Living as refugees of Jerusalem

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Rev. Paul Rydecki


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Sermon for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  +  Matthew 24:15-28

In those days leading up to His crucifixion, recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 20-25, Jesus taught His disciples many things about the coming days—what they should expect to happen after His resurrection, both during their lifetime and all the way up to the end of the world. In today’s Gospel Jesus covers the entire New Testament period, from the destruction of Jerusalem that would happen in 70 AD, all the way up to His second coming at the end of the age. It’s a tragic prophecy of the apostasy and destruction, not only of earthly Jerusalem, which once was the beloved city of God but then rejected its Redeemer, but it’s also a tragic prophecy of the apostasy and eventual destruction of the spiritual Jerusalem—the Visible Christian Church on earth.

Of course, mingled with that tragedy is also the lovingkindness of Jesus who warns His true Christians about all this ahead of time and provides for His true Church a way of escape from the destruction that is coming. That way of escape is for us to flee from Jerusalem and to live out the remainder of our days on earth as her refugees.

Jesus mentions the “abomination of desolation,” which Daniel, too, had prophesied. An abomination is something that God despises and hates, and it was a common word used in the Old Testament to describe idols and idolatry in general. False worship. False doctrine that depicted a god who does not save sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. False doctrine that depicts a divine spirit who deals with men, not through the Word of God, not through the ministry of the Word, the appointed Means of Grace, but directly and inwardly.

That abomination was firmly set in place in Jerusalem and in her temple in the decades after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Some of the Jews listened to the Gospel for a while, but eventually the city rejected it. They rejected their Savior, who was the true Temple where God is to be worshiped. They kept looking for an earthly savior who would save them, not from sin, death and the devil, but from the Romans. So God caused those very Romans to bring destruction on Jerusalem and her earthly temple.

But all who heeded the warning of Jesus and His instructions, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, were spared from Jerusalem’s demise. But a time of great tribulation came upon those Christians for the next 250 years. They were spared from the wrath of God that was poured out on Jerusalem, but the cross they bore for following Christ was real, and living as refugees of Jerusalem meant that they had to keep fleeing from one place to another as the Roman empire ramped up its persecutions, and many Christians became martyrs for the Christian faith.

According to the promise of Jesus, those days were cut short, even though 250 years is a pretty long time. In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine became a Christian and ended the bloody persecution of Christians throughout the world. The “great tribulation” came to an end. But Christ hadn’t returned. So Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24 still had a spiritual meaning and a spiritual fulfillment that would yet take place. They should expect another “abomination of desolation” to be set up in the holy place, in the holy city.

Now, the days of earthly Jerusalem’s importance are past. It will never again be called by God “The holy city,” and “the holy place” will never again be located in a Jerusalem temple. The holy city is now the Holy Christian Church, and the holy place is the hearts of Christians, whom God has sanctified for Himself through Holy Baptism. As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

The abomination that would be set up in the Christian Church is summed up in the Roman papacy. We’ve known that now, in the Lutheran Church, for nearly 500 years. It doesn’t matter who the pope is, or how different he is from other popes that came before him. He represents all the false doctrine that has invaded and now desolated Christendom, every teaching of man that obscures or darkens the work of Christ and faith in Christ. That all have sinned against God and deserve His wrath, that Christ has come and suffered for all sin and risen from the dead, that God offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life to sinners for the sake of Christ alone, through faith alone, apart from all our works and obedience, that God sends His ministers to call all men to repent of their sins and believe in Christ Jesus, and that God the Holy Spirit will work forgiveness of sins, life and salvation through Word and Sacrament—that is the simple Gospel of Christ. Wherever human works are added as a cause of our salvation, wherever sinners are directed to seek peace with God apart from Christ or apart from His Means of Grace—that is of the devil. It’s an abomination in the sight of God. It causes desolation—devastation within the Christian Church.

