2 Peter 1:2–11
St. Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
Catechesis lays up treasure for you in heaven
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This past Sunday we heard about Jesus healing the blind man, which is an analogy for catechesis. And catechesis just means learning God’s Word, it’s instruction. Also, remember from Sunday that believing is the true seeing. So, once you’ve been given sight, once you have faith, you are able to follow your teacher on the Way. That’s what the blind man does. Jesus heals him to show that he really does see, he does believe, his faith makes him well. And then the blind man follows Jesus down the road, glorifying God, as they go up to Jerusalem.
So, the analogy is that catechesis is not only opening the eyes of the mind by faith, but catechesis is also the Way that Jesus leads us to the Truth. That road for Jesus went up to His suffering, death and resurrection. So also, catechesis is the Way that leads us to the cross of our Savior, to the cross of our own death (dying to sin, dying to this world), and ultimately that Way leads us on to our own resurrection as well. That means catechesis, this Way of learning, doesn’t lead us to earthly goods but to heavenly treasure. Jesus said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Catechesis shows us the Way to lasting treasure. It points us in the right direction to the eternal things, the things that last. Catechesis puts our hearts where they need to be.
The Apostle Peter also gives us some direction on this Way, in His Epistle. He says, God has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Christ provides everything we need for a godly life and an eternal life. He provides that for us through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence—that is, through the knowledge of our Savior, through the Word of God. The Lord teaches us, catechizes us, and that gives us everything that we need for godly life here on earth and godly life forever in heaven.
Peter goes on: he says that God has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. That is an amazing statement: you take part in, you commune with the divine nature, God Himself. That’s what God’s Word does for us. His knowledge makes us partakers of the divine nature—there is real treasure in heaven! You actually commune with God. Your learning the Word of God, your catechesis in the Word of God makes you one with God.
But not completely yet. You are one with God by faith in His Word, and yet not by sight or feeling or any physical signs. In fact, what we often see in our own hearts and lives and in the world around us, are not signs of the divine nature, but signs of sin and death. So, for now, our faith, our walking on the Way, requires training. Catechesis is that training. It guides you and pushes you, disciplines and directs you. When you get side-tracked by the earthly things off on the side roads, it directs you back to the good things, the heavenly treasures, which will eventually take you to heaven. Catechesis directs you to how your faith should be bearing fruit.
So then, Peter gives us this list of good fruits that come from faith, from learning God’s Word. He says, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue—so, good works. By faith alone we are saved, and yet faith is never alone. Faith always does good works. If we believe in God we also show that we love Him and our neighbors. So, we supplement our faith with virtue, and then virtue with knowledge. Your initial knowledge in the Word gave you faith, and that faith should also make us want to learn more, and come to know our God better and better (who He is and His will for us). Then, to knowledge we add self-control. We must not constantly give into every single impulse that comes into our minds. We need moderation in our life. That self-control will help us toward steadfastness, which is the next fruit. Temptation comes and we want to give into that impulse, but because we’ve learned to exercise self–control we can resist and remain steadfast. Then, to steadfastness is added godliness—a life that is pleasing to God, a life that is governed by His Law. And with godliness we add brotherly affection. In the New Testament, the brothers are always your fellow Christians, your siblings in the family of God. So, we love one another as Christ loved us and brought us into His family. And with brotherly affection we add love. So that as God loved the world in Christ, we also love the world—not just the people we like, not just the people in our church, but we love our enemies, we love the people who disagree with us, the people who hate us, the people who hold grudges against us. Love sums up and covers the entire life.
The point of learning God’s Word is to pursue this great list Peter gives us, these fruits of faith. He urges us to be increasing in them. Progress. Keep going. Keep adding, one fruit on top of the other. Build on your faith. This way you can confirm your faith. Not to God. He knows you have faith in Christ. He knows you’re saved and He tells you so in His Word, in the absolution. But to confirm it to yourself. To say, “I can see my faith growing, my faith being active by how I train and seek after these heavenly treasures.”
