13th Sunday after Pentecost

TEXT: Hebrew 12: 4-29
THE DISCIPLESHIP OF SUFFERING
THE DELGIGHTFUL TREASURES OF WORSHIP
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting

In many and various ways God spoke to His people of old by the prophets, but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son (Heb. 1:1, 2). Dear Hearers of the Word made flesh;

At the Christ on Campus conference here in June, campus pastors and vicars from a dozen states discussed the struggles of and threats against university students today. One conclusion of the participants and the speakers was that there is a pressing need for studying the theology of the cross, for understanding the foundational place of suffering in the life of a Christian on a college campus.

Christian psychologist Dr. Beverly Yanke shared statistics concerning the high rate of depression on modern college campuses. Universities see it as a crisis and are scrambling to deal with its effects. Contributing factors that were voiced included the moral decay of our culture and its deadening effect on young hearts and minds and the hostility it carries to confessing Christ, unrealistic expectations caused by society’s fixation on high self-esteem, idealistic student imaginings concerning relationships, uncertainty about one’s major and the future it will provide, concern over college loans and debt loads, some lack of rigorous discipline in American life, and the pressures of academic pursuit in a new and large environment. Vicar Askins’ first study with the students this fall will therefore be on suffering, on the theology of the cross on the college campus.

Whether we are on a college campus or in the workplace or a homemaker or retired, we are easily confused about suffering. No one gets a free pass from the deathward drift of life in this cursed world. Certainly, some suffering we bring upon ourselves with wrong choices and harmful actions. But the possibilities in a sinful world expand in so many ways. Affliction comes in loneliness, disappointment, never ending demands, intense questions and doubts about self and about God, physical sickness, unfulfilled longings, career reversals, hostility from others, fears for loved ones, grief over losses, and finally the approach and arrival of death. You are guaranteed the presence of suffering in this quickly passing world. You will suffer. You will hurt. There may be hours of painful stress, days of stressful pressure, and years of weakness and struggle. No one is exempt from suffering.

Yet, we constantly think it strange. We also pray for its removal. For those unemployed, we pray for work. For those ill we pray for healing. For those persecuted and tormented we pray for relief. And we should so pray!

Yet God would also have us know that the presence of painful trials and ongoing struggles does not mean He has abandoned us. Quite the opposite in fact! “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons.

Satan tempts us to doubt God’s care and compassion in suffering. He would use times of distress and trial to turn us away from God. He would use suffering to sow despair and bitterness. And bitterness can be contagious. One poisoned heart, one ungrateful attitude, one bitter person, can tragically infect many others. “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled…”

A key to rooting out bitterness and living in contentment is to rightly view suffering in our life. In suffering Satan whispers – “you are imprisoned and alone”, “you are in solitary confinement”. In suffering the world shouts, “you are missing out; you are a fool not to go the broad easy way.” In suffering our sinful nature whines and whimpers in self-pity, “no one cares - no one loves me”. But God says, “… the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives.” He (the Father of spirits) disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

The truth is, we are either being trained by God’s painful discipline in our life or we are turning bitter because of it. The discipline noted here includes sharp verbal rebuke of sin (V.5). It also includes blows of a physical nature (scourges, whips) (V. 6). Whom the Lord loves and receives, he disciplines and whips.

This is crucial in God’s love for us because we sinners want to be theologians of glory. We want to be in control of the outcome of the things that relate to us. We have hopes and plans that easily confuse our personal kingdoms with the kingdom of God even in spiritual matters. To travel through this passing world and not be charmed and seduced by it is possible only with God’s loving discipline. Everyone whom the Lord loves and receives He disciplines. Everyone! Imagine how insufferable you or I would be if everything always went our way all through the years!

The Hebrew Christians had forgotten God’s purposes in disciplining His own. Their property had been plundered and confiscated. They faced public ridicule and abuse for confessing Christ. Some of them had been imprisoned (Heb. 10:32, 43). But the greatest tragedy was their false reading of the situation.

They thought that hardship and affliction meant God had deserted them. They had weak knees and drooping hands. They were showing signs of quitting, of giving up. To this severe circumstance of trial the Holy Spirit caused to be written the amazing words of faith that we heard in previous weeks. Faith is the assurance (the title-deed) of the things we hope for, the evidence of things not seen. He also caused to be written the amazing words about discipline and suffering in this text. Far from being an indication that God has deserted His own, discipline is evidence that He has not deserted them. Their suffering for the Gospel showed that God was treating them as sons. Of course it seemed painful and not pleasant. Of course they prayed for it to be removed. But its presence was because God loved them. Everything that God brings to the baptized, everything, He works for their eternal good.
Dear Christians, the period of discipline isn’t over yet. It is rather the length of your entire earthly journey. In love, God doesn’t spare the rod (Prov. 13:24). Discipline is not reason to despair but a basis for encouragement and perseverance. Growing fainthearted in suffering is a lie from the father of lies; it is not the answer.

