Reformation

October 30, 2005
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Wieting
Text: John 8:31-38

JESUS SAID…“IF YOU ABIDE IN MY WORD, YOU ARE TRULY MY DISCIPLES … YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ - the giver of true freedom.

Free rides aren’t free – someone has to pay.
Free love isn’t free – the chains of brokenness and heartache that follow after enslave millions.
Free thinking isn’t free – mankind thinks the same tired, self-idolizing thoughts of bygone generations. BUT IF THE SON SETS YOU FREE, YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED.

Greek society often debated the subject of freedom, politically and individually. They valued freedom from tyrants and freedom from external foes. They also recognized how easily extreme freedom can turn into extreme slavery (Plato Ep8, 354e). Protecting law was seen as necessary for real freedom. Without law freedom would degenerate to the whim of an individual or the mood of the moment. The stoics taught that freedom was control over external threats by conscious and deliberate control of one’s own soul. Freedom was seen as internally taking charge of matters to gain life and happiness.

Jesus and His apostles do not agree with that view of freedom. They taught that even by retreating inwardly man is not free. They taught that man’s existence is not threatened so much by things on the outside as by self-lordship on the inside. To take one’s life in hand as the stoics encouraged was really to grab on to a sinking ship. For the soul that sins will die, no matter how free thinking or self-reliant it imagines itself to be.

Jesus and His apostles rather used the word freedom to mean freedom from sin (Rom. 6:18-23/John 8:31-36) and freedom from the law (Rom 7 & 8/Gal 2:4; 4:21-31; 5:1, 1 3) and freedom from death (Rom. 6:21; 8:21). TRULY, TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, EVERYONE WHO COMMITS SIN IS A SLAVE TO SIN. THE SLAVE DOES NOT REMAIN IN THE HOUSE FOREVER; THE SON REMAINS FOREVER. SO IF THE SON SETS YOU FREE, YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED.

Martin Luther entered the monastery in hopes of finding freedom from sin and from God’s judgment. Floundering in his sins he sought freedom by attempting to follow Jesus as an example of holiness. He remained isolated in his cell and fasted for days at a time. He beat himself with a whip. He lied naked on the monastery’s frigid floor until his health was severely threatened. He prayed and prayed and prayed. Yet the more he sought to be a slave to good works the more he saw that sin still bound his heart and mind. The more He sought to please God perfectly the more clearly he saw his imperfect fear and love and trust in God.

EVERYONE WHO COMMITS SIN IS A SLAVE TO SIN, said Jesus. That includes you and me. Through his study of God’s law, Luther saw that we truly are dead in our trespasses and sins. Because of sin freedom is not the same as doing what we want to do when we want to do it! In fact, true freedom is often doing what we don’t want to do when we don’t want to do it! Yet it is not the stoic idea of marshalling our inner strength to overcome outer threats. Nor is it the medieval idea of doing enough outward penance to overcome our inner failings.

IF YOU REMAIN IN MY WORD YOU…WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE. Beloved, true freedom in this dying world comes from God’s Word. We really do need to be set free again this morning and every morning. We really do need to be set free again today and each week by the risen Christ in worship. That freedom comes only from God’s Word. That’s why Satan constantly and cleverly offers false freedom and happiness apart from remaining in God’s Word. He dresses up slavery to look and feel like liberty.
Whether we feel like it or not we are in bondage to sin. Whether the world acknowledges it or not it is in bondage to death. Our sin carries falsehood and death within it. God calls out to wake us up from our self-deception even as he called out to wake Luther up. He warns us through strikes of lightning. He warns us through hurricanes and earthquakes. He warns us through sickness and death all around and within. He warns us through those who love us. He seeks to cut open our dull hearts with the sword of His law. As St. Paul wrote, the law speaks so “that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world held accountable to God.”

Luther was not paranoid or psychotic. He was a man whose mouth God stopped. He was a man who then saw himself as accountable to God. This view is becoming more and more scandalous in our post-modern society where everyone has their own truth. If Luther had lived in our culture and believed its lies, the Reformation would never have happened.

Luther was a sinner just like you, just like me, who finally and fully saw that “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” He was a monk who despite following all the self-help steps of his day saw that “there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

When God shut his mouth by showing him the fullness of his accountability to God, then God opened his mouth by showing him something else. IF YOU ABIDE IN MY WORD…YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE. Luther continued to abide in the Word of God. He studied it in Hebrew. He studied it in Greek. He studied it in Latin. The truth that God led him to rediscover was a truth that had been clouded over with centuries of false teaching about indulgences and works righteousness and misuse of the mass.

The full and liberating truth that God led Luther to proclaim includes more than the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. It also includes the fact that all “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

Dear Christians, this is the truth that caused the Reformation! Here is freedom from the condemning law! Here is freedom from sin! Here is freedom from death! “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”

You are justified (made perfectly right with God) by his grace as a gift. Jesus once said that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it. Children are so good at receiving gifts! Through them Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God cannot be earned. The kingdom of God cannot be bargained for. The kingdom of God cannot be figured out and gained through penance or indulgences. The kingdom of God cannot be gained through a treasury of other peoples merits for all fall short of the glory of God. The kingdom of God can only be received as a gift of God’s grace.

