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Higher Homilies

St. Matthew 21:1-9 – Palm Sunday 2011

Rev. George Borghardt

Happy Lent! In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Holy Week. It’s here. And with it, comes repentance. Even sinners like me, get serious about their faith in Holy Week. Time to at least try – how could we not? Jesus has come to Jerusalem.

David’s Son has returned to David’s Throne. He rides in humble majesty. He is the fulfillment of every Old Testament promise – He’s even on the royal donkey – just like Zechariah promised.

Rejoice, daughter of Zion. Shout, daughter of Jerusalem. See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation. Humble and riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The King has returned to save His people. To bring about salvation, peace, and to fill their songs with joy.

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna is the Hebrew, “Save us, Lord.” And to the highest? “Save us, Lord, to the highest!” That’s a prayer that only He can answer.

“Son of David” is King David’s Son. King David, so King Jesus. The One who would rescue the people of Israel from Rome, from their conquerers, from all that would harm them.

We hungered for righteousness. We thirst for salvation. Some sign – a healing, a miracle, some fish poboy to quench our appetites.

And Christ has achieved all those things for you. He rescued you, fed you, redeemed you, saved you – from your hunger, from your thirsting, from your sicknesses, from your pain, even from your death.

For Jesus did not consider His being God Himself something to grasped, something to be understood by the people in Jerusalem that day. No, He takes upon the form of the servant. He humbled Himself and was obedient even unto death – even death on the Cross.

And this is the week. It happened here, beginning with His ride into Jerusalem today. He will cleanse the temple. He will preach the Gospel. And He will be rejected by the chief priests and teachers of the Law.

Judas, one of His twelve, will betray Him at Gethsemane. And when the Shepherd is struck, the sheep will scatter.

He will be beaten before the high priest. He will be mocked. Denied by Peter. Judged as anything but God by the chief priests and teachers of the Law. Carted off to Pontius Pilate. Crowned with thorns. Robed with purple as the guards scornfully bow before Him and then they will beat Him with a reed.

“Behold, the king of the Jews.” His own people reject Him. They’ll have no king but Caesar. Lots will be cast for His clothes.

Nakedness. Nails in His hands and feet. Bleeding. Lifted up in shame for all the world to see. “Cursed is anyone,” says the Scripture, “who hangs on a tree.”

Hangs on a tree – He’ll do that for you. He’ll be cursed for you. They wag their tongues at Him. They ridicule Him and shake their heads at Him. “He trusted the Lord, let Him rescue Him. Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him.” If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross. He saved others, surely He can save Himself.

But He doesn’t. No one saves Him. My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me? Why are you so far from helping Me?

“Hosanna in the Highest! Save us Lord, in the Highest!” Jesus answers our Palm Sunday prayer on Good Friday, from the Cross where He suffers and dies as the sacrifice for all your sins. So that the people of Jerusalem would be saved, so that you and me would be saved solely by His death on the Cross.

Today, Jesus rides into Jerusalem to the sound of children singing and to the prayers of all the people of Jerusalem. The city is stirred, shaken, by His arrival.

Today, He comes to you in His Word and Supper. Delivering into your mouth the forgiveness sins, rescuing from your failures and mess ups, and giving you eternal life in Him.

What you have and haven’t done cannot harm you. Where you have failed – in your life, in your work, in your family, in your marriages, is forgiven.

Not forgiven because you do this or that or because you adapt your life or change things for the better, but solely because Jesus heads into Jerusalem and then to the Cross to suffer and die for the failures in your life, your work, your family, and your marriages.

You see, if they were just mess-ups or oopses, we could fix them. We could make them right. We could have our good stuff out weigh our not good stuff with God and those around us.

But, they aren’t failures. They aren’t mess-ups. The things that we do to one another are sins – sins rooted in the simple fact that we love ourselves more than we love those around us. We put ourselves first.

You do. I do too. And when we deal with those around us, we expect them to love us more than they love themselves. We expect them to be Christian, even when we won’t, can’t, refuse to be.

We recognize how selfish our sins are, how destructive they can be, but like a rubber ball, we bounce back and forth between trying to love those around us and the selfish, evil, self-centered, turned-inward stuff we do. And there’s no breaking this cycle of sin, failure, guilt, and shame.

And during Holy Week, we try even harder to pull ourselves up, we recommit, re-focus, and do what we must do to get that holiness from that we long for, that we know that He requires.

But, you’ll never find that holiness, dear friends. Never. Not inside you – not even in Holy Week. Inside you, you will never put the holy in Holy Week.

I know you know the Scriptures say that you won’t find holiness inside yourselves… but I know you’ve tried. I have tried too to find within myself some glimmer of goodness toward God and those around me.

But, you won’t ever find it. Not inside you. Ever. I won’t either. Inside us is only failure, sin, guilt, and shame.

Today, Jesus rides into Jerusalem to save you, even you, from your failures, from your sins, from your guilt, and from your shame. He rides into Jerusalem today, in lowly pomp, headed for the Cross to die.

To make you holy – even you. To deliver holiness to you – in water, in words, in bread and wine. To give you the holiness that you will never find inside of you that will make you holy before God in heaven.

Holy Week is here. Jesus is on His way into Jerusalem. David’s Son is riding into David’s Throne – the Cross for you and me.

Watch. Listen. Hear. Take every opportunity – try as hard as you can this week to be at all the services – in order to receive from Him this week. Watch Jesus on His way to Calvary. Listen to what He says. Hear what He does. And Receive …. Receive His holiness.

Happy Holy Week! Jesus has come into His city to put the holy into “Holy Week.” For clueless Jerusalem, for you in all our sins, even for me in mine.

Jesus – it’s His holiness that we are watching this week, His holiness that we hear about, His holiness that we receive. He alone makes us holy.

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna to the highest! INI. Amen.

