Category: Higher Homilies

Rev. Mark Buetow

Sometimes I think we treat Jesus’ departure like the death of a loved one. We know they’re with God in heaven but they’re gone from this life and so the best we can hope for are our good memories and a visit to the cemetery once in a while. So it is with Jesus. Christmas! He was born. Good Friday, He died. Easter, He rose. Now Ascension and He’s gone away and since we can’t see Him anymore, it’s like all there is left is to piously think about Him once in awhile. It’s as if coming to church is like going to visit the cemetery; we’re there to remember someone who’s not around any more. But no way! That’s wrong! That’s not how it is at all! Listen again to what St. Mark says, “And so when He had said these things, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out, preaching to all nations, the Lord working with them.”

So which is it? Is He gone or not? The answer is that Jesus went away but He’s not gone. That’s because “heaven” and the “right hand of the Father” aren’t up there somewhere, far away, past the moon or the solar system or the galaxy. Recall what we heard from the book of Acts. He was taken up and “a cloud received Him from their sight.” Jesus isn’t gone. We just can’t see Him with our eyes right now. So if we can’t see Him but He’s not gone, where is He? Well that’s what Mark’s Gospel answered. He’s where His Word is being preached by the men He calls to preach. He’s where His church is gathered around the Gospel and Sacraments. He’s where Baptism is and Absolution and preaching and teaching of His Word and of course, in His Supper with His true body and blood. Jesus hasn’t gone away. He’s just not visible to our eyes but we see Him with the eyes of faith in sure and certain places where we know He is to be found.

And what do those gifts promise? They promise and deliver the forgiveness of sins and that the righteousness Jesus won for us is safe from all our enemies. Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father and that means the devil can’t touch your righteousness. He can’t take away your being a child of God. He can’t steal your inheritance and rob you of the life to come. Jesus accomplished your salvation when He was pierced for your sins on the cross of Calvary and when he rose again on Easter from the dead. And His Ascension means both that your righteousness is safe with Him and that He will be with you now to give you His forgiveness and life until He comes again. His Ascension is like the victory parade now that He has done His work of defeating sin and death.

And then there is that final promise that He will come again. “Men of Galilee, why are you standing around looking up into heaven. He will come back the same way He went away.” That’s telling us to stop looking for Jesus up in the sky. Go to church where He has promised to be. But there IS the promise of His coming again. Jesus will one day come back so that we can see Him with our eyes. And on that day, He will raise us up from the dead and give us everlasting life in the new heavens and earth. Then we too shall have the eternal and everlasting glory as we reflect the glory of Christ forever. Ascension means Jesus isn’t just in one place anymore but is wherever His Word is declared. That means to you, here, today. Over and over until He comes again. That’s the promise of His being seated at the right hand of the Father, that He is with us always to the very end of the age. And so here we are, not just remembering someone who is gone, but here with Christ Himself right here among us Himself. Happy Ascension in the Name of Jesus! Amen.

Rev. Mark Buetow

Give us this day our daily bread.

What does this mean?
God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

The Catechism we just read (Fourth Petition) teaches us that we pray for our daily bread so that we would learn to “receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” In our Gospel lesson, Jesus wonders why only one of the ten lepers comes back to give glory to God. Brothers and sisters in Christ: We are not here tonight to learn good manners. If thanksgiving is merely a day to say a polite “Thank You” for the things we have been given, then we could just send in a Thank You Note to church: “Dear God, thank you for the nice sweater and the new video game and all that stuff.” Of course we should thank God and give Him glory for even the smallest little gifts He gives us such as each breath and every heartbeat all the way up to the biggest gifts He gives us: His Son and the forgiveness of sins. But what does it mean to be thankful? To be thankful is to have faith. To be thankful to the Lord is to do as the Samaritan did: come back for more. Be where Jesus is. Believe and trust that Jesus is the only one who can and will take care of us. To put it another way: Being truly thankful to our Lord isn’t about being polite. It’s about clinging to Him because only our Lord will take care of us and save us and give us everlasting life.

I suppose that band of lepers is pretty typical of most people. They want something from God. They get something from God and then they don’t need Him anymore until the next thing goes wrong. You know how it is: When everything’s going well and you’re healthy and have a job and your marriage is fine and your kids are doing well and there’s money in the bank—when all that’s going on, you don’t really need the Lord. But when trouble comes, you get sick, or financial trouble hits—then suddenly its time to make deals with the Lord. To suddenly start praying a whole bunch. You might even start feeling guilty that you’re having problems precisely because you weren’t doing those things faithfully. That’s Nine Lepers thinking! Repent! The nine lepers had a nasty, gross skin disease. They needed Jesus to heal them. So He did and then they were done with Him. They got what they wanted and until the next bad thing happens they won’t come looking for Jesus.

