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Feast of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Christ and Martyr

10/24/2022

Matthew 13:53-58
Acts 15:12-22a
James 1:1-12
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
October 23, 2022

Perhaps the most unpopular statement Jesus ever said was, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-38) Perhaps, people can handle this if their parents, children, and spouse stay faithful to Jesus, but when a child or spouse strays from the truth, Jesus seems to be a wedge separating them. And Jesus himself says that he did not come to bring peace but a sword, which would divide households (Matthew 10:34-36). People don’t want to love Jesus more than their children and spouse. And when it appears they must choose between them, they rarely choose Jesus and his Word.

Yet, Jesus is not unfamiliar with the division faith in him can cause to a family. We heard today how Jesus was rejected in his own hometown. St. John’s Gospel tells us that his brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5). And St. Mark’s Gospel tells us that his brothers thought Jesus was out of his mind (Mark 3:21). For this reason, as Jesus was teaching the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside and sent messengers to fetch him. And Jesus responded, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” and pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50).

Jesus knew what it was like to be separated from his family on account of their unbelief. Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in him. And among these brothers was James. Yet, today we celebrate St. James of Jerusalem, brother of our Lord and martyr. By God’s grace, James was converted and reconciled to Jesus. St. Paul, when he lists the witnesses of the resurrection, specifically names James as a witness of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15(:7). St. Luke tells us in Acts 1 that Jesus’ brothers were among those after Jesus’ ascension devoting themselves to prayer with the apostles and faithful women. And later in Acts chapter 12, after the Apostle James, the brother of John was beheaded by King Herod and Peter was rescued from prison by an angel, Peter ordered that the news of his escape be given to James and the other brothers. From then on, James the brother of Jesus is distinguished as a leader of the church. St. Paul calls James along with Peter and John “pillars” of the church. And we saw in our first reading from Acts 15 that James presides over the council of Jerusalem, being the first bishop of Jerusalem. And the historian Josephus records that James the brother of Jesus Christ was stoned to death in Jerusalem in 62 AD on account of his confession of Jesus as the Christ.

The story of St. James comforts sinners today, because he was an unbeliever estranged from his brother, who became reconciled. And then, we see in Acts 15 that St. James continues to work toward reconciling the church of God.

Reconciliation. That is a word you should all know well. What is reconciliation? What does it mean to reconcile? It means to make an enemy a friend. It means to make peace with those who hate you. St. Paul writes of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors of Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God.” (vss. 18-20). God reconciled the world to himself by putting those sins on Christ Jesus and having him die for them. Jesus was reconciled with his brother James when he showed him his pierced hands and feet with which he paid for the sins of the whole world. James was converted, and they were reconciled. You are reconciled to God when you have faith that God is at peace with you for the sake of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Reconciliation is something we should all desire fervently. We need reconciliation. We’re divided. We each go our own way. We don’t encourage one another in the faith as we ought. Christians feel torn between their devotion to God and their devotion to their family. And a common question among Christians is, “How can God forgive me if I can’t forgive those who have sinned against me?”

So, how can we be reconciled to those in our life who are at odds with us? How can we be reconciled with our church and our church family? How can we be reconciled with our spouses and children? The answer is faith. The reason we are not reconciled, is because we lack faith in Christ.

Now, St. James gets a bad reputation among Lutherans in regards to faith. In fact, many accuse St. James of having a different theology of faith than the Apostle Paul. They claim that St. James taught that a person is saved not by faith alone, but through faith and works while St. Paul taught that a person is saved through faith alone. This is because St. Paul wrote, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:28) while St. James wrote, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:24). This statement from James’ Epistle even led Martin Luther to deny that James wrote it. However, the evidence is strong that James the brother of Jesus did write it. But it would be absurd to conclude that St. Paul and St. James disagreed on the most fundamental point of Christian teaching: How is one justified before God?

