Table of Duties: Preachers and Hearers

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Invocavit – Lent 1

Small Catechism Review: Table of Duties, Part 1

Now that we’ve finished reviewing the Small Catechism itself, there remains a series of Bible passages that Luther tacked right onto the end of the catechism, and we intend, with the Lord’s help, to spend this Lenten season focusing on this section.

We call this section the Table of Duties, because it lists very simply the general duties Christians have been given by God in His Word. So this is a fitting theme for the Lenten season as we double down on the Christian life, as we sharpen our focus on leading a life of repentance, faith, and love. Of what are we to repent? And how are we to love? Well, our sins are our failures to do the duties God has given us to do. But while some duties are shared in common by all Christians, others are not. You can’t fail at loving your spouse if you don’t have a spouse. You can’t raise your children well if you don’t have children. And so we break down the duties God has given us into different vocations and estates, and we apply them accordingly.

We’ll look at the Table of Duties in five parts, for each of the five Wednesdays of Lent, before Holy Week begins. The first part applies in one way or another to all Christians. This evening, let’s take just a very brief moment to consider the Word of the Lord with respect to preachers of the Word on the one hand, and hearers of the Word on the other.

The Table of Duties mentions only the preachers. The heading is: Bishops, Pastors, and Preachers, and the Bible passages are taken from 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1:

A bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence; not a novice; one who holds fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict (1 Tim. 3[:2-4, 6a; Titus 1:9]).

Those verses tell the preacher what some of his duties are. We could cite other passages as well. When Jesus says to Peter, “Feed My lambs. Tend My sheep. Feed My sheep,” He is laying out the preacher’s duty, to feed Jesus’ little lambs (both young and old) with the nourishing food of His Word, rightly handing out Law and Gospel—the Law to those who need to hear the Law, the Gospel to those who have been crushed by the Law and who need to hear the Gospel. He has put the preachers in charge of His house, not as lords, not as kings or rulers of an earthly kind, but as stewards, to give the members of His household their food in due season. As Jesus says to His apostles, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.

It’s always Christ who places preachers into their positions, who gives them as gifts to His flock, to shepherd His flock as overseers. Preachers of Christ are to be blameless, above reproach, and all those other things the Apostle Paul spelled out. In particular, they are to be able to teach, always guarding closely both their doctrine and their life, so that their doctrine is pure and sound and plain to understand, and so that they may be examples to the believers in faith, in purity, and in love.

Every preacher will have different gifts, a different personality, different strengths and weaknesses. That’s OK, as long as he faithfully fulfills the duties the Lord has given him. And if he stumbles in any way in any of these duties, or falls into sin in some other way, he needs to repent and turn to Christ for forgiveness, just like anyone else.

Now let’s turn for a moment to the hearers of the Word. What does God’s Word say to them—to you, and to me, when a preacher is preaching to me?

The first duty of the hearer is almost too obvious to mention, but I’ll mention it anyway. It’s what you’re all doing right now: hearing. Christians are to hear God’s Word. My sheep hear My voice, Jesus said. And the Father proclaimed from heaven, twice: This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!

But how do you hear Him? As Jesus said to the first preachers He sent out, “He who hears you,” says Christ, “hears Me. He who rejects you rejects Me.” So if anyone would follow Christ, he must hear, and listen, and pay attention to what he hears.

For those who hear the Word from a preacher sent by Christ, St. Paul says this, as he wrote to the Thessalonian hearers of the Word in 1 Thessalonians 5: We urge you, dear brothers, to recognize those who work among you and who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Esteem them even more highly on account of their labor, and be at peace with them.

That sums it up pretty well, actually. The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way: Remember your leaders, who have spoken the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their conduct and imitate their faith. And: Obey your leaders, and be submissive to them, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Finally, for this evening at least, St. Paul gives this command to the hearers of the Word: Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. In other words, the hearers of the Gospel are to provide a living for the preacher, to see that he is taken care of physically, even as he sees that you are taken care of spiritually. That’s something you here have done wonderfully and abundantly, but it isn’t always like that everywhere. And when you carry out this duty of love, whether for your pastor here or for other preachers of the Gospel elsewhere, you can know for certain that it is a pleasing thing in the sight of God, because He has given hearers this duty, and He’s pleased when they carry it out.