But the Samaritan, as soon as he realized he was clean, cured of his leprosy, ran back to Jesus. Why? That’s faith. Faith says, “Jesus healed me. If Jesus can heal a leper then He can save a sinner.” The Samaritan learns and knows that the only guy who can help him is Jesus. Jesus gives healing. Jesus gives life. So the only conclusion faith can make is that you’d better be where Jesus is. Where Jesus is, there is life. The Samaritan knows that Jesus has more gifts. He clings to Jesus. That’s true gratitude, true thankfulness: to receive the gifts of Christ and expect that He has more for you. Jesus came in the flesh to die for your sins. He came to take your sins, carry them to Calvary and suffer for them there. He came to conquer death by rising from the dead. He rose and ascended so that He might send the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins to you. He baptized you, marking you as God’s own child. He absolves you over and over and He feeds you with the never ending feast of His body and blood for your salvation. That’s not just for when you are in trouble, when things aren’t working right, when things aren’t going your way, when you a need shot of “pick me up” from Jesus! His gifts are for you always unto eternal life. His gifts are not just one shot deals but a continually flowing spring of forgiveness, life and salvation!

So how do you thank Him then? I mean, really, what do you get for the guy who has everything? What does God need from us? It’s not “good manners.” As if God is not great unless we tell Him so! No, to properly thank the Lord, we do as the Psalmist says (and we’ll sing these words in just a bit): “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?” That is, what can we possibly do to say thank you? “I will take the cup of salvation and will call on the Name of the Lord!” That is, I will come to Him and live in His gifts that He gives! I will take the cup of salvation. I will come and receive more of what He has for me. To be thankful is nothing other than receiving good things from the Lord and EXPECTING to receive those gifts and returning to Him over and over to receive them. To be thankful is to live in your Baptism each day, to open your ears wide to hear the voice of Christ absolve you through your pastor, to run to the altar of God as often as you can and feast upon His saving body and blood. Of course, we DO offer our formal “thank yous” as we pray, praise and give thanks, especially in our worship. But the real heart of thanksgiving is to live like the Samaritan leper: to be healed by Jesus and to run back for more. Because Jesus is all about that: giving gifts, then giving more gifts and giving still more, all the way through life into eternal life!

Ten lepers were healed. But only one was saved. “Go, you faith has saved you,” says Jesus to the Samaritan. What happened to the other nine? I don’t know. All I know is that the Samaritan was saved because Jesus said so. What is the faith that saved Him? Jesus. Jesus is telling Him: You asked me for help and I healed you. And you have learned by the Holy Spirit to come back and expect everything good from me.” That’s your salvation too, dear Christian, to to be where Jesus is and to glorify Him by receiving His good gifts. So be thankful! Come to hear His Word preached. Come to the font and remember what the Lord did there. Come to the feast as often as you can. Live as the Catechism teaches, that is, run to the Lord and spread wide your blanket or cloak so you can receive every good gift in Jesus. But that’s not all! Come now to HIS Thanksgiving Feast, to receive more gifts, more Jesus. More faith. And then you too go in peace. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Rev. David Saar

Shhh! Don’t tell anyone! Nobody knows! They don’t realize. I’ve committed a crime and the cops are clueless. Please, please don’t turn me in. I mean, look at me; I wouldn’t survive a stint in jail. Ok, ok, here’s the thing. I’m just going to come out with it. I confess. I’ve got blood on my hands. I’m a serial killer. There. I’ve said it. Now you know. Over the past 20 years or so, I’ve been complicit in 62 homicides. I’m not clear on all the dates. I don’t remember. I’ve got it written down someplace. I’ve had hundreds of accomplices in these murders, but I’m not naming names. I’ve murdered everybody the same way. I’ve drowned them all. Someone else has held them down while I put their head under water until they’re dead. But three times I held them down while someone else did the drowning. Then after I killed them, I helped get rid of the body too, buried them all in the same grave. Nobody would realize where they’re buried. Forensics won’t be able to identify the bodies. The flesh is completely deteriorated. It can’t come back to me. They’re dead. I made sure by saying those killing words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That’s right; I’m guilty of baptismal homicide. Some of the people I’ve helped to murder and bury are here today. “Or don’t you know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

By the time we get to the fourth section of Holy Baptism in the catechism, we think, “Finally! After all that word and water and faith stuff, we get to something practical, something we can do.” “What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” See? Baptism means that I should kill my Old Adam and let the new man come to life. What I need to do is to be super hard on myself, try harder, suffer, discipline myself, use all my will power and die to sin. Then, I’ll really be sanctified, God will be especially happy with me, and the new me, my better self, can peek out and be pure. But baptism isn’t a suicide of your old man. It’s a homicide. You’re not in control over your death. You’re not God. You don’t get to decide, “Ok, I’ll stop cussing now. I’ll stop lusting after I look this once more. I’ll start being nicer to my parents when I get home Friday.” Repent! Die! If you’re baptized, you’re dead. God has killed you. Stop trying to do it yourself! God crucifies you every day as you live as son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker. That’s God doing a daily Good Friday on you, doing contrition and repentance on you. Dead men don’t live and they don’t raise themselves. They’re dead. You’re dead. God is a homicidal baptismal killer.