St. Paul and St. James were in complete agreement. Paul tells us in Galatians 2 that James, the brother of Jesus, along with Cephas and John gave him the right hand of fellowship after he explained to them his teaching (Galatians 2:9). And in Acts 15, James expresses full fellowship with Peter, Barnabas, and Paul as they encourage the Jewish Christians not to trouble the Gentile Christians with regards to the observance of the Law.

So, if Paul and James are in full agreement, why do they make statements that seem to be saying the opposite? It is because they are using the words in different contexts and with different senses. When St. Paul says that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law, he is saying that a person is reborn and saved when he believes that his sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake and not on account of his works. To be justified for Paul means that God has declared you righteous and a child of God. By faith Paul means a wholehearted trust in Christ’s salvation for sinners. When St. James says that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone, he means that a Christian is validated as reborn through his works. By justified, James does not mean to be saved, but rather to have your saving faith proven before others. When he says not by faith alone, James here does not mean a whole hearted trust in God’s grace, but rather a simple knowledge of Christ. A person is not justified by a simple knowledge of Christ alone.

James clearly does not teach that a person is saved by his own works. James teaches in the first chapter of his epistle that God brought us forth by the word of truth, meaning that we are granted rebirth through his word, which is believed through faith (James 1:18; Romans 10:17). Again, in chapter one, James says that it is the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (1:21).

So, James does not deride faith in any way, but rather he rebukes weak faith. Again, in chapter one James warns against praying without faith, stating that the one who doubts should not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. So, when we read James, we need to understand the context. James exhorts us to have a strong faith. A strong faith is not simply knowledge of events. Saving faith is not simply knowing that Jesus died and rose. James tells us that even the demons believe that God is one and shudder! (2:19) Rather, James tells us that a true, living faith produces good works. St. James says, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26) Amen, I say. And you know who else would say, “amen” to that? St. Paul! It is he who wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Faith without works is useless, James says. Indeed, it is. If your faith isn’t producing good works, then you might have a dead faith! James understands this well. He was in Nazareth where his brother Jesus was rejected. And what do the Evangelists tell us? Jesus did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58). Jesus couldn’t heal many people in Nazareth, because they lacked faith (Mark 6:5). Jesus couldn’t do many mighty works in his hometown, because, in part, his brother James did not believe in him. If you want mighty works of God to be done among you, you need to believe in Christ. No, not just mumble the Apostles’ Creed; not simply have a knowledge that Jesus lived and died and rose. You must trust in him! Lacking good works is a sign of a lack of faith, which alone justifies and saves.

The greatest work that can be done among us is to reconcile sinners to God. This is the work of God that is accomplished only through faith in Christ, who died for the sins of the world. Reconciliation is the greatest work that can be done. And if God was able to reconcile us miserable sinners with himself, who is holy and undefiled, with the blood of Christ, how much more can he reconcile us with each other?

We need to work on reconciliation in our homes, in our congregation, in our lives. How can we do this? Only through faith in the blood of Christ. Not a lazy faith. Not a dead faith. A living faith! This means that we need to hear the Gospel and believe it. We need to look at those scars of Jesus and trust that the blood that flowed from them washed all our sins away. And we need to insist on this blood of Jesus when we reach out to our family and loved ones. “Be reconciled with each other!” the blood of Jesus cries!

The early church was divided between Jews and Gentiles. For many centuries they had been enemies. But James preached that they should be reconciled. St. Paul explains it in Ephesians 2, “For he himself is our peace (meaning Christ), who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” The dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles was broken down by the blood Christ. Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ. And so, we should regard each other the same. What divides us? What keeps us from being friends? What hinders our reconciliation? Is it anything that the blood of Christ cannot overcome? God forbid us to think so! It is a blasphemy! Jesus has taken away the sins of the whole world. It is sin that divides us. If our faith in Christ were stronger, then we could overcome every sin, which divides us.

When St. James was an unbeliever, he no doubt thought he had faith. But when he was converted by the blood of Christ, he realized that his previous faith was dead. So, St. James of Jerusalem, Jesus’ brother, exhorts us to a strong faith in Christ Jesus. And through this faith in Christ, the greatest work of reconciliation will be accomplished among us. Amen.

