts every morning.” What kind of doctor would that be? Sin is a sickness within each of us that needs healing. The healing for sin comes in the word of the Law and of the Gospel.

Just as Jesus healed sick people who came to him…he comes to heal you and me. Sometimes you and I forget that we’re sick. Sometimes we don’t want to hear that we’re sick. But neither of those changes the reality that sin is a disease that eats away at our soul. The only cure is the Law which diagnoses our sin…and the Gospel that treats our sin with the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross for each of us. And not only does he heal them, but he fills them and satisfies them with the food he comes to give each of us. And in the Gospels, when Jesus feeds the people of bread, it reminds us of the Word on which you and I feast. After all, it’s not really bread that satisfies us. No one is completely satisfied in life just because they have food in their bellies. Jesus told Satan during his temptation, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

The Word of God is what satisfies each and every one of us. Sometimes you and I don’t know it’s what we’re looking for…but the Word is the bread that gives us life…because the Word is Jesus himself. There was a book that came out around 2002 called, “Surprising Insights from the Unchurched.” This book was a survey that talked to people who had been unchurched people and why they joined the church that they did. You might be surprised to hear that the number one factor that led people to join their church was the doctrine or teaching of that church. Now it wasn’t the number reason people visited a church…people will come into a church looking for all different things. Some people want friendliness…some people want good music…some people want a place where they feel special. But what will satisfy people is the Word of God. What will truly feed people is the pure teaching of Jesus Christ on the cross, sacrificed for sinners.

When Jesus gathered in that desert place to feed a multitude of people…it wasn’t the first time that God had satisfied his people in a unique way. Back in the days of Moses, God sent manna from heaven to those traveling in the wilderness to sustain them as they journeyed to the Promised Land. By feeding the five-thousand, Jesus pointed back to how God had graciously provided for those desert people, and he pointed forward to how you and I...traveling in the desert of this world of sin…would be fed by the Word of God, until the day we reach our Promised Land in heaven. And Jesus feeds us in unexpected ways. The people of Israel under Moses would have gone back to Egypt—but God gave them manna from heaven. Jesus’ disciples would have had the people go into the towns to find food—but Jesus fed them all with five loaves and two fish. How is Jesus doing the unexpected today? He’s pointing people to the cross. He’s showing them that the cross is where salvation is found. He’s feeding them his body and blood through the means of bread and wine. He’s showing people that he is the true source of satisfaction.

Are you satisfied? That’s not a sarcastic question. And that’s not the same as being asked, “Are you getting what you want?” Satisfaction for your weary soul is found in Jesus. The LCMS had a slogan that was sort of its banner in the 1990s…“Tell the Good News About Jesus.” The secret to a satisfying church is really quite simple…tell people about Jesus. Give them the cross. Give them salvation. Give them lots and lots of Jesus. Give them God’s Word that keeps our eyes squarely focused on Jesus and his cross. This is the Word that heals us from the disease of sin. This is the Word that is bread for our hungry souls. This is the Word that satisfies us during our earthly pilgrimage to eternal life. In Jesus’ name…Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Something That Hits Close to Home

A small request...please keep in your prayers the families of the young people killed by a gunman while swimming in northeast Wisconsin. Click here to read the story.

This shooting happened just outside my hometown of Iron Mountain, MI. In fact, the suspect in custody is from Iron Mountain, and my brother who is a paramedic was on the scene for this.

Considering that my wife and kids will be not many miles from there at a family cottage next week, I'm very thankful for the authorities who have caught this gunman. I'm not certain, but I think I may have swam at this place before where this tragedy occurred.

May the Lord of the resurrection comfort the families with the good news of Easter.

A Good Idea (IMHO)

Can someone tell me why we've never seen something like this in the LCMS? I don't mean that as a slam. It's an honest question. I think this is a good idea.

Kudos to our sister congregations in Lutheran Church-Canada. This is the sort of thing that should be discussed at circuit winkels and pastors' conferences. It's easy to say we're in agreement on doctrine. But how we practice that doctrine says a little more about how united we are.

How Far Is the Great Divide...

...between the ELCA and the LCMS?

