Category: Festival Sermons

 

Text: Rev. 7:13-14
Date: All Saints’ Day (Observed) + 11/2/14

Let me draw your attention to the picture on the front of your ordo, your service folder. It is a picture of the worship of the saints in heaven gathered around the throne of the Lamb of God, our Savior Jesus Christ, surrounded by those reported to us in the gospels and from the vision or revelation granted to St. John. There appear to be the prophets and apostles, priests and pastors in the upper left corner; various Christians on the right side and people of the book, that is, believing Jews on the lower left side, and angels around the throne, the altar of God. Notice that appears to be an eight-sided baptismal font in the middle. My question this morning is, can you see yourself in that picture? Continue reading “Election Day”

Text: Romans 3:19-28
Date: Reformation Day (Observed) + 10/26/14

On the eve of All Saints Day, “all hallow’ds e’en” 1517, Martin Luther nailed to the door of the Castle Church the “Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” in Latin inviting scholarly and Christian debate on his discovery of the Gospel, the good news of the free forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life as pure gift of God. It began: Continue reading “The Free Gift”

Text: Matthew 16:13-19
Date: Sts. Peter & Paul, Apostles Day + 6/29/14

What a change! What a change for the man named Saul to suddenly, miraculously change from being a leading persecutor of the Church to an apostle and preacher of Jesus and leading evangelist to the Gentiles. We have heard that he had to undergo a certain amount of examination and acceptance by the Church in Jerusalem but finally was accepted. Continue reading “Preaching Jesus”

Text: Luke 2:22-32
Date: Presentation/Purification X 2/2/14

The great winter storm of 2014 reminds us that it has not been that long since our celebration of Christmas, “as the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.” So does today’s celebration of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord in the temple forty days after His birth. (Let’s see, December seven days, January thirty-one days, February two days—7 + 31 + 2 = 40!) Continue reading “Christ the Blessed”

Text: Revelation 7:9-17
Date: All Saints’ Day (Observed) + 11/3/13

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. And “who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!” (Ps 24:10) now seated in His throne of light. And who are these with Him, and from where have they come? Continue reading “Behold a Host”

Text: Romans 3:19-28
Date: Reformation Day (Observed) + 10/27/13

Blessed is the King, the King who comes in the name of the Lord. No, not Martin Luther King, Jr. And not even Martin Luther. But the King “after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110), Jesus, “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 5:6-10), “by translation of his name, king of righteousness” (Heb 7:2). Jesus is the King. Jesus is God’s Righteousness. Jesus is your righteousness. Continue reading “God's Righteousness”

Text: Revelation 12:12
Date: St. Michael and All Angels + 9/29/13

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, and all His angels with Him (Matt 25:31).

“This feast commemorating the angels has been placed in the church’s calendar…for the sake of all Christians, so that they might train themselves to think about the beloved angels and thank God for appointing these mighty lords to be his servants for us.”[1] So began Martin Luther in a sermon on this day in 1532. We do not think about the angels or preach about them very often, unless, that is, you pray Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers each ending with the words, “Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.” But though we rarely think about the angels we sing with them all the time in the Divine Service! We sing their Christmas song in the Gloria in Excelsis, “Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” And we sing with them and all the company of heaven every Sunday in the words first heard by the prophet Isaiah, the eternal Sanctus, “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.” In our day we have even added the Dignus es from the book of Revelation, “Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,” “This is the feast of victory for our God.” So let us consider God’s angels on this day that we may be the more assured of our deliverance from the attacks and onslaughts of the devil and, with all the angels, more clearly and “always see the face of [our] Father who is in heaven” (Matt 18:10). Continue reading “Angels, Help Us”

Text: Revelation 7:1-17
Date: All Saints Day (Observed) + 11/4/12

Last Sunday the book of Revelation spoke of an angel with an eternal gospel. Celebrating Reformation Day we remembered not only Martin Luther but all preachers of the pure gospel as proclaiming that gospel throughout the world to this day. Today St. John says, “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God” (Rev 7:1-2). It is with this “Another Angel” that John is given a view (and we through him) of the Church in her two states, the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant. We are the Church Militant, the confessing, evangelizing, preaching, baptizing, “eucharistizing,” suffering, constantly dying and rising body of Christ in this world. As the hymn says, “we feebly struggle.” The Church Triumphant are all those “who in glory shine,” that is who have come out of this great tribulation and now enjoy the perfect peace and joy of eternal life in the presence of God. This Sunday and this Word is to give us who are still fighting the good fight of faith comfort, encouragement and assurance that, as St. Paul said it, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18). Continue reading “And Another Angel”

Text: Revelation 14:6-7
Date: Reformation Day (Observed) + 10/28/12

It is a most difficult thing even for a Christian when a loved one dies. Yet faith formed by the Word of God and crafted in the heart by the Holy Spirit gives amazing strength even through the tears and grieving.

How different for the person who has not been born from above to the life of faith. For many, when a loved one dies there seems to be so much confusion if not outright fantasy that drives people in dealing with the tragedy. A constantly repeated phrase, for instance, is the idea that the deceased loved one is somehow “looking down on us,” which, of course, makes the deceased into some sort of an omniscient, god-like being. It is also not true that the dead are at all aware of things here on earth (Is 63:16). Just last week I heard a poor father, on TV, say of his little deceased child, “She was an angel here. And now she is a real angel.” Continue reading “Another Angel”