Lent 4 Wednesday Matins

Catechism Series: Holy Baptism

Small Catechism: Holy Baptism

St. Mark 10:13-16

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord loves water. In the beginning of creation the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep waters. Then the waters of the Flood destroyed the sinful world, while Noah and his family were kept safe in the ark. At the Red Sea, the Lord saved His people by bringing them through the water, and drowning Pharaoh and his host. At the Jordan River, God again stopped water and let Israel cross over into the Promised Land. At that same Jordan River, but many years later, the Lord Himself – Jesus – God incarnate, stepped into those waters and was anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our Savior. And finally, the Lord instituted all water to be a washing away of sin. What is Baptism? It is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word. And not just any word, but His Name. “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in THE NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Lord loves water. And He gives great benefits with His water. And yet, we take it for granted. Or even worse, we despise it.

If you despise Baptism, you despise the Lord who gives it. And if you think people don’t ignore Baptism, think again. Many Christians believe it does nothing at all. For them, it’s just a symbol. For them, Baptism is all about what they do – they dedicate their life, or dedicate their child to God. Of course, we don’t believe that, but what about us in our Lutheran church? How many times do we postpone the baptism of a baby because we’re more about getting all the relatives there? How many bring their children to Baptism and then never bring them back to church or Sunday School? How many go through the steps of getting baptized and then never give it a second thought?

Baptism saves you. Baptism saves because faith saves. But if faith is gone, Baptism can’t do too much. There’s no such thing as “once saved, always saved,” or “once baptized, always saved.” So once again, if we despise Baptism, we despise the Lord.

But the opposite is also true: when we remember Baptism, when we hold on to it, when we continue in it, when we return to Baptism, then we trust in the Lord. Because Baptism is all about what our Lord is all about. Baptism works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe. And whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

As I said before, there are many who ignore or despise Baptism. Because it really doesn’t look all that special. Just some water and some man saying some words. Nothing impressive about it. So people ask: How can water do such great things? Aha! says Martin Luther. You’re missing the best part! Not just water, but the word of God in and with the water. The Name of God joins with the water and makes it Baptism, makes it God’s water, and makes the baptized God’s child.

Where God’s Name is, there He is doing His work, doing the things that only the crucified and risen Lord can do! Forgiving sins. Putting sinners to death, and raising them up again. Where God’s Name is, there is forgiveness, life, and salvation. The Lord loves water. And He uses that water with His Name to deliver His forgiveness. In Baptism, the water and the word always go together. So, when the water got put on you, God’s Name came with it, and His Name got put on you. You are branded, marked, singled out, with the Name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are His. Bought by His blood. One of His children.

With the Name of God put upon you, there is no part of your life not belonging to God. There is no part where He is not there. Where His Name is, there He is. You belong to Him and He belongs to you and with you. You are His children. He is our Father. And nothing else in this life can change that. Yet, even as Baptism doesn’t look like much, doesn’t look real, the troubles of life look like a lot. They look all too real. But God’s baptized Children shut their eyes to what things look like, and see things as they really are. So here’s a great Baptism word to remember: “Nevertheless!” Whatever you’re facing, say, “Nevertheless, I am baptized!” If the Devil throws your sins in your face and makes you feel your guilt, say “Nevertheless, I am baptized!” If you are worried over finances, or faced with sickness, or faced with death itself, say “Nevertheless, I am baptized!” You have God on your side. You are His.

Notice, it’s in the present tense: “I am baptized.” It’s not just something in your past. God’s Name is put on you and stays with you. And so every time we remember our Baptism, when we say “Nevertheless I am baptized!” we are returning to that water and Name. We are splashing around in it some more. Your baptism won’t dry up. Because when you return to Baptism, you return to the Lord, you trust Him.