The first Lutherans recognized that abomination within the Roman Church. And when their efforts to bring reformation to Rome failed, they realized that they had to heed Jesus’ words and “flee to the mountains,” to flee from the pope’s doctrine, first in their hearts, and then, as necessary, with their feet. They couldn’t, in good conscience, remain under the Roman bishops. They couldn’t hold onto the earthly safety and prosperity that came with loyalty to the Roman pope.

They not only had to leave the safety of Rome behind. They had to be continually living as refugees of Jerusalem, continually watching out for the false prophets and false christs who would distort the Gospel and get them to turn their eyes away from Jesus and away from His Word and Sacraments. Fleeing from Rome wasn’t a one-time thing for them. It was an ongoing way of life. And the life of refugees is a messy business, full of instability and confusion and uncertainty.

So it is also for us. As Lutherans, we have fled from Rome. But it’s not over yet. We’re still living in the midst of the “great tribulation.” But this tribulation is more spiritual than physical. False doctrine has filled the world, has filled our country, has filled our culture. (To be honest, our country, as a whole, has never known true faith-alone, Word-and-Sacrament-based Christianity.) The spirit of antichrist still calls out all around us, “Come back! Come back! And don’t let doctrine get in the way! Come back to the safety of Jerusalem, the safety of Rome, the safety of the one big Church—you can even call it Lutheran, if you want to! Think of all the nice things you and your children are missing out on by your picky doctrinal positions. Think of all the good you’re failing to do for the poor and for the oppressed by remaining in your tiny little church.”

That’s all part of the great tribulation, and it’s the life that we refugees of Jerusalem, we refugees of Rome, will continue to live until Jesus comes for us. We’re constantly surrounded by false prophets who are always shouting, either, “Come back to Rome!” or “Here’s Jesus, over here! There’s Jesus, over there!” “Over there, in the desert, by yourself, away from organized religion!” “Over here, in the inner room of your heart, in your feelings, in your emotions, in your dreams! That’s where you’ll find Jesus!”

Do not believe it, Jesus says. You won’t find Jesus attached to Rome or its pope, or to the big synod, or the big church of any kind. You won’t find Him out in the desert, or alone by yourself apart from His means of grace. You won’t find Him in your heart or in your prayers or in your imaginations. You won’t find Him on earth, except as He comes through His Spirit, where two or three are gathered in His name, where His Word is rightly preached and His Sacraments are rightly administered. There is Jesus. There is His Church. There are His elect, living the life of refugees until Christ comes again.

And when He comes again, there will be no doubt about where He is. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. The eagles don’t think to themselves, let’s go find a carcass over in such and such a place. Instead they’re constantly flying around, flying around without knowing where the carcass will appear, waiting and watching until it does. Then they know where to go. Then they know where to gather.

Such is the life of Christians, living as refugees of Jerusalem. We don’t expect to find Jesus in Jerusalem or in Rome or in any human institution, and so we cannot be permanently tied to any human institution, including this church building, including this diocese. Instead, we follow where the Word of Christ is preached in its truth and purity. And then, when Christ appears in the clouds with all His saints, we will fly to Him and gather to Him, to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Amen.

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Powerful preaching, forceful faith

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Rev. Paul Rydecki


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Sermon for the Festival of the Reformation

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

The story of the Reformation is the story of a priest who became a great preacher, a man who witnessed the corruption of the Church and was called by God to speak up about it, to call the people of his day to repentance, to point them to Jesus, to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom of God. He was loved by many and hated by many and persecuted for his bold preaching. And as a result of his preaching, many people turned from the error of their ways to Jesus, and, by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, they were given a place in the kingdom of God.

Of course I’m talking about the man whose name was John, the Baptist, of whom Jesus once said, Among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. He was the last prophet of the Old Testament. And as such, he didn’t merely reform the Church of God. He prepared it for its transition from the Church of the Old Testament to the Church of the New. His duty was to point to Christ, and to the kingdom of heaven over which Christ rules.

What is the kingdom of heaven? It is the reign of Christ as King in the hearts of men. Not the kind of ruling that forces men to follow Him or to obey His commandments. But the kind of ruling that brings with it the forgiveness of sins, that frees a person from slavery to sin, from the power of the devil to accuse and condemn, and even from death. It’s the kind of ruling that makes a person a born-again child of God and an heir of His heavenly kingdom.

