Christianity is often a system of maintaining polar opposites without compromise. The law accuses us of sin (even in its instructive sense), and the Gospel forgives sin with no merit or worthiness in us. We receive salvation through God’s gifts of repentance and faith by Sacrament and Word. Damnation comes to unbelievers solely because of their stubborn unbelief and hatred of God.
These aren’t systems we built for ourselves. They are truths taught by God’s Word that leave us with concepts that defy our human logic. The tension makes us uncomfortable, leading us into accidental error. Arminian decision theology and Calvinist double predestination are two notable examples.
Jacob Arminius harmonized the clear teaching that damnation is our own doing and our own choosing in unbelief, by teaching that we choose salvation as well. “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:18-19 ESV) He was and is half right. Damnation is entirely on us and because of our sinful unbelief.
John Calvin harmonized the clear teaching that God chooses some for salvation, by teaching that salvation and damnation were solely by God’s choosing. “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:4b-6 ESV) In Calvin’s desire to uphold God’s sovereignty, Calvin made God a capricious ruler, separating without discernible reason.
The biblical position, which we Lutherans hold, is that damnation is our doing and salvation is God’s doing. We sometimes call this single predestination.
The same sort of harmony confusion is at play here. We should much more correctly say that God loves us despite the way we are. Poorly hidden behind the God-loves-me-just-the-way-I-am view of myself is a desire to overwrite God’s Law. I don’t want to leave my former sins behind. I want God to bless my sin and call it good. I want Jesus to Jesus me in the way that I would have Him Jesus me, rather than the way that he does.
Jesus doesn’t bless our sin. He forgives it AND sends us off without sin. To the adulteress spared from stoning, He says, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11b ESV) The forgiveness we receive delivers a clear conscience, which will flee from sin.
St. Paul describes our sinful situation as a state of death. Only God can bring life into dead things. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV)
God loved us despite our deadness in sin. His love revives us and sets us free from that sin. He has delivered us out from the “way we are” into the way He would have us be.
Go forth and sin no more,
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
In the enlightened prose of a certain modern public figure, “seriously, not a joke, that’s no lie.” Call your pastor. “Call” doesn’t even have to be literal; call (and leave a message), send a letter, email, Facebook messenger, any sort of direct contact is good. Your pastor doesn’t know about the joys and sorrows in your life outside of the things you share with him.
But for goodness’ sake, don’t spread a rumor, expecting it to make it to your pastor’s ears. There are countless things he’s heard through the rumor mill. Your pastor is bound by the eighth commandment in the same way you are. He does hear about someone drinking too much, stepping out on their spouse, building their fence on the wrong side of the property line, being sad, being angry, or being ill. When he hears these things, he is also bound by God’s Law to put out of his mind the thing that he shouldn’t have heard about someone from someone else.
Please, call your pastor.
“Pastor’s are too busy to be bothered with [this event or thing].” Yes, pastors are frequently busy. But, pastors also constantly make adjustments to meet, talk to, and visit folks on a regular basis. We do this, I do this, because your concerns concern us.
Do you desire the prayers of the congregation? Call your pastor.
“Why wasn’t I included in the prayers?” Prayer requests are one link where the gossip chain breaks. Prayer requests from immediate family go right onto the list; requests from someone who heard from someone else that a third someone may have a need, do not so readily make the list. Since the Lord knows our needs, we also do not include details with requests. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, the Lord doesn’t require your knowledge to hear and answer the prayer.
AND, He does promise to hear and answer our prayers. (1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 18; 1 Thessalonians 5; Romans 5:26-27) The scriptures in no place require a detailed analysis of the situations of our prayers. Prayer is what the Lord requires.
Do you want a visit? Call your pastor.
He doesn’t know if you don’t contact him. He will spare no effort to meet your request. While we’re talking about it, contact him before it’s an emergency. I make visits most every week. The shut-in list gets the initial scheduling spots. Nota bene: the shut-in list includes folks who aren’t listed in the prayers by their own request. Additional notes: a visit from your pastor does not mean you are, or require you to be, near death. A visit is just a visit.
Seriously, call your pastor. – Pastor
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Introduction: One Hundred and Eighty-six years ago, a dense forest stretched from the Great Lakes west to the Illinois prairie and south to the Ohio River Valley. Majestic oaks and sycamores, elms and maples, chestnuts, pines and cedars lined the paths and newly hewn roads, moved even young banker Hugh McCulloch to awe. Into this frontier poured first thousands and soon tens of thousands of Germans and Irishmen, drawn by the promise of the most fertile land in the world, where anyone was free to carve out a farmstead and leave a heritage to his children. They found it hard work in a hard climate. Isolated in the wilderness, where the bush might keep you from knowing you even had neighbors, you were very much alone and isolated. No church bells would call you to worship in non-existent churches. You see, while they came, pastors, by and large, did not.
