Uncategorized – Page 38 – What Does This Mean?

The Guarding of Your Heart and Mind (Thanksgiving Eve/Day)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Holiday Season is upon us. But in many areas, it will be a lot different. Where tomorrow is usually the day we gather with family and friends, there are many places where this has been banned. Some people will stay at home because they are sick or do not want to be exposed to sickness. And some will do what we usually do: they will eat, some will watch football, eat, nap, enjoy the company of friends and family, eat, and perhaps even play some board or card games.

Most years, some of us may skip out of that early. And the reason some will skip out on it early is so we can go get in a line at Best Buy or Wal-Mart. I doubt the Black Friday rush will be what it was last year. The whole reason for Black Friday, which is more like a weeklong affair now, exists is because that is the day businesses look to turn a profit on their year. Who knows what this year will look like? Shoppers like it because many get the bulk of their Christmas shopping done. And perhaps pick things up for themselves while they are at it. I do not know if you have ever participated in the madness that is Black Friday. I have done it. Once. Now, I am still willing to go out Friday afternoon or Saturday if there is something that I really want or need to pick up. But I am not too interested in sitting in lines, running through stores, and displaying a raw materialistic attitude that so many do just to save money on some item.

People look to Black Friday to provide some salvation or respite to their pocketbooks. They know who they are buying for and what they want, but they also know they cannot really afford everything high on a wish list. They do not have the resources to get these things unless they strike it on Black Friday.

Perhaps this is the reason, or at least a good portion of the reason, that stress and anxiety skyrocket during the holidays. But buying gifts is not the only reason for high stress and anxiety. There may be family issues that you know will show up. Maybe a family member is missing this year for the first time. Maybe you are, or have been, the one missing. If you are the cook, maybe you have put an enormous load on yourself – or even worse, had an enormous load heaved upon you – and can’t see any way of fulfilling what you are committed to.

Whatever the reason is, anxiety tends to run high this time of year. I am sure it is especially true this year. If you walked up to someone on the street a few days before Christmas and asked them what their anxiety level was, they would likely rate it about a seven or an eight. Or maybe an eleven. Yet in our text, Paul writes to us saying, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Even though it is not the Gospel lesson for today, perhaps this brings to mind what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. There he reminds us that birds do not sow or harvest, yet are fed. Lilies do not work, but are clothed in beauty. Animals do not do the work we do, they do not stress or have anxiety over every day matters as we do, but still, they are provided for. Jesus ends the section by saying, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Since being anxious does not get us anything, then what good does it do? Well, it does nothing but stress you out. And, frankly, it shows a lack of fear, love, and trust in your Father in heaven. So, we are invited to go to our Father with everything by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving. We are encouraged to let all our requests be made known to our Father.

I know it is not the greatest comparison, but it is like a child at Christmas time. Especially when they are younger, they will make sure you know every little thing they might want. I remember going through a Sears Catalog, yes, I am that old, and marking pages and circling stuff so my parents knew every detail of my wishes and desires.

I am not saying Paul is writing to the Philippians, and to us, saying that we should do this. He is not teaching what many poor theologians claim today, that God is some sort of heavenly wish fulfiller of whatever you can dream up. But he is telling us that we are free to go to God with every care. Is there a difficult financial situation? Ask God for peace and wisdom. Do you miss a loved one? Tell God that you are having a hard time. Will you be alone for the first time? Remember that Christ was left alone to suffer for you.

While these are common prayers that many have, what about supplication? What about those urgent needs that you earnestly ask, maybe even beg God for? When the doctor comes in and says, “It’s cancer and it’s bad.” When everything is crashing down around you and you do not know where to turn. When there is a knock on the door from the Sheriff’s Department and you are the next of kin. These are the times of supplication. Of raw emotion. Perhaps you are not even able to speak, only able to direct confused thoughts to your Heavenly Father. And as hard as it is to think about it, these are still requests made with thanksgiving. This is because you know that the will of God is good and that it will be done.

