Seconds, please [Trinity 18; St. Matthew 22:34-46]

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Jesus speaks to us today, saying,

“This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it...”

In case you forgot, the word “deuteronomy”, as in the book our Old Testament reading is from, literally means the “second law”. From holy Scripture we know that this is not “second” as in “new law” or “second best”, but simply the second time Moses had to receive the Law of God from God Himself. Jesus saying that there is a “second” greatest commandment will set us off on this trail.

When Moses first received the Law, the Jews were fresh out of Egypt having just strolled through the Red Sea. In Exodus 24, God says that He gave Moses two tablets of stone with the written testimony, from Him, on both sides of each tablet. This takes place in chapters 19-34 of Exodus.

The second giving of the Law happens just as you heard it today from Deuteronomy 10, where again there are two tablets, heard in v.1. God again is going to write on them, but this time Moses, can we please make sure they get put in the Ark of the Covenant as I commanded last time? Don’t go smashing them just because you’re upset about golden calves again (Ex. 32:19).

However, it was not only these two times that the Lord spoke to Moses and to His people through Moses. In reading Exodus through Deuteronomy, we find Moses going up and down the mountain of God and back and forth between God and His people, relaying God’s commands many more times than twice. There were over 600 commands, after all.

The question becomes: which time did the Law of God stick with the people so that they understood its significance? Which time was the time that everyone finally got it? None of them. In fact, for the next 1400+ years between Jesus and Moses, the Jews spent that time hearing the Law over and over again and promptly forgetting it. Which is why we are hearing Jesus today, still, speaking of God’s Law, for the umpteenth time.

It seems that Jesus fudges a bit in offering a second commandment, when He is only asked for one. Though there is a perfectly good explanation for that, it first is worthwhile to go through some significant “seconds” that occur elsewhere in Scripture.

Of course there was a second Day of Creation, but in the second month after the rain stopped, Noah saw a completely dried up earth and exited the Ark (Gen. 8:14). Of more significance is Abraham’s encounter with the angel when the Lord asked for Isaac as a sacrifice. The second time the angel speaks to Abraham, it is not a Law, but a blessing; the Gospel saying:

            “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 22:15-18)

More to the support of Jesus’ Second Greatest Command, that is towards neighbors, is the sacrifice of two rams to ordain Aaron and the Levites to serve in the Tabernacle, Lev. 8. The first ram was completely given to the altar, but the second ram was given to the Altar and put on Aaron and his sons. The first ram for offering to God, the second to offer for the neighbor.

Thus, the first significance of Jesus giving more than one “greatest command” is to include His neighbor in all things, meaning, you. Even the greatest of all Feasts, the Feast of Passover has an exception to it for the neighbor. In Numbers 9, God declares that if you are unclean because of a dead person, in the first month, which is when Passover is celebrated, then you may be made clean and celebrate Passover in the second month. All so that no one be left out.

And yet we know from holy Scripture that God speaks ever so many more times than two. Jesus laments this when He tells of two sons who are asked by their father to go work, in Matthew 21, and it is the second son who says, “I will” but never goes. So it is that the Lord says in Job that “For God speaks in one way, and in a second way, though man does not perceive it.” (Job 33:14)

In our sin, we hear the Lord once and do not understand. We hear the Lord a second time, we pay lip service in offering our devotion, but still we do not understand. And a third, and a fourth, and a brazillionth. If you believe you understand better than Nicodemus who thought God’s Word demanded that he enter into his mother’s womb a second time to be born (Jn. 3:4), then I’m afraid the rooster will crow a second time for you as it did for St. Peter (Mk. 14:72).

Does this all mean that its God’s fault that He couldn’t make a law the first or second time that would fit us? God forbid! In fact, it really has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the covenant itself, as St. Paul says, “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second” (Heb. 8:7) Since, that is exactly what has been promised: a second covenant.

Not that the first one was insufficient, but that there was greater and better things that God had planned for you in the second. Not that 1, 2, 10, or 614 commands were lacking in God’s power, but that the Command to fulfill all commands was the ultimate in things to come. In that the first man, Adam, who received commands from the Lord’s hand, was from earth, the Second Man, Who fulfilled the Lord’s commands, was from heaven (1 Cor. 15:47).

The first is taken away in order to establish the 2nd, Heb. 10:9. Hagar is the first covenant and bears children for slavery, but Sarah is the second covenant and she bears the child of promise. In fact, the Lord’s continued promises to Israel about sending a son, hides this true nature of the second covenant behind a veil of flesh, just as the Holy of Holies was hidden behind a second veil. And as we see on Good Friday, both veils were torn in the Temple, as the flesh of God hanged upon the cross, torn open itself to reveal the love of God in this second covenant, for the veil that hides it is the flesh of Jesus, as Hebrews says in chapter 10 (v.20).

Now we understand clearly. We are not dealing with commandments or covenants and the lawyer’s question today really is stupid in light of this. We are not dealing with ourselves and our position in God’s Law, we are dealing with the God-man, Christ Jesus, and His fulfillment of the Law for us: the Gospel.

In the Second Psalm, it is Jesus Whom the Lord has begotten and even though the nations rage against His Laws and commands, He still is a refuge for those who believe in His Son. Look again at what Jesus’ answer is to this upstart lawyer. First, it is to reveal that the Greatest Command is not a command at all, neither is it split in two. It is one: that is to love. 

