November 2019 – What Does This Mean?

The Righteous Branch of David

The defining moment of the Old Testament was Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt. It had it all. The people witnessed the mighty hand of God passing judgment on the false gods of Egypt, including Pharaoh himself. A lamb was sacrificed and its blood placed on Israelite doors. That same lamb was eaten as the Passover meal was instituted. Just as it seemed the people were ‘home free,’ they found themselves at the Red Sea. And so God again works a miracle and delivered them through it on dry ground and the people have a sort of new birth on the other side.

The people were slaves no more. They were on their way to the land God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob centuries before. And so it is no wonder they spoke of the Lord as the one who “brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”

Yet maybe the Exodus isn’t the chief thing. In the days of Jeremiah, Israel was a lost nation. Her rulers were evil. Her heart was hard. Her eyes were blind and ears were unhearing. Because of this, exile came and, therefore, the throne of David would be emoty. Nonetheless, even with this awful news of exile, “the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

The Exodus points to this greatest event. It is a fulfillment of what would come. In the Exodus, God saved his people from the grips of a man who wanted to be God, from a slavery and bondage that they could not free themselves from. God supplied the delivery and the new life on the other side of the water. And he is the one who led the people through hardship in the wilderness to the land promised long before.

Israel in the time of Jeremiah would be exiled and removed from this Promised Land. Because of their sin, idolatry, and disregard for their God, he removed them from the land. They were unrighteous and broke the covenant God made with them. And so they suffered the consequences of it.

But like Adam and Eve in the Garden, they are given hope. Like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, the faithful remnant was promised deliverance. And so after the appointed amount of time, the people of Judah would return and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. But even this return was not the chief event either. It is, however, another shadow of what ws to come. Because from the people who return, God would “raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” And this one who the Lord will send will be called “The Lord is our righteousness.”

We know that this Righteous One is none other than Christ himself. It is he that the entire Old Testament points to. The signs, the shadows: they all point to Christ! The promises are fulfilled in Christ.

In the Advent season, we anticipate the celebration of his first coming. — the incarnation of our Lord. He is the answer to the sin of Adam and Eve. He is the redeemer who leads Israel from Egypt. He is the one who freed you from your sin, disobedience, and unfaithfulness. And the reason he comes is to be once and for all sacrifice for your sins. To be your righteousness. Jesus is the True Passover Lamb. He took your place when he ascended the cross, His blood flowed down the beam like the lamb’s did the doorpost. He feeds and nourishes you in His Holy Supper.

And in doing this we see that he is also the one who “brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them. Then they shall dwell in their own land.” This is another shadow. As we mentioned, God does bring his people back to Jerusalem out of the north. But with the coming of Christ –- his life, his death, his burial and resurrection –- he brings all of his people, the True Israel to himself and the Father.

So as we begin a new church year with Advent, we consider how we should prepare for it. How should you prepare for the first coming of Christ? We prepare in the same way we prepare for his second coming. We Prepare for the Coming Christ by Receiving His Gifts in His Word and Sacraments.

Advent leads us to think about why Jesus was born. He is born in order to die. And so we reflect and give thanks for the Incarnation — for his taking on our flesh and becoming man, for his perfect keeping of God’s holy Law, for teaching us and revealing God’s will, for taking the throne of David and being the all-sufficient sacrifice to redeem us from our sins, for clothing us in His righteousness and for delivering us from sin and death and into life.

But he comes not only in the reading and preaching of his Word, for you know he also comes in his Supper. And so we receive his gift of forgiveness in the Supper. In Egypt, the Passover lamb was sacrificed in place of the firstborn. It was cooked and the family ate it in a meal. It was a shadow of Christ. He is the sacrifice that saves you from your sin and the wrath of God. You are fed and nourished by this Lamb and have your faith strengthened by him.

Finally, we remember the Collect for the first Sunday in Advent. In it, we ask for protection and deliverance. This means we are looking for God to be present and among us. We seek his power and protection now. Because Christ has come, you can be sure that he answers this prayer. He protects you through his Word and his Sacraments. He equips you to live a Christian life. He forgives you when you fail. And he delivers you from evil.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Ten Bride’s Maids

Marriage customs during the earthly ministry of Jesus were much different than today. The bride waited for the bridegroom in her home, accompanied by her young companions. The groom would come with his own friends and pick her up to lead her to the ceremony. As he approached, the maidens would go out to meet him. A joyful procession would then wind its way through the streets and end up at the place where the marriage feast was prepared. The young women would enter the hall with the rest of the bridal company. Since weddings in those days were celebrated in the evening, the maidens would carry lamps to light their way in the darkness.

In Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Bride’s Maids, the bridegroom was on his way, and the bride’s maids assembled with their lamps. They seek. They wait. They get drowsy. They fall asleep as he is delayed. But then, there’s a clamor. The bridegroom approaches! The ten bride’s maids awake from their slumber. They grab their lamps, trim their wicks, and go to refill the oil which keeps the lamp burning bright. And that’s when the problems start. Five have plenty of oil. They are able to manage their lamps and have them brightly shine like designed. But five have no oil. They are able to prepare their lamps, but can’t use them. Their lights will not shine.

