Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Isaiah 29:17–24

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

My sermon is going to be commenting on the Old Testament reading, but to get more context I want to begin earlier in Isaiah 29: The Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth  and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men…” (Isaiah 29:13). The Lord is talking about the sinful rebellion of His people Israel. They speak God’s Word and they pray to Him, they know His Law and they recite the Psalms, but they have no faith in their hearts, and they worship God with man-made traditions.

“Therefore,” says the Lord, “behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people,  with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” (Is. 29:14). The Lord is going to judge His people and act upon that judgment. And the wonders that He will bring upon them will be like the wonders He did in Egypt with the plagues. Punishment is coming to Jerusalem—she will be destroyed and her people brought to ruin. And all the wise men, the priests and false prophets and wicked kings—all the ones who thought they could live and do whatever they wanted and not have to answer to God—their “wisdom” will perish.

Next, God directly addresses these sinful people who think they can get away with their sin: Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” (Is. 29:15). They think God has overlooked them, that He doesn’t care. They think they can determine what is best for themselves and ignore God’s Word. And maybe, because they’ve been able to get away with their sin for so long, they think that there is no God at all.

And let’s not kid ourselves, it’s not only ancient Jerusalem that thinks and acts this way. Do you go to church and say your prayers, while in your heart you’re thinking about what you want to do later today? Do you think your ideas for life are better than what the Bible says? Do you think you can hide some part of your life from God? Is there some sin that you keep in the dark and don’t want to confess it? Have you thought or been tempted to think, “Nobody can judge me… not even God.” Repent.

The Lord says: You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? (Is. 29:16). The answer to these rhetorical questions is of course, “No!” But sinful people turn things upside down. We call good things evil and evil things good.We worship creatures rather than the Creator. Even though we are only clay in the Divine Potter’s hands, we think we are something. We have the audacity to claim that God is not our Maker. We have the arrogance to disagree with God and say, “His Word doesn’t work for me.”

This cannot stand in God’s sight. He will put an end to this. So, when God judges and acts He turns things upside down again—that is to say, He turns them right side up. The Lord says, Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? Here God gives us an image of His work: the great forest of Lebanon is subdued and cultivated and turned into a fruitful field producing crops, while a field is left to go wild and become an unproductive forest. This illustrates a key point from our Lord in last week’s Gospel: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14). This is what we call God’s great reversal. The worldly rich and powerful are not saved by their money or political influence. The worldly wise are not saved by their vast amounts of “knowledge.” In the words of Mary’s song, the Lord has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away (Luke 1:52–53).

But, what we see as God’s great reversal is actually His work to restore what is good and true and beautiful. From the perspective of unbelieving sinners, the work of salvation looks like God is the One turning the world upside down. But in truth, He is setting things right that we have put wrong. And so we are told that when the Lord acts: In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. These wonderful works point to the greatest part of God’s great reversal: sinners are declared righteous, and the dead are made alive.

This Day that Isaiah sees, when the deaf and blind are healed and the meek and poor rejoice, that is the day of the Lord’s saving action, or in other words, the Day of Christ. This is not one particular 24-hour day, and it’s not only Judgment Day. But the Day of Christ is that time which encompasses all of Christ’s work: everything from His incarnation through His death and resurrection on up to the Last Day of His return. So, we in the New Testament Church—living in the time between Christ’s first coming and His final coming—we are in that Day. We, who believe in Christ, are the meek and poor who do not enjoy or brag about our sin, but we humble ourselves and rejoice and exult in the Lord. We exult in the Holy One because He makes us holy by His death and blood, and because we have come to hear and see and know the Truth of God.

Sin make us deaf, but the Lord has given us new ears. And the only way this can happen is to have the living God stick His finger in there and hollow out some new ears for you. Like Jesus with the deaf man, the Lord speaks His Word by the mouth of His minister and the Spirit of God gets stuck into your ears, into your mind and heart, to create real hearing. Jesus says, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” (Mark 7:34). The minister says, “I forgive you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” By hearing the Word, the Spirit creates in you real saving faith. And with these new ears, when you listen to the Lord’s Word, you are hearing how things really are. You are learning to know what’s what the way God tells it.

To use the other analogy in our text, sin makes us blind, but the Lord gives us new eyes. By opening our ears and teaching us the Truth of His Word, He reveals reality. With the eyes of faith we can see the world as it really is. Everyone has a “worldview”—that’s the way they think and look at and interact with the world around them. As the redeemed and holy people of God, we should have a Christian worldview. We have eyes that can see past the suffering and death, past the lies of the devil and the unbelieves. We see that for what it is: evil, ugly, and not going to last. And by faith we see the truth and beauty that God has prepared for us.