And God’s love is always laying down His own life for friends, neighbors, and enemies on the cross. That He not just leave us with Law a first or a second time, but that He love us and send His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn. 4). So Jesus answers the lawyer a second time, asking Him Whose Son the Christ will be.

More important than commands is Jesus Christ who is the Son Who refuses His Father’s will to His face, in our sin, yet goes to do the perfect work of fulfilling the Law. He is also the second Son Who pays lip service to His Father, yet does not do holy work, but redemptive work, calling sinners guiltless.

In Jesus’ second birth, from death to life, He does not need a second command to complete His task. He simply raises Himself from the dead, having been guiltless of all sin, even ours which He took upon Himself.

In Jesus, god need only speak once and all things are accomplished. In Jesus, there is no second time, because everything is done perfectly the first time. Jesus, then, is the second ram of offering for you, that you might be sprinkled with His Blood, binding you to His Altar, His death, and His resurrection. All because Jesus is Love and love gathers all things together.

Jesus loves God and His neighbor and is able to reconcile them with His Body and Blood. David’s Son and David’s Lord, able to fulfill the Law by being born under it, and able to live perfectly by being born from above. 

Being baptized into this second covenant, we will be witnesses of another and final “second” that will take place, that of the second coming of Christ. “…so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb. 9:28). “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4).

Now that God has done the work, we are no longer under the Law, but saved by the Gospel. Now that David’s Son has gone out to work the vineyard, we are no longer enemies of God, but neighbors. Now that we have been baptized into the Righteousness of God, we look forward to the second coming, where we will be raised from the dead, never to die again.

The second Greatest Command, is the same as the first. The second giving of the Law is the same as the first. In Christ is the Love of God, the Father and the Holy Ghost, Who sustains you to the end in His Church and in His Word and Sacrament, in the Second man, in the Second Covenant, but in the First Place.

The True Proverb [Trinity 17; St. Luke 4:1-11]

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Jesus speaks to you today, in your hearing, saying:

“Now he told a parable to those who were invited...”

The book of Proverbs is a favorite staple in prison for 2 reasons: first, it appears extremely practical and second, having 31 chapters makes it the ideal time-keeper. In reading a chapter a day, you know what day of the month it is. I don’t know where this practice comes from, but it gives prisoners a little bit of confidence and comfort. They think that they not only have something with which to pass the time, but also something to do, and its God’s Word.

It would seem then to us today, that from our Old Testament reading, we understand it the same way. Hearing v.6 & 7, we can understand being humble and respectful to others and how it is better to be invited rather than place ourselves in the place of honor, even though we haven’t had a king in the U.S. since 1776.

In verses 8, 9, and 10 we hear more easy-to-do things, as in don’t be so quick to judge and don’t think you’ll come out on top or in the right just because you’re the first to get your case heard. Tables turn quickly in the court room. Verse 11 is a pretty metaphor, verse 12 also, but encouraging listening to good advice as well as giving it. Verse 13, another metaphor about being faithful and 14 a metaphor about not being a disappointment to people.

In this same way, the book of Proverbs goes on for 31 chapters: do this or you’ll be sorry. Don’t do this and you’ll be sorrier still.” A pretty straight-forward book of action.

Until it isn’t.  Not everything in Proverbs is as apparently doable as we have thus far seen. Sometimes it gets flat-out weird saying things such as: “The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the traitor for the upright” (21:18). And what do we do with this mysterious name of this Son in 30:4?! “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know!” Don’t you?

At points, the Proverbs appear to contradict other parts of holy Scripture. When it says that there HAS been a just man on earth in 20:7: “The righteous who walks in his integrity — blessed are his children after him”, yet Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “Surely there is not a just man on earth who does good and never sins.”

Or when Proverbs 2:7 presumes to affirm the existence of a righteous person, “the Lord...stores up sound wisdom for the righteous” but Romans 3:10-11 says no way: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks after God.”

This is not even the worst part. The worst part is, when we come across these passages in our personal study of God’s Word, we deal with them the same way prisoners do: we don’t. They get filed under “something to worry about later” and later usually means never. And that means we miss out on the most important parts of holy Scripture, every time we read them.

Fortunately, the Holy Ghost did not leave King Solomon without divine inspiration, as in having nothing to do with Christians and faith. We begin to unravel this dilemma in returning to the first chapter of Proverbs to hear the book’s purpose in verse 7:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment” Read literally, it means that the origin of wisdom is fear of the Lord and the origin of discernment is piety or godliness.

So we must consider fear and piety in order to gain wisdom and discernment. First off, piety and what it means. And What it means is actually a lot simpler than we may think. In no uncertain terms, St. Paul let’s us have it in 1 Tim. 3:16 saying, “the mystery of godliness [is]: [Christ] was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

Which sounds a lot like the Creed we confess each Divine Service. Jesus’ prayer for us is “...that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment”, but discernment for a specific purpose, that is: “...so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9-11).

So if we want to discern what the proverbs wish to say to us, we must be pious. And if we want to be pious, we must attend the Divine Service and confess Jesus in the Creed. This will illumine our understanding of the Proverbs for us. For, in the first place, how can we understand if we first do not practice the faith?

