Advent 3

The Text: Matthew 11:1-12

¹After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.

²When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

⁷As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. ⁹Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

In today’s text, Matthew tells us that John is in prison. He had been arrested by Herod because John had condemned Herod’s adulterous relationship with his brother Philip’s wife. John was simply being faithful to God’s Word. John the Baptist showed his love for God by not compromising his word, and he loved Herod too―really loved him by pointing out the hard truth to him and calling him to repentance, in accordance with God’s own definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13―that love rejoices in the truth.

Okay―people don’t like to hear the truth that hurts―but being imprisoned for speaking it? It wasn’t meant to turn out like this for John, was it? Maybe that’s the reason for John’s question of Jesus: “Are you the one to come, or should we wait for another?” The reason behind John’s question has resulted in quite a deal of debate and uncertainty among scholars for a long time. Was John doubting that Jesus was really the Christ? After all, John has faithfully prepared the way for him. Yet instead of the situation getting better it has only become worse. John had proclaimed that the Christ would come to bring judgment on evil―and now languishing in prison as a victim of injustice perhaps that is what John is longing for Jesus to do for him.

Or perhaps John was uncertain or confused because his proclamation was of a Messiah coming to bring judgment. He had heard in prison of the works Christ was doing―but where was the swinging of the axe that had gone below stump level and was already at the roots? The only works John had heard were those of forgiveness, healing, and mercy―would another follow Jesus, who would perform these works of judgment?

Or could it be that John’s question is not one of doubt, but really a question of trust―expecting confirmation and verification for what he already knows? The fact that John sends a delegation to Jesus with his question and awaits an answer from him proves his faith in Jesus. I’m not so sure it need be an either/or answer. Could it not be all of these thoughts are running through John’s mind while he waited and waited in prison?

It seems like we wait and wait too. Come Lord Jesus we pray. We don’t like waiting, especially in today’s society. But today’s text doesn’t just leave us with the questions. Jesus gives his own response. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say: “Yes, go and reassure John that I’m the Messiah.” But Jesus says: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.” This is the best assurance possible, for what Jesus says is the direct fulfilment of what God promised through Isaiah in today’s Old Testament reading. Jesus is the fulfilment of what has been promised from of old. He has been doing precisely these things since the beginning of his public ministry. He has preached in the synagogues. He has cast out demons. He has healed many from their sicknesses including a lame man and a blind man. The miracles point to his authority and power over all things, even to release people from their sin and the kingdom of darkness, and to be victorious over the power of death itself. It’s no wonder Jesus tells them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard.”

Perhaps at some point or other we can all relate to John the Baptist as he waited in prison. Just like John, everything we might expect or hope for from God is not always fulfilled in the way we’d like, or with the timing we’d like. Maybe it’s an illness that we or a loved one suffer, or the troubles of our family. Maybe it’s a time of difficulty we’re going through, or maybe it’s wondering about an uncertain future. We might feel trapped and isolated with burdens nobody else could understand. We might feel imprisoned by our frail bodies or our own sinful human natures.

Yet the season of Advent focuses our attention on God who did not abandon his creation but stepped into it in the person of Christ and was born in that stable at Bethlehem. However if Advent were just a reminder of what had happened in salvation history then it becomes emptied of so much hope and power. Neither is Advent only about hoping Christ will come again one day. In The freedom of a Christian, Luther says

“…it is not enough…to preach about Christ just by telling what he did and said, simply as a story or as historical facts. Just knowing these things doesn’t necessarily make any difference to how a person lives.

Instead, Christ ought to be preached about in such a way that faith in him is kindled and kept burning, so that he is not only Christ, but Christ for you and me; so that what we are told he is and does takes effect in us. Such faith is produced and grows in us when we are told why Christ came, what he has brought and given us, and what good things we have when we have him.”

Together with our remembering and hoping, this is why the season of Advent is so special. Jesus came for us. He was born, truly human, for us. Born there in a stable surrounded by dirt and animals and their waste, Jesus came to us to know what it means to be a person and live in vulnerability and weakness and brokenness. He overcame temptation for us and lived perfectly for us. He came to rescue us and bring us true freedom by calling us into God’s Kingdom.

No one knows when he will come again but he tells us where he comes now with his re-creative power at work. He tells us where he comes in the midst the suffering of this world to bring the Good News to the blind, the lame, the sick, and the poor. Through the Holy Scriptures he continues to teach us, just like he taught his disciples in verse 1. He raised us from the dead and brought us his new life and resurrection power in baptism. He continues to bring freedom and release through the holy meal he serves his people which is not just bread and wine but his own flesh and blood. As he ministers to us through these ways, he calls us to wait―and to wait with him. As we do wait for his return we can rejoice that he will never leave us. As we wait with our Advent King and gather around him to be served by him, we proclaim to the world that he has trampled over death and lives today, and that he uses his authority to bless unworthy sinners with the abundant grace of God, so that there is hope and strength, joy and refuge in even the darkest places of human experience.

Blessed are those who do not take offence at Jesus’ words! For those who cherish Jesus’ words rather than taking offence at them can only do so because they have first been blessed by God. And those who have been blessed by God so that they do not take offence at the words of his Son—but hold firmly to them in faith—will see John the Baptist and all the other saints of all times and places, as we gather around the throne of the Lamb in heaven.

Amen.

‘Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give us grace and peace. Amen.

People can often think of repentance in negative ways. The call to repent can bring to mind a person standing on a street corner, telling people to turn from their sins because judgement is coming which will bring condemnation to all who are not living the right way. Repentance can often be understood as being based on threats, motivated by guilt and fear.

When we listen to John the Baptist’s call to repentance in Matthew 3, we can hear him urging those who are listening to him to turn from a particular way of living. What is important is that John was talking this way to the Pharisees and Sadducees who were the most religious people of his day (v7). John was telling them that going through a religious ritual with no intention of making changes in their lives was worthless. Instead of thinking that they had no need to repent because of their own perceived religious goodness, John was telling them that they needed to produce the fruit in their lives that came from a changed heart and mind.

John’s words are a challenge to all of us. It can be easy for us, too, to go through the motions of turning up to church, saying a prayer of confession and hearing God’s forgiveness in the absolution, without it making a difference in our lives. When John the Baptist calls us to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, he is saying that repentance will show in the way we live and in our relationships with other people.

For example, during Advent we celebrate God’s gifts of hope, peace, joy and love to us through the birth of Jesus. This is a good time to look at our lives and ask whether we are producing the fruit of God’s hope, peace, joy or love in our lives. If we are turning up to worship, lighting the candles each week, singing carols and other songs, but not finding hope, peace, joy or love in our lives, then we are not too different from the Pharisees and Sadducees who turned up to be baptised by John but were not willing to change their ways of living. It might sound harsh, but when John says that the axe is at the root of the tree, ready to cut it down if it is not bearing fruit (v10), he also warning us that God wants to see the fruit of hope, peace, joy and love in our lives.

What produces this fruit is trusting in God’s promise of his coming kingdom. Matthew writes that John’s message of repentance was the same as Jesus’ message at the start of his ministry when he said, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’ (Matthew 3:2; 4:17 NIV). They both call people to turn to God and be part of his coming kingdom on earth. The Kingdom of Heaven which comes to us in Jesus is good news for us because Christ’s kingdom brings with it all the goodness of God in the person of Jesus. John and Jesus both call us to repent, to turn towards God, on the basis of the promise of God’s goodness which comes to us in his kingdom. We can hear this call to repentance as the promise of something good, not a threat of punishment.