Where is it, this kingdom of heaven? It isn’t up in heaven. Instead, it has come down from heaven. It’s wherever the Gospel is preached, where the Sacraments are administered. There is the kingdom of heaven! There the Spirit of Christ calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

And what is the Gospel? It’s what John the Baptist first began to preach. God has come to the aid of sinners. God has stepped into our earthly history. He has given His Son to be born as a man, to redeem us from sin, death and the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and by His innocent suffering and death. He did it, not because we deserve it or have worked for it. But by His grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

From the days of John the Baptist until now, Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. I think that passage would be better translated, “The kingdom of heaven advances forcefully, and forceful men lay hold of it.” In the parallel passage from St. Luke’s Gospel, it puts it a little differently. “The Gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is pressing into it forcefully.”

How was the kingdom of heaven advancing forcefully? The Gospel of Christ was proclaimed in the face of much opposition. It was proclaimed precisely where men did not want it to be proclaimed, and yet it could be silenced or stopped. Herod couldn’t stop the kingdom of heaven from being proclaimed by putting John the Baptist in prison. The Pharisees couldn’t stop Jesus from proclaiming it, until He Himself was ready to bring everything to its completion on the cross. Even then, the crucifixion of Christ couldn’t stop the Gospel from being proclaimed. The apostles and the ministers of the Church went out and preached, even though they were targeted and killed, one by one. And the Christians who heard and believed their Gospel spread it to their own families and fellow citizens even as they fled from persecution to one city after another.

And how were forceful men laying hold of the kingdom of heaven? Who were these “forceful men”? They were tax collectors, prostitutes, fishermen, a Roman centurion, a Canaanite woman, a village of Samaritans. They were little children, of whom Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” All of these were laying hold of the kingdom of heaven, pressing into it forcefully. Not by being wise or good or obedient. They were all sinners deserving damnation. But in the face of great sinfulness, in the face of great opposition by the world, in the face of all the devil’s temptations and accusations, by the power of the Gospel they all dared to trust in Jesus as their Savior, as the Christ, the Son of the living God. That’s no small feat. That’s the power of the Gospel, which is the power of salvation for everyone who believes.

That Gospel of Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen Savior of sinner was powerfully preached in the world for many hundreds of years after Christ’s ascension, and the kingdom of heaven continued to advance forcefully around the world as the Gospel was preached.

The kingdom of heaven always advances forcefully, and forceful men always lay hold of it. But that doesn’t mean the Gospel is always preached as clearly and as abundantly as before. There came a time when the Gospel was preached less and less, as the Roman pope became less and less Christ-centered and more and more self-centered, less and less word-of-God oriented and more and more man-oriented. It became difficult for people to hear the Gospel through all the chattering of the pope’s men about other things, as they preached less and less about Christ and more and more about indulgences, works of penance and satisfaction, paying for one’s own sins, praying to the saints, worshiping the Virgin Mary, the sacrifice of the Mass, and on and on.

We celebrate the Reformation, because God raised up men like John the Baptist, men like Martin Luther and Martin Chemnitz and countless others who, in the face of great opposition, pointed poor sinners away from all those other things and back to Jesus, back to His Word, back to His works, His merits, His grace, and His promise of salvation by faith alone. Luther was, indeed, like that angel of whom we heard in today’s Epistle, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Since the days of the Lutheran Reformation, the Gospel has been clearly preached again in the world. But again, that doesn’t mean it’s always preached as abundantly as before. The Scriptures do not depict for us a kingdom of heaven that spreads visibly over the face of the earth, gradually taking over the planet and enveloping the world in good behavior and charitable acts, nor do they depict a large Christian Church that fills the world with pure teaching and with orthodoxy. On the contrary, pure preaching is depicted in these last days as rare, and with regard to faith, it is not depicted as a common thing, but instead Jesus asks, When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?