Whether you are feeling good or in a difficult place, Paul gives us something that you can hold on to: IN A WORLD WORKED UP AND ANXIOUS ABOUT MANY THINGS, OUR GOD GUARDS OUR HEARTS AND MINDS ON ACCOUNT OF CHRIST. On account of this, anything that is weighing on your heart your Father wants to hear about. He is already there to comfort you. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We do not understand everything that happens around us. We do not understand the suffering. The pain. The sickness. We do not understand why the innocent are taken into trouble and death. But hear again the promise that is made to us: God’s peace, which is beyond all our feeble understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is comfort you can count on. It is like a soldier keeping watch over his platoon in the night. He is there to keep them and protect them from the enemy and all danger. Because there is one keeping watch for the platoon, the rest can sleep. They can rest and recover. This is the promise of God to you. And better than any soldier, God will keep your heart and mind. In the same way, we are freed from dwelling on anxiety. We can focus on the things Paul lists. We are freed to think about what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Paul wrote this letter from a prison in Rome. And yet he can write about not being anxious. He can write about thinking and dwelling on these good things. His prayers and supplications are on behalf of those he has preached the gospel to and earnestly desires to remain in the true faith.

Paul has known what it was like to be a powerful Pharisee and what it is like to be a reviled Christian preacher. He has known a comfortable financial situation and poverty. He has known having plenty and being hungry. And in all of this, even when in prison, he says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

The reason Paul, and the reason you, can go to God with all your cares, prayers, and supplications; the reason you can know that God will guard your heart and mind; the reason that you can do all things through Christ is that Christ has given up everything on your behalf.

He prayed earnestly in the garden that the cup should pass from him, but even more that the will of God be done. That will was done. Christ knows what it is to have everything. But he gave it all up to be made low and counted as nothing on your behalf. He knows what it is to provide water and he knows what it is to thirst as he hung on the cross. All this he knows and experiences to save you from your sin. From your fear and anxiety. From turning in on yourself and focusing on you. In essence, from you making yourself your god.

Instead, he gives you the freedom to cast your burdens on him. He takes your iniquities and your anxieties and carries them on himself. This is why you are sure your sins are taken away. This is why you can do all things. This is why you take everything to God in prayer. This is why God guards our hearts and minds. He does so because of the work of Jesus Christ.

And this is why, despite all the things going on around us, we give thanks to God. Amen.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

On the Wisdom of Faith

Dear saints, this morning we see the end of another church year. And we do so with another parable of Jesus. This time, we center around a group of virgins who are waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. The customs in those days were much different than today. It had the bride awaiting the bridegroom in her home, accompanied by her young companions. The groom would come with his friends and pick her up to lead her to the ceremony. And 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. And since weddings in those days were celebrated in the evening, the maidens would carry lamps to light their way in the darkness.

And so already our text makes more sense. The bridegroom was on his way, and the virgins assembled with their lamps. As he approaches, they go out to meet him. They seek. They wait. They get drowsy. They fall asleep as he is delayed. But then, there is a clamor. The bridegroom approaches! It is time to rise and prepare to meet him! The ten virgins 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 is when the problems start. Five have plenty of oil. They can manage their lamps and have them brightly shine like designed. But five have no oil. They can prepare their lamps but cannot use them. Their lights will not shine.

And so, these foolish virgins turn to the wise who came prepared. “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise virgins brought an extra supply for themselves. They do not have any to spare. And so, the foolish virgins 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 virgins 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 virgins, those who did not come prepared, return. They find the door locked and call out, “Lord. Lord, open to us.” But they hear a surprising response: “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” We are not told their reaction, but I am sure it was one of total shock.

But it is Jesus’ commentary after the parable that 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. To those who follow him and trust in him. On the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar, Jesus gives a grave warning. Remember that this is the last public discourse of Jesus, probably on Wednesday of Holy Week. As we saw a couple of weeks ago, he speaks of the destruction of the Temple and the Last Days leading up to his return. He says, essentially, “Keep your eyes peeled.” We are to be aware of what is going on around us.

Why, though, would such a warning be necessary? Jesus does give something of an answer in Matthew 24, but St. Paul also does in our Epistle text. He tells the believers in Thessalonica, “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

What the apostle is getting at is what our Lord was getting at: When Christ returns, it will be a surprise. Even to those waiting on him. Therefore, we are warned. Even if our days of a pandemic, how easy is it for us to think to ourselves that we have all the time in the world? That we will, with little doubt, have next year or next decade? How easy it is to become complacent! When we do this, we present to ourselves a very real danger.

All the women that were invited to be a part of the bridal party were the same. They were all young maidens. Virgins. They all had a place and came prepared to sit at the feast. But some of these invited and worthy guests were foolish. They were prepared to sit at the feast, but they were not prepared for any delay. The wise virgins, however, brought extra oil. They were ready for things not to work out as they thought they would or should.

And they did not. Instead of the bridegroom coming at the expected time, he was delayed. And even though they went out to meet him, he was not to be found. And so all ten waited. All ten got tired. All ten fell asleep. But at midnight, there was a cry! Perhaps to the ears of these virgins it sounded like the blast of a trumpet. “He’s here! Let us go to meet him!”

