The Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist

Feast Observed 

Actual Date: October 18

2 Timothy 4:5–18

St. Luke 10:1–9

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

In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul says that Luke the beloved physician greets you (Col. 4:14). So, St. Luke was a doctor of medicine, a very learned man. But he is not remembered by the Church for healing diseases, for being a doctor of the body. We remember him today for being a doctor of the soul, especially for writing the Gospel that bears his name and the Book of Acts.

As far as we know, Luke was not one of the followers of Jesus during His earthly ministry. His name is Greek, and so most suppose that he was a Gentile who came to believe in the Savior through Paul’s preaching. We first get a glimpse of Luke in Acts, journeying with Paul on his first trip into Greece, and so, as far as we know, the first time the Gospel came into Europe. I say we only get a glimpse of him, because he never mentions himself by name in the Book of Acts. But while the book has been referring to Paul and his companions as “they,” right when they are about to cross over into Greece it switches to “we,” so the author is included. This happens two other times, indicating that Luke was then accompanying Paul. The second time is on his trip to Jerusalem where Paul was arrested and imprisoned. The third time is on Paul’s trip to Rome as a prisoner. We know Luke was a close companion of Paul, as he was the only one with Paul during his final imprisonment at the end of his life as Paul said in 2 Timothy. In this way, even though Luke was not chosen by our Lord to be an apostle, he was close to the apostle Paul and so Luke’s Gospel is still closely connected to the ministry of an apostle.

But Luke didn’t just rely on Paul to write his accounts in the Gospel or Acts. At the beginning of his Gospel, Luke says that he interviewed those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (Luke 1:2). Probably, while Paul was in prison, Luke visited with the 12 apostles who had known Jesus personally. And he must have talked with Mary, the blessed mother of Jesus herself.

Luke’s Gospel gives information that no one else could know, other than Mary. More than once, he tells us that Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19). So we hear about Gabriel’s visit to Zechariah and the birth of John the Baptist; Gabriel’s visit to Mary; her visitation with Elizabeth; the birth of Jesus; the family’s trip to the temple where they meet old Simeon and Anna; and the time when 12 year old Jesus stayed behind at the temple. These are clearly the remembrances of a mother.

We also get several of our great canticles from the first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel (again, probably from Mary’s memory): the Benedictus, which we often sing at Matins – the song of Zechariah at the birth of his son, John; the Magnificat, which we sing at Vespers – Mary’s own song of praise; the Gloria in Excelsis – the song of the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds; and the Nunc Dimittis – Simeon’s song while holding the Lord’s salvation in his arms, the infant Jesus.

And there are other unique parts from Luke’s Gospel that he must have heard from others: the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Prodigal Son, and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. All of this gives us an important theme in Luke’s Gospel, what we might call the Great Reversal. The poor become rich, the hungry are fed, the mighty are brought down but the humble are lifted up, the first become last, the last become first, those who think they are righteous are turned away, but sinners are made righteous and welcomed into the kingdom.

This is the message that Jesus gave his ministers to proclaim: Peace be to this house! And, The kingdom of God has come near to you. True peace, heavenly peace comes when sins are forgiven in the name of Jesus. It’s the blood of Jesus that makes peace between God and men. It’s the blood of Jesus that allows men to enter the kingdom of God. Luke may have been a physician, but Jesus is our true physician of body and soul. He is the One who heals and gives life, not only for life in this world, but even more so for the life of the world to come.

By the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. Luke proclaimed this Jesus in the writing of his Gospel and the Book of Acts. And still today, that proclamation is heard as we read and listen to those holy writings. The peace and the kingdom of Jesus still come today to our house here and to your homes whenever His Word is read. In fact, Luke pointed this out at the beginning of his second book, the book of Acts. He wrote: In the first book (his Gospel) I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. The Gospel of Luke was only the beginning of Jesus’ doings and teachings. Jesus continued to do and teach throughout the Book of Acts through the work and words of the apostles and His other servants like St. Luke. And so even today, Jesus continues to do and teach through His Church, through His ministers and through all His servants as they confess their faith in words and deeds.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

St. Matthew 22:34–46

The Pharisees question Jesus - James Tissot

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

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. It might help you to better understand what’s going on, if you knew a little about who these Pharisees and Sadducees are, and what’s the difference between them. Just like in our day, there were factions among the people—groups, movements, political parties. The Pharisees and Sadducees were two of these groups.

