12th Sunday after Pentecost

Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Mark 7:1-13


TRADITION – IT REALLY DOES MATTER!

To the saints at Luther Memorial Chapel and University Student Center, faithful in Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said to them “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” Initially Jesus was speaking about their great concern for ceremonial washing (baptizing) hands and pots and couches. He was speaking about traditions they had invented to pursue holiness. They were relying on clean-living and a decent life-style and religious ceremonies.

A tradition is a teaching or action handed over from one generation to the next! Some traditions are essential – others are detrimental. Some are given by God – others are invented by men. Sadly, it is much easier to invent our own traditions than to receive and pass on what God hands over to us. Good things God hands over (His traditions) are always under assault. Concerning apostolic teaching Scripture therefore exhorts us, “Stand firm, hold to the traditions which you were taught…” (II Thess. 2:15). On the other hand bad traditions that we fall into easily take us captive. As St. Paul warns the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).

An account is given of the Russian czar who in 1903 noticed a sentry posted for no apparent reason on the Kremlin grounds. Upon inquiry, he discovered that in 1776 Catherine the Great found the first flower of spring on that spot. “Post a sentry here” she commanded, “so that no one tramples that flower under foot!” And so that spot was guarded, day after day, year after year, decade after decade. One command for one flower for one season led to the meaningless posting of a guard for 127 years. Some human traditions die hard.

Jesus continued “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!” In this case also Jesus spoke about a religious tradition. The Pharisees and Scribes he addressed were good givers. They were the religious heavy weights of His day. They unfailingly gave the tithe (10%) of all they had to the temple. Think about that as you see Jesus go after their hearts. Do you realize the explosion in mission work and acts of mercy there could be if everyone in the Missouri Synod gave a tithe? Do you realize the surprising strengthening of outreach there could be in our congregation if each household increased the proportion of God’s gifts to them they returned to Him by 1% in 2007? Jesus was finding fault with the hearts of some very good givers.

In addition to the tithe they also gave special gifts. The corban was an offering of any kind consecrated to God. But, as our sinful hearts are wont to do, they used this category (corban) as an excuse not to aid their father and mother. In an age when there was no social security and no widespread retirement plans, children were sometimes the only support of their parents. The religious leaders addressed by Jesus conveniently reasoned themselves out of this responsibility. They had established a tradition that made void God’s commandment to honor and assist their parents. They didn’t always give it to God (corban), but putting this label on it insulated them from giving it to their parents. “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”

We also like to turn things upside down as Isaiah proclaimed to Israel. We clay pots like to say to the potter who made us, “He did not make me”, “He has no understanding”. And so parents are constantly tempted to honor God with their lips but not their hearts. Parents are tempted to give their children every advantage in education or finances but not talk with them about the Word of God at home or see to their weekly reception of Christ’s gifts. Children are mightily tempted to establish their traditions from the wisdom of man or the spiritual vibes of the new age culture rather then the traditions of worship, prayer and scriptural guidance of their parents. “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”

Or take God’s commandment concerning marriage. The Holy Spirit caused St. Paul to write, Wives submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…Is it not true that the commandment of God concerning marriage is readily rejected and replaced by traditions of men?

There are the false traditions concerning marriage that our decaying culture desires to establish – same sex unions. The one who made us - made us male and female, however, and said “for this reason” a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. True marriage will always be between a man and a woman, between male and female, because that is the gift God the Potter handed over to us clay pots. Yet sinful mankind continually says, “He did not make me”, “He has no understanding”. We’ll establish our own traditions.

No matter how wonderfully this issue is dressed up by Hollywood or played up by politicians or lifted up by errant educational efforts, unrepentant homosexual offenders will not inherit the kingdom of God (I Cor. 6). Well-intentioned efforts to make this life-style acceptable and institutionalize it are tragically unloving. Establishing a tradition of men that sets aside the commandments of God is never a loving deed – no matter how one feels. Such actions rather affirm those caught in a sinful tradition that is leading them to death. You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God to establish your tradition.

But today, dear Christians, consider most deeply the false traditions concerning marriage that even those who receive it as God’s gift for man and woman are tempted to believe. First there is the false tradition that headship in marriage means kingship, that that husband is the dictator of the wife. This false tradition of male chauvinism was extremely prevalent decades ago and it still has life! It views marriage somewhat as a power grab for men with a green light from Jesus. Scripture, however, does not say that the husband is the dictator of the wife anymore than it says that Christ is the dictator of the Church. “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition.”

