Observing the path to glory, and the glory

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for All Saints Day

Revelation 7:2-17  +  Matthew 5:1-12

Yesterday was All Saints’ Day. Today is celebrated by some, usually in the Roman Church, as All Souls’ Day. The Roman Church would celebrate the “saints” as a special group of believers who were in a class above the rest, believers who did extra good works here on earth, or confessed Christ more boldly than others, and have now entered the glories of heaven. All Souls’ Day, on the other hand, would encompass the rest of the “faithful departed,” who were just your average Christians, who have died, and who, according to Roman theology, are still being cleansed of their impurities in purgatory. (We won’t say much this evening about the celebration called the Day of the Dead, which is also today, where the Roman Church in Mexico blended pagan beliefs about the dead with some elements of Christianity, so that the souls of the dead actually return to their graves on this day to reconnect with their earthly life, if and only if their living relatives hold them in remembrance.)

For us, in the Lutheran Church, we still observe All Saints’ Day, but not like the Roman Church does. For us, it’s a day for us to pause and remember both the path to glory and the glory itself, the path so many of our Christian brothers and sisters have walked, and the glory they now experience; the path that we must now walk and the glory that we will then experience.

That’s the theme of the Beatitudes you heard this evening from Matthew 5. And it’s also the theme of the reading from Revelation 7, which will be our focus this evening.

You’re more familiar, I imagine, with the second part of that Revelation reading, the glory that the saints in heaven now experience. But we shouldn’t overlook those earlier verses describing the placing of a seal on the 144,000. That’s a very comforting vision, too, if you view it correctly. It’s the path to glory.

John saw four angels holding back the destruction that they would unleash on the earth. They had to hold it back so that the 144,000 could be saved. He heard the angel say that destruction couldn’t be unleashed on the earth until the servants of our God—the same group of people represented by the number 144,000—have been sealed on their foreheads. Already it’s clear who is being sealed. It’s “the servants of our God.” That’s another way of saying all faithful Christians, that is, the elect.

Then follows the listing of where they came from: 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. But did you notice something strange about the listing of the tribes? It wasn’t the normal listing. There are two notable differences, or even three. First, the tribe of Dan is entirely missing. Second, the tribe of Manasseh is listed along with the tribe of Joseph. But Joseph had no tribe named after him. His two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, became the fathers of two tribes in Israel. And third, Judah, although he wasn’t the firstborn, was listed first.

What do we learn from those anomalies? The simplest understanding is that this list is meant to be understood figuratively. It isn’t referring to a literal number of people who were literally descended from each of those tribes of Israel. It’s referring to the full number of the Church—12 x 12 x 10 x 10 x 10 gives us the full number of the Holy Christian Church, the elect and believing children of God, who are the figurative Israel that St. Paul talks about in Romans and in Galatians.

What does it mean to be “sealed”? Well, the first one to be “sealed” was Christ Himself. Jesus says that God the Father has set His seal upon the Son of Man, a mark of His ownership and of His approval. The tribe of Judah was listed first in John’s vision because Christ was descended from the tribe of Judah. And those who believe in Him are given that same seal of ownership and approval. Paul writes to the Corinthians, Now God is the One who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. Again, writing to Timothy, The solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” John says the same thing in similar words at the end of Revelation: The hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

So the 144,000 are the elect and believing Christians who persevere in faith until the end. They’re sealed in this life with God’s ownership, approval—and protection!, so that, as Jesus says about His sheep, “I know My sheep…and no one can pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” From start to finish, God has worked out our salvation. The path to glory is hearing the Gospel, repenting, believing in Christ, confessing Christ before men, staying close to Him and His means of grace, praying earnestly for God’s protection and strength, and living as saints in the world—wearing the name of our God on our foreheads, so that people can see by our words and actions that we are His—and doing all this all the way to the end.

Then, in the second part of that reading from Revelation, we see the glory, the blessed end of the 144,000, of the elect, of all who were sealed in Christ in this life and who persevere to the end. This vision is important, because all we see here is death. People remain faithful Christians, sometimes for their whole lives, and yet they end up just like everyone else does—from an earthly perspective. We bury our fellow Christians right alongside the graves of unbelievers. But their souls aren’t in the grave (and they don’t come back to their graves on the Day of the Dead, either). What their souls are now doing we see in John’s vision.