Christ’s kingdom comes to give us everything we need to produce the fruit God is looking for. If I am trying to grow fruit on a tree, the best way to help it produce a good crop is to feed it, water it, care for it and nurture it. God does the same with us by giving us what we need through Jesus to produce fruit in us. We call this ‘grace’. If we are lacking hope in our lives, Jesus gives us hope as the one who defeated death and whose life is stronger than anything that might try to take our hope away. If we are in conflict, either with others or within ourselves, Jesus’ reconciling work on the cross establishes peace between us and God which we can live out in our relationships with others and within ourselves. If we are lacking joy, the good news of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection can give us joy as we live in the reality of God’s grace and love for us. And if we are finding it hard to love God, others or even ourselves, the love that God show us in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection creates and grows love in us for everyone who needs it. Whatever fruit we may be lacking in our lives, by turning towards Christ’s kingdom in faith, the Holy Spirit provides us with all we need to produce the fruit of repentance in our lives.

That is why John the Baptist calls us to repent. Instead of spending our lives looking for hope, peace, joy or love in ways that will ultimately fall short, John is calling us back to the one place where God provides us with everything we need to produce what he is looking for. Repentance is a vital part of the lifestyle of the follower of Jesus. It grows when we trust that God has everything we need for this life and the next, and gives us what we need as an on-going act of grace through the coming of his kingdom in Jesus.

Repentance is much bigger than turning up to church sometimes and saying a ‘sorry’ prayer. As we hear the good news of Jesus and turn to him as the source of every good thing we need for life in this world and the next, the Holy Spirit continues to grow us to maturity so we can produce the fruits of repentance which God is looking for in our lives.

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

Sermon for Advent 1

Matthew 24:36-44
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven or the Son, only the Father. ³⁷For just as in the days of Noah so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, feasting and marrying until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all. So will also be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two will be grinding with a millstone; one will be taken and one will remain. ⁴²Keep watch therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been vigilant and not have let his house been broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, because you do not know at what hour the Son of Man is coming.

Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the church year. The word ‘advent’ is from a Latin word, adventus, which means ‘coming’ or arrival of an important occasion or person.

During the four Sundays of Advent we look forward to the important occasion of Christmas and its celebration of our Lord’s coming as a human baby born at Bethlehem as the Saviour of the world. It is Jesus’ birth, this Advent of the promised Saviour, which marks the beginning of the end times. The end is near.

During these four Sundays of Advent we also focus on preparing for Jesus’ final coming as King at the end of time. That preparation for His arrival involves self-examination and repentance.

The end is near, but, Jesus Himself tells us in today’s Gospel, nobody knows the day or hour of His return. We can only join in the confession of the Apostle Paul, who in our second reading from Romans 13 declares that “…our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed”.

Jesus explains His imminent coming and what that will mean with an example from history: His coming will be like the flood in Noah’s day. In verses 38-39 Jesus says:

“In those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, feasting and marrying until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all.”

Jesus is not condemning the eating and drinking, feasting and marrying, but the state of indifference to life with God. Noah and his family heeded the word of God and were saved. The building of the ark was a sign to the people for repentance, the sign that judgement through the flood was coming. Yet they carried on with their daily lives, eating and drinking, feasting and marrying oblivious to their need for God and the blessing of His forgiveness, so that when the flood came, suddenly, unexpectedly, it took them all.

So will the coming of the Son of Man be, Jesus says: sudden and unexpected. Which is why vigilance for His return is a critical matter. Jesus tells us a parable of a thief breaking into a house to help us understand this. If a thief consulted with the owner of the house prior to their burglary, and notified them of the precise time they were coming, the owner of the house would not be otherwise occupied or asleep, but present and vigilant, waiting for the arrival of the thief so that they could take the appropriate measures.

Thieves don’t publish a schedule for their criminal activity. It is sudden and unexpected. That is why, if that owner of the house in the parable had known at what time they were coming, he would have kept an eye out for them. Vigilance is necessary. So too for Jesus’ coming. Jesus says: ‘Therefore you also must be ready, because you do not know at what hour the Son of Man is coming.

Some years ago a tourist was travelling along the shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy. He wanted to visit a particular castle called Villa Arconti. When he reached the castle, an elderly gardener opened the gate and showed the tourist around the grounds which he had kept in perfect order, for over 24 years. “How often has the owner of the castle been here during that time?” The tourist asked. “Four times,” the gardener replied. When was the last time that he was here?” The tourist asked. “Twelve years ago,” the gardener replied. “Does he call or write to you?” “Never,” answered the gardener. The tourist was amazed, and said: “But you keep this garden in such fine condition and take such excellent care of it, just as though you expected your master to come tomorrow.” “Today, sir—today,” the gardener replied.

How about us and our preparedness for Jesus’ return? Would we be thinking: ‘Today my Lord may return. I must watch and be ready. I must attend to the state of my spiritual life and devotion.’

How many days in this past week have we thought that? How often have we lived each day as if we expected our Lord to arrive that very day?

Our work and leisure are two big areas of our daily lives that often crowd out the thought of being ready and keeping watch. We hear that from our text. Two people were in a field, one was taken, the other left behind. Two were milling the grain, one was taken, one left behind. So while there were two people carrying out their daily work, one was focused on work and its rewards; the other was focused on Christ!

In whatever work we do, it’s easy for us to become consumed in it. Would Jesus want us, in whatever line of work we are in, to be so busy that we do not come to Him in a time set aside for daily meditation and weekly reception of His grace and blessing through His presence to bless us in Sunday worship? That is the whole purpose of our text: to work in us the desire for daily baptismal living and the presence of God through the holy things he offers to us: His word and sacraments, as we await His final coming.

Yet these things easily go onto the backburner as we go through the daily motions, the weekly grind. It is easy to work ourselves into the ground. Our thoughts shift to taking time out. Of eating, and drinking, and feasting, as it were. How often is our immediate thought when we do have time off to say: “At the beginning of the day I will read my bible for 30 seconds, a precious half minute when I can meet with Jesus my Lord who will be there with His Spirit to bless me.”

But during Advent, we are not just keeping watch over our hearts and minds. Advent is also a time of joyful expectation and a time of hope. Advent is a time of waiting – not just waiting aimlessly, but waiting expectantly; a waiting for God to fulfil His promise. It is why we have the fifth candle on Advent wreaths. The candle in the centre, symbolising Christ, God born in flesh for us as a human baby, the light of the world who has come and who will come again. Christ the one who is at the centre of our expectant waiting, the One who our faith and hope clings to, and the one who fulfils it.

The gospel in our text is the very fact that Jesus is coming again to take His faithful people to be with Him in heavenly glory forever. For His faithful people, Jesus’ coming again is a time of joy and comfort, a time of fulfilment.

How will Christ’s second coming actually happen? Will we have time to blink? Will we be overcome with fear or rush to meet our Lord in jubilation? At His coming will we give extravagant praise or fall on our face in spontaneous reverence at the holiness of God before us? How would we know if it were really Jesus, or if we were being led astray by a false Christ?

Today’s text tells us that just as our entire salvation is completely the work of the one who was nailed to the Cross for us, so also our final rescue is completely up to Him. Jesus never speaks of us going anywhere! We are simply there. We are just waiting, the ones open to his work; the recipients of His grace. The action is on His part. He is coming to us. That, after all, is what adventus means. He comes – and those who belong to Him will be taken.

As we wait for His coming, His taking of us into eternal glory, may He, as the God of all hope, bless and keep each of us in true faith and hope.

And for those of us whose spouse or children or parents do not yet know the Lord, and for whom today’s reading consequently fills you with anxiety over your loved ones without faith, may you receive true peace and hope knowing that the Lord who is coming again, is the God of all hope.

The God of all hope who humbled Himself and became man, who broke into our world which groans for deliverance from transgression, the God of all hope who came to bring forgiveness and compassion to our human race tearing itself apart. The God of all hope: who came in human flesh and shared our weakness, and took upon himself the most sickening of human sin and depravity, so that those in the depths of despair could have a true and lasting joy of knowing God.