And now, like the deaf man, once we have our ears opened we can also speak rightly. If we were still deaf to God’s Word, we could never hope to speak what is true, but only spout off our opinions. Only if we are first taught by God’s Word will our tongue be released to speak rightly. And this certainly includes speaking rightly on moral issues, speaking God’s Law in order to condemn sinners and show the kind of good life that God intends for us in His commandments. But our speaking rightly as Christians should always include the Gospel. In fact, the Gospel of Christ and the free forgiveness that it bestows is the chief thing that we speak about. It is at the center of everything we Christians think and say and do. This right speaking, of both the Law and the Gospel, is the true praise of God.

New ears, new eyes, new tongues—right hearing, right seeing, right speaking—this is real enlightenment. Unfortunately, many in our world are not so enlightened (even if they think they are). They are still in ignorant deafness and blindness. God is the Creator and Author of all truth (Biblical truth, scientific truth, historical truth), so without Him even the very best of human knowledge is incomplete, and often misguided. If you don’t know what God says then you don’t know what to think (even if you think you do!). Without God, you only have your sinful opinion. Without His Word you have no way to check if your version of reality really holds up.

The unenlightened are the ruthless, the scoffers, the ones who look for any chance to do evil. They’re the ones who think they’re really smart and Christians are stupid and outdated. And God makes it very clear: the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off. But for now we still must deal with them.

By a word they make a man out to be an offender. That sounds familiar right? So many people are offended by everything, even by the most obvious facts: like boys and girls are different, they do different things, and you can’t decide which one you are. But that is considered offensive. These ruthless enemies of God also lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate. They are constantly on the lookout for Christians who don’t live up to God’s Law, especially church leaders, and they love to see them get caught and put to shame. And with an empty plea these unbelievers turn aside him who is in the right. They cry for their “rights,” which is only their desire to sin, and they attack and take to court those who do what is truly right in God’s eyes.

As Christians, we must contend with these who oppose the God of truth and so also oppose us. We fight for and stand up for the truth, not with swords or fists, but with the Word of God. And they will be overcome. But it will not be our doing that overcomes them. We are not sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). And this goes for both the ministers and the people. Our wisdom and strength will never defeat them, and our personality and kindliness will never win them over. The Lord and His Word does that.

We look to and listen for the work of the Lord: Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst,they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction.” The Lord redeemed us, and He will be the One to take away our shame and our fear. If we continue to rightly hear and rightly see and rightly speak the Truth, then we will be vindicated in the end. We will see the work of His hands—the work of Christ and His Kingdom. Only the work and message of Christ our Savior can cause His people to truly praise and sanctify God’s name. And so also, only the work and message of Christ our Savior can bring true understanding and instruction to us and to all people.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

St. Luke 18:9–14

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

If I asked you, “Are you a sinner?” I’m guessing most of you wouldn’t have much trouble saying, “Yes.” And if I asked you, “Does God forgive you?” I’m sure you would say “Yes” to that as well. But then if I asked, “Why does God forgive you?” Would you have a harder time answering that? And what if I told you the correct answer is not, “Because I said I’m sorry,” or “Because I believe." Do you know what the real answer is?

Let’s say we ask this question of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable: “Why does God forgive you?” Or in his case, since it appears that he doesn’t think he is a sinner, we could rephrase it: “Why does God love you? Why will God bless you?” We can see what his answer would be by the prayer he offered at the Temple. “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” He claims to thank God, but he doesn’t thank Him for anything that God has done. His prayer is all about what he, the Pharisee, has done. He does not take bribes, he is fair, he does not commit adultery, he doesn’t cheat people like the tax collector does. The Pharisee fasts and tithes, he is a true follower of God’s Law. So, if we asked the Pharisee, “Why does God love you?” or “Why will God bless you?” he would probably give his exemplary life as the reason. He would say that “God will bless me because of the good things I have done.”

This kind of thinking is everywhere, even among those who call themselves Christians. You hear people say things like, “I think I’ll go to heaven because I’ve tried to be a good person.” Or they’ll hope that God forgives them because they are really sorry. Or they’ll claim to have a strong faith, even though they never talk about what they have faith in. This kind of thinking becomes really noticeable if the person is thinking about death. They might say, “I’m not afraid to die. I’ve made my peace with God.” I'm sure they think they’re sincere, but the problem is, peace on whose terms? Unfortunately, it’s probably been on their terms, and instead of seeking forgiveness from God, they have found a way to “forgive themselves.” By the way, that is impossible—you can’t forgive yourself. The ones you have wronged are God and the people around you. You must seek forgiveness from the people you have sinned against and from God. This lie of “forgiving yourself” is just another version of the Pharisee who trusted in himself. Other people getting towards the end of life will say that they have no regrets. Really? I’m sure they do. They’re just trying to convince themselves and quiet their nagging consciences. At least a Christian should know that you absolutely must regret your sin.