First, it’s a great multitude that no one could number. Again, the 144,000 was never meant to be taken literally. It was symbolic of this full number of the spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. In any given room or any given city, the number of believers in Christ is relatively few. But add them up, year after year, century after century, from every nation, tribe, language, and people across the earth, and you have a multitude that no one can number, children for Abraham that are as numerous as the sand by the sea and the stars of the sky. And they all stand together, not one over here and one over there, not black people over here and white people over there, rich and poor standing apart. There is no loneliness, no isolation. There are no divisions in heaven.

See where they are gathered: standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They are standing, not lying there helpless as you might remember them on earth, not stranded in a wheelchair or hobbling slowly across a room. They are standing.

And see how the saints are dressed: Behold, a host arrayed in white, white robes, like our white paraments today, but even brighter and whiter. Pure and sinless, no longer plagued by a sinful nature that pulls at them and drags them off into shameful thoughts and deeds. They were clothed in life with the robe of Christ’s righteousness, through faith, with robes made white by Christ’s blood, through the forgiveness of their sins. Now they’re clothed in glory with their own righteousness.

See what they hold in their hands: palm branches, like the Israelites waved at their Feast of Tabernacles when they remembered, every year, the temporary dwellings in which they lived during their journey from Egypt’s slavery to their permanent home in the promised land of Canaan, now having arrived at their true permanent home in glory.

Palm branches also recall the events of Palm Sunday, when the crowds welcomed the Lamb of God into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week and called out to him, “Hosanna! Come and save us now!” That’s similar to what the saints in heaven are saying, although now it isn’t “Come and save!” Now it’s, “You have come and you have saved!” They cry out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

The saints in glory are the ones coming out of the “great tribulation.” That’s this life—the great tribulation, not the great vacation. In addition to all the sickness, pain, loneliness, uncertainty, and death that happen here, your faith is under constant attack in this world by the devil, by the world, by your sinful nature. Finding the truth, holding onto faith in Christ—those things aren’t automatic for the Christian, and it’s even harder as the dear cross presses harder. And holding onto love in this loveless world in which we live – Jesus was right when he said “the love of most will grow cold…even the elect would be deceived, if that were possible.”

But the saints have overcome by the blood of the Lamb. They come out of the great tribulation, one by one as death ushers them out of the great tribulation and into the great calm of heaven. They can finally rest. They can finally breathe a sigh a relief, “It’s over. We made it.” No more persecution. No more pain. No more struggling with false teachings, no more threats to their faith.

Finally, see what God does for them as they live in his presence and serve him day and night in His Temple: He shelters them with His presence, providing for their every need, protecting them from all harm and danger. No more hunger or thirst, no more scorching heat or any threat of catastrophe. The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. After all the struggles with sin and its consequences here on earth, finally the saints in heaven reach the lap of their heavenly Father who knows better than anyone just how hard it has been, but He comforts them, “See? Now all that is done. Now you’re here with Me.”

This, my friends, is not pious fiction. This is no false hope. This is the Word of the Lord. This is what heaven is like for our believing friends who have fallen asleep, and this is what heaven will be like for you when you fall asleep, if you remain faithful.

So hang in there. It won’t be long now. God has baptized you into this race for the finish line, this race toward the heavenly goal. Jesus has blazed the path to glory for you and won the prize for you, and He feeds and nourishes you along the way with his Word and Sacraments. Keep running the path to glory. You’ll make it, if you keep running it. God is faithful. And when you do, those of us who are left here on earth until the final coming of Jesus will celebrate you, too, at least once a year at the festival of All Saints. Today is our celebration day, and we give thanks to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the saints who from their labors rest. Amen.

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Each Day in the Word, Wednesday, November 2nd

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Tom and Karen Klumb

Matthew 13:31–58 (NKJV)

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” 33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! 44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” 51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” 53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

More parables and, in this section of Holy Scripture, the “kingdom of heaven” is spoken of by Jesus.  The individual believer, who has faith in Christ, is not to be visibly pointed out because faith can’t be seen inside of an individual.  What can be seen and pointed out is a person’s confession of the faith.  Where one goes to church is where one goes to confess back to God what He has said in His Word.  The Church catholic, however, is made up of believers in Jesus Christ whom only God can see, because He sees into the heart. Jesus speaks in parables in order to make clear the distinctions between those who falsely claim to be believers, and those who truly have faith in Christ.