What Scripture does say is that the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church…Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… In God’s gift of marriage there is to be mutual submission (Eph. 5:21). The God-given submission of the husband to the wife is one of self-giving love. That’s the beating heart of the headship God gives in marriage – love. Husbands love your wives. In the fear of Christ, husbands are to be subject to their wives by loving them as Christ loved the church. If domineering, self-serving men are looking for a club to use, they certainly can’t find it in God’s Word. The first thing that Christ did as head of His Bride, the church, is to lay down His life for her. He shed His blood for her. The truth is that no description of responsibilities could call for more self-sacrifice and submission than this; the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.

This laying down of life for his beloved is not in some imagined, heroic way if the need should ever arise. Rather, he is to lay down his life little by little, day by day, in care and communication. He is to put her needs before his own. He is to order his needs as less important then hers. What a tremendous commitment a man makes in his marriage vows. In the fear of Christ he is promising his bride, “I will love you just as Christ loved the church”. “Just as!?” Husbands, how are we doing? “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”

The false tradition of male chauvinism is rivaled by another false tradition in our age, radical feminism. This false tradition claims that not only are men and women equal before God, which they are, but also identical before God, which they are not. The Potter made his clay pots male and female with different roles to fill. The loving Potter said that in His gift of marriage the husband is the head of the wife.

What a tremendous commitment a woman makes in her marriage vows. In the fear of Christ she is promising to submit to her husband, her God-given head in everything. She is promising to willingly give her husband the authority as her head just as the church willingly and lovingly gives that headship to Christ. She is promising to order her life under his, to put his leadership first. Wives, how are you doing? Are you lovingly bearing witness to the harmful influences of radical feminism in our culture and even among friends; you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition.

Here we see how vital it is to know the love that one’s wife or husband-to-be has for Christ and His forgiveness. Here we se how important it is for both to grow together in God’s Word. As with male chauvinism, so with radical feminism and a host of other alterations we would like to make to God’s gift of marriage, sinners, have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition.

Beloved, whether God’s commandments concern our giving to Him or how we are washed clean before Him or honoring our parents or receiving His gift of marriage, we do like to turn things upside down. It’s what comes out of our hearts. Like the fact-finding delegation from Jerusalem who faulted Jesus and His disciples for not washing, we also find fault with Christ and His church. We might not even be aware of it, but out sinful hearts easily modify God’s traditions (what He has handed over to us), and design our own. In regard to perfectly keeping and passing on God’s traditions, our hearts are a festering, scheming, reluctant mess. It is good that we pray in the offertory as we anticipate receiving Holy Communion, “Create in me a clean heart, O God…”

But this is not true for the heart of Jesus! As Paul spoke of God’s gift of marriage he ended this way, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” God’s gift of marriage is founded on the unfathomable mystery that Christ has become one flesh with you, His church. He has united Himself with you in a union from which death cannot part you. In Holy Baptism you put on Christ (Gal. 3:27).

It is not a tradition of men that there is now a washing, a cleansing that makes you clean on the inside. The Greek word used in our text for the washing of pitchers and couches and hands is baptizo (baptize). It means to apply water. That ceremonial washing didn’t give the Pharisees the inner cleansing they were seeking. That ceremonial washing was a tradition of men. But not the washing of water by the word that you received! With all the authority in heaven and earth the risen Christ commanded, Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her,…having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Now that is a washing that works! That is the washing by which Your Bridegroom presents you to Himself today in splendor, holy and without blemish.

The heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus, left His Father and held fast to you His Bride, becoming one flesh with you. In the Jordan River the Word made flesh received a washing of repentance meant for sinners. That washing left Him not clean but unclean, defiled with our sin. United in one flesh with us unclean ones He bore in His flesh all that our flesh deserved. He honored God with His lips and with His heart. He loved you, His bride, unto bitter death on the cross. He turned things upside down to such a degree that while He was sin itself, you His Bride were made to be holy and without blemish, without spot or wrinkle. Just look at you! You are so beautiful to Him! Husbands, wives, parents, children, givers – In Christ you have holy splendor. “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.

Beloved, He is still one flesh with you! It is not human tradition but the very mandate of God by which He bids you, “Take and eat, this is my body, given for you.” He hasn’t stopped loving you! His love for you hasn’t diminished even a fraction. As a Bridegroom is consumed with love for His Bride on their wedding day so Jesus is consumed with love for you still today. He has turned things upside down to such an extent that even death cannot separate you from Him. Just look at you! You are so beautiful to Him, lips and hearts, body and soul! He is present to embrace you with His love holding you close on the way to His eternal wedding feast. This mystery is profound and I am saying that it refers to Christ and to you, His beautiful Bride. Amen.

11th Sunday after Pentecost

August 20, 2006
Vicar Gary Schultz
Text: John 6:51-69

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Have you ever thought of leaving behind your life of faith in Christ? The former followers of Christ in our Gospel for today did. They did not understand Jesus’ words and were disappointed that He did not come to bring them a perfect life here on earth. They doubted, grumbled, and were offended at Jesus’ words. They didn’t know how He could be the living bread from heaven. They didn’t understand that Jesus came to give life abundantly greater than life here on earth.