The answer is Jesus! The answer to our suffering is the suffering of our LORD who did shed His blood in the struggle against sin. Just before our text is the exhortation, “let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The joy set before Him was you, sinners turned to Him in repentance and faith. He is the narrow door to heaven. There is no other way! But that door is flung wide open to all us sinners! The consuming fire of God’s wrath roared over Him on Mount Calvary for our rebellion against Mount Sinai to bring us to Mount Zion.

For you He came down. For you He laid down His life in sacrificial death. For you His body was taken down and laid in the garden tomb. And for you He rose up making His cross the gateway to eternal joy! From the right hand of the throne of God He comes into your midst today with all the blessings spoken of in these verses.

The book of Hebrews was written in part to encourage Christians in their suffering not to forsake gathering together in weekly worship (Heb. 10:24, 25). In our text worship is described as coming to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. Each week in worship, you come into God’s city. You can’t reach heaven in some strenuous, mystical, nature worshipping, star-gazing way, but God brings heaven to you in His word and Sacrament. On Mount Sinai, sinners were told to stay away or be destroyed. Here at Mount Zion, the place of God’s promised presence, repentant sinners are invited to draw near to the throne of grace, to receive mercy to help them in their time of need. We are to call upon Him in the day of trouble (Ps 50:15).

“You have come to Mount Zion…and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

Beloved when it comes to God’s service to us here, what we have heard in earlier weeks from Hebrews holds true, “… faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). You can’t go by what you see in worship. However you can live and die and live forever by what God tells you in and concerning worship.

As you gather here, there are thousands upon thousands of angels who worship with you. They worship the Lord day and night in joyful assembly. When the LORD is in your midst, they have not ceased their joyful assembly in worship nor have they departed from Him. Even with all of your earthly struggles, the angels are here with you. As you gather here you have also come to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. That is, you have come to the whole body of all believers in Jesus Christ everywhere. With all our differences, with unique joys and sorrows, with diverse families and fortunes and affairs, what we have in common goes far beyond our differences. We share a common birth in Holy Baptism, a common meal of forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper, a common future home in heaven. As we run the race with all of its painful discipline and correction, there is solace here for one another and from one another. We do encourage one another. As you gather here you have also come to God, the judge of all. The word of the law from Mount Sinai says you’re guilty, as guilty as Esau who sold his birthright for a belly full of food. But this is Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem. Here the sprinkled blood of Jesus is present and through that blood Jesus mediates to you a new covenant – a covenant of forgiveness, life and salvation. Here His blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. It cries out for your forgiveness. As you gather in worship each week the judge of all says to you “not guilty.” My Son was made your sin and damned in your place. I now give you His birthright, go in peace.

As you gather here you have also come to the sprits of righteous men made perfect. That is, you are in the company of those who have died trusting in Jesus and not in themselves. It can be good to go to a graveside and remember a loved one. It can be good to hold special a photograph or keepsake from a parent or spouse or other loved one no longer on this earth. But, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no closer place to those who have died in the faith, then right here in the liturgy each week. The communion preface constantly trumpets this truth. With angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven you praise the risen Christ together with them. Where Christ is, there His saints are. When Christ comes to teach you and to feed you, you are in the company of those whose suffering is ended, whose discipline is done, who have received what we yet hope for.

Until that fulfillment of all our hopes, let us offer God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe and with thanksgiving and joy for His undeserved love for us. Until then, “let us not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” In the name of Jesus, Amen.

12th Sunday after Pentecost

THE DIVIDING LINE OF PEACE
Vicar Roy Askins

Most people don’t think of the Berlin wall as beneficial. The Iron Curtain has not been extolled as advantageous. Prison walls topped with barbed wire do not evoke beautiful poems from the pens of poets. Trenches filled with spent artillery shells and bodies of soldiers do not make for posters placed on palace walls. Rather artists spend lifetimes attempting to picture peace in their art. They attempt to capture, in colorful detail, whether with the plumage of beautiful birds or by the varied array of wild flowers all the beauty of creation, hoping to convey in some small fashion their understanding of peace. They strive to convey that peace to those who see their art. Many times, when we think of peace, the picture we imagine is of Jesus holding his lost lamb and gently guiding his flock. Why then does the Prince of Peace speak so brashly of the fire he has come to cast upon the earth? Why does he bring into the picture of peace the fire of division?