But it is dark. And so, the ten prepare to go out to meet and process. They care for the wick and check the oil level. For five, this is no problem. They simply top off. But for the other five, we have a huge problem. They have no more oil, and their lamp will soon go out.

But what does this have to do with us? What does it mean to have oil or to be out of it? Remember that all ten 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 virgins 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 nearly 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 is the rub. One’s ‘oil’ is only useable by the one who has it. It cannot be loaned or transferred. Faith cannot 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.

As St. Paul writes: For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” Amen.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

About the Freedom of a Christian

For nearly two years, Karl von Miltitz, an ambassador of the pope (Nuncio) had been trying to negotiate an agreement between the Pope and Luther that would end the crisis in Germany. When Johann von Eck published the bull threatening to excommunicate Luther, Miltitz tried to arrange a meeting to find some compromise. He and Luther’s friends in the government of Frederick the Wise urged the reformer to write a letter to the Pope personally, explaining his theology in a positive, non-threatening way. He agreed. The result was the fourth great book Luther wrote in 1520, About the Freedom of a Christian. It appeared five hundred years ago in both German and Latin.

In About the Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther describes what it means to be a Christian. He puts together in a straightforward way all that he has discovered about the Gospel and how it provides the motivation to do good works in service of God and our neighbor. Along the way he explains what would become the signature concepts and doctrines of the Lutheran Church.

Luther begins the book with a paradox, stating two things that seem to be contradictory, yet are both true at the same time:

A Christian is free, Lord over everything and is no one’s servant.

A Christian is everyone’s willing servant in every way.

Luther describes two natures present in every Christian. The spiritual nature, the New Adam, is free because the Son of God sets him free. The fleshly nature, sinful in a sinful world, the Old Adam, is bound by the realities of this age. Because Jesus came, bore our sins on the cross, paid their price in full, all of them are forgiven. A Christian is saved — and free — because he or she trusts him and relies on his merits alone. The result is that a new nature rises in a Christian, which loves God and wants to love, serve and obey them. A Christian, then, is bound by this love of God to spend his life caring for his neighbor.

So, then, Luther concludes: “Insofar as a Christian is free, no works are necessary. Insofar as a Christian is a servant, all kinds of works are done.” Although the New Adam is free from the law, he or she willingly obeys it, often automatically, for the sake of his or her neighbor. These works are also necessary to discipline the outer person, the Old Adam, the keep it from falling into sin and extinguishing faith.

Luther concludes that we should think of our good works here as the same as the good works of Adam before the fall. Good works do not make a good person, then. A Good person does good works. He puts it this way: “as Christians we do not live in ourselves but in Christ and the neighbor. Otherwise, we are not Christian. As Christians we live in Christ through faith and in the neighbor through love. Through faith we are caught up beyond ourselves into God, Likewise, through love we descend beneath ourselves through love to serve our neighbor.”

Top Twenty-Five What Does This Mean? Posts

For those who are curious, here are the top twenty-five What Does This Mean? posts, going back to the first one in January of 2018. If you’re favorite isn’t high enough on the list, you can “vote” for it. Go to: http://whatdoesthismean.blog, copy the title of the post, paste it into the search box and search for it. Be sure to read it, though. We get an average time on the post reports as well.

1 About Accepting Jesus as your Personal Savior
2 The Harvest is Plentiful
3 The Four Ways of Interpreting Scripture
4 Elijah’s Mantle on Elisha Cast
5 Tropological Interpretation
6 Sermon on the Pandemic
7 Material Principle
8 The Four Ways of Interpreting Scripture
9 That Rebellious House
10 Ten Commandments–First Table
11 Happy birthday, Lutheran Church!
12 The Three Ways God Cares for Us
13 Pastors are Called by God
14 Formal Principle
15 You’re No Angel: Things Angels are Not
16 A Walk Through the Liturgy: The Sign of the Cross
17 Baptism Saves You
18 The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will Do This
19 The Church has Always Baptized Infants
20 Martin Luther, the Sacraments and Faith
21 Baptism Saves You
22 The Church has Always Baptized Infants
23 More About Accepting Jesus as Your Personal Savior
24 Christ’s Sabbath Rest in the Tomb
25 Church Word #6: Lutheran

All Sheep Go to Heaven

Dear saints, last week we heard about what will happen as the end draws near. Next week will bring a parable about our Lord’s return. This morning we hear a parable that wraps up our Lord’s final discourse on the End Times. Last week’s lesson was a warning for us to be prepared. Today, we hear of the Day of Judgment. More precisely, we heard the Lord’s announcement of the judgment that has already taken place.