And so these foolish bride’s maids turn to the wise to ask for oil. But the wise bride’s maids brought an extra supply for themselves. They don’t have any to spare. And so the foolish bride’s maids are told to go to the market to buy more. And, despite being the middle of the night and having no merchant to buy from, they go off.

Unsurprisingly, the bridegroom comes while they are away. The wise bride’s maids meet him and process with him to the place the feast has been prepared. They go into the feast, the doors are shut, and the feast commences. Sometime later, the foolish bride’s maids return. They find the door locked and call out, “Lord. Lord, open to us.” But they hear a surprising response: We aren’t told their reaction, but I am sure it was one of total shock.

Jesus’ commentary after the parable should draw our attention today: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” This parable is spoken to those who are disciples of Jesus. He says, essentially, “Keep your eyes peeled.” We are to be aware of what’s going on around us.

When Christ returns, it will be a surprise. Even to those waiting on him. And this is why we are warned. How easy is it for us to think to ourselves that we have all the time in the world? That we will, without doubt, have next year or next decade? How easy it is to become complacent! And when we do, we present to ourselves a very real danger.

Remember that all ten bride’s maids knew about the bridegroom. They all came, seemingly prepared for the wedding. But as things were delayed and drug out, all ten also began to get tired. They did not stand watch or keep vigil. They all slept. And as they slept, the oil burned. As they awoke, some lacked what was essential for light to continue.

The oil of the wise bride’s maids is that of faith. A faith that is continually sustained by the Means of Grace. And with this faith being sustained by what God has given us, Word and Sacrament, the oil of faith endures. Even as we await the return of our Lord, so has every generation of Christians for over 2,000 years. All have waited. All have sat and heard the word and partook of the Sacraments. And each generation has fallen asleep.

But one day, whenever it is, there will be a cry. All who have fallen asleep will awake. And those with oil, those with faith, will trim their lamps and shine brightly as they process to the wedding banquet. But on the other hand, those who awake without the oil of faith will know what they lack and seek it.

But that’s the rub. One’s ‘oil’ is only useable by the one who has it. It cannot be loaned or transferred. Faith can’t be infused to another, no matter how much I would like it to be so. And so in this morning’s parable, we are warned against growing weary of waiting for the return of our Lord. We are warned against growing complacent and being distracted. We are warned against neglecting our faith and being endangered with the loss of our faith.

Jesus Christ, our bridegroom, is coming. We have all been invited to be a part of the wedding party. We gather in anticipation of his arrival. And while he comes soon, we do not know when that is. And so we strive to remain prepared. Being washed clean in Holy Baptism, we sit and hear his word. We eat and drink his body and blood. In doing so, our Lord fills our horn of oil. And we await his arrival, that we may walk with him along the way to the eternal marriage feast between our Lord and his bride: Us. The Church.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Friedrich Wyneken Called to Baltimore

On November 20, 1844, 175 years ago, missionary pastor Friedrich Wyneken received a call to serve St. Paul Lutheran congregation of Baltimore. After much correspondence, and on the condition that Baltimore wait for him until another pastor was called to Fort Wayne, Wyneken accepted the call. He nominated Wilhelm Sihler to be his successor in Indiana. His two parishes extended the call to Dr. Sihler, who accepted it. Wyneken left the instruction of three candidates for the ministry to his successor. Their education continued to impress the importance of theological education to their instructor, who strongly encoraged both Dr. Sihler and Pastor Wilhelm Löhe to establish a seminary in Fort Wayne. In February of 1845, Pastor Wyneken preached his farewell sermon in Indiana and moved on to Baltimore, arriving in March of 1845.

Friedrich Wyneken was familiar with this parish. When he first set foot in America, he had substituted for their pastor Johannes Häsbärt. His direct, sincere and compassionate care of the members made such an impression on Häsbärt that the pastor personally recommended Wyneken for missionary service in the West. Very likely the members of St. Paul’s remembered that care also.

In his new parish, Pastor Wyneken continued his program of catechesis in Lutheran doctrine and practice. His first series of sermons at Baltimore focused on the differences between Reformed and Lutheran theology, for which he used Luther’s Catechisms and the Heidelberg Catechism as a text. While substantial group of Reformed members of his new congregation withdrew in anger, many of the people
wholeheartedly received Wyneken and welcomed his instruction.

At Baltimore, Wyneken added opposition to fraternal lodges to his arsenal of apologetics. The lodge movement was strong in Baltimore and several of Wyneken’s parishioners had joined one or another. After a thorough study of these movements, he became convinced that membership in a lodge was incompatible with Christianity. Through his witness, he brought the issue to the attention of confessional Lutheranism.