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Current Events

“Out of the Depths I Cried: The Japan Tsunami”

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD; Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. (Psalm 130:1-4)

When Jesus’ disciples cried out because of a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee, He stood up and with a word, calmed the wind and the waves. So where was the Lord when an earthquake rocked Japan and sent a rushing tsunami that leveled cities and washed away so many lives? That’s the question many will ask. “If God is good, why did He let this happen? If God is a loving God, why did He allow all those people to die? If God is all powerful, why couldn’t He stop this tsunami from happening?” They will ask those questions and they won’t wait for answers. The world will shake its head yet again at the God who seems to be nowhere around when death, destruction and misery come rushing in.

It’s hard as Christians not to wonder those same things until we remember that this world is under a curse. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, and every other kind of disaster is the result of our fall into sin, a curse the Lord has put upon this world so that we don’t trust in ourselves and this life. Don’t misunderstand; the tsunami didn’t come because people in Japan are more sinful (anymore than in New Zealand, or Africa or elsewhere). But the tsunami came because there is sin in the world and this creation is fallen and groans. (Romans 8:22.) Furthermore, our Lord Himself reminds us that these things are signs that we are living in the time of the end, awaiting our Lord’s return (Matthew 24:7). But there’s no hope in the Law’s explanation!

Watching the video of a wall of water washing away an entire town reminds us of how helpless we are in the face of such a catastrophe. That’s what we are: helpless. And just as little as we can stop a tsunami can we overcome the sin that brings God’s judgment. But Jesus can. And does. But not the way we’d expect. Jesus overcomes our sin by being exactly what we are: weak. Helpless. Nailed to a cross. But His weakness is for our sakes. As true God and true man, Jesus has all power and authority in heaven and on earth. When He hides that power and doesn’t use it, sinners are saved. That’s because when Jesus appears to be the most weak, on the cross, He is the strongest. He throws down the Devil’s power and by His death overcomes sin and death. By His resurrection, our Lord robs death of its power and gives hope beyond this life. He gives the promise that on the Last Day He will wake us from the sleep of death and give us everlasting life.

The Bible never teaches us that salvation means “bad things won’t happen.” Being a Christian isn’t about disasters never striking. Surely both Christians and unbelievers perished in this tragedy. What the Gospel says, however, is that for those who are baptized into Christ, not even a tsunami can hurt them. Through Jesus’ blood, the curse that is upon this world, while it may affect the Lord’s people, cannot ultimately harm them. That is not an answer that is satisfying to the world. The world has a conception that “God is all powerful and yet not, because He couldn’t prevent this.” But the true Lord is not just some collection of adjectives that people don’t see fulfilled. He is the God who comes among us in the flesh to share in our sufferings and by His suffering to taste death and rescue us from our sins.

When such disasters strike, we turn to Christ, who is the only answer to such suffering and destruction. Such disasters are for many a source of despair. Jesus, however, gives us the proper perspective when He tells us, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my Word will not pass away.” Where Christ and His Word are, death and the curse are taken care of. It doesn’t mean we won’t suffer in this life. But in Christ, all enemies have been conquered and eternal life is ours. The same Lord who stood up in the boat and calmed a storm has calmed the storm of sin and judgment that was against us. That means that even if a tsunami were to destroy everything, the victory remains ours in Jesus.

Even if you’re far away, such a disaster reminds us of the opportunity the Lord gives us to love our neighbors. Keep the people of Japan in your prayers. Pray the Lord will comfort those who have lost their loved ones to death. Pray that our heavenly Father will provide everything needed for the bodies and lives of those who have survived but lost everything. The world won’t understand that sort of help either, but what greater gift do we have now than to call upon our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ and ask His blessings and care upon all those who have suffered in this disaster? To Christ alone be the glory, who rescues us from every evil!

For more information and ways to help and donate, check out the resources on the LCMS World Relief site here.

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Catechesis

Give it Up for Lent!

by The Rev. Mark Buetow

The season of Lent is usually associated with “giving something up”, or not eating meat on Fridays. One year I gave up television for Lent. I figured I spent too much time just sitting around and channel surfing. So I figured I would deny myself that pleasure (and waste of time) and use that time for better things…like surfing the web! Then I went to school with my daughters one day. One of their fellow kindergartners asked me, “Pastor why did you ground yourself from TV?” Good question! Why did I give up something for Lent? (With the writers’ strike, giving up TV this year wouldn’t really be giving up much, would it?) Should you give something up for Lent? If so, why? What should you give up? What about fasting? Let’s answer these questions in a way that points us to Jesus and the the forgiveness of sins!

People have the idea that the reason you give up something for Lent is to make yourself feel bad. Or to deprive yourself of something you like or that makes you happy. Since Lent has to do with Jesus suffering for our sins, people figure it’s a good time to try and make themselves suffer like Jesus. That is the WRONG reason to give up anything for lent! The only suffering that does us any good for is the suffering of Jesus for our salvation. HIS suffering accomplishes our salvation. HIS pain and anguish take place in order to win for us the forgiveness of sins. Our salvation and sanctification and holiness don’t come because we somehow make ourselves suffer “with” Jesus. The forgiveness of sins is ours because Jesus suffers FOR US. In our place. As our Substitute.

Lent is all about meditating upon and learning more and more about what Jesus underwent FOR YOU. Giving something up for Lent isn’t about feeling guilty or trying to take away something you like so that you can feel bad about what Jesus did for you. Observing the holy season of Lent is all about receiving more and more of those very gifts that deliver salvation to you: living in your baptism, confessing your sins and being absolved, hearing the Word taught and preached, eating and drinking Jesus’ body and blood which was given into death for the forgiveness of all of your sins! That’s why most churches offer additional times during Lent to hear the Word preached and to receive the Sacrament.

So if Lent is all about Jesus, why give something up? There are two main disciplines in Lent: Fasting and Abstaining. Fasting means not eating for a certain time (or eating less than usual – a kind of diet). Abstaining means giving something up or going without something you normally have. Why would you do these things if they don’t matter to God? Does fasting or abstaining from something mean you’re somehow more holy? That you get more sins forgiven? Of course not! Fasting and abstaining don’t make the Lord love you any more or any less! The Lord’s love FOR YOU is a done deal in Jesus Christ.