And that’s a good thing for you, because dead men don’t sin. They’re free from sin. “Our old self was crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” Christ Jesus the Lamb of God took on your sin in his body. He suffered for it, was crucified, died, and was buried for it. He died to sin once and for all. You don’t do it yourself. Christ has done it for you. But it gets even better because on Easter Sunday Christ is raised from the dead. He will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. If death and sin don’t enslave and kill Christ, they don’t and can’t do it to you either. Why? Because you’re baptized into Christ, that’s why. God gives you his word and promise on it. He says, “I drown you in Christ’s bloody death. I crucify you with Christ. I bury you in this watery grave. You’re done for. And then I raise you up to life again. You’re free from sin. You don’t live in it. I forgive you all your sins.” If God is a homicidal serial killer, he’s also a serial resurrecter. He raises you to the newness of life, with his word. And this wet word I declare to you all today. “You’re alive in Christ. You’re free from sin. Go in peace.”

This sermon was preached at From Above – Purdue. Pr. Saar is St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mount Forest, ON.

Rev. Mark Buetow

Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” – Matthew 27:3-4

Consider Judas and Peter. What was so different about their sins? Judas plotted with the Jewish leaders to hand Jesus over for money. Peter denied that he knew Jesus not once but three times! Is there any difference between betraying Jesus and denying Him? Is there really any difference between betraying Him to get money and denying Him to save your own skin? The first thing we are to learn from Judas and Peter is that even though they were Apostles chosen by Jesus, they fell into great and terrible sins.

Such accounts were given to us to teach us that being a disciple of Jesus does not mean we won’t sin. Far from it! In fact, sometimes God’s people can do some real whoppers! Like turning in the Lord for money. Or out and out cussin’ and hollerin’ that you don’t know the Man! Betrayal. Denial. Looking out for Number One! That’s what Judas and Peter did. They just did it in two different ways. But not just Judas and Peter. You and I do it. By our sins. By our being ashamed of God’s Word and denying our Lord. By always putting ourself first when it’s us or the Lord. Or putting ourselves ahead of our neighbor; trampling on others to get what we want and what will make us comfortable. Judas’ sin, Peter’s sin, your sin—there’s not any difference. These are the mortal sins that damn us. Looking out only for ourselves, we bring ourselves under the wrath and judgment of God.

So Jesus does what He does. He is the Friend of sinners by letting Himself be betrayed into the hands of evil men by a friendly kiss. He stands firm against accusation and condemnation by the religious men of the world even while the disciple who said he would never leave Jesus’ side swears to God he doesn’t even know the guy! The Shepherd is struck and the sheep don’t stand firm; they run away faster than you can say “cock-a-doodle-do.” Jesus goes the way of suffering the weight of His Father’s will that He drink the cup of God’s wrath to save sinners. It is the way of betrayal, the way of arrest, the way of humiliation and abuse, the way of scourging and crucifixion, the way of mockery and being forsaken. It is, finally, the way of death on that cross.

No, it is not possible that the cup of God’s wrath be taken from Jesus; He must drink it to the dregs for your salvation. Now, rejoice, dear Christian, because all that Jesus suffered, He suffered for you. His blood shed on the cross was shed for Judas’ betrayal, for Peter’s denial and for every sin you have done or will do, yes, even for the sin that has corrupted your nature and been a part of you since your conception—all this iniquity our Lord has carried to Calvary and blotted out by His holy passion. Have no doubt, dear Christian, that there is no sin so great it is not covered by the atoning sacrifice Jesus on the cross; there is nothing too wicked, too terrible, no betrayal too great, no denial too awful that it was not answered for by the death of Jesus. Believe it, dear Christians, that ALL of your sins have been paid for by your Savior’s Passion.

So what then is the difference between Judas and Peter? There is no difference in their sins just as their sins are no different than ours. But there is a difference! The difference is in where they went to church! There is a difference in what preaching they heard when their sins overwhelmed them. Brothers and sisters in Christ, the preaching to which you give your ears will either save you or damn you. When Judas betrayed Jesus, was he sorry? Of course he was! When Peter betrayed Jesus, was he sorry? He wept bitterly. But where did Judas go with His burden of guilt and shame? To the church of the Pharisees and High Priest. There Judas cried out His bitter confession: “I can’t take this money! I’ve sinned! I’ve betrayed innocent blood!” There it is: sorrow over his sins and confession of his sins. But hear the preaching he receives against his sins. “What is that to us? You see to it! That’s not our problem. That’s your problem. We can’t help you. You’d better go and deal with it yourself.” In other words, when Judas despaired of himself, all they had to give him was more Judas. And since Judas couldn’t save himself, he did the only thing he could: he perished.

