From Mourning to Dancing

Sermon Reformation Day

Sunday October 30, 2011

Matthew 11:12-19

Jesus in our text today is dealing with the frustration of unbelief. This has been an ongoing tension between God and his people. Not much has improved since man rejected God’s Word in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus in the text brings out the violent reaction against the kingdom of God. Against the prophets who were sent including John the Baptist to the people. John the Baptist gets treated no better than the other servants of God as he is under arrest and imprisoned. Jesus reference to those taking the kingdom by force however could refer to all the repentant sinners entering the Kingdom of God. But for this to be possible, there would be a violent end for Jesus, the Lamb of God, who would suffer God’s wrath for their sins and for our sins.

This of course, is a mixed message of both suffering and salvation, a reason for mourning and a reason for dancing.  But Jesus generation does not get it. They get the two things mixed up since they are not aware of their sin.  Jesus says, “It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ “

Presumably for this saying Jesus and John are the flute player and singer respectively.  John was all about preparation that led to repentance. John lived a Spartan life.  He ate survivor man food. He wore rough clothes. His abode was in the wilderness and He preached the Law. He sang the dirge in order to bring about contrition and repentance, in other words mourning. His purpose was to baptize those confessing their sins. He was preparing them to hear Jesus’ absolution.

Jesus on the other hand was the good news. He was fulfilling the Law. He was forgiving the sins. He was lifting the burdens of the heavy laden. Jesus was healing and raising people from the dead. He was making wine and He was celebrating and feasting with His disciples with food and drink. These all are causes for dancing.

But the religious leaders would not mourn their sins at the appearance of John or dance at the appearance of Jesus. Rather they got it backwards they rejoiced when John was imprisoned and they mourned at the success of Jesus to the point of putting him to death. They rejected Jesus righteousness before God for their own. They relied on their ability to keep the Law by works.

Dr. Martin Luther had it backwards too for many years.  Young Luther did not dance because he thought it was on him to keep the law. The appearance of Jesus even in the sacrament was a fearful judge, a cause for mourning. This was the extra-biblical teaching of the Roman Church. It was not until he was illuminated by the passage from Romans where the apostle writes, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:28).   Through this passage and others like it that Martin heard the flute, started to dance, started to celebrate the promises given by Jesus in the Gospel.

Many others who followed Dr. Luther also heard the tune of the flute that had been muffled by the church for so many years.  The church was in need of a Reformation. Even Luther’s opponents could agree to that but they were more interested in moral reforms than they were doctrinal.  The combination of power, wealth and spiritual authority had corrupted the office of the pope but it was also found in the lower offices. There were men who had paid the pope for multiple bishoprics. They held the title of archbishop but they were not interested in preaching the gospel or providing spiritual care but in collecting taxes from the lands they were given to control. They were no different than secular princes.

A moral reformation only would not be enough. It would be like treating the symptom of the disease instead of the disease itself. In this the disease which still plagues the Roman Church and many others is their flawed teaching of justification. Whereas Luther taught it was faith alone that saves in accordance with Romans 3. The Roman church taught salvation was attained through faith and works. 

Now we do not deny that works will accompany faith but we do not go looking for works to do to add to our faith to merit our salvation. Nor do we look to the merits of saints or Mary the mother of Jesus to help us attain the beatific vision or heaven. The work of salvation is done solely by Jesus, Christ alone, without any worthiness or merit in us, that is the meaning of grace alone. We know this not by appealing to extra-biblical resources or popes but by scripture alone.

This should be good news. But this was not good news for a church that resembled the Jewish religious establishment of Jesus time with all its canons and laws than the true Christian church that it claimed and still claims visibly to be.  Sadly, even today the Roman church’s position on justification has not changed.  When a prominent member of the Roman Catholic church was asked at a Symposium at our Ft. Wayne seminary whether he believed he was going to heaven. His response was that it was presumptuous to make such an assertion.  Whenever works are added to faith even if it is making a decision or saying the sinner’s prayer, it creates doubt or worse a false sense of self justifying confidence.

Does our church today, does the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod need reformation?  I would say, yes. Not unlike the church of the middle ages many foreign doctrines from American Evangelicalism have been introduced into our church body especially through the practice of worship.  Services begin with celebrating when we should be expressing contrition for our sins and sometimes we treat the gospel laden liturgy and our historic hymns as dirges. We sing with happiness about our works and love for Jesus and we are bored when we sing about what Jesus has done for us. When this occurs it is back words.

We are happy when we should be mourning and mourn when we should be dancing.  It turns worship into a law for us to do rather than receiving from Jesus the gospel. Offering different styles of services is also offering different content and therefore a different theology, a different gospel, especially when the music and the texts are borrowed from foreign confessions. And it is not just the music but it affects how we pray and how we speak and confess our Lord.  I am not speaking of our congregation specifically but our church body as a whole.

Luther when he reformed the liturgy of the sacrament of the altar, he did not rewrite but he removed those prayers that referred to the sacrifice of the mass. He removed the content that was added during the middle ages to turn the Mass into a meritorious work performed by priest on behalf of the people. 

American Evangelicalism sees worship as something the people do for God not what God does for you. The sacraments have been turned into impotent symbols and acts of obedience on your part. The emphasis is on deeds not creeds.  This sounds to me like a return to works righteousness. 

This is not the first time the Lutherans have been influenced by American Evangelicalism. It also happened in the early 19^th century when one Lutheran church leader Rev. Samuel S. Schumucker circulated a recommendation to the church that for the sake of Christian unity with other faiths that we abandon our exclusively Lutheran doctrines of Baptism, Confession and Absolution and the Lord’s Supper. Schumucker also promoted the idea of using revivalistic or new measures in worship which plied at the emotions, so that the subject would make a decision for Christ.  You see error is not content with simply cohabitating but it wishes to take over. 