This all has to do with the dying and the rising. Baptism is all about dying and rising. It’s all about Good Friday and Easter. Christ bore the sins of the world on the cross and died for them. Those sins, your sins, followed Him into His tomb, and were sealed there. Christ rose from the dead, but your sins stayed in the tomb. Christ rose to new life and now gives that life to you. Where God’s Name is, there He is, doing His dying and rising work. So in Baptism the Lord puts you to death. You are crucified with Christ. You are drowned in the water, and all your sins follow you down into that watery grave. Then the Lord raises you up again to new life.

Martin Luther once said that the Old Adam, our sinful self, is a good swimmer. That means, that as long we live in this life, we won't be fully dead to sin or fully alive to Christ. At least we can’t see it yet. And so throughout our lives we stay swimming in the Baptism pool. Every time we confess our sins, we are dying, drowning again. And every time we hear the pastor pronounce forgiveness, we are raised to new life. Every time we pray to God and fight against temptation, we are drowning our sinful self. And every time we remember our Baptism and the salvation given there, we are raised up again.

This continues daily, for now, but not forever. There will come a day when you die for good. But do not fear. Your death is a good thing, because then you can be raised for good, forever. So, when next you face death, face it as one baptized. God’s Name is on your head, so death cannot keep you. You have already died in Baptism. The worst is behind you. All that remains is for you to be raised up to new and eternal life. When you go to die, go as a little baby in the arms of Jesus. He wants the little children to come to Him and live with Him forever.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Fourth Sunday in Lent - Laetare

St. John 6:1–15

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord will provide. It’s such a common saying, almost cliché. As much as we say it or know it, do we ever really believe it? The wealthy are satisfied with their life and think that they don’t need God or His Word. And the poor wonder how they could possibly be concerned with God’s Word or make it a priority when they have to spend all their time and effort just getting food or shelter.

Somehow the American Middle class seems to fall into both problems. They’re not really concerned about God or eternal questions like heaven and hell because their life seems so good and comfortable. Who wants to think about heavy, serious things when we have toys to play with? On the other hand they are very serious about their jobs, working and saving for expensive colleges and comfortable retirements. Very little attention is given to the Lord, or His Word, or His promise to provide.

But this is the message of the feeding of the 5000. The Lord will provide. And this miracle can teach us how the Lord provides two kinds of bread: earthly bread and heavenly bread.

First of all, we should notice that Jesus provides more than enough food for the crowd out of His compassion for them. It is His idea to feed the crowd. He knew what He was going to do. And He initiates the whole thing. He brings the matter of food up to Philip, because He wants to feed them, and He wants to teach something through the feeding.

Our Lord still provides out of His compassion. He gives daily bread to everyone, even without our prayer. He makes the sun shine, the rain fall, the corn grow. And He would continue to do all this even if no one asked Him to. Because that’s how He is. He gives gifts to people who don’t deserve them, even you.

Second, we should notice how Jesus gives the food through means. He takes up already existing bread and fish offered by the boy. And then He distributes it to the disciples, who in turn distribute the food to the crowds. Our Lord always prefers working through means, through created stuff, and through ordinary people.

He always provides earthly bread through means. He sends rain and sun to make seeds germinate and grow. He sends farmers to harvest the grain, gather it, process it, and distribute it. He sends bakers and cooks, wives and mothers to prepare it and set it before the ones who need to eat it. There are a lot of steps between God and the bite of food in your mouth, but He is the One who makes it all happen.

We are used to thinking of a miracle as something that interrupts and changes the natural order of things. Like a magic spell that turns a boy into a frog. But the miracles of Jesus are nothing like that. When Jesus feeds the 5000 He doesn’t turn stones into bread and scorpions into fish. He uses regular bread and fish, He just multiplies it. Water really does turn into wine: Water falls on the vines and is taken up into the grapes, and the grapes are fermented to make alcohol. Diseased bodies really do become healed. Storms really do quiet down. The miracles of Jesus are not magic tricks, contradicting the Laws of Nature. They simply speed up nature. Or they direct nature to work the way it was meant to so that it supplies mankind with what is good. We think of the feeding of the 5000 as an incredible miracle, and yet when single kernels of grain produce a bountiful harvest, we dismiss it as ordinary. God hasn’t changed in either case. He is still providing. But we so often fail to recognize God’s miraculous works in the little things of life. As much as we might praise the Lord for the feeding of the 5000, we should also praise Him for every bit of our food as well.