Do you ever question or doubt Jesus’ promise to bring life to our dying world? Do you ever question how Jesus’ death on the cross could bring eternal life to us? We may say that we would never consider turning back from Jesus, to set Him aside. But the truth is, any time that we set anything ahead of God, we have gone away from fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things.

Jesus’ words are not always simple to follow. We ourselves may ask: This is a hard saying; who can listen to it? Are we really to believe that Jesus is the Living Bread from heaven? Are we really to go through the trials and chances of life believing that Jesus is going to deliver us from death? Are we really to go through life, forgiving our enemies and serving our neighbors in our daily vocations? Are we really to trust in God to take care of all things – even when they don’t seem to be going our way, when life seems out of control, when we are surrounded by sickness and death, when it seems there is no hope? Are we to really spend time in worship and prayer, when at times these may seem to have no benefit for us right now? Do we think of biblical teaching as putting restrictions on the freedoms of our earthly life? When we are troubled with sickness and disease, do we place the promise of medical treatments and procedures above Jesus’ promise of life? These teachings of the Bible can be difficult. They are hard to understand. We can be tempted to toss aside God’s promises and turn back to our former lives and no longer walk with Christ. Our sinful nature is always ready to turn back from our life in Christ and go another way.

Our sinful nature causes us to say yes to Jesus’ question “Do you want to go away as well?” When life seems to be passing us by, when we do without the luxuries and pleasures of this world, when we are faced with death around us – deaths of our families and friends, sicknesses and injuries of ourselves and others – we may think about forgetting about Jesus as the Bread of Life, leaving Him behind, and following Him no longer. We would rather have something that would instantly change our earthly situation. We would rather be healthy and wealthy now, to have the perfect life, to be free from sickness and depression, from stress and worry, from danger and injury. The old Adam in us is ready to look at Jesus’ promise of eternal life and turn back because it doesn’t help me right now in my earthly life. However, our attempts at fixing our broken lives by ourselves without Christ leads straight to death.

Jesus is speaking of a bread beyond our earthly needs, which Our Father already provides us with. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. This Bread is Jesus, who brings to us a greater promise, a promise above all of our earthly concerns, desires, and needs.

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” In the New Testament days, people usually had a shorter life span than we have today. The threat of death was eminent. And so it is for us today. As each second ticks by, our earthly lives are only getting shorter. Yet, we with Peter can still proclaim: “You have the words of eternal life.” Eternal life – life that goes on forever – is a real promise that we, and all the church before us, gladly cling to.

These words of Peter are a well-known confession to us. We often proclaim them in the Divine Service at the announcement of the Holy Gospel, as we just did earlier. In addition to Jesus’ spoken words, His entire life and actions convey and make known to us Jesus and His work for our eternal life. Christ, the Bread of Heaven, has the words of eternal life.

Even more than Christ’s specific words and actions, Christ is Himself the Word of God, who became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). In the Old Testament, when God the Father speaks, it is through the person of Christ – the Word. The Word of God the Father spoken in the creation in Genesis is none other than Jesus before He came to earth in the form of a man. This is our word of eternal life!

Therefore, it is fitting that Peter would say to Jesus, “You have the words of eternal life” because Jesus is the Word. Eternal life was granted by the Word of God becoming a man in Jesus Christ, living a perfect life on our behalf, suffering and dying on the cross, and rising to life on the third day. Jesus’ promise of eternal life first required His own death. Jesus’ death on the cross on Good Friday is our word of eternal life because by it our sins were paid for. Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday is our word of eternal life because sin and death were defeated on the cross. Jesus rose triumphantly over the grave! The words of eternal life give us forgiveness through Christ’s death. The words of eternal life promise our sure and certain resurrection through Christ’s resurrection. He paid for our death with His eternal life, so that through His death, we have eternal life! What seems to be a contradiction – Jesus’ death brings life – is the great truth and the word of eternal life.

Today, the words that the pastor speaks over the bread and wine on the altar are the very words of Jesus – the Word. They are words of eternal life! They are known as the Verba: the Words – the Words of Our Lord. Here are the words of eternal life that give to us Jesus – our True and Living Bread from heaven. This is not just thinking about some historical event or a reenactment. It is the very voice of our Lord, guaranteeing our inheritance of eternal life, right now. Eternal life isn’t something that we are waiting around to get. It is already ours, ready for that day when Our Lord will call us to Himself. The Sacrament of the Altar is a sure and certain means of receiving the forgiveness of the cross of Christ and the Life that He brings.