Which brings us to fear. The key to understanding Biblical fear is to remember that there is a difference between the fear of a son and the fear of a servant and fear, when seriously reflected upon, reveals what our true god is. For the servant, there is no hope of mercy or inclusion. They are not a part of the family and they stand to gain no inheritance. Therefore, this fear is simply fear of punishment.

The fear of the son is wholly different. The son is not in fear of his life, his position in the family, or his life after family dies. For the son fear is fear of being disciplined. So when we hear the explanation of the First Commandment: “...fear, love, and trust God above all things”, it is more saying that we should fear nothing else, but God. Death, misunderstanding Proverbs, or even what seat we will be assigned at a wedding are all things that should not phase us.

Again, though, this fear leads us back to a life of faith; lived out in Faith, rather. Meaning, true fear of the Lord can not happen except you already be a son and already worshipping in the Divine Service. And we know that we have the adoption of sons. Thus true fear we already have and that fear, the fear of the baptized believer, prepares a place for God’s love and likewise, His wisdom.

Yet even before we get to all these verses, we should have heard Jesus speaking to us when He said that “...because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

Jesus is the Wisdom come from God. He is the Righteousness, the Sanctification, and the Redemption, come down from heaven, in the flesh. Where before, these ideas had only an abstract, spiritual meaning for us, Jesus gives them a concrete existence. In Christ, we do not just repeat these things, but live in them.

In other words, the beginning of any and all good things done in this life, be they proverbs or parables, is Jesus. The Fear of God is for us, because the Son of God has adopted us as sons. The piety we need to be perceptive is found in confessing this same Jesus in the Creed and worshipping Him by Word and Sacrament. True discernment of the correct meaning of the Bible is Jesus Himself; hearing and reading His Word in light of Who He is, what He has done, and What He is still doing, that is, forgiving sins.

So we go back to our Old Testament reading and hear it in this light: Jesus does not put Himself in the king’s presence; not Herod’s, not Pilate’s, not even God’s. He is put there. Jesus is forcibly brought forward and, in an upside-down way, faces the punishment of the one who puts himself forward. He faces the shame of the one who takes the highest seat on his own, when He Himself did no such thing.

“Come up here”, the king says to Jesus and He is placed high upon a cross. 

False witnesses, who did not have faith, were quickly brought in to condemn Jesus, misunderstanding His words when He said, “Destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.” Great was our shame when Jesus was raised from he dead, forever vindicated of the guilt and punishment for our sins, yet we in that sin thinking it meet and right to kill God.

Jesus boasted of being able to give eternal life and sinners tried to prove Him wrong, by killing Him. Yet Easter proved that Jesus did have the gift of eternal life which He is also able to give in Word and Sacrament. Thus, Jesus is the faithful messenger Who brings tidings of great joy in His Gospel. His word of forgiveness are words fitly spoken. His declaration of righteousness for all, opens sin-deafened ears to listen.

So watch Jesus carefully. Just as He moves through dinner at the house of Pharisees, so too is He moving through the book of Proverbs healing, forgiving, and setting right what sin has marred. The Proverbs and parables speak of Jesus first, then us, in Him, second.

Exalting Himself as God of all, Jesus is humbled upon the cross. Yet, humbling Himself to death, He is exalted above death, never to die again. Going back to our strange Proverbs, we can confidently say that of course we know the Son’s name now, from chapter 30. And of course the wicked are a ransom for the righteous, because Jesus became sin for you, became wicked, in order to make you righteous.

In order that you, now invited to the feast; to the Holy Sacrament which is the High Feast of Heaven, may sit yourself down in the lowest place, that is to come with no thought of merit or worthiness. For Jesus comes to commune with you and He is the more honorable One. No shame comes to you, though, for you have received the wisdom of unworthiness and, therefore, the highest seat at the Table. For in the Sacrament, penitent sinners are truly awarded the highest honor heaven can bestow.

Dead works, men [Trinity 16; St. Luke 7:11-17]

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Jesus speaks today, saying,

“And the dead man sat up and began to speak…”

The lure of Islam, and its central teaching, is not what you’d think. You would think it would be its own creed, or Shahada, which is: There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet. While they certainly do use this to weed out unbelievers and fakers, there is a concept greater than this tawhid, that of its allegedly, divinely inspired name: Islam.

Islam, meaning submission, is something that can be practiced by anyone of any time and any place and is therefore universal and makes their religion the universal religion. Of course, they mean submission to their god, but there is the rub. Just because you pick a universal value as the name of your religion, does not imbue your religion with the same significance as the word itself.

Judaism is the same way. It has evolved to latch itself onto the idea of “awe”. Of course they mean awe towards their god, but really anyone can have and practice “awe”, especially when it simply means being in awe of human value and practicing social justice. This universal value of humanism then becomes what it means to be Jewish nowadays.

American religion is in the same boat. “God” and “Jesus” have become less names of actual, living people and more mere concepts. Those words now stand in place of words such as “love” and “dedication”, being more concerned with the strength of your private convictions rather than naming somebody. We’ll all be good muslims before you know it!

No doubt you submit yourself to God’s almighty plans and when things go really crazy, you re-commit yourself to your dedication to re-orient yourself. You stand in awe of God’s majesty everyday and give thanks that you get to show this awesomeness to others. You may even tack on the Name of Jesus at the end of prayers and actions, just to be sure.

