The final Judgment.

The Text: Matthew 25:31-46

As good Lutherans, we’ve all been taught we’re saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. We’re not saved by our good works because we’ll never be good enough. Only Christ is good enough. We believe this.

But at first glance, what Jesus says to us today challenges our thinking a bit. It seems in that great and glorious Day of the Lord when we stand in front of our God in judgment, we’re going to be split up into two teams. These two teams will not compete against each other to see who wins, because the result has already been decided.

The ones selected for the winning team will inherit the kingdom of God, which has been prepared for them since the foundation of the universe. Obviously we want to be on that team!

Why? Because the other team of losers are the ones who will enter the eternal fire of hell, which has been prepared for the devil and all his angels.

It’s entry into heaven or hell. We’ll be blessed or cursed. That’s the choice, but it’s not our choice. God chooses. By this time the result is already decided and we can’t appeal his decision.

So the obvious question is: ‘How do we know which team we’re going to be on?’

You might think from today’s text that the answer seems to be based on good works. In other words, those who do all those good things like feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison, and so on, well, they’re in. They go to heaven.

But if you’re not merciful and gracious enough, then you’re out!

So, how many of us are confident we’ve done enough, we’ve ticked all the boxes and willingly and regularly helped those in need?

I thought so!

It seems that the greatest and most unforgivable sin Jesus mentions here is inaction! If you don’t help, serve, show mercy, or welcome people, you’re in deep trouble!

For this reason, this text has the power to make us very worried! After all, how many times have we not acted when we should have? How many times have we kept our hands in our pockets when we saw someone in need of basic help, and did nothing? How many times have we made a conscious decision not to help, or serve, or provide, or give, or visit, or bless?

How often do we think or hope that someone else will feed them, give them a drink, donate to that appeal, or visit them, and so on? How often do we think it’s only the pastor’s job or the elder’s job to visit the shut in and help the needy?

In this case, when you stand in front of Jesus, how do you think he’ll answer you when you say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, but I thought so-and-so was supposed to do that!’?

Jesus is saying our acts of grace and mercy to other people are not optional, but essential – in fact our salvation is dependent on them!

Well, so far it sounds like if we don’t perform acts of mercy by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, providing clothes for those without, or visiting the sick or those in prison, then we’re not going to heaven!

So does that mean faith in Jesus isn’t essential anymore? Isn’t this a little different to what we’ve been taught?

Haven’t we all been taught we’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone and not by what we do or don’t do? Have we got it all wrong?

No, because there’s something else strange in this text.

Note the ‘blessed ones’ didn’t even know they were helping Jesus!

They’ve been naturally feeding the hungry, providing drink to the thirsty, welcoming the strangers, covering the naked with clothing, and visiting the sick and those in prison.

For them it was no surprise Jesus expected them to do these things, because they did it naturally anyway, but the surprise for them is when they did these things, no matter what the person looked like or how they acted, they were doing it to Jesus himself!

So here Jesus tells us he fully identifies himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigner, the naked, the sick and those in prison, so much so, that when we provide for these people’s basic needs, we’re doing it for Jesus himself!

This is because Jesus doesn’t abandon the needy, but is there with them in their hunger, in their thirst, in their sicknesses, and in prison with them.

And we thought Jesus is only present in churches! Imagine going to prison and seeing Jesus there! Imagine seeing a homeless person sleeping under a bridge, and that’s where Jesus is!

Now, this doesn’t mean we do these things just because we know we’re doing it for Jesus, but because we’re naturally merciful to all people.

You see, for those who believe in Jesus, helping the needy isn’t an optional extra, but a natural part of their life; a natural extension of their faith in Jesus. In fact only a believer will live in the way this text directs.

To make it plain: Good works won’t save you and get you into heaven. Jesus alone saves you. So yes, you’re saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

But what Jesus is saying here is this gift of grace to have faith in Christ alone doesn’t come alone.

The more we are exposed to the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and his holy Sacraments, the more we receive Christ’s nature. The more of Christ’s nature we receive, then the more naturally we care for the needy because Jesus identifies and cares for the needy.