Even when you were blessed with a servant of the word and the Lord’s house, tragedy often struck. In the frontier village of Fort Wayne, St. Paul’s Lutheran Congregation was in mourning. Their young German American pastor had just died. Their elder Adam Wesel wrote the Pennsylvania Ministerium Mission society on June 4th: “If you canvas the northern part of Indiana, you will soon see how important it is that you send us a faithful Shepherd. The harvest is great, but unfortunately there are no workers. If it is not possible to send us a pastor, dear brothers, then send us a circuit rider. We hunger and thirst for the Word of God.”
God heard their prayer. Three days before their pastor died, Friedrich Wyneken set sail for Baltimore on the Brig Apollo. As Adam Wesel’s letter arrived in Pennsylvania, he presented himself before the mission society, prepared to receive a call as a missionary. They sent him to gather the scattered Germany Protestants of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. And he did.
God has called you to proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light
a) As God’s people prayed for a pastor then, so they do now. b) As God answered their prayer, sending Wyneken, so he answers their prayer and sends you. c) You bear the same call that Wyneken did d) You have the same gospel to proclaim, the same baptism to administer; the same absolution to grant; the same Supper to celebrate.
2. Yet you are aliens and exiles in this world
a) While a remnant of Christian America remains, we live a pagan culture. b) The fear of death drives their lives and actions c) What little they know about Jesus and the church is a caricature. d) Peter’s advice is sound: live an honorable life among them.
3. We are founded on the living cornerstone, chosen and precious
a) We are not redeemed by silver and gold, but his precious blood. b) We are now his own holy nation, a royal priesthood. c) Though we may seem alone, we are never alone.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Sermon on Revelation 7:13-17 All Saint’s Sunday November 5-6, 2023 Our Hope Lutheran Church Huntertown, Indiana
Note: This is a sermon version of my All Saints’ Day devotional revised as a sermon remembering my late wife Kris and dear friends at my home parish. She entered rest on 29 April 2022 and was buried from this church 6 May 2022.
Text: “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Prayer: For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Amen.
Christ is Risen!
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who by his death has destroy death and by his rising again opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Introduction: All Saints’ Day is a memorial day. From the earliest days of the church, first congregations, then regions, remembered Christian loved ones on the day they died — especially those who died as martyrs. Around 800 AD, Charlemagne set November 1st as the day the church remembered all the saints. Since then, the church has marked that day to follow the lead of the Book of Hebrews: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:7–8) Memorial days are really the last stage of grief. We thank God for our departed, remember how they lived, especially how they trusted God, and make their trust in Jesus our own. They are now at rest with Jesus, after all, and one day we will join them.
Our text this morning opens the curtain of heaven for us to see the throne of God. The Elder explains to St. John that the crowd no one can number are coming from the Great Tribulation, the time between the Ascension of Jesus and his return in glory. They are gathered before the Father and the Lamb of God. They are God’s children from every time – Adam and Noah, Joseph and Moses, David and Elijah, all those trusting in the coming Messiah. The the Apostles and Evangelists, Christians from every time and place, language and nation are there. There also people much more familiar to us. Our grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, spouses, friends and sometimes children are there. It is good to remember them, to thank God for them, to consider the things they did, especially the good things they did in faith and because they love God.
Who do you remember? I remember my own grandparents and grandparents-in-law, who lived and prospered through incredibly hard times, kept the faith in their own … unique … ways, who were often living examples of saints and sinners at the same time. Some of you remember the days of the World Wars and depression all too well. I remember my grandmother Smith reading from the big, KJV family Bible to me as a child on her lap. I remember my grandmother Schneider and her aunt who gave me my first Greek New Testament as a confirmation gift. There are also my parents and parents-in-law, troubled in troubled times, yet who still kept their faith. Also present is my father, that bruised reed the Lord did not break. And now in 2023, i remember my beloved wife, Kris, who has joined them. She loved me, her children and grandchildren through constant pain all of her life, produced endless beautiful and practical crafts that blessed many. Her straightforward, rock-hard faith was an inspiration to me and to many.