No, the powerful preaching of the Gospel and the forceful faith that results will not be widespread as this old earth winds down. But the kingdom of heaven must remain on this earth until Christ comes again. The Word of God remains forever, as the Scriptures declare and as the Lutheran Reformers also proclaimed. There must be a Church on earth that preaches the Gospel and that hears and believes the Gospel.

As those who have been given the treasure of the Gospel and who have been given entrance into the kingdom of heaven, let us give thanks to God for His grace in giving us this gift. And let us see to that, by God’s grace, we do not take this treasure for granted, but stand upon it as Luther once stood, powerfully proclaim it, and steadfastly believe it. Amen.

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Caesar has his God-given place

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Rev. Paul Rydecki


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Sermon for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity

Philippians 3:17-21  +  Matthew 22:15-22

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to consider together the texts appointed for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity. This Sunday is usually displaced by our celebration of the Reformation. But this year, it just so happens, by God’s providence, that Trinity 23 falls the week before the Reformation, and that’s cause for thanksgiving, because, I don’t know if you’ve noticed at all, but there are some elections coming up, and things are looking rather bleak for the future of our nation, and, really, for all the nations of earth—no matter who is elected in November.

St. Paul reminded us in today’s Epistle: Our citizenship is in heaven. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to hold onto this truth during these chaotic political times. Our citizenship is in heaven, safe from the risings and fallings of earthly nations, secure from the hands of corrupt earthly rulers, and from the hands of godless citizens (and voters). The assembly of the baptized, the Church of Jesus Christ, does not tie its hopes to any nation on earth, nor does it put its trust in any political candidate or secular ruler. None of them—no human being, for that matter—can be trusted. Instead, the Christian’s trust is placed solely and completely in Christ Jesus, our only Savior, and our hope and expectation is set fully, not on the establishment of an earthly kingdom, not on the prosperity or the “greatness” of our nation, but on Christ’s coming at the end of this age and on the resurrection of the dead. As we approach our national and local elections over the next few weeks, you will do well to remember this verse from Philippians 3. Our citizenship is in heaven.

So what about our citizenship here below, in this nation in which God, according to His eternal purposes, has caused us to be born? Are we to deny it? Are we to embrace it? Are we to despise Caesar or worship Caesar? Or are we to view him in some other way? All of these things are addressed very concisely by Jesus in today’s Gospel.

Not that the Pharisees were looking for instruction from Jesus on this important topic. For their part, they were just looking for another way to get Him killed. They devised the perfect trap question for Him. Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Understand the political landscape at that time. Israel still existed as a nation, but it had fallen under the umbrella control of the Roman empire, whose emperors were still using the title of “Caesar” at that time, after Julius Caesar, whose military and political exploits greatly expanded the power of Rome. Rome had divided the land of the Jews into four territories and placed four tetrarchs or governors over them who were to serve Rome by keeping the Jews in their territories under control. As a result, the Jews were living under the general belief that to be pro-Caesar was to be anti-God and anti-Israel, and to be pro-God and pro-Israel was to be anti-Caesar.

So the Pharisees put this yes/no question to Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar, and they made sure the Herodians were there as witnesses (Herod was one of those four tetrarchs who served Rome). If Jesus answered, No, it isn’t lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, then Herod’s men would have cut Him down for inciting rebellion against Rome. If He said, Yes, it’s lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, then the fanatical Jews, who hated Rome and were constantly trying to start another revolt, would have cut Him down themselves. Either way, the Pharisees would have won.

But Christ is wiser than all His enemies. He doesn’t give them a yes or no answer to their question. Instead, He defeats their trap by reframing the argument. Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

The fact that Caesar had conquered God’s people, the nation of Israel, did not mean that God’s people should rebel against Caesar. It wasn’t “God vs. Caesar.” Caesar—who represents all secular rulers—has his place in the world, and his place is not inherently opposed to God or God’s people, nor is his place above God or side by side with God, but under God, as a servant of God, with a specific scope of authority given to Him by God, even though Caesar and his entire government were not believers in the true God or citizens of the kingdom of heaven. And the Christian, as a permanent citizen of heaven, who has also been made a temporary citizen under Caesar, is to be neither anti-God nor anti-Caesar. But we are taught to recognize the place of each, and to fulfill our responsibilities toward them both.