A good friend of mine is an ELCA pastor and actually has served on the ELCA Task Force for Human Sexuality. Most observers seem pretty convinced that at the next Churchwide Assembly in 2009, the ELCA will officially hold the position that homosexuals should be ordained and their unions should be consecrated by the church. With that sort of departure from historic Christianity, the logical conclusion is that there will be many who will choose to leave the ELCA.

The question I then ask is, "Will those who leave the ELCA find a home in Missouri?" Or is the divide already too great? OR...has the LCMS been doing enough shifting of its own to compensate for the shift in the ELCA?

VBS Wrapup

I've kind of been away in blogging "limbo." I've had all sorts of ideas for blog posts, but have seldom had the ambition to actually sit down and write them. I just now even posted the sermons for the past three weeks. Man, am I getting lazy!

This past week, Shepherd of the Lake had its Vacation Bible School. Each year I insist that we use the Concordia Publishing House VBS curriculum. I simply can't understand the fad over Group Publishing. CPH is solidly Lutheran and, in my opinion, does a better job reinforcing the theme for the week. The one year (prior to my first call) that I had exposure to Group VBS, there were so many different themes to the daily messages that the kids had a hard time finding a coherence. This year, "Friendship Trek" focused on "Jesus, Our Forever Friend." I was afraid it would be kind of lame...Jesus is our "BFF?" Come on...

But "Friendship Trek" was really good. The kids latched on to the daily themes...all centering on how Jesus is the best friend we have, specifically through his death and resurrection. That came through loud and clear.

Again, I can't understand the trend of using non-denominational curriculum for VBS and Sunday school. Why would you want something that's expressly "not Lutheran." Why is something that is distinctly Lutheran so often considered a "bad thing?"

11th Sunday after Pentecost (July 27, 2008)

“Treasure Discovered!”
Matthew 13:44-52

INI

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Often times during the course of a sermon I will talk about the black and white nature of the Christian faith. For example, when Jesus talks about how to get to heaven, he says in John 14, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” That’s a black and white statement. In the question of how we are saved, there is one answer. Jesus is the only way. You will not find salvation in Islam…in Buddhism…in secular humanism. There is only one religion that leads to eternal life: the Christian faith. We talk about a lot of our doctrine in this way. We believe in infant baptism, because we believe that all of us are conceived in sin and all are in need of forgiveness. The Bible tells us to make disciples of all nations, and that includes little babies. Therefore we baptize them. We don’t say, “Well, it doesn’t really matter if you baptize babies or not…baptism gives them salvation. That’s not something you mess around with.

But there are other matters of the Christian faith that have a dual nature. For example, in the Lord’s Supper, what is it that we believe we receive? We believe that in the Lord’s Supper we receive both bread and wine and the body and blood of our Lord Jesus. What do we believe about the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ? We believe that he is both true God and true man. What is it that we believe about our personal nature? We believe that we are what the Latin language calls simul justus et peccator. “Simultaneously, a saint and a sinner.” In each of these cases, the Christian faith reveals a mystery to us. Two different things seem to be going on at the same time.

In order to understand the series of parables in our Holy Gospel for today, this is something we must come to grips with. Sometimes God’s Word can be telling us two things at the same time. Whenever we read something in the Bible, it’s helpful to ask that important Lutheran question you learned back in confirmation class: “What does this mean?” There are four different parables today. All of them talk about the “kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven is like: “treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” The kingdom of heaven is like: “a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” The kingdom of heaven is like: “a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.” And finally, the kingdom of heaven is like: “a master of a house, who brings out what is new and what is old.”

The obvious question before us is, “What do these parables mean?” All four of them refer to something valuable and involve a man showing great desire and care for that valuable treasure. Obviously the kingdom of heaven is very valuable…it’s when Jesus comes to bring the kingdom of heaven that he comes to forgive sins and offer mankind salvation and new life. That is, by far, the most valuable thing you and I could ever receive. Heaven is, quite simply, worth giving up everything. The treasures of heaven far surpass the treasures of earth. Each and every one of us should be prepared to give up anything and everything in a moment’s notice for the sake of Christ’s kingdom. If the choice comes between career and faith…choose faith. If the choice comes between family and faith…choose faith. If the choice comes between earthly comfort and heavenly reward…the choice is abundantly clear.