That gift of God’s grace comes through the blood of Christ. As St. Paul said; “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.” Your real freedom then is bloody. Your real freedom is due to the life of the one man sacrificed for all others. That’s what the word “propitiation” means. It is a sacrifice, a bloody offering that satisfies the righteous wrath of God. That’s why Luther considered the crucifix such a beautiful Gospel sight. In Christ’s blood is freedom from sin and death. In His sacrifice is freedom from the law. The righteous judgment that Luther was rightly terrified of and that we sinners deserve fell on Jesus Christ. “The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.”

The rediscovery and clear proclamation of this truth is what caused the Reformation. It is the truth by which God always reforms His Church. This is also what caused your new life of faith in Holy Baptism and keeps it alive. To set you free Jesus became the most shackled man in human history! Every sin of every enslaved heart was chained to Him, including yours, past, present and future. The Holy Lamb of God suffered in your prison house of sin as your substitute. God justifies you freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It is His gift to you! You are justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

You are therefore free from all sin of your past! You are therefore free from all sin of your past! You might remember it, but God does not. As He promised the New Covenant through Jeremiah, God said, “I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more.” Your sin He remembers no more in Christ.

You are therefore totally free to stop remembering past sins as if they are still hanging over your head. You are free to stop following some self-help spiritual program to become more righteous. Jesus has enough righteousness for the whole world and He’s given it to you as a gift. For His sake you are righteous son and no longer a slave to sin. For Scripture says, “All who have been baptized into Christ are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:12).

You are free to open your mouth to confess your sins because God cleanses you from all unrighteousness in Christ. You are free to let God lead you by the hand and not be chained to the false freedoms of the world. You are free to abide in the Word of God and not to be chained to your feelings. You are even free not to fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. THE SLAVE DOES NOT REMAIN IN THE HOUSE FOREVER BUT THE SON REMAINS FOREVER. The freedom Jesus gives you reaches beyond the grave. The prison house of death could not hold Him. The enemy of death cannot hold you. There is so much more to life than what you can see and feel. In Christ you are free. IF THE SON SETS YOU FREE YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED! AMEN.

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

October 23, 2005
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Mt. 22:34-46

Dear friends and fellow neighbors of Jesus the Christ,

when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

Tag you’re it.

The different Jewish denominations were tag-teaming Jesus. Each took their own shots. The Sadducees, scribes, chief priests, elders of the people, and Herodians, all took their shot. They questioned Jesus about letting people call Him the Son of David. They challenged him about the resurrection of all the dead. They questioned His authority to teach. And they asked Him about paying taxes to Caesar, a pagan ruler. Now the Pharisees where back again. Each of them had asked a different form of the same question: “Tell us, what are we supposed to do?” Are we going to be married in heaven? Are we supposed to pay taxes? Are we supposed to trust your authority? Aren’t we supposed to avoid working on the Sabbath?

The lawyer boiled down all his concern for the law to one simple question: which is the great commandment in the Law? For us to ask questions of God is good. For us to search His Word for answers is salutary. For us to test the spirits according to the Word of God is the right thing to do. But to ask God a question with the wrong intention is evil. Jesus is the man everyone called The Son of David — they know He is the long awaited Messiah. This lawyer sought to test the anointed one of God and trap Him in His words. Tag, you’re it, Jesus! Because of the lawyer’s evil intent, the question was diabolical. But Jesus answered His question anyway. As requested, Jesus gave him the law, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and will all your mind… And: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.

Without shame, Jesus speaks the Word of God from the Law of Moses: “Love God totally.” ‘Do this and you will live.’ If only we kept this one simple Law. That’s all we’d ever have to do. We could rest assured. We’d have no worries and no reason for guilt. Any tragedy that came our way would not be so bad. Now, how is this going for you? Do you remember the last time you released a little sigh when you heard the Word of God or the preaching of it? Was that your love of God shining through? When was the last time you truly feared God more than anything in this world? Strange as it sounds. Fear of God is part of true love for God. It is the beginning of wisdom.

The command to ‘love God totally’ is a dire threat for everyone. The lawyer hasn't done this. He hasn't kept the Law. No man since the fall of Adam, save the Divine Man begotten without the aid of a man, no man has kept the law. No one has done this, so no one should live. No Law accuses us more! No law can make us rage against God's judgment and cry ‘foul’ (when there is no foul) so much as this simple directive: ‘Love God totally.’ The conniving lawyer in us is squirming around looking for loopholes. He is headed for disaster and he knows it. He is afraid.

But even if you ever did love God totally, there’s still one more thing left to do: Love your neighbor.