So why fast? Why abstain from something? Simple: for the benefit of your neighbor. The truth is, our lives are filled with things which satisfy US, they make US happy, and provide enjoyment–for US! But to give up things that we normally do or use in order to use the extra time or money for prayer, for hearing and studying God’s Word or for doing good to those around us–now THAT is something useful.

Just think of what a joy it would be to others if instead of spending your time watching TV, you spent time doing something with them, like talking to your parents, or spending time with a little brother or sister who looks up to you. Or maybe giving up your video game night for awhile in order to take advantage of the extra opportunities at church for worship and Bible Study that are available during Lent. Or maybe giving up fast food a few times a week and putting the money toward an offering at church. Or maybe not eating meat on Fridays to remember that it was His flesh that Jesus gave for the life of the world. Giving things up during Lent isn’t about doing something for YOU, it’s about learning from Christ to put all of our hope and trust in His word and to love and serve our neighbor in whatever ways they need us.

This is what Lent is really all about: learning what it is to be a Christian, that is to be baptized.. To have a cheerful hope and live in confidence that Jesus takes away our sins by His suffering and death. That’s why the Catechism tell us, when we get up in the morning, to remember our baptism and “go to work at once and in good cheer.” Because there is simply no need to ever worry about how it is with us and the Lord. It’s all a done deal in Christ. And becausewe are the Lord’s, we serve our neighbors, pointing them to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and helping and serving them in whatever ways we can.

However you celebrate the season of Lent, whether you give something up or whether you fast or even if you don’t do any of these things–don’t do them for God, as if that makes Him more satisfied with you. He’s already pleased as punch that you are His child in Jesus! Your baptism says so! Don’t even do these things for yourself, as if by your being miserable somehow makes you a better Christian. During Lent, if you give something up, do it for your neighbor who needs you and your good works more than ever. All eyes off of yourself and all ears on the Gospel, which gives us Jesus going to the cross to rescue us from sin and death. A blessed holy season of Lent to each of you, in Jesus!

This article was originally published on the Higher Things Website for Lent 2008.

Categories
Higher Homilies

The Epiphany of Our Lord

Rev. Mark Buetow

St. Matthew 2:1-12

epiphany icon “The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth shows forth His handiwork.” So the creation itself testifies to the glory of God in Jesus Christ and a star is employed to guide pagan magi to the infant Christ. That’s the historical bit of Epiphany: Magi, Wise Men, Persian astrologers-whatever you want to call them-came at the sign of a special star, knowing that a king was born. But Epiphany isn’t just that the magi came and the church put it on the calendar! Epiphany means something. The Epiphany Gospel teaches us once again that Christ was born for all people, shepherds and kings, for all sinners, for you and me. After all if pagan magi can receive Him, there’s hope for you and I! And not only was He born for us but the Lord will never fail to bring us to His Son so that we have forgiveness of sins and salvation from sin, death, devil and hell. The Epiphany Gospel teaches us where we shall find Jesus and also teaches repentance for seeking Him anywhere other than the places He has promised to be.

Jesus said of the Holy Scriptures, “These are they which testify of me.” And to the disciples after Easter he “showed them in Moses and all the Prophets the things concerning Himself.” Recall our Gospel reading, dear Christians. Where does the star lead the Wise Men? Does it lead them straight to Jesus? It does not! Rather it leads them to the place where they may hear the Holy Scriptures. And it is the Holy Scriptures which tell the Wise Men where the Child is. Do not pass lightly over this point, brothers and sisters. It means this: There is no coming to Jesus apart from the preaching of the Holy Scriptures. Even the Lord who brought forth a miraculous star to guide them didn’t guide them straight to Jesus. Even the Wise Men learn that to receive Jesus, we must hear the preaching of the Holy Scriptures. It is those Scriptures which sent the Magi to Bethlehem. It is those same Scriptures which send us to receive Jesus in His holy church, where He comes to us in the washing of water and the Word, in the absolution and preaching of the Scriptures, and in the Supper He instituted. The Lord comes to us nowhere else to be our Savior and to deliver the forgiveness of sins. And the Scriptures point us nowhere else to receive Him.

And there is our Epiphany repentance, because we by nature ignore the Scriptures and seek Jesus somewhere else than He has promised to be for our salvation. Notice something. Did Herod and the all Jerusalem know the Christ has been born? Did they understand that Israel’s long-promised Savior had finally come? Absolutely! Did they hear and understand the Scriptures? Herod asked where the Christ was to be born. The chief priest and scribes all said with the certainty of the Scripture, “In Bethlehem.” But why did they want to know? So that they could get rid of the Christ! Herod and “all Jerusalem” show us that to simply know the Scriptures is no guarantee of anything. Even the Devil knows the Bible inside and out! Herod and “all Jerusalem” did not have faith which trusted in the infant Christ for their salvation. They wanted their own righteousness. Their own power and authority. Themselves being the big deal. They had the Scriptures but they didn’t want to have Jesus. And there’s our repentance! How often that is our confession, that we “know all that stuff already” and therefore have no need of learning the Scriptures, growing in our Catechism and advancing in the faith beyond where we were when we were confirmed years ago. Who wouldn’t love to follow some spectacular star zooming around the sky? But search the Scriptures? Hear and learn what God’s Word has to say? Grow in your knowledge and understanding of God’s Word? Forget all that! This, dear Christians, is the religion of the world and the bulk of most of so-called “Christianity” today. It’s even most of what you hear in the good ol’ Missouri Synod anymore: We find Jesus where we want to find Him. We look in our hearts or lives. Where we don’t want to look is to where the simple words of Scripture point us: to His church, to the means of grace, to the ministry of the Gospel under the care of a pastor. Dear Christians, let us repent of despising God’s Word and hear again the Holy Scriptures which point us to Jesus and the Gospel and Sacraments in which we receive Him.