Who do you remember? As you and I look out at our church today, we remember brothers and sisters in Christ who sat here with us. We can almost see them in their favorite pews. All are at rest with their Savior. Many others are there, too. My Fathers and brothers in the faith. I remember those that taught me and many others and laid the stole of ministry on me the same stole I have now laid on my son-in-law, spiritual sons. I am thankful for them and for their confessions. I pray to be as faithful to the Lord as they were.
So, how did they get there before the throne? Born sinners they struggled with the Old Adam and Old Eve until the day they died. Yet when they were baptized, Jesus united them with his death. He, the Lamb of God, took away the sins of the world – their sin, our sin. When he rose from the dead, he opened the way for them – and us – to be with him forever. He gave them and us the white robe when he baptized them, the robe of his perfect righteousness. He placed the palm branch of victory in their hands. When we worship, we join them and angels and archangels in praise. You can almost see them waving the branches when we sing with them “Hosanna in the highest!”
At their deaths of our dear saints, Jesus sent his angels, to bring them home to him in paradise. In our church, we drape their bodies at rest in a pall. It reminds us of that the white robes of his righteousness and the palms of victory they now wave before the throne.
So, how did they make in through this Valley of the Shadow of Death? In life, Jesus was their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; he was their Captain in the well-fought fight. Their fears were calmed when the remembered he was with them. They placed their burdens at the feet of the cross. The Lord’s Supper strengthened them like bread for the journey — a phrase that pastors often say when communing the very ill and those near death.
I was blessed to celebrate All Saints Day with my wife thirty-four times, thankful for each day we were together, praying to thank the Lord for those safely home. Now I pray after receiving the Lord’s Supper to thank God for my late wife, an ever-growing list of grandchildren, my children and their spouses. I will rejoice that this year I can still hold their hands, speak with them and see them all once in a while. Soon, all too soon, the angels will come for me or one of them, to join those at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb as the Lord Jesus says to one of us, “welcome to the joy of your Father.”
As glorious as this is, yet there breaks a more glorious day. As blessed as being with Jesus in paradise, the best is yet to come. The saints triumphant will rise in bright array; The King of glory will pass on His way. Sin and death will die. The world renewed, restored and be transformed, fit for eternity. God will pitch his tent with us and live with us forever. And he will dry every tear from our eyes. There will be no more sorrow, sighing grief or pain. All these will pass away. God will make all things new again. Once more he will see all that he has made and now redeemed with his own blood and say, “Look, it is very Good!” Amen, come Lord Jesus, at the end of days and at the end of our days.
Christ is Risen!
Prayer: Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old And win with them the victor’s crown of gold! Amen.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, set watch over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: Our Lord Jesus Christ liked to use agricultural imagery when teaching about the Kingdom of God. On one such occasion he talked about the sower recklessly sowing his seed. Sowing seed anticipates having a harvest.
In the Midwest United States, corn is finally being planted after a long and grueling winter. The farmers are working hard to prepare the ground for the seed hoping for a bountiful harvest. They fertilize and treat the ground to make the seed bed as fertile as possible.
Likewise the seminaries of Ft. Wayne and St. Louis have been cultivating not the ground but men to serve as pastors. They have worked hard to send these men into the the Lord’s fields to plant the seed of our Lord’s Gospel. Soon they will be planted in their first calls working in the Lord’s fields of their respective congregations. What a joyful time!
Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefor pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest.” Our Lord anticipates a great harvest not of grain but of souls. But how can there be a harvest if no one hears the Gospel?
Those words are a good indicator that was or is about to be said shouldn’t be said, heard, shared, or thought about. The 8th Commandment is among the top ten commandments of the Lord. It applies to all Christians and unbelievers at all times. Yes, the 8th commandment is just as forceful as the prohibitions against murder (5th Commandment) or adultery (6th Commandment). Sadly, we Christians often grant ourselves a pass in the use of our words, thinking they can do no harm.
“I Just Thought You Should Know.” “Someone needs to hear this.” “So-and-so didn’t say I could share this, but…” “People are saying…” “I can’t say who said this, but…” The list of creative pardons from and side steps around the 8th never cease to grow. We’ll explain ourselves out from under the accusation of God’s Law as quick as a hopped-up 2JZ (ask your grandkids). These “little sins” are lower in our minds, more deserving of exception. It’s not murder after all, right?
St. Paul gives us some great framing about the severity of individual sins in his epistle to the Galatian Christians. “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) He includes sexual immorality, idolatry, jealousy, envy, and drunkenness into a single list with other sins. He’s teaching that persistence in these seemingly big or little sins will separate us from the Kingdom of God, just the same.