Perhaps a fly on the wall view of our own homes provides a better perspective to view the division inherent in our daily lives. A fly on the wall view which sees husbands and wives bickering after balancing the checkbook. A view of fathers and mothers divided against their children for their musical preferences. A fly’s view of a father pitted against his son’s plan to move in with his girlfriend, a choice that is destructive to God’s gift of marriage. A fly’s view of mothers pitted against daughters when the daughter responds unfavorably to her mother’s second or third divorce.

Truth be told, we don’t need more division. Division finds us in whichever direction we turn. It does not allow us to enter our own homes without greeting us at the door. It does not allow us to sit down at our work computer without greeting us on the computer screen. Division finds us. So Jesus, why are you bringing us more division? We’ve got enough already.

Yet Jesus said, “A fire I have to cast upon the earth, and would that it already were kindled!” The fire he came to cast upon the earth is the fire of God’s wrath. The fire of wrath against every sin and wickedness committed from the dawn of time. “Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart.” (Jeremiah 23:19-20a) From the first bite of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden to each failure to treasure the preaching of His Word this Sunday, from the first attempt to hide from Him in the garden to any attempt to hide from His Word today, the all consuming fire of God, Christ came to cast upon the earth. For all the divisive sins committed since the dawn of time, the fire of God has come to consume in wrath. This is the all holy God who does not allow to stand before him one sin or one transgression. This is the all-holy God who requires perfection of every son of Adam. This fire Christ cast upon the earth requires obedience of every human being.

How shall we stand before such an all consuming fire? Where can we find the peace this Prince of Peace gives? How shall we who are tainted with sin, divided eternally from our Maker stand in his presence? How shall we stand before the anger of the Lord which will not turn back until He has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart? (Jeremiah 23:20a) We can’t. Jesus does.

For now we are in these latter days, and we do understand it clearly. (Jeremiah 23:20b) For the fire Christ cast upon the earth did consume all the chaff and unholiness of man. The fire of the wrath of God consumed all the sin from the dawn of time to its completion. All of the dividing moments of man, from the highways and byways of Iraq to the familial squabbles at home, and to the divisive tongues of gossip, these all have been consumed by this fire. This unquenchable fire. The true division, the division Christ comes to bring occurred intents Holy Week. On Good Friday, completed on Easter Sunday, Christ brought true and holy division. He divided you from your sin. He divided you and set you apart from sinful humanity. Instead of dooming you to enter eternal existence in suffering, Christ took all sin into himself. The fire he cast upon the earth consumed him. The Baptism of fire he desired to be kindled he underwent on the cross. In that Baptism all the wrath of God was poured out on all the sins of the world. In that Baptism of fire, Christ cried out, “My God my God, why have you forsaken me?” this is the true meaning of division. This is the Baptism he longed to have completed so that in your Baptism you might be divided from your own wickedness.

For while the soldiers divided the garments of Jesus below him, he was dying in order to divide them from sinful humanity. While we live in houses divided by sin and evil, Christ has died on the cross to divide us from these impurities. While we pile on more divisions and more sins, Christ has already divided us from them by His death.

And when He stands here in your midst and by the hand of the pastor divides His body and blood for you... when He breaks bread with you, there He continues to divide and separate you from sin. When you deserved to bear all the suffering you yourself caused, there He stands, giving His body for you, His body which has already born the brunt of Your sin. This is the division Christ brings. This is the division necessary for the Prince of Peace to work peace in your lives.

The peace He brings is peace with the Father, His Father and ours.

Reconciliation. Justification. Reuniting. Where your sin divided you from the Father, Christ with His body reunites you, reconciles you, washes away the dividing line, to bring you peace with the Father. This peace Christ does bring, but it is not a peace which occurs on earth. It is a peace with the Father.
In fact, the division and struggles of this world will continue to plague us. Fathers and mothers will still argue with their children and children will still be willful and stubborn. Sins will still divide one from another. And even more so for the Christian, for when the Christian is baptized, he stands opposed to Satan and the world. Want to know something that will bring division and suffering in your life, try standing up and saying, “I will not live in wild lusts of the heart, for I have been separated from my sin. I will not follow you in jealousy, for it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!”

These things will bring division; they will bring suffering. These are the results of being a forgiven child of God. Reconciliation with our heavenly Father might mean division from our earthly father, as is the case with any Muslim or Jew who becomes a Christian. Reconciliation with our heavenly Father might mean separation from an errant son who wants nothing to do with his seemingly overly sensitive father. These divisions however do not result from sin, but point to our separation from the world. We never seek out these divisions, but as Jesus says, they will come.

And so Christ comforts us when these divisions occur. In fact, we can even rejoice in sufferings which result from the Gospel. Whether it means confessing Christ before the sword or the executive board knowing your livelihood is on the line, take heart for Christ says, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” (Luke 6:22-23) Whether suffering comes while confessing Christ before the wild beasts of the coliseum or the wild ravings of the college classroom professor, rejoice with Paul who says in Romans, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:3-6) Rejoice then for this division will not last forever. No, the Father has reconciled you to Himself, to live with Him in His kingdom.