Finally, Jesus teaches us to be careful with what has been given to us. He tells the disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” You’ve all heard that other cliché: “Waste not, want not!” But many times frugality can turn into stinginess. Still, there is truth in it. We should not assume that there will always be an overabundance. The Lord provides, but we don’t necessarily know when He will provide, or how much, or for how long. We should appreciate the gifts we have while we have them and not squander them. We should not presume that we can just go back to God and snap our fingers for more (like to a waiter) when we’ve wasted His gifts and run out. So we should take care of what God has given us.

Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t learn what Jesus wanted them to. The problem with sinful people is that when they’re hungry they lose faith in God and think they will starve to death. And then when they’re well-fed and satisfied they lose faith in God and think they’re all set and they don’t need Him for anything else. The crowd was happy that Jesus filled their bellies. And that’s all they wanted from Him. They were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king. So Jesus left them.

But in the rest of John, chapter 6, they followed Him, looking for more bread. When they caught up to Him, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me… because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:26–27). “The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:33–35). Now Jesus is leading them from the earthly bread to the heavenly bread. This was the greater point of the feeding miracle: the heavenly bread is the Lord Jesus Himself and the Lord provides Himself to us in His Word.

The feeding of the 5000 also illustrates how the Lord provides this heavenly bread. First, He provides His Word for us out of His compassion. It is His desire to make Himself known to us so that we might believe in Him and live with Him. If God were not gracious enough to reveal Himself to us in His Word, then we could never find Him. Second, He provides His Word through means. He sends prophets and apostles to write down His Word by the direction of the Holy Spirit. He sends preachers, and even every Christian, to speak His Word, either publically for the Church or privately within their own vocation. And He sends His Word along with physical elements like water, bread, and wine. The Lord does not speak to us directly. He speaks to us through His written and spoken Word. But His speaking is no less real. His Word is meant for you.

Third, the Lord teaches us to gather up the left-overs. When the Gospel is being preached in abundance, when we have opportunities to hear and study God’s Word, when we are able to receive the Sacrament, then we must take advantage of it. We are still so blessed, especially in our corner of America, where we have several faithful churches in easy driving distance. This is not the case everywhere in the world. Many Christians have a much harder time hearing God’s Word than we do. So, we should appreciate what we have and make use of it. We cannot assume we will always have those opportunities. We must learn now our Catechism and the basic teachings of Scripture, store them away in our hearts and minds, so when we are in need of comfort or guidance, we won’t go to the cupboard and find it bare. We must make every opportunity to cherish God’s Word while we have it so available.

The problem is, sinful people don’t appreciate what the Lord provides, either His earthly bread or His heavenly bread. They want a king who will give them bread on their terms. They want a king who will give them what they want when they want it. Jesus is not that kind of King and He doesn’t go along with that program. Thanks be to God, He provides according to His will. He does not pander to the delusional felt-needs of sinners. He is only the King on His terms.

Jesus suffered to be made a King. He allowed them to crown Him with thorns and mock Him with a purple robe. He allowed them to set Him on His wooden throne, exalted above the earth on the cross. He allowed them to proclaim His kingship as a cruel joke: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. He suffered all that to happen, because that is how He is King. That is how the Lord provides. He offered up His body and shed His blood to provide us with the forgiveness of sins. He gave up His very life, so that we might have it.

Many don’t like that kind of King: a dead man, hanging on a cross. Many people turned away from Jesus even before it got to that point. At the end of John, chapter 6, many of the crowd left Jesus. Turns out, He wasn’t the kind of King they were looking for, and what He was providing wasn’t what they wanted. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:67–69). Peter is right: Who else can we go to? The Lord died and rose for us. He provides heavenly bread for us, His Word that gives eternal life. Surely, He provides earthly bread for us as well. Thanks be to God.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Martin Luther’s Sermon: Baker, Vol. V, pp.344–350.