In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther explains the commandments in an expansive way like our Lord did. Jesus taught the disciples concerning the 5th and 6th Commandments, expanding the limits to include anger and lust under murder and adultery (Matthew 5:21-30).
The first application for us is our own tongues. We should not say or spread anything that could harm our neighbor. A simple way to think about it might be: am I authorized by the original source/subject of the information to speak? No or maybe not? Then, don’t speak of, hint at, or allude to the thing you know.
In the second case, our ears are the problem. We should not listen to anything that may not be suitably spread. Again simply, are Abigail or Thom authorized by the original source/subject of the information to speak? No or maybe not? Then, don’t listen, step away, and speak in defense of your neighbor.
Third, We can’t let our minds gossip within us either. What does that even mean? Speculating on the thoughts, motivations, or unheard words of my neighbor is just like gossiping to myself. I’m not allowed to malign my neighbor that way either, even just in my own mind.
The fourth error against the 8th commandment falls in my desire to use a town crier in a positive way. We might think to ourselves, “I don’t want to speak about this. So, I’ll tell Bjørn. He’s unable to keep his mouth shut. And, I won’t have to say it myself.” Encouraging Bjørn in his sin is still an evil thing for me to do. It can’t be made righteous.
In the Fifth case, there can be no anonymous complaints among Christians. Both Matthew 18 & the 8th Commandment forbid anonymity. We don’t get to skip past confronting those who have maligned us, or hand it off to someone else.
“Can’t I ever rat out my neighbor in Christian way?” No, but there is a Christian way to confront sin. Are you directly confronting the one sinning against you? Yes? Then within the framing of Matthew 18, we find the right way to confront sin against us.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)
When the sin is against you, then you should confront your neighbor and escalate in this way. The point here is not to expose our neighbor. The point is to turn then from their sin. As soon as they repent, forgiveness must follow. The discussion is also over. We don’t get to confess out neighbor’s sins. There is no room for, “Quentin apologized, but you need to know what he did to me…” Curbing our wicked tongues is prob’ly among the most difficult of Christian disciplines. It is one we need to undertake to better serve and love our neighbor.
Things We Say
The first application for us is our own tongues. We should not say or spread anything that could harm our neighbor. The commandment isn’t limited to speaking truth. Also, we are to put the best construction on everything, to protect and defend our neighbor’s good name.
Am I authorized by the original source/subject of the information to speak? To that let’s add: will sharing this information help my neighbor and improve their reputation? Usually, the answer is no. We are often aware of this.
“I’d like to tell you something. … Please don’t share this with anyone right now. … I appreciate your prayers.” That sort of framing around some personal information shared in common conversation reveals the sinful weakness within the house of Christianity. If we were any good at the eighth commandment, it would never need to be said this way. Furthermore, if we defaulted to silence rather than over-sharing, there would be no need.
Instead, we frame our sharing and request for brotherly Christian prayer with a restriction. “Don’t share this,” still, it gets out. Did you hear that concealment just now? Like a headline identifying an SUV as the cause of an accident or a handgun as the cause of a shooting, the culprit is excused. The SUV didn’t plow into a crowd. It was driven by a human acting maliciously or negligently. The gun didn’t go off on its own. A person acting negligently or maliciously pulled the trigger, firing the weapon. The same is true of the leak of a piece of private confidence.
“It gets out” means someone acting alone or with co-conspirators violated confidence. Worse, we violated God’s 8th commandment. It got out because I said it. It got out because you said it. It got out because trust and God’s Law weren’t on our hearts and lips. There is nothing that needs to be shared or said without clear permission to do so. The only information emergencies involve crimes and the police. Anything else is just evil gossip.
Things We Hear
In the second case, our ears are the problem. We should never hear anything that could harm our neighbor’s reputation. The commandment isn’t limited to hearing only the truth. We are also bound not to hear anything lacking the best construction, or leave uncharitable speaking uncontested. This requires of us a conscious response to the gossiper or concerning the gossip. A passive response isn’t adequate.
Consider these questions: Are Ainsley or Thom authorized by the original source/subject of the information to speak? Were Thom or Ainsley given a letter, but not permission to share it? Most often the case is, no. Then, don’t listen, step away, and speak in defense of your neighbor.
We aren’t granted to just wait it out. I may resolutely change the subject, and stop it from coming back up. You may condemn the gossip or contradict the poor inference. You should say, “this is gossip.” Or, “they could easily be driven by [a positive motive].” We could also physically leave the conversation. “Sorry, I can’t listen to this gossip.”