But let’s assume that you are a Christian and you do regret your sin. What’s to be done about it? Look at the tax collector and learn from him how to answer that important question we keep coming back to. You are most definitely a sinner, so why does God forgive you? Like the Pharisee, the tax collector’s answer is also in his prayer: God, be merciful to me, a sinner! He doesn’t look for an answer in what he has done, but in what God does. 

The tax collector knows that God has mercy. Although I need to give a little explanation on that word “mercy” in our translation. The word that Jesus uses in telling this story is not the ordinary word for mercy. The prayer really goes more like this: “God, make atonement for me, a sinner!” Noticing this important word will help us realize what is going on in the Temple.

Jesus tells us that the two men went up into the temple to pray. Now there are two times a day that the Jewish people would go to the Temple for public prayer: at the time of the morning sacrifice or the evening sacrifice.This was the Old Testament Divine Service that happened every day at 9:00am and 3:00pm, as it was commanded by God in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.

First, the priest would drain the blood from the sacrificial lamb. Then he would splash the blood on the sides of the altar—this made atonement for sin, because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

Now the altar was really like a large grill, with fire burning under it, so next, the priest would take holy coals from the altar and enter the Holy Place. There he would stand in front of the Temple curtain where a smaller altar was for burning incense. The priest would use the holy fire to burn incense before the Lord. And while the sweet smelling smoke ascended to heaven, the priest would pray for the people, and the people gathered outside in the courtyard would also be praying. This is what the Pharisee and tax collector were doing.

Next, the priest comes back outside to the main altar, and he’s smelling like the incense, so he represents the holy God coming out to meet with His people at His altar. Then the priest puts the butchered lamb on the altar, along with a portion of bread, and burns it all up, along with more incense. This creates a great cloud of sweet smelling smoke—a reminder of God’s presence in the glory cloud when He dwelt with His people in the wilderness. The delicious smell of cooking meat and bread and the sweetness of the incense showed that God was present with His grace, His mercy and love. God was there at the altar to justify His people—to forgive their sins, make them holy, and bless them.

So the last thing the priest did was stand in front of the altar facing the people and bless them with God’s name, saying: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24–26).

Now, imagine all that as the tax collector standing in the back of the Temple court, seeing all this happen. He prays for God to make atonement, to cover His sins with a sacrifice. And he knows that God does this. God is merciful to him, a sinner. He sees the sacrificial blood splashed on the altar, paying the price for his sin. He sees and smells the great cloud rising from the altar, showing God’s gracious presence with him. And he hears the benediction, the name of God is placed upon him, blessing him, making him holy. In answer to his prayer, the tax collector sees and hears all this and so he knows God forgives him and he knows why. And so he goes down to his house justified.

But as New Testament Christians, we know that those Old Testament sacrifices were not the final solution for sin. There’s a reason we don’t have them anymore. That Old Testament Divine Service pointed to a better answer for sin: the real answer to the tax collector’s prayer, the real answer to the question, “Why does God forgive you?” Jesus. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb who has made atonement for our sins. His blood was shed to cover our sin and cleanse us from our iniquity. His life was the offering that paid the price for sin and has made us holy in God’s sight. In the death of Jesus, God is merciful, He makes atonement for us, sinners. So, the real answer to our important question is this: God forgives me because Jesus died for me and rose again.

And like the tax collector, you also get that answer spoken and presented to you in the Divine Service. You know that your sins are forgiven because you hear the Word of Scripture that tells you what Jesus has done for you. And you hear the declaration of forgiveness, the absolution, spoken by God’s representative: “I forgive you all your sins.” Now, you do not see the blood of animals on the altar nor smell the roasting meat of the offering, but instead, you receive something much greater: you eat the flesh of the holy Sacrifice and drink its blood—the body and blood of Jesus that cleanses and makes you holy. All of this is why you can say, “I know God forgives me.” And so with the tax collector, you can go home justified and blessed by God.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

The Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

St. Luke 7:36–8:3

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

Jesus said, “I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Some have tried to use this passage to say that we are justified by our works. They argue that Mary is forgiven of her sins BECAUSE she did a great work of love by anointing Jesus’ feet. But Jesus Himself interprets what He means a minute later when He says to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” She was not justified by works, she did not merit or earn the forgiveness of sins by her tears, her kisses, or by offering the valuable ointment. She was saved by faith. This means that she freely obtained God’s mercy because of God’s Word. She sought the forgiveness of sins from Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. That is faith, and that is how we are saved.

