Category: Pentecost Sermons

Text: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Date: Pentecost XX (Proper 23) + 10/14/12

The prophet Amos was sent to deliver a challenging word to a people who had become spiritually self-secure. They were convinced God was on their side but only by virtue of their outward connection with the covenant nation. The evidence showed (in verses 10-12 of our text) that true repentance and faith of the heart was lacking. It was the same with the rich man in today’s Gospel who, thinking he had the catechism pretty well down pat, and having fulfilled all the requirements of the Law was shocked at Jesus’ further challenge to “go, sell all that you have and give to the poor.” St. Mark reports, “disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Yes, repentance, faith and salvation do have an effect also on your money. So in every generation there is the temptation to resist daily repentance and a lively faith and presume on God’s grace taking refuge only in our outward affiliation with the Church. Amos calls God’s people of every age to the renewal of repentance and faith (the two always go together) saying that if you will, “it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you and be gracious to you.” Continue reading “The God of Hosts Be With You”

Text: Genesis 2:18-25
Date: Pentecost XIX + 10/14/12

One Hundred and seventy-six years ago on October 2, 1836 naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) returned to Falmouth, England aboard the HMS Beagle after a five-year journey collecting biological data he would later use to develop his theory of evolution. Increasingly through the years his so-called “theory” has taken on the illusion of “fact” in the public realm even without passing the usual scientific tests that alone distinguish facts from theories and mere hypotheses from fantasies. Such is the wisdom of this world. Continue reading “One is the Loneliest Number”

Text: Numbers 11
Date: Pentecost XVIII (Proper 21) + 9/30/12

When people talk about “the spirit of the times” they mean to set about describing the character, the mood, the temper or disposition of people populating a place at a particular time. God’s Word before us today describes God’s people of all times, the Church as she struggles between faithfulness to the God who called her into existence and the spirit of the world that tempts us to fall back into disobedience and faithlessness. The Spirit of the Church in this world is always such a struggle. There are times when we may feel especially, purposefully committed, faithful and bold in following the Lord who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But then, if we are honest, there are times when such jealousy for the Lord turns into only pride of self. The account of Israel’s initial travels in the wilderness after their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt describes all-too-familiar thoughts and emotions of the Church today, of a people called to follow the saving God by faith in His Word and promise alone. We need the encouragement of God’s Word to remain faithful through it all, to be able to repent when we are in the wrong, and nevertheless, as Luther said, to “sin boldly and yet believe in God more boldly still” when we act in the right of God’s Word. For this struggle and journey God gives His Holy Spirit to all whom He has called into His family. Continue reading “The Spirit of the Church”

Text: Jeremiah 11:18-20
Date: Pentecost XVII (Proper 20) + 9/23/12

In a world where one TV pundit famously promises that “the spin stops here because we’re looking out for you,” a time when a lot of people are arguing angrily in the public square about politics and religion, a moment of conflicting worldviews dismantling formerly solid, unquestioned values and self-evident truths, even the Church is threatened to violate her own tenets and teachings. In concert with our Synodical President’s testimony before a congressional committee and any number of supporting statements from our district conventions this summer regarding the threat to religious liberty posed by the so-called “women’s preventive care” mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the faculty of our Ft. Wayne seminary has recently published a statement on Religious Liberty.[1] They remind us of Martin Luther’s own confrontation against the princes and the emperor of the Roman Empire at the Diet of Worms where he famously said, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against my conscience. May God help me. Amen.” This reminds us of the earlier bold confession of the Apostle Peter before the Jewish council, upon the threat of imprisonment and death, saying, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). And there are many other examples in history that we could mention. Continue reading “Silencing the Messenger”