Nor do you suffer alone. The church, the bride of Christ, is connected to Christ. Christ is the head of the church and the head cannot go on vacation without the body. The bridegroom doesn’t leave his bride alone in suffering. When the church suffers on account of the Gospel, Christ suffers with you. Christ, present here in this divine service, unites you with the entire church through His Body and Blood, so that when suffering occurs on one extremity of the body, the entire body suffers together. This earthly division cannot divide the head from the body, the bridegroom from the bride; it cannot divide Christ from you.

Know now that Christ has divided you from your sin. He divided you from your sins with a wall stronger than the Iron Curtain. He divided you with a trench so deep it could consume all the trenches of every world war. He divided you with His own blood. His own blood delivered for you on the cross, applied to you in your Baptism by water and His Word and fed to you in His body and blood. This division cannot be destroyed. This is the dividing line of peace. The dividing line that brings peace. This line no earthly artist can picture. This line no art can fathom. This dividing line occurs here in the presence of His Word preached and His gifts delivered from the altar. The dividing line has been drawn. The fire has been cast. Peace has come. Peace which is yours. Amen.

11th Sunday after Pentecost

TEXT: Luke 12:22-40
GOD’S GOOD PLEASURE IN CHRIST ANSWERS OUR WORRY
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting

In many and various ways God spoke to His people of old by the prophets, but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son (Heb. 1:1, 2). Dear hearers of the Word made flesh;

Jesus spoke the parable of the rich fool to a crowd of thousands. He warned them that life without being rich toward God has eternal consequences. Then He addressed only His disciples showing the close connection between richness toward God and the removal of fear and anxiety. Right after the words, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” St. Luke records Jesus saying this and more to His disciples: “Therefore (for this reason) I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?...Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Anxiety and fear! Oh to live your life without anxiety and fear! When I was young one of my occasional nighttime fears was the bear up above the attic hatch in our bedroom closet. This fear was, of course, unfounded. It was nonetheless a fear encouraged and fed from time to time by my older brother who shared that room. Keeping the closet door tightly shut and huddling under thick quilts in winter months were helpful fear reducers. But that attic was always there, right behind the closet door and oh my, what boyhood imagination could put in it!

Anxiety and fear! How glorious a week would be without that pair! As we age, however, there are so many more things, real things to be afraid of and to worry about. Quite early you learn about accidents and disease that take the life of friends and family. You learn about the consequences of failure and the fearful results of crime. You fear missing out and worry about fitting in. You worry about grades in college and fear the years of study might not provide that rewarding vocation. You may worry about finding a spouse or fear losing personal freedom if you do.

Anxiety and fear! If God gives you children, the fears and worries can multiply exponentially. And with aging there are even more uncertainties and more threats to add to the mix. What about failing eyesight and hearing and memory? What about health care and loss of independence?

Anxiety and fear! How are you handling that pair today? Is your heart free from worry over health – family – finances – the state of this country - the state of the church? Is your heart free from fear of cancer and strokes and accidents and Islamic terrorism and falling bridges and the decay of our culture and the effects of bad decisions and threats against the Christian faith of yourself and those you love?

Jesus’ exhortations “not to worry” presuppose the presence of anxieties in the lives of His disciples. The context shows that the worries Jesus identified here were over possessions, over stuff, over the things of life that provide food and clothing. “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” He said. We do take great care over these things that will not last. We are tempted to covet and to brood over and strive after things that are passing away.

The truth is that there has always been anxiety in this world ever since sin came into the world. There has been concern over clothing ever since Adam and Eve sought to cover up with fig leaves. There has been concern over food ever since they ate of the one tree God separated from the menu of human life. “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you…you are dust to dust you shall return.”

This means that none of us can avoid anxieties. The diseased and disfigured world we live in offers a profuse menu of threats. But our Lord Jesus teaches us here not to be taken captive by them. There will be duties and responsibilities to harass us in daily life. There will be cares for food and livelihood and loved ones. There will be thorns and thistles aplenty. There will be fear of death as we await our own body’s return to dust.

In fact, it is that final fear that Jesus here addresses with His ultimate admonition. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” A better translation might read “stop being afraid little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Or some 2000 years earlier to Abraham, “Stop being afraid…for I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” In His gifts to us through Abrahams’ Seed, God gives us the answer to all our worries and all our fears. They won’t go away, but neither will God leave us or forsake us.

Dear Christians, here is more help and healing for fear and worry than in the psychology books and counseling techniques of the world. This is not meant to negate the positive help counseling may offer for facing the phobias of life. But here, the Shepherd speaks to His sheep. Here the holy LORD speaks to those who know His voice.