This however sparked a reformation of its own in the mid 19^th century led by figures such as Rev. C.F.W. Walther, Rev. Wilhelm Sihler and Rev. Charles Porterfield Krauth.  These men opposed the new measures in worship and upheld the historic worship and the confessions of the church.  God used these men to reform the Lutheran church and preserve the unadulterated Gospel among us.

Today I believe the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the 21^st century is in the midst of a Reformation as more pastors and congregations are taking their worship and confessions more seriously but also joyfully.  We mourn when the law is preached and we celebrate when the gospel is proclaimed and the sacraments received because Jesus is in them through the Holy Spirit working salvation in your hearts.   

We give thanks to the Lord for in the despite the violent attacks of the devil, He preserves His church. He preserves his Word. As Jesus promises, “heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away.” (Lk 21:33) And “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18) Truly, A mighty fortress is our God!

A Faith Worth Imitating

October 25th marks the 200th anniversary of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's first president C.F.W Walther. in commemoration of this event I had the honor of preaching a sermon on October 23rd, 2011 written by a true church historian my professor in Seminary Rev. Dr. Cameron MacKenzie. I pray that you to will find this message to be edifying as I have.

Walther’s 200th Birthday

Hebrews 13:7

Rev. Cameron A. MacKenzie, PhD, professor, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sermon

Fifty years ago, “Walther” was a household name in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. After all, the synodical youth group was called the Walther League. Today, however, the league is long gone, and for many so is the man for whom it was named, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther. In fact, there are probably some here today who are wondering why in the world we’re devoting a service to commemorating a man nobody knows!

Well, our text for this morning tells us why. “Remember,” it says, “remember . . . those who spoke to you the word of God.” And nobody has spoken the Word of God more faithfully in the Missouri Synod than C. F. W. Walther. So today we are remembering him.

At one point in the history of our church body, everybody knew who Walther was; still today, our pastors, theologians, and seminary students study him. In his own times, Walther was the individual most identified with our Synod—its first president, professor and president of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, founding editor of Der Lutheraner (the predecessor to today’s Lutheran Witness), and head pastor of four—that’s right!—four Lutheran congregations in St. Louis. He wrote and he spoke and, in so doing, provided theological leadership that still marks the Missouri Synod. Yes, C. F. W. Walther is well worth remembering in our church.

It would be easy, therefore, to spend the next several minutes—or hours—talking about Walther’s accomplishments, but our text suggests something different. “Imitate their faith,” it says. That’s not quite the same as just listing their achievements.

But if we want to imitate Walther’s faith, we need to see that faith in action. Faith in the heart is invisible; the words and deeds that reveal a man’s deepest convictions are not. So let’s look at Walther’s faith by considering two episodes from his life, one from the beginning of his career and the other from its end. Together they show us the man and reveal that

Walther’s Faith Is Worth Imitating.

I.

Like many Americans in the nineteenth century, Walther was an immigrant to this country. Unlike most of the others, Walther came looking for religious liberty, not just the chance to make a good living. In fact, back in the old country, still a young man in his twenties, Walther was already making a good living as a pastor in a little town in Germany. But in 1838, he resigned his call, left his people, and set sail for America. Why? What was his motivation?

Just this. Walther had become convinced that the Lutheran Church in his homeland was totally corrupt and beyond saving. The time to leave Sodom and Gomorrah had come. As his brother-in-law and fellow pastor put it, “Whoever does not emigrate is no Christian.”¹

So is this what we should imitate? A faith bold enough to forsake the comforts of home for the wilds of America? Not quite. Walther’s boldness quickly dissipated and turned into despair just months after his arrival in the United States, for the man whom Walther, and about seven hundred others, had followed from Germany to Missouri was caught up in a scandal of the sort that one finds in Hollywood and Washington today. Unfortunately, their leader wasn’t an actor or a politician. He was a Lutheran pastor who had convinced Walther and the others to leave their homeland. It was his evaluation of the Lutheran Church that they had accepted; it was his career as a pastor that the authorities had been threatening, not Walther’s.

As the scandal unfolded, the immigrants acted promptly to expel their leader, but now the second-guessing and recriminations began. Here they were in America all right, but should they have left Germany in the first place? After all, nobody was threatening Walther’s call; he was still preaching the Gospel every Sunday in the old country. But then he had quit the congregation to which God had sent him for a place to which a charlatan and hypocrite had led him. To make matters worse, Walther had encouraged others to come too.

And how were the immigrants doing? Not very well. They were hungry and sick and dying! In fact, one of the ships on which they had traveled had gone down in the ocean with no survivors. Men, women, and children now dead.

All this led to some severe soul-searching in young Pastor Walther, and he didn’t like what he found. In a letter to his brother, he confessed his shame and guilt: “My conscience blames me for all the adulteries which occurred among us. It calls me a kidnapper, a robber of the well-to-do among us, a murderer of those buried at sea and of the numerous victims here, a member of a sect, a hireling, an idolater.”² Walther’s conscience was working overtime, and he was blaming himself for what had happened. Instead of a bold faith in his heart, Walther was confronting his sin—ugly, shameful, damnable sin! So that when we set about imitating this man, let’s remember what we see here: a sinner, not a hero; a son of Adam, not a saint. In fact, someone just like you, just like me, someone who needed a Savior, desperately.