So much more could be said about preachers and hearers, but these midweek services are only meant to serve as a general review of our Christian duties. Where you have failed to do your duties, where I have failed to do mine, let us repent and look to Christ, who fulfilled His duties perfectly and gladly, including His duty to His Father to suffer and die for our sins. Throughout this Lenten season, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus fulfilling all His blessed duties for us, so that we have all the motivation we need for fulfilling our duties to Him. Amen.

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Little sins that aren’t really little

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Invocavit – Lent 1

2 Corinthians 6:1-10  +  Matthew 4:1-11

There is a lot of evil behavior in the world. War and bloodshed, lies and deception, adultery, violence, and injustice. It’s easy, at least for us Christians, to see Satan behind all those things, as the terrible instigator of evil in the world.

But that’s not where we find Satan in the Gospel, is it? We see the devil hard at work trying to get the Son of God to sin, but his temptations seem like nothing so terrible, certainly nothing that would cause great harm to the world. Just some seemingly minor sins directed against…God. Is that so terrible, compared to all the rest of the evil and wickedness we see in the world? Turning stones into bread? Taking a ride—literally—on angels’ wings? Bowing down for a moment before the devil, with no one else even watching? For that matter, go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Was taking a bite out of a piece of fruit really worthy of death?

But therein lies the deception, the lie propagated from the mouth of the liar since the beginning: That, as long as Satan isn’t tempting you to do the big and terrible things that cause even unbelievers to cringe, it’s no big deal to be tempted. It’s no big deal to fall into sin.

The truth is, those “little sins” committed against God, in secret, are behind all the rest. What’s more, to consider those sins against God, that don’t hurt anyone else, to be “little,” is just more evidence of the utter depravity of our race, and the utter corruption of our flesh, as if a sin against God were a small thing, while a sin against another human being—that’s the really big deal. Do you think of God as being so small? So insignificant? So harmless? The devil wants you to, because, if he succeeds at that, he’s already won.

See how the devil attacked the Son of God in the Gospel, not with the “big” temptations to do “big” sins, but with three little temptations to commit three “little” sins that would have sealed your eternal condemnation in hell, if Jesus had stumbled even a little.

First, remember the context of these temptations. It’s the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He has just been baptized by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit has just descended on Him, like a dove, and He has just heard those astonishing words spoken from heaven, This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Then we’re told that Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

The devil was the one who tried to get Jesus to sin. But God was the one who arranged for the temptations to happen, not unlike the case of Old Testament Job. Jesus had truly humbled Himself when He became man. In that state of humiliation, He set aside the use of His divine knowledge and power. He relied on His Father’s Spirit-inspired Word, and was “led by the Spirit” out into the wilderness, to be tempted for 40 days, even as the people of Israel were tempted in the wilderness for 40 years.

The first temptation had to do with hunger. Jesus had fasted for 40 days. He ate nothing and drank nothing. His survival itself was miraculous, but it does say at the end that He was hungry. Now, maybe you recall that the great prophet and mediator of the first covenant, Moses, also fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, on top of Mt. Sinai. It says that he ate no bread and drank no water for those 40 days. And do you know how much hunger he suffered because of it? None, as far as we know. It appears that the Lord kept His servant Moses from suffering the bitter pangs of hunger.

But here is Jesus, the very Son of God, His “beloved Son,” for whom the Father does not provide any bread and whom the Father does allow to suffer hunger in the wilderness.

