Pastor Chris Boyd

We would like to thank Pastor Chris Boyd for his service at Resurrection Lutheran Church. After he graduated from the North American Lutheran Seminary and Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA in 2020, he began his pastoral career at Resurrection Lutheran Church. He resigned at the end of January. His ministry still extends to the Catawba Island Fire Department as its chaplain and as a volunteer fireman. He is in the process of being called to a new church within the Missouri Synod closer to his home town of Dayton. Until an interim pastor through the NALC is in place at RLC, the congregation will receive pastoral care from three lay ministers John Hazzard, Jeff Johns, and Gary Kresge.

Sermons

Sermon prepared by John Hazzard February 9, 2025

5th Sunday After Epiphany

Luke 5:1-11

“The Nets Cast into The Sea of Life"

GRACE BE UNTO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD THE FATHER AND FROM OUR CRUCIFIED AND RISEN LORD AND SAVIOUR - JESUS THE CHRIST.

There’s a Biblical Greek word I find most meaningful; the verb eu-an-gi-lizo which means “to bring good news or to announce glad tidings” and its noun eu-an-ge-lion which means “good news or glad tidings”. Of course, for Christians, that euangelion – The good news – is THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION THROUGH OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS THE CHRIST. That Good News is the foundation of the Holy Christian Church and the essence of our belief and mission as Christians. And I encourage you all to keep this in mind as we discuss today’s gospel text. As that same Lord and Savior continued to make himself known while he preached the Word of God and performed miracles among the fishing community found on Lake Ge-nnes-a-ret; which we might remember as the name given to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Each day - as the sun was setting - the fishing boats would head out into the lake. There the fishermen would remain until the boat’s hold was filled with fish or the sun had begun to rise. Throughout the night the fishermen would cast their weighted nets into the sea and then slowly draw them back to the boat - hopefully filled with fish. This was no simple task; these fishing boats were rather large. As You may recall, these boats were large enough to haul Jesus and his twelve disciples across the lake.

The hours were long, and the work was hard - and each morning the fisherman's wage was one third of his catch. Alongside these holders of those precious fishing licenses; another one of the more prosperous industries by the lake involved the boat owners who took care of the boats and rented them each night to the fishermen for one-third of the night's catch of fish.

The final third went to the net owners. Each night they rented their nets to the fishermen. Every morning, they cleaned and stitched the nets and did everything necessary to get them ready for the next night.

Knowing all of this, you can only imagine how hectic the mornings on the shore must have been, with fishermen returning with their hard-earned catch from a long night on the lake. It was on one such morning that we found ourselves in today’s reading.

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with people crowding around Him and listening to The Word of God, Jesus saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. Luke goes on to report that the fishermen who were washing their nets by their boats were Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

Peter and Andrew with their father Jonas; and James and John, with their father Zebedee, had those very expensive fishing licenses and they had earned enough from their fishing to own their own boats and nets; meaning, every night’s catch belonged totally to them. And to make things even more clear, Mark tells us that Zebedee and his sons were in their boat with the hired men – people they were employing in the fishing business. MARK (1:2)

That’s not all. You no doubt recall that on the night of Jesus’ arrest, when Peter and John followed the arrest party, they were admitted to the high priest’s house because the gatekeeper recognized John as the man who sold fish to the high priest’s cook. Zebedee and his partner and their sons were not only fishermen, boat owners, and net people, but they were also involved in sales - which also meant, they were involved in preparing the fish they caught to sell. Their fishing business was indeed a First Century corporation.

It was these men that Jesus approached. Getting into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, Jesus asked him to put out a little from the land. And Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat. One of the central characteristics of our Lord and Savior is His constant willingness to do whatever is necessary to communicate with us. Our text goes on…When He had ceased speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

Now, that cluster of villages along the shoreline of the lake were filled with fishermen who prided themselves on their knowledge of the lake and its fish. They knew fishing. They knew no one catches fish on that lake in the heat of the day. They also knew that even at the best time- when the fish were most active- the spot Jesus was pointing to, was the WRONG place to fish. It was the Wrong Place and the Wrong Time.

Most everyone on the shoreline knew Simon and his partners were short tempered, outspoken fishermen. They also knew that after fishing all night and having no luck at all, that the last thing they would do is let some non-fishermen tell them where and when to fish. I can only imagine what must have been going through their minds. They must have been thinking, “what is wrong with you Jesus, didn’t you see that we fished all night in all the right spots and caught nothing. Don’t you know that trying to catch fish in the spot you're pointing to, especially at this time of day, is next to impossible.” Most of all, they knew Simon to be a proud man who would never want people to laugh at him for following advice everyone knew was contrary to all their fishing experience. All who knew Simon was just waiting for him to blow his top. What all those people didn’t know is that for Jesus the Christ, nothing is impossible.

So, instead of chastising Jesus, as was expected by all, Simon calmly replied, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets." You see, in the end, no matter what is said or what someone thinks, the wise person who lives by faith is always ready to follow where God leads – even if God calls us to let down the nets in the most improbable of waters – even if what God commands seems to be politically incorrect or the opposite of what so-called experts tell us. When God calls us, we must take up our nets and be ready to act just like Simon did that day.

The fishermen let down the huge, weighted nets and allowed them to sink and to trap any fish that might happen to be in that unlikely spot at that unlikely hour.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and, as their nets were breaking, they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so they began to sink.

At a time and in a place every Galilean fisherman knew was bad for fishing, they caught so many fish that their nets were breaking and the holds in Simon's boat and in James' and John's boat became so filled with fish that the boats began to sink.

This wasn’t the only time that Simon was given a glimpse of the true identity of Jesus. We know from Luke chapter 4 that Jesus preached, healed people, and even cast out demons with authority. The people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching because his word had such authority. (This was a stark contrast to their rabbis, who simply taught the opinions of other rabbis.) Jesus not only had authority, but he had the inherent authority of God himself. You may recall that prior to this, Jesus- who happened to be visiting Simon’s house- was asked to help his sick mother-in-law, and as he rebuked the fever, it left her, and she immediately got up and began to serve them. It wasn’t like she slowly started to feel better, she instantly felt better! You might be asking yourself why Simon didn’t fall at Jesus’ knees at that moment in time? It seems that he would not be so easily swayed by things he didn’t completely understand.

However, Simon did know fishing - particularly fishing on that Galilean Lake where he spent so much of his life. He was an acknowledged expert on fishing on that lake. And now he had seen Jesus intervene in an area where Simon was the expert and Simon was overwhelmed with what he saw.

When Simon Peter saw the miraculous catch of fish -- saw Jesus' Lordship over nature itself – he knew that this was no coincidence. This was a miracle that Simon Peter- as an expert fisherman- knew was a demonstration of the presence of God. He fell at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

The faith, inspired by that miraculous catch of fish and taking root in Simon Peter, caused him to recognize Jesus not only as "Rabbi"- or Teacher, but also as The Lord of nature and of everything else – Simon Peter’s Lord.