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All Scripture Hangs on This

10/20/2022

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Trinity 18
Matthew 22:34-46
Pastor James Preus
October 16, 2022

In Matthew chapter 22, Jesus is bombarded with questions from the Pharisees and Sadducees in vain attempts to catch him in his words. Finally, a lawyer from the Pharisee party asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus teaches us that the greatest commandment in the Law is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” Every Jew knows that commandment from Deuteronomy 6, because it is part of the Shema, a prayer recited twice a day by observant Jews. Jesus added a second commandment found in Leviticus 19, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” These two commandments are known as the two tables of the Law. The first table of the Law deals with your love toward God. The second table of the Law deals with your love toward your neighbor.
On these two commandments, Jesus tells us, depend all the Law and the prophets. By Law and the prophets, Jesus means the Holy Scriptures. The Old Testament is made up of the five books of the Law, written by Moses, and of the books of the prophets. The word for depend also means hang. So, as a visual you can imagine a cord connecting the Holy Scriptures to the commandments to love God and your neighbor. The Holy Scriptures are suspended by these two commands. If you cut the cord and sever the Holy Scriptures from these two commandments of love, then you lose all of Holy Scripture.
And with this teaching, Jesus tears down the Pharisee’s illusion that they are righteous. They can keep their six hundred plus outward observances of the Law, tithing, fasting, abstaining from certain foods, washings, etcetera, but if they fail to love God and their neighbor, it all comes crashing down. They’ve lost everything.
By teaching that the greatest commandment in the Law is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, Jesus teaches us that the First Commandment rules all Ten Commandments. In order for you to keep any of the commandments, you must first fear and love God, as your Small Catechism says. If you do not love God, then you have failed at every commandment, even if you have outwardly performed it. Likewise, the purpose of the second table of the Law is to love your neighbor. Even if you honor your father and mother, abstain from hurting or harming your neighbor, or committing adultery, or stealing, or slandering, if you do not do all these things out of love, then you have failed these commandments.
A good example of this is Jonathan, the son of King Saul. We learned in Bible study last week that Saul ordered Jonathan to kill David (1 Samuel 19). Saul was both Jonathan’s father and king, so you would think that Jonathan ought to have obeyed him according to the Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and your mother. But you cannot keep the Fourth Commandment without first fearing and loving God and loving your neighbor. Jonathan refused to kill David and instead, convinced his father not to commit this evil sin, but to let David live. In doing this, Jonathan loved God, David, and his father Saul.
Jonathan gives us a great example of how we should handle the often-conflicting responsibilities we have in life by first loving God and doing everything out of love for our neighbor. Yet, not even Jonathan kept the law of love perfectly at all times. These two commandments of love do not only tear down the Pharisees illusion that they are righteous, but they tear down our own illusion. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets, our entire religion. If we fail in one part, it all comes crashing down. The Law does not budge. Rather, this Law of love condemns us all as sinners (Romans 3:20).
After giving perfect instruction on the Law, Jesus asks the Pharisees a question about the Gospel. He asks them about the Christ, God’s promised Savior for us. “Whose son is he?”, Jesus asks. “David’s,” reply the Pharisees. Everyone knows this. God promised David that he would raise up a son from his own body, who would sit on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7). But the Pharisees are only half right. Jesus asks them, “Why then does David in the Spirit call him Lord saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I set your enemies under your feet.’” In Psalm 110, David calls the Christ his Lord. Why would David call his son his Lord? No, David is not mistaken. David made this statement by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus clearly states. The Pharisees have no answer. It’s not that they can’t figure it out. It’s that the answer is too terrifying. It is impossible to believe! The Christ is both David’s Son and David’s Lord. The Christ is both the son of David and the Son of God; he is both God and man!
This is what St. Paul teaches in the first chapter of Romans, saying, “concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:3-4). Jesus is the Christ. He is descended according to the flesh from King David. Jesus is a man. He is also the Son of God, begotten from eternity from the Father. Jesus is true God.