The devil tried to capitalize on Jesus’ physical weakness and suffering. If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Such a small thing. It wouldn’t have hurt anyone, right? But what’s behind that temptation? The devil wants Jesus to be unhappy with His Father and with what His Father has provided. He wants Jesus to feel miffed that His Father was making Him suffer, to grumble and complain about this unfair treatment, and then, to step out of His state of humiliation for a moment and to pit His own divine power as the Son of God against the divine will of His Father.

Instead, Jesus threw a passage of Scripture back at the devil, It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ Jesus already knew the lesson that Israel never learned. That whatever God speaks—that is right. Whatever God does—that is the definition of goodness and love.

“No,” Jesus says, “I will not complain or grumble against My Father. I won’t call Him evil. I won’t even think it. And I certainly won’t step out of this state of humiliation to provide a meal for Myself, in rebellion against My Father. If I don’t suffer as the rest of men suffer, then I am not tempted as the rest of men are tempted. And if I’m not tempted like them, then I can’t stand against temptation for them or help them when they’re tempted.” No, to do this little thing would have big consequences.

The second temptation recorded in Matthew’s Gospel has the devil taking Jesus up to a ledge high up on the temple in Jerusalem. If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, “In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

So the devil knows the Scriptures! He knows how to cite them, how to use them against people. Remember that when you hear preachers out there in other churches using the Bible and you’re tempted to think, there must not be much difference between their church and ours. They quote from the Bible! Yes, they quote from it. It was there in the devil’s foul mouth, too. Having the Word of God and teaching it correctly, in context and in harmony with the rest of the Word of God, are two different things.

Here the devil used the Word of God out of context, to try to convince Jesus, first, that He should forget the sinfulness in putting your life in danger for no good reason, and second, that it would all be fine if He jumped off the ledge, because He had the Lord’s promise to send His angels to catch Him. God will take care of you, no matter what you do.

The devil probably won’t tempt you to “jump off a ledge, it’ll be fine.” He may tempt you in similar ways: Don’t worry about studying too hard in school or working too hard at your job. God will see that you succeed at whatever you do. Go ahead and eat to the point of gluttony and obesity; God will take care of you. Watch that dirty video, do the drugs, drink too much; it’ll be OK. Stay home from church. God will provide for you. Didn’t Jesus promise that He won’t let anyone snatch you from His Father’s hand?

But Jesus knew better. It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ Jesus didn’t fall for the little lie that it’s OK to put God to the test. Neither should you!

The third temptation had the devil showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

I don’t think the devil would have much success if he stood before us and asked us to bow down to him, in return for riches and power and glory. So he doesn’t. What does he say? You can have a better life, if you just set aside God’s commandments once in a while. You can have a prosperous, fun, happy, comfortable earthly life if you just don’t worry so much about what God says. You can have that boy or that girl for a husband or wife, if you just don’t worry about the differences in your beliefs. You can have the praise of your teachers and of your classmates, if you just keep nodding your head when they tell you the earth is millions of years old, or that that boy is actually a girl. You can have a big church, if you just compromise a little on doctrine. You can have the support of your community, if you just go along with the culture in its sick praise for the mental and spiritual disorder of transgenderism, if you just concede that homosexuality is natural, sex outside of marriage is fine, abortion is good.

The devil offers much. But even if he could give you earthly happiness, which he usually doesn’t do, the devil would happily take your soul to hell at the end of the day. And then you would realize how not worth it it was to bow down to him for a moment of earthly gain, in whatever way you bowed down to him.

So repent of every sin, both “big” and “small.” And look to Jesus for salvation, who was offered far more than you could ever be offered, for just a moment on His knees before the devil. But, of course, He knew better. Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’

Jesus defeated the devil. He defeated Him with perfect faith in His Father, with perfect devotion to His Father’s will, with perfect love for His Father’s Word. Where every other man in history has fallen, Jesus is the Man—the Second Adam—who stood firm against the devil. And He did it in mankind’s place, to earn our salvation. Now we have a Champion, a Hero, the perfect Man to whom we imperfect men can flee at all times for refuge, to hide ourselves in His righteousness.