Do not doubt, then, that this young man at Nain was anything less than we have described so far. You can be sure that this young man was on fire for the Lord and had a heart for working tirelessly for his fellow man. His memorization of Scripture was second to none. People would come from all over just to hear him pray for them.

An apparent celebrity whose numerous deeds all amounted to causing his mother grief.

So pleased was God with this young man’s entire portfolio that He was all too happy to reward this man with death. Mohammed, the man the Koran says is the best of the best, the excellent model for all men to imitate (Sura 33:22) and the one who possesses sublime moral excellences (Sura 68:5), died by poison. Abraham died, the prophets died, and all the nicest and best people in the world, ever, died despite their best efforts.

When we behold God in His holiness and in our sin, we only see Him as the Master to submit to, or else. His high and lifted-up-ness is not something to love, but fear. In this way, we simply see and hear impossible-to-meet demands, even though they be demands of love and kindness and when we attempt them, only suffering and death are given by Him, as the man at Nain shows.

This horrifies everyone, because not only does it mean that sin is real, it also means the punishment God reveals for it, is real too. Dear Christians, it is entirely true that God demands such things. It is also entirely true that Christ fulfills such things. Even better, because Christ has passed the gates of death and come out alive, God’s demands are completed and become promises to you which Jesus prepares for you, Himself.

The dearest and best efforts of Christ amount to suffering and dying as well, but they do not end there, where ours do. In fact, in the Resurrection Christ’s work of salvation never ends. This is why the one true religion on earth is called Christianity, because it is Christ alone Who defeats death and not any value, moral or otherwise.

Now in the resurrection to eternal life, it is Jesus’ submission to God, made on our behalf, which gives meaning to life on earth in the midst of death. Our example to imitate for sure, but more than that, Jesus’ perfect submission alone pleases the Father and opens the gates of heaven to sinners. No other man’s submission could hope for such a reward, because real submission demands not just your life, but your death and resurrection as well.

Therefore, true awe of God’s majesty is not just loving your neighbor or your environment. It means being in awe of the way God creates salvation for you Himself: through the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus. Awe is not the realization that you small and insignificant in the universe, but realizing that God offered Himself up in the place of sinners and yet still comes to you in peace in His Word and Sacrament.

This allows us to shift our focus on God, for now the meaning of this passage has been made clear. Not that we despair of the strength of our own works, but that we rejoice in just how weak death truly is. Jesus is teaching us how powerless and how insignificant death is.

Look at all it took to raise this dead, young man: a word. There was no pep-talk, no boost in self-esteem, and no shot in the arm. Without anything we would consider helpful in such a situation, Jesus simply says, “Arise” and at once the dead man is alive.

Once we confess the sin of all our work, good and bad, they are cast aside so that we can see Jesus. Once faith in the promise of Jesus takes over, then we are freed to do actual work confidently and need not trouble ourselves about death, anymore. For, just as Jesus raises this young man and empties his coffin, Jesus also climbs in the coffin as a replacement. He climbs into our sick-beds, death-beds, and graves in our place so that death must take Him instead of us. Nothing then is left for us to do except live.

And baptism places this event in time for us. We can never submit enough to God, but He can baptize us once and it is finished. We can never gawk and gape enough at God’s power, but He can hand out His forgiveness in bread and wine and it is enough.

So we sit down and shut-up and let God be God. How is God, God? God is washing and speaking and serving. Do we dare let our works overpower that? Faith will not let us. In hearing St. Luke’s Gospel today, it reminds us that if we are hearing Jesus’ words, “Young man I say to you arise” and we are believing them, it means that we came to Service this morning dead in our sin and have just been raised out of death and out of sin, ourselves.

The angel of the angels [Michaelmas; St. Matthew 18:1-11]

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Today we celebrate all angels, of whom Michael is the chief. We call him saint because he is made holy by Jesus and we believe that all angels were created by God in the beginning. They have been used to announce important events such as the birth of John the Baptist, the birth of Jesus, the Resurrection of Jesus, the Ascension and the Second Coming of Jesus.

In this way, they are primarily messengers, which is what the word "angel" means. They bring God’s message to whomever God wishes to preach. However, we know that some angels sinned and rebelled, as St. Peter tells us (2 Pet. 2:4). We call them demons or devils, though they still look like regular angels in order to deceive us.

The evil angels are many and powerful. Jesus Himself encounters the angel named Legion, which means “we are many”, in Mark 5 (v.9). These angels hate God and seek to destroy everything that is good, especially your faith in Christ as they did to Adam and Eve and attempted to do to Jesus, in His own temptation.

Yet today we celebrate those angels that still praise God, do His bidding, and obey His Word (Ps. 103:20-21). We celebrate that all these angels are also many and powerful and serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). In order to truly obey God’s Word, they must bow down to and serve God in the flesh; Jesus. 

So when we put all this together along with our Epistle reading from Revelation this morning, we find that the holy weapons God gives to those whom He makes into saints are the blood of the Lamb and the Word of His testimony; His martyrdom; His death on the cross.

So we should very much take the word “Angel” to mean messenger straight into our hearts. This is because the usual way we picture angels is the Hallmark way, but the Bible presents them as more than just doing nice things. In fact, every encounter with an angel in Holy Scripture produces some sort of distress in the people they appear to.