The people were not wrong to seek physical help from Jesus. Jesus certainly cares for our earthly needs. In His ministry, He healed and cared for many. It is not wrong to seek help and healing from Jesus. It is not wrong to give our concerns to Him, to ask Him for a Christian spouse, to pray for patience in suffering, to plead for relief from pain. It is not wrong to seek help in marriage. Jesus hears our cries for mercy.

But Jesus does not promise an easy life on this earth. Amid the trials and afflictions of earthly life, He comes among us to give us the certain hope of our eternal life – life with Christ in heaven forever. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all (Ps 34:19; Gradual). We are assured that Jesus has endured the affliction of the cross Himself in order to make us righteous and deliver us from our afflictions.

Through the words of eternal life, God the Father, by the Son and through the Holy Spirit, has drawn you to Himself. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” reminds us of God’s gracious gift of faith to us. In Holy Baptism, Jesus speaks words of eternal life as He places His name upon you. His saving name gives us the promise of eternal life. The words of the pastor in Absolution – I forgive you all your sins – are just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Jesus Christ came not to bring political fulfillment or to give us lives of luxury and pleasure on earth. Rather, Jesus is the Bread of Heaven who comforts us in every sorrow, trial and affliction now by granting us eternal life in heaven – new life in Him. Thanks be to God for calling us to faith in His Son, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way that leads to life eternal (Collect). The Words of eternal life are words of comfort, hope, and strength as they keep us in the one true faith in Christ Jesus, in whom we have believed, and have come to know, the Holy One of God. We can now joyfully proclaim with St. Peter: “You have the words of eternal life.” Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, guard and keep your hearts and minds in the true faith unto life eternal. Amen.

10th Sunday after Pentecost

August 13, 2006
Rev. Dennis Boettcher
Text: I Kings 19:1-8


LOST IN THE WILDERNESS?

Grace to you and peace from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

For our consideration this day we look at the words the Holy Spirit inspired to be written in the First Book of Kings, the 19th chapter … read moments ago from the lectern.

O Lord, sanctify us through the truth; Your Word is truth. Amen.


In the name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, dear brothers and sisters in the one true faith:

It won’t be long, and soon school will be starting again … elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities will all soon be starting up their “school-year routines.” Part and parcel of these routines are those things we call the “extra-curricular activities,” most often athletic activities. One of those fall sports seen on high school and (I believe) college campuses in the fall is cross country. Cross country is a rather unique sport. It’s unique in that cross country can teach a life-skill that no other sport can do … that life as a journey. In cross country, as in life, it is important for the athlete to know where s/he is going and why s/he is going there. Because sometimes we can get bogged down. Sometimes we don't have the energy to go on. Sometimes, it seems like it's useless to go on. Sometimes, we are at a crossroads and don't know where to turn. Maybe it seems that you've tried everything, you've put forth all the effort, you've done all you can, and nothing seems to work. It looks hopeless … there’s no way you can come in anything else but dead last in the race … and so the temptation for the athlete is just to sit … and the temptation for the average person is to just sit down, look around at the mess that life has become, not having a clue as to how to fix it or what to do next, and just flat-out GIVE UP!!

Do you feel that way? Considering what sort of journey you are taking as a congregation, as well as the journey that you happen to be on as individuals, there are any number of settings where that can be the case: congregations, family, marriages, employment, anything in life. Maybe you just don't know where you fit in anymore. Maybe life seems hopeless, or a major situation in your life seems hopeless. You feel LOST IN THE WILDERNESS.

I.
That is the situation Elijah was in. He was (literally) LOST IN THE WILDERNESS. He had given his best. He had tried everything. He had devoted his life to serving the Lord, but it all seemed to be useless. And so, he was disgusted. He felt very alone. In fact, he was depressed, and he wanted to be alone. He wanted to be alone so much, that he left his servant and traveled out into the wilderness to lay down beneath a broom tree … and he wanted to die.

It might be helpful to talk just a minute about the events that lead Elijah to this point. Because his accomplishments were many! He had raised someone from the dead. He had done several miracles. And just before this "LOST IN THE WILDERNESS" situation in our text, he had even shown the whole nation of Israel that God was the true God. It was a very grand display. Elijah, the only prophet faithful to the Lord was there on Mount Carmel, and there were 400 prophets of this false god Baal. The show-down was simple. Set up two altars with wood, sacrifice, and everything ready to offer a sacrifice. The only thing that was lacking was the fire for the sacrifice itself. The first god to provide his own fire was the true God that Israel should worship. Well, the prophets of Baal stood there all day calling out to Baal, who of course was a false god and so nothing happened. Then, Elijah decided to show how powerful the true God of Israel was. He had the wood and the altar and the sacrifice drenched in so much water that it should have NEVER burned. Then, he called out to God in a simple prayer … and God sent fire from heaven, and like a fireball it consumed wood, sacrifice, even the altar the sacrifice was on. Everything was consumed! And then the people rallied around Elijah and claimed they were there to worship the true God of Israel. That all happened and was reported in chapter 18.