“Arise, shine, your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!” Dear Christians, the Lord will never leave us in darkness. By the pure light of His Word, He “calls, gathers and enlightens us.” As He did the magi, bringing them to the place where Jesus was. There they presented Him with their gifts: gold frankincense and myrrh. All gifts which confess who this Child was. Gold which surely helped Joseph and Mary escape. But it would be this Child’s holy precious and blood and His innocent suffering and death-not gold or silver-by which sinners escape from their sins. He who was given gold as a Child spills His lifeblood on Calvary for the sins of the world. For the sins of the magi, for your sins and my sins. Incense which was used in worship and represents the prayers of the saints. Here in this Child and Him alone we can pray. Only in Christ do we have access to the Father. Only in Christ do we learn the Father’s will which is not to destroy but save us, not to condemn but redeem us, not to punish us but to set us free in His Son. Myrrh. The spice of burial foreshadowing the death of this Jesus for sinners. So the Three Kings presented their gifts. And they did so not because they owed this Child, but because their gifts confessed that this Child was the King and their salvation. So we, dear Christians, also make offerings. We give our treasure, we come to church, not because God “expects” or “demands” such worship, but because such worship is the confession and testimony and exercise of our faith, that our only hope, our only salvation is the Child who grew up to be King on the cross.

“Nations will come to your light and the Gentiles the brightness of your rising.” So speaks Isaiah the prophet, foretelling that the nations will come to see the Lord’s light and glory. But where? Among God’s people! For that is where Christ dwells. Anyone who sees the Lord’s light and glory sees it only in His church, where Christ is found in His means of grace. The prophet’s words teach us that we don’t go looking for the Lord just anywhere, but where He has promised to be, and that is where the Scriptures point us: among God’s people where the means of grace are. What ever happened to the Magi? The church has believed for a long time that it was St. Thomas the Apostle who made his way to lands of Persia and actually baptized those magi! Of course that history is not recorded in the Scriptures, but the fact that the church has believed it teaches us that not even magi are converted by simply showing up at Jesus’ house, but through the preaching and baptizing that Jesus Himself commanded His church to do after His resurrection. Just so there is no salvation for us in trying to find Jesus’ childhood house or going to Calvary and looking for bits of the cross. No, to be certain of our salvation, to receive forgiveness of our sins, we look no other place than the holy church in which Christ Himself dwells. The church is the house wherein Jesus lives and to which the Scriptures direct us and to which the stars of our pastors point us. There is your forgiveness, dear Christians: in the water of the font, in the words of your preacher and in the body and blood of the Christ in His Supper. Never despise His Word and never look anywhere else, but receive Him there for your salvation and comfort.

“In Christ we have boldness and access with confidence by His faith.” By Christ’s faith. St. Paul, who was called by God so that the Gentiles would hear the preaching of Christ and believe and be saved, testifies to the Ephesians that it is through the church that the Lord’s mystery is made known, the mystery which is our salvation in Christ. What is Epiphany all about? It’s about learning where Jesus is and knowing how we know where Jesus is. The Magi were led to the Holy Scriptures which told them where Jesus is. So you, dear Christians, have the Holy Scriptures, which direct you not to a house in Bethlehem, nor to a cross on hill, nor to your heart or the changes in your life or any place like that. No, the Scriptures the Holy Spirit has written through His apostles direct you here. To this house. To this font. To this altar. To your pastor. Here is where Christ is. Now worship Him, not as one who owes Him something, as if you could ever repay! Rather, worship Him by receiving Him, by grasping in faith those promises of the Gospel which declare your sins forgiven. The promise of your Baptism which says that as Jesus is the beloved Son of God, so are you His beloved child. The promise of His body and blood that He lives in you and you in Him and He will raise you up on the Last Day! Christ was in the house for the Wise Men to see. Now He is in this house, His church, for you and for your salvation. Happy Epiphany! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Categories
Catechesis

What Child is This?

It’s a question that Jesus asked His own disciples: “Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?” This question gets asked in another way in the beloved Christmas hymn, “What Child is This?” It’s a hymn that reminds us as we celebrate Jesus’ birth that He was born to die for our sins. For your Christmas meditation, here are some thoughts on the words of this wonderful hymn. 

Stanza 1

What Child is this, who laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch are keeping? 

Who is this Child who is born of Mary and is greeted by angels and shepherds? The details of the night of Christ’s birth come to us in St. Luke’s Gospel. He records these details to teach us that the birth of the Savior really happened and was seen and heard by eyewitnesses. These things aren’t just made up! 

This, this is Christ the king, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The babe, the son of Mary! 

Don’t miss this! It’s a baby in the manger. But it is the Baby who is King. King of the Jews. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Come and bring Him laud (praise) because He is the King. In our day and age, we don’t think much of kings, since we elect our leaders. Yet a true King is one who takes care of His subjects. This King cares for you by being your Savior! 

Stanza 2

Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading. 

It is the second stanza of the hymn which makes it such a beautiful Christmas hymn. It reminds us that the birth of Jesus is for sinners. Even in the manger, the silent Word, the “Word-made-flesh” pleads for us before the throne. How can the Son be before the throne and in a manger? It is this mystery of the Son’s incarnation that stands as the center of our salvation and Christian faith.  

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you;
Hail, hail, the Word made flesh, The babe, the son of Mary! 

There it is! Right to Good Friday! The Son of God is born. But He isn’t born just to prove He can become man, like some trick or show. He becomes man so that He can go the way of suffering and death to take your place under God’s judgment and bring you forgiveness of sins and eternal life. At the holy celebration of Christ’s birth, we are reminded by these words of the holy and saving purpose for which He came into the world for us.  

Stanza 3

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh; Come, peasant, king, to own Him.
The King of Kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone Him. 