The Christ sits at God the Father’s right hand. That means that he is all powerful. Everything Jesus does, he does as both God and man. So, that baby in the manger is the ruler of the universe. That man crawling under the burden of his cross is the commander of the armies of angels in heaven. God became man. And in so doing, he has made all our enemies his enemies. Sin, death, hell: these are our enemies. They have no claim on Christ. Yet, God takes on our human flesh and conquers our enemies, so that they are under his feet. This means that all who are joined to Christ also have sin, death, and hell forever under their feet.
“Who is the Christ?” is the most important question in all of Scripture. If you do not know that Jesus is true God and true man, who has come to save sinners from their sins, then Scripture remains a closed book to you. The Pharisees asked a question about the Law. And they didn’t even understand that! Now, they are confronted with a question about the Christ, and they prove that although they have read the Scriptures over and over again, it has remained a closed book to them. Jesus is the Christ, true God and true man. All Scripture is about Jesus, as Christ himself says in John chapter 5, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (vs. 39)
Jesus Christ is the culmination of all Scripture. All the Law and the Prophets find their fulfillment in him, as Jesus again says in Luke chapter 24, ‘“These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead…’” (vss. 44-46).
And this brings some clarity to Jesus’ statement that on these two commandments (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself) hang all the Law and the prophets. Jesus is the embodiment of all the Law and the prophets. The word for hang or depend can also mean to crucify, which makes sense, because those who are crucified are also said to be hanged on a tree. A cross is made of two beams. These two commandments of love are each a beam. One beam says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” The other beam says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two beams is hanged Christ Jesus, he who fulfills the Law and the prophets.
Jesus fulfilled the Law throughout his life. He never sinned. Yet, his greatest show of love was in his crucifixion for our sins. Jesus, the man, loved the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, and mind. He was not forced to the cross, but he went willingly. Jesus could at a word send all the soldiers, who arrested him to the ground (John 18:6). His soul was in anguish as he bore our sins and considered his suffering and death. Yet, Jesus prayed to his God and Father, “If it is possible, take this cup away, yet not my will but yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39) As that beam was erected on Calvary with Jesus’ nailed to it, you can almost see it written in blood, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.”
In his crucifixion, Jesus fulfilled the command to love his neighbor. Jesus himself taught his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). And again, as Jesus permitted his hands to be nailed to that cross beam you can almost see the inscription in blood, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Our congregation uses Lessons for Lambs as children bulletins. And on the front cover, we have wonderful illustrations by a faithful Lutheran artist, which help teach the lesson of the day. However, I must disagree with the picture he provided for today. If you look at the children’s bulletins, you will see the two tablets of the law hanging on the cross, an obvious allusion to Jesus saying that the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. But the illustration has it wrong. The commandments of love are not hanged on the cross. The commandments of love are the cross. They are the beams on which Christ Jesus, the fulfillment of Scripture is hanged. The Law is not crucified. The Law crucifies sinners. That is why Jesus’ crucifixion is so important! He has saved us sinners from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, as it is written, “Cursed by everyone who hangs on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13) The Law is not crucified for our sins. Jesus is crucified for our sin. He has not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.
Now the Law of love cannot condemn us. Now, we are free to love God and our neighbor without fear of being condemned to hell. Most people think that you are saved (whatever they think that means), by doing good, by loving. That is why it is increasingly popular to say that Jesus is not the only way to heaven, because many ways teach us how to love equally as well as Jesus. God save you from that devilish teaching! First, it’s not true. Jesus teaches us to love infinitely better than the Hindu Vedas, or the Jewish Talmud, or the Islamic Koran. But more importantly, you will never be saved by following the Law. No matter how good you think you are, you do not love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You do not love your neighbor as your own flesh; not all the times! But Jesus does! And Jesus did as he was hanged on the cross for the sake of the Law of love. Jesus is the only way to heaven. He is the only one who has saved you from your sins. Jesus, David’s Son and David’s Lord, has placed all our enemies under his feet. And he invites us to join him in his victory through faith in Christ. Amen.