These are not options for us in fleeing from sin: Hear Ainsley out, because someone needs to know what she’s saying. Listen to what Thom says, so it can be reported back to the victim. Listen to them, but try not to pay attention. Avoid conflict by not reacting poorly to my neighbor’s obvious sin.
Why is it that we grant the sinful gossip latitude that we would never grant to someone else in another sin? Why do we compound their sinful tongues with our sinful ears and the encouragement they bring? We’re afraid of being unliked. We want to be thought of well, to the detriment of our neighbor’s good name.
We would never stand by while someone murders, harms, or expresses genuine hatred toward someone else, would we? We would never watch our friend steal a car, would we? We shouldn’t help a husband or wife create a lie to facilitate an adulterous tryst, should we? In the same way, we can’t allow gossip to enter our ears. We can’t allow it to hang in the air either.
What Will People Say?
Third, We can’t let our minds gossip within us either. What does that even mean? Speculating on the thoughts, motivations, or unheard words of my neighbor is just like gossiping to myself. I’m not allowed to malign my neighbor that way either, even just in my own mind.
When we speculate about our neighbors’ inward thoughts, we give in to the worst construction. Rather than interpreting everything in the kindest way, you choose to assume the worst reaction and respond to an unspoken, unknown deed. When I impugn my neighbors’ thoughts, I harm his good name in my mind. The commandment requires that we protect the name and reputation of our neighbor, even from ourselves.
This inward talking, concern over what people might say or think, is also a kind of idolatry. Usually, this kind of crass idolatry doesn’t even have an external god. It looks inward to the self. The imaginary opinion of our neighbor drives us in a desire to obtain or maintain respect or adoration. It’s a reflexive worship of self.
The fourth error against the 8th commandment falls in my desire to use a town crier in a positive way. We might think to ourselves, “I don’t want to speak about this. So, I’ll tell Bjørn. He’s unable to keep his mouth shut. And, I won’t have to say it myself.” Encouraging Bjørn in his sin is still an evil thing for me to do. It can’t be made righteous.
We speak at great length about how we cannot bless our neighbor’s sin into righteousness. Liberal sects calling themselves Christian publicly reject the Bible’s clear teachings on divorce, adultery, homosexuality, God’s gift of gender/sex, and the like. These attempts to bless sin reject God’s Word. The same thing applies to my neighbor’s 8th commandment sin. I can’t use his weakness to this sin against him, separating him from the Lord. This is hatred of my neighbor.
In the Fifth case, there can be no anonymous complaints among Christians. Both Matthew 18 & the 8th Commandment forbid anonymity. The sinner cannot be confronted by anyone, but the one who was maligned; just the two of you. Then, bring one or two others with you to confront your neighbor.
We don’t get to skip step one by dropping an anonymous letter in the office. We don’t get to skip step one and gossip to someone else, who will offer our anonymous complaint. Anonymity ignores Matthew 18 entirely. These sorts of discussions ought to die in the air. The letters are only fit for the rubbish heap or the fire.
How are we to speak? Can we say nothing? Let’s hear Luther’s Small Catechism again. “We should fear and love God so that we … defend [our neighbor], speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.” Your neighbor’s good name is yours to defend. And, your good name is theirs.
Our Lord died to purchase forgiveness for our evil, gossiping tongues. Rise each day in that forgiveness and sin no more. Jesus was crucified for our evil ears, and the things they hear. Remember your baptism, you’re not a slave to your former sins.
Let our tongues only be used to praise God and uplift our neighbor.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Bumper sticker theology always falls flat. There was a commercial on the Superb Owl* this past weekend. The HeGetsUs campaign ran an ad consisting of 12 four second images and two closing title cards. The cards read “Jesus didn’t preach hate” & “He washed feet.” With such little information contained in the ad, there is so much to unpack.
(*copyright safe term for the big game)
The promoting organization is a conservative Baptist Christian group to the best of my knowledge. The problems I see may or may not be deliberate. But that’s the dilemma with bumper sticker theology. What’s not said can be as important or more important than what is said.
Step one, let me offer a few quick impressions of the four second images. These flash by so quickly that we’re invited to make snap judgements. Some of them are nonsensical and contain no discernable conflict. I’ll ignore those. These images have an AI, hyper realistic look to them, which creates the possibility that the ghost in the machine may have added unknown or unintended details. Still, you can’t unring a bell or unsee a picture.