So, although faith in Jesus isn’t mentioned, it’s implied because:

Only those who have received the grace of God will become gracious people.

Only those fed and nourished by God will feed and nourish others.

Only those visited by God will visit other people.

Only those healed through the blood of Jesus will visit and care for those who are still sick.

Only those clothed by the righteousness of Christ will seek to cover up other people’s shame by clothing them.

Only those who have been freed from the prisons of hate and fear and guilt will go to visit those in prison.

In other words, Christ-centred people will naturally become needy-centred people. It almost goes without saying then: self-centred people will naturally ignore the needy.

Notice we’re not expected to heal people or release them from prison, etc, but simply supply their basic needs – a meal, a drink, clothing, welcoming, and visiting. No big miracles required, just little ministries of grace and mercy. Those who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, will also love their neighbours, and show it in real, tangible actions. This is something we can all do, no matter how young or how old – just to help as you are able.

All of us have the ability to help those who are vulnerable and needy in society: the ones most other people isolate or ignore, such as the infirm, the lonely, those in nursing homes, the foreigner, the outcast, the unborn, and so on.

Strangely, as we attend to the needs of others, we’re also attending to our own salvation. Notice this doesn’t mean we’re saved by our good works. Again, to make it clear, we’re saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone! But the result of having faith in Christ is our natural service to those around you.

This is because the fruit of our faith is shown – not through our holier-than-thou attitudes or long-winded sermons, but through our actions. Jesus expects good fruit to be produced on a good tree; and good fruit will naturally be produced on every tree firmly rooted in Christ alone. Those who don’t produce good fruit simply aren’t firmly rooted in Christ.

Christ is preparing us through his Word and feeding us with his very own body and blood, which carries his grace-filled and merciful nature to us.

The Holy Spirit is equipping us for works of service which will minister to the needs of those around us – to feed the hungry, provide a drink to the thirsty, welcome the alien or stranger, clothe those not adequately dressed, and visit those who are sick or who feel imprisoned.

Our help may not always be appreciated, but if we choose not to ignore their needs and do these things Jesus talks about, we may be surprised to find we’re feeding and helping Jesus himself.

Then we’ll be on the team surprised to hear those most welcome words of Jesus, ‘Come into the kingdom of heaven which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the universe.’

And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Do you have Talents?

The Text: Matthew 25:14-30

Often when we read the parable of the talents we see the word talent and we immediately think of abilities and the things we are good at. We often say of someone who is good at something—you’re talented. But when we look carefully at this parable we see that these talents are in fact large portions of money that are given to each servant to manage. So what might this parable be about?

Jesus uses this parable to teach us about the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus’ parable begins with a man who was about to leave on a journey. And he entrusted his servants with the task of managing his financial affairs while he was away. He divided this responsibility amongst his three workers according to their ability. He gave five talents to one worker, two talents to another worker and one talent to another worker. I guess you could call this ‘diversification’—putting your eggs in several baskets rather than one. Dividing your assets to provide more opportunities for growth and reduce risk.

And then, when the master returned, he called his workers before him to give an account of how they managed his money. Two of the workers doubled what they were first entrusted with and the master was full of praise for them. He said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servants. You have been faithful in handling these small amounts, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

But the third worker did nothing with the one talent that he was entrusted with. He had simply buried it. When this worker gave account of his actions, the money was taken from him and given to servant with ten talents.

Now, in Jesus days a talent was used in two ways: it was used as form of currency and also as a measure of weight. Bible scholars believe that for the average worker one talent was worth more than 15 years of wages.

Now if we look at this in today’s environment what might a talent be worth today? In Australia, in 2020 a person on the minimum wage working full time would earn about $40,000 a year. This suggests that in today’s context a talent could be worth at least $600,000 Australian dollars. Can you start to see what an incredible responsibility the master has entrusted to each of these three workers!

Even the person who has received one talent has received an incredible responsibility and an awesome opportunity. If only this servant had recognized this opportunity!

Now like all the parables, we need to look for the principles that Jesus is teaching us through them and ask: what does this mean for us?

