God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Confessions and Calls, and my focus is our Gospel (Luke 5:1-13). … 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.
Two months ago,
Robert Francis Prevost, a native Chicagoan, was elected to be the Bishop of
Rome, the Holy Father or the Head of the Catholic Church, aka, Pope Leo XIV. I
open with that statement because Leo is spiritually related to Martin Luther.
Both men were prepared for priestly ministry by the Order of St. Augustine
(OSA). The Augustinians were formed in 1244 but have no historical connection
to St. Augustine. The Order bases its call on the teachings and lifestyle of Augustine.
St. Augustine’s
writings undeniably influenced Martin Luther. Luther joined the Order of Saint
Augustine at Erfurt in July 1505 and received a spiritual formation
that focused on “Great Father Augustine.” Luther’s superior and confessor, Johann
von Stauptiz, O.S.A., gave Augustine especial emphasis, and it is certain
that Luther read, studied, memorized and cited Augustine more than any other
non-Scriptural source.
Why talk about the
Holy Father and the Father of the Reformation? My reason is based on a seminal
book that should be read by every Christian at least once. Augustine’s Confessions
outlines his sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. If you are
interested in how Pope Leo and Martin Luther were formed in spirit and in thought,
read Confessions.
Confessions are
also found in our Gospel today, and confession/absolution is an integral part
of our Divine Service. So, it is these two confessions I will address today. In
Luke, we find Simon (I shall refer to him as Peter for simplicity’s sake) confessing
that he is a sinful man and that Jesus is Lord. Before we reflect on that, some
background.
In chapter four,
Luke tells us that in Capernaum Jesus entered Peter’s house and rebuked the
fever that beset his mother-in-law. Jesus also rebuked an unclean spirit that
possessed a man in the synagogue. The spirits identified Jesus as the Holy One
of God and Son of God, and undoubtedly, Peter knew about these activities.
The setting of today’s
passage shows us that a great crowd followed Jesus from Capernaum to Lake
Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee), and pressed close to hear the Word of God. Jesus
had to create space between the crowd and himself so that the Word of God could
be heard. Asking Peter to borrow one of his boats so that he could preach and
catechize the crowd, the fisherman obliges. In turn, Jesus generously thanks him
and then requests that he and his partners do something that defies all logic.
He tells them to lower their nets for a catch.
Some Church
Fathers point out that it is morning, and the fishermen had been fishing
through the night. Even if we do not fish, we understand that the best fishing
time is early in the morning, and that time had already passed. The Fathers
tell us that this is a reference to Isaiah. “The people who walked in
darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shown.” (9:2) From now on, these men will always be
in the Light of Christ.
Upon seeing the
catch, the astonished Peter falls at Jesus’ knees and pleads, “Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter’s confession is
two-fold. He realizes how sinful he is and that Jesus is Lord. St. Cyril of
Alexandria wrote this about Peter’s confession. “Peter, carried back to the
memory of his former sins, trembles and is afraid. As an impure man, he does
not dare to receive the one who is pure. His fear was praiseworthy, because he
had been taught by the law to distinguish between the holy and the profane.”[i]
In his sermon on
this Gospel, Martin Luther separates the passage into two parts. The first is
what God does for us, how Christ provides not only for our bodily needs, but
also for our spiritual needs.[ii]
The second part is the teaching about the spiritual distress and conflict of
the conscience and what true comfort it is.[iii]
Peter, writes Luther, “begins to feel his own unworthiness and sin and must
confess and lament that he is a poor sinner.”[iv]
That Peter sees
himself as a poor sinner raises a question for self-reflection: Have you ever
given thought to the kind of person you are? We like to think that we are good
people, but if we thoroughly examine our lives, like Peter, we might fall to
pieces and collapse before God. Peter realizes the kind of person he is, and in
Jesus, God shows him how He cares for him and loves him.
In his Confessions,
Augustine writes of his own awareness of sin by relating what he experienced
when he reflected on stealing pears. You may dismiss Augustine’s example as irrelevant
because he writes about stealing pears, but this tiny sin turns out to be the
very essence of sin. Augustine was not writing about a sin
but sin itself. He did not need the pears. He did not even eat all of them. He
threw them to the pigs. Augustine realized that he took pleasure in doing what
was not allowed. “My desire was to enjoy not what I sought by stealing but
merely the excitement of thieving and the doing of what was wrong.” And yet,
when we come face to face with our sin, we are like Augustine, Peter, Isaiah,
or Adam. We are horrendous sinners.
Luther wrote that
when Peter becomes aware of the miracle (catch) and the type of person Jesus
is, he knows that he does not deserve this great kindness, but rather wrath.
Luther reminds us: “Here you see how a poor, miserable conscience, when it
truly begins to feel its sins, struggles, runs, and flees from God when He
comes near.” The conscience “cannot endure the verdict of the Law, which
shows it its sins and God’s eternal wrath.” Left alone, our conscience
would leave us there ready to flee from Christ when He comes near. Yes, the Law
convicts us of our sin, but we see great kindness in Jesus, when He says, “Do
not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
We see how Jesus
responds to Peter’s confession of sin – with forgiveness, mercy and love,
because He does not want Peter left to mire in his sin. The same goes for us.
God does not want us to mire in our sin.
This is why it is
with such joy that a pastor says, “Almighty God in His mercy has given His
Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and
ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all
your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Our Liturgy reminds us, as our Gospel does today, that the Law indeed convicts
us and the Gospel totally frees us. That, folks, covers Confession; now on to
Call.[v]
As Lutherans, we
know that Scripture is divided into two parts: commandments (law) and promises
(gospel). The commandments teach what ought to be done, but they do not give
the power to do it. The law convicts a person of wrongdoing and sin and leads
to despair. However, the promises of God set a person free, for what cannot be
accomplished by works of the law is easily and quickly accomplished through
faith.
In The Freedom
of a Christian, Luther taught that the promises of God give what the
commandments of God demand . . . so that all things may be God’s alone, both
the commandments and the fulfilling of the commandments. Through faith alone
without works the soul is justified by the Word of God, made a free child of
God, and filled with every blessing. Faith derives such great power from God
for three reasons.
First, it lives
and rules in the soul. Second, faith alone truly honors God. The soul consents
to be obedient to God’s will and allows itself to be treated according to God’s
good pleasure. For this reason, we must cling to God’s promises, never doubting
that he who is true, just, and wise will do, dispose, and provide all things
well. Finally, faith “unites the soul with Christ as a bride is united with
her bridegroom.” As in a marriage covenant, everything is held in common,
the good and the evil, so that the soul can take glory in the goodness of
Christ as though it were its own, and Christ takes the sin, death, and evil of
the soul upon himself.
Through faith,
Christians also become like kings and priests to God, in the manner of Christ.
As kings, Christians are exalted above all things in spiritual power and rule amid
enemies or oppression, because God works in all things for good to those who
believe. As priests, Christians are worthy to come before God in intercession
for others and to teach one another divine things. The priesthood is not for a
select group of “ecclesiastics” but is for all believers, though not all are
called to teach or preach publicly.
Some people are
called to teach and preach. Pastor Koontz is an excellent teacher and preacher,
and one I admire him for that. But if I am not called to preach and teach
publicly, how do I live my call to live as a freed Christian? I am called to
love my neighbor.
Luther asked, “If
faith does all things, why then are good works commanded?” Because a
Christian, though by faith a free lord of all and subject to none, is also a
servant of all and subject to all. Good works follow faith as day follows night.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who
dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shown.” We live in
the Light of Christ, and we live in the world, with its temptations and bodily
enticements that hinder us.
I can tell you
that as a Pastor for 38 years, it is not always easy to love other Christians. People
have agendas that do not mirror the Kingdom of God. That is why we need the
discipline of good works as Luther understood it. The discipline of good works
can be effective in conforming the outer bodily person to the inner spiritual
person, as the Christian does such works out of spontaneous love in obedience
to God.
We see in our
Gospel that immediately after Peter confesses his sin, Jesus says, “Do
not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Peter eventually subjected
himself to Jesus and His teaching to the point of his own crucifixion.
Subjecting himself to Jesus led Peter to catching men. Another fishing
reference reminds us that when you catch a fish in your net or on your line, it
dies. When you catch a person for Christ. He does not die, but lives. The
sinful self must die, but through the waters of Baptism, a new person emerges.
As Christians, you
are not caught up in yourself, but in Christ and your neighbor. You live in
Christ through faith, and in the neighbor through love. That said, I close with
St. Augustine’s prayer: “I will love you Lord, and I will give you thanks
and confession to your name because you have forgiven me such great evils and
nefarious deeds. I attribute to your great grace and mercy that you have melted
my sins away like ice… I confess that everything has been forgiven, both the
evil things I did of my own accord, and those which I did not do because of
your guidance.” [vi]
Friends, as you
daily confess your sin and live your baptismal call, may the peace of God that
surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[i]
Arthur A. Just, Jr., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament
III Luke. Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press (2003), p. 89.
[ii]
A Year in the Gospels with Martin Luther: Sermons from Luther’s Church Postil, Volume
2. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2018), pp. 743ff.
[iii]
Ibid., p. 752.
[iv]
Ibid.
[v]
This is referenced from The Freedom of a Christian by Martin Luther.
[vi]
Confessions of St. Augustine, Book IX.
No comments:
Post a Comment