The second image is two men in an alley at night. The black man standing is sweaty and sort of disheveled. The Hispanic cop is washing the other man’s feet on a dairy crate. The flashing lights indicate a foot pursuit. The cop’s expression is submissive, though sour in some way. The standing man has a dominant position and expression.
The sixth image shows two women of similar age, seated abruptly on a kitchen floor. Alcohol bottles, empty and unfinished alike, surround the unkempt one. This image shows more discernable emotion than others. The unkempt lady seems to be in distress. The other woman seems to be giving comfort.
The eighth image has two women in front of a bus. This one is politically charged. The older, white woman has a look of reticent compliance, attentive to her washing task. The Hispanic woman, standing on one foot, holding a baby looks indignant and entitled. She seems to think she deserves the service.
The tenth image is emotionally charged. The backing cast is full of intensity and screaming. The Hispanic woman getting her feet washed is the only calm figure. The black woman doing the washing wears an expression of pure condescension. It’s unclear what is going on here. But the conflict is still raging.
Step two, I want to look more closely at the two images that grab the most attention with their austerity. The pregnancy clinic and the beach side bench are central to the ad. The lack of additional detail in these two images draws our attention more closely. They more quickly throw out a claim.
The fifth image shows two women in front of a pregnancy clinic that’s totally not Planned Parenthood (wink). This image is significant to the ad. It has much less going on. There are protesters and a seedy motel in the background. The younger women appears to be pregnant, with a steeled, serious expression. The older woman is focused on her washing task.
This image is the opposite of repentance. The image shows an excuse, “I didn’t really want to cause a pregnancy in that seedy motel.” It shows an unfair opposition. The protesters are just mean people, who don’t care/love enough. The morally superior woman washing the pregnant gal’s feet doesn’t seem to be doing a moral good. The clinic is a murder mill. The pregnant woman shows no indication of a change of intention.
The twelfth image is an austere beachside setting. Here a deliberately homosexual looking man gets his feet washed by an obvious clergyman. The setting invites us to see nothing but the action. A priest is symbolically baptizing sin into righteousness. This one is the most egregious of the pile.
This foot washing is an image of the failure of the progressive church. The Law condemns sin and the Gospel forgives repentant sinners. Mingling them together into an acceptance of sin as it is, destroys both the Law and the Gospel, leaving us with nothing.
Third, the title cards say, “Jesus didn’t preach hate” & “He washed feet.” This a non sequitur, the two statements don’t follow one from the other. No, Jesus didn’t preach hate. That’s not permission to love, permit, declare righteous, or embrace old sins. In addition to whipping money changers in the temple in His anger, don’t forget Jesus preaching this.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)
Faith and unbelief will clash. God wants all to come to faith. But, some will not have Him. That recalcitrant, hateful unbelief earns God’s condemnation. Preaching against sin is what love actually sounds like. “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” (Malachi 1:2-3). The unbelief of Edom separated them from God.
It’s only in Jesus that we find forgiveness and redemption. He comes with forgiveness and says “go forth and sin no more.” The work of the church can only ever identify sin, condemn it, and point to Jesus for faith and forgiveness.
Something else isn’t Christianity.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The theme is this: The King slays our enemies and saves us.
There is one basic truth that is has applied in all civilizations: The King fights for us. The Pharoahs of Egypt led the armies out on chariots to take back the Israelites. Joshua led the people around Jericho until the walls came tumbling down. The Judges of old led the armies to victories over the Midianites, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and all the other OT -ites in the Scriptures.
The King fights for us. Sennacherib led Assyria to take away the Northern Tribes and Nebuchadnezzar led Babylon to exile the Southern Tribes of Israel. Alexander the Great led his troops on conquests on multiple continents. Romans Caesars led armies clear into Britain to expand the empire.
The King fights for us. This has been true even in our country because of the first President George Washington, who was a military commander first who became President later on. Even today we consider our political leader to be the Commander-in-Chief. If the King (or in our case President) does not control the army, then he does not control very much. The Executive Branch isn’t the Executive Branch, or is a government with no teeth.
What is most surprising to us this evening is that the King does not fight for us. No, King Saul is afraid. The whole army is afraid. When the leader is afraid, then the followers become afraid. When the shepherd is afraid, then the sheep become afraid. When the world around us is afraid, then we too become afraid and worry. When the church becomes afraid, then we lose our hope and our faith and our trust in God the King.
David knew about that very well. His sheep trusted him because he protected them from the lion and the bear. Like Joshua led God’s people walking around Jericho, David led his sheep out in the wilderness walking around in danger all the way. The shepherd fights for the sheep; the shepherd dies for his sheep.