Firstly, notice the trust that the master puts in his servants. How he delegates responsibility for so much of what belongs to him to his servants. He believes in his servants. He has full confidence in his servants. Secondly, notice the way he divides the responsibility – that he does not divide it evenly but he divides it according to their ability. In other words he knows the ability of each of his servants and divides responsibility appropriately.

In this parable we may choose to see the Master as Jesus, and we, his church, are his servants. He has given each of us responsibilities. In giving us responsibilities he recognizes our unique ability and gives us responsibilities according to our abilities.

This parabIe has often been interpreted as a frank and simple call to work hard at developing the gifts and talents that God has given us. Sadly, too many of us feel we have failed to fulfill the responsibilities God has given to us.

Maybe we feel we have failed to recognise the responsibilities God first gave us and have failed to try, to take risks, to learn, to grow, to ask questions. Maybe we feel we have failed to use our abilities to fulfill our responsibilities. The challenge we face is to recognize our responsibilities and use our abilities to fulfill our responsibilities while we have them.

While it is true that God wants us to use his gifts and to multiply them for the benefit of his Kingdom, we are not judged according to the quantity of the work we do for God, nor even by the quality of that work. Rather, we are judged by our attitude: by our willingness to do as God wants us to do, by our willingness to risk all that we have been given for the sake of the Kingdom just as Jesus risked all of himself for our sake.

As Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

But if we reduce the parable of the talents simply to saying that we must be productive for God or else be condemned, then we miss what is so good about the Christian life! We miss the good news of Jesus Christ, the good news of the grace and mercy won for us on the Cross.

If we see this parable as all about productivity, we will end up like the servant who failed to invest the talent that his master gave him. We will end up being afraid—worried more about how well we are doing in the eyes of God than we are about actually doing anything at all.

Consider the servant who buried the talent entrusted to him. He was afraid and he took no risks. He did not see the potential for growth and he buried what he had to keep it safe. He did nothing. In what areas of your life are we burying our responsibilities and not exercising them according to our abilities?

The parable of the talents is not a lesson about success or our degree of productivity. It is a lesson about our attitude and responsibility. It is about faithfully stepping out with God’s treasure in our hands for the sake of others.

The servant was afraid – and so he did not try. What counts is not whether we win or lose, but whether or not we even try. What counts is whether or not we dare to risk those things that God has given us.

What counts is whether or not we invest ourselves in God’s kingdom:
– Whether we take what we have and use it for God’s purposes.
– Whether we pass on the blessings we have received.
– Whether we seek to build community and bring hope to the strangers among us.
– Whether we reach out to those in need and show them the love that God first showed to us.
– Whether we try to multiply joy and divide sorrow.
– Whether we willingly use what we have been given in the service of God.

Do we work with the resources that God has given us for his sake or do we focus on the fact that we might fail and so refuse to try? Do we use the gifts we have been given to build up the church and to bring praise to God or do we use those gifts only for our own benefit?

God gives us many gifts and resources. Why he does so is not always clear, but what God expects of us is clear. God expects us to develop the good things we have so that the world around us can benefit from them, so that those gifts might be fruitful in us, and add to the good things that God’s world needs.

God, like the master in today’s parable, trusts us to do well with his love, to develop the gifts he gives us so that all the citizens of his kingdom may benefit from them. God has blessed you with the priceless gift of salvation. Therefore we have nothing to fear! We can love God and love life. We can take risks with what God has given to us so that others may experience God’s love and his kingdom may grow near and far. Amen.

Are you wise?

The Text: Matthew 25:1-13

A famous teacher of the church once said: There are only two types of people in the world – fools who think they are wise, and the wise who know they are fools. What he meant was that the first step towards true godly wisdom is to know you are not wise, for there is always more to learn along the journey of faith. A person who thinks they have no more to learn is the person who still has a great deal more to learn.

In the Scriptures, to be wise does not necessarily mean having a head full of facts and figures. To be wise is not necessarily to be smart. The smart are not always wise, especially when it comes to the things of God; and the wise are not always smart, particularly when it comes to the things of this world.