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Sanctifying the Sabbath

10/9/2022

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Source: I was not able to find the name and date of this artist. It appears to be an Eastern icon. If you recognize it, please leave a comment.

Trinity 17
Luke 14:1-11
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
October 9, 2022

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”, Jesus asks. What kind of a question is this? Why wouldn’t it be lawful to heal on the Sabbath? The question lies in the Third Commandment. God gave Moses the Third Commandment, which is written in Exodus chapter 20:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (vss. 8-11)

So, there lies the question. God forbad work on the Sabbath Day, which is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. The word Sabbath means rest. The Pharisees considered healing to be a work. Jesus knew this, so he asked them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, the day on which God forbid all work. Yet, why did God forbid working on the seventh day? God gave this command for the sake of the body and the soul. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).

First, God forbid working on the Sabbath for the sake of the body. It is not good for a person or animal to work every day of the week without a break. The Sabbath law was not only a ceremonial law for the Jews, but it was a civil law for the nation of Israel. It was illegal for an employer to make his employees work on the Sabbath. A man couldn’t even make his slave or animal work on the Sabbath. Thousands of years before any trade union, God took care of the bodies of workers.

The greater purpose for this commandment was for the sake of the soul. Why did God give everyone in Israel a day off every week? Yes, to rest the body, but is that it? Of course not. Remember the Sabbath day to make it holy. The Sabbath day is supposed to be holy, that is, set a part for God’s use. The children of Israel were supposed to put aside the work they did, so that God could work in them. By not working, they showed that they trusted in God to provide for them, not in their own work. By not working, they demonstrated to the nations, who did not observe the Sabbath rest that the LORD was their God. By not working, they were able to take time as a congregation to hear the Word of God preached and taught to them, to pray, praise, and give thanks.

So, the greater emphasis was not simply avoiding outward work. The greater emphasis for the Sabbath day was to sanctify it, that is, to make the day holy. And the day is made holy by the Word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:5).

So, back to the question. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Why wouldn’t it be lawful? Is healing work? Okay, perhaps. But healing is loving. The purpose of this command is to make those who observe it holy. We are made holy when we are joined to God, who is holy. Well, God is love. In fact, Scripture plainly tells us that love is the fulfilling of the Law! (Romans 13:10) You cannot fulfill the Law simply by observing outwards actions, do not touch, do not eat, do this then, don’t do that then. The fulfillment of the law is love. The purpose of the law is love. If you are not loving, then you are breaking the law. If you love, then you are keeping the law.

This man was suffering from dropsy. We don’t use that term much anymore. It means that his body was retaining fluids. This is a terrible condition, which can cause a lot of pain, can damage major organs of the body, including the heart, and even cause death. And the condition is obvious. Someone suffering from dropsy is swollen, so that he looks fat. This man was suffering. Jesus saw that he was suffering. The Pharisees were trying to test Jesus, watching him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus threw the test back in their face by asking them the question. He silenced them by speaking out loud the evil they were questioning in their heart. Of course, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Jesus shows us that we cannot keep the Law simply by our outward actions, but we keep the Law by first loving in our hearts. This is good and true, but it’s not the Gospel yet. It’s not good news, because it still condemns you. The reason Pharisees want to focus on outward actions instead of the heart, is because it is much easier to control your outward actions than to change your heart. But no one loves as he ought to. No one loves his neighbor as his own flesh at all times. And no one at all times loves God with his whole heart, soul, strength, and mind. Even if you go to church every Sunday and read your Bible every day, your heart is not always in it. So, the commandment still condemns you.