Text: Isaiah 50:4-10
Date: Pentecost XVI (Proper 19) + 9/16/12

Interestingly, we have never heard today’s Gospel (Mark 9:14-29) on a Sunday in any of our previous lectionaries. Even more interestingly this new addition we share only with the Episcopal Church. St. Mark’s account of Jesus’ healing of a boy with an unclean spirit agrees with Matthew and Luke that this incident happened immediately following our Lord’s Transfiguration (Mt 17:14-19; Lk 9:37-42). It seems that while Jesus and His inner circle of disciples, Peter, James and John, were having their “mountain top experience,” the other disciples were approached by a man who asked them to cast out an evil spirit from his son. The disciples apparently tried, as they had previously been authorized to do and even had success (Mark 6:7 and 13), but in this instance they were not able. When He arrived Jesus took the opportunity to speak about faith, both to his disciples (calling them, “O faithless generation”) and to the man who now doubted that if His disciples couldn’t heal his son, maybe Jesus couldn’t either. “If you can,” asked the man. “If you can!” answered an exasperated Jesus. There is no question that Jesus can heal the boy. What was in question was the man’s faith. “All things are possible for one who believes,” challenged Jesus. Continue reading “Who Is My Adversary?”

Text: Isaiah 34:4-7a
Date: Pentecost XV (Proper 18) + 9/9/12

Last week residents in my neighborhood of Waterford received a mailing entitled, “Understand Prophecy: Finding HOPE in Uncertain Times.” Billed as “a dynamic Bible prophecy series” it, of course, treats “prophecy” primarily as telling the future, specifically of the end of the world. People have always wondered and are fascinated by questions concerning the end of the world, “judgment day” as at least some of us still refer to it. Gazillions of books have been written on the subject, all of them claiming to have some insight and evidence from the Bible. When asked, “Which book of the Bible do you want to study next?” more times than not the response is, “Revelation.” There is a fascination about the Last Day, the end of the world, the Day of Judgment. Continue reading “Behold Your God”

Text: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Date: Pentecost XIV (Proper 17) + 9/2/12

In today’s Gospel Jesus responds to the confusion of the Pharisees and scribes over the proper interpretation of and faith in the word of God’s law. He exposes their presumed faithfulness to be nothing but hypocrisy. But today we see that Jesus does not merely slam them (or us) with a word of judgment and walk away, but continues to reveal the Heart of God’s law to us, the true, graceful, life-giving intent and purpose of God’s law. It’s not the mere outward observance of the law but the inner conversion and renewal of the heart that redeems and saves. “Nothing outside a person…can defile him…. What comes out of a person defiles him…out of the heart.” The issue is the heart. The issue is sin. What people need is that for which Psalm 51 prays, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps 51:10). Continue reading “Learn By Heart”

Text: Isaiah 29:1-19
Date: Pentecost XIII (Proper 16) + 8/26/12

Do you suffer from “stupefaction”? It doesn’t mean you are stupid, really. It’s a word I discovered describing the problem of God’s people in Isaiah 29 and the Pharisees and scribes in today’s Gospel. “Stupefaction.” It’s the state of being stupefied, in a stupor or senseless state. Spiritual senselessness, of course, describes everyone according to our inherited, fallen sinful nature. We all are, by nature, sinful, spiritually blind, dead, enemies of God and senseless. We confess this truth in the Divine Service saying, “that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition.” Because of sin everything we know or think we know about ourselves, about God, about His good creation and even about His Word has been turned upside down from the way God originally intended things to be. God tells us in today’s text, “You turn things upside down!” Continue reading “You Turn Things Upside Down!”

Text: Proverbs 9:1-10
Date: Pentecost XII (Proper 15) + 8/19/12

When we read and speak of “wisdom” in the Book of Proverbs we are not talking about merely a concept, an attitude or a philosophy. The New Testament says we are talking about Christ. St. Paul writing to the Colossians describes “the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:1-3). And more than merely containing or possessing wisdom the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians of Christ that He is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). Continue reading “The Feast of Wisdom”

Text: 1 Kings 19:1-8
Date: Pentecost XI (Proper 14) + 8/12/12

“The angel of the Lord came…and said, ‘Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.’ And (Elijah) arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.”

So is reported this little detail in the ministry of the great prophet and representative of all the prophets, Elijah. It happened after his great victory over the false prophets of the false god Baal. “Seize the prophets of Baal,” he said, “let not one of them escape.” We’re told there were 450 of them (1 Kings 18:19 and 22)! “And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon (kee-shone) and slaughtered them there” (18:40). Such was commanded to be the punishment for those who deceive God’s people to “go and serve other gods” (Dt. 13:6). Continue reading “Bread for the Journey”