What is the place God has given to Caesar—to the secular rulers and civil authorities? The apostle Paul summarizes it well in Romans 13: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

God has appointed all the governing authorities, including the pagan emperors of Rome. They had no love for the true God or for His people Israel. But what did God accomplish through Caesar Augustus, His minister? He’s the one who issued that decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. That got Mary and Joseph down to Bethlehem, just in time for a very special birthday. What did God accomplish through His minister, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate? He was not a just ruler; He gave an innocent Man over to be crucified. But the crucifixion of that Man means forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation for all who believe. What did God accomplish through His ministers, the Roman rulers, both before and after the time of Christ? The Pax Romana, the Roman peace, allowed the Gospel to spread far and wide from Judea to all the ends of the earth. And, what did God accomplish through His ministers, the wicked Roman rulers who persecuted His Christians and put them to death? The persecution of the Church did not put an end to the Church, but caused it to flourish. As a Church father once wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

The fact is, God always accomplishes His good purposes through secular rulers, whether they intend to serve Him or not—His good purposes, either to protect the life and property of His people for a time and to maintain law and order in society, so that the Gospel can be preached freely; or to punish the wicked nation with injustice, with bad laws, with chaos and destruction. Because even when nations are disintegrating, even during times of chaos and persecution of the Church, even when Christians are martyred, even then the gates of Hades will not prevail against Christ’s Church. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

What things are Caesar’s, so that we should render it unto him? Taxes and revenues are due to him—even if they seem excessive. Obedience to his laws—even if they are unjust. Willing submission to his authority—even if he is abusing his authority. Even honor—whether or not he is honorable.

What things are God’s, so that we should render it unto Him? All things are God’s: our bodies and souls, our hearts and our devotion, our time and our possessions, honor and worship, glory and dominion. Obedience to His commands, including His command to render unto Caesar the things that He has given to Caesar.

And God has surely given many things to Caesar. But not His Word. Not our souls. Not our conscience. Over those things, Caesar has no authority. So if Caesar commands us to disobey God’s commandments, then we must obey God rather than men. If Caesar commands us to stop preaching the Word of God or any part of it, or to stop gathering around Word and Sacrament, then we must disobey Caesar—and suffer the earthly consequences for it, without grumbling and certainly without rebelling. Because, while Caesar has power over our bodies and our possessions, he has no power whatsoever over our souls, over our faith, or over our eternal inheritance that is reserved for us in heaven. And through our suffering here on earth, God’s name will still be honored among us, and we can trust God Himself to deal severely with unjust rulers in His own time.

All of this has been said about the rulers who have been placed over us, or who will be placed over us. What does it mean when it comes to electing or choosing our own rulers in a democratic society? I’ve already written something about that recently. Submitting to godless tyrants is one thing. Choosing men or women who give every indication that they will be godless tyrants who won’t protect the innocent or punish the evildoer but will do just the opposite—that’s another thing entirely. Have nothing to do with such choices, with such elections. Leave it in God’s hands, and don’t be afraid. Instead, as the Psalm says, Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

So render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. But above all, for the remainder of this passing election cycle, for the remainder of our country’s existence, for the remainder of your short life here on earth, remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead and now sits at God’s right hand, reigning over every nation of the earth for the good of those who love Him. And also remember St. Paul’s words to the Philippians: Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Amen.

 

 

 

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The pattern of forgiveness must not fail

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Rev. Paul Rydecki


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Sermon for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity

Philippians 1:3-11  +  Matthew 18:23-35

Today’s Gospel is not difficult—at least, not difficult to understand. It’s very simple. It’s about forgiveness. The world has many things to teach about forgiveness. It’s like that quote that’s floating around out there: “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

That sounds nice, doesn’t it? It was actually written by a rather famous Christian author. But it’s completely wrong! It’s a bunch of psychobabble. People tell you you’re supposed to forgive people for the good it will do…you! How self-serving is that? They tell you that you’re just supposed to go around forgiving everyone who has harmed you, so that you can feel better about yourself. Christian friends, that is not the pattern of forgiveness set for in the Holy Scriptures.