Baptism and Waiting for Christ’s Final Advent

Encore Post: We confess in the 4th part of Baptism: “What does such baptizing with water indicate?” Answer: “It indicates that the Old Adam in us should be daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”

“Where is this written? Answer: St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

When we confess this part of Baptism we see that there are two men at war within us, the Old sinful Adam and the New Man, created in the image of Jesus, to do the good works which God had prepared beforehand for us to do. And sometimes because we are still in our sinful flesh we will fail, miserably in fact, in not sinning. But we know from Jesus himself and explicitly from St. John that if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who graciously forgives our sins.

Only when we die or when Christ returns in His final Advent will the fight that is within us be completely done. Our sinful flesh fights against our desire to actually do things which are pleasing in the sight of our Heavenly Father. You just need to watch children who hear their parent’s instruction concerning cleaning up their toys before breaking out more and kinda begin to put things away before becoming too enamored with the toy train in its box. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, said our Lord of His Disciples. We see in them ourselves too, our spirit is willing but our sinful flesh is weak and sinful.

But Christ promises in Baptism we have salvation, and as Paul says we have are united to Jesus’ death and resurrection that we may live a new life. What we are in Baptism is not fully known, but in the final Advent of our Lord our Old Adam will be stripped away and we will be like Jesus is, pure as He is pure.

Baptism prepares us for Christ’s Final Advent, and we pray with all the saints, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come!” And Jesus responds, “Behold, I am coming soon.”

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

The King and the Unforgivable Debt

Jesus teaches his disciples about forgiveness with a parable about a king who decided to settle the accounts of his servants. One of the servants was brought before the master. he owed Ten thousand talents. A talent was about 20 years’ worth of wages.The math works out to a debt of $11.2 billion. Obviously, he can’t pay it back. And since he can’t, the king decides to sell the man, his family, and all he has. He and his family shall be slaves until they die.

The man throws himself at the feet of the king. He begs for patience and promises that he will pay back this insurmountable debt. Hearing the cry of this servant, the king has compassion. He cancels the debt. Imagine being this forgiven man! What joy you must feel! Surely you would go and rejoice with your family, maybe even have a feast in the honor of your king to extol his mercy, his grace, his salvation for you and your family!

Yet, the man in the parable doesn’t do any of that. In fact, he immediately goes and finds one of his fellow servants who happened to owe him money. The debt? One hundred denarii — about $15,000, so a substantial amount of money. But nowhere near a single talent of the 10,000 he owed his king. And like the servant did before his king, this fellow servant falls on his face and pleads, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.”

Instead, the forgiven man throws his debtor into debtor’s prison. The news quickly gets to the benevolent king. The forgiven servant is again summoned before the king. The king said: “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”

In his anger, the king delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debts. The jailers here aren’t the jailers we think of today. They aren’t just making sure you don’t escape. These jailers are oppressive and often torture their prisoners. Their job is to exact torture and pain. And this man will be under them until all – every cent – of his debt is repaid. He will never get out.

We, too, are God’s debtors. Our debt is sin. We constantly and continually wrack up our debt of sin. A debt that we are hopeless to pay. We also find ourselves before our King, before God. Our debt of sin warrants being thrown into prision. It warrants oppressive jailers who exact pain and torture until every sin is paid for. Being helpless to pay anything back and knowing what we deserve, we plead for mercy.

Christ our king has compassion for us, his Creation. He forgives every sin and debt that we have wracked up against him. Our Lord and Savior bears a great cost of suffering by dying in our place. And in doing so, our sin is forgiven. Our debt is erased because of the cruel oppression and torture exacted on Jesus Christ. We stand before our God and Father forgiven and cleansed from our sin. And knowing what it took to cleanse us of our iniquities, we fear, love, and trust in him above all things. And part of that fear, love, and trust is to forgive those who trespass against us.

Now, we who are forgiven much are to love much. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We get to show the mercy we have received to others. It is why we freely forgive and do good for those who sin against us. And why, as we prayed, our faithful Lord grants that what we ask in faith we obtain.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

Sermon on John 4:46-54

21^st Sunday after Trinity

10 November 2019

Peace Lutheran Church

Alcester, South Dakota

Text: At … Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you all see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering … And he himself believed, and all his household.”

Intro: For hundreds of years, God’s people had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah. The prophets gave them signs to look for. So naturally, that was what they looked for. For them, seeing would be believing. They looked so hard that they missed them. The virgin had conceived and born a son. Emmanuel was with them. The Messiah had even added a few bonus signs: he turned water to wine, gave a record catch to fishermen. The man in our lesson today did not miss these things. He came to the Messiah for his son to be well and trusted Jesus when he told the man it would happen. He had faith in Jesus. Believing soon became seeing.

Faith is trusting God to keep his promises
1. It is not putting our faith in signs
2. It is not expecting God to make us well
3. It is not about getting everything we want
4. It is about putting ourselves into his hands, knowing he will care for us
5. It is about believing that God will save us.
At just the right time, Jesus became man
1. He lived in every way like us – except he did not sin
2. He suffered and died on the cross to pay for our lack of faith
3. He won for us eternal life, where there will be no suffering, grief or pain.
4. We can go our way, confident that we are in his care.

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30–31, ESV)