This is because they are not there to be nice, they are there to do God’s will. They are there to bring a message, but even more than that, they are here to bring the Word. And it is in the Word which we hear God’s Law and God’s Gospel. If a real angel visits you, you know it, because you feel God’s holiness pressing down upon your sinfulness.

So we hear them, at every encounter, saying, “Fear not” in an attempt to comfort and assure the people that they are not there for punishment, but revelation. This we see in Moses and the burning Bush (Ex. 3) and in Judges 6 and 13 where an angel appears to people, but then turns into the Lord with no explanation, as if their sole purpose is to make the way for God and then let Him do all the work.

“Fear not” also happens to be one of Jesus’ favorite phrases, which tells us one thing: that even the angels represent and point to Jesus coming in the flesh. This makes sense because not only were all the angels male, but they also did things only the Lord could do.

What does this mean for us? This means that Jesus was not an angel neither did He come to earth as an angel. Another thing: you are not, nor ever will you be, an angel. And thank God, because Jesus did not come to seek and save angels, but sinners. As God said, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? (Heb 1) 

Neither did God send an angel to us, as if we were worth no more than a servant’s errand! No, in these last days He sent His Son to preach; to give His own message Himself. Jesus is our angel, our messenger that brings the Gospel; the free forgiveness of sins. St. Michael, his angels, and the brethren defeat Satan with the preaching of that message, because it is the message of the Word made flesh.

We fit in this picture by being given the message, not just to hear and believe, but to preach ourselves. Now, beneath the cross of condemnation and forgiveness, we become God’s angels, delivering that same message that Christ suffered and died for, by maintaining and opening churches that preach the Gospel in its purity and administer the Sacraments according to it.

Therein lies the other half of angelic duty: to administer the blood of the Lamb and ensure victory over the dragon and his angels. Then, to commune in that same administration. 

In light of all this, the war between St. Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels is not in some far-off location or some far-off time in the future. It is engaged every Divine Service. The war for your mind and for your faith is the war “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

A celebration of angels is a celebration of Jesus, for it is Jesus Who chooses angels, messengers, pastors to bring His message to your hears that you might hear and receive faith. A celebration of St. Micheal is a celebration of He Who is God and man and defeats sin, death, and the devil with His own sacrificial death. A celebration of Michaelmass is a celebration of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, which includes our loved ones gone before us in the faith.

Let us not forget the other monumental event that God uses His angels to announce. That is the repentance of one sinner (Lk. 15:7). Greater than any dirty old war, greater than any flimsy armor is the faith given to us. Not even the angels receive this gift.

The fact that we all come together with the whole church on earth, to confess our sins every Sunday makes this the most joyous event in the history of the world. What naturally flows out of our mouths then is, “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabbaoth”! The angels are not just there for us in our darkest hour, but in our brightest hour as well, when we forget God and His Divine Service, the Message is still there, on earth, for us.

Correct cross [Exaltation of the Holy Cross; St. John 12:20-36]

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Today, we once again hear Christ speak to us pointing to His cross, saying,

“Sir we wish to see Jesus”

First off, a little history lesson on the origin of today’s feast day and it starts with a phrase:

“In hoc signo vinces” were the words that spelled victory for Roman Emperor Constantine in 312 AD. In fact, though you just heard it in Latin, the words were literally spelled out for him in Greek (en toutw nika), in a shining vision which he was convinced Jesus gave him on the eve of an important battle. And win that battle he did, gaining some of what was left of the once great Roman Empire and converting to a Christian.

           

Thus it was that history began to see the reign of Constantine and his vision of the cross as a turning point for the history of the Church. Even though the Church was doing just fine without him and his support, now it was “legal” under his rule.

So it is then that we find Constantine’s mother, Helena, a few years later supposedly finding the remains of the “true cross” and placing them in the newly dedicated Church of the Holy Sepulcher (a fancy word for tomb) on September 14^th, 335 AD in Jerusalem. Thus began the legendary relationship between the Church and the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, which we are celebrating today.

The problem is: we don’t worship a god of legends, but one of flesh and blood and Spirit. So why is the festival still around and what does it have to do with us? 3 things: icons and images, their use and abuse, and where salvation is and is not handed out. These 3 ideas in God’s Word will let us pass beyond superstition to the God-pleasing and faithful view of Christ’s holy cross.

First, it is completely biblical and God-pleasing for Christians to use images and icons in worship. Some protestants have made the 2nd Commandment, “Thou shalt not make any graven image,” implying that all statues or pictures are sinful. But God commanded many images to be made for the Tabernacle. He also commanded Moses to make the bronze serpent, from our Old Testament reading today.

God forbids making idols for yourself to be worshiped, from Ex. 20. However, this belongs with the 1st Commandment—one form of “other gods before Me.” Muslims, for example, believe that Mohammed and Allah are not to be depicted. But we believe that God has become Man in Christ. Jesus is the image and icon of the invisible God (Heb 1:3), and apart from that reality we have no access to God. Paul talks about “Christ, whom I publicly portrayed before you as crucified” (Gal. 3:1).

The word “portrayed” means to depict graphically. Thus, the use of the crucifix (a cross with the Jesus’ body) is a very biblical, Christian practice.