He continues to come into our world, into the homes and hearts and minds of those who, like the Apostle Paul once did, even proudly and publicly reject and persecute him. The God of all hope continues to come, even to the faithless, to create life saving faith in those, who like us, were unable to come to our Saviour by our own strength or choose Him.

Because God kept His promise to send His son, the world’s Saviour, He has shown Himself to be trustworthy. We can count on Him. We can count on His promise that Christ our Lord is coming again to take all His faithful people to be with Him.

Until then He continually comes to us in His holy Word as He has done again this morning, in the waters of Holy Baptism and in bread and wine which is his true body and blood.

Through these means He graciously bestows upon us the riches of His grace and all the benefits He won for us on the Cross through His shed blood: forgiveness, righteousness, reconciliation and peace with God, freedom from sin, death and the devil, and eternal life.

Through these means your King comes to you, humble and gentle, giving Himself, forgiving you, blessing you, and strengthening you in the one true faith until life eternal. Come Lord Jesus, come!

Amen.

Christ the King!

Luke 23:33-43
(33) When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. {34} Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. {35} The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” {36} The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar {37} and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” {38} There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. {39} One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” {40} But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? {41} We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” {42} Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” {43} Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Here we are at the last Sunday of the Church year; and the focus has shifted to the end of time – the final outcome of life – the fulfilment of all things; and that of course, leads us to think about who and what is ultimately important for us all as we live out our lives every day.

Now, of course, this is something that most people do not want to think about: They would prefer to live for the moment – to live for what they can get and have here and now. They would prefer to make up their own rules, and do as they please, without any real regard for the future – for they have fallen for the devil’s lies that suggests there is no real truth and reality. So when it comes to the end; well they will take their chances and hope for the best. And as to who and what is important in life; well naturally it is me and my freedom and happiness that is of greatest importance. Everything revolves around ourselves and what we want.

Now this thinking is very much in line with … this guy who had inherited his way into a hardware store. He had been raised with all the trappings of a moderately wealthy lifestyle and had been spoilt along the way. Now it was his turn to take over the running of the store and training up the next generation.

Well, he thought this was it and a bit. He was strutting around in his self-importance; telling the workers and others what he thought – even though in reality, he had little idea. In everything, he would spend on the outward and showy things that would be seen, in order to make a good impression; often at the expense of that which was truly good and important. He would also take time off, again and again, to do his own pleasurable things; but never taking the time to think about and manage the important aspects of the business; and he never listened to others and particularly the people who knew what was good and important and who kept trying to remind him of his obligations.

So as the money came in, he spent up. His accountants told him he must put aside for the tax man, because he would have to expect to pay big dollars at the end of the day. But, of course, he had it all under control – it would all work out, so don’t worry. Instead, he kept thinking of the moment and himself and what he wanted from life. Well tax time came around and with it a bill of a 1/4 million dollars; and he hardly had a dollar in the till to pay it. He was in trouble. He ended up being brought before the courts and was about to be declared bankrupt – when his father steps in and pays the debt and averts disaster.

With that, he goes back to the store and continues on just as before. Not listening to his father and others around him. Not thinking about his near disaster; until, of course, next tax time came around. But this time he was left to his own devices; and so he finished up out on the street with nothing – not even a friend in the world.

Ridiculous, isn’t it? Surely, very few people would be that stupid, would they? Yet that is just the attitude that many, many people have; and particularly in a far more important area of life. They think that they can go through this life without any significant consideration and thought for the spiritual things of life – to that which has lasting value. There they think that life is free and easy – that somehow it will work out in the end.

They are like many of those who were there at Jesus’ crucifixion. Some are there watching, but not involved. Looking on from the sidelines – but don’t ask them to commit themselves. There were those who were caught up in the moment and went with the crowd in calling for Jesus to be crucified. Then there were those who mocked and scoffed; openly ridiculing Christ and the things that were important. There were the criminals and the religiously self-righteous.

Yet for all of that which is wrong and bad in all of this, did Jesus stop being the Christ? Did all of this falseness stop Jesus being the King of the Jews, and of all of us? Did he pull the pin on dying on cross for us? And does the indifference and laxness of so many today, even those within the churches, mean that the end and Judgement Day; heaven and hell ceases to be a reality? Does our self-centred approach to what is good and right mean that God’s views on what is important and what will happen at that time, change to suite us? Well, no it won’t! None of it!

The end will come. We will have to face the Day of Reckoning; and at that point, we all will have to face reality. There, we will not be able stand on our good name and reputation, or our reasonably good life. We will not be able to face that day simply with the attitude that we will take our chances with some sort of assurance that we will be let off somehow, even though we have chosen to please ourselves. Me, and my desire for freedom and happiness, will count for nothing.

The only thing that will count on that day will be the Lord Jesus Christ himself and what he has done for our salvation. This account of Jesus death on the cross here is the only thing that can give any one us any hope, and any certainty when it comes to that day. Jesus death on the cross is the one single thing that will enable us to face that day with confidence: Confidence not in ourselves or any other single thing other than Jesus and his death for the forgiveness of our sins.

It will be no good us saying simply that we are members of his church: as much as that is important for us as we live between now and then, so that we can be continually strengthened and encouraged through the Word and Sacraments. Also, so that we can support and encourage one another as we live in the midst of the difficulties and hardships of life in a sinful world.

Nor will our thoughts that we have followed his example in living the good life help us stand with confidence on that Day. Again, yes this is something that we need to strive after, since Jesus is our Lord and Saviour. But it will not gain us ‘brownie points’ to help us on that day.

Nor will the understanding that we know a certain amount of stories about Jesus and that we have done our confirmation lessons, ensure that we will be accepted into heaven. However, here again it is to be another of our aims along the way through this life, to know and understand all that we can about Jesus and what he has done for us. All of those kinds of things ultimately amount to nothing on that last day.

All that we can then and now do is to say. ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ All we can do is to look to him and trust in him; knowing that because of his death and resurrection there is forgiveness of sins; for our selfishness and rebellion against God. And that it is he alone who gives us the assurance of eternal life in heaven with our gracious Lord and Saviour. Here remember, that on Judgement Day, Jesus Christ will be seen by all, to be the true King of all: Some to their benefit and others to their damnation.

Now if that is the situation then on that last day – the Day of fulfilment – then surely, now we can and will hold him as King above all kings and Lord of all lords. We will look to him now as our saviour and friend. We will hold up the cross as central to our lives as Christians. We will regularly gather together in God’s house to be strengthened and encouraged by him through his Word and Sacraments. We will seek to live and be his people each and every day of our lives. We will trust him in the present and for the future.

Yes, as we think of what is important in life, and of what is important with regard to the end of life we are here again reminded that it is Jesus Christ alone who is the one who holds our destiny in his hands. He is King for us now, and most importantly on that last Day. That is our encouragement here today as we look forward in life. So remember always that the Lord Jesus Christ is King: and to him alone belongs all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

The Best Is Coming, So Be Prepared

Luke 21:5-19

Do you face the future with apprehension and anxiety or with joyful anticipation? Our media, with its focus on bad news, doesn’t make it easy for us. There seems to be no end of so-called “experts” with their gloomy predictions about the future, despite their poor track record of success. Fifty years ago, scientist Paul Ehrlich prophesied ecological disaster and mass starvation for our world. Most of his gloomy predictions have not come true.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus informs us that despite disasters and tough times that may occur in the future, we can look forward to that “happy last day (Luther)” with joyful anticipation and unbridled hope. In the face of natural or man-made disasters, we can hold our heads up high because our salvation is near. We read in Luke 21:28, “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” And the best, the very best of everything, will soon be given to all who love our Saviour Jesus Christ. The more we think about the new heaven and new earth that will be given to us, the more effective we will be in serving our God on this earth now. Those who have served God most effectively while on this earth have meditated frequently on what God is preparing for those who love Him in the life of the world to come. They’ve especially looked forward to Christ’s visible appearance on the Last Day.