Jesus comes in glory and sits upon his throne. All the nations are gathered before him. And the people are separated from one another. Sheep go to the right; goats go to the left. The sheep are welcomed into heaven and the goats are cast into hell. After hearing this parable, many will ask the question, “Have I been good enough to be a sheep?”

There is only one problem with that. It is the wrong question. But for a moment, let us try to answer it anyway. Jesus describes what sheep do: They feed the hungry. They give the thirsty something to drink. They welcome the stranger. They clothe the naked. They visit the sick and go to the prisoner.

And so, have you done that? Any of it? Some of it? All of it? How much do you have to do to be considered a sheep? What if you have not even had the opportunity to do some of those things? Are you even able to be a sheep? Remember the standard under God’s Law. He is perfect and commands that we also be perfect. So, even if we assume you are exempt from fulfilling the things you have not had the opportunity to do, have you served the listed people perfectly every opportunity you have had to serve them? Have you slipped up even once? Then no. You have not done enough to be a sheep.

To answer the question, “Have I been good enough to be a sheep?” can and will only bring anxiety or conceit. You will either realize you are not good enough and bring upon anxiety and despair, or you will deceive yourself and become boastful and conceited in thinking you are better than you are.

The only good thing I can think of when considering this wrong question is that it reminds us that none of us are good enough to be called sheep. None of us have loved our neighbors good enough to be a sheep. By failing to help your fellow brother or sister, you find you fit the description of a goat instead.

So let us consider the words of our Lord in the parable and see how we may know that we are, indeed, sheep: Jesus says to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

The sheep are confused. They do not seem to understand. They answer and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” Notice that there is no surprise that they are sheep. The surprise is what our Lord tells them they have done. They do not recall doing any of these things. And Jesus responds, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Our Lord’s attention then turns to the goats. “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Like the sheep, the goats do not seem to understand: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” And he answers them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

If the lesson this morning is not about doing good works and showing yourself worthy as a sheep, then what is it about? First, I want to look at how the sheep and the goats are addressed. The sheep are called blessed by the Father and the goats are cursed. The sheep are those declared righteous. They are the ones who trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Because they are blessed and declared righteous, they inherit the kingdom which was prepared for them. This is why the sheep are surprised at what they hear next. They know they put their faith in Jesus, and not their works, for their salvation.

The goats, on the other hand, are cursed. Rather than being washed and clothed in righteousness, they remained estranged from the Lord. They rejected the call to trust in Christ. And so, when given the opportunity to love and serve Him, they declined. Yet they are still surprised to hear the judgment. They do not recall seeing the Lord in need and failing to care for him. Because they have no faith, they are cast into the eternal fire. But notice that this fire was not created for them. It is not supposed to be where they are sent. It was created for the devil and his angels, but they go there too.

The sheep in the parable are not sheep because of the works they did. The goats are not goats because of the works they did not do. Each are what they are because they do or do not trust in the Lord. Those who are baptized, who believe that Jesus has died for them and has taken away their sins, who try to do good, are Christian. They are righteous. Or, as the parable would speak of them, sheep. But those who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, even if they are baptized or try to do good things, are not Christian. They remain unrighteous. They are goats.

The parable is not about works. The parable is about being declared by God what you are. The sheep are made sheep by the power of God and His Holy Spirit. The goats remain goats because they reject God and His Word. The good works that the sheep have done must be put into their proper context, or else we might falsely believe that our works have somehow merited our salvation.

The author of the epistle to the Hebrews says, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Serving your neighbor is a good work only if you have faith in Christ. Good works are the evidence of faith. They are the indicator that faith is present. It is impossible to have faith but not have good works. Yet these works do not save; rather they are the fruit of faith.

This might make some of you uneasy. Perhaps you are afraid you have not born much fruit. Think about it this way: If you give to the congregation because you support the mission of the Church and want to see the Word preached and the Sacraments administered, you are supporting Christ. If you made a dish for a potluck, you are feeding Christ, for those who eat of it are part of the Body of Christ.

If you have changed a diaper, you have clothed Christ. If you have carried that child to the Baptismal Font, you have carried Christ. The list goes on: If you have fed your children, given them clothes, spoken words of comfort to the sick or mourning, or any of the many other good works that you do because you are God’s child, you have done it to and for Christ Jesus.