And that’s what Walther found—thanks to the grace of God. In that same letter to his brother, he talked about obtaining rest and peace only in Christ Jesus. For God’s forgiveness in Christ was the only thing that enabled Walther to get past this confrontation with sin. Of course, Walther knew the Gospel already, but he also needed to hear it. So who would tell him?

Walther was convinced that he had sinned against the people of his congregation in Missouri by following a false prophet. So he went to them and confessed his sin. He even offered his resignation. But how did they respond? With righteous indignation and self-justifying wrath? Not at all. Instead, Walther wrote, “They assured me to a man that they forgave me everything from the bottom of their heart and with joy of conscience.”³ Usually, pastors are the ones pronouncing forgiveness, but in this case, God moved the people to forgive their pastor and so point their shepherd back to the Good Shepherd himself.

II.

It was not easy for Walther to get over the scandal and his feelings of guilt, but God was at work through his Word, and, at length, Walther recovered and went on to become the churchman and theologian we remember today. Still, he never forgot the lesson of those early years, that Christians live by Gospel—the message of God’s unconditional love in Jesus.

In a sense, it was this conviction that led to the second episode that we often hear as an example from Walther’s life that reveals his faith—this time from his last decade when he was in his late ’60s and ’70s. By that point, many of Walther’s great achievements were behind him. Among these was his success in bringing together the vast majority of Confessional Lutherans in America into a single church body known as the Synodical Conference. Within just a few years of its formation, though, the Synodical Conference experienced an enormous fight and broke apart. The fight was doctrinal, and at its center was C. F. W. Walther. Instead of enjoying his golden years and basking in the praise of his contemporaries, Walther had to write, debate, and preach, while former friends and students vilified him as a false prophet and a betrayer of Lutheranism.

So what was going on here? Why did Walther fight instead of compromise? What was at stake? Nothing less than the Gospel—that same message on which Walther had relied in his darkest hours. That same good news you and I need to hear over and over again was at risk in this controversy. Walther taught that God’s love in Christ was unconditional and that it extended back into the heart of God from all eternity, so that there was nothing in or about us that moved God to call, convert, and preserve us in the faith except his love for us in Jesus. Period. Others objected: “No, that’s not true. God chooses me when he sees something in me, like faith.” Or again, “God converts me and not others when I do something they don’t do, like softening my resistance to his call.”

So Walther thundered back: False! He insisted that the Gospel is comforting precisely because it is unconditional, and it’s sure because it’s based only on God’s love—and not at all and not any on me, a sinner.

Now, church fights are never pretty, and this one was exceptionally ugly. It had negative consequences that survived for generations. Nonetheless, Walther taught us something in this controversy worth remembering even today. We need to hang on to the Word of God at whatever cost. Jesus promised, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:31–32). So when we give up that Word even a little bit, we are actually giving up Jesus a little bit—and maybe a lot—and that means throwing doubt on our salvation! C. F. W. Walther knew this from personal experience, and he was not going to let it happen. The Gospel meant more to him than peace in the visible Church. God’s Word was more important than anything else.

So we can learn a great deal from the life of C. F. W. Walther. In spite of all the differences between his time and ours, there are things that never change. Satan still attacks God’s Word, and God’s people must be on their guard—they need to know this Word and be faithful to it. They need to speak up for it even when others may not want to hear it, and the cost of faithfulness may be great.

But even greater things are at stake in the Word of God, and Walther knew that too—personally. Not only when he was in such despair during his first year in America, but throughout all his life, Walther confessed himself “a poor miserable sinner.” That was true even during his last days and illness, when life was ebbing away. Something else was also true: God’s eternal promises in Jesus—and Walther relied on them. He prayed, “God be merciful to me!” and repeated the hymn “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness.”⁴

Ultimately, that’s what it all came down to for Walther as well as for us—not our lives, perhaps marked by triumphs but certainly marred by sins, but Jesus, our Savior. With Walther and all the saints, we rely on him—living, dying, and rising again! And that, my friends, is a faith worth imitating.

Notes

1.  As quoted in Walter A. Baepler, A Century of Grace: A History of the Missouri Synod 1847–1947 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1947), 24.

2.  C. F. W. Walther to Otto Herman Walther, May 4, 1840, in Carl S. Meyer, ed., Letters of C. F. W. Walther: A Selection (Philadelphia.: Fortress Press, 1969), 35.

3.  Ibid., 44.

4.  August R. Suelflow, Servant of the Word: The Life and Ministry of C. F. W. Walther (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000), 279.

Continued Health Improvement May God Grant It

Letter October 22, 2011

 I thank our Lord for all of you who have continued to send cards and keep me and my family in your prayers. It has been several months since I have written to you about my condition.  I am happy to report that our Lord has granted me slow but continual improvement.  I have been in the hospital twice since my stem cell transplant in March, once in September and once in October. The stay the first week of September was primary due to a cold, fever and a very mean rash that covered my body.  After ruling out infection, the doctors suspect I was having a reaction to an antibiotic that I was taking for a bad sinus and chest cold. My body is still weak fighting infection by itself.

Prior to my stay, I had an outpatient surgery to have a fistula put into my arm. The purpose of the fistula is to provide a safer access for Dialysis.  The surgery involved connecting a vein to an artery in my left forearm.  Once it matures, gets bigger and the vein/artery gets thicker, they will then use two needles each time I have dialysis to connect me to the filtering machine.  I still go to dialysis three times a week for a 3.5 hour session. 