Matthew 18 has a lot to say about forgiveness. Jesus begins by pointing out how terrible it is to sin against another person, especially “one of these little ones.” Better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea than to cause one of them to sin. Better to chop off your hand or foot or pluck out your eye than to allow yourself to be led into sin.

But, then Jesus describes how eager God is to have sinners back in His kingdom. He goes searching for the lost sheep and rejoices to bring it home. He wants to forgive sinners and doesn’t want any of them to perish.

But wanting to forgive and forgiving are not the same thing. God wants to forgive everyone. He is merciful toward everyone. But He has set a pattern for how He goes about forgiving. He preaches His Law. He shows the sinner his fault. He preaches His Gospel, pointing the sinner to Christ Jesus, who suffered for all sins on the cross, calling sinners to believe in Christ for forgiveness. Where there is repentance and faith in Christ, God forgives sins for the sake of Christ. But where there is no repentance or faith, God does not forgive sins, for as much as He wants to, for as much as His merciful heart desires that all men should come to repentance and be forgiven.

That is the pattern of forgiveness set by God Himself. And Jesus goes on in Matthew 18 to show His disciples how we, too, are to imitate this pattern with one another—with our brothers, our fellow Christians, when they sin against us. Show your brother his fault. If he repents, forgive him. If he won’t repent, keep trying to get him to repent by confronting him with one or two others. If he still won’t repent, keep trying to get him to repent by taking the matter to the Church. And if he won’t listen to the Church, then “let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

Fine. The pattern is set. But then, in the words right before our Gospel, Peter suggests that there may be a loophole in the pattern. Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? In other words, what if this whole pattern plays out seven times. Seven times my brother sins against me, hurts me, causes me pain. Seven times I confront my brother with his sin. Seven times he repents. And seven times I forgive him. Isn’t that already going above and beyond? Haven’t I done more than enough in forgiving him seven times? After that, should I (may I please?) tell him he’s reached his quota of forgiveness and then be done with him?

Jesus’ answer? I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. In other words, you shall never refuse to forgive your brother, if he repents! Far be it from you to withhold forgiveness from the penitent! And then He tells the parable that drives this pattern home.

The king wants to settle accounts with his servants. He brings in the one who owes him 10,000 talents—an astronomical figure, let’s call it the equivalent of $150 million. The king demands payment, and severe punishment if payment can’t be made. That’s the Law, telling the sinner he has sinned against God and must suffer eternal death, because he can never repay his debt.

The servant begs for patience on the king’s part and promises to pay it all back. That’s repentance and faith. The sinner acknowledges the enormous debt he owes. He knows he deserves to be thrown in prison forever, because he can’t pay his debt. But Jesus has died, the Righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. He offers His righteousness and His own blood as the payment for our sins, and says to us, “Here, use this! Use this to settle accounts with My Father, the King! He will accept this payment, because it’s the reason why I was sent in the first place, to give My life as the payment for sins, so that all you debtors might have something to pay back your debts with. Not with your own money, not with your own works, but with My works and with My blood.”

The King has compassion and forgives the entire debt. The sinner no longer has to suffer anything in punishment for his sins. The sinner no longer has to come up with his own with his own atonement, because the Father accepts the atonement made by Christ and applies it to the sinner’s account. You no longer owe anything. You’re free to go, free to live as children of God. There it is: the pattern of forgiveness.

But the pattern breaks down when the forgiven servant leaves the presence of the king. It starts out the same; the servant finds a fellow servant—his brother in Christ—who owes him a hundred denarii—let’s say $5,000, which is nothing compared to the $150 million that the first servant owed the king. But the servant doesn’t just demand repayment. He laid hands on his fellow servant and took him by the throat. Already you see a great difference between the behavior of this servant and the behavior of the king. The servant is not just angry. He’s enraged. He’s not desiring the repentance of his fellow servant, but wants to see him burn.