Second, the use of objects certainly can and has been abused! 2 Kings 18:4 tells how the bronze serpent had to be destroyed. 700 years after Moses made it, it had become an object of false worship. Even what God commands can be abused! Holy Cross Day has a checkered history of idolatry and superstition. Pieces of the “true cross” have been treated like means of grace for those who touched them or prayed before them. We can’t expect to find God in His mercy where He hasn’t promised to be for us. God doesn’t meet us in relics or the quietness of our heart; He has promised to deal with us only through the external Word and Sacraments.

Third, the cross is where salvation was accomplished, but not where it is delivered. Christ was lifted up to draw all people to Himself. There forgiveness was won and finished for us. But we don’t find the benefit there. We can’t go to the cross, either by pretending, by time-travel, or by finding a piece of the “true cross.” Instead, Christ brings the cross to us. “God wills, through the folly of what we preach, to save those who believe,” (1 Cor. 1:21) and, “we preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23).

God deals with us in the preaching the Gospel (Christ crucified for sinners) and the Sacraments that join us to His death (Holy Baptism), announce that blood-bought forgiveness (Holy Absolution), and even deliver the very Body and Blood that was given and shed for us at Calvary (Holy Communion). This is where salvation is given and distributed.

In this Spirit, our new hymnal has restored the Feast of the Holy Cross: not to worship relics or retell legends, but to hear the preaching of Christ crucified and receive His Body and Blood in His Supper. The crucifixion of Jesus was most certainly a historic event, meaning the tools used existed, whether we have the true cross as evidence or not.

But what forgives, saves, and comforts us in our particular place in history is the preaching of that cross. Through the Gospel and the Sacraments, Christ crucified continually gives Himself to us with all His benefits. “Behold, the life-giving cross, on which was hung the salvation of the world; O come, let us worship Him” as we sing during Good Friday.

Such is the immense importance of the cross, but how do you use the cross? A simple symbol perhaps. Something to take up space on a wall, or jewelry, or as a tattoo. Preferably someplace hidden, in its proper place, out of the way, and meaningless. It is flashed as a badge for being in the right club.

An empty cross can be used to lead us to an empty faith whereas a full cross heads us off at the pass. With Jesus there, there is no question as to where we see Jesus. The crucifix does not teach fashion and does not sell well, because it is offensive to crucify a man. The crucifix held before our eyes imposes upon us the horribleness of our sins and, in Faith, also imposes upon us the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Sir, we wish to see Jesus! But not everyone does. Everyone of faith does. And everyone of faith wants to be reminded over and over again that Jesus, the God-man, was on that cross for them. Of course it is not enough to have a crucifix up as a decoration to look at. We must also hear it, touch it, smell it, and taste it.

Sir we wish to see Jesus! And the Divine Service gathers all this together just for you.

Sir, we wish to see Jesus! Then look to His holy cross. For just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, so Jesus, when He is lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Himself (v.32). He humbled Himself and became obedient even to the death of the cross to save us (Phil. 2:8). Everyone who is bitten by the ancient serpent’s venom of sin, when he sees Christ shall live (Num. 21:8). The true Holy Cross is lost to history, and we cannot return to Calvary to find our salvation. So Christ brings the New Testament in His Blood to us. 

We preach Christ crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God, though it is foolishness to the unbelieving world (1 Corinthians 1:23–24). It pleases God through the folly of the cross we preach to save those who believe (v.21). We find the fruit and benefit of this Holy Cross poured out in Holy Baptism, spoken in the preaching of Holy Absolution, and delivered in the Body and Blood given and shed there for us. 

Thus are we strengthened to take up our crosses, sanctified by His (John 12:25–26). Seeing Him carry His own cross for the salvation of the world, encourages us in hope that, not only will we finally overcome the world and win the victory, but that in following Him, we are made the same as Him.

Pray to make it today [Trinity 9; St. Luke 19:41-48]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

Jesus speaks in your hearing today, saying,

“‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’”

Whenever we begin to talk about prayer, the question is never “what shall we pray”, but “does prayer change things”. We want to know if what we do makes any difference. We want to know that if we do something for God, that He’s going to be sure and pay us back.

In this vein of thought, we conclude almost immediately that prayer is not worth the time. Not only does it appear as if God does nothing, but also that prayer doesn’t change things. God knows everything ,after-all, so why would He change His mind for something like a prayer, since He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow? (Num. 23:19; Heb. 13:8)

When we think like that, we become philosophers instead of Christians, and philosophers always doubt God. Therefore, when today’s Gospel confronts us with an entire house dedicated to prayer, we simply take it as a spiritual house with a metaphorical meaning, telling ourselves that we can pray just by breathing, and forget the entire thing right after the Divine Service.

Yet, plain as day, Jesus accuses us of turning His House of prayer into a den of robbers. The quick answer is, yes, prayer changes things, so don’t stop praying. The long answer is worth exploring and has to do with what a House of Prayer has to do with a Den of Robbers.

In the first case, we see an obvious contrast. In a house, the word itself conveys a place of comfort and giving; a home, if you will. That in a house you keep all of your valuables, not just material wealth, but family as well. So, this house is a house of giving as opposed to the robber, who only takes.

On a deeper note, Jesus uses some Hebrew phrasing here. I mean, it is the Hebrew language that calls things “house of” something, in this case Jesus says “Beth-teplah”. You are already an expert in this, because you are familiar with its usage every time Christmas rolls around. It is at that time we hear the word “Bethlehem”, which is Hebrew for “house of bread”. In this case, Beth-teplah is “house of prayer”.