My current access or permacath, which is located on my chest, consists of two plastic tubes going under my skin into my jugular vein. Permacaths are meant to be used only a few months because the risk of infection is much higher. Additionally I have to put plastic over it when I shower and I cannot swim with it. It needs to stay dry. These restrictions go away when the nurses start to use my fistula the beginning of November and they remove the permacath.

I also went into hospital short stay for an outpatient transfusion of platelets the beginning of October.  My platelets dropped below 19,000 and normal is 100,000. Platelets are essential for clotting and there is a risk of internal bleeding and bruising when they are at these lower levels. Anyway the transfusion boosted me to 40,000. They dropped again to 30,000 and this week they are up to 43,000. This is good, it appears the losing trend has turned to a gaining trend. 

Since I am at these low platelet levels I have been holding my Coumadin, blood thinning medication for blood clot, and Revlimed my maintenance chemo.  We suspect that the Revlimed taken in August might have impacted the production of blood products, which is what it is supposed to do, but I am not tolerating it well because it is cleared through the kidneys which in my case have failed.

At the moment I am not anxious about holding these medications. Other tests show that light chain ratios, a marker for detecting Primary Amyloidosis (PA), are within normal healthy range. Also I had a bone marrow biopsy the end of June and there was no sign of disease activity. I was told that none of my doctor’s patients have experienced a recurrence of the disease after analogous stem cell treatment. But it is much too early to make a definitive statement since this remedy for PA has only been used for three to four years. I still have a blood clot filter installed in the main vein from my legs to my heart.

I have weekly blood draws to watch my blood chemistry. I am closely monitored since my body without dialysis cannot clear phosphorous or potassium.  I have to especially watch the potassium level that can stop the heart. Some of my favorite foods contain potassium such as bananas, tomatoes, oranges, and avocadoes. The food s I must watch for phosphorous are dairy, nuts, chocolate, potatoes, whole grain bread and beer.  I can eat them, I just need to keep the portions way down.   

I have been back serving the congregation since June.  So far, with God’s help,  I have been able to do my duties, of leading Sunday Divine Service, two bible studies, two new member classes, youth group, preschool visits, visiting the sick and shut-ins and weekly school chapel.  I have learned to conserve my energy by focusing on doing what is necessary and staying away from the rest.  Dialysis gives me an opportunity, to study and write sermons, write letters like this one, make phone calls and rest.  The congregation has been very understanding and helpful regarding my schedule and giving me time to recover.  I am grateful to God for them.

I still have days where I feel that my energy is depleted. I have many days where it is painful to walk. I am still weak from my muscles being starved of protein from the disease. And I still get easily winded when exerting myself. Like St. Paul I have to say that the Lord is my strength. I am amazed at the amount of things, while I am still recovering, that I am able to do.

One good thing is that I am maintaining at 195 lbs.  I do not miss the extra weight but some think I am too thin.

I visited USC in September to be evaluated for a Kidney transplant.  I am still waiting for my case to be presented.  I pray this will happen soon and that I will be placed on the transplant list. I heard for my blood type O, positive, that it may take up to ten years to get a kidney in southern California. If my insurance allows it I will try to list in Tennessee and Florida where the waits are shorter. Nancy has offered herself as a donor to me. She is O negative which will work as long as it is type O.  But there are other markers that must match up for this to be allowed. Plus it is a six week recovery time after surgery for both donor and recipient.  My insurance currently will cover the expenses of the donor. 

Once again I thank you for your prayers.  I think you understand what I need if our Lord will grant it.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jeff Springer

Render to God the things that are God’s

Sermon Proper 24A

October 16, 2011

Matthew 22:15-22

Rev. Jeff Springer

Being defeated in their frontal attack on Jesus before His disciples, the Pharisees try a different tact.  They send both their disciples and the Jews who were loyal to the occupying government Rome via Rome’s puppet king Herod. These were the Herodians.  A common cause or enemy will create strange alliances or bed fellows as the old  figure of speech says.  

The Pharisees were at odds with the Herodians because they recognized only one Heavenly King and that was Yahweh and on earth the line of kings from David. Jesus lineage from David fit the bill but not for the Pharisees who were looking for a conquering messiah like we expect in Jesus second coming.  The Herodians were quite satisfied with Roman rule for they knew anyone who would challenge it would be crushed. The Herodians were not interested in rebellion or revolution but peace.  The Pharisees hated the Herodians because they exacted taxes from the people and that they supported a pagan gentile sovereign.

The disciples of the Pharisees, who presumably had not yet challenged Jesus,  and the Herodians came to Jesus as wolves in sheep’s clothing.  They began with compliments that any Rabbi or Pastor today would love to hear.  Such as you teach the truth truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Perhaps they thought they could soften Jesus up with these compliments in order to take him off guard so they can lay their trap.

And the question they lay their trap with is, “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

The problem is they did not know Jesus read minds and that He knew the deception and malice in their hearts.  Consistent with their compliment earlier that Jesus is not swayed by the opinions of others He calls them Hypocrites a Greek word used to portray actors, people who  portray themselves in a way that may be opposite of what they really think. They really did not think Jesus was all that virtuous and he had the authority do what he did or said.

Their real purpose was to entangle Jesus to change popular opinion of him from good to bad.  If he said simply yes then he would look like he sided with the unpopular Herodians and lose his following. If he simply said no then he may be brought up on charges of treason against Rome, a capital offence.  Ultimately, Jesus does receive capital punish for his claim to be a king, the king of the Jews which is written on a placard above him on the cross.

To put it into a more modern understanding, the followers of the Pharisees and the Herodians are like the television media today that asks questions of political candidates in so called debates.  It seems the real purpose is not to ask questions to help the American people but instead the questions are designed to trap or trick a candidate into saying something unpopular or disqualifying them.