His encouragement acknowledges that his sheep will not transform the world; that the huge herd of the world’s masses will not jump on board. He calls His disciples, not the big gang, but the little flock. That in it self can be a fearful thing in this statistically driven society. “Fear not, little flock.”

Then follow some of the most beautiful words in Holy Scripture. Jesus unveils again the ultimate ground of our comfort, the ultimate source of our salvation, the ultimate reason for us not to fear and not to worry. “Stop being afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure…”

The Father has absolute freedom of will. The crucial issue then is His will toward us? What is the beating heart of what the Father in heaven wants for us fearful, anxious, sinners? What pleases Him in regard to this death-dealing predicament in which we find ourselves? “Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure…to what? If it is the Father’s good pleasure to require or to punish or to pay us what we deserve, then our life is hopeless, then there is reason for depression and despair. You see, everything for us depends upon what follows, what springs forth from the Father’s good pleasure.
“Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you…”

Beloved, rejoice in that word “give”! “To give” is a word rich in grace. It is a word that reaches back to eternity. “To give” to you is the opposite of taking from you. “To give” is fundamentally different than “to pay what is earned”. “To give” is not dependent upon merit or worth. “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you… the kingdom!”

The kingdom! That’s what we daily pray for in the Lord’s Prayer…Thy Kingdom come. Not possessions that grow old and wear out, not temporary pleasures, not bigger barns, not my self determined kingdom but the kingdom – God’s kingdom. All that God possesses, He desires to give to you!

Beloved, stop being afraid that God’s hidden agenda is to give you evil. Stop worrying that God’s deep-down intention might be to delight in making you suffer! He has no secret scheme to get even with you or to make you pay. Rather, He has bared His heart to you in Jesus. He wants you to know the unmistakable, unchanging treasure of His grace toward you. The reason for you not to fear lies within the Father Himself. The reason for you not to worry comes to you through the Son Himself.

The very one speaking to Abraham is the very one who spoke the words in our Gospel and the one who Himself is your shield. He is a shield which nothing can get through. In Hebrews we heard that from one man and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars. The Gospel tells us that from one man who was dead, crucified, dead and buried are born these descendants of Abraham who live by faith (Gal. 3). You are part of that host, numbered as the stars in the sky. Your worry can’t add one hour to your life, but Jesus’ work adds eternity to your life. He is your shield. On the cross He stepped between your punishment and you. Not one accusation of Satan can penetrate your shield. Even when Satan throws flaming arrows of temptation related to death your way, your shield stands firm. The Shepherd of the little flock stepped forth from His grave in resurrection victory, giving us the kingdom. The risen Christ comes into our midst today not to be served but to serve, to continue His gracious giving.

Anxiety and fear! Oh to live your life without anxiety and fear! The truth is that that’s not going to happen. There are too many thorns and thistles! This world is under a curse and besides, our old nature is a master at manufacturing worries even where there are none. While there are no bears in the attic closet (no skeletons either – in Jesus), there is a roaring Lion, prowling around seeking to devour us. There are dangers and disappointments that pursue us and death that awaits us. There is more than enough anxiety and fear to go around. But our Lord teaches us here not to be taken captive by any of it.

“Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” You are His treasure! His heart is set on you! Let your heart take comfort in Him. When you speak the invocation in daily prayer and as you make the sign of the cross (if that is your practice) remember God’s good pleasure in you through His washing of rebirth. He has not lost one drop of the ocean of love behind that blessed, cleansing flood!

When you pray “Our Father” this week, remember that Jesus prays with you. You are not praying to a neutral God. You are not praying to a fickle, moody God. You are not praying to some generic power or spirit of the universe or nature. And you are not praying alone. You are praying to the Father in heaven who spared not His Son but gave Him up for you. As you pray, Jesus also prays for you and with you in keeping with the Father’s will. And you know what His will for you is. “Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

In Him you go home today at peace with God. In Him you lay down in sleep tonight at peace with God. In Him you depart this life in peace even through the valley of the shadow of death. Thank God that in these last days He continues to speak to us by His Son. Amen.

10th Sunday after Pentecost

TEXT: LUKE 12:13-21
YOUR LIFE CONSISTS IN THE RICHNESS OF GOD
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting

To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Luther Memorial Chapel and University Student Center: Grace to you and peace from God our Father (Col 1:2). But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: One of the five confirmed deaths in the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota was 60 years old and driving a newly purchased Mercedes Benz home from work. Her husband described it as her dream car. Her vocation involved marketing insurance and mutual funds, helping herself and others save and prepare for the future. It is an honorable and honest vocation. Her personal financial house would seem to have been in good order. Retirement was just ahead with much security and enjoyment to look forward to. But her earthly life ended in an instant when the pavement beneath her car simply gave way. A massive bridge of steel and concrete (the kind we drive on all the time) collapsed in seconds. In an unforeseen moment of time this terrible tragedy occurred. Because of that tragedy, the victims will never again participate in the provisions and plans of this passing world.