In an earlier parable, Jesus describes the wise as those who build the house of their faith on the Rock (that is, on himself). He says that the wise are those who not only hear the word of God but also do it; that is, live it out in their daily lives. The fools, on the other hand, though they may hear the word of God, don’t do it; don’t live according to it. Instead they build their houses on the shifting sands of personal desires, opinion, culture, fashion.

Notice in the parable that both the wise and the foolish virgins are waiting for the Bridegroom. In other words, this is not a parable about believers and unbelievers, but about two different types of believers. The wise are wise because they have prepared for every contingency by keeping their lamps filled with oil. The foolish, on the other hand, presume that they have enough oil to get them through to the end. In this parable, oil is faith. The wise keep their faith continually replenished. The foolish think the faith they have now is sufficient until Christ returns.

It is only when the point of crisis comes – the delay of the bridegroom – that they two groups are finally distinguished. Just as the two groups of builders are distinguished only when the storm comes. So, what are we to do? Well first we are to recognise that we cannot manufacture our own oil. Faith is not something we work up in ourselves; it is God’s gift that we keep on receiving from him through the means that he has provided. That’s why true disciples are those who continue in Jesus’ Word. This means not only reading and hearing it but also doing it, for that is faith’s purpose – to shine with the light of Christ, just as the oil’s purpose is to allow the lamp to stay lit.

Wisdom, therefore, is both knowing and doing. Not only does it keep faith replenished and thus prepared for any eventuality, but it also maintains one’s spiritual health. The story is told of someone talking to an old school friend who was telling him about his mother who is dying of emphysema. He said that she now has to be hooked up to an oxygen tank for 15 hours a day, and that the doctors have given her little time left. But the really sad part of the story is that in spite of this, she still chain-smokes more than a packet of cigarettes a day, removing her mask to take another drag. Now that is foolish – not only because she knows better, but also because she is knowingly continuing in the very behaviour that has made her so sick in the first place.

We do the same in a spiritual sense when we continue in a sin, fully knowing that it is wrong and that by continuing in it we are hurting ourselves (and others) and endangering our faith. I think we all have experienced such folly. We all know the lack of peace, the joylessness, the regret, the shame, the hiding and the self-deception and the self-loathing that comes on the heels of committing a deliberate sin. And we know who it is that we abandon when we do so; for sin is not just a ‘no’ to God’s law but to God himself, who is love, and the secret of joy.

That is why true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, with the wisdom of repentance; of knowing what to do and what to leave behind. Presbyterian minister, Frederick Speakman, tells the story of shaking hands at the door one Sunday when the service was over. As he came back down the aisle on the church after everyone had left, he noticed that some things had been left behind. A bulletin with a shopping list in the margins. In this pew, a pair of gloves; in the next, a pencil on the floor and a lolly wrapper on the seat. As he reached the altar he looked once more at the empty sanctuary and thought to himself, “I wonder what else has been left behind.”

Wouldn’t it be every pastor’s dream to come down the aisle after worship and find other items there. You know, in this pew someone’s deep grief; there, another’s bitter disappointment or sense of failure. In another section some secret sin, real or imagined, not all that important now it had been discarded. Further on, the bulkier rubbish of a badly bruised ego, or the remains of a heated argument on the way to church; or a deep, longstanding resentment between members. Anger, guilt, hurt – all this stuff that so easily beats us up and burns the oil of faith out of us – all swept up and thrown out with the rest of the leftover trash. For it is forgiveness that both replenishes our spiritual resources and greases the community of faith. “Received forgiveness – God’s grace as a renewable resource,” Speakman whispered to himself, “that’s the only thing that keeps us going, keeps our lamps burning.”

In many ways life uses us up; we get burnt out and depleted. But the message of the gospel is that there is also the possibility of replenishment. Drained, we can be refilled as we continue to draw our life from God through the forgiveness of sins. So, if you feel the flame of your faith burning low, then listen again to words the prophet Isaiah wrote so long ago, “a bruised reed [the Lord] will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.” Remember: the folly of the foolish was not that they didn’t believe that the Bridegroom was coming; it’s that they figured had enough oil to last, that they could do it on their own, without God’s ongoing help. But they couldn’t and we can’t, and it is wisdom to realise that.