If only these candidates had the wisdom of Jesus.  Jesus knowing their hypocrisy answered the question perfectly. He first asks them for the currency they use to pay the tax and then asks them whose image and subscription is on the coin.  They answered Caesar. Then Jesus said render or give back unto Caesar what is his and render to God’s what is God’s.  And at this answer they marveled. Jesus had walked right through their trap unscathed.

Jesus made the obvious clear. If it has Caesar’s name and image on it, it is his creation, it belongs to him. Who is made in the image of God? What has its name upon it through baptism?  Answer mankind.  Mankind is his creation and belongs to Him. This is an answer neither side could dispute.

The issue here comes down to headship and subordination. These are terms that are foreign to our egalitarian American culture.  No one wants to assume responsibility and no one wants to be placed under the authority of another. This was not necessarily the case in the time of Jesus when there were Kings or even the time of Luther 1500 years later.  What has replaced authority and headship in the 20^th and 21^st centuries is power. Unlike authority, power is something that is not granted but taken. In order to be powerful one must dis-empower someone else.  People who use power without authority are the ones who abuse it.

Headship rather is a granted position of authority, granted divinely and it is exercised not through power as much as responsibility.  The exercise of headship is defined through giving of oneself for those he is responsible.  The head can not act autonomously because it needs the body.  And its responsibility is to take care of the body. Jesus Christ, the Lord God, is the ultimate example of headship. In every encounter we see Jesus exercising his headship.  In today’s Gospel he reminds his opponents that they are God’s creation and so is their neighbor.

The Pharisees , Scribes, Chief Priests and even King Herod have been granted positions of Headship.  But how are they using them. Are they being just? Are the showing mercy?  Are they acting selflessly?  The answer is no.   And still there is another problem whose authority are they under who are they subordinate too? Who are they accountable too?

If you do not as a head practice subordination then you will misuse your authority. Everyone is accountable to someone else even if it is to God, as Jesus refers Pilate too.

Subordination in our culture also gets a bad rap.  We see it sometimes interpreted as submission in our English translations but really the Greek is closer to the meaning of subordination. Another misconception is that a subordinate is inferior and the head is superior.  The fact is there could be a subordinate who is much more qualified and experienced than the one who has been placed as head over him. As the name implies it is an ordering that defines the relation of the one who is giving and the one who is receiving, for to be subordinate to someone is to receive from someone in the biblical sense.

All of this has fourth commandment implications. “Honor your Father and Mother” what does this mean? We are to fear and love God, so that we neither despise nor anger our parents and others in authority, but instead honor, serve, obey, love, and respect them.^[1]

There is actually a simple way to do headship and subordinate audit or examination.  At the end of the Small Catechism is a section called the table of duties. Organized according to station or office both heads and subordinate offices are given with the applicable word of God.  One can easily see if one is a Father for instance what his responsibilities to his family are or if one is an employee what is due his employer.  

Our Lord has set up this order so that we may receive His daily bread both from the spiritual kingdom and from the temporal or civil kingdom.  In the spiritual kingdom our Lord has given us spiritual fathers such as Pastors who are accountable to him. In the civil kingdom Lord gives to us paternal fathers who head families and civil fathers such as elected authorities, both of which are ultimately accountable to God.

One might say, “What if these authorities or heads abuse their authority?”  If they are absolutely evil, God will act to curb that evil. They are ultimately accountable to Him. We should look to the example of Jesus who suffered unjustly much at the hands of the civil and religious leaders yet he did not cry out unfair, but he prayed. He trusted in the Father to deliver him and the Father did for the benefit of us all.

As our Head Jesus gives his very life for us the body, this is what is also expected of Christian husbands in relation to their wife. They are to love their wives as their own body.

Isreal’s church leaders did not see Jesus as their head and so they rebelled against Him which ultimately was a rebellion against God.  However, Jesus did die for their rebellion and he died for your rebellion when you have chosen to fight instead of endure and allow the Lord who sits at the right hand of God to be our champion and fight for us.  And Jesus died when we as Father’s and heads have not acted responsibly and selflessly. In Jesus name you are forgiven and free to be a head and to be a subordinate in the way our Lord intended.   Amen

---

^[1] Kolb, R., Wengert, T. J., & Arand, C. P. (2000). The Book of Concord : The confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (352). Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Proper Wedding Attire

Sermon Proper 23A

Matthew 22:1-14

Rev. Jeff Springer

Weddings are certainly festive occasions. Many businesses are based on weddings. From wedding planners, to the printing of invitations, to the wedding cake, renting the hall for the reception, as well as the catering and we should not forget the wedding dress.

In fact for the wedding proper attire is very important not only for the wedding party that wears bridesmaid dresses and tuxes but also the guests.  Weddings for the most part are still formal occasions.  The guests are expected to look their best.

Could you imagine if you were asked to attend a wedding at the last moment.  Perhaps there would not be time to shop for a new dress or a new suit. Perhaps you could not afford it.  What if the host of the wedding offers to clothe you for the wedding.  He says don’t worry here is something to wear so that you may be properly attired. Would you receive his gift?

This is not just any wedding, you are in the presence of the King and the King knows how to throw a party. The king in this case is the King of the Universe, the Heavenly Father.  We get glimpses of this wedding from the prophet Isaiah. Listen to the menu, a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. Jesus explains it even further as speaks of oxen and fat calves. Too have meat and wine was a real luxury, it still is when you are speaking of the best.  This is a wedding feast that no one would want to miss or at least we would think so.