Within the Book of Concord it states regarding how God works to bring people to have a right (orthodox) confession: “To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the [Pastoral] ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments.  Through these, as through means, He gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where He pleases, in those who hear the Gospel” (Augsburg Confession, Article V).  Lutherans also confess: “The church is the assembly of saints in which the Gospel is taught purely and the sacraments are administered rightly” (AC VI).  The kingdom is like a mustard seed, three measures of meal, a Sower sowing seed, a treasure, a merchant, and a net.  You can’t see faith, but you can judge the things that create faith!

As Jesus so comfortingly proclaimed to make it unmistakable: “These are they [the Scriptures] that testify about Me.”  Rejoice that He has made Himself known to you through His means!

Let us pray:  Lord, grant to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

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Each Day in the Word, Monday, Tuesday, November 1st

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Tom and Karen Klumb

Luke 13:18–35 (NKJV)

18 Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” 20 And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” 22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.” 31 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32 And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ 33 Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Many people mistakenly believe that whenever Jesus says “The kingdom of God,” that He is speaking about heaven.  He is not.  Rather, He is speaking about the workings of His holy (catholic, or universal) Church on earth.

As it is sung (and, thus, confessed) in the hymn “The Church’s One Foundation,” the Church is built on the work of Jesus Christ.  Faith in Jesus Christ places one into Christ’s Church.  The early Church Fathers called this being brought into the Ark of the Church (saved from the flood of the world’s demise).  When you look for assurance of salvation in places other than in the work of Christ’s salvation (such as, in yourself and your works, or even in the triumphalism of a denomination), you are building another kingdom, which will be “left to you desolate” as Jesus proclaims (v. 35).  Even statistical analysis of the probability of salvation based on the number saved, will not give assurance.  There is only one comforting answer, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate…” (v.24).  In the books of Acts, chapter 10, (and in many other areas) it also proclaims: “All the prophets testify about Him…” (v.43).  Christ is the comforting answer!  Christ is the narrow gate!

The Pharisees, however, rejected Jesus—and, thus, they also rejected the kingdom of God.  So it is with all who reject Him.  God’s inspired Word makes it clear: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” When your faith is being shaken, come to God holding on to Jesus Christ, because, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Let us pray:  Lord, grant to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

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Each Day in the Word, Monday, October 31st

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Tom and Karen Klumb

Mark 4:1–41 (NKJV)

1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’ ” 13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” 26 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” 30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” 33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. 35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

It’s safe to say that if God Almighty were to resound His voice from heaven and proclaim “Take heed!” that most (yet, shockingly, not everyone) would truly stop and listen carefully.  God’s Word through His Holy Scriptures holds the same weight!  Jesus’ teaching must be received in a profitable way.  Otherwise, what’s the use? It isn’t meant to be just ‘general information.’  It’s meant to kill and make alive  How it’s received matters.

The Sowing Parable tells us about four different kinds of people.  Although all of them hear the Word, only those in the last group “hear the Word, receive it, and bring forth fruit” (v. 20).  The first group listens superficially.  In the second group, the Word is used to create mere emotional gladness (suffering and persecution take away whatever good the Word had created).  The third group hears the Word, but does not use that Word to put to death their sinful lusts, and trust in Christ alone.  Unable to serve two masters, the fruitfulness of the Word is choked by allowing sin to continue to rule in them.

God rightly uses the Law (through His Word) to expose man’s sin and lost condition.  God uses the Gospel (through His Word) to create saving faith in Jesus Christ.  Only true faith (stemming from the Gospel) is able to love the neighbor.  God gets the glory for both—faith and love toward neighbor.  He may speak in parables, and His words may be lost on some, but it’s only because He is the One who reveals understanding in His good time.  He did this with His disciples so that they would eventually be inspired to pen the New Testament.  How thankful are we?  And continue to take heed to it?

Let us pray:  Lord, grant to Your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen

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Only a forceful Christianity can stand

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the Festival of the Lutheran Reformation

Revelation 14:6-7  +  Matthew 11:12-15

Today we celebrate the Lutheran Reformation of the Church. Not the “Protestant” Reformation. Not the Reformed Reformation. But the Lutheran Reformation. If the idea behind the Reformation was to get back in a straight line behind Christ and His apostles and behind the Church Fathers and Christians over the centuries who also followed in that straight line of the pure teaching of the Gospel (that’s what the word “orthodox” means, by the way—straight teaching), then we have to recognize that not everyone who took a stand against Rome stands in that straight line. Some Protestants stand off to the side when it comes to this or that doctrine. Some Lutherans do, too. We Lutherans believe (or certainly ought to believe) that Luther got it right, not in everything he ever said, but in the chief points of doctrine he believed and confessed.