And so David fights for Israel. David is anointed, but he isn’t the king yet. No, but David knows what the real problem is. David understands this basic truth: God fights for him! Physical strength and height have defied the armies of the living God, but the living God will not be defeated. That is what David knows. That is what we know too.
The King fights for us. God Himself fights for us. Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings all show us this promise and comfort. And so no, I am not going to preach the tired sermon “go slay your Goliaths” or “God will give you strength.” That works-righteousness message is not the point of the reading and it is not the point of the Bible. The point is that God fights for you.
And this is most obvious to us in Matthew 4, the temptation of Jesus. The Holy Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness. And the devil tempts and taunts Jesus out there in the wilderness. And there Jesus fasts for forty days just like the forty days that Goliath taunted the Israelites in our reading this evening. This Old Testament battle is just like the New Testament battle. And the God is the same God in both. And God wins both battles too!
For the King Jesus fights for us. He slays our enemy the devil and saves us from him forever. How? The same way that we ought to resist temptation: through the Word of God. When the devil assails us, use the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to combat the evil one. And you will not win on your own power or faith, but Jesus fights for you!
Jesus fought for us when He healed the demon-possessed men. This ought to be comforting for us too. God fights for us, and He alone has the power of both devil and demons. He has won the victory and slayed our enemies. We are saved from the powers of evil and the destruction of souls in hell.
Jesus fights for you. He slayed your enemies and saved you. He forgave your sins, paying for them like a shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. He forgave your sins, like a king cancelling a debt, like a king promising you an inheritance of grace and mercy and love and peace.
This He applied to you like He did to the paralytic man. Our God is not a God who piles up sins and expects us to pay for it. No, our God is the only God who forgives sins and sets His people free. God fights for us! The Lord Jesus slays our enemies and saves us!
Jesus fights for you! He defeated death when He rose from the grave on Easter Sunday. Surely we can see how David realized that he would have to die to defeat Goliath if he did all by himself, but he knew that God fights for Him. God had mercy on David and saved him from death. And we definitely believe that Jesus knew He would have to die to defeat death, that curse of Adam, so that we can live forever. And so the shepherd laid down His life for the sheep and died to show that He alone has the power and the victory over the grave.
So I say to you this basic truth: The King Jesus has slain your enemies and saved you forever. Jesus has won a greater victory than David at Socoh, than David defeating Goliath. Jesus has won a greater victory than the temptation in the wilderness. Jesus has won for us because Jesus has fought for us. Our enemies sin, death, and the devil have no power over us. We the sheep do not need to be afraid.
For the King of Kings has gone out and fought the battles and won. The King of Kings has led the army out like all the kings of old and now we live in His glory. The King of Kings, Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth, has slain our enemies and saved us forever as His holy people.
In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
Rev. James Peterson St. John Lutheran Church Curtis, Nebraska
Wednesday in the Week of the Third Sunday in Advent
December 20, 2023
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The theme is this: The Lord will make a house for His people to dwell in.
It’s pious to want to build a church. After 500 years of the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant carried on foot in the midst of the people, David wanted to make a temple. David wanted to build a church. In truth, David wanted God to have a house to dwell in.
It was not because David wanted to put God in a box. And it was not so that the priests could stop marching the holy things all over the desert in the Middle East. David wanted to build a church so that everybody knew exactly where God was. He wanted a house for God where all of God’s people could gather for worship.
It’s pious to want to build a church. In 1909, Immanuel Lutheran Church was built in Wells Canyon. In 1911, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was built in Moorefield. In 1913, Ebenezer Lutheran Church was built north of Curtis. In 1927, St. John’s Lutheran Church was built in White. In 1929, Zion Lutheran Church was built in Wellfleet. Five Lutheran churches were built in 20 years. Our ancestors believed like David that God should have a house. And like Nathan says this evening, “The Lord was with them” in that task.
It’s pious to want to build a church. St. John’s was built first in 1948, and then again in 1968 and remains for us right now. Seventy-five years our church has existed in this community. God dwells here. God’s Word is taught here. God’s Sacraments are administered here. Like Nathan says, “The Lord is with us” in this place.
And what God says to Nathan and to David is worth noting. That while God’s people left Egypt, and while they wandered in the wilderness, and while they walked around Jericho, God did not live in a house. God was with them wherever they went.