Here the hymn speaks of our receiving Christ’s salvation and our can’t-help-it response to God’s love for us in Christ. Pointing ahead to the worship of the pagan wise men who brought holy gifts, everyone—poor and rich, low and high alike—are called to give Him praise and thanksgiving. Though not explicit, the means of grace are alluded to in the bringing of salvation by the King of Kings who dwells in our hearts by the Word and faith.  

Raise, raise the song on high, The Virgin sings her lullaby;
Joy, joy for Christ is born, The babe, the son of Mary. 

Christmas truly is about joy. That joy is because the Son of God has come in the flesh to be our Savior. On Christmas night we recognize a certain joy and peace of a mother who has just delivered her baby. Yet the Baby that was delivered on Christmas, really came to deliver us from sin, death, devil, hell and all things that condemn us. Now we, who have been born again from above in the waters of the holy font, sing with Mary and the angels and shepherds and Christians of all times and places. We sing the joy of the birth of Jesus our Savior. A blessed and merry Christmas to each of you as you rejoice in the Good News of What Child this is!

Categories
Higher Homilies

The Installation of the Reverend George Borghardt

Rev. Mark Buetow

Borghardt Installation

Daniel 7:9-14

Wow! The End of the world. The seating of God’s court. The earth and heavens burned up with fire. Sheep and goats separated. The Last Day is coming quickly, dear Christians. It will soon be upon us. But don’t worry! Don’t be frightened by these awful images of judgment. Don’t worry. Because the Lord has given you a pastor. And he gives you this pastor for this purpose: that in these Last Days, you may know the comfort of Christ in whom you have escaped God’s judgment and instead, as children of God, now have eternal life. Today, your Lord is making sure that you are not caught unprepared for that day. Today He makes sure that you do not fear that day as the world should fear it. Today, by giving you a pastor, the Lord is keeping His promise to preserve you in His Word and faith until the end. That’s why George Borghardt, III is here today. So that you will always have that comfort against despair. Pastor Borghardt is given to you this day so that you will have the constant reminder of your Baptism into Christ. So that when your sins trouble you, he may absolve you. To preach Christ crucified and risen to you. To give to you the Body and Blood of Jesus to eat and drink. To remind you, in a world filled with false preachers who get all worked up that the End is near, that Christ is your Savior and that in Him the Last Day is a day to rejoice in.

The prophet Daniel sees the vision of the kingdom given to Christ. Christ, the Son of Man, is given a kingdom which is an everlasting dominion. It shall not pass away. It is a kingdom that shall not be destroyed. He has this kingdom because He has won this kingdom. This is the kingdom of the Son of God who became man for our salvation. The Son of Man who was tempted and was without sin. The Son of Man who nevertheless took on your sin as His own and carried it through suffering and mockery to the cross of Calvary and there disposed of it once for all by the shedding of His holy blood and His innocent death. The Son of Man who was alive on the third day whose empty tomb is the sign that death is done for. This kingdom, Christ’s church, is a kingdom into which the Savior Himself has brought you at the font by the washing of water and the Word in Holy Baptism, as Pastor Borghardt will remind you and do for those to come. It is in this kingdom that the Judge and King constantly declares to you the “not guilty” verdict of Holy Absolution, spoken by His man, Pastor Borghardt. It is in this Kingdom that you hear the Son of Man’s proclamation proclaimed by His herald, Pastor Borghardt, that declares that while heaven and earth pass away, you cannot pass away because you are in Christ. It is the Kingdom in which the Son of Man gives you Himself as food, faithfully administered by His servant Pastor Borghardt.

And the Good News about this Kingdom is that it is Christ’s. And it cannot pass away and it cannot be destroyed. That’s Good News! It’s Good News for you, Pastor Borghardt. It means when you make a mistake, when you sin against the Lord and against His people, His kingdom does not cease. And because it does not cease, because it exists by His Word, your sins are forgiven in this kingdom. That’s right, people of God, your pastor is a sinner who lives in the forgiveness won for Him by Christ. As do you. This is not your kingdom and it’s not your church. And know that when you succumb to the temptation to think that it IS yours, that you are forgiven. Pastor Borghardt will remind you of that too. And both of you—pastor and people—when things are difficult and you are tempted to despair over this congregation—remember that this is Christ’s kingdom. It cannot pass away and it cannot be destroyed. Pastor Borghardt, carry out your calling: when the saints of God despair because of their sins or their illnesses or their troubles, remind them by Christ’s Word and gifts that they have a Savior whose kingdom will not pass away and will not be destroyed. And you, saints of God at Zion, when your pastor despairs, or is troubled by his faults and sins, or worries about anything, comfort him by reminding him of the same thing: He is a servant in a kingdom that will not pass away and will not be destroyed! Because this is Christ’s kingdom!

Now St. Peter says the scoffers are going to come. They’re going to make fun of you and ask, “Where’s the Lord? I thought He was coming back? What’s taking Him so long?” In other words, being a Christian in this dying world is not easy. It is hard. You are surrounded by those who mock you and mock your trust in Christ. The world around you hates Jesus and so it hates you. It can be tough to live in such a world. It raises doubts and causes despair. So when it does, then you know what to do: run to the pastor whom the Lord has given you to hear again those promises of God: your Baptism, forgiveness, body and blood, the preaching of Christ crucified. Those promises throw down the doubts and despairs and mockery of a world that doesn’t want Jesus and reminds you of what you are in Christ. Those promises are your sure and certain hope against a world of doubt and unbelief. Those promises are why the Lord’s pastor is here: to faithfully deliver them to you for your forgiveness and comfort. Peter reminds us that the world which will one day be destroyed is yet preserved by the Word of God. That Word, delivered by your pastor, is the Word that is your life. That Word of Christ crucified and risen for you is your life, your preservation against judgment and death and hell. Your promise of everlasting life. And your pastor will always remind you of that. It’s his job.