We Christians ought not to be alarmed over threats of nuclear warfare or other international disasters because we know that Christ Jesus will triumph over all opposition and threats to His Church. He has already won the most important victory over sin, death and the devil at Easter. We live now in the light of that victory. Jesus said, “I have said this to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! (John 16:33)” In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus is asked about signs of the last things.

St Peter mentions positive signs performed by Jesus before Easter, and in the Book of Acts we learn of signs like the conversion of 3,000 people to Christianity on the first Pentecost Sunday. The principal prophecies of the Old Testament have been fulfilled in the First Coming of Jesus Christ, at Christmas, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost. The Last Days weren’t some event far off into the future, but an event that began at Pentecost. “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” All Christians can now prophesy when they uplift, encourage and comfort others with the Holy Gospel. St Paul says, “Those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding, encouragement and consolation (1 Corinthians 14:3).” By comforting and encouraging others, we strengthen their faith in the face of life’s troubles and trials. “The essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness to Jesus (Revelation 19:10).”

In the New Testament the role of prophecy is less to talk about the future, and more to reassure us of God’s hand in the things that are happening in our lives today. Romans 8:28 remains a key assurance for us, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” Many of the signs Jesus mentions in Luke 21 were already fulfilled in the Book of Acts, like Jesus’ followers being persecuted and brought before governors because of their faithful witness to Jesus. When they did that, they discovered that our risen Lord Jesus was fulfilling His promise of giving them powerful words promoting all that Jesus has done for us. Their opponents were astonished at their disarming fearlessness. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.” The more the first Christians were persecuted, the more the Christian Church grew. The Church thrives more in times of adversity than it does when everything’s going well.

A Chinese Christian has written that “the growth in the life of the Church has been promoted even by the servants of the devil. Wherever the Church flourishes there are difficulties. The revival of the Church here has grown up in this situation. For if Jesus had not been crucified, none today could be saved; if there were no testing by fire, then true faith would not become apparent, and if there were no training we could not become instruments used by the Lord. So difficulties are the means for promoting life and revival in the churches.”

Anatoli Levitin was imprisoned for the Christian education of youth. In prison he was able to spend much time in prayer. He writes, “The greatest miracle of all is prayer. I have only to turn my thoughts to God and I suddenly feel a force bursting into me; there is a new strength in my soul, in my entire being …” During his time of prayer, he would imagine himself taking part in the worship of his church. He said, “At the central point of the liturgy … I felt myself standing before the face of the Lord, sensing almost physically His wounded, bleeding body. I would begin praying in my own words, remembering all those near to me, those in prison and those who were free, those still alive and those who had died. More and more names welled up from my memory … the prison walls moved apart and the whole universe became my residence, visible and invisible, the universe for which that wounded pierced body offered itself as a sacrifice … after this, I experienced an exultation of spirit all day – I felt purified within. Not only my own prayer helped me but even more the prayer of many other faithful Christians.”

St Paul, when he became a Christian, found endless comfort in the knowledge that Jesus identifies with us when we faithfully witness to Him. To persecute a Christian is to persecute Jesus. From that time on, St Paul was never able to look at another Christian without seeing Jesus there. Christians have viewed the fact that they can fearlessly witness to Jesus in the most negative of situations as evidence that Jesus is with them and sowing seeds of faith for the future. Not all that seems to be a sign really is a sign. Many events are important in their own right, without being signs of the End. Natural and social upheavals occur to keep us on our toes and to prevent apathy and complacency among Christians about the future of their faith.

The most important event that must occur before the End of our world is that the Gospel must first be preached to all nations, “And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).” St Paul did his utmost to spread the Gospel as far as he could. His example motivated countless other Christians to pass on the good news of Jesus Christ. “Very many of the disciples of that age, whose hearts had been ravished by the divine word with a burning love of Christianity, first fulfilled the command of the Saviour and divided their goods among the needy. Then they set out on long journeys, doing the work of evangelists, eagerly striving to preach Christ to those who had never heard the word of faith (Eusebius).”

We owe a huge debt to the witnessing activity of such faithful Christians. The spread of the Gospel continues today amongst migrants to our country like the Sudanese, Koreans and Chinese. Some of these, in turn, return to their homeland to spread the Gospel there. We can prepare for the Last Day by praying for and supporting the mission work of our Church here and overseas.

The more we can, in faith, see God at work in all the things that are going right in our lives now, the less need we will have to peep into tomorrow. Jesus says, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes (Matthew 6:33-34).”

The prophets’ role in the Bible was to call God’s people to repentance and a deeper trust in their Creator. Fulfilment of prophecy (as predictions of the future) often came as a breath-taking surprise, exceeding all expectation. When Jesus came, He exceeded people’s expectation in all sorts of ways. We read in the Gospels that people were constantly astonished by what He said and did. He showed an extraordinary love and focussed His time and attention on those folk who were the neglected and forgotten members of society. No wonder the common people listened with rapt attention to Jesus. For He embodied the Good News He practised and preached.

Jesus equated the Gospel with Himself. To do something for the Gospel is to do it for Jesus. For where the Good News about Jesus is shared, there He is present. References to the blessings the Gospel brings us here and now far outweigh references to hell and damnation in the New Testament. Hell is for those who reject God’s love and the best good news in the universe. Jesus promises you that “By standing firm, you will gain life”, that is, life with Christ Jesus forever. He also promises that “not a hair of your head will perish.” This means that nothing, not even your hair, is excluded from Christ’s care of you. No part of your real being will be lost or brought to nothing. If your hair doesn’t perish, it is because that’s part of His will and purpose for you. “Of all the ills we endure / Hope is the universal cure.”

The New Testament links our Christian hope with words like assurance, confidence and eager expectation. After this sermon of Christ’s in today’s Gospel, in order to keep our faith and hope alive until He visibly reappears, Jesus instates Holy Communion. We don’t have to wait for the Last Day for Jesus Christ to come to us. Through Holy Communion, He prepares us for the life of the world to come. Holy Communion enables us to do today’s duties without worrying about what will happen in 2020 or 2021.

“”What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).” “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).” Amen.

The God of the living

Text: Luke 20:34-38

Jesus answered, “The men and women of this age marry, but the men and women who are worthy to rise from death and live in the age to come will not then marry. They will be like angels and cannot die. They are the children of God, because they have risen from death. And Moses clearly proves that the dead are raised to life. In the passage about the burning bush he speaks of the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is the God of the living, not of the dead, for to him all are alive.”

There is an Italian legend about a master and servant. It seems the servant wasn’t very smart and the master used to get very exasperated with him. Finally, one day, in a fit of temper, the master said, “You really are the stupidest man I know. Here, I want you to carry this staff wherever you go. And if you ever meet a person stupider than yourself, give them this staff.”

So time went by, the servant would encounter some pretty stupid people, but he never found someone stupid enough to give the staff. Years later, he returned to his master’s home. Even though his master was very sick, he still managed to say to his servant, “I see you haven’t found anyone more stupid to give that staff”. After a while the master said, “I’m going on a journey soon.”
“When will you return?” asked the servant.
“This is a journey from which I won’t return,” the master replied.
The servant asked, “Have you made all the necessary arrangements?”
“No, I guess I haven’t.”
“Well, could you have made all the arrangements?”
“Oh yes, I’ve had time. I’ve had all my life. But I’ve been busy with other things.”

The servant said, “Let me be sure about this. You’re going on a journey from which you will never return and you’ve had all your life to make the arrangements, but you haven’t.”

The master said, “Yes, I guess that’s right.”
The servant replied, “Master, take this staff. At last I have truly found a man stupider than myself.”

Maybe that’s just a story, but it reflects the way many people treat death as a taboo subject. Everyone knows that it’s going to happen to them one day but it’s something people prefer not to think about or talk about. No thought is given about death and dying and its impact on them personally. No thought is given on how to prepare for death until it hits close to home and suddenly despair, emptiness, hopelessness and inconsolable grief fills their lives because they have never given any thought to the finality of death and what lies beyond this life. Like the man in the story, too many people know they are going on this journey but don’t prepare for it.

On the other hand, people who have no interest in religion as well as people in the church want to know what happens when we die. Science can’t penetrate beyond death to discover what happens to us. We can’t interview anyone about dying, and what is beyond death. There has been an intense examination of those who have had near death experiences and experience bright lights at the end of tunnels. What these mean and do these apply to everyone is anyone’s guess. Are these just happening in our brains or are they more than that?

Behind all this interest in death is the deep down feeling that there must be more – that there is something beyond this life. There is curiosity. There is the desire to want to believe that our purpose is more than our years here on earth.

Some have grasped on to the idea that has become very popular that we will come back again and our soul is given to another living creature. Our soul lives on forever, reincarnated hopefully into a higher living being each time.

Others say that everyone is born with an immortal soul that leaves us when we die and goes to live happily forever in another better place. That immortal goodness in us is waiting to be released when we die and, regardless who the person is, that soul will rest in peace forever in paradise.

There are those who simply say that when you die, that’s it. There is nothing else. “When you’re dead, you’re dead!” When your time’s up that’s the end of you and there is nothing else beyond your last breath.

The Sadducees followed this line of thinking. They claimed that there was no life after death – no resurrection – since it isn’t mentioned in the first 5 books of the Old Testament. They enjoyed having a bit of fun with those who did believe in life after death so they come to Jesus with this hypothetical question about a woman who marries 7 brothers after each one dies. Pointing out how ridiculous the idea of life after death really is, they then ask with a smirk on their faces, “On the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be?” Can you imagine the Sadducees smugly folding their arms with a grin of satisfaction, thinking, “Get out of that one, carpenter from Nazareth!”

Jesus comes back with two answers both affirming beyond all doubt that there is a resurrection and that there is life after death.
Firstly, Jesus says that in this life, men and women marry but those who are worthy to rise from the dead will not marry. They will be changed. Their bodies will become like angels. That means our bodies will be different to what they are now – we will have a heavenly body if you like. What that precisely means we aren’t told but we are told they will never die. We aren’t on a never ending merry-go-round of reincarnation, neither will we disappear into nothingness. God has prepared for us an eternal destination.

The point Jesus is making here is that you can’t take what we experience in this life and project those experiences into the new life in heaven. Heaven is way beyond anything we experience here. As much as we might like to think we have some pretty good things here in this life and want to experience them again in heaven, Jesus is saying that heaven is way beyond anything we know from this present life. It is something totally new and wonderful. It defies description because all we can do is use words and images that we have from this life and they are completely inadequate when it comes to describing life after death.

It’s like looking through a frosted glass window trying to see what’s on the other side. All we can see are shapes and lights – what’s on the other side will have to wait until we are able to see it all clearly with our own eyes.

Now to Jesus’ second come back to the Sadducees. This time he refers to the books of Moses – the Sadducees considered themselves to be the experts when it came to this part of scripture. He says, “Moses clearly proves that the dead are raised to life. In the passage about the burning bush he speaks of the Lord as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is the God of the living, not of the dead, for to him all are alive.” He points out that God does not say that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as if they were dead and gone. Rather God introduces himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who are alive and well living in his presence. “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am the God of the living. I am the resurrection and the life.”

There are lots of things we don’t know about life after death and how the resurrection will happen and when it will happen. But we do know that it will happen and who is at the centre of the resurrection even if everything is a bit unclear now.

In 1 Corinthians 15, St Paul uses the picture of the seed and the mature plant. When you look at the seed that you are about to plant, to all intents and purposes it looks dead and lifeless. Into the ground it goes, there to await the miracle of germination. Down come the gentle rains and the warm rays of the sun and that dead seed suddenly and miraculously springs to life. Up it pushes through the soil as a new plant and at last when it is ripe and mature is harvested.

So it will be with our bodies. One day some loving hands will tenderly deposit the dormant seed of our lifeless bodies into the soil of the grave, there to await the miracle of germination, the wonder of the resurrection. And up we will spring as God’s new plants, the same and yet different, glorified, deathless and immortal, ripe, mature and ready to be harvested and to enjoy his presence forever.

Paul calls Jesus “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Jesus has opened up the way for us to inherit eternal life. He has been the first. He defeated death and all its terrors by his own resurrection and promises that we too shall rise in the same way.

Hermann Sasse was a German theologian who came to this country fleeing Nazi Germany. He became a great teacher who influenced generations of Lutheran pastors in Australia. His last message to the church and to the world is written on his grave stone – simple but profound words:
“For those who trust in you, Lord, life is changed, not ended.”

One new day we shall awake to a day beyond all other days by the love of God. All trouble, doubts and fears will be gone. We will become “like angels” by “the God of the living” we are raised to a joy and peace beyond anything that mortal minds can conceive.

When that happens, the words of this sermon will seem trivial, and even the visions of heaven in the Bible will seem an inadequate description of the real thing. Now we see dimly, as through a frosted window; then we shall see with absolute clarity. Thanks be to God!

The Best is Still to Come

Has there been a highpoint in your life these past twelve months? Can you recall any unexpected blessings that came your way? Or was this year marked by personal sorrow and sadness? Whatever has happened in your life this past year, God has continued to bless you with life, grace and mercy, and wants you to experience that “the mercies of the Lord are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22).” It’s also helpful to remember that our “bad days” have no more hours in them than our “good days”.

Today we thank God for every Christian near and dear to us who has died in the Christian Faith. We’re grateful for the blessings brought to us through their prayers while they were still alive, and also for the love we received from them. God has given us two gifts to help us cope with the loss of our loved ones. He has given us our memories of them, and He has given us our sure and certain hope of life with them in heaven forever. God’s Word says “The memory of the righteous is a blessing (Proverbs 10:7).” We honour our deceased family members and friends by thanking God for them. God’s Word comforts us with these words from Scripture, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones (Psalm 111:15).”

As sad as it may be that they’re no longer with us, it would be sadder still if we had never known them and they had not enriched our lives with their presence and love. Good memories can prolong the blessings we feel. With our memory we can bring to mind things we didn’t notice at the time, and yet realise that the best is still to come, a time for which our faith is preparing us, even today.

Death isn’t God’s final word to you about your deceased loved ones. The last Book of the Bible tells us, “Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord (Revelation 14:13).” “To bless” those who have died may sound strange to modern ears. Our modern world prefers to think of blessedness in terms of this life only. It cannot see how death can be a blessing to someone. But for everyone who “believes in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead into life everlasting”, it’s so very different.

For all of us who do, death marks the start of the greatest chapter of our lives. Death doesn’t end our relationships with those who have died in the Faith; rather it raises our relationship with them to a higher level. The Christian Faith we share together transforms the parting of Christians into “the communion of saints”, for in the communion of saints, we have in Christ a link with them that transcends death. Our fellowship with the saints in glory gives us a deeper meaning to our worship in the name of Jesus. We worship God together with all those who worship Him around the throne of God in heaven.

Our Christian community is much larger than all those Christians who are alive on this earth now. In today’s second reading, St. Paul gives us a vision of the Church on this earth and the Church triumphant in heaven, inseparably bound together. Just as a bridegroom is complete with his bride, so Christ feels complete with the members of His Body, His dearly loved Church. Here, as St Paul often does in his letters to churches, Paul addresses the Christians in Ephesus with the title of “saints”.

It is significant that in the Apostles’ Creed, immediately after we confess our faith in the communion of saints, we confess our faith in the forgiveness of sins. Saints are all those Christians who treasure and embrace the forgiveness Jesus Christ has won for them at Easter. Every Christian who clings to Christ as his or her only source of hope, despite the pain and suffering they’ve experienced, is a saint in God’s eyes. We could also refer to this particular Sunday in the Church Year as a Festival of Forgiven Sinners. While many of the saints mentioned in our Bibles performed heroic acts of faith, others could easily identify with the prayer of the tax collector in the temple when he prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

“Saints” are not those who achieve holiness by doing good works, but all those who receive Christ’s own holiness through faith. Wherever there is faith active in love, there is a saint at work. God has chosen some rather odd characters to carry out His mission in our world, because all kinds of Christians matter to Him. His Son Jesus loved the Church, the community of believers, so much that He gave His life for it. St. Paul presents the continued existence of Christ’s Church on earth as proof of the power of our Lord’s resurrection.

Our risen Redeemer is alive and active both within and outside of His Church in unexpected places. Each Sunday Service is a celebration of Easter. Easter is both the promise and the guarantee of your own resurrection. St. Paul uses amazing words to tell you of the far-reaching effects of Easter when he says, “God has made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up with Christ and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).” Already now, in Holy Communion, we experience “a foretaste of the feast to come”. When we confess that Jesus is risen from the dead, our faith isn’t in a far away event, but rather in an event that transcends time and space, that reaches out to include us. In a mysterious way, our life as our Lord’s saints is already a life beyond death, hidden under this life. St. Paul says to us, “For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).”

The Church is an extension of Christ’s body. We experience even now the countless blessings of His life, death and resurrection. This means we will seek to love each member of His Church just as He loves each one of us. St. Paul bursts into jubilant thanksgiving when he hears of the faith of the Ephesian Church and their love for one another. One of the joys of being a member of Christ’s Church is an awareness that we belong together with all Christians, of every time and place, and can enjoy a feeling of being “at home” when travelling, sharing the same hymns and songs, praying the same prayers and listening to the same Bible readings we have here.

In our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus joins us with the whole communion of saints, here and beyond time and space. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven (Hebrews 12:22-23a).” The words of our Holy Communion liturgy, “therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we adore and magnify your glorious name”, reinforce this message.

You may, therefore, more properly remember your deceased loved ones at the Lord’s Table than at the cemetery. That’s why receiving Holy Communion is such a wonderful experience. In Holy Communion you not only have communion with Christ Jesus and with those who receive Holy Communion with you, but also with those who have died in the Faith. They surround you and support you invisibly, just as all the other Christians do who worship God together with you. They witness your worship and rejoice over it, even as the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents. “Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10).”

All of the changes of this life prepare us for the greatest change of all, from this life to the life of the world to come. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).”

Remember, the best is still to come. Amen.

The Mercies of the Lord Are New Every Morning

Luke 18:9-14

Do you know of a perfect church-goer? There are many Christians I admire for all the love they show to hospital patients and all kinds of needy people. Yet these people are the first to admit their imperfections and short-comings. Just like in today’s parable, we learn of two different kinds of people in God’s House; so too our churches are made up of all kinds of imperfect men and women. Our churches are like hospitals, helping sinners receive help and healing for their sins. Church-goers are often referred to as “a mob of hypocrites”. Sadly, those who say that often have faults of their own, faults to which they’re often quite blind.

There is no shortage of Pharisees in today’s world. Perhaps, there’s a bit of Pharisee in each of us. Whenever we’re tempted to criticize someone else, we need to say: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It’s always wrong to compare ourselves with other people around us because we don’t know what difficulties they have to deal with in their private lives. Criticising others blinds us to our own faults. That’s why Jesus says to us that we should first remove the log in our own eye before speaking to someone else about the speck in their eye.

When we study the lives of the saints, we see they have these things in common – they’re kind to everyone and they remind us of Jesus. Despite being aware of their sin and need for God’s grace and mercy, they radiate goodness and gratitude. Jesus is the only example they point to, as they pray to be free of hypocrisy. Hypocrites, however, consider their actions and comments to be well intended. But the good they intend so often does more harm than good. It’s quite dangerous to think that “at least I’m not like the Pharisee in today’s parable.”

This morning’s parable is the only one told by Jesus that takes place in the temple. Most of Jesus’ other parables take place in everyday situations. Jesus tells this parable to those people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else. A rabbi called Simeon ben Jochai (jock-eye) said, “If there are only two righteous people in the world, I and my son are these two; if there is only one, I am he.” Jesus’ audience would have recognised that what the Pharisee said was true. He really had done many good deeds, doing way more than was expected. He had committed no crime. He represented what many Jews thought was good about their religious community.

You see, the Pharisees did a lot of good for their religion. Their problem was that, considering themselves to be better than others, they kept to themselves so that their practice of their religion couldn’t be contaminated. The Pharisee in the temple stands apart from others and prays aloud so that others can hear all the “good” things he has done. He’s talking to himself about himself, as he congratulates himself on what a good job he has done.

The word “I” occurs five times in this prayer. He gives thanks for what he is and not for who God is, for what God has given to him, and worked through him. He asks for nothing from God, not even for God’s mercy. His prayer is all about how great he is, and not about how great God is. He fasts and tithes more of his income than is suggested. He’s pleased that he is so much better than other sinners like the tax collector nearby. He expects to leave God’s House confirmed in his own estimation of himself as a righteous person.

God, however, thinks otherwise.

Meanwhile, the tax official’s body language speaks volumes about how he views himself. He makes himself as inconspicuous as possible with his face cast downwards. He realises what a rotter he is. He makes no excuses for what he has done. He doesn’t seek to justify himself in any way. In his confession, he speaks as if he is the only sinner on earth. Echoing the opening words of Psalm 51, he throws himself totally on God’s mercy when he says, “God, be merciful to me, THE sinner”.

It was rare in Jesus’ time for a man to beat his chest. But this loathed tax official is so overcome by all the wrong he has done that he beats his chest where his heart is, at the source of the sins he now so bitterly regrets. There is only one person whose sins he is concerned about and that’s his own. He acknowledges that God’s verdict on him up to now is just. The only thing that can help him and make a new future possible is God’s great mercy. The word he uses for mercy means “to make atonement for my sins”. He has come to the temple where atonement for sins is made by God.

Now there is no prayer that thrills God more than “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”. There’s no more welcome statement about our merciful Lord than “the mercies of the Lord are new every morning”. This means that each new day you can make a new start in your relationship with God, because what God forgives, God forgets.

A man named Christian was worried about his friend Jim. Jim was always so hard on himself. He blamed himself for everything. He told Christian he felt guilty for not caring for his family as well as he should have, guilty for not spending as much time with his children as he should have, guilty for not being as successful at work as he should have. The load of guilt he carried affected his sense of well-being, as well as his relationships with others. Christian didn’t know how to help him. One day as he read the Letter to the Romans in his Bible, he realized. He read of how we’re justified, that is, put right with God, by what Christ has done for us. This means that no further charge can be brought against God’s people because the verdict of “not guilty” has been pronounced over them (Romans 5:11). Immediately, Christian thought of Jim. He couldn’t wait to tell his friend that in God’s eyes, he wasn’t guilty. Jesus had taken Jim’s guilt on Himself. Through faith in Christ, we’re declared no longer guilty. We read in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The closer we are to God, the more we’re aware of our sinfulness. God welcomes the broken-hearted who have no one else to go to but Him. That’s why we sing to Jesus our Saviour,

Nothing in my hand I bring

Simply to Your cross I cling.

In telling us this parable, Jesus is pointing to what He will do for us on Good Friday when He paid the price for our sins so that we might be free of them.

This parable, like many of our Saviour’s other parables, had an unexpected conclusion that would have shocked His listeners. They would have thought that the Pharisee and not the tax collector merited God’s approval. Jesus reverses their expectations, in that someone considered the lowest of the low, with no righteousness of his own, is put right with God by grace alone. The Pharisee asked for nothing from God and got nothing; the tax collector received all he asked for: God’s unmerited mercy!

Today’s parable asks each one of us who we identify with. There may be something of both the Pharisee and the tax collector in most of us. Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ eliminates every idea of spiritual superiority by any of us. Instead of any feelings of spiritual superiority, we thank God for all our fellow Christians and all the good things they do for God behind the scenes, things only God knows about.

In gratitude for the fact that the mercy of the Lord is new every day, we eagerly do what our Lord encourages us to do. He encourages us to “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy the Lord has shown you (Mark 5:19).”

Our hymn 317 sums up so well the message in today’s Gospel:

On God’s grace we have no claim / Yet to us His pledge is given;

He hath sworn by His own name / Open are the gates of heaven.

Take to heart this word, and live / Jesus sinners doth receive.

We pray:
Merciful God, help us to be more like Jesus and less like the Pharisees, day by day, as long as we live. Amen.

‘Don’t lose heart’

Luke 18:1-8

‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray, and not to lose heart.’ v 1

Do you ever lose heart in your life of faith?

Do you ever grow weary in the practice of prayer?

What sorts of things cause this to happen for you?

Perhaps when prayers go seemingly unanswered…

Perhaps when God seems far away or indifferent…

Perhaps in your day to day life when you feel isolated as a Christian and that no one else around you bothers with God…

Perhaps when you feel the weight of sin and shame and so feel unworthy to pray…

Perhaps when life simply wears you down…

All these and more can tempt us to ‘lose heart’, to give up on the faith, to grow weary in prayer.

And if this is you, when this is you, here’s a word of encouragement from your Lord not to lose heart, but to keep the faith, to keep praying.

Notice that Jesus assumes we will sometimes feel like this. The temptation to lose heart isn’t a sign we’re not a real Christian or anything like that. It’s almost the opposite. Jesus assumes this will be the experience of his disciples.

That’s why he wants to speak into this experience, to encourage and help you.

His parable does this in two very simple ways: by reminding us who God is, and who we are.

Who God is, and who we are.

Let’s take a closer look at it.

THE PARABLE – JUDGE AND WIDOW

‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people’ v 2.

So in short, this guy is a real piece of work. He’s in a position of significant responsibility where he is supposed to arbitrate justice on God’s behalf, and for the sake of God’s people…

But he doesn’t care about God, to whom he is accountable, or about people, who he is there to help.

He’s interested only in number one. Pure self-interest.

So there’s the judge.

‘In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent”’. v 3

So on the one hand you have the judge in his position of responsibility, power and influence, on the other hand you have the widow,

A picture of the little person in the community, the vulnerable one, the one who is basically in a position of helplessness.

She has no money and resources to use, she’s on her own, she has no one to advocate for her, she has no great status in society or relationship with the judge.

She’s in a desperate and somewhat hopeless situation.

Even in our modern times we may be able to resonate with the situation.

It’s often still the case that the vulnerable, those without the necessary resources, have more trouble getting justice.

And yet even in this seemingly hopeless situation, eventually the unjust judge does give her justice.

Why?

Well the judge says, ‘because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, So that she may not wear me out by continually coming’.

The one resource she does have is persistence. Annoying persistence. And the judge is so sick of this he is ready to do anything just to get it off his radar.

And it has the ring of truth doesn’t it?

‘The squeaky wheel gets the grease’, we say.

You parents know you sometimes give your kids things you shouldn’t because you just want them to leave you alone for a few moment’s peace!

This is the way it is, isn’t it?

This is the parable, fairly straight forward really.

But what does it mean?

What does it teach us?

How does it encourage us to keep praying when we lose heart?

We need to be careful here not to jump to our conclusions from this parable, but rather listen very carefully to how Jesus applies it, because he is most emphatically not saying that God is like this judge, and if you just pester him enough you’ll get what you want.

That is not what Jesus is saying here.

Indeed he wants to encourage us to keep praying always, but the big point is to use this judge and widow as a contrast to us, to remind us that actually God is nothing like this judge, and our relationship to him is far more than this judge to the widow.

THE APPLICATION – WHO GOD IS, WHO WE ARE

So the parable goes on in verse 6,

‘And the Lord said, “listen to what the unjust judge says”’… (v 6)

In other words, did you hear what this unjust judge said in the parable?

He said that even though he is so crooked and uncaring, he’s going to hear this widow’s request and give her justice.

And so here’s the punchline, ‘Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them’.

So the point isn’t that God is like this grumpy unjust judge and we need to wear him down so he’ll give us what we want.

The point is that if even this unjust judge, who is completely selfish, who cares nothing for the widow, who has no particular relationship to the widow, if even he will give her justice…

then HOW MUCH MORE, how much more, will your perfectly just and righteous, all loving and compassionate God, who does care for the people he has chosen as his very own, how much more will your God hear your prayers,

and bring justice to you?

That’s the big point of the parable, to remind you of who God is.

It’s very much a parallel from a few chapters earlier in Luke’s Gospel when Jesus said: ‘If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children,

How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him’.

So that’s who God is.

But remember I said the parable also reminds us who we are in relation to God.

Who are you?

Well you’re not just another case on the to-do list, you are not an insignificant number to him.

The text speaks of his chosen ones, his elect. In other words, unlike the widow, you do have a special status with God, you do have a particular relationship to him, he has chosen you to be his own,

He has chosen you from before the foundation of the world to be holy and righteous in his sight.

Your God is not unjust, he is not indifferent, he is not hard to access,

God has chosen you, he loves you, he cares for you, he is with you and ready to hear you, he wants good for you.

And through this Word your Lord wants to remind you of this, and the Holy Spirit wants to drive that truth deeper into your heart and mind. Because as he does you will be encouraged to pray always and not to give up.

WHO WE ARE IN COMMUNITY

But notice something else about ‘who you are’, namely that you’re chosen as part of a community rather than just as an individual.

Did you notice in the parable it was one widow, but in the application Jesus speaks not about an individual, but of the ‘chosen ones’ plural.

Jesus wants all his disciples together to be praying always.

Notice too this mention of crying out ‘day and night’ which I think points us to this same truth. Because in the Bible praying ‘day and night’ may mean something more like ‘in the morning’ and ‘in the evening’, which goes right back to the morning and evening sacrifices at the Temple,

In other words ‘day and night’ can point us to a regular, ongoing communal rhythm of prayer.

This is what you’re doing here this morning, as you gather in God’s presence and pray, as we pray for the church, the world and all those in need, and as you add your ‘amens’ to the prayers we bring.

Historically and traditionally the Sunday gathering of the church has flowed into times of morning and evening prayer in the Christian community. That’s not so common in our Lutheran tradition these days. Perhaps all that might be left of this is the Mid-week Lenten services, or a Sunday evening prayer service.

And actually Luther’s rhythm of morning and evening prayer is just another extension of this for the family.

So perhaps this is encouragement is to be part of a praying community.

This means it doesn’t all rely on you, the individual.

You are part of something bigger.

The prayers of others can carry you along when you’re losing heart, and vice versa.

In fact we often learn to pray by being in the praying community of the church and the family.

Here’s a hymn that prays:

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,

The darkness falls at Thy behest;

To Thee our morning hymns ascended,

Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

(It’s number 549 if you want to look it up.)

In that hymn it pictures the church in one part of the world finishing her prayers and going to sleep, as the church in another part of the world wakes up and continues the vigil of prayer, as the world rolls around.

It’s a beautiful picture. It’s an encouraging reality, to know that while I sleep the saints of God on the other side of the world continue crying out to God,

And so together as a body we are praying always, according to Jesus’ promise that God will bring us justice quickly.

CONCLUSION – WILL HE FIND FAITH ON THE EARTH?

Now, as we begin to draw to a close, it is important to say that the justice God brings may not always look like what we think it should. He promises to bring justice, but not on our terms.

Ultimately it’s always, ‘not my will, but yours be done’.

And it’s also worth remembering that our sense of things happening ‘quickly’ may be very different from God’s.

But after Jesus gave this teaching there was one thing that did happen quickly, and that is that Jesus went to the cross.

Which is ultimately how you know God is faithful to his promises, that he does hear the cries of his people day and night, because it’s at the cross where God has brought justice to you, his people, once and for all.

God has sent his Son to take on himself our unrighteousness, and in exchange to give us his perfect righteousness.

God puts things right for us in Jesus’ death and resurrection,

God brings us justice for Christ’s sake.

So, ‘When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’

Jesus began by saying he was encouraging his disciples to keep on praying and not to lose heart. Now he ends by asking:

Will it happen?

Will his chosen ones give up?

Will they persevere in prayer?

Will faith be found on earth when he comes again?

In light of all we’ve just said, how do we hear this final question?

First, it’s a challenge of sorts, a final word of strong encouragement.

Christ is coming back to judge the world and take his own to be with him.

And he wants, he expects, to find his people waiting in watchful, patient, ongoing prayer.

But then as well, this question can cause us to rejoice.

Because even though so many times in history it has seemed as if people were giving up on God, if Jesus returned today what would he find?

He’d find faith on the earth. He would find faithful praying communities all over the world, even here in our congregation

I don’t about you but I still get a buzz to go to a new place and visit a new congregation, and to find a community of chosen ones crying out to God day and night, a community who hasn’t lost heart, a community of ongoing prayer.

God grant it to us all, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Grace-Inspired Gratitude

Luke 17:11-19

What’s the best feeling you’ve ever experienced?

Could you endorse those Christians who say that feeling grateful for the gift of life is the best?

It’s wonderful to be thanked for what you’ve done for someone else, even though we don’t do it for acknowledgement.

It’s uplifting to be appreciated and not taken for granted.

It’s sad that many people who help us in our daily lives like doctors and teachers often go unthanked because people feel they’re “just doing their job”. It’s expected of them.

When we really understand the cost of God’s grace to us and appreciate the huge impact it has on our lives, our response can only be gratitude, gratitude that we show every day of our lives. The greatest danger we face as Christians is to take God’s grace for granted. The spiritual life of many Christians is impoverished because they give too little place to verbally giving thanks. It’s been said that our eagerness to give thanks is a barometer of our spiritual health. Doubt often begins the first time we think that expressing thanks to God or a family member or friend is superfluous. Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues; it is the parent of every other virtue.

We all have many more things to be thankful for to God than to complain of. Why, then, isn’t gratitude so much more common than complaint? A computer thesaurus lists only seven alternatives for the verb “to thank”, but 19 possibilities for “to complain”! Humans have many ways of showing grumpiness, but aren’t so skilled at expressing appreciation. Today’s Gospel suggests that giving thanks isn’t as common as it ought to be, and we are the poorer for it. This morning’s account of the grateful Samaritan highlights the fact that often the most unlikely people are the most grateful. Often those who have much less reason to be thankful are the ones who show gratitude; they’re thankful just to be alive, to have a caring family and friends, and food on the table, things that we so often take for granted.

We can’t imagine how wonderful it must have been to be cured of the dreaded disease of leprosy. Why, then, did only one of the ten lepers return to thank Jesus for the gift of healing? A Samaritan would have been the last person expected to go out of his way to thank his Jewish healer. But then, there was no one who cared more for people who others avoided, like the Samaritans, than Jesus.

The ten lepers in this morning’s Gospel had no doubt heard how Jesus had compassion on other outcasts and healed them. Stories about how our Lord Jesus cared for those no one else cared for spread like wildfire. So when these lepers see Jesus in the distance, they saw in Him their only hope for a better future. They cry out from a distance, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus, in humility, directs the lepers to the health inspectors of the time, the priests. Jesus puts their faith to the test by asking them to act as if they’ve been already cured. Obedience to Jesus precedes their healing

Now that they are healed, nine of them are all too absorbed in their joy at being healthy again to bother going out of their way to thank their Healer. They’d experienced God’s mercy, but failed to see how amazing and astonishing it is. We need to continually seek God’s mercy as long as we live. There’s no better prayer we can pray every day than “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” God’s mercy is something we can never take for granted, but can only be received with lifelong gratitude. For “the mercies of the Lord are new every day (Lamentations 3:22).” “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).”

We can easily think of reasons why these nine lepers fail to thank Jesus for the mercy He has shown to them. By failing to thank our Lord for His grace and mercy, they miss out on an even greater blessing than the Samaritan alone receives, that is, the assurance that his faith has led to his salvation. The ungrateful nine felt they had more urgent things to do, like businesses to return to, and family and friends to see again. They treasured the gift more than the Giver. Failure to show gratitude means “biting the hand that feeds you.” An outsider, a Samaritan, puts God’s people to shame.

This Samaritan leper is also a “good” Samaritan in the deepest sense of the word. He knows that “It is good to give thanks to the Lord (Psalm 92:1).” He shows his gratitude publicly, not in a temple or synagogue, but to God in the person of His Son Jesus. The Samaritan worships and praises God at the feet of our Lord. He sees Jesus as much more than a miracle-worker. He sees Jesus as God in human form, who is worthy of praise of thanksgiving. He is grateful to the Giver, not just for the gift itself. His gratitude brings the wonderful blessing Jesus initiated to a glorious completion.

Unless we show gratitude as soon as possible, we’re unlikely to show it at all. By immediately returning to show our Lord his gratefulness, the Samaritan receives so much more than he originally asked for. He is made whole, that is, he is saved through his faith. Jesus says to him, “Rise and go, your faith has saved you.”

Gratitude is a celebration of the bond that unites giver and receiver. We taste the goodness of God’s gifts to us twice over when we delight in thanking Him for all that He has given us. Thanking God for all good things, great and small, takes the focus from ourselves and puts it onto God. Anything that takes the focus from ourselves is healthy.

Gratitude deepens our sense of dependence on God for life, protection and love. Gratitude dissipates discontent and increases our contentment with all we have already received from God.

As we grow in gratitude, we will discover God’s blessings in the most unexpected places. We may find that some of the things we thought were liabilities and limitations are really blessings in disguise. Grateful people are perhaps more open to recognising and receiving new and deeper blessings.

In one of the classic graces we pray before meals we say “For what we’re about to receive, may the Lord make us truly grateful.” You see, in the New Testament, God is also thanked for future blessings as well as past and present blessings. Week by week, God blesses us in ways we often don’t see at the time.

In retrospect, we might see how tough times we’ve experienced have become blessings in disguise, as they’ve drawn us closer to God. Gratitude is enhanced rather than diminished by lavishing it on everyday blessings.

We can thank God for everything that’s been going right in our lives.

We can express our gratitude for all the parts of our bodies that are healthy and functioning well.

Thank God that your car brought you safely here to worship this morning and has taken you safely to and from home each day this week.

Thank God for everyone worshipping with you here today.

Thank God for every fellow Christian who has enriched your life in one way or another.

Thank God for everyone who has shown you love in one way or another, and for those who have been grateful to you for the love you’ve shown them.

Jesus interprets acts of thanksgiving as expressions of love for Him. Love and thanks are two sides of the one coin.

There was once a grandmother who said “Thank You, God; thank You, God” at least a hundred times a day. God helps us all to grow in gratitude the longer we’re on this earth. The true test of joy is gratitude. It’s not how much you have that brings you happiness, but how much you’re grateful for what you do have. Gratitude is the shortest, surest way to joy. May God’s grace never stop inspiring gratitude in you.

All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above:

then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord, for all His love.

Amen.