Jesus’ words place a heavy price on the kingdom of heaven…it costs everything! The man who hid the treasure sold all he had and bought that field. The merchant who found the pearl of value sold everything he had to get it. The problem is that there is nothing you or I possess that is capable of purchasing heaven for us. Even if you and I gave up all our earthly possessions…our heirlooms…our retirement funds…that would never earn us heaven. There is no good deed on earth you can perform that will earn you heaven. After all, the prophet Isaiah reminded us that all our righteous deeds are like “filthy rags” before God. It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve given to the church…it doesn’t matter if you’ve built hospitals in Africa for underprivileged children…it doesn’t matter what self-righteous deed you’ve performed or how much earthly “good will” you’ve accumulated. None of it will buy the field…none of it will buy that pearl.

And that’s where you and I find the key to these parables…think bread and wine, yet body and blood…think true God, yet true man. A man sells everything to buy the field…a man sells everything to buy the pearl…you and I are that man…and yet you and I can’t be that man. You and I have nothing to offer…nothing of value that will obtain the kingdom of heaven for us. So instead…the kingdom of heaven is not about what you and I do…but instead it’s about what Jesus does for us. You and I are the man who is to give up everything for heaven…but who have nothing to give. Jesus is the man who did give up everything in our place, for us. We are the treasure seekers…and yet we are the treasure itself that has been discovered by our Lord Jesus. These parables tell us about the lengths you and I should go to for the kingdom…and yet they also show us that the kingdom is all about Jesus going to the greatest of lengths for you and me.

St. Paul describes it this way: “(Jesus) made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” You do that for a treasure. And Jesus did that for you and me. You are the treasure…you are the pearl…you are the catch of fish…you are the valuable items put out for show. Christ died for you. He did it for you and regarded you as worthy of laying down his life. He carried all of your shame and sin and guilt upon himself and made you his treasure.

Back in June, for Father’s Day, the kids got me a DVD of the movie National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets. I’m a big fan of historical adventures and I really enjoyed the first National Treasure movie. In this installment, Nicolas Cage plays Ben Gates, a famous historical treasure hunter. According to the story, his great-great grandfather, Thomas Gates, had hidden a clue to finding a lost native American city of gold called “Cibola.” The legend had Thomas Gates writing the clue to that treasure on a page of John Wilkes’ Booth’s diary. But that page was missing. Another man turns up early in the movie claiming to have the missing page to that diary, but rather than having a clue, it appears to implicate Ben Gates’ great-great grandfather as an accomplice in the assassination of President Lincoln. Ben Gates then goes on to try to find the treasure to clear his relative’s name. The treasure is then the key to his name being able to be cleared.

Many of us would like our name connected to treasure—and in the kingdom of heaven it is. Though people may look at you and me and say, “Oh that guy’s a horrible sinner,” or “This person’s a mess of a person,” God looks at us and says we are his treasure. In fact, the Bible has a special word that it uses to refer to God’s people as his treasure. That Hebrew word is segullah. It means “treasured possession.” You see it in our Old Testament reading today. “You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” God first spoke that about his people Israel…they were his segullah…his treasured possession. Jesus tells us a parable about a man who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. He shows that God’s treasured possession is not just the people of the old covenant, but those of the new covenant in Jesus Christ. You and I are God’s segullah. We are the thing he values most. Jesus shows us just how much you and I are treasured by laying down his life…“selling everything” so we could be purchased as his people.