The Sadducees were what we might think of as the liberals, but not the radical left. They were not the kind that led protests or riots. The Sadducees were the establishment. They held the levers of power in Jerusalem around the Temple and in the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews. They were liberal in two ways. They were culturally and politically liberal because they had adopted the decadent culture of the Greeks, and they collaborated with the political power of Rome. Remember, the Jews at this time did not have their own kingdom. They were under Roman occupation, with a Roman governor and Roman military officers in charge. But the Sadducees managed to keep some power for themselves by colluding with their Gentile overlords. The Sadducees were liberal theologically as well. They only accepted the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, and disregarded the writings of the prophets. And they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, which was the debate they started with Jesus just before our reading. But they lost—He silenced them.

So, with their political and religious enemies licking their wounds, the Pharisees took their turn with Jesus. The Pharisees were the conservatives. They were known to be righteous, rigorous keepers of the Law. They were the Bible-believing, hard-working, decent people. And they were not impressed by the wealthy or powerful who were caught up in a corrupt and immoral society. We tend to just think of the Pharisees as the “bad guys,” but there’s a reason Jesus spends so much of His time arguing with the Pharisees: they were the closest to Him! They took God’s Word seriously, but they were still blind. They saw God’s Law, but they couldn’t see that they were incapable of keeping it perfectly. They saw this Teacher from Nazareth, but they refused to see Who He really is.

This is why Jesus asks them His question. Who is the Christ? Jesus is trying to get them to see that the Messiah, the Christ, cannot only be King David’s son, a man. He must also be David’s Lord, the Son of God. Only this Christ, true God and true Man, could make satisfaction for their sins, die for all, rise for all, and give forgiveness and life to all. See, you have to get to the Christ, or the Law will do you no good. The Law, without Christ, only leads to the death of sinners. Sinners need the Law to realize their sin, but then they also need the Christ who saves them from the Law, from sin and death. 

Jesus wants them to see this. He wants the Pharisees to be saved! This conversation actually happened during the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, after Palm Sunday and before His arrest. He’s trying, even in those last days, to save these stubborn, blind fools. Sadly, they will team up with their rivals, the Sadducees, in order to get Jesus condemned. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And people who disagree on a lot of things, can still find ways to unite in their hatred of Christ.

The Pharisees knew what Jesus is claiming here—that He is David’s Lord. In fact, they will use this conversation against Him at His trial. They will say to Pilate, “We have a law, and according to that law He ought to die because He has made Himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). But no matter what they say on Good Friday, Jesus wants them to have heard the truth from Holy Scripture. They might still reject Him, but He wants them to know Him, because He still loves them.

If we were to look for comparisons in our day, it’s actually very likely that many of us would fit in with the Pharisees. Like them, we care about the Bible, and God’s Law, right and wrong, justice. We might not like the rich political insiders, the liberal fat-cats pulling the strings in New York and DC. We might think the country’s falling to pieces and somebody’s got to lay down the law.

But without Christ, the Law does you no good; certainly not man’s law, but not even God’s Law. It can’t save you. There are decent, moral people who are not Christians, and they do what’s right and benefit society. But they don’t know Christ, so they are not saved from sin, death, or hell. Outside the Christian Church, you will not hear about the Christ, the Savior, David’s Son and David’s Lord. We’re the only ones preaching this message. We’re the only ones with a message that can actually save the world. I don’t mean save it in a political sense, or make it a bit better for right now. I mean save it for eternity. The only way we get to the resurrection and the life of the world to come is to know the Christ who died and rose again.

I’m all in favor of working for a better society. In fact, God is in favor of this as well. It is His will that all things good, true, and beautiful should flourish and be protected among us. We should care about the kind of education are children are getting in history, science, and literature. We should pay attention to our political system (there’s nothing technically wrong with politics). We should elect wise leaders who will make prudent decisions for our nation. And we must teach and learn God’s Law. And we must condemn the sin we see in society and in our own lives. 