Now, the fellow servant begs for patience and time to repay, just as the first servant begged the king. The man’s brother is sorry for having sinned against him. He admits his fault. He asks for a chance to make it up to him.

But the first servant refuses and throws his fellow servant in prison. No mercy. No compassion. No desire to forgive. And no forgiveness given.

What happens to that unmerciful, unforgiving servant? The king is informed of the servant’s behavior and is appalled by it. ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

You can’t reject the pattern of forgiveness toward your fellow Christian and at the same time keep enjoying the pattern of forgiveness for yourself. Your brother’s sins against you may be serious. They may hurt. (Or sometimes, they may not be very serious at all and yet you’re still inclined to take offense and stay angry and to refuse forgiveness!) In any case, Jesus puts it in perspective for you. Your sins against God cannot be counted, cannot be measured. They are far more serious than anything any man could do to you. Take the most heinous crime a human being can commit against another human being, and then realize, your crimes, your trespasses against God, in His judgment, are many thousands of times worse than that, to use Jesus’ analogy. Your only hope of salvation is in the mercy of God and in the pattern of forgiveness He Himself has established and embraced.

That pattern never fails, because God never changes. It must not fail for you, either. So if your brother has sinned against you and you realize that you have had no desire for your brother to repent, no desire to forgive him for the wrong he’s done to you, if you realize that you have been withholding forgiveness from your brother who is penitent, then turn from your impenitence, from your hardness of heart, before it’s too late, and take refuge in the blood of Christ, which was shed just as must for your sins as for your brother’s sins. Take Jesus’ warning seriously. Take the pattern of forgiveness seriously. Because already in Holy Baptism your debts were cleared. And here in the Gospel, here in the Sacrament, full and free forgiveness of all your debts is offered to you again today. Go forward with it in peace, and take care to put it into practice with one another. Amen.

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The formation of the faith that serves as a shield

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Rev. Paul Rydecki


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Sermon for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity

Ephesians 6:10-17  +  John 4:46-54

As St. Paul warned us in the Epistle, we have so many enemies in this world, so many people who would see us fall and cause us to perish eternally. Not people, actually. Not flesh and blood. But principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places—they are our chief enemies, the devil and his powerful spirit army, who work night and day to drag us into hell.

But God has provided us with armor, so that we can go into daily battle with those enemies and conquer them again and again. The “full armor of God,” Paul calls it, the whole set of armor, made up of all the individual pieces a soldier needs to succeed.

One of those powerful pieces of armor is the shield. The shield was a vital piece of armor for the Roman soldier, because it only took one good archer on the enemy’s side to take down any number of soldiers with their arrows, shot from a long distance away. Likewise, the devil shoots his arrows of temptation, doubt, and false doctrine. And the shield that defends a Christian from the devil’s fiery darts is faith.

But not just any faith will do. Having faith in the wrong thing is like having a shield made of paper. No, the faith that the apostle Paul calls a shield and a vital piece of the full armor that God provides, the faith that protects you from the devil’s flaming arrows is a very specific thing that requires a very specific formation.

We see Jesus forming that kind of faith in the Gospel. And through the Gospel, He’ll form the same kind of faith in you.

There was a royal official, a nobleman, who had a sick son. Very sick, with a high fever caused by an illness that was about to kill him. What a terrifying thing it is to have a sick child, and to see him getting worse and worse, without any signs of recovery! It made his father desperate. It made him recognize how helpless he was, how hopeless, how needy. And that turned out to be a good thing, a great blessing from God, because it caused him to look up, away from himself and his own works and his own noble position, to seek help from somewhere else, to listen for any word of the existence of a Healer, of a Helper.

And then he heard just such a word. Jesus of Nazareth was back in Galilee. The word was, He had turned water into wine here in Cana not too long ago, and then He had been preaching and healing all these sick people down in Judea. The word was that Jesus could heal the sick, and this nobleman heard the word and believed it. He had a kind of faith already.