And He is with us wherever we go too. God is still with us in Wells Canyon and Moorefield and Curtis and White and Wellfleet. He is with us at school and at work and at home. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
But God’s Church is not built by buildings, but in human hearts. God’s Church is not built for Him to dwell here, but God has promised to build a house to live with Him forever. We build our churches for God while we dwell here below, but the builder of heaven is God. And His home will be our home. That is where He dwells and that is where we too shall be.
For the house of God is not built of cedar. The house of God is built on God’s promises. That is why the Lord says this evening,
I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. He made a shepherd into a king. He makes farmers into Lutherans. He makes workers into Christians. Or as Jesus says it, I will make you fishers of men. The Lord calls us out of our communities and into His house. The Lord calls us away from our work and into His rest. The Lord calls us like David from the pastures to the still waters of baptism. He becomes our Shepherd, and we become His sheep.
And He promises us this: I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. Again the Lord makes this promise. I have been with you and I am with you and I will be with you. He was with us in all the other tabernacles built around this county, but even now He remains with us in our current building. This Lord who was with the people of Israel, who was with David and Nathan, has been with the people of St. John’s here in Curtis. And He is with us as we celebrate these seventy-five years of ministry. And He will continue to be with for the next seventy-five years too.
And God promises us this: I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. That name is not St. John’s or Curtis. That great name is Jesus. For the Son of David is David’s Lord. Jesus is the name we praise and bless and believe and receive. It was important for David to realize that His kingdom and His name would eventually fall and become history. Even the houses of God have come and gone. But the church in all times and places has been founded on the name of Jesus and that is what lasts forever, that is what makes the difference, and that is the kingdom that shall have no end.
What else? Rather than us building a house for God, next we hear that God will build a house for us, heaven itself. I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. Houses built by us will last for awhile, but eventually they are torn down and something new is built over the top of it. But God’s house will never be torn down. God’s house will be for His people the Church, that we will dwell with Him. That wasn’t what David was expecting, but that is what God was promising. That heaven is better than tabernacle and temple and church. Heaven will not rot or rust. God the builder has prepared a place for us where we will be disturbed no more.
For God says, Violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. In heaven there is peace. With God there is peace. There is violence in our world and it only seems to be increasing. There is war and bloodshed and sin and rebellion. But that will all come to an end by God’s will, and God Himself will protect us forever in heaven, where no violence will ever occur. The lion will dwell with the lamb and child shall be safe by the adder’s den. And you will even be able to get along with so-and-so. For the house that God makes, there are plenty of rooms and there will be so much worship. The house that God makes cannot be attacked or destroyed. God dwells in peace and we too will dwell in His peace.
It’s pious to want to build a church. And God will continue to build us up. Built on the promises of God, St. John’s is in good hands, God’s hands. What are the promises? He brings us out of the world and into His house. He is with us wherever we go. He has given us the great name Jesus who saved us. He is preparing heaven as our house to dwell with Him. And there will be peace among us forever and ever.
I remind you of God’s words this evening, Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
Rev. James Peterson St. John Lutheran Church Curtis, Nebraska
Second Sunday in Advent Our Hope Lutheran Church Huntertown, Indiana
Text: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””
Introduction: It had been over four hundred years since Malachi, the last prophet before John, spoke. Malachi had predicted that God would send the prophet Elijah to purify his people for the coming Messiah. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of that greatest prophet. But the people just didn’t get it. He was not the Messiah, but the one who revealed the Messiah.
I. John the Baptist was the Last and Greatest Prophet
A. He was a Son of Aaron, heralded in the temple, born to the barren, living like Elijah, maybe even son of David…
B. They thought he was a kind of Super David.
C. He was instead God’s witness, the last and greatest Old Testament prophet, the one to point to Emmanuel – God with us.
D. He showed us where God is – on the cross.
II. In the midst of our troubles, we ask, “Where is God?”
A. Yes, our world is filled with sorrow, death, disaster, persecution, sin and disease.
B. Pagans tell us God is not there or is not at all interested in us or that we have angered Him.
C. Often they try to appease or bribe their gods or fix the problems with their own wits.
D. We are tempted to join them and ask, “Where is God?” looking in all the wrong places.
III. Emmanuel is by our side, with His good gifts and Spirit.
A. Even though we don’t see Him, He’s by our side on the battlefield, with His good gifts and Spirit.
B. Emmanuel saw our suffering and was moved with compassion.
C. He became flesh and lived with us.
D. He took it all to the Cross where He paid for it and broke its power forever.
E. Today, He is still with us and one day will bring it all evil to an end.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