That’s what we get when we’re baptized. We get credited with the perfect record of Christ against all the devil’s temptations, instead of having to answer for all the times we’ve allowed ourselves to be led astray. And every absolution and preaching of the Gospel and every believing reception of that preaching and of the Holy Sacrament is a reapplication of Christ’s holy victory over the devil.

Now, having been brought into Christ through Holy Baptism, we are not only covered with His victory over the devil, but we are also initiated into the ongoing fight against temptation to commit both the “little” sins and the “big” ones, knowing that none are truly little.

Trust in Christ, both for forgiveness and for the strength to resist temptation and to lead a life that is truly Christian in nature. It is your calling as a Christian, as one who is to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who resisted temptation for your salvation. Use and rely on the Word of God, as Jesus did. And as He promises through His apostle: God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Amen.

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Preparation for Holy Communion

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the First Day of Lent

Small Catechism Review: Christian Questions and Answers

You heard about fasting this evening from the prophet Jonah and from the prophet Joel, and from the Lord Jesus Himself. You know that many Roman Catholics practice some sort of fast during this Lenten season, and some Lutherans, too. You may know that yesterday, the day before the 40-day Lenten fast began, many people around the world—many of whom consider themselves devout Roman Catholics—celebrated Marti Gras, Fat Tuesday, or in South America, Carnaval. Pastor Marin explained a little bit to me about how Carnaval is celebrated in parts of Colombia. People parading through the streets naked, engaging in pagan sex rites and devil worship. People eat and drink in excess and participate in all kinds of debauchery and sin, thinking that the ashes of Ash Wednesday and the accompanying fast will wash it all away. They plan to party, and then they plan to “repent” afterward.

But planned repentance is no repentance at all. And fasting as a way to atone for sin is worse than useless, just as fasting as a way to “encounter God,” as I heard on the radio this morning, is useless.

As we discussed last week, fasting can serve a good purpose, or any outward discipline that helps you to focus on serious things, spiritual things, on the Word of God, on repentance and faith and the Christian life. But when it comes to the Lord’s Supper, it isn’t fasting that truly gets you ready. It’s faith. And how do you examine yourself, to test whether you are in the faith? For that, Luther prepared some sample questions you might ask yourself, or that the pastor might use to examine his sheep, both initially, when they become communicant members of his congregation, as we’ll do with our two confirmands, and periodically with everyone, to help his people make sure they’re approaching the Lord’s Table worthily.

Now, Luther assumes several things with the questions he prepared. He assumes that we’re talking about baptized Christians. He also assumes that these Christians have been instructed in the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the words of Baptism, and the Sacrament of the Altar. That’s exactly what we do in confirmation classes and why we have confirmation classes. And so, as we finish going through the Six Chief Parts of the Catechism, we’re finally ready to ask these questions.

Do you believe that you are a sinner?

Yes, I believe it; I am a sinner.

How do you know that?

From the Ten Commandments; I have not kept them. This is why it’s important to know and review often the Ten Commandments. Because it’s easy to say, “I’m a sinner.” We all know that to be true in theory. But to really know that you’re a sinner, you have to know what makes you a sinner. You have to have some idea how you’ve sinned against God and your neighbor. And the Ten Commandments are an excellent summary, a mirror to show you your sins.

Are you also sorry for your sins?

Yes, I am sorry that I have sinned against God. It isn’t enough to know that you have sinned; that’s not yet repentance. Many people know that they’ve sinned, and they laugh about it or joke about it, or they plan to keep on committing those same sins over and over. But the first part of repentance is contrition, sorrow over sins. Wishing you hadn’t done that thing, or said that thing, or dwelled on that sinful desire in your heart.

What have you earned from God with your sins?

His wrath and displeasure, temporal death and eternal condemnation. There’s no room here for joking or lightheartedness. Also no room for pride, no room for comparing yourself to others, no room for thinking you’re still a decent person who deserves something good from God. No, if you examine yourself rightly, then this is the answer you’ll give.

Do you also hope to be saved?