Simon Peter caught a wonderful vision that went far beyond a miraculous catch of fish. Simon Peter discovered himself to be in the visible Presence of The Lord -- and that is not a comfortable place for a sinful man or woman to be.

Simon Peter knew himself to be an overly proud, boastful, hot-tempered man with a sinfully flawed character. How could he possibly feel comfortable in the Presence of The Lord? The miracle of the catch of fish reached Simon Peter and drove him to feel a sinful man's fear and discomfort in the Presence of The Lord who can command the very forces of nature to do His bidding.

By the grace of hindsight, it is easy for us to be critical of Simon Peter’s inability to recognize the very essence of who Jesus really is; God Incarnate, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. But how could we truly understand how he felt that day, when that revelation washed over him. When he realized that, Jesus is truly man and truly God. And in this context Jesus not only died for our sins; but also lived for our righteousness. It is only by the grace of God that we freely receive Christ’s righteousness through the work of the cross. Jesus died for us as the spotless lamb of God. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He passively took our sins, as he emptied himself and subjected Himself to not only the physical pain of the crucifixion, but to the overwhelming terror He realized when He was cut off from God as the result of our unrighteousness. It was only through Christ’s total obedience as a vulnerable flesh and blood human that He qualified to be our savior, the spotless lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29)! Perhaps, John of Damascus put it most succinctly when he said, “For He who is the Creator becomes also the Savior, and He who is the master becomes also the Redeemer” (John of Damascus 2022). It is in these two actions; Jesus passively taking our sins on himself while actively living without sin, that allowed Him to atone for our sins. In (2 Cor. 5:21) Paul describes Christ as being made “Sin for us,” so that we might become “The Righteousness of God in Him.” It was in this double imputation that our sins were imputed onto Christ, so that His righteousness, as the vulnerable flesh and blood Christ, could be imputed to us.

And it is Christ’s actions upon the cross that puts us in the same place in our lives, as Simon was on that first century day on the lake. We have all been there. Perfection is not a strong suit for any of us. The label, "sinful man" or woman belongs indelibly to each one of us, and anyone who boasts of perfection only adds false pride to his or her list of sins and shortcomings. WE ALL recognize the Divine Truth God proclaimed through St. Paul in his EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS (3:22b-23). "There is no distinction; since we all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God …" St. Paul and each of us truly understand Simon Peter's feelings in the Presence of The Lord.

"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." was Simon’s plea, but Jesus did not depart from Simon Peter. As He does not depart from ANY of us.

God came as a vulnerable flesh and blood human being to save us. Jesus did not depart from Simon Peter or from James and John or from anyone else that day. Jesus does not depart from us.

Instead, Jesus answered his plea by reassuring Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

Jesus' miraculous catch of fish opened the door to Jesus' even more miraculous redeeming of human lives. That day, in one miracle, Jesus filled the fishermen's nets with fish. But He also performed a second and greater miracle. Jesus filled their lives with forgiveness, grace, purpose, and temporal and eternal meaning -- He filled their lives with those blessings in such quantity that the blessings truly spilled over into the lives of others.

Jesus said, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." This an obvious contrast to “catching fish” which are removed from the water to die and be eaten. The blessings of The Gospel catch people alive and keep us truly alive eternally.

"Do not be afraid; from now on you will be CATCHING ALIVE people." Jesus doesn't merely say to Simon Peter and the others, "I forgive you all your past and present sins; go and try to do better." No, Jesus invites the once alienated from God, sinful Simon Peter, and the others, to be so filled with Jesus and His blessings that they themselves become agents of Jesus' forgiveness and reconciliation for other people -- helping to bring others back to a loving and faithful relationship with God.

So, they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him. So enlightened and empowered were they by all they saw Jesus do and heard Him say that, when He invited them, those prosperous fishing industry people left everything and followed Him. Just as He calls all of us to do the same. Jesus calls all of us, even today to leave our pride, and our sins with Him. To empty ourselves the way He emptied Himself on the cross and to follow, wherever He might lead. Even to the most remote, ridiculous places, at the absolute worst time, He calls us. He calls us to follow His lead and share ourselves, our love, and our time with those around us as we walk with Him wherever He might take us. We just need a little faith, and He will fill our lives with joy and love, like He filled those boats that day on Galilee.

You see, therein lies the real miracle on the lake -- in the lives of those imperfect fishermen, who, by the Grace of God, became evangelical fishers of men – cast their spiritual nets into the lives of imperfect human beings like US, who, by the Grace of God, are committed to answering Jesus’ call to lovingly and faithfully proclaim The Word of God as revealed incarnately in Jesus Christ and inerrantly in The Holy Bible.

THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH PASSES ALL HUMAN UNDERSTANDING KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS … OUR CRUCIFIED AND RISEN LORD AND SAVIOUR WHO GIVES US TRUE EVANGELICAL PURPOSE ON THE SEA OF LIFE NOW AND ETERNALLY. AMEN.

Sermon prepared by Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel February 16, 2025

Grace Ev. Lutheran Church, Westerville, OH

6th Sunday After Epiphany

Luke 6:27-38

“The Great, Incongruous Surprise!”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You’ve realized by now I’m not one for jokes in sermons, as they can trivialize the proclamation of the Gospel. And yet, sometimes they fit! But you’ll have to think about this one. It seems two Lutheran pastors, Pastor David and Pastor Will, died and headed up to heaven. At the pearly gates, they met St. Peter, and they said, “We’re both Lutheran pastors and we’re here to enter into our heavenly rest.” So, St. Peter looked in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but no, their names weren’t there. Pastor David and Pastor Will were shocked so they pleaded, “We’re long-time Lutheran clergy—our names must be there!” So, St. Peter pulled up the newer hi-tech records on the computer database, but no, no David Wendel or Will Hartfelder. So, the Lutheran pastors said, “What does this mean?” To which St. Peter replied, looking down, “It means you take the down elevator.” The doors opened and down they went! At the gates of hell, they were met by a demon, who processed them in, and was leading them to their fiery eternal home. And lo and behold, as they passed into one room, they saw chained to the wall, who of all people, but Martin Luther and St. Paul! And the pastors said, surprised, “Luther—St. Paul, what happened—why are you here?” To which both Luther and Paul looked at each other, shrugged and said, “It was works!” Think about it.

This joke falls into the category of comedy called “incongruity”, which is funny because it’s a surprise--it takes what you might expect and turns it upside down, that is, assuming you would expect Pastor David and Pastor Will would go to heaven in the first place! You might expect that Lutheran pastors would end up in heaven. Not guaranteed, but you might expect it. But even more, we believe that we are saved by grace, through faith, NOT by works of the Law, so that you might expect pastors, and other Christians, will be saved and go to heaven, in spite of their works. And yet, if we’re wrong, and it is works, we, together with Luther and St. Paul might indeed find ourselves, not in heaven, but let’s say, someplace else. And if that happens, it will be a great surprise, totally incongruous with Scripture and the 2000+ years of the preaching of the Gospel. It would turn the world and eternity upside down!