Now, the name “Lutheran” is a somewhat unfortunate name, because for as much as we honor him and give thanks for him, it’s not Martin Luther whom we follow or in whom we believe. It’s Christ whom we follow and in whom we believe. But, in the long line of apostles and preachers and Church Fathers and Christians who, through the ages, followed a straight path behind Christ, we recognize Luther’s place there, too, and we follow along the same path, behind him and those who have come after him, behind those who went before him, behind the apostles, behind Christ. To call ourselves a “Lutheran” Church should be no different (in our understanding and in our meaning) than to call ourselves an Apostolic Church, or finally, a Christian Church. We follow behind Luther, because we are convinced that he followed behind the apostles, who followed behind Christ.

But what did it take for Luther to get out of the skewed line he grew up in and into that straight (orthodox) line behind the apostles and behind Christ? It took a forceful stand against the long line of preachers before him who had stepped out of line, led by the popes in Rome. And what did it take for the truth of Christ’s Gospel to spread in the world? It took a forceful stand on the part of the Christian Church itself, to break away from the safety and comfort of the Roman tradition. It took forceful men and women to step out of the line being led by the pope and to get in line behind Luther, not because he was Luther, but because he was following Christ and His apostles. We learn from the Lutheran Reformation the same thing we learn from today’s short Gospel: Only a forceful Christianity can stand.

Jesus talks about John the Baptist in today’s Gospel. At the moment, John the Baptist was in prison for preaching God’s Word. He had sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus was the Christ who was to come. We’ll look at that part of Matthew 11 in just a few weeks, during the season of Advent. John, you recall, had been a forceful preacher of repentance. He stood against the Jewish religious leaders who had strayed from the right understanding of the Law of Moses and of the Prophets. He stood against King Herod, who had married his brother’s wife while his brother still lived. He stood against his own disciples when they wanted him to hold onto his disciples even after Christ came on the scene. He stood and preached forcefully, not on the basis of human reason, not on the decrees of any councils, but solely on God’s Word. Standing on the foundation of God’s Word, He spoke the truth, even though it offended the people in charge.

In our Gospel, Jesus says, If you are willing to receive it, he—John—is Elijah who is to come. We can see the similarities between John and Elijah. Elijah was also a forceful preacher of repentance. He stood against the idolatry of the northern kingdom of Israel. He stood against the powerful rulers of his day—wicked King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel, who had stepped way out of line from the teachings of Moses. He stood against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel as the lone preacher of the LORD God of Israel.

But what does Jesus mean, “Elijah who is to come”? Remember the prophecy at the end of the book of Malachi: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. Jesus explains that “Elijah” was to be understood figuratively, about a man who would come and preach like Elijah once preached, who would stand like Elijah once stood, against the religious leaders who had gone astray. John was the promised prophet who stood for the true God in the face of much opposition, as Elijah had once done.

And, just as in the days of Elijah, God preserved for Himself a faithful remnant of believers. He worked through John’s preaching to raise up forceful believers, believers who humbly clung, stubbornly clung, forcefully clung to the Word of God and the worship of God, in spite of the enormous pressure from the culture and from leadership at that time to turn away to idols.

It’s just as Jesus said in the Gospel: From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven is forcing its way, and forceful people are laying hold of it. In other words, through John’s forceful stand for the truth, the kingdom of heaven was forcing its way into Judea and into the world. And through that preaching, God was also raising up forceful people who were laying hold of that truth and pressing into the kingdom of heaven, daring to confess their sins, daring to be baptized, daring to put their faith in Jesus as the Christ, daring to stake their soul’s eternal salvation, not on human reason, not on the popular teachings of the Church at that time, but solely on the Word of God which centers on God’s mercy in Christ Jesus—salvation by grace alone, by faith alone, for the sake of Christ alone. God was raising up for Himself a Church that stood on the Gospel and was willing to be hated for it and persecuted for it.

Now, how does all that apply to this celebration of the Lutheran Reformation of the Church?