Yes, that is my hope. But why? Because you think everyone will be saved? Everyone goes to heaven? Is that where you find your hope and comfort? No.

In whom, then, do you take comfort?

In my dear Lord Christ. As the Apostle says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Who is Christ?

The Son of God, true God and man. Not just any Jesus Christ is the object of faith, but the one revealed in Scripture as both true God and true man.

How many Gods are there?

Only one, but there are three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You don’t have to comprehend everything about the Holy Trinity. But this much at least you must know and believe if you are to approach the Lord’s Table worthily.

What did Christ do for you so that you take comfort in Him?

He died for me and shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

Did the Father also die for you?

No. The Father is God only, as is the Holy Spirit; but the Son is both true God and true Man. He died for me and shed His blood for me.

How do you know this?

From the holy Gospel, from the words of the Sacrament, and by His body and blood, given to me as a pledge in the Sacrament.

What are these words?

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to His disciples and said: “Take eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also He took the cup after supper, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying: “Take and drink of it, all of you; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Do you believe, then, that the true body and blood of Christ are in the Sacrament?

Yes, I believe it.

What moves you to believe this?

The words of Christ: “Take, eat, this is My body! Drink of it, all of you, this is My blood!”

What should we do when we eat His body and drink His blood and in this way receive His pledge?

We should remember and proclaim His death and the shedding of His blood, as He taught us: “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Why should we remember and proclaim His death?

So that we may learn to believe that no creature could have made satisfaction for our sins—only Christ, true God and Man, could do that; and so that we may learn to be terrified by our sins, and learn to regard them as serious; and that we may find joy and comfort in Christ alone, and thus be saved by this faith.

What moved Christ to die and make satisfaction for your sins?

His great love for His Father, for me and for other sinners…As Paul writes to the Galatians, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Why, then, do you wish to go to the Sacrament?

That I may learn to believe that Christ, out of great love, died for my sins; and then, that I may also learn from Him to love God and my neighbor.

Are those answers your answers? If so, then you are prepared for the Lord’s Supper. If not, then you need to pause and take some time to reflect on the state of your heart, to see where and why your answers are different.

Finally, Luther adds two questions aimed at the Christian’s motivation and desire for the Sacrament—or lack thereof.

What should admonish and encourage a Christian to receive the Sacrament of the Altar often?

For God’s sake, both the command and the promise of the Lord Christ should drive him to the Sacrament; then also his own need that hangs around his neck, because of which the command, invitation, and promise are given.

But what should a person do if he can’t feel this need, or if he can’t find in himself any hunger or thirst for the Sacrament?

To such a person no better advice can be given than this: First, he should put his hand on his chest to see if he, too, has flesh and blood, and he should believe what the Scriptures say about it in Galatians 5 and Romans 6. Second, he should look around to see if he is also still in the world, and he should consider that there will be no shortage of sins and troubles, as the Scriptures say in John 15-16 and in 1 John 2 and 5. Third, he will, for this very reason, also have the devil near him, who, with his lies and murdering day and night, will grant him no peace, within or without, as the Scriptures picture him, a liar and a murderer from the beginning who goes around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

And so we do well to begin another Lenten season today, remembering that we do, in fact, have flesh and blood and all the weaknesses that go along with it, remembering that we do still live in a world that is hostile to faith and to God and to the people of God, and remembering that our enemy, the devil, always has us in his sights. So turn to the Lord again today. Seek His forgiveness in Christ Jesus and in the Sacrament Christ has given us. And receive from Him, not only the forgiveness of sins, but the strength to walk in His footsteps, abounding in love and bearing the cross with patience. Amen.

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Keep listening, keep praying, keep loving

Posted on February 27, 2022 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Quinquagesima

1 Corinthians 13:1-13  +  Luke 18:31-43

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world, isn’t there? Even more this week than there was the week before, a lot of unknowns about the present and the future. A lot of things we don’t understand, including things in the Scriptures and things in the Church. When you can’t see the way, when the way appears dark, the Holy Spirit shows us in today’s Epistle and Gospel the simple path forward for the Christian. Keep listening, keep praying, and keep loving.