Lent 3 Wednesday Matins

Catechism Series: Lord's Prayer

Large & Small Catechisms: Lord’s Prayer

St. Matthew 6:5-15

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Ten Commandments teach God’s Law. The Apostles’ Creed teaches the Gospel. And so, the Lord’s Prayer teaches Holy Living. Law, Gospel, Holy Living – this is the basic rhythm and pattern of the Christian life. We are convicted of sin, we receive the forgiveness of Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit we try to live a holy life. Then we sin, and the pattern starts over.

None of us keep the Ten Commandments perfectly. Yet we know from the Creed that our God is our Helper, our Savior, and our Father. So those two things urge us to pray to this God. Really, the chief way the holy life of the Christian must be put into practice is in prayer. We must pray that He would give, preserve, and increase faith in us, and also help us to keep His Commandments. We must pray that He would remove every obstacle in our way that opposes us in this holy life. And so, because prayer is so necessary for the Christian life, our Lord Jesus Himself has taught us how to pray and even given us the words to use.

But first, before we just jump in and start praying the Lord’s Prayer (or any prayer), we need to know two things about prayer: First, God has commanded us to pray. This is covered in the Second Commandment: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use Satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. God has given us His name. Of course, He forbids us from misusing it. But He also expects that we actually use it the right way. People get into the habit of not praying for all different reasons. “Who knows whether God will hear my prayer?” “Does God really want to hear from me?” “If I don’t pray, somebody else will.” We should banish these thoughts from our minds. God requires us to pray to Him. He did not leave up to our choice. And know this: not praying is being disobedient to God, and so God is right to be angry and punish all people who do not pray to Him, just as He is right to do so for any other disobedience. But by calling on God’s name you are keeping His command. You are honoring His name and using it well and so God is pleased with that.

If for no other reason, you should pray to Him because you know God has commanded you to do so. And He does not consider prayer because of who the person is, how spiritual or nice or holy they are. He hears prayers because they are based on the command He has given us in His Word. He will never allow our prayers to be in vain or go unheard. If He did not intend to hear your prayer, He would’ve never commanded it.

The second thing we should know about prayer is that God has attached a promise to it. Whenever you’re trying to figure out what you should do, you should always start by finding out, what is God’s command and what is His promise. The same is true for prayer. So we should not only pray because we’re commanded to, but we should be eager and grateful to pray because our God has given us wonderful promises concerning our prayer:

Psalm 50(:15), “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Matthew 7(:7–11), “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

John 16(:23–24) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Now whoever does not believe these promises from God will not be heard by Him. To not believe God’s promise is to call God a liar. So, if we do not pray with trust in His promises we will dishonor God and anger Him in this way as well. But here’s how we should approach God in prayer: just like a little child who knows and loves his father, and knows that his father loves him. “Here I come, dear Father, and pray, not because I have my own purposes, and not because I am worthy. But I pray because of Your commandment and promise, which can never fail or deceive me.”

Now, as for the Lord’s Prayer in particular, there is no better prayer to be found on earth. We should pray it daily, we should pray it in times of need and in times of thanksgiving, we should pray it when we don’t know what else to pray. At the beginning of Matins and Vespers we pray the words of Psalm 51(:15), O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. And that is exactly what He does in the Lord’s Prayer. He arranges the words for us. He opens our lips and puts His words on our tongue, so we may learn from Him how to pray aright.

The Lord’s Prayer also teaches us what our greatest needs are. The things we should be concerned about the most are laid out for us in the Lord’s Prayer so we don’t neglect them. It teaches and reminds us what we should really be praying for. So, we’re not only praying for things that we like or things we think we need, but by praying the Lord’s Prayer we’re also praying for the things God wants us to pray about. Let’s face it, most of our prayers probably fall under the Fourth Petition: Give us this day our daily bread. We’re concerned about money and food, family, health, government, mostly earthly stuff. And we should pray for all those things. But maybe the Lord’s Prayer puts first things first. Perhaps God arranged this prayer in this way so that first we would pray for heavenly things, things that selfish, sinful humans neglect: God’s holy name, His kingdom, His good and gracious will.