Now, while there is a lot going on in Jesus’ choice of names here, for today it is enough to say that Jesus marries Himself very close to this house business, in that not only does He build it Himself, but is then the very House of Prayer that is destroyed and three days later rises, never to die again. Such is the force of the phrase “house of prayer”.

Compare that to a Den of Robbers. To translate this word as “den” is very politically correct, but in the Old Testament, it is never used as a description of an animal’s house, nor even of a secluded place of refuge, such as a den in a house. It is used to describe a cave, but not just any cave, a cave where one buries the dead, such as what Abraham does with his wife Sarah in Genesis 23 which says, “After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.” (v.19)

So it is, that these robbers that Jesus comes to drive out with a whip of cords are not just swindling people out of their money and possessions, but also depriving them of life. This is why Jeremiah says, “Many [pastors] have destroyed my [people]” from chapter 12 (v.10). It is in chapter 7 where Jesus first said that His house has been made into a cave of robbers.

Jesus is not just getting angry at poor, unfortunate money-changers and entrepreneurs. He is diving down into the depths of cave and den to root and ferret out, not just those who would preach and teach contrary to the Word, to seek and find you in your sin. 

Jesus ransacks death and hell to find you and raise you to new life. Jesus is the Robber of body and soul from the power of the devil. His suffering and death are now the things that make for peace or at least any peace worth having in this world.

Thus when the prophet Jeremiah speaks of men falling and rising, in our Old Testament reading; when he talks of the wise being put to shame, rejecting the Word, he is prophesying the crucifixion of Jesus.

If there is no house built, there is no prayer. If the house is a den or cemetery, then there is no prayer. Since the Temple of God has fallen into the hands of robbers, then a greater robber must pillage and plunder, suffering and dying to build up the House built in the Rock, Who is Christ.

“Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” (Rom. 8:34) Pray is one of the things that Jesus repeatedly does, before His death. He prays with His family, His friends. He prays for those who persecute Him and He prays for His enemies, because it was His enemies that put Him to death and we were one of them.

“He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25) It is Jesus Who prays. It is Jesus’ words that make the difference. It is Jesus’ prayer that the Father hears, answers, and gives whatever He asks. “He offers up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save from death, and He is heard because of His godliness.” (Heb. 5:7)

His prayer brings us from death to life; from the grave of robbers, to the House of God. And this House is a Man, the God-man, Who prays for us and teaches us to pray. If our Lord and Savior finds it in His infinite wisdom to pray, should not we take a measly few minutes out of our day and pray? Not only that but also teach our children as well?

Such is what God leaves us concerning prayer, but there is more about this Robber-God-man Who saves us. For it is not by our prayers that we are saved, but by His actions. You would think that a House of Prayer would be silent in order to allow those present to communicate properly with God. However, this house of prayer of God’s is never silent or inactive.

Daily was Jesus teaching in the Temple, so were many others. Jesus prayed in the Temple. So did many others. From sacrifices required for new births, new jobs, and everything else, the Temple was a regular festival practically everyday. Divine Service was offered every day. Prayer services 7 times a day. Pilgrims were a constant flow in and out. The air was heavy with the scent of blood and sacrifices. People being baptized and judged.

There was a joyful noise then and there is a joyful noise today. Then was the hope of the Robber-Messiah yet to come. Today is the hope of Him coming again. Thus, we are brought into this hope and this House-Who-is-a-Man through baptism. Dressing properly is a requirement and the dress code is Christ. We must put Him on before entering.

Jesus cleanses us that we may enter into His presence. Jesus clothes us with His righteousness, that our prayers might be heard (Prov. 15:29). Not only does He make us and our prayer righteous, but He gives us the words to pray. Not only does He give us the words to pray, but He even sanctifies mouth, tongue, and heart with His true Body and true Blood, taken to eat and drink.

So it is today, that you find yourself in this House of Prayer. Where Divine Service is offered and where lives are lived together. Real people come to this House so a real life must be given to live, not just an imaginary one. 

Just as the people of Jesus’ time encountered flesh and blood on account of their prayers, so the same thing happens to you today. Though the sacrifices have ended, we remember the one, true sacrifice. We even retain the ruckus as God’s Word is never silent and neither are our prayers. God will continue to make noise in preaching and teaching so that even this house may be called a House of Prayer.

Warfare [Trinity 9; St. Luke 16:1-9]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

We hear Jesus today, speaking to us, saying,

“There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.”

What we have in our Old Testament reading today is part of one of the last psalms that King David penned before he died, that of Psalm 18. In it, he thanks God for giving him his many victories and ending all his battles; all of his warfare. 

Now, on the surface you may be just fine with this reading being paired with the Gospel heard today. You may well be pleased with the merciful God showing mercy to the Dishonest Manager and will accept a very abstract view of God being our refuge and strength, as the psalm says, by Him simply forgiving the debt.

This is very pleasant and all and can be comforting in its own way, however, Psalm 18 is a psalm of war. Not any abstract war, but real, physical polemics. In it, King David minces no words saying, “He trains my hands for war”, “I thrust [my enemies] through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.”, “They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them”, and “I beat them fine as dust before the wind”, and other such violent pleasantries (35, 38, 41, 42).