Yes, Judas sinned terribly. He repented and was sorry. He confessed his sin. But these things don’t save him. The “absolution” Judas receives is the preaching of all the world’s religions: “Save yourself.” You have to pick yourself back up. If you’ve sinned, it’s on you to work it out and make it right. Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper, “The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to the one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It were better if he had not been born.” Jesus does NOT say this because Judas’ betrayal is an unforgivable sin. Jesus does NOT say this because His death was not for Judas; it was! He says it because He knows how it is going to end: Judas will not hear the preaching that will forgive and save him. The preaching Judas hears casts him upon himself and damns him. The great tragedy of Judas is that all that took place after his betrayal was done for him, yet he never heard that preached to him because he went for comfort to the First Church of Save Yourself. But there was no comfort to be had. No forgiveness, only death. That’s how it is in a church that is less worried that they killed an innocent man than that the blood money gets put into the right account at the bank!

Peter’s sin was no different than Judas’. Our sins are not any different either. But Peter was in the church. He was among the disciples of Jesus. He was there when the announcement was made that the Lord was alive. He was there when Jesus appeared alive on Easter. He was there to hear Christ call him to repentance and three times restore him and send him to feed His sheep. In other words, Peter was where the crucified and risen Jesus was to forgive his sins and comfort him with that Good News of life and salvation. So it is with you. The Lord has put you in a church where what Jesus did for you is delivered to you. When you look in the mirror of God’s Law and see that you are a Jesus-betrayer and a Jesus-denier and you sorrow over your sins and you confess them, you will not hear that you must work it our yourself and see to it yourself.

Rather, you will hear that all that Jesus did He did for you. You will be reminded in the preaching and teaching of the Gospel that you have NO sin too big that it cannot be taken away by Jesus blood. In Christ’s church you are put in mind of your Baptism in which you too have died and risen with Jesus and therefore have passed from death to eternal life. In His church, you are absolved and your sins are forgiven by the minister whose job it is to pronounce that forgiveness. Christ Himself is there, present, in His flesh and blood to join you to Himself and give you forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. In Christ’s church, you need never despair of your salvation. Oh yes! Despair of yourself! Despair of your ability to fix what you’ve done! Weep and wail over the sins you have that have killed the Son of God. But then hear what Judas refused to hear by going to the wrong church: hear that exactly what happened to Jesus was done FOR YOU and is given to you in His gifts. Make sure that when you sin big, you get there quickly so that the preaching of Jesus will rescue and save you from such sin!

The Psalmist writes, “Weeping endures through the night, but joy comes in the morning.” Weep and wail for your sins! Mourn over your iniquities which have killed the Son of God. But do not weep with worldly sorrow that has no hope. Dry your eyes and rejoice that all that the Lord suffered He has suffered to take away your sins. Rejoice that He has sent His Spirit to call you into the church where this Good News is delivered at font, altar and pulpit so that you will not despair as Judas did, but be restored as Peter was. It is for this life that your Lord came to die. And He rose again that you too will rise and live with Him who with the Father and Holy Spirit is blessed forevermore. Amen.

Rev. Mark Buetow

Luke 2:22-40

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

You should know that when your pastor tells you to “Depart in peace” at the communion rail, he’s not telling you that you can get up and go back to your pew. He’s telling you that it’s OK to die. Depart in peace. That’s what the Lord promised Simeon and once he had seen and held baby Jesus, he could die in peace. Simeon looked forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises and he saw those promises fulfilled when the Christ child was in his arms. After that, Simeon could die in peace. The Old Adam doesn’t want to die. The world goes kicking and screaming into death. Admit it, you hate the thought of death, of another person, of your own. Our ears are flooded by ridiculous sayings that try to explain death away: “God wanted another angel.” “It was her time.” “Death is just a part of life.” That’s all baloney. Death is the sting of sin and the Law, plain and simple. But Simeon teaches us that once you have Christ, death is nothing. In fact, having received Christ, death is something we go to in peace, in Christ.

Simeon tells Mary that a sword will pierce her own soul. This little baby is going to die. Horribly. Painfully. Suffering. Hated. Mocked. Bloody. Nailed to a cross. What mother would want to see that happen to her son? No mother should have to bury her own son but this is a death that is no accident or disease. This is the hatred of sinners putting her son to death. It is her own sins and the sin of the whole world. Your sins. But what Simeon knows, what Simeon confesses and sings, is that this is salvation. “My eyes have seen your salvation.” This baby in Simeon’s arms is not just some tragedy going to happen years later. He is the One whose death saves sinners. His is the death and resurrection by which our death is transformed. His is the death and resurrection from the dead which take the sting out of death. It is the victory over sin and death that enables Simeon to sing, “Lord, let your servant depart in peace.”