When God looks at you, he discovers a treasure…one worth paying any price to have. You need never fear where you stand in relationship to God, as long as there is Jesus Christ and his cross to pay for your sins. The kingdom that comes when Jesus dies on the cross is worth everything…and everything has been paid by the one who calls us his segullah, his “treasured possession.” In Jesus’ name…Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

10th Sunday after Pentecost (July 20, 2008)

“Wheat in a World in Need of Weeding”
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

INI

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

I wonder how many people in the state of Minnesota are sitting back, very smugly right now. How many Minnesotans do you think are looking across the St.Croix River at all the “Sconnies” in a state of upheaval and thinking to themselves, “This is really nice?” Of course, the hero…the chosen one…the venerable icon of Wisconsin, Brett Favre, has caused all sort of turmoil for the Cheeseheads. First he was retired…then he wasn’t so sure…but the Packers don’t want him back…so he’s angry with the management of the Packers for mistreating him and lying about their intentions. Since Vikings fans have been tormented by Favre for the last 16 years, there’s a little bit of guilty pleasure in watching Public Enemy #1 go through all this chaos.

But there is an interesting scenario out there that has been proposed…what if Favre was somehow brought in to play for the Vikings? What if instead of wearing the green and gold with the ‘G’ on the helmet were traded for purple and a Viking horn. That would indeed be a very strange sight. He’s been the face of the enemy…the Packers for sixteen years. I know he is a great quarterback and that lots of Vikings fans would love to have him on their team. But I’m sure there are also a number of Vikings fans that aren’t so sure. How do you respond when the enemy looks like one of you? How do you know that he’s really on your side? When it’s late in the game against the Packers and the Vikings need a score, do you really know that he’s going to give it all for your team…against the team for which he sacrificed for so many years?

Though I’m sure everything will work out just fine for Brett Favre…for the Packers… and for the Vikings, it can be a difficult situation when you’re forced to distinguish the “good guys” from the “bad guys.” It can be even more difficult when the “bad guys” are wearing “good guy clothing.” Consider then the parable that Jesus tells his disciples about wheat and weeds. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.” You will notice that it’s not until the wheat and the weeds have produced their fruit that it becomes apparent there are weeds among the harvest crop. The servants want to cut down the weeds, but the master tells them, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

The interpretation of the parable is then made clear: the man who sowed the good seed is Jesus, Satan is the one who sows wheat in the midst of the good seed, the good seed are “children of the kingdom” or Christians, and the weeds are those who do Satan’s bidding. At the time of harvest, Jesus sends his angels to gather all the evil and wicked who follow Satan to suffer eternal fires, but the children of God are gathered into heaven to live with Jesus forever. Here again, as you and I have heard many times before, there are very clear distinctions: there is Jesus and Satan…there are wheat and weeds…there is an eternal fire and an eternal rest. It’s black and white…but where there seem to be shades of grey is in the fact that both the wheat and the weeds look very similar. Until they produce fruit, there is no telling the difference between the two.

Jesus’ parable teaches us of a reality that is easy to forget. The “wheat” and the “weeds” of this world aren’t wearing special uniforms. It’s not as though “the children of the kingdom” are wearing purple and the “sons of the evil one” are wearing green and gold. No, you and I are called to look at the fruit being produced by both as the means of telling the difference. St. Paul explains very clearly in Galatians 5 what those fruits look like: “The works of the flesh are evident…sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Not all are “wheat.”

Where the wheat are planted, there are “weeds” as well. The weeds are hanging out where Christians are gathered. False teaching…false teachers…bad theology are all creeping around the Church of God…for Satan has deceptively planted them there. One of the refrains we often hear today is, “All that matters is that you believe in Jesus.” If Satan could get each and every Christian on board with that statement, he’d be the happiest thing on earth. “All that matters is that you believe in Jesus” does not say anything about what you believe about Jesus. Some people say they believe in Jesus, but they’re entirely focused on a Jesus who’s going to get rid of their sickness and give them a lot of money. Some people say they believe in Jesus, but they’re talking about a Jesus who sets the example for living a good life. Some people say they believe in Jesus, but they believe he’s just a good teacher who gives good advice. If Satan could get us all on board with, “All that matters is that you believe in Jesus,” he would have us all neglecting the details of Jesus’ ministry that were pointed at the cross where he would suffer and die for sins and the empty tomb from whence he rose to life to give us new life.