In our Gospel, Jesus is on the final leg of His journey to Jerusalem for the Passover of Holy Week. He wants His disciples to be prepared for what’s about to happen, and to understand that it all happens according to Scripture and according to the Father’s plan, and that Jesus is willingly following that plan. Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that were written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be fulfilled. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And they will scourge him and put him to death. And on the third day he will rise again.

Now, this isn’t the first time Jesus has told them about these things. It’s at least the third or fourth time. And yet, Luke emphasizes their failure to understand. They understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not understand the things that were said. They were like blind men. They couldn’t see the way ahead for Jesus or for themselves, even with the most straightforward words of Jesus shining the light on the path. Why? Because it was hidden from them.

It was hidden from them, in part, because they had their own preconceived notions of what the Christ was supposed to do, and no matter what Jesus said, their own beliefs overcame what Jesus said. The Christ was not supposed to suffer. The Christ was not supposed to die. He was supposed to conquer. He was supposed to rule and reign. They didn’t understand that the primary purpose of the Christ was not to make the world a better place, but to make atonement for the sins of mankind through His suffering and death, that we might be reconciled to God through faith in Christ Jesus, for this fleeting life and, more importantly, for the eternal life to come.

But it was also hidden from the disciples because it had to be. Things had to work out a certain way, and so the Holy Spirit chose not to enlighten their minds yet. Not about these things. He kept them believing in Jesus. But He kept them in the dark with regard to the path forward. He allowed them to remain “blind” for the moment. All they could do, as blind men, was keep listening to Jesus, and that they did, even though they didn’t understand.

Then they encountered an actual blind man, who was begging at the entrance of the city of Jericho. Now, since blind people can’t see, what are they usually very good at? They’re good at hearing. They’re good at listening. And this blind man was no different. He listened and heard the commotion surrounding Jesus’ arrival. So he asked what it meant, and he listened to the answer. Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

But this blind man shows that he has been listening to other things, too, because he knows who this Jesus of Nazareth is. He sees better than most of the seeing people who are there. By listening to the report that had been going around about Jesus, the blind man had already come to recognize that Jesus of Nazareth is the “Son of David,” that is, the Messiah, the Christ, the promised Savior. He never saw Jesus in his life. But by listening to the word about Jesus, he was able to see the truth.

What was it the Father said to Peter, James, and John about Jesus up on the Mount of Transfiguration? This is My beloved Son. Hear Him! Listen to Him! Listen! Even when— especially when—you don’t understand where His plan is leading you. And you know where and how to listen. Don’t listen to some little voice inside your heart. Don’t listen to your own reason. Listen to the Word! Read it. Hear it. Ponder it. Set aside time for it. And don’t worry if you don’t understand everything you hear right away. Just learn from the blind man in our Gospel, and keep listening!

But the blind man didn’t only listen. Knowing full well that he was blind and that only Jesus could help, he cried out to him for help. He prayed. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! And he kept praying, even when the people around him told him to be quiet, told him his prayers were wrong, were annoying, were useless. Why did he keep praying and crying out? Because he believed that Jesus would help him to see! He believed that his prayers would be heard. Faith came by hearing.

And Jesus did help him. What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight! Your faith has saved you. Faith is what saves, not sight. Faith in Christ, faith in God who sees clearly all the time, even when we’re entirely blind. Faith cries out to God for help. Faith urges us to pray. To pray for help. To pray for mercy. To pray for sight—at least, as much sight as we need. Many mysteries have been revealed about Christ. Many mysteries remain for the Church, and for your own life as Christians. Many things won’t be revealed until the Last Day. Many things will remain shaded, cloudy, obscure. And that’s okay. Keep listening to God’s Word, and keep praying for sight.

What else? What else would God have you do, even when you can’t see the way ahead? Keep loving.