But this is what happens. The King sends his servants out to let the invited guests know that the time has come for them to attend. But instead of coming to the feast, they would rather return home and attend to their farms and businesses. Even worse some of the intended guests treat the servants who are the messengers badly. Sounds a lot like how the tenants treated the servants of the Master in last week’s text. The prophets, the servants of God, who are not only looking for fruits of repentance but they are also looking to call you into God’s presence to feast on what is good.

The result for them is not good, the invited guests refusal to turn to God and to receive from Him his gifts and to also treat His servants badly is met with war and destruction.

I cannot help to draw some parallels today with refusal of some, many who are baptized, to keep the Sabbath. As you may recall the meaning of keeping the Sabbath, is to not despise our Lord’s preaching or His word but deem it Holy and gladly hear and learn it.

The Divine Service that is offered to you every week is a feast of God’s Word and in the Sacrament. The Lord has you feast on Himself. You are receiving God. What more or greater of gift is there, and it is free. What excuse, if you are able, not to attend this feast can be given?  Do you have a problem with the Servant God has sent?  Is the time of the service inconvenient? Are there matters of business and home that are more important? Are you not happy with the style of service?  It’s too formal?  Listen to this parable again. Do you really think any of these excuses that you would bring before the Heavenly King will work?  Stop making excuses for not regularly attending Divine Service and come and join the feast of the Lamb.

I have heard the excuse, can I not worship God in nature. Why must I come to a church? Is not God everywhere? The major difference is this. If your view of worship is giving praise and honor to God, then this is something that can be done anywhere.  However, if your view of Worship is hearing God’s Word, preaching and receiving the gifts of His sacraments there is one place where this is received and that is in Divine Service in Church.  The first case is the worship of the law which any pagan understands and practices.  The real Christian worship is in receiving gifts from God, accepting His invitation to come to the feast where He feeds and clothes you. And not just you alone but all the guests, worship is properly a communal event not an individualized subjective event.

It is at the wedding feast in Revelation 19 that we hear the saints with all the Heavenly Hosts singing. St. John writes, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

                  “Hallelujah!

                  For the Lord our God

      the Almighty reigns.

           Let us rejoice and exult

      and give him the glory,

                  for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

      and his Bride has made herself ready;

           it was granted her to clothe herself

      with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Rev. 19:6–9).

Here in this passage we hear that the bride is the church.  She has made herself ready and she is granted to clothe herself with fine, linen, bright and pure-for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Being justified by Christ the groom, the church can now wear the righteous deeds of the saints. They are seen and recognized.

However, this gown is a bit different than the one in the parable given by the King to his new guests the ones who the Servants brought in from the road both bad and good.  Yes sinners are welcome to the feast as long as they are properly attired. This attire is that of Christ, put on in Christian baptism.  Jesus earlier had intimated that the tax collectors and prostitutes who heeded the words of God servant John the Baptist and who may have been baptized by Christ were entering the Kingdom of Heaven before the originally invited guests the chief priests and elders.

Without Christ’s righteousness we do not deserve to be at the wedding feast even if we are called, that is received an invitation. The chosen are those who are wearing the gown of Christ’s righteousness.  This is why the guest without the proper attire was removed. He answered the call by coming to the wedding but still wanted to attend on his own terms under His own self righteousness.  His fate will be no different than those who refused to heed the call in the first place.  He will be removed and sent where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, one of Jesus descriptions of hell.

Basically when someone refuses baptism and wants to stand before the Heavenly Father. They are doing so without Christ so God is not a Father to them but a Holy Judge dispensing justice for sins committed. I cannot imagine someone who says they are a Christian and are not baptized. What have they been taught? Who are they listening too?  Jesus says, “Unless one is born of the water and the spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

For you who are baptized, you have a glorious gift. You have put on Christ.  It was customary in the past for infants and even adults to be baptized naked. In this way they shared in the humility of Christ’s crucifixion but it was also a symbol of being born again and coming out of the water the baptized would receive a white robe once again signifying they had put on Christ.  God for them is no longer a judge but a Heavenly Father. And so it is for you baptized into Christ.  You are here in Divine Service properly attired and ready for the foretaste of the feast to come the blessed sacrament of the altar.  This is the feast of the Lamb which we will all celebrate together one day in Heaven. Where we will sing with the great multitude…

                  “Hallelujah!   For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult  and give him the glory,

                  for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.”   Amen!

The Stone the Builder's Rejected

Sermon Proper 22A

October 2, 2011

Matthew 21:33-46

Rev. Jeff Springer

Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This week’ s gospel text begins where last week’s ended.  Jesus in his parable last week indicates that the really really bad sinners are entering the Kingdom of God before Israel’s religious and civil leaders.  This of course does not endear him to this group of unrepentant self righteous. They seem to get harder and harder against the thought that Jesus is the Messiah. 

If the first parable does not upset them then this next one will seal the deal.  Jesus takes them to a very familiar metaphor,  that of the vineyard that the Lord planted represented the nation of Israel that the Lord had set apart.  The comparison is quite striking between our Old Testament reading and the Gospel reading.  Jesus refers to this metaphor when telling his next parable. 

He says, there was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and then  went away into another country.  (Mt 21:33) So far this sounds a lot like the vineyard described in Isaiah.  The vineyard is planted a winepress is dug, a tower is built and a fence is put up around it. 

In both cases the Master has planted the vineyard and he has placed protection around His vineyard and after planting He seeks a harvest. He seeks fruit from his vineyard.  However, this is where things go awry.  In the vineyard mentioned in Isaiah, the choice vines do not yield choice fruit but instead wild fruit.  In this case God who planted his people Israel finds instead of peace, bloodshed and an outcry for justice that is not being met.