Today’s Gospel records two terrible tragedies in this passing world. The first was brothers fighting over their father’s inheritance. This caused Jesus to tell a parable of the second tragedy - a rich man who hoarded his wealth. The immediate background for Jesus’ teaching is dramatic. He had just taught a crowd of thousands that God heard all secret things they ever said (v.2,3). He taught them not to fear that which killed the body (like a collapsing bridge for instance) but the one who had authority to cast into hell (v.5). He taught that the one denying Him before men would be denied before the angels of God (v.9).

Right then, in light of Jesus’ teaching about eternity, a man in the crowd voiced this incredible request. “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” He only wanted his fair share of the family stuff. But Jesus’ response was swift and severe. “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Then Jesus told the parable of the rich fool.

The man in the parable was not a fool because he was rich. God had blessed him with riches. He was rather a fool because he wasn’t rich toward God. He stood on God’s ground in the midst of God’s harvest brought forth by God’s sunshine given growth by God’s rain and said, my barns, my grain, my goods, and my soul. He was rich in caring for himself and saving for his future. But he wasn’t rich toward God.

Let’s call him Ken. Ken worked hard and succeeded. Barns and fields as far as the eye could see. He invested wisely and kept a careful eye on the books. He knew that the future could be unpredictable, so retirement plans were systematically reviewed and updated. When he gave, he gave cautiously, always from his excess, after making certain of growth in equity and mutual funds and 401K’s. Ken had daily bread aplenty and even things in storage for a rainy day.

Still, God continued to shower him with blessings. A bumper crop, a bountiful harvest, produced mountains of new grain. His stomach was full. His barns were full. But not his covetous heart! “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.’

The church father, Ambrose, speaking on this text said that the rich man had plenty of storage space for his grain – in the mouths of the poor. But all the personal pronouns, the I(s) and my(s) in his own mouth didn’t allow room for the mouths of the poor. “I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But they weren’t really his goods and he really didn’t have many years left or even a few days for that matter. God said “Ken”, you idiot! You fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

All that stuff he worried about, that mountain of goods and grain he schemed to squirrel away, didn’t amount to a hill of beans for him. Perhaps he died alone with no surviving relatives. In that case whatever the government didn’t get its hands on might well pass to some distant deadbeat relative. Vanity of vanities! Or, maybe his estate planning was top notch for his wife and children and that is certainly not evil. But what a fatal attitude of accumulation to pass on to them! It was not the riches God blessed him with that were evil. The evil was in his covetous heart that was not rich toward God.

Was the answer that he should have put God first? No. Putting God first is not the answer. God isn’t first on a to-do list. God first, and all our other idols, second, third, and fourth! Rather, as St. Paul wrote to the Colossians, Christ is your life; Christ is all, and in all! God isn’t the first of many on an inventory of life. God is everything! He is the source of life, and the sustainer of life everyday. Christ is all, and in all! All things are created through Him! The grain and the goods and the fields and cattle and the barns and beautiful gifts of food and drink are gifts from the hand of God. Whether we recognize it or not, all that we have and hold for a brief time on this earth is God’s. Our money too!

It’s a gift from God, like grain and sunshine and it is not evil. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. And we can get very religious in our love for money. We can be more careful preparing our children for their first allowance than for their first communion. We can be more concerned about how they handle their money each week than how they handle the holy things of God each week. We can avoid teaching them what God says about returning to Him proportionately from what He gives to them. And He does give to them in birthday gifts and allowance and youthful jobs. After all, they’ll have to learn to pinch every penny if they’re going to get ahead. Also just by worry and an always-cautious example, we may rob them of the joy of spontaneous giving. Yes, we should be responsible with our wealth and also prayerfully plan our offering to God. No, we should not give in cool calculation that increases reluctantly while all the time we would rather build a bigger barn. For, God loves a cheerful, a hilarious giver!

Jesus’ conclusion was both condemning and comprehensive. It reaches right into this house of worship today. “‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one (that is anyone) who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Fellow-Redeemed, the rich fool will not be alone in hell. He will be in the company of Shorewood churchgoers who were possessed by their possessions, who richly blessed by God were not rich toward God.

The sin you see is primarily a sin of omission, not one of commission. It is not a sin to be wealthy. It is a sin not to be rich toward God. The sin involves dullness to God’s provision of daily bread and the Bread of Life. The sin involves coveting more of this world’s things, so that whatever our economic status, our pile must grow larger and larger. The sin involves cool calculation that puts the Gospel somewhere on a long list of other priorities. The sin is not that one would take action to diversify holdings or make sound investments for financial security in the future. The sin is letting concern for these bigger barns choke out richness toward God.