Finally, we can also take comfort in praying this prayer because it covers everything. Any prayer you can think of is already included in one or more of its seven petitions. In fact, that’s your challenge for the rest of the week: Pray the Lord’s Prayer and as you do it think, is there anything I could ask for that the Lord has not included in this prayer? Then let me know what you think.

Now we’ll go through the parts briefly. The Introduction: Our Father who art in heaven. We can boldly and confidently address God as our true Father because we are His true children. We have been adopted into His family through His true Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The First Petition: Hallowed be Thy name. First, we pray that God’s name would be holy. Of course, we know His name is always holy, but we’re praying that we would keep it holy. Simply put, we’re praying that we would preserve God’s good reputation. As God’s children who bear His name, we dishonor God when we teach lies about Him or live sinful, unrepentant lives. But we bring honor and glory to God when we purely teach His Word and live holy lives according to it.

The Second Petition: Thy kingdom come. We know God’s kingdom comes to earth now and is going to come on the Last Day, whether we like it or not. But we’re praying that His kingdom would come to us, for us, and make us a part of it. We’re asking that God would send His Holy Spirit to us so that we may believe and follow Him. We’re asking to be gathered into His kingdom here on earth in the Church, and be gathered into His kingdom one day in heaven.

The Third Petition: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Again, we know God’s will is always done, even when we’re not praying for it. We’re asking that God’s will would be done for us, for our good, and that we would also work to do His will. God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. These enemies of God do not want us to keep God’s name holy or let His kingdom come. So we pray that God would fight against them and stop their evil wills. We pray that God would keep us firm in faith, trusting His Word, all lifelong until we die.

The Fourth Petition: Give us this day our daily bread. Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. And once more, we know that God gives daily bread to everyone, even to those who don’t pray for it, even to those who don’t believe in Him. But we pray for it because it shows that we know where our bread comes from. We need to remember that everything we have in this life comes as a gift from God. And we need to thank Him for it.

The Fifth Petition: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Without the forgiveness of sins we could never hope to come before God or be heard by Him. Without the forgiveness of sins God would answer our prayers with hell. So, we repent, we confess our sins, and we trust in the forgiveness won for us by the Father’s Son, Jesus Christ. And if God loves us and forgives us, who have so terribly wronged Him, so also we must love others and forgive those who have sinned against us. If we refuse God’s gift of forgiveness to others, then we cannot have forgiveness for ourselves. So, let this petition also be a prayer for help, that we would learn to love our enemies, forgive those who have wronged us, and not hold onto any bitterness.

The Sixth Petition: And lead us not into temptation. God does not tempt us to sin. He is our fortress and shield against the attacks of the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature. So, we must constantly call on Him for help and rescue so that we do not give into temptation. Whenever we sense that sin is lurking nearby, we should run to God and ask for strength to resist. We pray that we would stand firm and share in the final victory of Christ.

The Seventh Petition: But deliver us from evil. This last petition really sums up all the others. We’re praying against our chief enemy, the Devil. He is the one who tries to stop everything we pray for: God’s name or honor, God’s kingdom and will, our daily bread, and a good and clean conscience unstained by sin and doubt. One of the best things we can do on earth is pray against this enemy, because if God did not constantly guard and deliver us, we would never be safe. So, we also pray that God would give us that final deliverance. When our last hour comes, we ask Him to give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.

Finally, we must learn to say “Amen” to all this. “Amen” means “This is true. I believe. Yes, yes, it shall be so.” We should not doubt that our prayer is heard and that what we pray will be done. If we do not believe, then we cannot truly pray. James 1(:6–7) says, “Ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” So “Amen” is nothing less than the word of undoubting faith, faith which does not pray on a dare or as a gamble, but faith which knows that God does not lie. He has commanded us to pray and He has promised to answer us.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.