Similarly, in the gospel reading Jesus’ vineyard there will be violence and bloodshed which is caused by the tenants that God had placed in the vineyard to be its stewards.  The chief priests and the elders are the stewards of this vineyard. They are to be respected as authorities for they sit on Moses’ seat.  The Master sends his servants to the tenants and the tenant treat them very badly.  They beat one, they kill one and they stone one. This could very well be the prophets sent to Israel calling for repentance in this way preparing them for the coming of the Son, prophets such as John the Baptist the last and greatest of the prophets. 

After the servants of the Lord are rejected as His prophets, finally we hear, that the owner sent his Son. The Son was sent by the Master to collect the harvest.

However, this is not the fruit or harvest the Son was looking to find.  Instead of finding the fruits of repentance, a contrite heart. He is confronted with violence, anger, murderous thoughts, envy, and greed.  The tenants believe that they can wrest the inheritance of the Father away by killing the Son. 

Jesus was revealing the thoughts of Israel’s church leaders and lay leaders who were arrayed against him. They reject Him. Jesus accurately describes what they are planning to do to Him by the end of the Passover festival.  They will take Jesus the Son of God out of the city and they will crucify Him to death.

But instead of inheritance, Jesus warns them that they will receive God’s wrath. As in the first vineyard where the hedges and protection are torn down so that the wild fauna may have their way in the vineyard and it will suffer from drought, in this case the offending agents, the tenants will be removed from the vineyard and the Lord will place new tenants in their place who will give Him the fruits in their seasons. 

The church and lay leadership that rejected Jesus will be replaced in God’s vineyard by others.  We can see in this the church transitioning from the current leadership to those Apostles and disciples who follow Jesus and manifest the fruits of repentance when confronted with their sin and who confidently hear the gospel of Christ’s forgiveness, for as the Son is being killed outside the gate He is also experiencing the Holy wrath of the Father so that all followers of Christ will not.

Jesus refers them to Psalm 118 verses 22 and 23 where it says, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

The Heavenly Father is taking what the builders, Israel’ church and lay leaders rejected, and has made him the cornerstone of the church. Jesus is the foundation by which the rest of us living stones , His church are built upon. This is how St. Peter later refers to Jesus.

In chapter 4 of the book of Acts, Peter as he goes before the high priests repeats the same promise. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”   This is the good news for you, for those who trust in Christ.  It gives us confidence that our Lord is an immoveable rock and that He has the ability and the authority to save us.  Yes in baptism we have been given His name and are therefore saved. 

But for unbelievers He is the immoveable unbreakable rock, which as they fall on Him, are themselves smashed and broken.  They will suffer a miserable death outside the vineyard.  And when the rock falls on Him they are crushed. This is what happens to the old satanic foe, the serpent in the garden, while Jesus is on the cross he is crushing the head of the serpent and taking from him all his accusatory power.

The chief priests and elders did not repent instead their hearts hardened further. They perceived rightly that Jesus spoke of them and even though the people saw Jesus as a prophet they would not. Ironically God would take Israel’s evil pattern of rejecting God’s servants and place it in the service of good as these Chief priests and elders would sacrifice this Lamb of God for the sins of the world. 

Today we should also heed this warning for today we do have God’s Word calling us to repentance.  Our sins against Jesus range from not putting him first in our lives to being jealous of our neighbor’s goods.  All ten commandments when convicting us rightfully crush the unbelieving old Adam inside us.  That old Adam wants to be in control. When it comes to matters of doctrine and especially practice in the church the old Adam wants to tell Jesus what to do.  Lord keep us from this. Grant us repentance to turn from our own ideas and to God’s.

Paul in his letter to the Philippians is a man living a life of repentance and hope in Christ Jesus. He lists for the Philippian church all his achievements which he calls confidence in the flesh. He says that he was, “circumcised on the 8^th day, of the people of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed , I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God that depends on faith- that I may know him and the power of the resurrection…” (Philippians 3:5-10)

Paul throws his selfishness and his self-righteousness under the bus so that he may attain to Christ and His resurrection. And he continues to press on even though he already has the resurrection through his baptism in Christ Jesus.

This is for you as well for you in baptism you have already attained the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the dead. Turn to him with your sins, confess and He will heal you of your transgressions.  Come and share in Christ's rejection by the world.  You are a new creature. The wedding feast is ready, come and taste the foretaste of the feast to come you new tenants and stewards of the church.  Stand on the cornerstone of Christ Jesus who cannot be shaken or move but crushes the enemies of the church. 

Now may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen

Who's in charge?

Sermon Proper  21A

Matthew 21:23-32 

Rev. Jeff Springer

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him as he was teaching, and said,  “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”  (Mt 21:23) In today’s text Jesus’ authority is being challenged. Essentially Jesus opponents are asking, “Who do you think you are? Who put you in charge?”

So, what was Jesus doing that prompted this type of attention of the Chief Priests and Elders?

Many things have happened since last week’s text.   Jesus has not only turned his face toward Jerusalem but he is in Jerusalem in a big way. First he entered into Jerusalem with a palm laden parade saddled on the foal of donkey.  The people are crying out Hosanna, Lord save us.  This the type of welcome reserved for kings. Jesus has definitely identified himself as an heir of King David and therefore the promised Messiah.  This is what the people and the disciples confess as Jesus rides humbly up to the capital city.

Interestingly when he rides up to the temple none of the religious establishment is there to welcome him.  Unlike the people and the disciples they refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Jesus then goes about his Father’s business once more but this time, Jesus cleanses or some would say symbolically destroys the temple.  Jesus overturns the commerce going on within the temple, the conversion of currencies from that of the nation to the temple currency. 

The national currency was not welcome in the temple because it bore the image and likeness of one who claimed to be god, that is Caesar. But it also permitted a great deal of stealing to occur as conversion rates and fees assessed so that the money changers could make a living. 

There was also the purchase of sacrificial animals which the pilgrim might be charged exorbitant prices for because they could not bring their own.  Or a better animal might have been exchanged for a lesser animal and perhaps the better animal was sold by the temple for a profit on the market.  In any event Jesus judges the temple to be a den of robbers and thieves instead of being the house of prayer that the Father intended for it.

Finally Jesus comes to a fig tree and when he reaches out to get a fig on the tree none could be found. He curses the tree to death.  This rather unusual occurrence is an expression of judgment on Israel. The fig tree represented Israel as its national tree.  Jesus here shows what happens when the Lord returns looking for the fruit of repentance and he finds none. This was Jesus’ experience as he visits the Holy city.

So now Jesus is back in the temple in this text.  What will He do next? Some must have thought.  But the Chief Priests, who represent the church leadership and the Elders who represent the lay leadership, want to question Jesus and his authority. Who does he think he is to come in here and try and change everything. We have everything just the way we want it. 

Many pastors who come out of seminary are told not to try to change things to quickly in the congregations that they are called too. If they see error tolerate it.  Congregations many times have taking on habits and practices that have developed over time. Some wholesome and edifying, some that are not. 

Who has the authority to point out these errors where they occur and to suggest positive changes that find its root in scripture and not in the thoughts of man. In any case the Pastor may be challenged, who are you to call this unhealthy who are you to make tell us to make these changes. We have everything the way we like it.

What is described above is the symptom of a problem, not the real problem.  The real problem is that we do not believe the scripture. We do not believe it has authority.  Very few people today use scripture to make a point.

One reason is that most people have heard other people use scripture to justify a position that really is not in congruence with scripture and rightly find this distasteful. We hear of cults and Christian sects who use scripture to justify polygamy, pedophilia, and other forms of abuse. 

However the more subtle challenge to the authority of scripture is found in the idea that we cannot really know God through it.  God would not restrict his revealed will to one set of compiled writings.  There must be more.  Perhaps every culture every religion has a piece of the truth. We just do not know what it is.

If we do come to place where we believe that God reveals his will exclusively in the scriptures at the exclusion of other religious texts like the Koran or the Book of Mormon, then we are faced with all the differing interpretations that come from the splits or denominations within Christendom. 

If we assert as a denomination that we have the correct understanding or interpretation of scripture, then we are deemed to be arrogant, rather than someone with conviction.  This is the idea of Satan from the beginning where, he poses the question to Eve, “Did God really say that?”  Without the facts and history of scripture we have no legitimate religion. 

This idea that we really can’t know god has found its way into American Evangelicalism, where teaching the faith has given way to the feelings and experiences one has about how God is working in their life now. Somehow this totally subjective experience should apply to you. 

For instance far too many times, even within our own circles will you find a missionary blog that says, they are grateful to God for giving them the opportunity to share their faith in Christ Jesus and how that has impacted their life. 

Sadly, this does nothing.   What needs to be confessed is that Jesus is the Christ who died for the sins of the world, that means your sins are forgiven. Now they have been given something. 

We preach the word not to convince the unrepentant or to try and win someone over but we preach the word to preach faith into that person. Either the Holy Spirit works in the heart of the believer or He does not, that is His business. But it is our role to preach the faith to all who will hear.

                    

Jesus answers the Chief Priests and the Elders with a question.  He says if you will tell me where does the baptism of John come from, heaven or man, than I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 

Jesus has set his opponents up to answer their own question. However they refuse to admit the truth. They know if they say that the baptism was from heaven that they refused and rejected God’s will.

If they answer that the baptism was from man then they would be at odds with the people who believe that the baptism of John was from heaven.  So piously they say we don’t know?  Actually it was not so pious or humble because they knew the answer.

When given the opportunity to repent the church leaders and civil leaders would not.  They did not recognize that they were sinners in need of a savior.  It was through the baptism of John that Jesus began his ministry. A voice from heaven and the appearance of the Holy Spirit as a dove verified the fact that Jesus was doing and would do the will of the Father. That is to identify with sinners, not for Himself to repent, but for Him to carry all the sins washed away by the waters of baptism to the cross. 

After the cross and resurrection Christ, would add to John’s baptism of repentance, the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins as he later institutes it in Matthew 28. 

Jesus continues the theme of repentance as he tells the parable of the two sons. When asked to go work in the vineyard the first son says he will not but later repents and does.  The second son says he will but then does not. 

When asked who did the father’s will the opponents answer the first son to which Jesus replies that the tax collectors and prostitutes, these really, really bad sinners are coming into the Lord’s Kingdom before you who believe you are clean and without sin that you are justified before God by your own merits. 

The chief priests and elders stood by as John was baptizing the repenting tax collectors and prostitutes. They denied the authority of John’s baptism and the authority of Jesus.

For you Christian, Christ’s authority is a welcome thing.  Jesus rose from the dead. If someone beats death then they are definitely worth listening too.  Jesus not only beats death but He is seated at the right hand of God with all authority.

He is able to do what he has promised. He washes away your sin with baptism. He speaks the words of absolution through the voice of the pastor. He gives to you his very body and blood.  You having received these things are entered into God’s Kingdom. Amen.