Now, here we are, in chapter 19. With all of this history behind him, why is Elijah ready to die? Primarily because he had just received a death threat from Queen Jezebel of Israel. So he was alone … again … as the only faithful prophet of God. No one to back him up. And so, he was on the run again. What was the use? Even after such an impressive display, the people were fickle … they went right back to their idol worship, thanks to the pressure exerted upon them from the wicked Queen Jezebel.

So, today, in our text, we find Elijah LOST IN THE WILDERNESS … literally, emotionally, and spiritually. He was despondent. He was ready to hang it all up. He was ready to lay down, curl up and die. He had given it his all, and it was all for naught. What was the use? Why go on?

II.
But we can't stay stalled in the wilderness, can we? Because the wilderness is a place of death. Sometimes, we feel like that's what we want: to die … to give up. In a way, that's the safe way to do things … stay in the wilderness, give up, because then we feel that nothing worse can happen. "It's no use. Nothing's gonna change. She's impossible to live with! They won't agree to that! I'll never get a job! My son won't ever speak to me again!” So while it's true that the wilderness is a place of death, it also has some appeal, because you can't seem to go much lower.

In World War II an English soldier endured the wilderness of the Burmese jungle with its steamy climate, tropical fevers, bugging insects and poisonous snakes, while the Japanese kept sniping at the English.

The soldier, exhausted and depressed, was ready to give up. Then he received a letter. Yes, the mail reached him in the jungle. The letter came from a small village in England. And he could picture his family, his home, the green hills and peaceful valleys.

As he read the letter a deep sense of serenity came over him. Even though he was far from home, in the wilderness of the jungle, he knew where he belonged. He remembered his village home in England. His strength and resolve returned. He refused to stall in the wilderness. He refused to give up.

It seems that just before we're about to give up, if we hang on just a little longer, we can soon sigh with relief. God will come through.

So the encouragement that comes through this text today, especially to anyone here who is feeling LOST IN THE WILDERNESS is: GET UP! Get out of the wilderness. Since we've already said that if you stay in the wilderness, you will die, then the opposite must also be true: If you get out of the wilderness, you will live. That's the message the came to Elijah. There he lay, under the broom tree, longing to die. And the message that came to him was "Get up!" For Elijah, instead of it being a letter from home, it was an angel that tugged at him and told him to eat! Get up! "So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, (otherwise known as Sinai,) the mount of God."

Jesus, too, struggled in the wilderness for 40 days and nights, tortured by the devil. But He came out of the wilderness. The wilderness was a place for Him to pass through.

Suppose you face a disappointment in your life. A friend or a spouse betrays you, ignores you, or hurts you. It's natural for you to be bitter, to be incited to betray, ignore and hurt back. Or you might just curl up and stay in the bitter wilderness. But eventually you rise. You pass through the wilderness of disappointment. You come out of the wilderness and live again.

Suppose someone close to you dies. It's natural to grieve. It's unnatural not to grieve. Sometimes we grieve for a long time. Grieving time cannot be hurried.

The sharpness of grief may diminish in time. But its memory lingers all our lives. The French have a saying, "To suffer passes; to have suffered, never passes." A father who lost his son said, "It's not that my son died two years ago, but that he dies every day." We never forget the ones we love.

Eventually Christ comes to dry our tears and invites us to come out of the wilderness of grief. Long before Jesus came, Isaiah describes His work in chapter 53: “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Jesus was bruised and crushed for us, on the cross, and because He took that punishment, we are healed.

Elijah's main problem was a spiritual one. He was looking at all the things he had done. He was looking at circumstances from his point of view. That's how it is when we feel stuck in the wilderness … as if we have run out of options, as if there is no way that any situation can be fixed. We are looking at it from our point of view, as if the solution depended on us and we are fresh out of ideas, or too worn out to bother or care. But what Elijah forgot, and what we often forget, is that God can do anything. God calls you out of the wilderness because God has a legitimate solution to your problem. It reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:26, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

God's angel told Elijah, 'Arise and eat'. Jesus says, "Arise and eat." He invites us to his table … because that is one of the places where the power of God comes to us. Arise and eat the bread and drink the wine. Arise and eat the assurance of Christ's forgiveness in the body and blood of Christ.

Life is a journey. The journey is long. It is often rough. So come … continue to come to Divine Service. Receive the strength and nourishment to pass through the wilderness of life … to come out of the wilderness and live.

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

Now to Him Who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, before all ages, now, and forevermore! Amen.

9th Sunday after Pentecost

August 6, 2006
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: John 6:22-35


IN JESUS, GOD GIVES THE WORK HE REQUIRES!