So he left Capernaum and went over to Cana, where Jesus was, and implored Him to come down and heal his son.

But Jesus chose not to go. Not because He didn’t want to help the nobleman, but because the man and his whole house needed a lot more than a healing miracle. They needed faith—the kind of faith that would last, that would shield them from enemies that were so much deadlier than sickness.

He said to the man, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” It’s a rebuke toward all the people who weren’t listening to what Jesus was saying or to what the Old Testament Scriptures were saying about Him. They were all holding back judgment about Him, not ready to believe in Him as the Christ until they saw enough miracles, until they saw enough divine glory in Him to put their trust in Him.

But faith that relies on sight is not faith—certainly not the kind of faith that can shield a person from the devil and save a person from death. Besides, what was it that the man and his family and the rest of Israel needed to believe? Not just that Jesus could perform a healing miracle, under certain conditions, like Jesus being in the same room with the sick person. They needed to believe in Jesus as the Creator of the universe, as the God of free grace and favor, as the holy Son of God who had taken on human flesh so that He might deliver sinners from sin, death, and the power of the devil. None of that was visible. None of that could be seen then, nor can it be seen now. But it all had to be believed, if their faith was to do them any lasting good.

Well, the nobleman, the desperate father, is not exactly encouraged by Jesus’ words. It seems like he wasn’t even listening. He wants to see the sign. He wants to see the wonder. He’s not interested in anything at the moment except the healing of his son. Sir, come down before my child dies!

Jesus won’t go with him. That would be too much sight, too much seeing, like giving an alcoholic a drink in order to cure him of his addiction. No, Jesus gives the father something far better than sight. He gives him a word, a promise. Go your way; your son lives. Before, all the man had was a general confidence in Jesus as a good man who could do miraculous things. That’s a good start, but it doesn’t give you anything specific to believe. But when God gives you a word, when God makes a promise, now faith has something to hold onto, something to cling to.

So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him. He saw nothing. He experienced nothing. But see how the Holy Spirit worked through that word of Jesus to cause the man to believe what Jesus said, without having to see anything at all. Now, suddenly, he doesn’t need Jesus to come down to his house with him. Now, suddenly, he is content to go his way, believing that his son would be healed.

When he found out on his way home that his son had, in fact, gotten better at the very moment when Jesus said, “Your son lives,” it says that he himself believed, and his whole household. Now what did he believe? And what did his household believe? That his son was alive? No, that wasn’t something that had to be believed. It could be seen. What did they believe? They now believed in Jesus as the Savior sent from God. They now believed the word of Jesus, who not only said, “Your son lives,” but also, He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.

It’s good to have faith in Jesus as the One who can heal the sick, as the One who can keep you safe from thieves and robbers, as the One who can keep you and your loved ones safe from reckless drivers and natural disasters. But that kind of faith isn’t enough yet, because, while God has told you in His Word that He is always merciful, kind and good and cares for you as a loving Father, He has not told you that He will take away all sickness, danger and death from you while you live on this earth. Faith without a promise from God won’t shield you when the devil hurls accusations against you, when God’s commandments condemn you for your sins. A word-less faith won’t help you when God, in His wisdom, allows sickness to remain, or permits some tragedy to strike.

But when God makes a promise, now faith has something to rely on. Because faith that relies on the Word of God, the Word of Christ, is faith that cannot be shaken.

So listen carefully to the Word of God when it is preached. Scour the Holy Scriptures for those precious promises of God whenever you’re doing battle against the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh. He attaches the promise of the forgiveness of sins to a pastor’s absolution, to Holy Baptism, and to the bread and wine that are His body and blood. He promises to uphold His Holy Church and to make it victorious over the very gates of hell. He promises grace and every blessing to His saints, strength to bear up under the cross, providence for your body and your soul, fatherly guidance for your life and even resurrection from the dead. Armed with faith in these promises—faith that is formed by the Holy Spirit Himself—you have the kind of faith that will serve as a mighty shield against all the devil’s flaming arrows. Amen.

 

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