And yet the distinction between wheat and weed hits much closer to home than you might think. A closer examination of ourselves reveals that there is both wheat and weed in each and every one of us. That much was made clear on the day that we were baptized when we were put to death with Christ. St. Paul in Romans 6 says, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” Every time that you and I gather before the altar in confession of our sins, you and I recognize that we are weeds in need of being cut down. But when the words of forgiveness are spoken to you, Jesus says, “You are wheat…I have died for you to cut down the sin within you. I will gather you into my heavenly barn. I will free you from the evil and destruction of this world.”

The main point of this parable that Jesus has for you and me is just how much he loves the wheat. He does not allow his angels to go about the world, allowing them to strike down anything that looks like a weed. Those of us who are guilty of weed-like behavior (all of us!) can rejoice that our Lord is patient in that regard. The words of our Introit this morning capture that beautifully…Psalm 86: “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” There are times where you and I come into contact with the weeds of the world and you and I wish that God would visit his vengeance upon the world…every time there’s a story in the news about a parent who brutalizes a child…a family who is now without a father because of a roadside bomb in Iraq…I suppose you and I would rather the Lord would act quickly and swiftly in weeding out the weeds of this world. But because our Lord so loves the wheat…with a love that is expressed in the death of Christ on the cross…he shows his patience and promises that his love will be made known to all on the Last Day.

This parable sounds…at first…really negative. There’s all this talk about weeds being burned. And like one who has a twisted pleasure in the suffering of Packers fans, there is the temptation to find joy in the fact that the weeds will be burned with a “fiery furnace…with weeping and gnashing of teeth.” But in God’s love, he is patient so that all people might put to death the weed within each of them and see the wheat of God’s Word that is planted in our hearts. This parable is not about the destruction of the weeds…again…it’s about how much God through his Son Christ loves the wheat. He shows that love in his patience…he shows that love through the cross…he shows that love in the harvest when he gathers us into his barn. In Jesus’ name…Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

9th Sunday after Pentecost (July 13, 2008)

“The Father’s Outrageous Love”
Romans 8:12-17

INI

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Television is full of “outrageous” fathers. Whether it’s animated shows like “The Simpsons” or “Family Guy”…or the sitcoms that peek into the lives of dysfunctional families… the fathers that we see on the TV screen could hardly be considered examples. They are very seldom any sort of role model for their children. They are, quite often in fact, bumbling idiots who are there to produce a laugh, rather than instill the values of good parenting. Lately we’ve heard several ways in which the culture sees the place of the father disappearing. It’s now being said that single women are actually choosing to get pregnant without a father in place to be there for the child. We’ve seen studies on how problems in the father-son relationship are connected to homosexuality, and how problems in the father-daughter relationship are connected to unwanted pregnancies and abortions. One could even go so far as to say that the American father is a dying species.

All earthly fathers would do well to follow the example of our Heavenly Father. But the Heavenly Father shows us in our readings today that he possesses outrageous qualities as well. The theme for today’s sermon is “The Father’s Outrageous Love.” Now the word “love” does not occur in our text from Romans 8, nor does it occur in the other readings for today either. But as you and I glance through our three readings for this morning, it becomes easily apparent that the Father truly does have an outrageous love for his people…a love that cannot be matched by any other and a love that truly goes beyond our wildest expectations.

Let’s look first at the Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 55. There the Lord speaks through the prophet about how he sends “rain and snow that come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.” God does not abandon this fallen creation, but continues to nourish it and care for it, despite how mankind has destroyed it with sin. But God speaks of the rain and the snow to compare it to his Word that he gives to you and me to nourish us and feed us. And he’s persistent with that Word, saying, “so shall be the word that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God the Father persists with his Word…he does not let it return to him empty. He vows to make it do what it is supposed to do…change the hearts of people.

Our Holy Gospel for this morning gives us another concrete example of the Father’s “outrageous love.” In this parable of Jesus, the Father is depicted as a sower who sows the seed of his Word in all kinds of soil. Notice how outrageously…how liberally the Father sows his seed. I’m sure many of you have planted a garden before, or some type of flower or plant. You don’t put seeds on your driveway. You don’t put seeds in the weeds next to the house. You don’t just dump them on the corner of your yard. You make sure the soil is nutritious and prepared for producing the plant you want. That’s not how God sows the seed of his Word! He sows it on the path…he sows it in the rocky soil…he sows it in the weeds…and he sows it on the good soil. God shares his Word with the hearts of all people…he doesn’t speak his Word only to faithful children, but also to those who reject him and defile his name. He speaks his Word to the reluctant…to the weak…to the straying. He puts his Word everywhere. And as the Old Testament reading shows us, his Word works…it does things.

But perhaps the most outrageous example of the Father’s love is found in our Epistle today. And even though the word “love” isn’t found in the text, it still speaks to this very issue. As you and I saw in the Gospel for today, God doesn’t discriminate in who he shares his Word with…where he sows that seed. Not only does God share his Word with everyone…he also offers the adoption of a son to each and every person who comes into contact with that Word. God calls you and me to be his children. St. Paul writes, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Also, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

What sort of people does God call to be his children? Slaves! People who are slaves to their flesh! In today’s world where people can go to a genetics lab and predetermine their child’s gender before conception…where a woman can choose a sperm donor with all the physical and mental capabilities of her choosing…where countries order pregnancies terminated in the name of population control…God does something outrageous…he chooses the rejects. I read a quote this week from Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, who was interviewed by Mike Wallace. She said, “I think the greatest sin in the world is bringing children into the world—that have disease from their parents, that have no chance in the world to be a human being practically. Delinquents, prisoners, all sorts of things just marked when they’re born. That to me is the greatest sin—that people—can commit…”

As disgusting as Ms. Sanger’s words are…they could be applied to you and me as sinners. She says having a child is a sin because that child can become a “delinquent…a prisoner…have disease.” And yet those very same words are the words that can be used to describe you and me. St. Paul today calls us “debtors.” At one time we were debtors “according to the flesh.” Because of our sin and wickedness, you and I were slaves and debtors to our own bodies…giving in to their desires and their passions. Think about that the next time you’re tempted to ridicule someone…the next time you want something in greed…the next time you lust after someone or something. That’s slavery when you give in to those things. Those things are death. Those things are wickedness and destruction that separate us from God. Those things make us “delinquents…prisoners…diseased.”

And that’s who God chooses to adopt as sons. Keep in mind that when Paul writes “sons” he’s referring to men and women alike. It was always the firstborn son who got the best inheritance. It was always the firstborn son who had the father’s favor. God makes you and me, brothers and sisters in Christ, his sons. He does that by giving us his Holy Spirit that gives us the power to call upon him…to recognize him as our Heavenly Father. Only by the Holy Spirit can you and I call out “Abba! Father!” Only by the Holy Spirit do you and I understand our right relationship with God. God has chosen each and every one of you…God has chosen me…to be his sons, delinquents, prisoners, and diseased though we are. How outrageous is that love!

If you and I are then the ones who receive the adoption as sons, freed from slavery to the flesh, to sin, to fear…that means we are heirs with Jesus Christ. It means God has promised eternity in his blessed care to each and every one of us. He chose us delinquents to be his children…his sons…by rejecting the one perfect Son he had. He sent Jesus to the cross, the one perfect Son who deserves the Father’s favor, for the sake of those of us he would adopt. When Jesus hung from the cross, he cried out to the Father. He cried out, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” And on that Good Friday, the Father turned his back on the perfect Son. He turned his back on those cries and allowed the Son to die…all for the sake of the “delinquents …the prisoners…the diseased.”

And by doing so, God the Father revealed his outrageous love to you and me. Again, that word “love” isn’t mentioned in our three readings for today, but that word is the center of the Introit we spoke towards the beginning of the service. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” That word “steadfast” describes God’s love as unmoving, unshakable, and unwavering. That God could be so slow to anger towards us and instead act towards us with such steadfast love is truly outrageous. That God could persist in placing his Word in the hearts and lives of all people is truly outrageous. That God is so generous and almost careless in the way he sows his Word everywhere is truly outrageous. That you and I can sit here today and call ourselves “children of God…even sons” is truly outrageous. Such love coming from a father is not often seen today. But you and I gather this morning in the bold confidence that the Father’s outrageous love is for each and everyone of us as sons of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, come to us through the Word of God sown generously among us. In Jesus’ name…Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.