Are you being rich toward God? That question cannot be answered by looking at anyone else or by comparing with the average Missouri Synod giver. That question cannot be answered because the dollar figure of giving is in the hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. That question can be answered only by looking at what God richly gives you through Christ who is all and in all.

Are you being rich toward God? If you answer, yes, I’m rich toward God, we are reminded of the Pharisee who stood in the temple and thanked God he tithed from all that he received. From the time he was a teenager on up his giving was statistically rich, 10% rich. Yet, he did not go down to his house right with God.

Are you being rich toward God? Perhaps like me you answer no I’m not rich toward God as I should be. I do worry about money and bigger barns for me and my children, I do covet more things and sometimes envy what others possess, I do give reluctantly and not always cheerfully. Jesus words stand immovable, So is the one (anyone) who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

Does it not often seem as if all is vanity in our striving to be rich toward God? Are we not sorely tempted to turn about and give our hearts up to despair over such labors? Does it not seem as if fulfilling God’s will is a striving after the wind, a hot, withering, you’ll-never-measure-up wind?

Beloved, not for you who have been raised with Christ! You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God! Now that is rich indeed! Your giving also is hidden in the richness of Christ – really! You are freed to live as one who has nothing to lose, as one who is dead, because that’s what you are. You are dead to the world and alive in Christ. You have been buried with Him through baptism into death. Raised with Christ in the life of faith you have all the riches of heaven. You have wealth stored up for you that won’t rust or mold or get stolen. In Christ you have the ultimate retirement plan – eternal life with God and a seat at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end. All of it comes to you as a gift from Jesus in water and word and bread and wine.

Beloved, because God holds you in His hand and will not let you go you are freed to loosen your grip on the passing things of this world. You are free to let go, free to use your stuff and not hoard it, free to give thanks for your wealth and enjoy it, free also to give a bit recklessly, free also to relax, eat, drink and be merry.

Remember the rich fool’s false delight? I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat drink, be merry.’ What he sought to give himself and couldn’t is Christ’s true delight to give you! The same Greek word for relax is exactly the word Jesus used to proclaim what he came to give you. Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28) that is, I will relax you and put you at ease before God forever and ever. I will provide a joyful, banquet feast where you will eat, drink and be merry without end.

That’s what Jesus worked for under the sun. His work for your redemption was not vanity of vanities, not a striving after the wind. It was a striving after your soul. When Christ toiled under the sun on the cross He left all he worked for to us who had not worked for it. It was our souls that He ransomed from the power of Sheol. It was our souls that He was teaching about when He was interrupted with a family squabble over dividing the wealth. His answer flowed from his gracious will to give us His inheritance.

And give it to you He has. Why is it that you believe all of your sin is washed away in His blood? Because God has bestowed His riches upon you in faith! In faith you go home today right with God. He is so recklessly rich in His love for you. You are therefore free to receive your stuff with the hand of faith not the death grip of coveting. You are free to give cheerfully, not grudgingly. You are free to give generously, to be rich toward God.

The ancient Greeks had a slogan like this: “Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Since our life is hidden with Christ in God, we can do the Greeks one better. “Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we live. Even when the bridges collapse, even when your heart stops beating here, even when you no longer have place in the provisions and the plans of this world – you live! God has made provision for you that won’t collapse and that won’t run out and that will never die.

St. Paul said it this way, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For, you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Amen.

9th Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Luke 11:1-13
Vicar Gary Schultz

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

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…”

The disciple’s request seems strange: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Who doesn’t know how to pray? These are the disciples we’re talking about. They’re Jesus’ closest companions. They’re with Him all the time. Surely they’ve seen Him pray before. After all, it’s not that hard. We certainly know how to pray, don’t we?

Or do we? Maybe the disciples’ request isn’t so strange after all. Although we often define prayer simply as “talking to God,” there’s still a lot of confusion about what prayer is or how it is to be done. I often get e-mails from well-intentioned people that claim to be about prayer. Usually, however, they are just messages that encourage people to slow down and enjoy earthly life to the fullest.

There’s a misunderstanding of prayer that says the longer or harder you pray, or the more people you get to pray for something, then God will surely have to answer the way we want Him to. “Prayer chains,” which can be used in good ways, can often fall into the trap of trying to force God to reach our conclusions.

One common misuse of prayer in this way might be pictured as a lifeguard on the beach. A child is drowning out in the lake. A person comes and tells the lifeguard. The lifeguard shrugs it off and doesn’t worry about it. Five more people come and tell the lifeguard about the drowning child. He does nothing. Finally, after ten people tell the lifeguard about the drowning child, the lifeguard says, “All right already. I’ll go save him.” This is complete nonsense, and it is even more ridiculous when prayer is treated this way – as though God is like this lifeguard and will only help when He’s been pestered enough.