We learn listening and praying from the blind man in our Gospel. But we learn love from Jesus. The way He stopped and took time for the man in need. The way He spoke kindly to him and helped him gladly. And, of course, we hear from the Apostle Paul in today’s Epistle a beautiful description of what Christian love looks like. Love is patient. It is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not boast. It is not conceited. It does not behave indecently. It does not seek its own. It does not become angry. It does not dwell on evil. It does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Being in the dark about the path ahead, being confused or frustrated doesn’t give you the right to behave badly toward your family, toward your neighbor, toward your fellow Christian. On the contrary, you are called to keep loving at all times, with Christ Jesus Himself as the prime example. In fact, you are called, as Christians, to be characterized by love. Yes, you are to be known in this dark world as people of faith and people of hope. But just as much you are to be known as people of love—the kind of love Paul describes in the Epistle, which will continue into the next life after there is no longer a need for faith or hope. As Paul says, For now we see through a mirror, indirectly; but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part; but then I will know fully, even as I am also fully known. And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

So when you can’t see the way, when the way appears dark, or even if the Holy Spirit has granted you insight and understanding, you have the Lord’s direction. Keep listening. Keep praying. And keep loving. And know that, even when you can’t see, the Lord has no trouble at all seeing you. Amen.

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The Lord’s Supper: The worthy recipient

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the Festival of St. Matthias

Small Catechism Review: The Lord’s Supper, Part 3

We’ve talked about what the Lord’s Supper is: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink. And the benefit? The forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. And who receives the benefit? Whoever believes these words: Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Lastly, we want to consider the question: Who receives this Sacrament worthily? It’s an important question, because St. Paul writes this to the Corinthians: Whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. So, Who receives this Sacrament worthily?

Fasting and bodily preparation is certainly a fine outward discipline, but he is truly worthy and well-prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” But whoever does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared. For the words “for you” require nothing but believing hearts.

Fasting and bodily preparation is certainly a fine outward discipline. You need to know why Luther talks about fasting here, and bodily preparation. At times in the Church’s history, people were required to fast before receiving Holy Communion. They were supposed to receive the Lord’s Supper on an empty stomach. If you didn’t, if you ate anything before going to the Sacrament, you were told that you were unworthy and unprepared. The truth is, there’s nothing wrong with fasting before Communion. It can be a “fine outward discipline.” Setting aside some quiet time before the Divine Service begins can also be a helpful form of discipline. Turning off the phones and the screens an hour before church starts (or Bible class) can have a similar effect. It may be a very good idea, even.

But Scripture certainly doesn’t require it for a person to be considered worthy to receive the Sacrament. Manmade rituals and formulas can never become required for any Christian to stand before God as worthy, just as our works can never make us worthy to stand before God. Only faith in Christ and His promise of free forgiveness makes a person worthy to stand before God, and, as Luther rightly says, only “faith in these words: Given and shed for you” makes a person worthy to kneel before the Communion rail to receive the body and blood of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. “For you” Christ came into the world. For you He lived a perfect life. For you He gave His body and shed His blood. For you He has sent forth His ministers into the world, to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins to you, to baptize you, to teach you to observe all things that He has commanded you, including the special Meal of His body and blood. For you He has done all these things. Everyone on earth should believe that, because it’s true for all people.

But not all people do believe it. Some openly reject that Christ has done all these things for them. Such people would never approach the Lord’s Table. Others may not know that Christ has done all these things for them. Such people should not approach the Lord’s Table. Others may know what the Gospel is and may become Christians, but there is such a thing as “unbelieving Christians,” that is, people who are Christians in name only, people who don’t actually trust in Christ Jesus alone for the forgiveness of sins before God, including Christians who have fallen into mortal sin—that is, sin of which they refuse to repent. None of these should dare to approach the Lord’s Table. Why not? Because these are the ones who are unworthy. As Paul says, “they eat and drink judgment on themselves, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