“This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent.” In the Name of Jesus, whom the Father sent to save us, dear friends in Christ;

Don’t you get tired of people mocking the New Testament witness; ridiculing Jesus’ feeding of five thousand men; making fun of Jesus walking on the water? Don’t you get fatigued with luminaries who want to call Jesus a nice man and yet judge as absurd the miracles Scripture records Him doing? Make no mistake; this is unbelief in the gift of God the Son as Savior of the world. If He is who Scripture says He is these miracles are not weird or absurd. They are beyond our sinful nature but wonderfully harmonious with His nature.

Concerning the two miracles that precede our text…come and let us reason together. “…God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.” Dear Christians, is it not right to understand that He who made both earth and sea and named them could walk equally on either of them if He so chooses?

Come now and let us reason together. “… God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed…‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures…’” Beloved, is it not right to understand that He who created the grain to produce bread to feed billions and fish to fill oceans and seas, could feed five thousand men from a few loaves and fish if He so chooses? What silliness to deny it! What perilous unbelief to mock it! If Jesus is who Scripture says He is, God in flesh, these marvelous acts are not strange, but rather strangely wondrous.

Don’t you also get weary of your own tired out, predictable doubts concerning God’s love for you in Christ? Rather than constant, confident trust in Him, things can get pretty foggy can they not? Who knows if Christ is really who He claims to be? Perhaps you’re spiritually misguided and deluded. Perhaps this life is all there is. Rather than rejoice in God’s gifts of daily bread and the Bread of Life, we are tempted to doubt God’s love, to worry and grumble like the Israelites did in the wilderness. We murmur, inwardly if not outwardly, at not being in control. We want things to be more certain and predictable right now. In this wilderness, we find fault with being asked to simply receive daily from God’s hand. Or, like the people in our text we easily get all fired up about the wrong Jesus and skeptical of the real Jesus.

Make no mistake these folks were all fired up about Jesus. They pursued Him with a passion. His miracle of feeding the five thousand accounts for the focus on food in this text. His miracle of walking on the sea accounts for their question, “”Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Jesus had avoided these people earlier. He had trekked a liquid path across the sea that they could not follow. He purposely evaded them because they wanted to make him king by force (v. 15). They pursued him out of desire for material things, earthly security, political power. Their thoughts were on bread for their stomachs and so Jesus presented the Gospel in those terms. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me…because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you…”

Then came the question of questions! “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Their question demonstrates the prejudice of human hearts for salvation by works; that is when salvation is seen as needed. When the human heart is not denying the existence of God, or making up its own god, then by nature it is craving some work to do to make things different with God. This desire can be evident or hidden; it can be present constantly or periodically. It can lie dormant for years and then surface with a vengeance. It is frequently and forcefully felt when death is known to be drawing near. How will I ever stand before God’s holiness? What about all I have done wrong and failed to do right? What must I do to get my house in order and be ready to die? What must I do, to be doing the works of God?

What a thrilling answer Jesus gives! “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom he has sent.” What a comforting Divine surprise! “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” What a marvelous mind-boggling mystery! “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Beloved, you can never understand this truth too well! You can never cherish this gift too much! You can never believe this treasure too steadfastly! You can never promote this pure gospel too generously with your wealth, or bear witness to it too winsomely with your voice! “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

You mean to say that you work in God’s behalf by letting God work in your behalf! Yes, that’s exactly what God says! You mean to say that you repay God for all His blessings to you by receiving another blessing, salvation in Christ. Yes, that’s exactly what God says! The one work God requires of you is that you receive the Bread of Life. “…the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

What a wondrous revelation of the nature of God! God loves us so that He can love us more! God gives to us so that He can give us more! All of the blessings that God gives us now have this purpose; that we might be on the receiving end of His blessings for all eternity! Eternal pleasure at His right hand is not a religious invention of human beings, a comforting fairy tale. Eternal pleasures at His right hand are inherently linked with the nature of God. He loves to give gifts. He loves to give His gifts to you through the one whom He has sent.

But there is more! Equally miraculous with the one work God requires for eternal life is the fact that it is His work. It is His good and perfect gift to you. In other words, He doesn’t ask you to manufacture faith in Him from your own resources. He doesn’t come to mankind dead in sin and say, OK, decide to believe in me, open your heart and let me in, consider all the options and choose me. No, no, no! “This is the work of God…that is, this is work that God does…that you believe in him whom He has sent.” How can it possibly be better for you and for me? What more can God do for us? The work He requires is faith in His Son. The faith in His Son He requires is not our doing it is His work in us, His gift to us (Eph 2:8, 9). For faith comes by hearing and hearing through the speaking of Christ.