Now you haven’t held baby Jesus in your arms like Simeon but you have Christ come to you in these ways: in the water and Word of the holy font; in the absolution and preaching of your pastor; in the Word given in the Scriptures; in His own body and blood given in His Supper. Here in these gifts, Christ saves you. Forgives you. Prepares you for death and gives you the gift of everlasting life. I don’t know what is going to happen to you when you walk out that door. I hope and pray that each of you live a long and happy life and fall asleep peacefully in Jesus at a good old age. But we all know that anything can happen. And whether it’s an accident or disease, or something else, death is there. So before you get up and walk out that door, I shall tell you these words after the Sacrament: “Depart in peace.” And we shall sing them with Simeon, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.” And when I say those words and when we sing them together, we are confessing, in the face of death, that death has no power over us. It is merely a passing to the everlasting life Christ has in store for us and the resurrection of our bodies He has promised us on the Last Day. This Child was born so that sin and death would be thrown down. Now that He has come and done His work of dying and rising, and now that He has come to you and done His work of washing and feeding and forgiving, death has no power over you. Ever. Therefore, like Simeon, and all of Christ’s lambs before you, you can depart in peace. And I don’t mean get up and go. I mean you can die. In peace. In Christ. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Last Thursday, the church celebrated the Ascension of Our Lord. Pastor Kuhlman’s Ascension Sermon reminds us where Jesus is now that He has “ascended to the right hand of the Father.”

Rev. Brent Kuhlman

Luke 24:44-53 / Acts 1:1-11

The “cloud” hid Him from their sight. Hidden. But still present. Yes, that’s right. “Lo I am with you always to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:20).

The Ascension doesn’t mean that Jesus is gone and that it’s up to us to go up to Him. He’s still with His died for and redeemed people. He never left. It’s just that we don’t see Him.

The crucified and risen Jesus — is now the enthroned-at-the-right-hand-of-the-Father Jesus. He reigns! He lords His Good Friday and Easter Sunday over you. What He did on the cross He did for you. It counts for you. He is the sacrifice that atones for all sins. His Blood is for all sinners.

So I repeat. The days and years between the Ascension and the Last Day are the times for hearing and listening to Jesus. He is physically present. It’s just that we don’t see Him with our eyes. But we hear Him with our ears. Now is the time to listen. Now is the time the sheep are given to listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice.

Thus His mandate that the apostles preach in His Name “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

There you have it. That’s the church’s agenda. That’s the kingdom of heaven on the earth: when sinners repent. Repentance. That means, first of all, that you confess you’re a sinner. A big-time one. A hard-core one. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Total sinner. Like King David you say: “I have sinned against the Lord.” And then even more: “I deserve nothing but His temporal and eternal punishment. After all, the wages of sin is death.” The enthroned Lord Jesus comes to you in His Holy Spirit filled Word of the Law and says: “Do this.” And what do you? You don’t do it! He says: “Don’t do that.” And what do you do? You do it! He convicts you of your sin. That you aren’t in control. That you’re nothing –except a helpless, deceived, dead in your sins, damned sinner! That’s the first part of repentance.

The second is faith. And that’s the heart of repentance. Faith that trusts another Spirit-filled Word of mercy: the forgiveness of sins. Preach in my Name Jesus says: “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

What are your sins? What have you done? What have you left undone? You are forgiven. The Lord Jesus doesn’t count your sins against you. Refuses to. He gave His life into death for you. For the forgiveness of all your sins. Name the sin. He died for it. Including all the ones you don’t remember or can’t ever recall.

Jesus isn’t in the mood to condemn. He loves to bless. So as the cloud hides Him from our sight He stretches out His arms in blessing. And that blessing is the preaching in His Name repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

The crucified and risen Jesus is the ascended Jesus. He is closer to you and me now than when He was with the apostles that Ascension Day a long time ago.

Jesus baptized you with His hands. With His own breath He put His Name on you at the font. After all, to be baptized in His Name is to be baptized by God Himself. Jesus buried you into His Good Friday death that counts for all your sin. And in your Baptism Jesus bestowed on you the Holy Spirit. Your little Pentecost! Power from on high with that washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Born again in your Baptism. Christ’s very own new creation.

And every day Jesus sees to it that you live in your Baptism. The old Adam – daily drowned with all sin and evil desires. And then the new man daily emerges and arises to live before God in Christ’s borrowed righteousness.

Oh yes, Jesus is physically with you. In just few minutes He will reach out to you with His hands and bestow His Body and Blood in the Sacrament. And there He is to bless: “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Listen. His words give exactly what they say.

Jesus has not abandoned you. He never really left. And He’s seeing to it that through His church there is preaching done in His Name so that you repent and believe that you are forgiven. In His Word and Sacraments the crucified and risen Jesus reigns among sinners. Reigning with His word of forgiveness that gives life and salvation.

In the Name of Jesus.