If only we loved God and His Word, then we could love our neighbor too. How do we love our neighbor? We show God’s love in words and deeds. We show to others what we’ve first heard God speak to us. ‘Do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Thus says the Lord.’ Adam, perfectly hand-crafted by God with a will, free of the knowledge of good and evil, did not even keep this simple command. Adam did not love God totally. He did not love His neighbor, Eve. And in giving the forbidden fruit to her husband, neither did Eve love her neighbor, Adam.

When was the last time you enticed someone, baited them, or picked on them so they would get angry? When was the last time you spoke against someone rather than defend him to others? Were you loving God and neighbor with all the strength of your soul?

It doesn’t take long for our sinful nature, to think of possible ways around even this simple Law. Okay, but who is my neighbor? That’s a good follow-up question from a lawyer. Define the terms for me, Jesus. I’m not sure what you mean. I know I don’t really love everyone all the time, so you must mean something other than all people, all the time. Right Jesus? Surely you can’t be serious? Everyone? All the time? But Jesus is serious. After loving God totally, that’s all you have to do. And if you did it, you would deserve to live eternally in the kingdom of heaven. You would deserve to live without rules. If you loved God and your neighbor with all your heart, He would give you all the desires of your heart.

But as you well know, we do not do it. I do not love everyone, all the time. Pastor doesn’t love everyone, all the time. Neither do you. Therefore we surely deserve to die. Tag you’re it. We do not deserve to live without rules, to share in God’s victory over His enemies, to rest even for a minute. We do not deserve what God gives us as we reverently gather here today.

But if all the Law and Prophets hang on the words, “Love God and love neighbor,” those words hang on something else. They hang on the crucifix. As St. Paul testifies, “[Christ] canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross,” (Col. 2:14). God threatens to punish all who break the commandments, but He punishes His Son in your stead for your sake. He promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments, and that grace and blessing He gives you, for Jesus has kept them on your behalf. What was given at Sinai is fulfilled at Calvary. The Lawgiver keeps His own Law; the Judge takes the criminal’s place; and the criminal goes free.
This is love, that while we were still sinners, God sent His Son, who gave His whole life for us. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. And God’s Son laid down His life not only for His friends, but for His enemies. For you. In deed by His death, He has made those who were His enemies, His friends. His life is total gift. Jesus is not waiting for you to decide for Him. He first chose you. There is no deserving thing you can give to God, or else any man could boast in himself, rather than Jesus.

Tag you’re it! You’re the one touched by Jesus. When Jesus touches you, you are transformed.

The affects of His touch are profound. He gives you His life. He makes you lovable. The Old Testament reading for today tells us, ‘you will be holy, for the Lord your God is holy.” This is not a command. This is not something God tells us to achieve on our own. This is what we are because He makes us this way. In Jesus, you are holy, for He is holy. He has done no injustice in the court. He has not been partial to the poor or deferred to the great, but in righteousness He has judged you. He calls you righteous. He calls you holy. Because He is righteous and holy.

Tag you’re it. You’re the neighbor God loves. He loves you more than you could ever love yourself. He has spoken His Word of salvation into your ears. Giving His body and blood to you in the Sacrament of the Altar, He loves you as He loves Himself, with all His heart and all His soul and all His mind.

In Jesus Name. Amen.

22nd Sunday after Pentecost

October 16, 2005
Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Wieting

Text: Matthew 22:15-22

To the church of Christ, loved by God and chosen by Him, Grace and peace to you.

Taxes! Taxes matter a lot! Because of what they do fro people and what they do to people, taxes matter. Taxes help provide many things for us such as roads and the protection of the armed forces and assistance when widespread disaster occurs. But taxes also do things to us. Since my coming to serve as your pastor 15 years ago, several former members of Luther Memorial who have moved out of Wisconsin or out of Shorewood have listed taxes as a significant reason. Taxes matter even to the point of affecting our membership. There is income tax, federal and state; fuel tax, federal and state; sales taxes, property taxes, stadium taxes, even attempted internet taxes. We have come to know the phrases “sin tax” and “death tax”. We have come to know the phrase “property tax freeze” and “tax freedom day”. The subject of taxes is bantered about from all sides of the political spectrum, sometimes with smooth and misleading intent. Taxes! Taxes matter, but how much? What are we to think of them?

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”.

It was holy week and the stakes were high. Right wing conservative Pharisees actually cooperated with left wing liberal Herodians for the purpose of nailing Jesus. “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.” Smooth, flattering words were spoken from scheming hearts. Then followed the question about taxes meant to put Jesus in a deadly vice. Then as now, it was an explosive issue! Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

The Zealots said that to pay tax to Caesar was to forsake the reign of God. The coin had the image of Tiberius Caesar on one side and the image of his mother Livia on the other side. The inscription read, “Tiberius Caesar, majestic son of the divine Augustus”. The Zealots as well as many of the Pharisees thought that the Messiah would never recognize the political authority of Caesar. If Jesus answered “yes, you should pay taxes” they believed He would be totally discredited with the general population, His poll numbers would drop like a rock.