These are the things you are storing up, that you can actually take with you to heaven. They’re good now but they will also remain forever. You’ve all heard the saying about earthly goods: “You can’t take it with you.” And it’s true—all the earthly things we love so much in this world, you can’t take it with you when you die. But there are some things you can take with you. Your faith, for one, that will come with you. Your virtues, your good works, your knowledge of God, your self–control, your steadfastness, your godliness, your love for others, that will all come with you. That will be shown in the resurrection, in a way that it isn’t now. You will be dressed in those gleaming robes of white with crowns full of jewels showing the glory that God has worked in you in your life. These good heavenly things are the things we should be pursuing with faith according to God’s Word. Then we will enter into the kingdom with all these treasures. Peter says, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities (all those good virtues we went through before), if you practice these, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Okay, getting all those spiritual virtues sounds great, but how do we actually start doing that? If you need somewhere simple to start, that’s what Ash Wednesday and Lent are for. Jesus gives us three simple Christian disciplines. We should be doing them all the time, but we especially practice them during Lent (it’s our rehearsal for the Christian life). Jesus tells us about Fasting, Almsgiving, and Prayer. What’s so great about those? How will those get me the great spiritual fruits that Peter said I need? Well, I don’t think I really need to give a big defense or explanation for them right now. I just want to tell you, start doing them and see. Start doing the things Jesus says and I bet you’ll be surprised. Maybe not in the next day, but in the next few weeks, months, years. You’ll turn around one day and see: "Wow, God really has been at work in my life. I have grown in my faith, in my knowledge, in my good works." But it all starts somewhere. And usually it starts by us just doing it, setting to work at what God has given us to do. Then all those spiritual fruits will follow.
But how to do it? Well, God’s Word teaches you how to do this. It teaches you the real goal in these disciplines is to take your mind off the earthly things, so that you can be focused on those spiritual goods, that heavenly treasure. So, Fasting: the obvious meaning is to refrain from eating for some point in time. But the deeper point of fasting is to stop indulging every single whim. Say, “I don’t need to do that right now, I can do something better.” Put your body under the control of our mind, and even more important, put all of your flesh under the control of the Spirit of God. If you’ve ever done any kind of diet, you know your body rebels against that. Your body has cravings. Don’t let your body be your master. Your body has a head. The body should be subject to your mind. And your mind needs to be subject to the Spirit of God. Next, giving to the poor: again, pretty simple. It means just that. But in a broader sense it means actually loving others, doing good works for other people. Instead of the popular phrase, “Our thoughts go out to the victims,” how about we actually do something for them. And pray. Don’t just say, “I’ll pray for you.” Actually pray to God for yourself and for other people. Ask Him for stuff, that’s what your Father wants you to do. That’s why He gave you an actual prayer to use, the Lord’s Prayer. Meditate on that and you will never finish praying in this life. This is how you begin to devote yourself to the heavenly treasure. Catechesis and following these disciplines shows you where you need to put your heart. God’s Word teaches you what things really last and get you to heaven.
That’s the whole point of continuing to learn God’s Word. Catechesis puts your heart with the greatest treasure of heaven: Jesus Himself. Learning and doing God’s Word puts your heart with Him and with His suffering, bleeding, and dying, and with His resurrection from the dead and His ascension into heaven. Your heart is with Christ when you listen and learn and trust God’s Word. You are seated in the heavenly places, already becoming a partaker of the divine nature.
So, if you practice these qualities, if you set your mind to obtain these heavenly treasures, if you walk on the Way, follow your Teacher, learn His Word and grow in His knowledge, then you will see your faith bear fruit in good works. You will see a life of virtue develop. And you will never fall, Peter says. Another way to say it would be, Jesus won’t let you fall. His catechesis, His guidance is what’s going to keep you from falling. Of course, when you take your eyes and ears off of God’s Word, then you will fall. Only if we persist in chasing after the heavenly treasure, we won’t fall. The problem is we don’t persist. We often go astray and fall.
But do not fear, the Lord will pick you up again. He called us to His own glory and excellence, Peter says. That means the Lord wants to give us His own glory and virtue. God doesn’t just expect you to create your own virtues, He actually gives you His own. His own righteousness becomes our righteousness by faith in Him. He makes us partakers of His divine nature. And that’s what picks you up again when you fall. We see this especially in the Lord’s Supper, where we are literally partakers, communers, with God, receiving Jesus’ divine body and blood. That is the food that will keep our steps going on that road, and will keep our faith growing and bearing fruit in this life.
And some day this life will end. But thanks be to God, our Lord has made an entrance for us into His Kingdom. May we be ready to enter it, having learned and grown according to His teaching now. May our hearts already be there. May we have heavenly, eternal treasure stored up for us there, so that we may now and forever be with the Lord.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