Many Christians simply don’t know how to pray. Maybe it is because of our sinful nature, which works hard at keeping us from prayer. Maybe it is because of pervading Protestant American mindset about our need to pray harder – as though there are levels of prayer intensity. Maybe Roman Catholic ideas about praying to Mary or the saints don’t help our understanding of prayer. How often do I pray? How long do I pray for? What do I say? Where do I pray?

Jesus’ words in answer to the disciples are good news for us. He gives us the exact words to say and also instructs us how to form prayers for our own thanksgivings and requests. He shows us the willingness of our heavenly Father to hear and to receive our prayers in love, and His gracious giving of the Holy Spirit to us, to guide us in our prayer.

Jesus’ prayer teaches us about the corporate nature of prayer. We can only call God “Father” because we are clothed in Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Today we witnessed God giving Lauren new life, clothing her with Christ, making her a member of His family. When we say, “Our Father” – as it is recorded in St. Matthew (6) – we acknowledge that we are praying together with Jesus and with all Christians in the catholic, universal faith. We are not praying with all people, because we only call God our Father through Christ. A non-Christian cannot pray the Our Father. But our prayer – even if done individually – is never private. It is always corporate. We are always praying together with Christ our brother and with all the saints.

Prayer always starts with God’s word. The phrases Jesus speaks in the petitions of His prayer are framed in the language of the psalms. Our petitions of thanksgiving and requests, our joys and our cries, are done in the context of hearing God’s word and receiving His gifts. Prayer is offered in the context of the Divine Service. Having been fed and taught by Christ, we respond in prayer and praise. “Prayer is the voice of faith which claims the promises of God’s Word through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Bender).

“Lord, teach us to pray.” Pray the words Jesus has taught. The Our Father is always a staple of prayer. It can never be worn out. It’s depth and richness cover a lifetime of learning and praying. It is sure and certain and gives us just what we need to say in asking for forgiveness and deliverance from temptation and evil of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.

Pray the words God has given us to speak to Him. The psalms and canticles and other words of Scripture are to be used in prayer in order that these petitions are pleasing to Our Father in heaven and are heard by him. The Psalms are the very prayers Jesus Himself prays, together with all the saints. They are the prayer book of the Bible.

Pray the liturgy of the church. The church’s prayers that we pray each week are called Collects because they are prayed together – collectively – by the church. The church’s prayers of Matins and Vespers and Compline – Morning and Evening and Nighttime Prayer – are beautiful orders that provide a framework for putting your own petitions, needs, concerns, sufferings, complaints, and thanksgivings in the language of the Bible. And the church’s prayer offices connect you together with Christians from every time and place.

If your daily prayer life is non-existent, or you’re never sure exactly how or what to pray, I would invite you this week to start in this way: List the petitions that you have for concerns and thanksgivings for friends, family, the church, and the world. Begin with praying a Psalm out loud. The lectionary appoints Psalm 138 to be used this week. Then pray the Our Father, and conclude with the Collect for this week as found in the bulletin. In this way, you can unite your concerns together in a simple discipline of prayer that is anchored in God’s word.

The willingness of God our Father to hear our prayer is shown in Jesus’ parable about the midnight guest. Even a person who cares little or nothing about his neighbor’s dilemma in hosting an unexpected guest will help out because of his neighbor’s bold pestering, just to get it taken care of and get back to bed. But our Father in heaven is able and willing and desirous to hear and receive our prayers at all times.

Our Father in heaven is the source of all goodness and blessing in our lives. Any parent or guardian knows that they are to give good things to those entrusted to their care. But Our Father’s promised care is infinitely greater as He provides for all our needs and gives His Holy Spirit to those who ask. His invitation to us to ask, seek, and knock are comforting promises of the Gospel which teach us to rely upon what He has promised us in Christ.

In today’s Old Testament, Abraham pleaded for mercy for ten people that the Lord would not destroy Sodom. Ten righteous people were not found, but God delivered Abraham’s family from the destruction. In Christ, who pleads for us, we are delivered through Him, the truly Righteous One. He was not spared, but gave Himself up on the cross in order that we might be made righteous.

When we falter in our regular prayer, we flee to Christ, who prayed with His arms outstretched on the cross: “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God” (Ps 31:5; Lk 24:46). Our life being joined to Christ, we have peace in that he has forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands and now is sitting in Ascended Triumph at the right hand of the Father – there to intercede on our behalf.

“Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus’ prayer tenderly invites us to believe that God is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. Our life in Christ unites us to Him who prays for us. Amen.

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