The book of Hebrews points this out. The author writes of the people of Israel failing to obtain God’s rest through the Sabbath, saying, “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:8-9)

Here, Scripture shows us that we cannot enter God’s rest by works of the law, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus has become our Sabbath rest, because he himself has fulfilled all the requirements of the Law and was punished for us in our place. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 11, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

In fact, it is so necessary that you consider Christ Jesus your rest, that St. Paul explains that the command to refrain from working on the Sabbath no longer applies to us. He writes in Colossians chapter 2, “Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are shadows of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” So, just as we are not required to celebrate the Passover anymore or to have our sons circumcised on the eighth day or to refrain from eating pork, shellfish, and rabbits, so also are we no longer forbidden to work on Saturday. These were all ceremonial laws meant to point to Christ. They were shadows. But Christ is the substance. Now that the substance has appeared, we may take our eyes off the shadow and focus them on Christ!

It is essential that you recognize this, because if you don’t you will lose sight that Christ Jesus alone is your Sabbath rest. You cannot find rest in your own outward observances. You can only find rest in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

However, this is not to say that we should not gather every week to worship God and hear his word. The outward observance of the Sabbath has been fulfilled in Christ, but the spirit of the Law continues. We cannot continue in sin, because Christ has fulfilled the Law. Martin Luther explains the Third Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it Holy.”, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and his Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” It is foolish even today to work seven days every week without taking a day off to rest. It is wise to have a designated day in the week to rest the body and gather together to focus on God’s Word, which is why the ancients observed Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection. It is necessary to take time to hear and learn God’s Word, to grow in faith, and to worship God with his people.

It is impossible to fulfill the Law without love. And it impossible to love unless you first receive God’s love. We love, because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). And indeed, God did first love us. Jesus came in humility to bear our iniquities and take away our diseases. To love is to be humble, because to love means that you put the needs of others before your own. This is what Christ did for us.

And to have faith is to be humble. If you are to receive Christ’s love, you must be humble. You must recognize that you are utterly unworthy of anything from God, to recognize that you are a sinner who has failed to fulfill the law both outwardly and inwardly. If you exalt yourself, claiming to be without sin or to not need God’s forgiveness, then you are exalting yourself above God’s grace. Scripture says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5) This means that it is impossible to be proud in heart and be a Christian. To be a Christian, you must be lowly and contrite in heart. To be filled with God’s grace, you must first be empty. As water gathers only in low places, so grace dwells only with those who are meek and lowly in heart. In order to meet Christ with his grace, you must meet him in humility.
This humility is a characteristic of the faith which receives God’s grace. This humility is also a characteristic of the love, which is produced by the faithful. As Christ in love humbles himself in order to save us, so we in humility meet Christ in faith. And likewise, we in humility love one another. St. Paul writes, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Our common faith in our common Lord and Savior draws us to live selflessly among each other. Our goal is not to have a congregation of like-minded individuals, but a congregation who sets their own selfish minds aside in order to share the mind of Christ, who humbled himself for our sake (Philippians 2:5ff). Finding our Sabbath rest in Christ Jesus, we seek to love one another. We maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace by repenting of our own pride and insisting on Christ’s way, the way of patience and forgiveness. In this way, we do not only sanctify one of the seven days of the week, but we sanctify our entire lives. And the Sabbath rest extends far beyond a single day of the week, but Christ’s forgiveness gives our consciences rest every day of the week as we share it with one another.

It is indeed lawful to heal on the Sabbath. It is lawful to love. And it is meet, right, and salutary that we humbly trust in Christ and love our neighbor at all times and in all places, so that the Sabbath may be sanctified in us. Amen.

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Guardian Angels

10/5/2022

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Pietro da Cortona, The Guardian Angel, 1656. Public Domain.

St. Michael and All Angels (Observed)
Matthew 18:10
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
October 2, 2022

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10)

September 29th is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, known as Michaelmas. October 2nd is also celebrated as the Feast of Guardian Angels. So, it is fitting for us to take time today to learn about angels.

Scripture calls St. Michael the archangel, meaning that he is the chief of angels. He battles Satan and casts him out of heaven with the blood of Christ. His name means “who is like God?” And he is commonly stated to not be a created angel at all, but Christ, the Second Person in the Holy Trinity. Only Christ can be said to be like God, because he is God. Only Christ can cast Satan out of heaven. Only Christ is the prince of the people of Israel (Daniel 10:13; 12:1). So, like the Angel of the LORD, who is himself God, Michael is also said to be a title given to Christ. However, most claim that he is only the chief of all the angels, doing the bidding of Christ.