Rev. Mark Buetow

St. Matthew 5:1-12

Try out for this team! All the cool kids play THIS sport. Join THIS club! It’s the one that looks best on your college applications! Come work for us! We pay above minimum wage and let you have weekends off. Come to our college! We’ll give you a scholarship and pay for your books besides! Come be a part of our company! We’ve got a health plan and retirement benefits! But best of all: Hey, be a Christian, a disciple of Jesus! You’ll be hated and persecuted and trash-talked! Wait a minute. That doesn’t sound like a benefits package. Jesus had all this great stuff to say about being a Christian: be comforted, inherit the earth, see God. That all sounds great. Except the “they’re gonna hate you and kill you” part. Seriously? Does Jesus actually WANT disciples? If so, this doesn’t seem like a very good sign-on bonus to advertise. It doesn’t seem like a very good way to attract new folks. And the older you get, as you struggle through high school and into college and life, as you face a world that really could care less that you’re a Christian, or worse, hates you for being one, it’s going to seem like the glorious things of the kingdom of God are farther and farther off and the the hassles of being a child of God are less and less worth it. Now at this point, a cheerful and happy and worldly preacher would tell you: “just hang in there. Stick it out with Jesus and everything will turn out all right.” That’s the same preaching of the world that hates you in the first place. Plug your ears to that.

No, instead realize that if it were up to you, you WOULD give up. You WOULD throw in the towel. You would say, “I don’t care how I am Coram Deo, before God, so everyone just leave me alone.” Yeah, if it were up to you. But you don’t have a Lord who stands you in front of Him, who puts you Coram Deo and says, “So what’s it gonna be?” No. You have a Lord who comes Himself to save you. You have a Lord who puts Himself before God the Father, Coram Deo on a cross for you so you can stand Coram Deo, before God, with nothing to fear. Yes, you have a Lord who washes you with His own blood in the waters of Holy Baptism and stands you Coram Deo with the whole host of His saints of every time and place who wear those same white robes of Jesus that you do. You have such a Savior who has made you a child of God and purified you and you can’t yet even imagine what you will be for all eternity in Jesus. Just behold what sort of love the Father has lavished on you in Jesus that God Himself calls you His child! You stand Coram Deo, before God, not as a prisoner, or as a slave or as one who is waiting to be accused and condemned. Nope. In Christ, you stand before God as His child. His dear, precious, holy, pure and BLESSED child. Because you stand before Him because of and in Jesus.

So blessed are you. Blessed are you Coram Deo, before God. Blessed are you, happy are you, even though the world hates you. Why? Not just because you’re going to have the kingdom of God in eternal life. No, Jesus doesn’t wait to give you good things until the Last Day. He gives you good things now. For today you will have the kingdom of God. Today you will be comforted. And be filled. And be children of God. And today you will see God. Because today, you are Coram Deo, before God, right here, right now, as He comes to us on His altar. And when He does, and when we feast upon His body and blood, here you will be truly blessed in a way the world does not and cannot know. For here you have Jesus. God Himself. Yes, to the world,  being a disciples of Jesus seems like a dumb thing. So that’s what the world thinks of you. But the world doesn’t get to say who you are and what your future is. Jesus does. And He says you are a child of God and have life now with Him and forever with Him and with all the other saints of every time and place. Blessed are you because you are Coram Deo in Jesus. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Rich Heinz

1 Peter 2:1-12

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

So how do you feel this morning, as you stand before God? Feeling pretty good about yourself? Or not so much? Are you down on yourself and say that even as His baptized child, you are alone, afraid, and a failure? Or are you feeling overly confident?

All of these sorts of feelings went through Hal Jordan’s mind. Deep down he was scared and didn’t have great trust in himself. Yet he covered it with a bold, in-your-face confidence and wild playfulness that tried to charm everyone.

So when the ring chose who would be the next Green Lantern, whom should it pick? It chose Hal. A very unlikely choice — a loser! Nothing in him that seemed worthy of being chosen.

Israel wasn’t worthy, either. God’s chosen people were small in numbers, not a major military power, not wealthy among the nations — nothing to make them an obvious selection as a “chosen nation.”

The same goes for you. Nothing in your natural self makes you chosen, royal, or holy. “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

In a sense, Hal Jordan was chosen by grace, not deserving the gift. Some would argue that he had qualities deep down that the needed. But a biblical understanding of our lives reminds us that anything good and worthy of being chosen is entirely gift!

The Lord has reached out and gifted you. He transforms you from your former “loser” self, and gives you life as His new, baptized child; chosen, royal, and holy in Him. You stand before God as His redeemed, forgiven, and saintly child.

At one point in the film, Green Lantern, the entire earth is in danger from impending doom, as an evil force heads it’s way. “The Guardians” decide to cut their losses and give up on earth. But Hal stands before the Guardians, defending himself and the reasons for saving earth. He then proves himself and does it.

The Lord God has not given up on you. You do not have to stand before God defending yourself. Your dear Lord Jesus has already done that! He stood before God in your place, being your Mediator and Defender. He bore the burden of your sin, to be your Savior, and now the Father in His mercy calls and chooses you.

Yes, Jesus stood before the Father, as your substitute, purchasing and transforming you from unworthy losers into God’s chosen people. Yes, He placed His Name upon you and chose you; not by sending some dying purple alien with a ring, but in the far more miraculous moment of Baptism! Now yes, you stand before God — not defending yourselves or justifying your heroic actions. You stand before Him as He rejoices over the saving work of His Son, giving you good deeds that His Son works through you.