We’ve chosen October 31st as the actual date for celebrating the Reformation because of what Luther did on that day in 1517, nailing his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. But it’s not the Theses themselves that we celebrate. Don’t get me wrong. They were good and well-reasoned. They touched on important questions that would affect the Church for centuries to come: How far does papal authority actually reach? Does it reach beyond the city of Rome? All the way to Germany? All the way to purgatory? What good are the indulgences that the pope signs? How can he claim to forgive the penalties imposed by others? Worse, how can he charge money for the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God?

Still, it wasn’t so much the issues discussed in the 95 Theses that were so striking, but the simple fact that a lowly priest, in that 16th century environment—not unlike the environment that John the Baptist faced in early first century Israel—should question the status quo in the Church or even try to discuss doctrinal inconsistencies in the Catholic Church. The pope and the leading men of the Roman Church were to be supported and believed, not questioned, not doubted.

But there stood Luther, defying pope and emperor, insisting that the Holy Scriptures must be the source and the arbiter of all our doctrine. There stood Luther, convinced by Holy Scripture that the penalties paid by Christ on the cross are the sufficient and only price of mankind’s redemption and reconciliation with God. There stood Luther, pointing to Jesus as the one Mediator between God and man, pointing out that the saints had been made into idols by Rome. There stood Luther, pointing to faith in Christ Jesus as that by which alone God justifies any and every sinner.

We can and should thank God for what He accomplished for His Church through Martin Luther, as through a divinely sent messenger or “angel,” like the one we heard about in today’s Epistle from Revelation 14. But if Martin Luther had stood alone, all by himself, on the truth of God’s Word, then the world might still be filled with nothing but the deviant, skewed version of Christianity which was being taught by the Roman Church of the 16th century, with countless souls still cowering for fear before the righteous God, still putting their hope in the Virgin Mary and in the other saints, still living in fear of purgatory, still following the superstitions of monkery and relics and manmade forms of worship. But because Luther stood, God was able to use him to bring the light of the Gospel to countless others, to free them from the superstitions of Rome, to put the Bible into their hands so that they could read it for themselves and allow the Scriptures to interpret the Scriptures instead of relying only on the pope to interpret it for them. Forceful men laid hold of the kingdom of God, refusing to be bullied by Rome or by the emperor, refusing to be silenced by those who claimed to be wise, but whose opinions were built on nothing but human doctrine. And so, although the Roman Church continued to oppose Luther until the day he died, the Holy Catholic Church stood by him and stands by him still.

What will you do with it—you, who call yourselves Lutherans? What will you do with this gift of the pure Gospel of Christ, handed down by the apostles, preached in the Church throughout the ages, obscured by human errors and abuses at various times, but then magnificently restored through Luther and the Lutheran Reformation? We’ve seen the pure Gospel obscured again since Luther’s time, both by Protestant groups and by many who claim the Lutheran name. We’ve seen people abandon the Lutheran faith—which we believe to be in a straight line with Christ Himself— due to apathy, or convenience, or persecution, or love of this life, or longing for the trappings of the bigger church. What will you do with the Gospel?

Will you be meek with it? Timid? Will you treat is as of minor importance in your life, something to think about once a week—if that? Will you be ashamed of it? Will you toss it away for an earthly prize, or when the weight of the cross becomes heavier than you wish to bear? Far be it! Far be it from you who have been cleansed, from you who have been washed in Christ’s blood, from you who have received, from the pure grace of God, the everlasting Gospel in the purest form in which it exists on earth! Far be it from you to be intimidated—or enticed!— by those who mix truth with error, or by those who don’t know the truth at all! Far be it from you, who are truly faith-ful, to behave as those who have no faith!

Instead, recognize the treasure you have been given, the comfort of a faith founded on the immovable rock of Holy Scripture, on the sure and certain Means of Grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacraments, on the actual, historical, apostolic faith once delivered to the saints. Give thanks for it! Treasure it! And then stand! Stand forcefully on the truth of Christ! Stand on it against the devil, against the world, and against your sinful flesh. Stand on it in the face of error. Stand on it in the face of hate. Stand on it in the face of temptation. Stand on it in the face of despair. Stand on it in such a way that the world around you knows exactly where you stand.

Only a forceful Christianity can stand. So stand forcefully on the truth of Christ’s Gospel, together with the true Holy Catholic Church of all times. Stand on it with Luther, and let his words before Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms become your own words: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me, Amen.” And may God help us, too! Amen.

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