On the other hand, the Herodians had made their peace with Roman rule and were profiting from it. They lived off the high tax burdens of hard working people. From their elite position they would attack with vigor anyone who threatened their gravy train. If Jesus answered “no, don’t pay taxes”, He would be in danger of arrest and punishment from them as a revolutionary.

Envy and ambition make strange bedfellows. Politically speaking it was a shrewd and cunning question. Together, the conservative religious patriots and the liberal left collaborators put forward a loaded question to silence Jesus and to do Him in.

But their devilish, entrapping question was met with a divinely freeing answer. While the question dealt with coins bearing Caesar’s image, the answer dealt with souls bearing God’s image. While the question attempted to equate God’s kingdom with politics and power on earth, Jesus’ answer equated God’s kingdom with God and His things. Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

What a masterful twist by the teacher of truth! The ruling elite in religion (the Pharisees) and the ruling elite in politics (the Herodians) were put in the position of having to answer their own scheming question. “Whose image and inscription is it?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Dear Christians, we are to pay our taxes, even when we think the government is excessive or unfair or faulty. The rule of Rome included unfair taxation. The rule of Rome included immorality and dishonesty. The rule of Rome included idolatry in the cult worship of Caesar. In addition, the rule of Rome would soon persecute the Christian Church as illegal and even put Christians to death. Yet Christ’s apostles spoke exactly the same way about civil government as Jesus did. St. Paul describes it as God’s servant of wrath to bear the sword in this world. “If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue” (Rom. 13:1-10).

Jesus’ answer transcends human feelings and thoughts about politics and power. Caesar is not independent, but is in fact subject to Christ and His kingdom. God is at work for His Church also in the politics of worldly kingdoms, both good politics and bad, whether earthly power is rightly or wrongly used.

Consider the prophet Isaiah’s testimony to Cyrus. Despite the fact that Cyrus did not acknowledge God, God used him to set His people free from Babylon. “I am the Lord and there is not other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things.” While God is not the author of evil, He is always in control over evil. And just as He used Cyrus and Persia to bring restoration and prosperity to His people, so at an earlier time, He used Assyria and its rulers to bring devastation and deportation to His people (Isaiah 10). “I the Lord do all these things,”, even bringing physical defeat, even causing His people loss of house and home for the sake of their souls.

God uses Joseph Stalins, Sadam Husseins, John Kennedys, Ronald Regans, Bill Clintons, and George Bushes for His purposes. And the manner of this can’t be seen on the outside for as Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of th is world.” He may use leaders to bring prosperity. As He did with Cyrus, He may use one leader to overthrow another. He may use leaders to create disaster. But He always does it for the eternal benefit of His church (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:22). “I am the Lord and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I the Lord do all these things.” This is vital to remember amid a decaying society or even persecution for the Church. As Dr. Luther once said, “Therefore we should not be afraid of powers. But we should fear prosperity and good days which cause us more harm than our anguish and persecution;” (Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. 5, p. 299).

Caesar’s Lord therefore says, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Taxes are most always a big thing by human standards. We are to pay our taxes. But they aren’t the chief thing by God’s standards. “give …to God the things that are God’s”.

The Gospel is God’s. The Word of God is God’s. You belong to God, body and soul. While we are to give to Caesar precious coins of gold and silver, we are never to sacrifice to Caesar the truth of God’s Word or the welfare of our souls. We are never to give Caesar first place of our fear and love and trust.

That is sometimes trouble for us. We are tempted to make an idol of government, to treat Caesar like God. We want the government to be the great fixer of all ills or at least all those ills that come our way – Hurricanes – Earthquakes – Terrorism – Floods – Retirement needs - Bird Flues and other medical needs – etc. Smooth words in our country and in other countries come close to promising that the state will provide all we need from cradle to grave. We are encouraged to put our trust in government and the related institutions of education and insurance and human charity. We are encouraged to put our trust in the potential of man. That of course, as a ground of ultimate reliance, is a lie. We are tempted to treat Caesar like God.

Tragically, we are also tempted to treat God like Caesar. That is we are tempted to pay God as if we were paying Him taxes; half-heartedly attending worship now and then if no other priorities prevail; forking over some cash from leftovers figuring in as many deductions as possible; fulfilling our religious responsibilities to be good citizens of the church with an eye on others and what they are doing. Rather than joyful trust and cheerful first fruit giving, we can render to God reluctant offerings and carefully calculated and compared service. We can treat God like Caesar, doing our fair share, kind of like paying taxes!

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. Jesus’ command does not mean we shouldn’t work for lower taxes or less wasteful government or vote for honest and helpful representatives. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek all the deductions that are legal. It does mean we cannot hide behind the robes of Christ in an attempt to throw off taxes. It does mean that when all is said and done, God will use government to bring peace or to bring calamity as He wills, for the sake of His church.

God help us see the clear separation that Jesus draws between Church and state. Earthly rulers sometimes want to rule the country as if it was the Church and pretend they are kings like King David. Theologians sometimes want to play governor in the town hall and force God’s kingdom to come with ballot boxes or legislation. But such is not God’s will.

“Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”, Jesus said. That can seem like a heavy burden, especially when the subject is taxes. But it is a burden that Jesus carried to perfection. He submitted to Caesar, even when Caesar appointed a governor name Pontius Pilate to be His earthly ruler. When Jesus stood before His governor on Good Friday, Pilate asked, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:10, 11). Or, as He cause Isaiah to prophesy, “I, the Lord do all these things.”

And so Governor Pilate swung the sword of capital punishment that God ordained the state to swing (Gen. 9:6/Rom. 13:1-10). That sword struck down the only man who has ever been the perfect citizen. That sword struck down the one man who ever perfectly paid his taxes, not only in deed, but also in thought. Yes, all of your sins and all of my sins even in regard to taxes were washed clean by Him. Just as God anointed Cyrus to bring His people back from exile in Babylon, so He anointed His Son to bring us back from captivity to sin (all of it) and death and hell.

“Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s”. That’s what Jesus did! By giving Pilate submission and honor as His civil authority, Jesus also gave His Father submission and honor as His divine authority.. “My kingdom is not of this world”. Yet He submitted to the powers of this passing world to make peace for us by the blood of His cross. While calamity befell Him, eternal prosperity fell to us.

That’s what made your watery entry into God’s kingdom your greatest treasure. What benefits does baptism give? Dr. Luther asked. It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this as the words and promises of God declare. You see, compared to what God gives you in Christ, taxes are simply no big deal. “Give to God the things that are God’s”, Jesus said. In making you His own, Jesus has given you to God, His holy Bride, without spot or blemish. Body and soul you now belong to God.

The crucified and risen Christ is in your midst today to bring you the royal gifts of His kingdom. Hundreds of Billions of tax dollars could not provide you with these gifts. They were purchased not with gold or silver but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. He comes to you not like the IRS with hand outstretched looking for gold. Rather he comes to you with heart and hands wide open and full of blessing for you. In Him all your debts are paid. In Him you are perfectly prepared for the final audit. He is the Lord, and He does all these things. There are no taxes here! You are free! Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” In the Name of Jesus, AMEN.

21st Sunday after Pentecost

October 9, 2005
Vicar Monterastelli

Text: Matthew 22:1-14

Grace Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Gospel lesson appointed for today is another parable of Jesus. As always, His parables serve to reveal spiritual truths through common, earthly images. It is the same service He endeavors to provide for you today.

The main point of this parable of Jesus is to help us realize the importance of hearing His Word and receiving His eternal Kingdom. We serve God by receiving His Word, both verbal and visible. There is no greater service we can render. The Son, in whom the heavenly Father is well-pleased, speaks to you through His Word. As you listen, rest assured, you need no thing else on earth. This is the one thing needful!

The parable today is about a king who gives. He gives a wedding feast for his son. He kills the fattened calves and oxen. He fills every lamp full of oil with extra in reserve. He provides plenty of the choicest wine for everyone. He has prepared everything — even the personalized invitations and the wedding garments.

Throughout the Gospels and Epistles, as we listen to Jesus, we begin to notice a pattern in His teaching. He seems to love using weddings to describe the kingdom of Heaven. In teaching us to look toward Him for our hope, Jesus continually uses wedding images. Knowing He introduced Eve to Adam , I can begin to see why. In the presence of God and all creation, the Word of God spoke to Adam. “It is not good for you to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for you.” Then, upon seeing his beautiful bride, Adam publicly proclaimed his wedding sermon. “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.” His wife took the name Adam gave her. And, as the Lord intended, the two became one flesh. “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” As simple as it was, it was a perfect wedding. No shirt, no shoes, no garments were needed for this wedding. They were naked and they were not ashamed.

No wedding since has been perfect! No wedding since has had a sinless Bride and a sinless Groom! Since the Fall, shame has accompanied our nakedness. Since the Fall, wedding garments are a needful thing.

The king in Jesus’ parable gave a wedding for his son. He had also given many things for the benefit of his subjects. He gave them law and order, protection and land to grow crops and raise cattle. Without the gifts of the king, there would be no farms or businesses to care for. All the earthly gifts which his people enjoyed depended on the services the king provided.

So why didn’t the invited guests listen? Why did they respond with violence against his faithful messengers? The king sent, and re-sent, his servants to proclaim the message that the wedding feast was ready and waiting. “Eat it while it’s hot!” Who could refuse such a gracious offer? Such a noble communal event? Not only did one go home and one back to work, but the rest bound, tortured and killed the messengers.

“The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son”, but the invited guests would not come. This king is not just some Smarty who threw a party. He is the giver of all. But since the invited guests would not come, the king opened the wedding feast to everyone his servants could find in the streets — everyone who was willing to receive the king’s invitation and to wear what the king provided.