But as the Christian Church, the Gospel is our main thing. Like Jesus, we want to get people to see the Christ. We want to get sinners to the justification of God on account of Christ’s innocent suffering and holy blood. We’ve got something for the world that nobody else has. We’ve got a message that brings real peace, a washing that cleanses every sin and stain, guilt and shame, and a food that makes you immortal and will carry you into a world you can’t even imagine. That’s what we’re all about.

If people know anything about us Christians, that’s what we want them to know. People are going to hate the Christian Church, no doubt about it. There’s always going to be unlikely allies who team-up to take her down. But if people want to hate the Christian Church, let’s make sure they know our real message first. If enemies want to team up like the Pharisees and Sadducees, then let’s meet them head on with the Gospel: the story of the King who was hated by this world, was hung on a cross, and did it all out of His own great love. We don’t need them to just know the commandments of the Law, but to also know the Christ, whose Son He is, and what He does for you.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Introit: Psalm 119:1–2, 5–6, 124, 137

1 Samuel 2:1–10

Ephesians 4:1–6

St. Luke 14:1–11

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

Humility is not a popular virtue, is it? Maybe even less than usual these days. Everyone seems to be pretty confident in their opinions, proud of their life choices, and unwilling to listen and discuss anything as a community. Many are also unwilling to be patient and allow people to make their own decisions. But instead of pointing out the lack of humility out there, we probably have to take a good look in the mirror ourselves. And this Sunday helps us do that and teaches us what real humility is. God’s Word today teaches us how to live humbly before Him, and it may help us in our lives with our neighbors too.

The Psalm verses in the Introit this morning came from Psalm 119, the great psalm about meditating on God’s Word. But the verses we sang today, not only tell us about the Word, but give us the proper mindset we should have when coming to the Word. Righteous are You, O LORD, and right are Your just decrees. This is a humble attitude, where I must empty myself, and confess to God, “You are always right, I’m not. Your ways are best, not mine.” Don’t go to God’s Word expecting you already know all the answers, or expecting His answers to always agree with yours. Go to God’s Word prepared to repent in humility and accept correction.

But then we pray, Deal with Your servant according to Your steadfast love, and teach me Your statutes. So, God’s Word does not only empty us out of our opinions, but it also fills us with truth, goodness, and beauty. In His Word, God gives us His mercy and love. He teaches us, and His teaching is life. Then, the psalm declares, I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments. From God’s Word we learn humility, but not humiliation, because we are not ashamed of God’s Word. We have what is right, and we can be confident in that. We don’t need confidence in ourselves, but in God.

This last point is the basis of Hannah’s song in the Old Testament reading. Hannah’s prayer to God for a child was answered, and in grateful response she sang: My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. At first glance, that might not sound very humble. But Hannah is not exalting in herself or thinking she was better than others. She exults in the Lord. She can look down on her enemies because God answered her prayer. She is humble in herself, but in confident in God.

So, in her song she also instructs others to realize this for themselves: Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. How do you know what is true or good or beautiful? God tells you. He reveals knowledge. And if your opinions are not informed by God’s Word, or by clear God-given reason and God-created nature, then your opinions are arrogance. You will be weighed and found wanting.

Hannah goes on to describe God’s work in this world: The LORD kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. The Lord is at work in this world, not only in His Church, but in history. Trust that He is working, even when it doesn’t look like it, even when it looks like He has turned a blind eye. He will bring this world to His own good and proper end. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; He will give strength to His King and exalt the horn of His Anointed. The Lord’s anointed King mentioned by Hannah at the end of her song is none other than Jesus the Christ. So ultimately, everything the Lord does is for the glory of His name, the good of His kingdom, and the salvation of His children. Don’t set yourself up in arrogance, but trust with humility that the Lord is doing what’s best.

In the Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul also had something to say about humility—humility in the church. I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Psalm 119 told us to have a humble attitude toward God’s Word. Hannah told us to have a humble attitude toward God’s work in this world. St. Paul is telling us here to have a humble attitude toward God’s saints, our brothers and sisters in the church. It doesn’t matter if you especially like each other, you are together in the one body of Christ. So, you have to approach one another with humility, gentleness, patience, and love.