Ah, yes, you say, but sometimes I don’t feel like I believe, sometimes I feel dead to God, to myself, and perhaps even the world. Oh, good heavens, there you go making up a new work to earn eternal life: the work of feeling a certain way all the time. You see, this craving we sinners have to be in control, to maneuver ourselves into a good standing with God takes on all manner of appearances. It is a temptation that never evaporates and sometimes it takes on the appearance of equating certain feelings with the presence and the peace of God. Beloved, that will never do!

He who fed Israel manna and quail in the wilderness did not do so because they reached a high enough level on the feeling meter. They were, after all, grumbling when He fed them. He who gives you Himself as the true bread from heaven does not do so because you measure up emotionally or mentally. He gives you Himself as the true bread from heaven because he loves you and He knows you cannot live without His forgiveness.

That’s why on another day He walked a different path that no one could follow. On that day He didn’t walk on the water that He created. On that day He could hardly walk a few hundred yards on the earth that He made. Under the weight of a little wood he sank down in trembling weakness. Unable to bear the weight of the cross beam of an execution stake, the guards seized one Simon of Cyrene to carry it behind Jesus. On the day of our text Jesus evaded being labeled a bread king by a mob who liked Him. On the day of His crucifixion, He did not evade being labeled the king of the Jews by the Governor who executed Him.

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Yet from His place of shame and death, He cried out, “I thirst”. All for you! He was thirsting for you! All to give you the Bread from heaven and the water of life! “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom He has sent.”

The Father who set his seal on Him has also set His seal on you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. People can go through the motions of being baptized a second time or third or many times, have water put on them and all that, but there has never been anyone truly re-baptized. That’s because there is only one baptism from God. You have received yours and God was not fooling around in those holy waters. It was the risen Christ with all authority in heaven and earth who commanded that your sins be washed away in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is the risen Christ with all the authority in heaven and earth who comes to feed you the Bread from heaven today. Take eat, “this is My body”. “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom He has sent.”

Is this not the most encouraging wonder? The teenager or the twenty-something who receives Christ’s Word and Sacrament is at the center of God’s kingdom work on this earth. They may be uncertain about the future. They may have difficulty setting aside even 1% or 2% of God’s gifts to return to Him. But already they are at the heart of God’s kingdom work on earth.

Is this not the most strengthening wonder? The baby boomer, in mid-life or near retirement, who receives God’s Word and Sacrament is at the center of God’s kingdom work on earth. They may have been misled by free love and the false freedom promised by the 60’s. They may ache over past decisions and present possibilities. But, receiving Christ’s forgiveness they have true love and true freedom and they are at the heart of God’s kingdom work on earth.

Is it not the most comforting wonder? The aged saint who receives Christ’s Word and Sacrament is at the center of God’s kingdom work on earth. They may long for earlier days of physical strength and greater activity. They may be shut-in or bedfast and think they are of little use to anyone and a burden to everyone. But the truth is, they are still at the center of the beating heart of God’s kingdom work on earth.

“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom he has sent.” “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Lord, give us this bread always. AMEN.

8th Sunday after Pentecost

July 29-30, 2006
Mark 6:45-56
Vicar Michael Monterastelli

+++ A very special thank you to Vicar Monterastelli for all of his hard work as our vicar and God's blessings on your future ministry in Christ's church. +++

…When they saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke to them and said, “Take heart; I AM. Do not be afraid.”

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

His 12 apostles had just plundered a desolate place and come away with 12 heaping baskets of leftover booty. They had watched Jesus feed 5000 men from only 5 loaves and 2 fish. But even after seeing this miracle with their own eyes, they still did not see Jesus as the anointed one of God, the Messiah. Though they heard Him speak they refused to hear and though they saw His mighty deeds they refused to recognize Him or understand what He did. Contrary to the old saying, seeing is not always believing. Even before television people still had a hard time believing everything they saw. Faith, after all, is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb. 11:1).

His disciples saw but did not understand about the loaves, their hearts were hardened. They did not see Jesus as the God who gave the manna to the Israelites. As Israel wondered in the desolate place between affliction in Egypt and prosperity in the Promised Land, the Lord provided all they had required. As the disciples came to a desolate place, the Lord, once again, provided all they required. Yet, they did not see Jesus as the one who would humbly give His life on a cross to save theirs. They saw Jesus only as a bread King, and not as the Bread of Life. They still feared ghosts, death, and devils more than they feared, loved, and trusted the One True God.

When they saw the Creator of the universe walking on the sea in near darkness, perhaps lit only by moon beams that managed to pierce an overcast night sky, they did not recognize Him. If the 12 hand-picked apostles of Jesus could not recognize Him then, what makes you think you would now? Besides not understanding Jesus as the Bread of Life, their sin was compounded by fearing what they imagined was a ghost. Seeing ghosts may not have been an uncommon claim. Having heard other ghost stories, it may have been reasonable in their context to consider the possibility that they were in the presence of something from beyond this world. But the holy ghost is not what they thought they saw. They saw what their wicked hearts imagined and deceived them to fear — a specter from the grave, an apparition, a phantom of the night coming to steal their lives — like a pirate or thief in the night.