Of course, these works are not done perfectly. How many of us have muttered to ourselves changing that blow-out diaper? Or got frustrated that some of your kid’s new clothes have been ruined after a single use? Or been wearied by yet another request from someone in need? Here we see God’s Law instructs us even as it accuses us. We see and do what we know to do because we know we are God’s redeemed. But we see how poorly we do these works and repent of not doing better. Or for thinking that what we have done is ‘good enough.’

Repent, but do not despair. Your status as a sheep does not rest upon you. You are what you are because of the mercy of your Savior, the King who rules over all things. It is He who has taken on your flesh and was born of the Virgin. He is the one who kept the Law perfectly. He is the one who, out of love for you, took on your sins and purchased you with His shed Blood and His death on the cross. And in that love, he rose again that you would enter His eternal kingdom with Him.

Because Jesus is your Savior, it is Jesus who makes you a sheep. He takes your ‘goat nature’ and covers it with his perfect nature as the Lamb of God. He has remade you in His own image. And this extends to the works you do. God sees your works and sees them done for Him. He does not see your sins, for they are hidden from his sight. What you do in weakness and sin, he perfects in himself and his righteousness.

On the cross, Christ Jesus became the sin of all men that all men might be redeemed. Any who are clothed in Christ have been made to be Him in disguise. Thus, the good works of His saints, His sheep, overflow with His glory.

But that does not work for the goats. They may have mighty and noble works that appear to be selfless acts of charity. We can see that throughout the world. But they reject Christ. They do not believe the work done for them in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thus, they also reject His presence and serve their god, the devil. Their good deeds, lacking faith, are nothing but stained and filthy garments in the eyes of God.

But for you, dear sheep of Christ, your every action shines like the very Light of Christ. God’s Final Judgment is made, and it is for you. You are the righteous ones. You are those whose lives are made perfect in Christ. You are innocent and pure. So, you will be crowned with everlasting honor, bestowed upon you through the merit of Christ. You will enter the Kingdom of Glory, prepared for you by your Father from the foundation of the world. Amen.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD

What’s with the exhausting serving day and night in the temple in Revelation 7?

Let’s first consider our creation. We unique, dirt-with-the-breath-of-life critters, created in the image and after the likeness of God, were made for doing things.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

Garden-tenders and earth-subduers are we. God made us to have dominion. This is both ruler and caretaker. The dominus (lord) of the household is the one who is responsible for the safety and full bellies of his subjects. Even in our sinful fallenness, the earth is still organized this way.

And to Adam he said, “…cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life… By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17b, 19)

Not just us, but all of creation is broken, distorted by sin, death, and the Devil. Before sin entered, the work of tending the garden didn’t break backs, tear muscles, or cause the sweaty putrescence and exhaustion that define our lives of toil under the sun. For the toil with which one toils all the vain days of this life, that breaks down and exhausts this sinful flesh.

But, dear baptized, redeemed by Christ in the resurrection all will be made new. A new heavens and a new earth, a new Jerusalem, and a new temple/garden of which we will be the tenders once more. Refreshed, renewed, resurrected in glory, we will not suffer from our labor.

“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.” (Revelation 7:15-17)

Even more, we will be sheltered by God as a hen gathers her chicks. Hunger, thirst, the heat of toiling under the sun, and sadness itself are all wiped away in the presence of our Savior. Serving in the temple will be an immeasurable joy to us. Quite frankly, I can’t conceive of it at all. But, Jesus puts this vision into our ears to strengthen our trust in the hope He has prepared.

Trust in Jesus, for He has prepared a place for us.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

Justice and Injustice

Justice is a word dangling from the lips of a host of Christians and non-Christians alike these days. But, what of this “justice?” Social justice, economic justice, racial justice, environmental justice; do these ideas jive with the Christian notion of Justice?

In a word, No.

Justice as a concept can only exist in a world where equality is the goal. Justice can only simultaneously be for everyone. It does not defer to the great. It is not partial to the poor.

You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. (Leviticus 19:15)

You can slip any seemingly opposite pairs into this definition and maintain the concept and the principle drawn from it: women and men, military and civilian, urban and rural, native and naturalized, blue collar and white collar, one race and another, skilled and unskilled, uneducated and educated, renters and homeowners, southerners and northerners, Christians and non-Christians, and the like. All are due equality in the application of justice. We shall not defer or be partial.

Sadly, the contemporary civil rights movement wants to abandon God’s standard of impartiality. The claim is that there is racism, for which privileged people as a whole must repent. They insist that justice can only be obtained by abandoning God’s Word in favor of the world’s constantly moving standards. Furthermore, there is a call to repentance for what they claim is systemic or historic racism. In effect, they hold individuals guilty of sins of society. They insist that people atone for sins they didn’t commit. According to this view, Jesus death isn’t enough to forgive sins against racial justice.

This is antithetical to Christianity. First, God’s justice can’t be preferential to anyone. Second, atonement before God can only be through Jesus’ death. Third, sin cannot be conferred upon you by someone else’s deeds. Instead of justice, the social justice crowd are advocates of injustice as God defines it.

This injustice also requires us to break the eighth commandment. We must point to our neighbor and confess their sin for them. Yet, we cannot confess each other’s sins. Neither can we withhold Christ’s forgiveness from those penitents, who seek it.

Ironically, justice is not what we want as Christians anyway. Justice looks like this: all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God’s justice condemns us all for our sin. We deserve only hell for our failure to keep God’s law. But, instead of meeting out justice on us. God’s wrath and punishment fell upon Jesus. His suffering and death paid for our sins. We, forgiven children of God, have not received the justice we earned.

Justice modified is injustice. But, God’s forbearance saves us from the justice we are due. In Christ, we are all one race, one family, one people. Human injustice is met by Showing mercy to those who are abused, hurt, cast aside, poor and in need.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

What’s with the accounting of our deeds in the Athanasian Creed?

At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire. (Athanasian Creed; lines: 38-39)

That sounds pretty severe, doesn’t it? It’s not the just sound, but the reality. Jesus warns us again and again that there is a reckoning in store for humanity. Sheep and goats, wheat and tares, wedding guests with and without a wedding garment, good trees and bad trees; some will receive salvation and some will not. Some will receive eternal fire.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, …he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats… Then the King will say to [the sheep], ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? … “Then he will say to [the goats], ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty … and did not minister to you?’ … And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-32b, 34, 37, 41, 44, 46)

One very significant thing about Jesus’ description of the final judgement is that neither the sheep nor the goats recognize themselves in their deeds. The goats do not see their wickedness. The sheep do not see their righteousness.

Unbelief and faith are the mitigating issues at play here.

As with Judas, unbelief produces wickedness. Out of hatred of God, those who choose to deny Christ are bad trees producing bad fruit. The road to hell is paved not in good intentions, but in unbelief.

As with Abraham, our faith is credited to us as righteousness. Our faith, which is a gift given in our baptism, produces good works. Good trees produce good fruit. And, God makes good trees out of us sinners.

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. (Revelation 7:13-14)

In baptism we find our identity. We are children of God, called, named, and saved by the blood of Jesus. We are saved by this washing of regeneration. Through it, God only sees us a righteous people, sheep, wheat, wedding guests clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, good trees producing good fruit. At the accounting of our deeds, we will all still be surprised that God finds us righteous. Now, we can only see our sin. There, He only sees us in Christ.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

You are Holy

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

If you recall last week’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes the bold statement to give to Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. The main point of it all boiled down to that you are made in the image of the God. You belong to Him, and by being redeemed from your sins by the Lord Jesus Christ who came in our flesh and in our likeness, we are made new in His image via Holy Baptism and thus are indeed able to our thanks and praise to Him by loving him and loving our neighbor as our stations in life bring our way.

So, brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, it should come to no surprise to you that God would speak such words as He spoke to his people in Leviticus 19. You shall be holy, just as I, the Lord your God, am holy. And that holiness is shown by how we love our neighbors and deal justly with them in all circumstances. I imagine some of you are humming the hymn: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

But herein lies the problem. You are not holy like the Lord. At least your actions do not testify to your holiness. You are not kind and gentle with one another. You show partiality. You show hate towards one another and disdain. You hold grudges against one another for the way a farm deal went down years ago and can barely say one word to your own brother. You speak lies about one another behind one another’s back. We all have been part of the gossip chain. It’s not hard to do at all.

Like James said in his epistle we would rather associate ourselves with the better off families than with those who are poor. James accused the church of committing this sin of partiality. And we have our own sins of partiality to deal with today, perhaps it’s the same kind perhaps not. Perhaps we are partial to like minded individuals and would rather spend our time with them rather than try to walk a mile with someone who is different than us. Partiality comes in all shapes and sizes. And we all have fallen prey in some form or another. It is our human nature to do the very opposite of what God commands. We are sinners and it is our nature to fight against and to rebel against the Lord and His Law. You shall be Holy? It sounds more like a joke rather than an indicative statement concerning your state of being before God. Because we are all far from standard of God’s holiness.