So, what do we do to be as sure as we can that a person goes to the Sacrament worthily? Well, first, we teach them to examine themselves, as Paul says. “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” Do you know who God is? That’s not a simple question. It involves knowing quite a bit of background from Holy Scripture, where the true God reveals Himself to us. Do you know what God’s Law commands? Do you know and believe that you’re a sinner? Are you sorry, are you penitent for your sins? Do you know who Jesus is and what He’s done for you and what He now promises you and where and how He promises to give it? Do you believe in Him, that His body was given and His blood was shed for you? Do you believe that He is giving you His true body and blood with the bread and wine, making you a partaker in His once-for-all sacrifice for sin?

Those are examples of the questions with which a person should examine himself. Similar questions are found at the end of the catechisms I published a few years ago, prepared by Luther to help Christians examine themselves before going to the Sacrament. To help Christians get to the point that they can ask and answer those questions, we have the Small Catechism itself. And we have catechism class with the pastor, and a Confirmation rite simply to “confirm” that a person has learned enough of the Christian faith to be able to examine him or herself, and to give that person an opportunity to confess that faith before the congregation, as we hope two of our young Christians here will do in just a few short weeks.

What about those who are not members of our congregation, those who might visit our church on a Sunday morning? Are they worthy recipients of the Lord’s Supper? Well, in most cases, we don’t know. If they haven’t been examined in the faith by the pastor, the pastor doesn’t know. If they haven’t made a confession of their faith before the congregation, then the congregation doesn’t know.

In some cases, they may well be worthy recipients of the Lord’s Supper. They may know the true God, and be sorry for their sins, and trust in Jesus’ sacrifice for them, and they may know and believe that Jesus’ true body and blood are given in the Sacrament. A Roman Catholic, for example, may be a worthy recipient of the Lord’s Supper in their church. Or a Lutheran who belongs to a different communion than ours may be a worthy recipient in their church. But that still doesn’t mean they should receive the Lord’s Supper here, together with us, or we in their church together with them. Why not? Because, if they belong to a different church that’s not in fellowship with ours, it’s almost certainly due to a difference in doctrine between our churches, a difference in how we confess the teachings of Christ. There’s almost certainly some doctrine of which their church says, “Christ teaches this!,” and of which we say, “Christ certainly does not teach that!” And so one of us may be right in that confession, and the other is wrong. Now, being wrong in one’s understanding and confession of certain doctrines doesn’t necessarily mean a person is no longer a Christian. It means that, in that place where they’re wrong, in that area where they believe and confess falsely, they are not following Christ. And that’s always dangerous, because all false doctrine is like leaven that eventually leavens the whole lump, as St. Paul says. All false doctrine attacks the very faith that makes a person a worthy recipient of the Lord’s Supper, even if it doesn’t destroy the faith. And so, if we believe we’re right and they’re wrong about some teaching of Christ, then, out of love for Christ, out of love for the truth, out of love for that person, and out of love for the rest of the believers here, we can’t come together visibly as one bread and one body and pretend that this or that area of not following Christ isn’t important enough to have a division over. His Word has to be that which unites us. It has to be the thing over which we will not compromise.

And so, by remaining outwardly divided in our celebration of the Sacrament, by practicing Closed Communion, we issue a simple warning in love, “Attend to those things that we confess differently! Learn what they are! Learn what the Scriptures say about them! And join us in our confession of these things before joining us in the joint confession we make in receiving the Lord’s Supper together.”

There is always more we could say about the Lord’s Supper, just as there’s always more we could say about any of the teachings of Scripture. But let this be enough for now, having reviewed all Six Chief Parts of Luther’s Small Catechism. We won’t leave the Catechism entirely, though. We’re going to spend the Lenten season looking at the Table of Duties at the end of the Catechism. And next week Wednesday, which is sometimes referred to as Ash Wednesday, we’ll consider together those questions that Luther prepared to help Christians examine themselves before going to the Sacrament. May the Lord bless our study of His Word. Amen.

 

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