And here is some more Good News. On the Last Day, Pastor Borghardt and saints of Zion, you will be given the kingdom forever. It’s been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. It isn’t given to you because you did anything. The Lord prepared it for you because you are His people in Christ. This is Good News, Pastor Borghardt because it means you are rescued from counting, measuring, and any sort of thinking that it is GEORGE BORGHARDT who can fix or preserve this congregation. It’s all Christ’s kingdom! And you, saints of Zion, you are rescued from thinking that it is what good works you do or don’t do that make you true Christians and a true congregation of God. In fact, Pastor Borghardt and saints of Zion, on the Last Day, the Lord will list all of those good works you’ve done, most of which you don’t even have a clue you’ve done! And you’ll say, “What? When did we do all that?” And He will say, “You did it because you are my lambs. And because you are my lambs there’s a kingdom waiting for you.” Christ has won this kingdom for you. And that means nothing can tear it down, wreck it or take it away from you!

So, saints of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of McHenry, Illinois, rejoice today! Rejoice because you have a pastor. I’d love to tell you what a great guy he is, but that won’t save you. What I will tell you is that he will give you the one and only thing you need: Jesus. Jesus who was crucified for you and risen from the dead. Jesus who washed you at the font. Jesus who says your sins are forgiven. Jesus whose Body and Blood are a feast that will give forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. And Pastor Borghardt, know this: those same gifts of Jesus that you give to God’s people here, are the same gifts—water, word, Body and Blood—that make you fit for this holy Office and will let you stand with these saints on the Last Day, rejoicing together to see your names written in the Book of Life. On this day, saints of Zion, know this: the Lord’s giving you a pastor is His unshakable promise to be among you and with you by His Word and gifts. And where He is, you can never pass away even though heaven and earth will pass away. For Christ’s kingdom will not pass away and will not be destroyed! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

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Higher Homilies

Salt and Light

Rev. George Borghardt

St. Matthew 5:13-16

Borghardt PreachingIn the name of Jesus. Amen. “You are the salt that salts the earth. You are the light that lights up the world.”

Salt. Salt goes with the sacrifices in ancient Israel. It purifies. It sanctifies, it makes holy.

Where salt, there a covenant. A testament – cut with the sacrifice of grain or bull seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

Pointing to the sacrifice of the Son of God on the Cross. Beaten, broken, snuffed out, for our righteousness, for our salvation. There the salt is in the sweat, mixed with blood, flowing down His forehead.

Salt was rubbed on the Israelite baby’s heads. The Baby was seasoned – marked as the Lord’s own.

That carried into the early baptismal rites too. The baby would have salt put on his or her tongue – tasty! Or better.. salty.

But, what a confession! In the baptismal font you were salted with His sacrifice. His death your death to sin. Your death to darkness and tasteless salt.

And here you are today, the baptized, the salted, His holy people, His kingly priests, lighting the world around you with His light. Salting it with everything that you do in this world.

You are who He says you are. His proclamation lights you up. His words salt you. Salt in all His saltiness. Light in all His brightness.

Except you know yourself to be far from salty and full of nothing but darkness. You know what you do. You’ve done it before. You’ll do it after you leave here. It horrifies you. Or that it doesn’t scare you, horrifies you more.

Darkness and about to be trampled under the foot – that’s what the Law says is waiting for you. And you try to stop, try to turn, but you just can’t get salty or become bright enough or to get out of it.

Now, there was that candle given to you in Baptism. You’ve seen it given to others. You got one too. And with the candle came the words, “Receive this burning light and live always in the light of Christ and be ever watchful for His coming”

It burned with His light. The Light who had just en-lightened you with His Cross-won forgiveness. For on Cross, His Light is snuffed out, sacrifice for your darkness. He rose and now His light will never dim. Your light too in the waters of your Baptism. Your salting too.

Born anew. Forgiven. Salted. And lit up with His life and light. Baptized. That’s you.

Now, salt that loses it’s saltiness is no use to anyone at all. Light that’s covered up in a basket doesn’t good either. Hide it under a bushel… You know the rest.

A city on a hill shines. A lamp on a lampstand gives light to the whole house. And salt, it gives flavor – Jesus flavor. His sacrifice. His forgiveness. His eternal life.

So that the world out there would see your lamp and glorify Him – not you. This hasn’t been about you at all, but about the One who brought you out of darkness into His wonderful light – your Father in Heaven.

For you aren’t salty by yourself. You aren’t a light at all. Not even a flicker. You know that.

He’s your salt. He’s your light. Given to you in His gifts. Gifts which salt you, light you, holy you, priest you, to salt, light, holy, and priest for others.

An early early early (like 100 A.D.) church Father named Ignatius, you can google Him on your phone when you get out of service, describe you and me as salted in Christ. Christ preserves us from corruption. He preserves us from sin and we are recognizable to the world by our smell. We are salted in Him.

Smells like a Lutheran? Not sweat, just Jesus. The One who was given to be sacrificed for your sins and raised for your justification. The One who is your Light. The One who is your King.

And so today, He sends you from here, given to, lit up with His light, and forgiven. His salt. His light. Shining when you aren’t even trying to shine and salting everything you do with His Cross.

That’s you when you feel salty and lighty like today at the end of a solid week of being nothing but given His salt and His light at this conference.

That’s you too – salt and light – even when you feel like salt that has lost it’s saltiness and your light seems all but extinguished.

But, His sacrifice for you on the Cross – There’s a light that no one can snuff out. A salty that will never lose it’s saltiness.

“You are the salt that salts the earth. You are the light that lights up the world.” You are the baptized.

“That in these gray and latter days, there may be those whose life is praise, each life a high doxology to Father, Son, and unto Thee.” (LSB 834, 4). INI. Amen.

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Higher Homilies

Given Good Works

Rev. Rich Heinz

Ephesians 2:1-10

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

Heinz Preaching“We will watch your career with great interest,” says the newly-elected Chancellor Palpatine. You can hear the schmoozing and insincerity in his voice. And years later he declares, “Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design.” He prepared situations, events, and placed the right people in the right locations at the right times to do what he devised. And Anakin and others unknowingly did the works which Palpatine prepared in advance for them to do.