And isn’t that what we find in our gospel lesson for today? Something totally surprising and incongruous! The beatitudes in both St. Matthew’s and St. Luke’s gospels present blessing, faith, salvation, as a surprise—maybe even a shock—because what Jesus is saying is not what one would expect, in the kingdom of this world. For example, according to the world’s way of thinking, blessings come to winners. Everyone wants to be a winner and as we’ve been taught, the Lord helps them to help themselves. Similarly, cursed are those who are considered losers—the poor, the downtrodden, the hungry and the grieving. When you’re down and out, it seems the world puts its foot on you, to keep you down! According to the ways of the world, it’s good to be king—or queen, and it’s bad to be peasants and paupers.

According to the beatitudes, however, in God’s Kingdom, the opposite is actually the case. According to Holy Scripture, within the kingdom of God, the poor are blessed, as are the starving, and those who weep. Blessed are those who are persecuted. But even more, according to Scripture, cursed will be the rich, cursed will be those who are full and satisfied, woe to those who are laughing and having a good time now, for they will be mourning and weeping. And for all the times we’ve heard the Beatitudes—for all the times we’ve been confronted with this reality of God’s great surprise, still, it doesn’t make sense. Still, it’s hard for us to grasp, let alone for us to explain—because it’s incongruous! It’s unexpected. It doesn’t compute.

And of course, that’s the point, isn’t it? That’s why Jesus says what he says in the beatitudes. He wants us to hear and to understand that God’s love, the Kingdom of God, doesn’t make sense, from a worldly point of view! Jesus knew then, as we know now, that the kingdom of this world, expects things to add up—you do good things and good things come to you. If bad things happen to you, well, you must deserve it. That’s what folks believed in Jesus’ time, that your life, whether blessed or cursed, was the result of your own actions—so that you were being rewarded or punished for what you had done or failed to do. Kind of like karma and reincarnation—as if human existence is simply the adding up of good or bad things you’ve done in life, and you’re blessed or cursed in accordance with that. Many people believe that’s the way the world thinks and works, and yes, that thinking continues to creep into the hearts and lives of churches and Christians!

Which is why Jesus points, not just here, but again and again to the truth that God does not function in accord with our all too human structures and systems. Rather, God deals with us in graceful, merciful ways, meaning the last shall be first and the first last. Meaning the proud will be cast down and the lowly lifted up. The poor and hungry will be filled and fed, while the rich and powerful will find themselves on the bottom looking up. And yes, get this, as St. Paul says in our second lesson, the dead will be raised! And is that not the biggest surprise, the most unexpected, incongruous laugh of all? That those who die and face non-existence, that those who have struggled with illness or tragedy or violence and then die, will finally be alive, in Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the dead? Who can imagine such a thing, let alone believe it?

Death is, or has been, the only true reality in life. Everyone dies. No one can escape the final, ultimate reality, death. And yet, Jesus turns this, too, upside down and inside out! Paul says, the Scriptures attest that Christ has been raised from death, and because of this one resurrection, it is possible for others to be raised from death, so that now, death is no longer final! And not only that: as this is the greatest surprise of all, but this is also that which makes a reality all the other surprises! It is the death and resurrection of Jesus which gives hope to the hopeless, joy to the sorrowful, peace to the anxious and fearful, and yes, life to those who are dead, and new life to those who are merely existing as the living dead. There is nothing else, there has been nothing else in the history of the world that can, in fact, create such a world-shattering, life transforming surprise, but the death and resurrection of Jesus, Son of the Living God. Everything else, past and present, supports the rational, reasonable, adding things up the nature of human existence. It took the death and resurrection of God incarnate to make death and life different, now and for eternity.

And it is that which makes the Beatitudes the beatitudes and makes the Beatitudes, good news! It is that which compels me, after the reading of the Beatitudes, to announce, “The Gospel of the Lord—because it is Gospel, it is GOOD NEWS!” And it’s that which moves you to affirm, at the end of the liturgy, “Thanks be to God!” Thanks be to God for the good news of the surprising, incongruous Gospel! Thanks be to God for the good news that in Jesus, God transforms life and death. Thanks be to God for the good news that there is hope in the midst of despair, peace even when we are anxious and fearful, love in the face of hate, and yes, new life after death. Thanks be to God that in the most uncertain of times, in the darkest of days, in our lowest moments, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And not just light, after death—but light, here and now!

When you find yourself struggling, anxious and uncertain; when you are worried about finances, illness and unemployment, look to Jesus Christ who shines His resurrection light, the light of His life, on you, bringing you hope and courage and promise. When you find yourself in darkness and fear; when you find yourself burdened and carrying a heavy load of guilt, shame and despair, look to the Risen Jesus and be renewed and uplifted and strengthened and encouraged, that new hope and new life is possible, even for the lowest and the least of us—because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! And so, we say together, “Thanks be to God” for the great surprise, for the great incongruity of salvation won for us, given to us, by grace, through faith in Jesus!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Transfiguration Sunday March 3, 2025

Guest Pastor Dan Pennington

Sermon

If you read Deuteronomy from start to finish, you will find it very understandable with very straight-forward instruction from God and Moses to a people God chose from all the nations of the earth to bless all families of the earth. You will also find that it represents Moses’ last day on earth, the day he turned 120 years old, still healthy in sight, mind and spirit.

God let Moses teach this new generation of Israelites who were about to go into the Promised Land what had happened to the last generation of Israelites whom God had freed from slavery in Egypt, but for the most part had died in the desert because they did not trust in God their Savior. Moses gives this generation the same law he gave the previous generation, which is why Deuteronomy 5 looks a lot like Exodus 20. He also gives them a song from God that would help them to remember God instead of whoring after the foreign gods among them in the land that they were entering and forsaking God and breaking his covenant that he made with them, as God prophesies to Moses and Joshua in the tent of meeting. God knew it would happen even before the Israelites crossed the Jordan to become fat and happy in the Promised Land.

God also commissioned Joshua to lead them in place of Moses because Moses had not given God the credit for providing water from the rock in the desert, so it was time to pass the torch and retire the old guy. Yet God still let Moses see the Promised Land from atop Mount Nebo as if to say, “See, despite all your false humility and complaining and all the Israelites’ complaining and disobedience, I used you to accomplished this. Well done, good and faithful servant.” The Israelites entered God’s promised abundance living under his law.

Much later, after the judges like Deborah, Gideon and Samson, after Saul, David, Solomon and the division of the Kingdom of Israel, the line of kings mostly consisted of no-account, pagans and their foreign wives who brought false gods with them. So God sent them Elijah to speak the truth of God’s glory and power against King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.