As fun as the story is, the film Green Lantern gets things a little backwards. The hero, Hal, is a man who is given god-like powers, and becomes the mediator and savior of the world. The reality is that Jesus Christ is true God, and has become man for you, and is your Mediator and Savior!

And now that He has saved you, purchased and won you, you are indeed “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Amen.

Rev. William Weedon

Isaiah 42:7-9; 1 Peter 2:1-12

Your mommy told you: Be nice and share. And you didn’t like it one little bit. It gave you pain as a little one to see someone else having joy with what you thought was yours. They shouldn’t have that joy. That joy is YOURS alone. And so you demanded your own back and pouted in the corner if you didn’t get it. Original sin.

How unlike us in our “that’s mine; you fork it back over. NOW” is our Jesus. With Him the joy is in sharing what’s His. You heard in today’s readings.

In Isaiah, the Lord who creates everything is the Giver. “who gives breath to the people on the earth and spirit to those who walk in it.” He created us in order to share with us what was His – Life. And we blew it. Big time. We rejected that life and ended up then prisoners in a dungeon. Nasty place, dungeons. Dark. Stinky. Deadends. But the Lord who delighted to give you breath and bring you earthly life isn’t going to leave you sitting in the dungeon. His love for you is bigger than that. He wants to share more with you than mere earthly life (even though that is also a good gift He gives). So He gives Jesus, His Son, to be a Servant to His people, One who will be light for the gentiles who live in darkness. One who will open eyes that are blinded and bring the prisoners out of those nasty dungeon chambers – out into the light.

In the old days, that was Baptism’s name: the enlightenment. It’s the moment when Jesus forks over to you everything that is His. On His cross, He took everything that was yours – all your sin, all your death – and He owned as His. Stood before the Father, Coram Deo, the biggest sinner in the world: from Adam forward. He owned it all and paid for it all. He shared what was yours. There was a cup of divine wrath, brimming to the full, and that was what you chose every time you sin. Eternal death. He took that cup from His Father’s hand that was rightfully yours to drink, and down the hatch it went. Every last bit. Till He handed it back to the Father with His “It’s finished.” But if you think salvation stops there – some sort of get out of hell free card – you have a surprise coming. It wasn’t only that He took what’s yours and drained that wrath, it was all so that He could fork over to you what is His. A chalice of overflowing blessing.

So in 1 Peter 2 – out goes the stuff He bore for you (all the malice, the fraud, the pretend religion and the refusal to share and delight in your neighbor). That’s old stuff. Dead. Left behind. He feeds you with a word – pure spiritual milk – and by it your get to grow up into salvation.

If only we had time to explore that a bit. You see, He’s given you the whole salvation. It’s all yours. And it doesn’t grow in you – you grow up into it. There’s always more gift. He’s given you everything that’s His – even after one or two eternities, you’ll still be finding more joy and gift than you can even begin to imagine. He’s got no limits on His giving – and everything that’s His is yours. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

So He’s a living stone (oh, he was rejected by men – stupid is as stupid does), but in the sight of God – coram Deo – chosen and precious! What’s His is yours – true for Him, true for you! “You like living stones are being built (you don’t build yourself – He does the work!) up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood (He a priest, you a priest!) to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Only in Jesus does God accept the sacrifice, but in Him, the Father delights in what you offer – and the only thing you have left to offer (since He took care of the sin sacrifice) is to stand before God, coram Deo, and belt out the joyous praise – and then to go out and be of service to your neighbor.

Poor world – doesn’t have a clue what it’s here for. Thinks it’s all about “he who dies with the most toys wins.” So heaping up more and more. More pleasure, more stuff. That’s life. Yawn. Or worse – thinking its all about doing enough so that God will be nice to you on the day of judgment. Fat chance with that one.

You know better. You know what you’re here for: you’ve been created by God and into you He has breathed life. People who used to live in a dungeon, but who were liberated, cannot but sing praises and glorify the One who burst open the door, broke the chains and brought them out as a totally free gift – not only freeing them from jail, but brought them to His house – said: “Make yourself at home. My daddy, your daddy. My feast, your feast. My stuff, your stuff. All yours. All free. Just because. I LIKE to share! It’s what floats my boat.”

And when we think about it all, we can’t help but stand before Him and say: “We praise you, O God, we acknowledge You to be the Lord.” So enough yaking. On your feet, people loved by God, and let’s do what He died and rose again to share with us: the joy of singing praise to Father, to Son, and to Holy Spirit – now and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Rev. Marcus T. Zill

St. Mark 2:1-12

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

There was a buzz. It was a sold out packed house. Standing room only. Jesus was back in town. The people were flocking to hear him – curiosity seekers, skeptics, zealots, the paparazzi, and of course, young people in Higher Things t-shirts. They were all there because Jesus was there.

Jesus – the one who casts out demons, who heals with the touch of his hand and a word. Yes, he tried to keep the fanfare down, but the word had already spread all over Galilee. They wanted signs and wonders. So what does Jesus do? He preaches His Word.