Yes, the Galactic Emperor is fiction, and yes, he is evil. So Perhaps he is not the best example of this. Yet we can see that the works were not necessarily Anakin’s, or anyone else’s; they were the Emperor’s, who prepared them for others to do.

The Lord God has GIVEN you Baptism and called you by grace – out of His holy and perfect love and mercy that is completely undeserved. He has GIVEN you faith. He has GIVEN you His Gospel and His Absolution that speaks Christ into your ears and into your hearts. He has GIVEN you His Holy Supper so that Christ enters your body with forgiveness, life, and salvation.

These GIVEN things are precisely what you confess when you declare: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” The trouble is, this is where you usually cut it off. The passage you learned by heart typically stops with verse 9. But wait! There’s more!

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Hold on, Pastor. We are saved by faith alone, not by works.

You are right. Martin Luther once quipped that we are saved by faith alone, however, he said, faith is never alone. Where there is faith, the littlest thing is a good work. Washing dishes for your family, taking out the trash, defending your classmate from slander on FaceBook, these are just a few examples of good works that God has prepared in advance for you.

Although face it, are you always doing these with a pure heart and in sincere faith? Not a chance. Like Anakin serving Palpatine, you can have wrong motives. Your heart is not always in it. Even if you might have the good of someone else in mind, such as trying to save your wife from dying, in the end, so much is motivated by selfishness. You fail to be perfect in these works of love.

And teaming up with you is the old evil foe. Satan tries to give you gifts too – gifts of doubt, gifts of self-centeredness, gifts of anger, fear, and aggression. These gifts are really burdens of evil. Your flawed human nature is attracted to these gifts, and would rather pursue them with your own works than receive the free gift of salvation in Christ.

That is why God does not leave this up to you. He has reached out and redeemed you by the precious suffering and death of Jesus. He has delivered that redemption to you through His Holy Gifts of the Means of Grace.

And He does not save you on the basis of your works. He does not even demand them as a follow-up to redeeming you. Yet He produces them in your life of faith. He provides the works and the opportunities – He even provides the will to do these things that He “prepared in advance for [you] to do.”

Have no fear. God watches you with great interest, but the Lord is not scheming and not requiring good works of you. He has GIVEN them to you! He does them through you and your brothers and sisters in Christ. He even does them when you least expect it. Rejoice and be glad. This morning’s text is not some Law-requirement that you do something. No. It is a joyful declaration of the Gospel, and delivers God’s forgiveness and peace as He reminds you of the good works that He gives you, and to you.

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Higher Homilies

Given God’s Grace

Rev. Joel Fritsche

Eph. 2:1-10

IN THE NAME OF JESUS. AMEN.

Complete sentences aren’t in these days. There’s facebook and texting and all kinds of abbreviations along with them. I thought learning Greek was hard. Sometimes I really have to work hard decode the texting abbreviations. Thankfully there are websites devoted to this. Years ago I thought it was fun when you typed in a sentence and had it translated into Jive or into Redneck or even into Elmer Fudd. Now you can go to transL8it.com and translate from text lingo into plain English or from English into text lingo. I have to go there sometimes to decipher assignments from my confirmands. Like I said, complete sentences aren’t in these days. You may not have verbs or even full words. BUT…

When you hear the Word of God pay attention to the verbs. Take note of the tenses: past, present, future. Take note of subjects and objects so that you know who is doing what and to whom what is being done. In Ephesians 2 in the original Greek you don’t even really get a complete sentence at the beginning of the chapter. Well, you do, but the subject doesn’t come until verse 4 and the main verb until verse 5. The English fools you a little bit and cleans all that up. But if you take it as it stands and pull out the subject, the verb and the object you have “GOD MADE US ALIVE.”

God is the doer, not you! Like the dependent clauses at the beginning of this chapter you cannot stand alone. Why not? You’re dead! Dead in your trespasses and sins! That’s what you WERE! Note the past tense, but we’ll come back to that. You were the walking dead. When you’re dead you walk the way of the world. You walk the way of the devil and evil spirits. You pursue the passions of the flesh, the desires of the body and mind. It’s all about you (that’s a capital U). And where does that put “U”? Under the wrath of God.

But that’s all in the past, right. You don’t live that way anymore, do you? Do you? Is your life all about you? Are you in it for yourself? Do you want to stand alone? Do you want to be the walking dead? Passion! Desire! We like those things! Doesn’t actually sound too bad until that wrath of God part. Did you hear the psalm we prayed? “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the earth stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it came to be; He commanded and it stood firm” (Ps. 33:8-9). If that’s His creative power then imagine His destructive power. A look at God’s commandments, His Law assures you that you ARE dead. You are under His wrath. Remember the Close of the Commandments? “God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them.” What do I do? I’m dead for sure!

But there’s more to stand in awe of here than God’s wrath. St. Paul would have you stand in awe of God’s saving, life-giving power, to stand in awe of God’s GRACE! That’s an acronym worth remembering! “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” No need to decode it. The Lord reveals what it’s all about. GRACE! Jesus walked the way of death in your place all the way to the cross. He became the dead man. At the cross He was the one who walked in the passions of the flesh, the desires of the body and mind. He was the child of wrath, taking the fullness of God’s wrath and anger on Himself to the point of death. “Thou camest to our hall of death, O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air , To drink for us the dark despair That strangled our reluctant breath” (LSB 834:3). God’s Son was given into death and you are given life. GRACE! You are given grace and every blessing in Him.

GIVEN! “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). And don’t forget the last verse: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Salvation is gift! Faith is gift! New life is God’s gift! And God, in His grace purposed it all for you from eternity.

The Lord is all about giving! And we’re all about being given to by the Lord. We’re all about being made alive by the Lord. You’ve been given Christ’s life in Baptism. Jesus didn’t stay dead. God raised Him from the dead, and you with Him at the font. God doesn’t leave His beloved for dead. Christ’s resurrection is yours. It means that in Him you walk a new way of life, no longer on the course of the world, no longer for yourself. “Christ died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:15).