According to the parable, the wedding guests (whether evil or good) must wear a special garment to remain at the feast. Without this wedding garment, an outsider’s presence cannot be tolerated. A guest is not free to rely on his own judgment of appropriate attire. He cannot rely on the work of his hands. He cannot rely on his way of walking in the world. He must submit to wearing the garment made especially for the wedding of the king’s son.

Since one guest did not, the king had his hands and feet bound and cast him to the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He may have known where to come to see the festivities and enjoy the celebration, but he did not really want to be there. He did not wear the wedding garment. He did not confess the same faith. He was there on his terms. As good as he may have thought himself to be, he was not fit for the feast.

But what kind of king,
No! Enough with the metaphor.
Let’s speak plainly here.

What kind of god expects me to be something I’m not?
What kind of god tells me I’m not good enough just the way I am?

Why, He is the same God who made His own Son something He was not. He is the same God who made His Son put on our sinful flesh. He is the same God who gives you more than you have ever deserved. He is the same God who stood in the filthy water of the Jordan and let Himself be Baptized in it. He is the God who loves you with an everlasting love. He is the God who sent His Son to, not only prepare the feast but, to be the one eternally feasted upon. As well-aged wine and rich food full of marrow, as aged wine well refined; so is the feast of our Lord. He let His Son pay the deadly cost of your sin with His own life. He is the same God who witnessed the first wedding between an absolutely shameless man and woman. He is the same God who witnessed the shame-filled death of His Son. He removes the veil of death and wipes away tears from all faces. He takes away the reproach of his people. For the Lord has spoken. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. To prepare the wedding garments for His eternal wedding feast, the garments of Jesus were torn from His body. He was bound, tortured and killed — cast into the outer darkness, for the sake of His beloved bride. On Mount Calvary, He swallowed up death forever!
In Christ, you are now clothed with His righteousness. In the Kingdom of Heaven, both now and in eternity, that wedding garment is Christ’s righteousness. This is the same righteousness which the heavenly King gives you in the Baptism He made holy through His Word. With the faith given by the same Word of God in Baptism and Holy Communion, you are wearing His wedding garment.

The Father of the Bridegroom has prepared His fattened calves and oxen. Jesus, on whom we feast in Holy Communion, has prepared Himself for you. He has prepared Himself for all who are baptized and who believe. We who are united in the same proclamation of His death, share His feast at this altar. He has prepared you for this meal by giving you the garment of His holiness. He has clothed you with the garments of salvation. With the wedding garments of His faith and righteousness, we have been prepared to take and feast.

You are a citizen of His Kingdom by virtue of His invitation. It doesn’t matter if you were good or bad. In His forgiveness, you are His. He has bought you. That is what matters. What you are replaces what you were. But you are still in a foreign land, traveling, eager to return home for your Prince’s wedding feast. There is temptation along the way. Many beckon to you from the outer darkness. The lights are awful bright. As red as they are, you almost get used to them. Be warned. Be vigilant in prayer. Forsake the ways of men. Hold fast to the ways of God. For God has placed ‘way stations’ like this \ / along the way for you, places of His presence, of His Word and Sacrament, of His regenerating love; places for you to be re-broken and rebound, to be recast and recovered, to be reconnected with the saints who have gone before you, and forgiven again. God is here for you. You are in the right place.

And still, there is one more surprise of Grace. For when at last you arrive at the wedding feast, you will find that you are not merely a guest, an honored niece or nephew, even a brother of the Bridegroom. You are the very Bride, the one for whom He did it all, the one He loves.

Now the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
THE PRAYERS

Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

For faith to live in the promises of Holy Baptism, for purity of heart and life, for strength to love and serve our neighbor, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

For those who have never heard the Gospel and for those who have forsaken the faith once delivered to the Church, that the light of God’s love in Christ may enlighten all darkness, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

For our nation and those who lead it, that they provide for the needs of all citizens, for leaders of other nations, that they work diligently for the cause of peace and justice, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

For good commerce in our land, that those who trade and do business might do so with honesty and integrity; especially for those who work in the Gulf states, that rebuilding and employment efforts may benefit those who have lost homes and livelihood, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

In thanksgiving for our daily bread, that our hearts never take for granted God’s merciful gifts of shelter and safety and food and employment and family, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

For those who offer gifts this day, that from the bounties given to us by the Lord, we would gladly give our first fruits back to Him; For hearts that rejoice in opportunities for Gospel proclamation and charitable assistance, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

For those who are ill or receiving treatment, especially Paul and Bruce, for those confined to their homes or centers of care, that God would great healing and help, that in the midst of all trials they would give thanks for God’s mercies which are new every morning, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

For those who travel, especially Winnie and family members that God would make our ways safe and our homecomings joyful, and bring us at last to our heavenly home; let us pray to the Lord, Lord, have mercy.

In thanksgiving for God’s gift of marriage and the celebration of a marriage anniversary for Mike and Winnie; that God would bless them and all husbands and wives among us with love in Christ that grows stronger through every joy and sorrow shared; let us pray to the Lord, Lord, have mercy.

For our youth, that they may find friends among people faithful to Christ, that they may be strengthened in chastity and the prayerful choosing of a spouse, that the Bride of Christ may reflect the love of Her Bridegroom in this culture of decay, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

For those burdened with sin, that at God’s invitation they may experience His love at the heavenly feast He has prepared for His children on earth. That He would preserve us from impenitence and unbelief, increase our love and hope, and assure us a place at His heavenly table where we will eat eternal manna and drink of the river of His pleasure forever and ever, let us pray to the Lord; Lord, have mercy.

Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN.

20th Sunday After Pentecost

OCT 2, 2005
Text: Matthew 21:33-46
Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Wieting

In the Name of Jesus; Amen.

Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves “this is the heir. Come let us kill him and have his inheritance.” And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Beloved in Christ, Jesus spoke this parable on Tuesday of Holy Week. It was His last day of teaching in the temple. The day before, He had thrown the money changers out of the temple. A moment before He had told them the parable of the two sons. The first son mouthed off in rebellion against His Father. Then he repented and worked in the vineyard. The second son said “yes – I’ll do it” but refused to work in the vineyard. Then Jesus spoke the parable of the vineyard in our text.

It is an incredible picture both in timing and in truthfulness. It pictures the longsuffering love of God. It pictures the obstinate rebellion of God’s chosen people. It pictures the sending of God’s obedient Son as the final, decisive act of His searching love for us sinners. It pictures the judgment that comes upon those who resist the sending of God’s Son. Finally it pictures the transfer of the kingdom of God from Israel to the New Israel, that is, to you the Church of Jesus Christ. You are the tenants in Jesus’ vineyard now, so give ear to His words.

God’s care for His Old Testament people was extraordinary. He rescued them from bondage to Pharaoh and carried them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. He made a Covenant with them and gave them His commandments. He gave them the Day of Atonement and the sacrifices for guilt and sin. He planted them in the Promised Land giving them victory over their enemies. He gave them the Sabbath Day for rest and refreshment in His Word. He gave them His temple and promised to be in their midst. The question He asked through the prophet Isaiah is a piercing question; “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?”Yet Israel always seemed to have a better plan. She grumbled, she griped, she grabbed after other gods – the idols of the surrounding nations. She let God’s Word fall into disuse. The people failed to return to God the tithe. They often went through the motions of sacrifice without repentance. They looked for help in politics, earthly success, and the spiritual practices of the pagans surrounding them. Turning from God’s Word, they sought light from people sitting in the darkness of death.

The grass always looked greener in the wealth and the ways and the wisdom of the world. In modern terms, they seemed willing to throw away eternal gifts of God for fleshly pleasure or earthly gain. They refused to give the owner His fruits of faith and love and trust. But their owner was exceedingly patient and gracious. Time and time again He called them back. Through the centuries He sent them prophet after prophet crying out, “O my people”, foreshadowing the sobbing cries of Jesus, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not.”

From Moses to John the Baptist, from the Major Prophets to the Minor Prophets, none of the men God sent to speak His Word fared very well in Israel. Moses endured constant complaint and attempted mutinies. Micaiah was imprisoned. Elijah was nearly hounded to death even after he defeated the prophets of Baal. He was never popular, followed by only a remnant, a tiny fraction of Israel. Isaiah was ignored in favor of political solutions. Jeremiah was viewed as a psychological basket case. He was physically abused, beaten and imprisoned. Jewish tradition sets forth the stoning of Jeremiah and the sawing in two of Isaiah. This is what happened to the prophets that God sent to His Old Testament people. His searching love was extraordinary but so was their obstinate rebellion and repeated rejection of His Word through the prophets.

But even with the refusal to hear His prophets, God’s love was not at an end. God is not like us! Last of all, in undeserved, un-measurable love, He sent His Son. “They will respect my son”, He said. But you know the rest of the story! You know what happened three days after Jesus spoke this parable! They took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. And we’re moved to ask, “Why?” How could they be so blind? “What more could God do for His vineyard that He had not done in it?”

But we must avoid the temptation to throw stones at Old Testament Israel without seeing that those stones also strike us as the New Israel. Circumcision is now of the heart. Abraham is the father of all those who believe in Christ. The blood that determines who the people of God are is not Abraham’s blood, but the shed blood of the Son of God.

By God’s grace in Christ you have now been given a place in the vineyard. In your baptism He planted you. In His Word and Sacraments He has put a hedge around you. He is in your midst today as the one who has dug a winepress and built a watchtower for you. All of your daily bread He gives to you. The very bread of life He gives to you. As tsunamis and hurricanes and terrorist bombs remind us, each day of life is totally a gift. We are the tenants not the owners in this passing world.

But that’s not the way our minds are inclined to think. By nature we are predisposed to see ourselves as the owners, not the renters. We are just as apt as Israel of old to grumble and gripe and grab after other gods. We are prone to go through the motions of worship without true repentance. We are just as quick to withhold first priority offerings from God and just as inclined to let His Word fall into disuse.