What’s more, while we should have this humble attitude toward individuals, we should also have this attitude toward God’s Church as a whole. The Church belongs to God, not to us. We cannot make the Church in our own image, the way we like it. God brings us into the Church, which is something bigger than ourselves, something bigger than our congregation. The Church is the body of Christ, with a history of 2000 years across the globe. So, in humility we receive the wisdom of that history and learn from our fathers and mothers in the faith. But even more importantly, we cannot create unity and peace in the Church. St. Paul says that we should be eager to maintain it. This means that in humility we receive unity and peace from the Holy Spirit, from His Word. By holding to His Word, His teaching, we keep His unity and peace among us.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus gives us what might be the theme verse for this Sunday of humility: For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And this verse is illustrated by how Jesus exposes the pride of the Pharisees in two ways. First, we see that they are proud of how they keep the Sabbath laws. But they are hypocrites because they criticize Jesus for doing good on the Sabbath. God’s Law to not work on the Sabbath did not mean that you don’t help people! So, Jesus healed the man, and so passed judgment on the Pharisees’ pride. Second, Jesus exposed how they sought honor for themselves in the eyes of men. They all tried to get the best spots at the table. And Jesus mocked them with His “advice”—if you want to be honored you should go sit in the low spot and then maybe you’ll get a parade up to the high spot. Jesus is not actually interested in teaching people how to get honor.

And yet, Jesus wanted them to learn true, spiritual humility: For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And so the first thing we should recognize as followers of Jesus is that He is the type and model of true humility. Jesus humbled Himself for our sakes by taking on our sin and obediently suffering in our place. He was humble and gentle toward all people. He trusted His Father to work all things for good and to exalt Him at the proper time. He is the humble student of God’s Word. And being faithful to God’s Word, recognizing His judgments to be right, Jesus went with humility to the cross.

So also, the followers of Jesus must humbly go the way of the cross. We are crucified with Christ. We bear our crosses and follow Him. This means sacrificial service for others, likely without any acknowledgement. But your reward will be in heaven. The way of the cross means suffering now and glory hereafter. It also means that your cross will not be self-chosen. We really get this backwards. We think that we should just get to do what we like rather than what needs to be done. This goes for work in the church, as well as in a marriage and a family. God humbles and He exalts. God drowns the prideful Old Adam in us who wants to have his own way, and God raises up the New Man in us to live before God and others with humility. God has prepared for us what good works we should be doing. In humility, we live out our Baptism and do what God has given us to do.

The Collect of the Day also teaches humility: Lord, we implore You, grant Your people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow You, the only God; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Following the only God means going His way, not ours. The church has believed for a long time that the devil’s sin was pride. He was, of course, originally created good by God, perhaps the most powerful of all the holy angels, but then he rebelled against God because he pridefully thought he could be equal to God. There are hints of this in Isaiah, but we also get the idea from how the devil tempted Adam and Eve. He told them that they could be like God. In a way, pride is the origin of all sin—thinking you know better than God.

So, in humility, we pray for God to grant His people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow Him, the only God. And we can begin to see what that looks like with a review of all we’ve heard today about humility. First, empty yourself of your own opinions. Don’t expect to be right every time. Be open to correction. And then be filled with what God says is true, good, and beautiful. Eagerly learn from Him in His Word. And this kind of mindset can apply to many areas of life, not just in the church. Think about how much better our society or our congregation or our families could be, if we were willing to admit when we’re wrong and learn something new.

Then also humility means trusting that God is working and His ways are best. He will exalt Christ and preserve and enlarge His kingdom in the way that He determines to be right. Let God be God. So also then, receive and maintain what He gives to you. Treasure His Word, His Church, His sacraments, His unity and peace. These are not your things to do with as you please, but you are to keep them and share them. And finally, do not fear to humbly follow the only God on the way of the cross. It most certainly means spiritually dying to self, and probably suffering and dying in physical ways too. But the way of the cross ends in resurrection, where those who are humble like Christ, will also be exalted like Christ.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.