God says that He is concerned about us incurring sin upon ourselves. This shows that He knows we will mess it all up. And He knows that we will not be able to live up to the demands He has made of His chosen.

Why else would the prophets of the Lord speak about the One who is to come. Hear the prophet Isaiah in the 11^th chapter of his book: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jess, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”

Did you hear that? The shoot from the stump of Jesse would do all these things. God knows we certainly couldn’t do it but the one who is called the Son of David but also David’s Lord would. Our Gospel lesson for the day gets to the heart of the confession of God and Man being in one person: Jesus Christ. Jesus is both God and Man at the same time. And He is perfect for you. And perfect for me.

He is the one that perfectly loved the Lord His God with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His mind. And also loved his neighbor as himself. It was the Father’s will for His Son to be born of the Virgin and to serve the world as the perfect example and substitute. Jesus the God Man stood up and did what you could not. He was indeed holy. He did not judge folks according to their standing, but in all things He dealt with all in righteousness and equity.

In fact, it was Jesus who had these done against Him. He had injustice done to him in court. The Late Maundy Thursday night court was a kangaroo court if there ever was one. False witnesses could not even make their lies fit together. And yet, the condemned Jesus to die. Pilate saw nothing in him deserving death, and yet the voices overran him, and the crucifixion occurred.

Jesus sought out the poor and lost, he called out the hypocrites like the Pharisees who were supposed to care for the widows and others but were only concerned about themselves and their standing in the eyes of others. And Jesus calling out their hypocrisy ultimately gets killed for speaking out. He was literally fulfilling Leviticus 19 and all the law of God not to gain himself glory but to give this righteousness and holiness to you.

You shall be holy. You are not holy because of what you have done. Absolutely not. But because of Christ, the Son of David yet David’s Lord, you have been made Holy. For He is the Lord and He has not only declared it to be so, but He has in fact acted to make it so.

A sinful human being cannot be made holy without atonement. Think of Isaiah when he sees the Lord in Isaiah 6. He realizes that he is a man of unclean lips from a people of unclean lips. The Seraph comes flying to him with a burning coal from the fire on the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips with it. The Seraph told him, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” As I told you last week to be atoned means to covered. To be made holy before the Lord is be atoned for by Jesus, literally to be covered by Jesus who died on the cross to take away your sins and give you everlasting life forever.

The question of how someone became holy was one of the most important questions of the Reformation. How is one deemed holy by God? What must one do? Luther was confused by this for many a year. He always had been taught that one must work and do in order to be saved, to be called holy by God. But for Luther all he saw was his wretchedness. He believed the word of God which said: “I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and forth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” And being a pious man, Luther was petrified because how could He love God enough? How could Luther keep the commandments perfectly? He was looking at himself and saw only failure. And the burden of the Law of God was great. And it should be because by it we realize that we cannot do enough by the Law to be called holy at least in the sight of God. We are filthy and unclean sinners in thought, word, and deed.

But the real Reformation for Luther came when he heard the words of Romans 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” The one who is righteous is also holy. Those words the righteous shall live by faith made all the difference in the world.

We are made holy not on account of our works but because of faith in the one was born of the Virgin Mary and suffered and died under Pontius Pilate, descended into hell and on the third day rose from the dead, and thus ascended to the right hand of God the Father to judge both the living and the dead. That is how one is made holy. Becoming holy is not something you do to yourself. No, you are acted upon by the Holy Spirit via the preaching of God’s Word of Christ Jesus.

Those who have ears and hear are declared holy for the sake of Christ, for He has died, was buried, rose and ascended to the right hand of the Father for them. He declares that they are holy just He is holy. You have been declared holy and righteous for the sake of Christ. Because you have been made in His image in your Holy Baptism.

Remember from last week, you are regenerated in Christ’s image. You are the spitting image of Him who has created you, redeemed you, and now says to you, “You are holy.” You are holy not for the sake of your own works but deemed holy by the works of Christ for you. That was what the Reformation was all about. Christ and Him Crucified that is what makes you holy in the sight of God the Father.