God even goes so far as to perhaps comment on our own modern issue of immigration policies saying, “Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses [to me]” (v.46) 

In these verses, you get the very real impression that King David loves war and glorifies violence. You would also not expect such sentiment from a man who is called “a man after God’s own heart”. Yet, this is King David and he is a mirror to you. Dr. Luther says that even if every single person were of sound mind in all things, but lusted after war, it would be enough to declare all to be insane.

Yes, we love war. We especially love war that is fought far away from us. But, if we must fight, we want God as a shield so we may find glory and we want God to make our feet swift like a deer in order to accomplish great deeds of honor for ourselves and those around us. 

And herein lies the connection with our Gospel reading. The Dishonest Manager has found glory that he thinks is all his to take, using his Lord’s possessions to do so. We’ll call Psalm 18 blue collar war and the Dishonest Manager white collar war. Though less blood is shed, white-collar war is just as brutal.

How dense is the darkness of men even to rejoice at war. To sing about it, and to praise the defeat, the butchery, the blood, murder and the whole chaos of evils which war brings in its train, when it would be far better to weep about all these things with tears of blood, particularly when war is waged not at the command of God but because of this insane lust for power and possession.

Does this then mean that God is similarly lustful of power and possession? Since we have Psalm 18 as proof, not to mention the rest of the wars in the Old Testament, all ordered by God, must we then conclude that “God is a man of war”, like Moses does in Ex. 15:3?

Of course, the answer is yes. God is not a tame God. As we say to each other, God is everywhere, He is all powerful, He is all knowing. He can do as He pleases. What right do you have to question His tactics and methods? Were you there at the beginning? Do you have understanding to teach God? Will you condemn God that you may be justified? (Job 38:4, 40:8)

If we take Psalm 18 as the only way we know about God, God indeed is violent and quite possibly deserves no worship, just as the Jews and the Muslims have come to realize. For they also only see God as waging war and have only the slightest of hopes that He is on their side, and that only when they are winning, which isn’t very often.

So why are we Christians able to say that the one, true God is different?

Easy. Jesus.

What the Jews don’t have; what the Muslim’s don’t have; what the war mongers don’t have is Jesus. What I mean is, without the sacrifice of God made man on the cross, God’s vengeance and bloodlust is unsatisfied and falls upon us to attempt to satisfy Him. Without Jesus dying on the cross, God is a man of war, even against us.

Even though King David wrote Psalm 18 by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, David is the Dishonest Manager. He wasted His Lord’s possessions. He took the Lord’s gift of an earthy king to His people and wasted it, by abusing power in taking more wives than the one allowed by God’s word and even more concubines. He murdered, not just in war, but also for personal gain.

Among his many other sins, David could not answer his God according to these charges and he paid for it. Not only did he lose children in childbirth, but his legitimate sons made a mess of his kingdom, even before they inherited it. All David could do was lament his sins and hope that they would be, not just forgiven, but forgotten.

Jesus was brought up on charges of wasting the Lord’s possessions. In the Temple that God promised to dwell in and in front of the priests that God had chosen Himself, they said to Jesus, “What is this we hear about you?”. You can no longer be who You say You are on account of your management. You have broken Moses’ Laws, you have not submitted to our authority, which is also God’s, and you have claimed to be King of the Jews. Then they threw Hi into prison to die.

If the sword of God’s war-like wrath against sin and death falls anywhere other than upon Jesus on the cross, then we are still in our sin, still fighting a war against death we cannot win, and condemned where we stand. In this way, Psalm 18 is now a psalm about Jesus.

God shows mercy to Jesus Who is merciful to tax collectors and prostitutes. God is blameless in His judgment of Jesus, for Jesus was blameless in the false charges of our sins. Jesus was purified seven times in the furnace of God’s wrath, even tortured, but rises again in perfect purity.

Jesus had God’s eyes upon Him in His humiliation, because Jesus was bold to offer God our sins as an offering. This is God’s Lamp. This is God’s perfect way. That Jesus be the author and perfector of all warfare and violence. Not that He metes it out against those Who rebelled against Him, but that He takes it upon Himself and redirects it onto sin and death.

In order that you have a perfect share in this fulfillment. Baptism now allows you to run against a troop filled with soldiers of sin and death, for sin and death no longer hold dominion over you, in Christ. You are able to leap over the wall of suffering, for nothing the world can do will take away anything you have in Christ.

This is the shield, the rock, the fortress. The one that holds out even against the gates of hell. The promises that prove true in the face of all sinful odds. In Christ, you are blameless. Apart from Him you can do nothing. In Christ you are swift as a deer and can run from the lusts and temptations of this world. In Christ, a mansion has been secured for you on high.

In Christ, your warfare has not only ended, but has been forgiven, as Isaiah says in chapter 40. Your violence has found the holiest of places for outlet in the suffering and death of Jesus. Because Christ has taken all violence upon Himself, you are now free to offer your remaining violence into God’s hands. You get to confess your sin and let God handle it all.

True warfare is still spiritual and physical, though now through the light of the cross, it is your spirit in a fight against God’s Body and Blood offered for you. The real fight is getting yourself to the Lord’s Supper, remembering your baptism, and receiving absolution. These are the physical places of refuge your Savior has given to you to flee from your spiritual and physical violence and warfare.