And in a very true sense, they were right. Because it was Jesus, who has come from beyond this world to steal their lives and yours back from the depths of the sea. He came to take the sin that is not His, the guilt that is not His, and the fear that is not His. He came to take these away so He could give His chosen ones something better.

Their eyes (blinded by the fog of sin) could not clearly see until Jesus spoke. “Take heart; I AM. Do not be afraid.” In terror they cried out, perhaps, to God. And when Jesus said, “I AM,” the form of Jesus changed in their minds-eye and all their fear was removed.

Dear Christian, when Jesus calls Himself ‘I AM’, He’s not saying ‘It’s just me.’ For He is the great I AM who promised Noah that the waters of the flood would never again destroy all flesh or the earth. ‘I AM’ is God’s Name. I AM is God. He told Moses to use His Name to speak for Him to the people of Israel. Jesus claims God’s Name as His own, as if to say, “Take heart; I AM the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. There is nothing to fear.”

If we were perfect Christians all the time, we’d recognize the goodness of the Creator of heaven and earth in everything. And we’d never be afraid of anything. But like the disciples, we foolishly fear many things because we are blind as bats — blinder even. For sin has clouded your vision. After seeing the Lord do good things for you and others, beware! your heart is quick to return to its natural, inward focused, hardened condition. The dreams, imaginations, and speaking you do from a hard heart are tainted with selfishness and evil.

If you encountered the Lord Himself in a dark alley on your way home today you might not recognize Him. You might consider Him an abomination, a stain on the streets of the community, whether He appeared to you as a homeless man with no place to lay His head or as a rich young ruler with many possessions. Either way, you’d consider Him like a thief or a pirate waiting to take what does not belong to Him.

To a rich man, what’s more terrifying than a poor man come to take the money and security he depends on? To a poor man, what’s more terrifying than a wealthy man come to take away the freedom and dignity he depends on?

No matter how impossible, no matter how astounding, no matter how unreasonable, no matter how poor or wealthy, no matter how terrifying God may sometimes seem to our sin blind eyes, your Savior loves you, He humbly comes to you. Though He was rich, for your sakes He became poor. And though they do not belong to Him, like a thief in the night He comes as He has promised: to take away every sin, every reason for guilt, and every reason to fear.

This is what hearing and seeing the Lord face to face does to you. He brings you back from the fear of death and hell. He brings you into heaven. He gives you His wealth, dignity and freedom that can never be taken away. With eyes of faith we learn to recognize Jesus when He comes among us to forgive sins where His Word is proclaimed and attached to water, bread, and wine. When you hear Jesus forgive Your sins, your heart learns to rest believing: “God is no longer cursing me in His anger. He is blessing me and delivering His life to me.”

For now, perhaps for a little while, the Lord has burdened you, but take heart, do not fear. He has not yet given you over to death. He means all things, even the most deadly trials, for your good and the good of others. We are not sanctified unless our sinful flesh is oft-exposed and drowned in the depths of the waters of Baptism. The frantic life (of self-preservation and pleasure seeking) forces itself into sins of every kind: slanders, adulteries, lusts, thefts, covetousness, and other law breaking.

If God did not love you, there would be plenty to fear both in this world and the next. We’d fear death and all those things that bring death — hunger, malicious men and women, demons, drippy-long-toothed beasts, illnesses, and painful injuries.

Even for repentant sinners, fear of death and hell often follows great triumph. Fear of losing what you’ve worked so hard to achieve is never far behind. You could lose it, forget about it, or it could be unjustly taken from you. Whatever ‘it’ happens to be for you, what you strive so hard to achieve can never stop the discouraging wind from blowing against your sails. But Jesus will. What He does for you cannot ever be taken away.

Just as God came to His disciples, removed their fear, and stopped the wind, so also He comes to you in the middle of your trials and temptations. Jesus climbs in the boat with you. As Master and Commander of the heavenly Boat made good and holy by His presence, He brings you to quiet waters and calm winds. He gives you good sailing. He anchors you to safe shores.

God comes to you today (not as a ghost) but in bodily form. He comes and makes you well by the means He has chosen. Not just by touching the fringe of His garment, but by pouring over your head water He made Holy by His Word, He is united with you in the person of His perfect Son Jesus. In the bread and wine made perfect by the body and blood of His Son He makes you holy. He makes you well.

When Jesus comes and brings you into His Boat, into His Church, take heart; It is He. It is the Lord, the great I AM, who brought you up from the waters of Holy Baptism. There is nothing to fear.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.