Meanwhile, we wait for the Lord, and as we wait, we have the option either to stay prepared, or not. It is up to us. So let us be and remain prepared by replenishing our faith through prayer and God’s word and shining Christ’s light to others through our heartfelt works of love and Christian example. And don’t worry that you will get burned out; for Jesus not only gave himself for us on the cross, but he gives himself to us at every step of the journey. “Ask, and you shall receive.” That is his promise to each of us. Ask, and you will find that there is rest and replenishment! There is forgiveness. There is hope. And the wise still trim their lamps with the oil of his grace. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

All Saints Day

Matthew 5:1-12

‘I feel so blessed’. It’s surprising how much you hear people say things like that these days.

Some of you may know that in the online world of social media and all that people use the word ‘blessed’ quite a bit too, on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook there’s a tag which has been surprisingly popular: ‘hashtag blessed’.

The idea basically is that when something good happens to you and you feel thankful, it’s something people to add to their photo or news acknowledging that they feel some gratitude for their good fortune.

But what’s really interesting about the phenomenon from a Christian perspective is what people understand it means to be truly blessed.

Because as we turn to the words of Jesus, we discover that he has quite a different vision for what true blessedness is. For Jesus, true blessedness is not so much dependent on our circumstances in life, but on the action of God for us in those varied circumstances.

So let’s see how Jesus speaks of true blessedness in three steps today,

First that we are blessed in our helplessness,

Second that we are blessed in our helpfulness,

And third that we are blessed in Christ.

So first Jesus pronounces his blessings on us in his our helplessness. This has to be some of the most surprising teaching for us about what Jesus considers true blessedness. Notice what Jesus speaks blessing into here:

Those who are ‘poor in spirit’ or who are ‘spiritual beggars’.

Those who mourn or are sorrowful.

Those who are meek, lowly, little ones.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

Who lack something,

Those even who are ‘persecuted for righteousness sake’.

Now don’t we begin to see straight away how Jesus has a very different vision for true blessedness in life. Let me tell you, you’re not going to go on the internet and find too many people posting pictures of Christian churches being burnt down and pastors being arrested and put in jail, ‘Hashtag blessed’.

And yet blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you. How about ‘blessed are those who mourn, who grieve, who are sorrowful’?

Here we are celebrating All Saints’ Day. Maybe some of us in this room have had loved ones die in the past year and mourn for them. Others might still carry the grief from the past when you lost someone dear to you. Still others may experience mourning and sorrow over other forms of loss in life. We don’t normally think of these painful circumstances in life as being states of blessedness do we?

Yet Jesus does. There is blessing in helplessness.

And here’s the really important point:

It’s not blessed are the poor in spirit, FULL STOP.

It’s not blessed are those who mourn, FULL STOP.

It’s not blessed are those who are persecuted, FULL STOP.

In each case the blessing is not because of the circumstances, but the blessing is because in the circumstances God is at work, God is doing something, giving something, bringing something, either now or in the future.

We are blessed because of what God can and will do for us in our helplessness.

We can miss this basic point because the second half of each of these beatitudes is in the passive voice: ‘they will be comforted’, and so on. And so we ask, by who? Who’s doing the action here? When we hear these passives in the Bible, God is the one doing the action.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness—for God will fill them with that righteousness.

Blessed are those who mourn, because the Lord your God will comfort them.

Pastors conduct quite a few funerals. One thing they observe around funerals, is that it can be a tremendous time for families and friends to be drawn together. Not always, for funerals can be difficult times in family life too when there’s significant conflict. But often, as one of our funeral prayers say, people are drawn together in their sorrow. They comfort each other, and they receive comfort. It can be quite a wonderful thing to witness.

Now we don’t want to have to go through the grief and sorrow, but even at this human level perhaps we get a glimpse of the blessing of receiving comfort from another in the midst of mourning.

Jesus is saying is that true blessedness can be found even in mourning and sorrow, because God himself – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – will personally comfort us. Remember one of the names for the Holy Spirit is the comforter. That theme came up in our Revelation reading as well, ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eye’. This is a promise of the closeness of God to bring comfort.

So Jesus blesses us in our helplessness.

But secondly, Jesus blesses us in our help-ful-ness. We notice that there seems to be a movement in the list of the beatitudes from situations where people are lacking something – poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and thirsty – to the next pronouncements of blessing where people are doing and being something.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for their will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’

There’s an image that one writer uses in this movement of the beatitudes which might be helpful.

“Start by imagining a person down on their knees, in the posture of a beggar. This is where it begins, the poor in the spirit, the spiritual beggar, the one who acknowledges they have nothing to give God, but everything to receive.

What does God do?

He blesses you,

He gives extravagantly to you,

He fills you.

And then he lifts you from your knees and puts you on your feet. So now you’re on your feet, you can do something, you can be active. You can pass on what you’ve received.

The poor in spirit have received mercy from God, now they can be merciful to others. And then as they show mercy to others, they receive even more mercy from God. It’s like a loop of mercy.

Jesus says there is true blessedness on our knees receiving from God in our helplessness, but there’s also true blessedness in being on our feet. Being help-ful. Showing mercy, living pure lives toward those around us, making peace in our relationships, our families, our communities, our church.

Again we can get a window onto this through human experience.

Isn’t this true at a very basic level: that if we aren’t feeling too good about life, and we simply go out and intentionally engage in an act of mercy for other person, that it’s almost guaranteed, we’ll feel better?

This is prominent in the literature on anxiety and depression. A part of the problem it seems is that we’re so easily curved in on ourselves, and there is a true blessedness in us being lifted out of ourselves to look to the needs of others. ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy’.

All Saints’ day is also a day for giving thanks for qualities like these we’ve seen in God’s people who have died. Here’s a quote from the Lutheran Confessions:

“It is also taught among us that saints should be kept in remembrance so that our faith may be strengthened when we see what grace they received and how they were sustained by faith. Moreover, their good works are to be an example for us, each of us in his own calling.

There’s a nice parallel here with the movement of the beatitudes.

As we remember those dear Christian people who have died, first we are to focus on the grace they received, we remember that they like all of us were by nature spiritual beggars who now live in the true blessedness before the face of God only by his grace.

But secondly, we can also give thanks for the good things they did in their life, and they can be an example to us. Perhaps a mother or grandfather or Christian friend who has died, was an especially merciful person, or strove for purity in their life, or endeavored to live a peacemaker.

Let’s learn from them and follow their example. There is true blessedness in our helpfulness.

Finally, true blessedness is in Christ.

As is so often the case in Jesus’ teaching, He finally is the one who embodies most fully his own words. We hear Jesus give this teaching in the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, but then read the rest of the Gospel, and look for the one who actually does it.

Who is the truly merciful one, who is the one who is truly pure in heart, who is it that come to bring peace?” It’s the one who speaks these words, it’s Jesus Christ himself. As we read the rest of the Gospel and look for the one who is persecuted for righteousness sake, we’ll be drawn to Jesus, the one rejected, despised, handed over into the hands of sinful men.

Read the Gospel and look for the ultimate one who is poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and thirsty. We will find him on the cross.

It’s finally only in Jesus Christ himself that we find true blessedness, because in his death and resurrection he opens up the kingdom of heaven for the poor in spirit, he defeats death so those who mourn can be comforted, he reveals the righteousness of God to those who are hungry and thirsty for it, he makes peace, and he gives it to you as a gift.

True blessedness is found in Christ.

Sometimes people ask, but is all this only for in the future, or is for this life now? According to Jesus it’s both. Six times he promises future blessings, ‘they will be…, they will be…’, But these are bracketed by two promises in the present tense, There is – right here, right now – yours is the kingdom of God.

True blessedness is both now, and not yet.

So what is it to be truly blessed? We all desire it from the core of our being, And Jesus points to the work of God as its ultimate source. There’s true blessedness in our helplessness, there’s true blessedness in our helpfulness, there’s ultimate blessing in Christ. May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.