Angels are created beings. They were created during the six days of creation, yet Scripture does not tell us on which day. They are spirits and do not have bodies; however, angels often take on visible forms, always appearing as men and sometimes with wings. Angels are not divided into men and women as mankind is. Jesus tells us that they do not marry, so they also do not have children. Yet, there are very many angels. Scripture does not tell us how many, but rather uses expressions like “ten thousand times ten thousand” (Daniel 7:10), and “innumerable angels” (Hebrews 12:22). So, it is clear that God has a mighty host of angels ready to serve him.

People do not become angels when they die. Angels are a different order of creation from humans. Humans have both a body and a soul. Angels are only spirit. Yet, angels are mighty and are able to affect the physical world.

The word angel means messenger. And angels certainly are messengers. An angel announced the conception of John the Baptism and Jesus. Angels announced the birth and resurrection of Jesus. And God has sent angels to warn his people of danger, like when an angel warned Joseph in a dream to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. Yet, angels do much more than relay messages for God. Scripture tells us that they are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Psalm 103 states that angels are mighty ones who do the Lord’s word, obeying his voice. So, angels are mighty creatures who serve us at God’s pleasures. Psalm 91 even promises us, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” So, we have the promise of God that angels will protect us from danger, both physical and spiritual.

And Scripture gives many examples of angels doing just that. God sent his angel to close the mouths of the lions when Daniel was thrown into their den (Daniel 6). God sent angels to rescue Lot and his family from Sodom before they rained down burning sulfur to destroy those wicked cities (Genesis 19). God sent an angel to kill 185,000 soldiers of Sennacherib as they camped against Jerusalem (2 Kings 18). And there are more instances than time allows of angels rescuing believers and demonstrating great might in Scripture, as well as many other instances throughout history.

Of course, angels especially serve Christ Jesus. Angels ministered to Jesus after he was tempted by Satan, having fasted for forty days. An angel strengthened Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, before his crucifixion.

Angels are believed to escort Christians to heaven when they die, because in Jesus’ story about the rich man and Lazarus, angels carried Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16). And Jesus teaches us that at the close of the age, he will send his angels to separate the evil from the righteous, taking the righteous to his kingdom, but casting the evil into the fiery furnace of hell (Matthew 13).

Scripture also warns of Satan and his angels, often called evil or unclean spirits and demons. We know that Satan was originally created to be a good angel, yet he fell. Revelation 12 states that when Satan fell, a third of the stars fell with him, indicating that a large number of angels fell and became demons. Satan is often called Lucifer, which means light-bearer and is also a name for the planet Venus. Satan is compared to Venus because Venus often rises in the east before the sun as if it is the morning star, but when the true morning star appears, Venus disappears from sight. So likewise, Lucifer tried to exalt himself above Christ, but was cast down from heaven (Isaiah 14:12). Revelation also says, woe to the earth and sea, because Satan roams here in his great wrath.

So, Scripture teaches us that there is much more to this created world than what we can see and observe. There are innumerable good angels, sent by God to do us good. And there are also many evil angels, minions of Satan, who mean us harm.

So, with this knowledge, we should be humble. The angels of God have not sinned. They do not possess our shame. And they are much more powerful than we are. Yet, they serve God willingly, even serving us for Christ’s sake. So, we too should be humble, and gladly serve and obey God. We should not take angels for granted and test God, but walk in the way God has given us confident that angels stand ready to protect us.