Remember the rest of the Close of the Commandments? “God promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands.” That’s the new life GIVEN you in Christ Jesus: GIVEN at the font, GIVEN in His absolution, GIVEN at His Table again today. There’s nothing left for you to do, no boasting, just being given to, to receive the life of Jesus and walk in it to the praise and glory of God, a life of high doxology!

Complete sentences aren’t in these days. Unfortunately neither is complete salvation. The Lord gets things done for you. God made you alive. Complete sentence. Complete salvation. In Christ there are no abbreviations or lingo to translate or decode. It’s quite simple: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

IN THE NAME OF JESUS. AMEN.

This sermon was preached at the Matins service on Friday during Given 2010 in Logan, UT. 

Categories
Higher Homilies

Wrongness and Righteousness

Rev. Tim Pauls

Romans 1:16-25

The story goes that the London Times once sponsored an essay contest, by invitation only. The editors asked several of the best writers and thinkers of the time to answer the question, “What’s wrong with this world?” Among the contest entries was one by G. K. Chesterton, whose entry was also the shortest. It said, “Dear sirs: I am.”  It was a quick, elegant commentary on original sin.

It’s also the Law from our reading this morning from Romans 1: you’re what’s wrong, and you have no excuse. 

You’re what’s wrong. The Lord makes clear that you’re not nice people who do sinful things now and then. It declares that you do sinful things because you’re sinful from the get-go. The sins you do are a problem, sure: all by themselves, they’re enough for you to deserve God’s wrath. But just like nausea and headaches are symptoms of the flu, the sins that you do are only symptoms of the real problem. You’re sinful. You don’t just do wrong. You are wrong. 

Furthermore, you have no excuse. It’s not just that God has revealed His wrath and power in the creation around you: if you’re sitting here, you’ve had more than a couple close encounters with the Ten Commandments in the Small Catechism, not to mention that part about Confession. You’ve gone through a few lists of how God’s Law gets broken; and if you’ve been honest at all, you’ve confessed that you’re worthy of His wrath and punishment. Furthermore, in His Word the Lord has revealed His Gospel to you, so you’ve heard that you’re set free from sin, made a righteous child of God. 

So…what’s up with those sins even now? What’s up with the thoughts you’re tossing around your mind right now, be it the lust or the jealousy or the pride or the resentment, or the plotting to one-up the people you don’t like very much? What’s up with those pet sins that you think you’ve got on a leash, but you’re firmly in control, like the snarky texting or that picture you’ve got stored on your phone? What’s up with the yawns towards God’s Word or the apathy towards His Supper? 

They’re all common sins of youth. And anyone else who’s got a pulse. You’re what’s wrong, and you have no excuse.

But as destructive as those sins ultimately are, they’re not the great danger that our text warns about. Of those who do not honor God, it says “they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” Everybody’s got to have a god: and if you don’t honor the one true God, the one you’ve got is a fake. The Bible’s full of stories of people who carved a face on a rock, called it a name and said, “This is our god.” But a rock with a face is just a rock. It can’t provide, it can’t save and it certainly can’t raise you from the dead.

People still like false gods, though, for a simple reason: if a rock can’t tell you what to do, then you get to tell the rock what to tell you to do. And—strangely enough—a rock will usually tell you what you want to hear. That’s why people love false gods, because they’ve created a higher authority that will let them indulge in the lusts of their hearts and the dishonoring of their bodies. 

Now, I haven’t seen anyone carrying a rock-god around here, but be warned: the most dangerous false god for you is a fake Jesus that you create for yourself. That’s what happens when you keep your favorite sins around and unrepented. They make your thinking futile and your heart dark until you find yourself sincerely saying, “I can keep these sins and follow Jesus, too.” Your faith gets squeezed out until, a few years down the road, you sit there facing your pastor and saying, “Oh, c’mon. We can still be Christians and live together without being married,” or “I really don’t see why I need to be coming to church to be a Christian. Jesus understands.” At that point, your jesus isn’t the One that the Bible proclaims. It’s a fake jesus who tells you what you want to hear. You didn’t create a god in the image of a bird or an animal or a creeping thing. You created a fake Jesus in the image of you: and as you approve of such sins, that makes you ashamed of the Gospel. God grant you a faithful pastor, now and then, who not only points out your sins of immorality or sloth or whatever, but the greater problem of idolatry.

For all these sins, now and then, you’re wrong and you have no excuse. You’ve got nothing to hold up to God and say, “I deserve your mercy.” 

You ought to be ashamed. Not just now or then, but forever. That’s the Law of our text this morning.

Here’s the Gospel. For Jesus’ sake, God is not ashamed of you. It’s not because you’ve done such a great job of being godly and righteous, but because Jesus has. He became flesh for you, with pure heart and incorruptible body. He bore your sin and guilt to the cross and scorned its shame for your redemption. He suffered the dishonor and contempt of scourge and scorn at the hands of darkened, futile sinners. Far more than that, God unleashed His wrath for your sin upon His Son. Rather than leave you given up to the lusts of your heart and the dishonoring of your body, God gave up His Son on the cross and forsook Him instead of you. Where you exchanged the truth for the lie, Christ has swapped out your sin for His holiness, your guilt for His innocence, your defilement for His purity. For your sins of worshiping the creature, the Creator went to the cross. 

All glory to Him—none to you or me. He did all this before you and I were born—even chose us before eternity, so you and I have no claim to working a part in His saving plan. But to bring these gifts to you, He joined you to that death and resurrection in your baptism. He keeps feeding you, nourishing your faith by His Word and Supper. He keeps giving, that you might be delivered from death and night to grace and light.

It is all His doing. And because Christ dwells in you, you are no longer wrong, but righteous. No longer without excuse, but full of faith. Clothed in His grace, you’re righteous and holy, for you are forgiven for all of your sins. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen