LAWS

 

What laws do you know? There are many laws that we keep. For example, when your parents drove here today, they stayed in their lane, did not speed, stopped at stops signs and red lights, and parked next to another car in the lot.

There are also laws that are kept for us. The law of gravity is one. If I hold a rock in my hand and drop it, the rock will fall to the ground. We also know that the earth revolves around the sun, and not the other way around.

When I was studying to be a pastor, I studied church law. When our daughter became a lawyer, she focused on corporate contract law, and not family law, criminal law or any other law. When you all grow up to be lawyers, you’ll know the difference.

I say all of this because our Psalm (119:153-160) begins with “Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.” God gave us laws. We know the Ten Commandments. Martin Luther said that we should recite these laws every day so that we do not forget them. King David, who wrote the Psalms, loved God’s law. We also read, “Consider how I love your precepts!” That’s another word for laws.

David also reminds us that “every one of God’s righteous rules endures forever.” That means that we do not get to choose which of God’s laws we want to keep or change.

Now, when Jesus was asked which law is the most important, he basically said, “Let me make this simple for you: Love God and love your neighbor like you love yourself.”

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Context

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Context, and my focus is Matthew 10 and Jeremiah 28. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

By now, I am sure you have noticed the recurring pattern of three points in my sermons. They usually begin with the same first letter, and I try to emphasize the importance of prayer, putting faith into practice, and context. Today, one point: Context. Several weeks ago, I spoke of context and how it broadens our minds and hearts as we read, study, pray over and appropriate the teachings of Christ into our lives.

This past week, most of us received our property tax re-assessment in the mail. That said, let me use my home as an example of context. If you use Google maps to see where I live, it will offer a very limited view. In fact, a search of my home address shows a gravel driveway set next to a partial concrete driveway. It no longer shows the orange brick house where we once lived, but after two years, delivery drivers are still instructed to leave the package at the old demolished house. An overhead shot does not show the shed built over a year ago, nor the log pile behind that.

If I told you that our house sits on 21 acres of land in Potter Township on Mowry Road and State Route 18, and extends south into Raccoon Township, you would have a broader understanding of where I live.

If I informed you that my father was given those 21 acres by his father, and that his two brothers also received equal plots and built next to us, that would tell you that the three of them owned 60 acres on one side of the road. If I also told you that my grandfather had a fourth son, my Uncle Leonard, who was killed in WWII, and that grandpa eventually divided that land into many one acre lots now owned by various families, you’d surmise that grandpa owned 80-some acres nearly 80 years ago. My point is that context is important not only in one’s family history, but also in the Bible. So, to better understand our Gospel passage today, I will expand it into the greater context of the Bible.

We begin with Matthew where Jesus continues instructing his Twelve Apostles. Keep in mind that they are going to towns and villages where the lost sheep of Israel live to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They will be healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers and expelling demons. They know that acceptance and rejection await them, and how to respond to both, and they are not afraid.

Today’s passage opens with Jesus’ words, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” One would wonder why Jesus the Christ would utter such words. After all, is he not the Lamb of God? Did he not refer to Himself as the Good Shepherd? In next Sunday’s Gospel, he states that he is gentle and lowly in heart. In John, he says that he is the way, the truth and the life before he promises, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (14:27). Why would this peaceful, humble, gentle man who embodied the Beatitudes say, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34)? I answer that question with a question.

Did Jesus impose peace by kingly rule on anyone? On his Twelve Apostles or women disciples, on Jewish leaders or Roman rulers? On Israel or Egypt? On the Holy Roman Empire, the British Empire or the United States, the Soviet Union, Communist China or Cuba? Jesus did not come to impose peace by kingly rule. On the contrary, his coming involved painful choices people must make, and as much as Jesus loves us, He will not interfere with our freedom to choose. Yet, God’s love is so awesomely overpowering, how else could we choose? I mean, what are our options? And that brings us to the last few words of our opening verse.

Jesus is not bringing a simple peace but a sword. Jesus brings the sword and He is the one who divides. The sword is another word for war. Matthew’s reference to a sword is a “powerful metaphor for the way a community can be split by the preaching of the Gospel. The community here in question is the family. Acceptance of the Gospel pits children against parents in the bitterest of quarrels, as in Micah 7:6.”[1] There, we read, “The son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.” So, we see how the Word of God, the Incarnate Word of God Himself, divides families based not on sinful fear and hatred, but on loving kindness, compassionate mercy and divine forgiveness. Yet, as the Son of God knows men’s hearts, he forewarns his Apostles of people’s responses.

They would also know that from their own history. In Exodus we read how Moses descended Mt. Sinai after receiving the Ten Commandments from God and witnessed that the people fashioned a golden calf and proclaimed that it was not Yahweh and Moses who brought them out of Egypt, but these inanimate gods. When Moses saw that the people were completely out of control, he “stood in the gate of the camp and said, ‘Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.’ And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go … throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’ And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, ‘Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day’” (Ex 32:25-29). The men that the Levites put to the sword were evil people committing idolatrous acts against God.

We heard such words from the Lord’s lips last Sunday. “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt 10:21-22).

Now, notice that Jesus never advocated acts of physical violence against others. Even when betrayed by Judas and seized by the mob in the Garden of Gethsemane, and one of his disciples struck the ear of the high priest’s servant, Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52). So, if you’re thinking about taking up arms in the name of Jesus, think again. (Not that anyone hearing these words would be thinking that.)

Now, before moving forward with the rest of our Gospel, let’s step back and put the passage from Jeremiah into a wider context. Then, we’ll return to Matthew. … Think of this sermon as preparing a meal. You sauté vegetables or brown the onions and then set them aside until later.

Our passage from Jeremiah must be read within the context of chapters 27 and 28. Actually, we need to consider our passage within the entire book of Jeremiah, for we know that here too the Word of God divided people like a sword.

Israel’s rulers and many of its people embraced other inanimate gods and idols. Some outright rejected Yahweh and Mosaic Law. Others attempted to blend the two religions. This we call syncretism – attempting to blend Law and Gospel with alternative beliefs, lifestyles or practices in an attempt to please people and appease deities. But we don’t have time in a sermon to study all of Jeremiah; so, we begin in chapter 27.

In chapter 27, we read that the yoke of Babylon was imposed by God upon Judah and her neighbors. Judah’s plans for rebellion were against God’s will. Perhaps Zedekiah, King of Judah, heeded Jeremiah’s earlier warning and did not carry out a rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, who then spared Judah when he conducted his punitive campaign against his neighboring enemies.

Jeremiah repeated his warning: God did not send the court prophets who were advising King Zedekiah. Earlier in the book, we read, “The Lord said to [Jeremiah]: ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds’” (14:14).

Jeremiah also cautioned the priests and the people against believing the baseless assurances of these prophets that the temple equipment taken as booty several years earlier (in 597 BC) would soon be returned. Instead, Jeremiah told them that they should pray that what they have will not be taken to Babylon.

When we get to chapter 28, four and one-half years into Zedekiah’s rule, one of these prophets, Hananiah, assured the priests and all the people that total restoration of Judah would occur within two years because God had prophesied to him that God broke the yoke of Babylon. We read, “Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon” (28:3-4).

That gets us to our passage, and Jeremiah’s response, which contradicts Hananiah’s words and concludes with, “As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet” (28:9).

At this, Hananiah broke the wooden yoke Jeremiah had worn as a symbol, stating that the Lord would also do to Nebuchadnezzar within two years. How did Jeremiah respond? He went home.

Sometime later, God spoke to Jeremiah and instructed him to confront Hananiah with this message: “You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’ … [Jeremiah continued,] The Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’” The chapter ends by telling us that two months later, Hananiah died (28:14-17).

The lesson learned is to be faithful to God alone. Jeremiah and Jesus were faithful. They did not teach disciples to choose or promise false peace – or the peace the world gives. They did not promise to unify all people. They were not delusional political candidates. They were faithful to the Kingdom of God for nothing else will bring life to the full and eternal life to the sinner.

Let’s return to our Gospel. In verses 35-37, it seems that Jesus’s words contradict the Fourth Commandment to honor one’s father and mother, but His words must be understood in relation to Matthew 8:22. “Another of the disciples said to him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.’” For Jesus, faithfulness to the Kingdom of God and His call were more important than anything, including family duties. His words in these three verses echo the words of the Prophet Micah. In chapter seven, the Prophet cried, “Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (7:5-7).

In Micah’s prophecy the terrible conflict within families is symptomatic of the sinful condition of the people in the prophet’s day. In a tragically similar way, even though divine peace comes to those who are given faith to trust and follow Jesus, conflict will result between them and those family members who refuse to repent and believe in the Messiah.[2]

By their very unregenerate nature, unbelievers do not want the salvation that Christ accomplished, and that Christian pastors and missionaries, together with the whole church, offer.[3] Given the condition of the sinful human heart and the unchanging nature of Christ’s message, which calls for repentance and faith, the inevitable result of Christ’s coming will be conflict and strife.[4]

Some will hear Christ’s call to faith and discipleship, and by God’s gracious action through the Gospel they hear, they will repent and believe. Others will hear the same call, but due to their own ingrained sin and stubbornness, they will reject the Christ who summons them to salvation. Even the family … will become fundamentally separated from one another because one will confess Christ, and the other will deny him. Both confession and denial have eternal consequences.[5]

In these divided families the believer will sooner or later face this challenge from unbelieving loved ones: ‘Choose me and my ways rather than your Jesus and his ways.’ … To be sure, Christians will be more loving, more patient, more accepting of non-Christian family members than they otherwise would be, since the love they receive from Christ enables Christians to display Christlike love, whether or not it is [returned]. At times God will use such a loving witness as part of his way of bringing unbelievers to faith. Other times, however, the non-believing [family member] … will demand allegiance and conformity in ways to which the Christian simply must not agree. Then, the disciple must love Jesus more than father or mother or son or daughter.[6]

In the days and years ahead, if our society remains on its present course, we may be required to give a defense of our faith that could lead to impoverishment, imprisonment, suffering and even death.  Although we hope these things won't come to pass, we need to be ready – armed with the weapons of spiritual battle – to strengthen us for every eventuality. In the meantime, let us pray for the grace to grow in faithfulness each day, and as we do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching.  ….. Westminster John Knox Press (1993), p. 117.

[2] Jeffrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 1:1-11:1. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2006), p. 537.

[3] Gibbs, p. 538.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Gibbs, pp. 538f.

[6] Gibbs, p. 539.

COACH JESUS

 

What are some titles we give to people to show them our respect? We call a lot of adult Mr. or Mrs. or Miss, such as our teachers, neighbors or friends’ parents. We call our parents Mom and Dad or Mother and Father. We address certain people by their professional title, such as Officer, Doctor or Pastor. Even as adults, we refer to people who once influenced us by titles, such as Coach. We referred to a coach at our high school as Sarge.

My reason for telling you that is that we have titles for Jesus. People referred to Jesus by his name or by Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Galilean. Others called him Teacher, Rabbi or Son of David. His disciples called him Lord or Master. We refer to Jesus as Christ, Son of God, Son of Man or King.

All of these titles remind us that even as adults, we respect those who taught us or coached us, including Jesus. Have you ever considered Jesus to be your Coach?

How does Jesus coach us? A lot of his coaching deals with faith, hope, love, forgiveness, obedience, humility and more. He also coaches us to deal with people. He coached his disciples to deal with adults and children, with people who were not Jewish, including a Roman officer.

2000 later, Jesus still coaches us. In our Gospel (Mt 10:21-33), Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.” How are we going to be like Coach Jesus? By doing what he teaches.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Values

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Value, Pauline Values, Matthean Values, and my focus is Romans 6 and Matthew 10:24-25. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Several years ago, the singer Pharrell recorded a huge hit song called Happy. His Happy video features people dancing the 4-minute song for 24 hours. A 24-hour video! Of course, Happy is not the first song to promote happiness. The list includes Don’t Worry, Be Happy; Happy Together; You’ve Made Me So Very Happy; The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA; Happy Days; and Oh Happy Day.

I begin a sermon on values with happy thoughts because many view happiness as a personal value. So, let us look at Value, Pauline Values, Matthean Values, and because we are planning summer vacations, I am going to refill your Prescription for Spiritual Laziness, which may be your key to happiness.

First, value. Although our founding fathers penned “pursuit of happiness” into the Declaration of Independence, they did not define it as we do. Definitions evolve. For example, the word nice comes from the Latin word nescius meaning “ignorant.” In the 14^th century, it meant foolish, then evolved to mean cowardice, and then shyness. Today, when someone says you are nice, you take it as a compliment.

In the context of the Declaration of Independence, happiness was about one’s contribution to society rather than pursuit of self-gratification. I contribute to society the personal values I learned and modeled as a child. These personal values provide an internal reference for what is good. In a society where people come from various ethnic and religious backgrounds, our cultural values emphasize those that people broadly share.

We derive our Christian values from the teachings of Jesus and from Christian teachers throughout the history of our religion. What we believe and practice as Lutherans is not exactly what Baptists, Methodists or other Christians believe and practice, but we share some basic Christian values. To sort out Christian values, we return to our roots, and turn to my second point, Pauline values.

Paul came to believe, practice and hand on to Jesus’ early followers what the Holy Spirit revealed to him as essential. He was sophisticated enough to understand that the teachings of Jesus, like definitions, may not mean the same thing to all people.

Learned, practicing 1^st-century Jews in Jerusalem understood the deeper meaning of Jesus’ Last Supper differently than Gentile converts reared to worship other gods. Hence, Paul taught a new theology of baptism and communion that Jews and Gentiles alike understood and appropriated.

Paul did the same with sin and grace, redemption and sanctification. He conveyed to cultures that lacked the Scriptures the concept that humans are sinful by nature and by choice. Once he presented this, Paul could teach that because our loving God values us, and redeemed us through His Son. Today, we take for granted Paul’s teaching on sin, redemption, baptism and Christian values. We even take for granted a brand-new term that Paul coined – sanctification.

Do we fully understand what Paul meant when he wrote to the Romans (6:16) to present yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification? … Probably not. So, let me tell you briefly about Minh Dang, a woman I met while I was working in Berkeley, CA. I have mentioned her previously, but her story bears remembrance. When I was living and working in Berkeley, Mihn was a graduate student at the University of California-Berkeley. Minh was enslaved by her parents until she broke free as an adult. She personally understands the concept of slavery quite differently than we do. Like other children whose parents have no values, Minh was literally used as a source of income by her parents. Most of us have no personal experience of what it means to be a slave.

I see myself as master of my own destiny. No one tells me how to live, how to think, how to behave. I am my own man. That makes it difficult to grasp the meaning of Paul’s words. We might understand the concept of presenting ourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification if we considered ourselves not as slaves but as addicts.

In the Roman Empire, addicts were bankrupt people given as slaves to their creditors. A family may experience bankruptcy and debt, and be forced to give a son or daughter to creditors. Addict comes from the Latin addictus, meaning “a debtor awarded as a slave to his creditor.” In the 1600s, it meant giving yourself to someone or some practice. By the 1900s, addict became associated with dependency on drugs.

So, when Paul says we are slaves to sin, he means addicted to sin. This addiction extends beyond acts of murder, theft, adultery or gossip, and goes to the heart of sin – idolatry. (This is something Martin Luther covers in detail in his study for the First Commandment in The Small Catechism.) … We are addicted to thinking that we control our own destiny. God is not my master. I have no master. I am my own master.

From his encounter with the Risen Christ, Paul knew better. As sinners whose debt was paid through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, we, the baptized, should live as addicts of the Holy Trinity. That is what “present yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification” means. Think of yourself in a positive way as addicted to God. You need God. You cannot live without God. God is not simply part of your life. God is your life, your entire life. And that is good news, for God is love. As a drug controls the life of an addict, the unfathomable love of the Trinity controls the life of a Christian. Addiction to God leads me to my third point, Matthean values.

The kernel of today’s Gospel is that Christians resemble their Teacher and Master, Jesus Christ. When baptized, we put on Christ, but often fail to resemble Him. By grace, Christians become more like Christ by prayerfully reading God’s Word and receiving Holy Communion.

Paul pointed out that God favored the Jews over Gentiles because He chose them and remained faithfully present to them. We are favored because God remains faithfully present to us through Word and Sacrament. Word and Sacrament are essential to our worship and life. They are essential to other Christians as they too attempt to become more like Christ. However, other denominations interpret Word and Sacrament differently.

We should understand that although we agree with denominations whose personal and communal values are formed by the teachings of Christ, when it comes to the interpretation of Word and Sacrament, we view these quite differently. Some denominations, such as Methodists and Presbyterians, teach that Christ is only symbolically present in Holy Communion. Some churches practice open Communion even for the unbaptized.

We have more than a symbolic presence. We have the true Body and Blood of Christ in, with and under the forms of bread and wine. Because that true Body and Blood of Christ is available to us and because God calls us to be like our Teacher and Master, think how deep your relationship with God could be if you are totally present to Christ in Word and Sacrament.

Imagine how deep your relationships would be if you made yourself totally present to each member of your family. Now, switch gears and imagine yourself as a hot water heater. Everyone takes for granted the hot water heater. No one notices it until … something is wrong. We have relationships like that. Family members take us for granted or never notice something is wrong until we break down. How do we respond when faithful friends and family members treat us like the hot water heater? How does God respond when we treat Him like a hot water heater? When it’s too hot or too rainy to be puttering around the house or golf course, ponder that question this week.

Now that summer is officially here and many will soon observe Independence Day, consider that we take for granted the inalienable rights from God as we do God Himself. For some, Independence Day is just part of summer vacation – taking time away to relax. Unfortunately, for some relaxing means not only taking time away from work, but also from God, Word and Sacrament. Like our relationship with the hot water heater, we tend to become spiritual lazy.

Oswald Chambers once wrote, “We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints.” We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. I know some people who are too lazy to take their prescribed medications every day. I don’t understand it, but I know that they do this.

If you are like me, your need to get your prescriptions refilled on a regular basis. So, I have made copies of a prescription for you. If you did not receive my sermon online, you can pick up your prescription in the hallway. It is the Five P’s of Prayer: Passage, Place, Posture, Presence and Passage. If you have done this before, you may need to renew your prescription. If you have not, try this for the month of July.

Passage. Everyday, read a passage from the Bible. I suggest that you read one of the Gospels. Matthew has 28 chapters, a chapter a day would work well. Read it in the morning or the night before. During the day, find a time when you are fully awake, and reread the passage.

Place. Chose the same place every day. Cindy and I have separate spaces where we can sit and meditate. There is a comfortable chair and a small table. If you live with someone, tell your family members or spouse that you will be in your sacred space for 20 minutes, and not to disturb you. Set your timer for 20 minutes.

Posture. After you are seated comfortably in your place, make sure you position yourself like you are engaged in a meaningful conversation with someone. In other words, do not lie down or slouch because if you do, you will probably fall asleep, and that is not the goal of this time. As we tell our grandchildren, “Focus!”

Presence. Now that you are focused, think about the passage you read. What grabs your attention? What have you noticed about this passage that you have never noticed before? Ask God the Holy Spirit to help you in your prayer about this passage. Ask Jesus why He spoke these words. Ask the Father to pour forth into your heart His love.

Passage. If your mind wanders, pick up your Bible and reread the passage. Remember, this time is when you want to be totally present to the Trinity. Put everything else out of your mind. If whatever it is that seems so important at the present moment to be something other than your passage, let it drift away. Focus on your listening to God.

After your timer rings, turn it off, and whisper aloud The Lord’s Prayer. Thank God for spending time with you.

If you think that you do not need this prescription because you are satisfied with your spiritual life, think about the Steelers. Next month, Steelers training camp begins at St. Vincent College in Latrobe. Now, if you are satisfied with your present relationship with God and are living a respectable Christian life, consider these words of the late, great Chuck Noll, the only NFL coach to win four Super Bowls and lose none. Asked at his first news conference in 1969 if his goal was to make the Steelers respectable, Noll said, “Respectability? Who wants to be respectable? That's spoken like a true loser.”

Friends, don’t settle for respectability. Be a champion for Christ. Like a true champion, witness for our Teacher and Master, Jesus Christ, and not Satan, sin and self. … We are more likely to witness for Christ if we are addicted to Him and not ourselves. When we step forward in faith and love, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

NOT AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION

 

When I was your age, one of our favorite TV shows was Mission Impossible. It was about a small team of government agents known as the Impossible Mission Force. They would trick the enemy – Russian agents, 3^rd world dictators and all kinds of other bad actors – into revealing secrets or ruining their plans.

The agents who were called to take part in an impossible mission were called by Jim Phelps. The agents could decide to accept the mission or not. His agents were a fashion model, an actor, an electronics expert and a weight lifter. Phelps came up with a plan that always worked.

I mention that TV show because in our Gospel today, Jesus calls 12 Apostles and sends them on a mission. They are not to trick anyone, but simply go among people and say, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Do you think you can do that? Let’s say it out loud.

The other thing that Jesus told them to do is to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons. Do you think you can do that? After telling his disciples to do that, he taught them a lot of other stuff that they needed to know before they went. We will hear more of that in the next few weeks.

My point is that Jesus has called us and sends us into the world to announce that the kingdom of heaven is here and to heal others. This is not an impossible mission for us. We can do this. We can do this only through the grace and power of God and the Holy Spirit that the Father and Son send to us.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Call to Be Christ

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. Happy Father’s Day to all you dads. My sermon is entitled Context, Compassion and Call, and my focus is our Gospel (Mt 9:35-10:8). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Have you ever had anyone paint a portrait of you? When I served as Chaplain for the Sisters of Divine Providence, one of the retired sisters told me that she taught a painting class. She invited me to sit for a session so that her students could paint my portrait. I was given one, but I did not come to appreciate what the artist saw in me. That said, have you ever thought of Matthew as someone who painted a picture of Jesus? The Gospel of Matthew portrays Jesus as Teacher, Lord, Master and God. To appreciate Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus, we focus on three points: Context, Compassion and Call.

First, context. We define context as the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, influencing its meaning or effect. It is the set of circumstances that surround an event or situation. It came into usage in the English language in the 15^th century and meant the weaving together of words. This developed logically from the word’s Latin source, contexere meaning to weave or join together. Today, context refers to the environment or setting in which something exists. We place words and actions in appropriate settings. For example, if we were talking baseball, and I used the terms can of corn, pickle, jam or tater, you would know that I am not talking about food. Context involves setting. Hence, when we read what Jesus said and did, the setting matters.

Our text opens with verse 35, “Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” Several times, Matthew mentions Jesus teaching, proclaiming and healing. In 4:23, he wrote that Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” At the end of the Gospel, the Risen Lord instructed the Eleven to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He commanded.

Apart from the Paschal Mystery, the most significant aspect of Jesus’ ministry was teaching. Teaching was more important than preaching or healing because Jesus came to establish a Church – a community – to usher in the Kingdom of God. For Jewish followers of Jesus, a messiah without a community was unthinkable. It would be like a pastor without a congregation.

Another reason Matthew valued Jesus as Teacher and presented his material in “five books” was to establish Him and his teaching as greater than Moses and the Mosaic tradition. Hence, the Lord’s teaching started on a mountain – Sermon on the Mount – and ended on the Mount of Olives. In short, Matthew wrote a catechism for 1^st-century Christians with The Beatitudes as Lesson One and The Great Judgment as the Final Exam.

Matthew wrote for a Church where believers needed instructions on how to handle life as Jesus did, which is why the Lord taught about anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation and love for enemies. He taught his disciples how to pray, fast and care for the poor. He knew people needed instruction on trusting God, handling anxiety and avoiding judgment.

Yes, his proclamation of God’s Kingdom, love and forgiveness, his ability to walk on water, multiply loaves and fishes, heal the sick and raise the dead were essential, but “miracles do not certify teaching. It is the other way around! In themselves, miracles are ambiguous events. It is the authenticity of Jesus’ teaching that renders his miracles significant. He is Messiah of Word before he is Messiah of Deed.”[1] Through acceptance and openness to Christ and his message, healing follows.

And yet, this Teacher was not like stoic philosophers or the wanton shepherds of Israel. He was recognized by rabbis and Romans, Pharisees and Sadducees, but he was also rejected. He was unlike other rabbis and philosophers because he embodied his own teaching. In a word, Jesus was compassionate.

We move, then, from context to compassion, my second point. Compassion is the combination of two Latin words: com meaning with or together and pati meaning to suffer. As a noun, compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy or sorrow for another stricken by misfortune or a strong desire to alleviate suffering. There are many synonyms for compassion, including pity, commiseration, condolence and sympathy.

Our Gospel’s second verse reads, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” This image – sheep without a shepherd – is deeply rooted in the Old Testament. In the Book of Numbers, Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd” (27:15-17).

In the First Book of Kings, Micaiah prophesied against Ahab, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd” (22:17). Against the shepherds of Israel, Ezekiel proclaimed, “So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them” (34:5-6).

These verses speak of Israel being leaderless and vulnerable; but Jesus had compassion for the people around him. By showing compassion for the distressed flock and the lost sheep, he presented himself as the promised “David,” the shepherd chosen and anointed by God.[2]

Yet, notice that Jesus’ compassion is not actualized in his own activity but in the suggestion that others must become involved.[3] After writing about his compassion for the crowd, Matthew recorded that Jesus “said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (10:37-38).

Up to this point Jesus had been the sole missionary. In chapter ten he made his disciples partners in his work. The command to pray for laborers seems a bit out of place, since he is about to send out the Twelve. But, by placing the saying here, Matthew is concerned primarily not for the context of the story, but the significance of this prayer for his readers. Readers of Matthew – then and now, 1^st-century Jewish Christians and 21^st-century Christians of every denomination – are challenged to pray that the work delegated by Jesus to his followers may involve more and more of those who acknowledge him as Lord. Now, before I move to my next point, a question: When is the last time you personally prayed to get more involved in the work of Jesus Christ and His Church? If it has been a while, take time today and pray to God for guidance to lead you deeper into Christ and His Church.

My third point, Call. Though we use the word, call, to shout, it is also a command or request to come. I trained Travis and Maggie to come to me when I call them, and they do. During this service, I will call you to the altar to receive the Lord’s Supper. Sometimes, we don’t even use our voices to call people; we use a bugle, a whistle, a fire siren or a church bell. Interiorly, a call is a divine or strong prompting to a particular course of action.

Often, it is God or Christ who calls. When Joseph rose from his sleep and took Jesus and Mary and departed to Egypt until the death of Herod, this fulfilled what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Mt 2:14-15). Jesus called James and John away from their father and their fishing boats. He called people to repentance when he said to the Pharisees, Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mt 9:13).

In writing to the Romans, Paul wrote, “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (8:30). He reminded the Corinthians that they were “were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor 1:9). He was astonished that the Galatians so quickly deserted “him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (1:6). And that their call to freedom was not an opportunity for the flesh, but to serve one another through love (5:13).

By the time the reader of Matthew reaches chapter ten, he is already familiar with the names of the apostles. They are called by the Lord to be Jesus for others through their teaching, proclaiming and healing. And, as he always ties Christology to ecclesiology – or his understanding of Christ to his understanding of Church – Matthew reminds his audience that “Not only is the mission of the disciples the same as that of Jesus; their mission has the same serious consequences for others.”[4]

The Apostles played a unique role in salvation history. The reign of God in Jesus had broken into history, fulfilled the Old Testament promises to Israel, and saved all in faith to follow Jesus as his disciples. God did a new thing in Jesus, and as He shepherded God’s people and gathered the lost sheep of Israel back to himself through Christ and the Apostles, He reconstituted the true Israel.

While the apostles were to give absolute priority to those villages where there were Jewish settlements familiar with the Messianic message, we know that their mission – as well as the Church’s – would continue after the resurrection to the entire world.

Having told how Jesus saw his own work, he also showed how that work was to continue in the future through the Church. Whenever the Apostles exercised their ministry, it was empowered by Jesus, shaped like His, and centered in the message about the reign of heaven. So, it would be for the Church.[5] When they taught, preached or healed, they were empowered by the Spirit of the Father working in them. Such was their call.

So, there you have it – an understanding of context, compassion and call in today’s Gospel. But I would be remiss if I sent you from here with only an understanding and not a challenge to put understanding into practice. Therefore, I ask: What does this all have to do with us? What is our call? How do we practice compassion? In what context do we live both?

As Christians, we live in the world, but as St. John reminds us, we do not belong to the world. In the early Church, Jews and gentiles abandoned their former lives and lifestyles and embraced Christianity when faced with choosing professions and political parties or their faith in Jesus as Lord and Master. Soldiers and politicians who pledged loyalty to the Roman emperor as a god resigned their posts to follow Christ and His teachings, to embrace the Trinity and Church. Others, heeding the words of Jesus, put relationship with fellow disciples before family and friends. As the Evangelists remind us, “Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, [Jesus] said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother’” (Mt 12:49-50). And “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn 15:14).

Our call is to make our relationship with Christ and Church first. That does not mean that you neglect your family. Your family is part of the Church. Whether or not they attend is another matter – a serious one if they do not, but another matter for another day. My relationship is not only with Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, but with Church. From our congregational meeting last Sunday, I see that this is a church that values people’s lives beyond our walls. The Blessing Cupboard and your desire to serve together and work together demonstrate the compassion of Jesus. As a Synod, we value human life at all stages and uphold traditional marriage while other denominations have abandoned divine law.

As church members, as community members, as responsible citizens and parents and grandparents, we know that many people in our world are lost sheep following the calls of movements that advocate destruction and death rather than respect and reverence for God, human life, humanity and creation. As people of Law and Gospel, we know well that “the wage of sin is death, but [more importantly] the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23).

Friends, our call is to be Christ for others and pray to the Harvest Master to send our Church and world more men and women with compassionate hearts to be pastors and teachers so that within the context of their worlds, we all might draw all people closer to Christ as Lord and God. May our embrace of the Gospel be evident in our compassionate teaching of others seeking answers, justice and happiness. When you do that, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

---

[1] Hare, 32.

[2] Hare, 109.

[3] Hare, 108.

[4] Meier, 73.

[5] Gibbs, 499.

RETURN TO THE LORD!

 

Do you have favorite places you like to visit? You may like the food so much at a particular restaurant that you go there every Sunday after worship. Maybe you return to a certain store every week to buy groceries. Some people bookmark pages on their computers because they like reading the website. Each Sunday, people keep coming back here to worship God. When we do any of those things, we “return.”

When we keep returning to some place, it shapes us. If I keep returning to the same restaurant and eat way too many hamburgers or pizza, it may make me fat. If I shop at the same store to buy healthy foods, they may make me strong. If I keep returning to church for worship, God may change me.

I mention that because our first reading from Hosea (5:15-6:6) calls us to return to the Lord. “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.” We return to the Lord because we have sinned or behaved badly.

We return to the Lord because God is the only One who can heal us by forgiving us of our sins. That is why we begin our worship every Sunday by calling to mind our sins and asking God for forgiveness and healing.

Recently, I had to go see a physical therapist because I had a lot of pain in my foot. Every time I went to him, my foot felt better. I kept returning to him for healing. Likewise, I return to Jesus because I have a lot of pain on my heart, and every time I do that, I feel better because his forgiveness heals me.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Follow, Fellow, Friend

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Follow, Fellowship and Friendship, and my focus is our Gospel (Mt 9:9-13). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Follow. As I started writing this sermon, I came across a website listing 171 synonyms and antonyms for the word follow. Needless to say, I did not give it more than a cursory glance. If I had nothing else to do, I am sure I might come up with list of a few dozen synonyms and antonyms for follow, but who has that kind of time? People at Merriam-Webster, that’s who!

Over time, we develop new meanings for words and phrases, such as “Follow Me.” When I started playing Dominoes with my wife and in-laws, I learned that “follow me” meant to play the suit that my partner plays. With the establishment of social media, someone can follow me, and I don’t feel paranoid. And who can forget the line from Vince Offer, aka, the ShamWow Guy? “Are ya followin’ me, camera guy?” Well, Jesus was not playing games, was not on social media, and certainly was not pitching ShamWows.

Jesus’ call for Matthew to “Follow me.” is as short as the call of the fishermen – brief and to the point. The fact that like the fishermen, Matthew stood up and followed Jesus tells us how much authority our Lord possessed. His command to Matthew was simply to follow him in faith and service; and his summons to Matthew is the same one for you and me. Jesus calls us to follow him in faith and service. Do we delay Christ’s call because we offer him some flimsy excuse?

A few words about Matthew. Matthew is mentioned in his own Gospel twice. We first read of him in today’s passage, and then again in chapter ten, when Jesus called his Twelve Apostles. Matthew is also mentioned in Mark, Luke and Acts, and the only other thing we know about him is that he was a tax-collector. He was not a major tax collector like Zacchaeus, but a minor official who collected customs and sales taxes.

My next-door neighbor is a friendly and likeable woman. She is also our township tax collector. Rules for tax collectors are stricter today than a few years ago, when another local tax collector was arrested and imprisoned for embezzling over a million dollars. In Jesus’ day, tax collectors had few or no rules to observe. Here’s how they operated.

First of all, there were separate tax collectors for different taxes. There were tax-collectors who worked directly for the Roman Empire and others who collected indirect taxes and operated under the authority of local rulers. In Jesus’ Israel the first group reported to Pontius Pilate, and the latter to Herod. The Herods were not Romans and tended to be more favorable to the Jewish people than the Romans, but this made little difference to the people.

In the Roman system, individuals bid on the right to collect indirect taxes in a town or region. The local ruler, in this case, Herod Antipas, awarded the contract to the highest bidder, who then had to recover his money as best as he could. Obviously, this system easily led to corruption since we humans are already geared to greed and dishonesty. Is it no wonder why common folk saw tax collectors as traitors and unclean individuals?

What does this have to say about Jesus’ ministry that he called such a person like Matthew to be one of his disciples? What does it have to say about Jesus reclining at table not only with tax collectors, but also with sinners? Who’s a sinner? Well, each of us is a sinner, and we know that Jesus came to save all sinners from their sins (Mt 1:21). But who’s calling who a sinner here? The Pharisees.

In the mind of the Pharisee, a sinner is defined differently than our own understanding of the term. Most Biblical scholars today do not think that the Pharisees regarded the general population as depraved or alienated from God.[1] There were, however, people who flagrantly and publicly violated God’s Law. Among these were the tax collectors and people who exchanged their bodies for cash. The Pharisees were concerned that Jesus was participating in a banquet or formal dinner in Matthew’s home, eating with tax-collectors and sinners. That brings me to my second point, fellowship.

Fellowship. There are different types of fellowship. The US State Department employs scientists, engineers and various other professionals to work on global issues such as counterterrorism, human rights, the environment and other matters. These positions are known as fellowships. Tolkien fans know that The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Nurses, actors and others join fellowship organizations. Churches develop fellowship programs for people who wear uniforms, like athletes and prisoners. We enjoy informal settings of fellowship when we spend time together before and after worship. There does not seem to be a dark view of fellowship at all, does there?

Turning to our passage, the question posed to Jesus’ disciples has to do with his fellowship with moral and religious outcasts. In that culture, meals functioned as important ceremonies that reinforced the stability of society and the relationships that existed between members of certain groups. Joint participation in festive meals signaled the strongest possible bonds of intimacy and mutual affirmation, to the extent that a comrade who betrayed your fellowship would be the most bitter of all betrayers. We read in Psalm 41, “My close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me” (v. 9). Recall that Jesus said, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me” (Mt 26:23). Given the meaning of a meal in that culture, you can understand how a shared meal would be seen as the closest possible fellowship and approval imaginable.[2]

So, when the Pharisees asked Jesus’ disciples why he would desire fellowship with such sinners, he answered for them. Because sick people need a physician, he called such sinners. Put this answer into the greater context.

When Jesus descended the mountain after his Great Sermon, he immediately cleansed a leper. After that, he healed the Centurion’s servant, then a great number of people, two men with demons and a paralytic. After this banquet, Jesus healed a little girl and a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, restored the sight of two blind men and the voice of a mute man. Jesus was not only a Great Teacher, but also a Great Physician.

In an even greater context, when he began his public ministry, the first words Jesus spoke were, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” His last words to the Twelve were, to make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. In short, Jesus called the tax collectors and sinners into fellowship with him through this meal which would affect conversion. He called them not into inclusion, but into repentance. Law and Gospel are not about diversity, equality and inclusion, but about a heart and a life that emulates Jesus Christ. So, now you know why Jesus dined with tax collectors and sinners. He did not come to live like us, but called us to live like him. Today, Jesus calls you to follow him and calls you into a fellowship of intimacy. That brings me to my third point: Friendship.

Friendship. Apart from the TV show that aired between 1994-2004, the Old English word freond meant one attached to another by feelings of personal regard and preference. We all have and need friends. Sometimes friends are simply people who always agree with us, but hopefully we develop friendships with people who are willing to offer some resistance to all of our thoughts, ideas and actions. Hopefully, you are or were married to your best friend.

If Jesus called you into friendship today, would you want him to be your friend? I ask that because there are a lot of lonely people in our world. Because true friendship requires push and pull, acceptance and resistance, relatives and family members who are loving and over-bearing, many Americans today look to technology to provide an artificial friend. Through that artificial person, over a million Americans seek a semblance of resistance to generate the feeling that another person is nearby, but one not too overbearing.[3]

I am no expert in this, but read recently on the number of lonely people have turned to Artificial Intelligence (AI) machines to arouse the feeling that another person is around. A user talks to an app and the app responds. The exchange mimics friendly banter. The app may ask, “How was work today?” before moving on to deeper issues, such as “How are you feeling?”—at which point it offers sympathy and advice. The more frequently the person engages the app, the faster the app learns the person’s likes and dislikes, and the tighter the connection grows. The goal is to make the person and the app fast friends. Occasionally the app fails to follow a conversation’s logic, but most users describe the experience as pleasant, though a bit strange.[4]

The writer of this article makes the point that by using such an app, you are really talking to yourself. Because you are really having a conversation with yourself, there is no resistance, and no true friendship. We all know that friendship takes time to grow. After three years, we have begun to develop a friendship with each other. At times, we tell each other what we need to hear. You tell me and I tell you. Resistance lies at the very foundation of a friendship, because we know that our friends consider our faults and good qualities, and have chosen us, sometimes in preference to others.[5]

I have also come to know from the people I visit – because physical disabilities make it extremely difficult to attend worship – that once you are no longer visible, your friends tend to forget you. Worse yet, it is possible that friendship could result in betrayal. Thankfully, only one of Jesus’ disciples did that. The rest just hid for a couple of days.

Jesus considered the faults and good qualities of Matthew, his tax-collecting colleagues and all the public sinners of his day, and still chose them. He chose them to follow him. He chose them to be his disciples. Jesus knows your faults and good qualities. He knows that you need healing of body, mind and soul, and he offers that to you. He also calls you to be his friend, his disciple, and to share your friendship with someone else who desperately needs an authentic friend. You are the person to offer love and resistance, Law and Gospel to someone in your family or your neighborhood, in your school or your workplace. When you do this, you begin to learn the meaning of mercy.

My friends, today Jesus calls you and sends you as a follower and a friend to people who need kindness, mercy and love. As your pastor and friend, I ask you to heed Jesus’ advice and call into fellowship one more person who deserves to be friends with you and with Christ. When you do that may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your mind and heart in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Jeffrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 1:1-11:1 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 468.

[2] Gibbs, 469.

[3] Ronald W. Dworkin, “Happiness Requires Resistance,” First Things, April 2023, 26.

[4] Dworkin, 26.

[5] Dworkin, 27.