Jesus says not to despise one of these little ones, because their angels always see the face of His Father in heaven. But who are these little ones Jesus speaks of? Earlier Jesus said that unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven and he warns against tempting one of these little ones who believes in him. So, one of these little ones is clearly one of his Christians. We should not despise our fellow Christians. Yet, Jesus could hardly tell us to become like children without himself having an affection for children. And indeed, he does. Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and by no means hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

But what does despising children or your fellow Christians have to do with the angels? Jesus says that they always behold the face of His Father in heaven. But what does that mean? God the Father does not have a face you can see. He is Spirit. What does it mean that angels behold the face of God the Father in heaven? And what does that have to do with little ones who believe in Christ?

First, Jesus clearly says that whoever has seen Him has seen his Father (John 14:9). So, these angels obviously keep their eyes on Jesus, the Son and image of God. Yet, there is something else even more telling.

God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle and its furnishings. The most important of these furnishings was the Ark of the Covenant upon which sat the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat was pure gold. And it had two golden angels called cherubim on either end, who faced each other with their wings pointed toward each other, so that the tips of their wings touched. Upon the Mercy Seat, God declared that he would dwell. The ark and the Mercy Seat were put in the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest could go once a year and sprinkle the blood of atonement on the Mercy Seat. Now, Scripture tells us that this tabernacle and the ark with the Mercy Seat were copies of heavenly things, meaning, this Mercy Seat with the cherubim facing the seat of God is a picture of what is going on in heaven. And these angels see the blood of the atonement sprinkled on this seat where God dwells.

We now know that the bloody sacrifices of the Old Testament all prophecy of Christ’s bloody sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is true God and true man. The cross then became the Mercy Seat of God as God’s own Son sprinkled his blood to make atonement for the sins of the whole world. And although you can’t see them, the cherubim are there gazing at this sight.

That is what it means that their angels always behold the face of Jesus’ Father in heaven. The angels are always gazing at the sprinkled blood of Jesus, which speaks peace and forgiveness to all people. That means that when the angels look at you, they do not see your sin, but they see you dressed in a white robe washed clean in the blood of Christ (Revelation 7:14).

Jesus said that whoever confesses him before men, he also will he confess before the Father in the presence of the angels in heaven (Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 9:26). And when Jesus confesses you before the angels, he confesses that he has washed all your sins away in his blood. Jesus says that there is joy among the angels over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). That means that when you become like a little child and humble yourself, repenting of your sins and believing in the blood Jesus shed to save you, the angels rejoice and sing.

For this reason, we should at all times seek to be reconciled with one another, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven each of you (Ephesians 4:32). When you hate your fellow Christian, you are hating him for whom Christ shed his blood. And the angels see it. The angels do not hate those who have been washed clean in the blood of Christ. Rather, they love them and seek to protect them for the sake of Christ’s blood.

Likewise, we should take care not to despise our own children. If parents were to refuse to give food to their children, what would you call them? If parents refused to clothe their children, to give them a proper bed, to clean their filth, and to educate them, what would you call them. You’d call them child abusers, wouldn’t you? And you’d be right! Yet, what is more important? The needs of the body or the needs of the soul? What then would you call parents who refuse to teach their children the Gospel, who refuse to bring them to church to have Jesus’ blood sprinkled on them, to be washed and fed that spiritual food? It’s spiritual child abuse. For this, negligent parents need to repent and consider the angels, who stand ready to protect their children for the sake of that shed blood, which is meant for their children. They should also consider that these angels will be charged with separating the righteous from the wicked on the Day of Judgment.

When we consider our sins and our failings, especially that we have despised those for whom Christ shed his blood and for whom the angels dedicate such care, we can be filled with shame at the thought of guardian angels. Do they see my wickedness as they watch over me? Will they testify against me to God for my sins? And so, we should humble ourselves and repent of our hatred and laziness. The angels in heaven rejoice at such a repentance. And we should confess Christ Jesus, who shed his blood for us. The angels hear Christ’s confession of those who confess him. And you should take confidence that as your Father in heaven does not look at you apart from the blood Christ Jesus shed to take away all your sins, so too the angels look at you through that shed blood, and are ready to protect you for the sake of that holy blood, and finally, for the sake of Christ’s blood, to escort you safely to your eternal home in Christ’s kingdom. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

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Rev. James Preus

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