But wouldn’t you have liked to see a miracle too? But Jesus is on a mission and Jesus doesn’t have attention deficit disorder – He gets right to the point and He always stays on point– and the point is forgiveness.

Most people would think the physical healing of this paralyzed man was the most extraordinary thing here. But the greater miracle is what occurred right before that.

Now we don’t know for sure what caused this man’s paralysis. But whatever it was, he had to be carted around by four of his friends to get anywhere. You can imagine the anguish he went through physically and mentally because of his condition, and even the spiritual questions that ran through his mind: Why is this happening to me? Is this God’s punishment against me for my sin? Has God abandoned me?

But this man and his friends had heard about Jesus and the miracles He had performed. They had to get to Him, even if it meant climbing on top of the house, and digging a hole in the roof. They risked the mockery of the crowd and the anger of the homeowner. None of that mattered. They were focused solely on one thing: receiving the help that only Jesus could give.

Jesus sees their faith, their determined trust in Him, but He does a rather surprising thing, He says to the paralyzed man dangling in front of him, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” He absolves him. Next. What? That’s it!?! They were expecting a healing, a miracle. And all He does is absolve him? Really?

Well, forgiveness is not what we expect (or seek) from God, either. We want answers, solutions, miracles. Pills and programs? Sure. Spiritual ATM’s? Sounds great. Religion that offers quick answers, good feelings, and easy fixes? Even better. But forgiveness? Plus, downright blasphemous they thought. Jesus knew what they were thinking. “Who does this Jesus think He is? God? Only God can talk like that. Only God can forgive sins. Yes, absolution is an outrage to our religious sensibilities. Of course – it’s also the whole point.

Luther said. If all we had was forgiveness, we’d have everything. Life and salvation. Like a good physician, Jesus isn’t content to treat the symptoms, he goes for the disease, the root cause of all that ails you – Sin. And He reaches for the cure. Forgiveness. And He can’t wait to give it to you.

When we come before God today – He does the same thing – every time – he gets right to the point: Forgiveness. That’s what happens every time you gather in His Name. Jesus comes and says to you, “I forgive you all of your sins.”

But who does the pastor think he is? That’s what the teachers in Jesus’ day were saying about Him. “He’s blaspheming! How arrogant! Only God can talk like that. Only God can forgive sins.” Little did they know that Jesus is God in the flesh with the full authority to forgive. And little did they know that it is the will of Christ that His human voice continue to be heard in the church through His ministers who speak His forgiveness in His name and by His authority.

Deep down, though, don’t you struggle to believe that forgiveness can be that easy. You have to earn it, right? But notice what the paralyzed man did here. He did absolutely nothing! He was carried by others on a board, lowered to Jesus. St. Mark doesn’t record a single word from the paralyzed man. Could he even talk? There was no prayer, no confession, no promises. He wasn’t even really there to be forgiven; he was there for Jesus to fix his legs.

This man is a perfect picture of each of you. You can do nothing before God. You are paralyzed in sin and death. You have to be carried to Jesus, like babies brought to Baptism. You can’t move. You are even worse than paralyzed, you are dead.

However, in the words of Isaiah, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance…He will come and save you.” And your Lord Jesus has come and He says to you today, “Your sins are forgiven.” Literally, “your sins are loosed.” The chains are off. Your sins are Jesus’ burden now. And you can’t have them anymore. They’re His, and He died with them. He submitted Himself to the paralysis of death in your place to save you. And He rose from the grave in victory over your sin and sicknesses and even over death and the devil himself.

Remember what the Catechism says: “Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” Don’t take these words for granted.

Dear loved ones, repent of your own desire to see the “super duper spectacular” that has not been promised you in this life while taking your eyes, and your ears, off of those routinely miraculous words of your Savior meant for you in this life: “Son (daughter), your sins are forgiven.” You are Coram Deo. So confess your sins. Be a real sinner before God; because you are receiving real forgiveness from God. Real forgiveness – from a real Savior – for real sins.

In order to show that His absolution was real, Jesus looks down at the paralyzed man lying there on his stretcher and says, “Arise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And Jesus’ words do what they say. They always do. The man stood up, and immediately he took his pallet in full view of a whole house full of people and walked out. And notice that we still don’t hear a peep out of him because he isn’t the point – Christ’s forgiveness of his sins is!

Yes, the real miracle that occurs here is not simply the temporary healing of the paralytic, but the eternal forgiveness of sins which the paralytic receives through the simple, but extraordinary words of Jesus – words that bring the paralytic unending life and resurrection.

Don’t foolishly think that God isn’t still performing miracles today, for you. He does through the preaching of the Gospel. That is the point.

What Jesus did for that paralyzed man that day in the crowed house in Capernaum, He does for you. He forgives sin. And He raises the dead. It is His authority to do so. And He loves to do it.

And now He forgives you. “Son (daughter), your sins are forgiven.” And when you have forgiveness you have everything.

Everything.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.