Elijah spoke a word of famine against Ahab and surrounding lands and God supported this word. Several years later, Elijah summoned Ahab and his water-scavenging servants to the top of another mountain, Mount Carmel, to challenge the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah to the divine duel. Who would send fire from heaven to their own altar to burn the sacrifices offered to them? God or Baal? As we know, Baal never showed up because he never existed except in the fantasies of men, but God burned up not only the offering, but the wet wood under it, the stone altar, the dust beneath, and even the water with which the altar had been drenched. Then the Israelites bowed before God and helped Elijah kill all those false prophets.

Then Elijah spoke the word of the Lord to Ahab that the 3-year famine was over and told him to get his chariot rolling back to Jezreel before he couldn’t. And this Spirit-filled Elijah ran all the way to Jezreel ahead of the king and his chariot. Of course, Jezebel, Mrs. Ahab, if you will, declares her false gods as witness that she makes an oath to kill Elijah by the same time tomorrow. Elijah flees south to Beersheba in Judah, leaves his servant there, and flees again another day into the wilderness where God sends an angel to care for him.

He ends up going to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, and takes shelter in a cave. And God asks him, “What are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah tells God, “Of all Israel, I alone am faithful to you, and they want to take my life for killing the prophets of Baal.” God protects Elijah from a display of raw, elemental power of rock-shattering wind, fire and earthquake, and asks Elijah the same question. Elijah gives the same tired, fearful response. God basically says, “Okay then, Elijah. If you’re done, then go and anoint a new king over Syria, a new king over Israel, and pass your mantle to Elisha. This all happens, and as we know Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. It was time to retire the old guy.

Now, at his point it’s good to know that many Jewish rabbis thought that Moses and Elijah would return before the end times due to some scriptural passages in Deuteronomy [18] and Malachi [4]. It’s a lot like King Arthur returning from the Isle of Avalon when Britain needs him again, but the Elijah thing is biblical, of course, and since it’s much older than the King Arthur legends, I guess we know who stole from whom.

Anyway, enter Jesus 900 years later. He tells his humble and exasperated cousin John the Baptizer that John must baptize him to fulfill all righteousness. I’m sure John was thinking, “Whatever, Dude. You rule.” And so Jesus is baptized in the Jordan as God the Father declares him his Son, the Beloved and the Holy Spirit descends and rests upon him in the form of a dove: truly the most sensational revelation of the Holy Trinity to humanity in a way we could understand. And why does God do this, might you ask? I believe, in very Lutheran terms, it was the beginning of the happy exchange that Luther tells us about. If we are baptized into Jesus’ death so that we can rise with him, I believe Jesus was baptized into our death so he could show us how death cannot possibly hold dominion over him. Therefore, if we are in Christ, he has conquered death for us so that we, too, can rise again, despite that we even now we constantly deserve the death he defeats for us.

Now we can consider the Transfiguration of our Lord. Peter, James and John are jolted awake from an extreme case of grogginess while attending Jesus as he prays. His whole aspect is changed when his glory as the Son of God on earth and in heaven is revealed to them and he chats with Moses and Elijah. I give Peter some credit here, because seeing the glory of God without the proper respect could be deadly according to scripture, and the only thing that might have come out of my mouth would be “B-dee, b-dee, that’s all, Folks!” But Peter’s first instincts are to what, exactly? Jesus, let us provide you, our favorite lawgiver, and our favorite, avenging death-dealer with hospitality by putting you in tents. You might as well offer each of them a box, Peter, because that’s where you really want them, in a form and place you can address and perhaps advise, guide or even control.

And God’s response to Peter and the sons of thunder? Let’s give them the holy cloud and terrorize them a bit, then they can finally hear what I have to say. “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” The cloud is gone, and they see only Jesus.

God didn’t say, “Listen to my lawgiver!” God didn’t say, “Listen to my avenging prophet!” God used them to great effect, but tired both out and had to retire them both. The old guys were benched and the greatest reliever who ever walked the earth was going for the win to end the game. God said, “Listen to my Son. I chose you, Israel (also in Deuteronomy, by the way), and I chose him to free you from yourselves and the judgement you have earned.

There is no salvation from the law. Why then does Jesus insist we follow it? His law is a law of love for God and neighbor, just like all of God’s laws. If we do our best to follow his law, we must see that our only hope is Jesus. We must look to him to save us. Only by following the law can we avoid living in denial of what we have earned so that we can trust him.

The author of Psalm 146 understood this very long ago:

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.

5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever.

Sometimes, I guess the message just must be delivered in person.

Jeremiah 31: 7-14 January 5, 2024

Psalm 147: 12-20

Ephesians 1: 3-14

St. John 1: 1-18

“The Word Incarnate”

Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.

The Word was with God and the Word was God. For the last several months I have noticed quite a bit of YouTube videos being recommended to be by the YouTube algorithm that shows Muslims challenging street preachers on the veracity of their claim of Jesus’ divinity. I have to hand it to these street preachers; they do a fantastic job of defending their faith. Now the Muslims would claim that nowhere in the Bible does Jesus’ claim to be God. And they demand that Christians provide proof of Christ’s divinity by supplying such a claim that is specifically worded; that is of Christ saying, “I am God.”

Now the first problem of this challenge is that there are many ways to say a specific statement without stating the exact prescribed wording. For example, nowhere in the Bible does it use the word “Trinity” and yet we know that the Trinity is true because the Bible does describe the Trinity. In addition, the phrase “saved by faith alone” is not in the Vulgate, aka the Latin Bible, and yet variations of that phrase do exist countless times in Romans and Galatians and Ephesians and so forth. Thus, the same logic applies here. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say the exact wording, “I am God.” In fact, God the Father Himself never uses that exact wording, but both the Father and the Son use variations of this phrase.

In John 8:58, for example, Jesus Himself says, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” In response to this proclamation, the Jews immediately picked up stones to kill Jesus because to the common Jew this phrase was a claim to be God. Now the Muslims may not understand this, but keep in mind that Jesus was talking to Jews and not Romans at this moment in the Gospel, thus He would use wording that the Jews would commonly understand to mean a claim to divinity.

If I go to the McDonalds down the street and order a coke, then they would understand me and hand me a coke. But if I was to go down to the South and order a coke, they would then ask me what kind of coke. I would then tell them a normal coke, but that would only confuse them. They would then ask if I wanted Pepsi, Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, and so forth. And I would say, no I ordered a coke. The problem is that in the South, coke means pop. So, if I wanted a coke in the South, I would have to use their language and say I want a Coke Cola.

The same is true with regards to Muslims and Jews. The Muslims and Atheists misunderstand because they do not ask rightly, nor do they understand the Judeo-Christian context of the title “I Am.”

But there is a deeper problem with the Muslim challenge. They ask for a direct quote from Jesus, but is not the entire Bible the Word of God? If I was to quote 1st or 2nd Kings, am I not quoting Jesus Christ? They would say no, but we would say yes. For we believe that the entire Bible is quite literally God breathed. When you read the Old Testament, Jesus is speaking.