So, it’s really as if Jesus said to Simon the Pharisee: “Look at her! Look at this dear and faithful woman. Look at the way she honors Me and loves Me. It is obvious that her many sins are forgiven. By her love for Me, she shows that she has faith in Me as the One who saves her.”

What Jesus calls “love” here, is not just works of the Law, certainly not works done in an effort to earn salvation. But when Jesus talks about the “love” that Mary showed, He is talking about the entire worship that a Christian has toward God. This love or worship includes sorrow over sin, faith in Christ for salvation, and the good works that are freely done in thankfulness for what Christ has done.

At the same time, Jesus is pointing this out to Simon the Pharisee because he has not loved Jesus. Or in other words, Simon has not believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and so he has done no demonstration of love. This man is a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law, an expert in the Scriptures, and yet he did not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah or seek salvation from Him. While this humble woman, an apparently notorious sinner, realized who Jesus is, this proud Pharisee did not. This is evident by how he treated Jesus. He gave Him no water to wash His feet. He did not greet Jesus with a kiss or anoint Him. He has no works of love for Jesus because he does not care who Jesus is.

And even when the woman points out who Jesus is by her deeds, all Simon can think about is his own superiority. He said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” Simon the Pharisee thinks that he is better than Mary, and even better than Jesus! He thinks very little of his own sins, and so he will be forgiven very little, if at all. Why would he act with love toward Jesus? He has no reason to love a Savior, because he thinks that he does not need a Savior.

This is something we can still see among many people who consider themselves Church members, and yet care very little about God’s Word and receiving His gifts of grace. We can see this inside ourselves as well, because we have all taken our Savior for granted at one time or another. We have a big spiritual problem if we think that we can be good, decent people, and that God will be impressed if most of the time we manage to smile, be nice to others, and say a prayer every now and then. That is the attitude of Simon the Pharisee. That person thinks that he or she doesn’t really NEED Jesus all that much: “Sure, Jesus forgives my sins and that’s great, but it’s not like I have that many, and as long as Jesus takes care of a few little flaws here and there, I can manage the rest.” That is really the worst sin of all. By minimizing your sin, you minimize the One who died for it. And so like Simon, you do not truly worship the Christ.

On the other hand, some might think that Mary is a perfect example for those who live a sinful life, do whatever they want, and are still accepted by Jesus. They think that the Church, who says you need to repent and stop your sin, is being judgmental. They think Jesus is the great friend of sinners so He must not have any problem with their lifestyles. But Mary herself shows here how wrong that thinking is. There is no forgiveness for those who think they don’t need it. This goes for those hypocrites like Simon who think they are good enough, and it goes for sinners who don’t care about their sin, are happy about living in it, and when they hear God’s Word they ignore it or even call it hateful.

But Mary shows us that there is forgiveness for sinners who know and repent of their sins, they listen to God’s Word and accept it, they confess and lament their sins, and they turn to Jesus as their only hope. This is what Mary did. She offered Christ the highest worship possible. It’s not that she did something for Jesus in order to earn His favor. But she looked to Him alone as her gracious Savior. So she worshiped Him with faith. She worshiped Him with tears of sorrow, and with kisses of love. And she offered Him the costly ointment in order to honor the costly sacrifice that He would make for her.

Jesus is the Messiah and Savior, the only One in whom forgiveness can be found. His holy body was given into death in our place. His precious blood was shed and poured out to cancel our debt to God and to cleanse us of all sin. By seeking forgiveness from Him alone, Mary rightly worshiped Him with faith. By her deeds of love, she worshiped her God who died for her.

We all have been forgiven much. So then, let us love Him much. Like Mary Magdalene, a sinner who was rescued from the clutches of demons and forgiven by her Savior, let us also worship Jesus by faith and so receive His gifts. Faith is the Divine Service that receives the benefits offered by God… God wants to be worshiped through faith so that we receive from Him those things He promises and offers (Apology IV:49). Let us learn from the example of Mary and shed true tears of sorrow by confessing our sins and all that is wrong with us. Let us also kiss Him with love by eagerly coming to His altar and receiving His holy body and precious blood that forgives and makes us clean and holy. And let us offer to Him the costly ointment, that is, offer ourselves as a sweet smelling, living sacrifice: body and soul, everything we are and everything we have placed into His hands. Let us worship Him with the highest worship of all—to seek Him and embrace Him and look for the forgiveness of sins from Him. And then hear Him speak to you, just as He spoke to Mary, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

This sermon is based entirely on the Apology of the Augsburg Confession Article V:31–34.