The philosophies and pursuits of the world can seem so full of life while the words of God’s apostles and prophets may seem dead and out of touch. St. Paul said, he suffered the loss of all things and considered them rubbish that He might gain Christ and His righteousness. We are tempted to consider the things of Christ rubbish if they get in the way of the fruits or the gain we believe we should be enjoying. You know the fruits I mean, a little more worldly peace and popularity, a little bigger piece of the pie, a little more happiness or leisure, a lot more freedom from any of God’s commandments.

You and I are inclined to take God off His throne and put ourselves on. In fact, our principal sin, everyday is trying to do God in and takeover as the owner of our own lives. O no, you say? Then why haven’t you feared and loved and trusted in God above all things, just this week? Why among us are their hearts that worry and scheme and covet and lack contentment? Why else would we withhold the study of God’s Word, or even once neglect heartfelt prayer? Why else would we not give the first and best of our treasure cheerfully for the sake of the Gospel? Why, with St. Paul, would we not count everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus?

Dear Christians, Jesus told this parable to His Church. The hearers of Jesus’ words knew that He had wept over the city of Jerusalem and was prophesying its destruction. He intended for this parable to lead to self-examination and repentance for those in the vineyard, especially for the clergy, against whom He spoke. As He said, “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?”

He wants you who are in His vineyard today to acknowledge that all you have is His gift. He wants you to picture the owner coming to collect rent from you. When He looks for good fruit, what will he find? Will there be a bounty of good grapes or will the yield be wild and rotten? What fruit will you give to Him?

Do you get the sinking feeling that your fruit may not measure up? Do you have some fear that the owner should remove the hedge, break down the wall, and command no rain to fall on you? If so, then do not despair. That is exactly what the owner wants us tenants to see. For Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’

How can rejection be marvelous? Because God’s glory is revealed in the rejection of His Son! Jesus is the icon, the perfect picture of reversal! He is the stone that if anyone falls on He will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.

Beloved, do you see it? Everyone is broken or crushed! Not one person will come out of this world as a rock unto themselves. Those who believe must fall into the brokenness of repentance in order to be raised again as new beings, living stones in Christ. This repentance is daily and lifelong. But upon unbelievers comes the crushing blow of judgment.

The fact that God’s demand for fruit crushes you is not evil, it is essential! The true Christian Church is not made up of do-gooders who are pleased as punch with their wonderful fruit. Quite the opposite! The vineyard of Christ is made up of those who know that they are the branches and that apart from Christ the vine they bear no good fruit (John 15:5).

They will respect my Son, He said. He sent His Son, not because He was foolish, but because He was forgiving! While the renters were scheming to kill the Son and illegitimately claim the inheritance, God was planning to sacrifice His Son and lovingly give them the inheritance. Indeed, the Son came not to cast the former tenants out of the vineyard, but to include others in the vineyard. The Son came to include you in the vineyard.

The Son knew the danger! He knew exactly what awaited Him as He spoke this parable on Tuesday of Holy Week. He knew that it was only in the killing of the heir that we could have the inheritance. As He came to collect fruit from the vineyard an amazing exchange took place. Jesus became the wickedest tenant the vineyard has ever seen. He became sin for us (II Cor. 5:19-21). Therefore God the Father removed the hedge around His Son. He broke down the wall between life and death for Him who was the creator of all life. The Son of the living God was trampled down and laid waste by the wrath of God for the sins of all us unfruitful ones.
Friends in Christ, tenants in the vineyard, the final, last-of-all sending of God is the sending of His Son. By the grace of God that sending still continues today. The crucified and risen Christ comes into your midst again this morning to give you Himself. He comes with the full approval of the owner and He comes to give you the good fruit of His forgiveness.

The fruit He gives you crushed ones is His perfect righteousness in exchange for your sin. The scorned and ignored prophet Isaiah said it this way, “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities, upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed.” Wondrously, that’s not a voice you want to silence, but a voice you love to hear. That, dear Christians, is a miracle of God grace! It is God’s gift of faith to you and with it comes the full inheritance of the Son, Himself.

Do you see the fruit He comes to give you right now? Risen from the grave, the living Christ comes to nourish you with heavenly food. As you receive in faith His body and blood, Your rebellion becomes His. His obedience becomes yours. Your self-promotion becomes His. His self-giving becomes yours. Your sinful attempts to put yourself on the throne become His. His finished work to give you God’s throne becomes yours. Your lusting becomes His. His chastity becomes yours. Your mind, set on earthly things becomes His. His mind sent on heavenly things becomes yours, and on and on and on…Not only do you have an extraordinary landlord moved by patience and unfailing love, but in Christ, God has in you an extraordinary tenant. What beautiful fruit you bear in Him! What more is there for God to do for you His vineyard that He has not done in it? Nothing! Nothing at all! The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.