This is important because that is quite literally what we get from today’s Gospel. Jesus is the Word Incarnate. And because He is the Word then when we read the Word of God, we know that Jesus is speaking directly to each one of us. Thus, when we read the first chapter of John, we must read it as if Jesus is quite literally speaking to us.

And no, I am not asking that all the scripture reading in our bulletin be printed red. To those who know, every time Jesus speaks the text in our bulletins present such as red. So whereas all of Scripture is Jesus speaking, let’s keep the status quo.

So, what does Jesus tell us in the 1st verse? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Right here, Jesus is telling us that He is God. The Word, which is Jesus, was with God, aka the Father, and was God, aka the Trinity. The Word was not “a” God, that would mean there is more than one God, but that the Word was both with and is God. Jesus is with God because the Father and the Holy Spirit are both God. Jesus is God because there are not three Gods but one Triune God.

But wait, there’s more. All things are made through the Word and without the Word there was not anything made that was made. Thus, we know that the Word was involved with Creation and not created. If all things were made through the Word, then that means the Word is not made, but was always there since the beginning. To claim that the Word was around before all things made and to also claim that creation happened through the Word, is another way of claiming that Jesus is the one and true God the Creator.

But there is one last thing about Jesus, He is life and the light. In Him and only in Him there is life. Sin separates us from God who is the source of life. That is why out of sin we die, for life is found only in God. Out of sin we have turned from God, turned from the Word. So, in response the Word came to us.

The Word took on human flesh and lived among us and took on the name Jesus of Nazareth. He entered His own creation, and the world did not understand it. How could it? Do you think a bridge understands the engineer who made it? Or a house that understands the carpenter? No, we did not understand Him, and worse we rejected Him.

Pity the Muslim, for they are of the world, but it doesn’t always have to be so. Through flesh and blood, tainted by Original Sin, no one can comprehend Christ nor receive His Grace. So, Christ comes to us, and through the power of the Holy Spirit we are reborn as those filled with faith and adopted as Children of the Father. We are saved and know Christ, because He came into the world for all people, to save all who believe in Him, and His Spirit is for all people.

Let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, grant us peace and security of faith as we reflect upon our Savior, the Word Incarnate. In Your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Epiphany IV, Cycle C February 2, 2025

“Preaching the Good News!”

February 2, 2025

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Grace Ev. Lutheran Westerville, OH

Jeremiah 1:4-10, (17-19)

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.” 17 But you, dress yourself for work;[c] arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Luke 4:31-44

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,34 “Ha![a] What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The first lesson for today was, in fact, the first reading at my ordination service, July 19th, 1981. And it was chosen because like Jeremiah, I was only a youth, and the experience of Jeremiah, being called to speak the word of the Lord touched me and I’m sure it touched those in the congregation who were probably thinking, “How can God call this young guy, to be a pastor and preacher in the Church—he looks like he’s only 18!?” And I did look like I was only 18 or so! And with Jeremiah, as I stood before God and Bishop Ralph Kempski, and my family and friends and home congregation, I was shaking in my shoes, saying, with Jeremiah, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.” And from that point on, from my ordination to the Holy Ministry onward, I have always, always tried to be ready to go where God sends me, to speak only what God commands. To be careful not to push my own agenda or desires, not to assume arrogantly, that I have anything of value to say to you, apart from whatever the Lord, in His Word, tells me to speak. And that’s not always as easy as it might sound! For pastors and preachers are always tempted to think that what I think and believe, is what God thinks and believes. So that it’s not uncommon for a preacher to lecture his or her congregation about this social or political issue, as if we have a word from the Lord God Himself. When, if we were being honest with ourselves, we might see that our lecture is more about us than about God’s Word and will. Which is why, quite often throughout history, you will find engraved, carved somewhere on the pulpit, the words of St. Paul, as an exhortation to preachers, quoting 1 Corinthians 9:16, “Woe to me if I preach not the Gospel.” Which should remind us preachers that we’re not here to harangue you about political or social positions, we’re not here to push on you our own opinions about this or that political party platform. We’re not here to try to get you to do what we want you to do! So, if that’s not what pastors are supposed to be doing, what is the task of the preacher? To go where God sends us, to say what God commands us to say, to preach the message which our Lord Jesus was sent to proclaim. And what message is that? As Jesus says in our Gospel lesson, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God… for I was sent for this purpose.”

It’s curious that the people Jesus was healing, and the people possessed by demons and evil spirits whom Jesus was cleansing, may not have been so interested in His ministry of preaching. What they wanted was for Him to continue His miraculous works, as they had never experienced such deeds of power and authority, as Jesus, with a word, could cast out demons, and with a touch, could heal the sick. They crowded around Jesus, and even when He distanced Himself for a time, to rest and renew, they sought Him out and would’ve kept Him from leaving them! But the healing and the casting out of demons was not the primary reason Jesus came. When faced with such human misfortune, in compassion, the Lord acted, as it is God’s will that the sick and possessed be made well and whole. But the Son of God came to preach good news. As we heard last week, as prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus came to proclaim the Gospel, to announce freedom and liberty, to share the Lord’s favor with those living in darkness and fear and uncertainty. Jesus is clear that this is why He came, and while He cared for those who had physical, emotional and spiritual needs, He wouldn’t be deterred from the work He was sent to do, as He went from Capernaum, in Galilee, to other towns as well, throughout Judea, Luke tells us.

And as that was Jesus’ mission, that’s our mission as well: to preach good news! Not to preach agendas or social or political issues, but to preach the Gospel. And sad that we have to ask, but what is the Gospel? What is the good news? There are all too many today who seem to confuse the Gospel, with their own desires and intentions, even as there are all too many who try to remake God and the Lord Jesus, in their own image and likeness—saying, “If this is what I think and feel, surely God thinks and feels the same way that I do!” Which is why we need to always rely on the Biblical revelation of God, not what we think and feel about God. Which is why we need to always hear what Scripture says about Jesus, as Savior and Lord, not what the Jesus Seminar says about Jesus. Which is why we need to always be listening to the Word of God, to hear and heed God’s Word, about how we live our lives, and how we serve as the Body of Christ. And nowhere is that more clearly stated, than in our second lesson for today, in the so-called “Love Chapter.” For here, Saint Paul writes, “Faith, hope, love, abide—but the greatest of these is love.”

As we heard last Sunday, Paul was writing to the Corinthian congregation about the division they were experiencing over speaking in tongues—not other languages, but a spirit language which was unintelligible, needing an interpreter. In that congregation, speaking in tongues had become the highest spiritual gift and if you didn’t have the gift of tongues, you weren’t considered to have the Holy Spirit, sufficiently. Which was a twisting of God’s Word and God’s will! So, Paul acknowledges that speaking in tongues is a gift of the Spirit, but not one of the highest of gifts, so at the end of last week’s second lesson, St. Paul writes, “But earnestly desire the higher gifts!” Which are: faith, hope and love—and the greatest of these is love!

Love which is patient and kind. Love, which is not envious or boastful, not arrogant or rude. Love which does not insist on its own way; is not irritable or resentful, does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love that never ends. Paul says, faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Whether one is preaching to a pauper or a peasant, a president or a prime minister, the message is to communicate love. When preaching the law, it is to be preached out of love. Never is the preaching of the Gospel to be arrogant or rude, irritable or resentful, but rejoicing always in the truth. For God intends that His love, divine love, will bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things—as God’s love will never end, even as God’s love in us and through us, is to endure, as well. As I’ve said before, it’s unfortunate that Paul’s love chapter is often thought of related to weddings, because Paul isn’t talking here about romantic or sentimental love. He isn’t even talking, particularly, about love between husband and wife, or familial love. He’s pointing us to the love of God manifested for us, in the saving, forgiving death and resurrection of Jesus—for us and for our salvation. A love which is divine love. A love which is self-giving and sacrificial. A love which seeks the best, for my neighbor—whoever my neighbor is—including spouse, children, employer, employee, but also, the homeless and the hungry, the littlest and the least. Jesus came because God so loved the world. Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, because God so loved the world. Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom, because God so loved the world, that He sent His Son, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. So, woe to us, if we preach not the Gospel—if we preach not, the good news of God’s love, in Jesus Christ!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Isaiah 62: 1-5 January 19, 2025

Psalm 36: 5-10

1 Corinthians 12: 1-11

St. John 2: 1-11

“What can I Bring”

Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.

Everyone here has either been married and/or has been to a wedding. Let me ask you, have any of them gone perfectly? Have you’ve been to a wedding that was void of any hiccups? If you say yes, then that is because you are lucky enough not to witness the hiccup.

In every wedding something goes wrong. Maybe the bride is panicking. Maybe there is a health emergency. Maybe it rains and the wedding is outside. Maybe you ran out of wine.

In our Gospel, Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana and such a hiccup occurred. We know not how or why the wine ran out. What we do know is that there was not enough wine. And out of concern for the bride, the bridegroom, and the parents of the couple, Jesus’ mother approaches her son for help.

She knows who her son is. She knows that coming to Jesus for help is the same as praying to the Father above. But she also knows that it is not time for the miracles to happen, as Jesus tells her, “My hour has not yet come.” But again, out of concern for the couple, she dares not to listen and tells the servants in charge of the wine to do whatever He tells them.

No one wants a ruined wedding. Out of love toward our neighbor, and without sin bubbling forth envy or lust, it is our desire that our friends and family are filled with good cheer as they celebrate under Heaven’s eyes the holy matrimony of husband and wife. And this is not just the ceremony but extends to the feast thereafter. This is a day of blessed union, where vows are exchanged, and laughter is equally shared. If there is a hiccup, let it be one that everyone finds hilarious and only brings more mirth.

The wine at the wedding in Cana had run out, and that is no laughing matter. That’s like a pipe organ malfunctioning in the middle of the service. Who oversaw the wine? Was it the bridegroom? Was it the family of the bride? Whoever it was is obviously terrified and is probably thinking that they ruined the wedding. Why didn’t I buy more wine just in case? Why did I buy wine from only one distillery? Why didn’t I store the wine in a proper location? Again, we know not why the wine ran out; only that it did.

And despite the fact it was not his time, Jesus provided the first of many miracles. He turned water into wine. And this wine was of such good quality that even the master of the feast was overcome with amazement. As is custom, good wine is served first, and then as that runs out you go to the next best and then the next best, and end with the poor wine. You want to begin with the good tasting wine first, and once the taste buds have dulled you can dish out the poor wine. Plus, good wine tends to have higher alcohol content and most of you know from a health perspective it is better to drink the heavier stuff first than last. Beer before whiskey is always risky; whiskey before beer never fear. So, the good wine in Cana was served first, but the quality of the wine made by Jesus was of such high quality that it made the master of the feast think that the prior wine was the poor wine. So, Jesus did not just give them wine, but He blessed them with abundantly good wine.

Now let us take everything here to help shine a light on the Church’s heavenly union with Christ. We may ask ourselves, “What can we offer?” We may come to the wedding feast and proclaim that we have come to the table offering good works. But I ask where do these good works come from? They come from God who died on the cross to justify you and continually sanctify you. It is through His blood that your works have been cleansed from sin and thus can be rightly deemed good in the eyes of God. Without Christ there are no good works. So, the Church can’t offer good works to the table, since that is something Christ offers to the Church.

Well, what about faith? Do we not offer faith to the table? Again, I ask, where does this faith come from? Did not God supply you first with the living faith necessary to trust the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, His Son? Yes, the Church comes bearing faith, freely offered to Christ, but this faith was first a gift granted to the bride through the Holy Spirit.

Is there anything within us that we can offer; something that was first ours? The answer is no, there isn’t. We are like a desert with no water to offer. We are like poor sojourners who desire to help the good king but have nothing they can offer. We want to offer something, we truly do, but in the end, we are faced with reality. We simply can’t.

This is the first hurdle many must overcome, to realize that they are incapable and unworthy. To be humbled in knowing that any good thing that does indeed flow out of us first comes to us from God. And once we abandon pride, then comes the joy in knowing that we don’t need to bring anything to the table. We may come to the wedding feast thinking that we may need to partake in the provisions, but Christ tells us that He will supply everything.

But I have nothing to offer. Why do You want me? I’m a bad person, I turn away from you constantly, I slander your good name, I have no skills, I have no possessions I can offer, I am unclean, I am broken, I’m ugly both inside and outside, my body is ruined. Why me? Christ tells us that He knows, and he is very troubled over such things, not because He desires anything from us but because He loves us. He sees us as we are and tells us He needs nothing from us, but rather He wants to offer us so much, too much really.

We are bad people, but Christ is good enough for us and will be the source of our goodness. We turn from Him, but He turns to us. We have no skills, but His Spirit blesses us with many gifts. We have no worthy possessions, but the Father gives us heavenly treasures. We are broken, but Christ heals us. We are unclean, but Christ purifies us and makes us clean. We provide nothing worthwhile to the grand wedding feast which the Church is the bride to, but God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit provides everything.

We are forsaken, and our maiden name is “Desolate”, but Christ the Bridegroom grants us a new name, “My Delight Is in Her”.

Now we may ask, what if I ruin this wedding feast? What if this union falls apart on account of me? So long as this question weighs in your heart let it be known that you will forever be the bride; for it is the one who never asks this question who will ruin the wedding feast. But you who have humble love, let it be known that Christ already knows your faults and will love you anyways. No number of hiccups will rend asunder the holy matrimony of Church and Christ so long as the Church desires to be the wife. For each time you stumble, Christ will lift you up. Each time you sin; Christ will offer forgiveness. You are His delight because He made you His delight, and thus it is He who will continue to sanctify you.

On the cross, Christ wore a crown, an ugly crown of thorns. It pierced His head and made Him bleed. This crown caused Jesus’ pain as He suffered and died on the cross. And yet He wore it willingly. You are this royal diadem that Jesus Christ wore. You are the ones who pierced Jesus, and it is you he willingly bled for. On that cross, Jesus bore you, you who are an ugly crown. But on that cross, through the shedding of His blood, you are not to be considered a crown of pain and torment, but a crown of beauty.

That crown that Jesus wore on the cross was the most beautiful crown ever worn. The crown in of itself was not beautiful, but on the head of God it became the most beautiful. So too the Church which in of itself is not beautiful, but in the hands of God is the most beautiful crown the world has ever behold.

Through Heaven’s eyes, In Christ, though you may be poor, you are far richer with heavenly treasures than Caesar Augustus. You may be foolish, but in Christ you are far wiser than Solomon. You may be poor in spirit, but in Christ you are far more blessed than John the Baptist. You may be lacking in wine, but in Christ you are abundantly supplied with the finest of wine. Though you are a Sinner, in Christ you are a Saint.

Let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, may we never forsake the abundant mercies and grace that you have granted us through your Son our Savior Jesus Christ and may we be forever richly gifted in the Spirit and by Christ’s Blood. In Your most holy name we pray, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Nehemiah 17: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10 January 26, 2025

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 12: 12-31

St. Luke 4: 14-21

“What is Freedom?”

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer. Amen.

Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.

What is freedom? I ask this because in western society we have lost the definition of freedom and replaced it with a monster of a philosophy hell bent on making us comfortable slaves. Most in our culture, if asked about freedom, will provide the modern definition of freedom, genuinely thinking that such is the real definition. And we can’t fault such people because that is what has been taught for decades. And yet what they believe is a shadow of the truth. Some may think they know the real definition of freedom, only once I tell you the truth would realize that they have been hoodwinked by the devious culture that has usurped the Christian foundation of America.

So, what is freedom? We have the modern definition and the classic definition. The commonly used definition or modernized definition is such: the right to do what you want. But the true definition or classical is this: the liberty to do what you ought. Freedom is not the right to do what you want but the liberty to do what you ought. And as you listen to the distinction between these two definitions you may understand the issue that is at stake.

Before Christ came to us in the flesh, all were held captive by Satan the great deceiver and our accuser. We are conceived into this world slaves to the domain of sin and death; oppressed from conception to grave by this wicked tyrant who through original sin has completely corrupted our entire being with sin. We want to love God, but we cannot, not because we choose to hate God, but because our oppressor prevents us from loving God. We want to trust God, but in Satan’s domain we do not have the liberty to do so. Instead, we end up trusting in ourselves and in earthly devices, of which Satan encourages. We want to follow the Law, but because of this enslavement every thought, word, and deed has been chained down. You think you follow the Law by the mere outward action, and yet on account of the sin of concupiscence it is impossible for you to ever follow one letter of the Law. Outwardly the slave may appear to be acting without sin, but the Spirit knows that sin rests within the heart, thus all works are tainted.

God tells us that the Law of the Lord is perfect and that it revives the soul, but what hope is that if we can’t even follow the Law in our hearts? How can our hearts rejoice in the Law when the Devil honestly accuses us and reveals that as his slaves, we never truly followed the Law? Thus, by the Law we are indeed warned, but never comforted in knowing the great reward.

And at conception, all this was true for you, but no longer is on account of Christ who came to set the prisoners free. For all who believe in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit are no longer slaves but freemen. God promised through Isaiah that there will come an anointed one who will proclaim liberty to the captives and set at liberty those who are oppressed. Let it be known that that all are captives and are oppressed for the great slave master is Satan himself whom Christ died to defeat. By the shedding of His Blood Christ who suffered and died on the cross became a propitiation for our sake and won our freedom so that all may be forgiven and rescued from sin’s reign. He is the champion who came to fight on your behalf, to slay the wicked dictator who has oppressed humanity for far too long. And by His blade, Satan not only is defeated, but all prisoners have been set free.

But now the question arises: free to do what? Are we free to do what we want or free to do what we ought? Remember the words Jesus gave the adulterer, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” Whereas Christ does not condemn us of our sins but rather rescues us of our sins, He still commands us to follow the Law, to go and sin no more. Again, the reason why He came is to rescue us from the chains of sin. He has set us free from the evil tyrant not so that we may have the right to sin but so that we may have the liberty to not sin. And He commands us to, “Go and sin no more,” because He does not want to see the one He loves back in chains.

In Galatians, God speaks through His servant St. Paul, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” And again, in Romans, “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.”

Christ did not set us free to grant us the right to commit sin. He did not die so that we may do what we want. Whereas according to our Human nature granted by God we desire to love God, it is also according to our fallen flesh that we desire to sin. Though we have been forgiven of sin, the desire to sin, which is also a sin, still rests within our hearts. If we believe to have the right to do whatever we want through the blood of Christ, then we will most certainly give into our more debased nature. This will most certainly happen, for our thoughts are still wicked and complete freedom to do what we want will always lead us back to slavery. It is our fallen desire to become slaves to sin. Thus, if we abuse the liberty granted to us through Christ’s deathly sacrifice to commit what we want to do then eventually we will give into our fallen desires and once again become slaves. As freemen, the option to choose to become a slave to sin is always available. And it is out of love toward you that Christ does not want you to suffer being a slave to sin again.

Thus, freedom is not the right to do what we want but rather the liberty to do what we ought. And as Christians, saved by grace, what is it that we ought to do? We ought to fear, trust, and love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body. And with the love of God in our heart, love our neighbors in the same way Christ first loved us.

As slaves to sin, we could not do any of this, though we ought to. But now that Christ has set us free we now have the liberty to do what we ought; which is to worship the Triune God, to hear His Word, to receive the Sacraments, to selflessly take care of others, to confess our sins, to truly honor our parents and pastors and governing authorities, to trust God’s mercy and providence, to pray to Him, to make sacrifices for the sake of the Great Commission, and so forth. To a freeman such are not laws but opportunities. We desire to do what we ought not because we are merely commanded to do such, but because we genuinely find joy and gratitude in loving our Savior. But we also ought to worship and pray and receive both Word and Sacrament because all such only serves to benefit us and the community.

This is why the Law without Grace is torturous because we know what we ought to do but have no ability to freely grasp such for in honest humility we see the sin that threatens us each day. This is also why Grace without Law is abhorrent because it is the path to abandoning the freedom Christ died to secure. Christ suffered on the cross shedding His blood to set you free only to see many using this freedom to choose slavery once again.

To those who are secure in their sins, repent before it is too late. Too those who are troubled by their sins be at peace and know that Christ died not only to free you from sin but to free you from the guilt and shame and the consequences of sin. Your sin has been nailed to the cross, and Christ bears upon Himself all of your guilt so that by His death and resurrection, though you sin, there is no need to be concerned or grieve. This is not a license to sin, or an eradication of sin, but rather great conciliation for all who know sin and may be tortured by it.

Be at peace, for Christ not only liberated you, but constantly sanctifies you through Word and Sacrament. He knows the sin and takes it on. He has put to death sin, and through the means of grace, He proclaims to you that He is still your victor and liberator. He saved you from captivity, and though sin tries to take you back, Christ will continue to protect you and preserve you as your champion now and forever.

So, when the Great Accuser, Satan, comes to you and reminds of your sins and how you deserve to go to Hell, respond to Him as such, “I know I am a sinner and deserve to go to Hell, so what? In Christ my Savior who forgives me of all my sins, I am a free man. No longer do you have dominion over me, for by His grace and mercy I am assured of the great inheritance awaiting me in Heaven. Be gone with you foul serpent!”

Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

Let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, preserve us from the temptations that threaten us each day and grant us joy in proclaiming the liberty Christ won for us. In Your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Epiphany VII, Cycle C February 23, 2025

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Grace Ev. Lutheran Church, Westerville, OH

“Deep Discipleship—Part 2”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s quite popular in many congregations and church traditions which don’t use a lectionary, to have sermon series, usually topical in nature, as the preacher decides what he believes the congregation needs to hear. If congregational stewardship is lagging, he might preach a series of sermons on stewardship. If worship attendance has been light, he might preach a series on the importance of “not neglecting to meet together, as is the custom of some,” as it says in Hebrews 10. Similarly, if the preacher isn’t happy with something or someone in the political sphere, he might, these days, preach a series about or against a political party, a political platform or a political figure. We Lutherans aren’t so big on topical preaching series developed by the preacher, because preachers being human, it’s too easy for a preacher to preach his own agenda or grind his own axe, so to speak! So, we let the lectionary guide our preaching, often ending up with something of a series because we’re following Jesus’ own preaching and teaching in the Gospels. Take, for example, our Gospel lesson today, which is a continuation of the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, and the last two weeks when the Lord, Himself, has been offering a series on the topic of “discipleship.” Not only discipleship, but deep discipleship: what it means to follow Jesus, not superficially, but deeply, in our daily lives! Which is why I’ve titled this sermon, “Deep Discipleship—Part 2,” because two weeks ago, the Lord was instructing us about putting out into the deep, as fishers of men, to bring more and more men, women, youth, and children into the boat, which is the church. Jesus is continuing to teach us what it means to be His followers, in our relationships and what it means to follow Him, not only in our relationships with those who are our neighbors, our friends, those who are like us and those whom we like, but now He’s giving us guidance in how to relate to, He says how to “love” even our enemies—even those who hate us, curse us and abuse us! I think we would agree—that would require more than a superficial, shallow faith and discipleship! To “love” even our enemies? That would take a deep discipleship, indeed!

And isn’t that what our Lord desires, for us—for you and for me? We just heard Jesus, two weeks ago, telling us, with Peter and the others, “Put out into the deep!” He says that because He wants followers who are willing to go deep in their faith, deep in their relationships with Him and with God the Father, just as He wants followers who are willing to go deeper in the Christ-like life. In our gospel lesson today, Jesus is comparing the Christ-like life, with the lives and behavior of others, saying, “If you only love and do good to those who love and do good to you, how are you any different from everyone else in the world?” Jesus is acknowledging that it’s all too common for people in the world to love and care for those who love and care for us! In that sense, love and care is transactional, reciprocal—if you treat me this way, I will treat you similarly. That pretty much sums up the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s also a reflection of the second greatest commandment in the Old Testament, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything in the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, revolved around that notion: Love God and love your neighbor. But who is my neighbor?

By the time of Jesus, one’s neighbor was understood, usually, as someone within your faith community—someone who lived next door and who sat beside you in the synagogue. The word, “neighbor,” in Hebrew and in New Testament Greek is almost always the word which should be translated literally as “the one you see,” the one living with you or next to you or the one who shares your faith. Non-Jews, Gentiles—these were not your neighbor. They weren’t expected to love and care for them. That’s part of the scandal of the parable of the Good Samaritan—that the man who was beaten and robbed and left for dead was understood to be an Israelite—truly, a neighbor to the priest and Levite—whom they did not love and care for, as they passed by him on the other side of the road! This is what caused so much consternation when Jesus began suggesting that His disciples and followers were to love, not just their neighbors, but others. Those who weren’t Jews; those who were not my next-door neighbor; those who may not believe and worship as I do! These, Jesus refers to as those who may hate us, may oppose us, may abuse us. Anyone may find it within themselves to love and care for the neighbor next door! These others Jesus is talking about? Not so much. Not so easy, even for we who consider ourselves Jesus’ disciples. Which is why Jesus is speaking to us, disciples, in our Gospel lesson today.

When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew tells us that Jesus was speaking to the crowds and the disciples. As Jesus is preparing to preach the Sermon on the Plain, Luke tells us, while the crowds had been around Jesus, “Jesus lifted up his eyes on his disciples…” It seems Luke wants us to understand that now the Lord is looking at, speaking directly to His disciples—to the twelve He had just chosen, and we who have been chosen as well, to be His disciples, His followers. We are the ones He is calling to a deeper discipleship. We are the ones Jesus is asking to follow Him on the narrow road, the harder path—as we are called to love, not just the neighbor, but also those whom we might very well hate and oppose and abuse, because hey, they hate and oppose and abuse us! So, isn’t turn-about fair-play?! The Lord is saying, “In the kingdom of God, for my disciples, turn-about isn’t fair-play.” We are called to a higher ethic, a deeper faith that results in a love that is not romantic or even familial, because as disciples, we are called to live a divine, self-giving, merciful love, even as God is loving and merciful; even as God forgives and saves, even we who are sinners!

That’s the crux of our discipleship, really. That God so loves us, sinners, that He shows us grace and mercy and love, even though we don’t deserve it. That God so loved the sinful world, that He sent His only begotten Son, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved, through Jesus, and His death, for us, while we were yet sinners! This new ethic, this new, more demanding, deeper discipleship is embodied, not in the old commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself,” but in the Lord’s New Commandment at His Holy Supper on Maundy Thursday, when He said, “Love one another, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU!”

The truth is, in so many ways, we are the enemies of Christ Jesus. We are sinful humanity, who hated Jesus and abused Jesus and put Him to death on the cross. We are the sinful humanity who were not loving neighbors to Jesus, instead nailing Him to the cross to die. Yet, God loves us still. Christ gave His life for us, in love. God is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. God forgives sinners. God showers us with blessings, though we don’t deserve them. In response, we are invited, called, commanded to love. To love our neighbor and our enemy. To love those like us and those we don’t like. To love all, as Christ loves us because already, we have received our reward, God’s love and mercy, as Jesus describes it in our Gospel lesson, “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over!” As we have received, so will we give…love, mercy, forgiveness!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lutheran Church

RESURRECTION

Pastor Chris Boyd

Sermons

Luther Home
of Mercy

Lutheran Church

RESURRECTION

Pastor Chris Boyd

Sermons

Luther Home of Mercy

Luther Home
of Mercy