Being deemed righteous and holy for the sake of your Lord Jesus Christ transforms you.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners, not sits in the seat of scoffers: but his delight is in the Law, that is the Torah, or Word of the Lord, and on his Torah, he meditates day and night. For by this Word, in which Jesus declares you Holy for His Sake, you are like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding the fruit that is good, and your leaves do not wither. What a thing. Jesus calls himself the vine in John 15 and you are his branches. You are being fed by His Word and Sacraments. By them, you are being made holy so that the works that you do towards your neighbors – as imperfect as they may be due to still living in our sinful flesh and world – are seen as good by the Lord, not because they are perfect works but because you called holy for the sake of Jesus Christ. You are living the life of faith in Christ Jesus, and you will do good works toward your neighbor because that is what the One in whose image you are regenerated did. Should we not walk in His ways? We are called to walk in manner worthy of the Lord for He has called us holy. Just as He is Holy. Let us live with one another and encourage one another in this life to which we all have been called by His Word.

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

Reformation Day & A Mighty Fortress

Sunday is our annual observation of Reformation Day. In this post, I wanted to look for a few moments at the Hymn of the Day, “A Mighty Fortress.”

A lot was happening between the years 1527 and 1529: A plague came upon Wittenberg. Luther contracted a serious illness. The threat of the Turk was lurking nearby. Catholic armies threatened the Lutheran areas. Catholic and the more radical Reformers were lobbing theological attacks, too. There was danger at every turn. And though the hymn is often known as “The Battle Hymn of the Reformation,” perhaps it is better seen how a 1529 printing characterized it: “A Hymn of Comfort.”

And a hymn of comfort it is!

The 46^th Psalm begins, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It is a comforting phrase. The psalm boasts of the confidence we have in God. But why have that confidence? Because he is with us: “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” With this confidence in the God who is with us, we know that what he says and does settle any matter: “He makes wars cease to the end of the earth….”

Luther’s hymn, however, is not a simple translation of the psalm. Instead, we have an expansion of the Psalm with New Testament themes. For example, nowhere in the 46^th Psalm is the devil mentioned. But when we look at “A Mighty Fortress,” he is mentioned in the first stanza. As we declare that our God is a mighty fortress who frees us from every need, we also immediately set our sights on the one who would direct us away from our God. That Old Evil Foe who desires to shipwreck our faith and see us abandon that mighty fortress.

We also note the power of this foe: Deep guile and great might are he dread arms in fight; On earth is not his equal. The devil is abundantly clever and is extraordinarily strong. He can deceive the brightest among us. Jesus even calls him the strong man. Indeed, on earth, there is no matching him. At the end of the first verse of this hymn of comfort, it seems that the devil might just be winning this battle.

No matter how hard we try and how focused we are, there is nothing we can do to defeat the devil. This is the point of the second verse. We cannot win. In fact, we are already defeated. Think of a battlefield where you are outnumbered, outflanked, out skilled, and overmatched. You are considering the pros and cons of running away or surrendering. Neither solution is a good one.

But then, just before you enter full despair, you see something just over the crest of a hill. A rescuer! The one who can defeat your enemy and preserve you. This is the imagery of the second stanza. Realizing we are helpless and will soon be defeated by the devil, our valiant One, the One whom God Himself elected, arrives. Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is, Of Sabaoth Lord, And there’s none other God; He holds the field forever.

he third stanza comes with some stunning imagery: Devils fill the world. They are hungry to grab and devour. And yet, despite their fierceness “We tremble not, we fear no ill; They shall not overpow’r us. Yes, the devil may be the prince of this world, but over our souls, he is utterly powerless. As our Lord says in Matthew, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The fact is the devil is judged, condemned, and defeated. One little word, Jesus, sends him a flight and fleeing.

The final stanza’s first part is the most difficult to understand. Essentially, the enemies of God must let the Word remain. They have no choice; they are powerless to overcome it. Even if, even when they wish it were not true and would go away, there it is.

ut even though that may mean strife for us, it is still good news for us. He’s by our side upon the plain With His good gifts and Spirit. Those good gifts are the Word and Sacraments. We can literally lose everything, Goods, fame, child, and wife, these spiritual enemies of ours do not gain what they truly desire. They do not obtain our souls. The kingdom of God remains outside their grasp. Even if all we have is stripped away, Though these all be gone, Our vict’ty has been won; The Kingdom ours remaineth.

Here we are, nearly 500 years after A Mighty Fortress is penned, and we face uncertain times. Our nation is in distress. The culture is more and more intolerant of Christians and our beliefs. There is a pandemic that has frightened many to their core. But what the world has lost, we have: hope and comfort.

Whatever Satan throws our way, the worst he can do is harm our bodies. You are bought with the shed blood of Christ. You are redeemed by him. Washed clean in Holy Baptism. He feeds you his very Body and Blood. He promises to always be with you and never forsake you. What is there to truly fear?

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD