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

The Power and Consolation of Christ’s Word

1/24/2022

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Picture
Jesus Healing the Servant of the Centurion, Paolo Veronese. 1585. Public Domain.
Epiphany 3 
Matthew 8:1-13 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
January 23, 2022 
 
The Epiphany season is about Jesus being revealed as God in the flesh. Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, just as he is true man, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus, being God, is all-powerful. He has the power to heal diseases, to raise the dead, turn water into wine and calm storms on the high seas. He has the power to forgive sins and grant eternal salvation. And the centurion in our Gospel lesson teaches us that Jesus’ power to save is delivered to us in his word. “Only say the word, and my servant will be healed,” he says.  


The centurion knows this, because he too is a man under authority with soldiers under him. He says to one soldier, do this, and he does it, and to another come here, and he comes. So, this military captain knows that Jesus too can say a word and his word will be obeyed. This is most certainly true. When the prophets of the Old Testament spoke, they said, “Thus says the Lord!” God’s word remained God’s word, even when spoken by strange men, who dressed in strange clothing. Likewise, Jesus says to his apostles, “The one who hears you hears me…” (Luke 10:16).  


In Jesus’ Word is life and salvation. He says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) But you do not need to hear these words directly from the mouth of Christ in order for them to set you free. No, these words deliver freedom, forgiveness, and salvation even when they are spoken by sinners. Otherwise, there would be no benefit in God causing his Word to be written in Holy Scripture. No, God’s Word remains powerful to save when it is spoken by anyone! And Christ promises that his word will be effective when spoken by his servants whom he has sent.  


This is the message Naaman had to learn. He doubted that the Jordan River could wash off his leprosy. He preferred the rivers of Damascus. He can think what he likes about the Jordan River, but the prophet spoke a word from the Lord, “Wash, and be clean.” So, when Naaman submitted to God’s word, he was cleansed. Likewise, we know there is power to cleanse from sins in our Baptism; not because the water is special; not because the pastor who performed the Baptism is special; but because Jesus has commanded that all nations be baptized and he has promised forgiveness and salvation in Baptism (Matthew 28:20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). The power to save in Baptism is in Jesus’ word.  


Jesus’ words deliver his salvation with power. That is why a sinful man is able to declare to you that your sins are forgiven, and they are forgiven before Christ Jesus in heaven. This is why the right hand of God is able to bend down to us here on earth and feed us Christ’s true body and blood, a peace-meal for sinners on earth to commune with heaven. The power to save is in Jesus’ word. And that power to save remains even when Jesus’ word is repeated by his lowly servants.  


Because Jesus’ salvation is delivered through his word, it is received through faith. The power is in Jesus’ word, not in our works, because Christ Jesus has done all the work for us. His word declares the promise, faith receives the promise as a gift. This is why Jesus praises the centurion’s faith. “Let it be done as you have believed.” This is the same as saying, “Let it be done according to my word.” Faith clings to the word. And so, faith receives the honor of having accomplished what the word accomplishes. We declare that faith alone saves, because God’s word alone saves. God’s word saves, because his word delivers Salvation to us.  


Christ Jesus has done everything to save us. He has accomplished the work. When he said, “It is finished.”, from the cross, he declared that all the work needed to accomplish our salvation is complete. All our sins are paid for. Our debt is gone before our Father in heaven. Satan has lost his teeth. The gates of heaven are open. Salvation is a free gift. It is now Jesus’ word that delivers that gift and our faith which receives it. Faith can grasp forgiveness for every sin you’ve ever committed, because that is what God’s word gives.  


This also means that salvation is for all people. Faith does not depend on who your parents are or what nation you’re from. The centurion was a Gentile. He was not a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He wasn’t of the house of Israel. Yet, he had faith, even greater faith than any found in Israel. And so, he was welcome at the feast of salvation in the kingdom of heaven. This is why Jesus prophesies that many shall come from the east and the west and join Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at table in the kingdom of heaven. This faith which saves is for all nations. This word that delivers salvation will travel the whole world and save all who believe it. Jesus is the Christ promised to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Few would have imagined that the Christ would gather sheep from all nations, even across oceans and continents, and join them into one flock, his Holy Christian Church. But this is exactly what Jesus does.  


That even the Gentiles are saved through faith is a great surprise for those Jews, who thought they were special, because they were descendants of Abraham. Yet, what this means, is that even those descendants of Israel, who do not have faith will not be saved. That is why Jesus says, “while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” No one is saved simply because he is a physical descendent of Israel. Faith alone saves.  


Yet, if not even the sons of the kingdom, as Jesus calls them, are saved without faith, how much less those outside Israel. This message of Jesus is not meant to cause animosity against the Jews, but to sternly warn both Jews and Gentiles that if they reject Christ’s word, they cannot be saved. Saving faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Those who reject Jesus’ word, refuse to hear it, refuse to believe it, ignore it and refuse to let it change them, will be condemned.  


No one preaches more about hell in the Bible than Jesus. In this text he calls it the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The outer darkness means that the damned will be forever separated from Christ, who is the light of the world. Having rejected his word, they will never be allowed to hear his Gospel again. His message of salvation will forever be silenced to them. Weeping means that there will be constant sorrow and suffering. Those in hell will not partake of the good cheer of the feast of salvation enjoyed by those who believed. Gnashing of teeth means that those in hell will suffer from great hatred and futile frustration over their lost salvation. Gnashing teeth never accomplishes anything. It is done by those who have not hope and no solution. They and damned to eternal regret and resentment.  


So, we pray that we would not resist God’s grace or depend on our own virtue, that we would not be so foolish as to think God’s word is unimportant or that we can continue in the faith without hearing it. Faith alone saves us from eternal hell, from the outer darkness severed from Christ, where there is no comfort and only constant frustration and agony. Faith in Christ is able to hold forgiveness for every sin you’ve ever committed, to grant you certainty of salvation. Yet, if you reject the faith, reject the forgiveness of sins, reject Jesus’ work given to you by his word, then there is nothing that can save you.  


Jesus has the power to save you, to forgive your sins and give you a seat in the kingdom of heaven. That’s obvious. Jesus is God. Of course, he can forgive you. Of course, he can save you. Yet, that’s not enough for your faith for Jesus to be able to save you. Your faith must know that he is willing to save you. The leper at the beginning of our Gospel lesson was so blessed to hear Jesus say, “I will; be clean.” Jesus told him that he wants to make him clean. What a comforting message. “I can and I will help you. I want to make you whole and I will.”  


Faith needs this affirmation. Knowing that Jesus can do something will never be enough if he doesn’t want to do something. Jesus’ word not only carries the power to forgive and save, but it declares to you Jesus’ willingness to forgive and save.  


In John 3, Jesus says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” In Matthew 11, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In John 20, Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” In 1 Timothy 2, Jesus’ apostle Paul declares, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Again, he said in chapter 1, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”. Again, St. Paul seeks to persuade us, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6) 


The leper was blessed to hear Jesus say, “I will; be clean.” Jesus says the same to you! Why would he die for you, if he did not desire to save you from your sins? Why would he command that the Gospel be preached to every creature, if he did not desire to save all? Jesus wants you to believe that he is willing to forgive you. That is why he has commanded that it be preached to you.  


In your Baptism, you have your declaration from Jesus, “I will; be clean.” In the Absolution, you have Jesus’ declaration, “I will.” The proclamation of the Gospel, which Jesus commanded to be preached to every nation, is not complete without the clear message that Jesus wills to save you. He desires to forgive you. He wants you to be with him at the feast of salvation.  


All this is revealed to us in Christ’s word. His word delivers to us the power of salvation and the power to hold on to that salvation in faith. If you hold Christ’s word in faith, then nothing can separate you from Christ. Then you are a true son and daughter of the Lord with a rightful seat at his table in the kingdom of heaven. So, we pray that his word would never depart from us, but would ever hold fast to it, gladly hear and learn it, and find the greatest comfort by it. Amen.  
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Salvation through Faith

1/27/2020

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Picture
The Centurion Kneeling at the Feet of Christ, Joseph Marie Vien, 1752, Public Domain
Epiphany 3 
Matthew 8:1-13 
January 26, 2020 
 
Let’s talk about faith. It seems most people think faith is important. But what does it mean to have faith?  Faith is not some quality in your heart that makes you a better person than others. Faith is not persistent optimism that keeps you in a good mood. Faith is not your work at all. Rather, faith is a gift from God through which you receive God’s grace.  
The first thing you need in order to have faith is so obvious, it is commonly overlooked. You need a need. You need to need something and know it. Most people know that they have needs and they are pretty confident they know what those needs are. The leper needed to be cleansed of his leprosy. The centurion needed his servant to be healed. You know what you need. You can feel it in your body, perhaps you can even point to it: backpain, heart disease, cancer. And it is those needs that you pray for. “God take away my pain.” “God heal my disease.” “God make my mother get better.” “God make peace in my family.”  
But there is a need that we all must to be aware of in order to have true saving faith. That is our need to be forgiven and set free from our sin. Our sin not only hurts the people around us, but it separates us from God. If you do not think that you have this need, then you cannot have true faith, because true saving faith is the confidence that God will forgive your sins and save you for Christ’s sake. This is why people should not refuse to listen to the preaching of the Law. The Law tells you that you are a sinner. It points out what you do wrong. It does this in the Ten Commandments and other parts of Scripture that teach you how to love God and your neighbor. The Law is not hate-speech, although it can get you quite upset. Rather, the Law sheds light on your need, your greatest need, your need to be forgiven of all your sins. To have saving faith, you need to know that you are a sinner. 
This means that faith does not boast in itself. Saving faith does not lead you to be proud of yourself. In fact, people who have saving faith do not claim to be better than those without faith. Look at the men, who begged Jesus for help in our Gospel lesson. Neither of them claimed to deserve what they were asking from Jesus. They didn’t claim to be worthy. The leper fell down at Jesus’ feet. In Luke’s Gospel, the Evangelist gives an account of the centurion asking Jesus to heal his servant. Yet, in Luke’s account he points out that the elders of the Jews tell Jesus that this centurion deserved to have Jesus heal his servant, because the centurion had done such great things for the people of Israel, like building their synagogue. Yet, in both Matthew’s and Luke’s account of this story, the centurion himself says that he is not worthy to have Jesus even come under his roof.  
True saving faith does not claim worthiness to receive anything from God. Rather, true saving faith claims to be utterly unworthy of anything from God. And yet, true saving faith does not doubt that God will give us what we ask. This seems like a strange thing that Scripture teaches us. God desires two things from us with regard to our faith. First, that we be humble and not prideful. And second, that we do not doubt, but wholly trust in him, as Psalm 147 states, “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”  
Yet, how can God desire both that we claim no worthiness of our own, and yet at the same time that we do not doubt but firmly believe that we will receive what we claim to be unworthy to receive? Because true saving faith directs us away from ourselves and toward Jesus. I am unworthy to receive anything from God, but Jesus is worthy to receive all things, even eternal life. Faith does not depend on your worthiness at all, but solely on the merits of Christ Jesus. This means that however far you have fallen in your sin, no matter how grossly you have stained your conscience, saving faith gives you the same thing: Jesus, his forgiveness and righteousness.  
Just look at the interaction between Jesus and the leper. Leprosy, as you know, was a terrible disease that caused sores over the whole body. Even worse, it made you an outcast. Leprosy made you ceremonially unclean. Lepers were forced out of their villages. Not only were they not allowed to go to the temple to worship, they were not allowed to go into their own homes. They had to live in leper colonies outside of villages. And if anyone were to approach them, they had to cry out, “Unclean, unclean!” The leper was deprived of the human touch. This leper was not allowed to hold his own child or even to touch his wife’s hand. How lonely he must have felt. 
Leprosy was also commonly associated with God’s judgment. This is because on several occasions in the Old Testament, God punished people by giving them leprosy (Numbers 12:1-15; 2 Kings 5:15-27; 2 Chronicles 26:16-21). So, not only did the man feel isolated from his friends and family, but from God himself. How far from him God must have felt. The words of Psalm 38 must speak well for his heart, “Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”  
And see how Jesus treats this poor, lonely, unclean man. He stretches out his hand and touches him. That man had not been touched by another human in who knows how long. If you touch him you become unclean. But Jesus touches him. And then Jesus tells him in no uncertain terms, “I will; be clean.”  
This is how Jesus deals with us sinners. Our sin separates us from God. It makes us unclean. God cannot dwell with unrighteousness. Yet, God becomes man in order to dwell with us sinners. Jesus joins us human beings and he takes on our sins. In this same chapter of Matthew after Jesus heals a number of people, Matthew writes, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.’” (Matthew 8:17) Normally, if you have a contagious illness, you will still have the illness even if you pass it on to someone else. If I have the flu and I give it to my wife, I don’t suddenly feel better, because she has taken it from me. No, we would then both have the flu. Yet, with Jesus he actually takes our diseases. Jesus took the leprosy from that man. Jesus became unclean and the man became clean! 
And this is how it is with our sin. Jesus came to earth to be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He bears our sin, so that we do not have to! It is as Scripture says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us— for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” (Galatians 3:13) Jesus came and took the curse from us by bearing the curse himself. He took our sin away. He took our uncleanness away. He touched us when the Law said that we were not allowed to go near God. He came to save us! And it is to this Jesus that our faith looks. Faith does not stand on our worthiness at all. Faith stands on Jesus Christ alone and his perfect work of redemption.  
The man said, “If you will, you can make me clean.” It is not that the man doubted that Jesus desired for the man to be well. We know that God wants all that is good for us. But the man did not know whether at that time and place Jesus desired the man to be well. Sometimes God permits us to bear crosses in this life. He does this to teach us; to get us to cling to him more closely; he does this for our good. We don’t know how long God will have us bear these temporary crosses; that is left up to his hidden will. This is why we pray, “Thy will be done.”  
Yet, we must not pray, “If you will, forgive me my sins.” as if we are unsure whether God wills to forgive us. We know that God desires to forgive our sins. When Jesus said, “I will; be clean.”, the man no longer doubted whether Jesus desired him to be healed then and there. And through Jesus’ word, we know that Jesus desires for us to be forgiven now, to wear his righteousness now.  
Jesus tells us, “I will” when Scripture says, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15) Jesus tells us, “I will” when Scripture says, “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.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Jesus tells us, “I will” when he himself says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” We know that Jesus is able to forgive us our sins, just as the leper was certain that Jesus had the power to cleanse his leprosy. And we have heard Jesus tell us that he is willing to forgive us now. Faith clings to this promise.  
The centurion teaches us one more important lesson about saving faith. Faith trusts in Jesus’ word. The centurion said to Jesus, “But only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” The centurion was a man under authority and he had soldiers under him. When he told his subordinates to do a task, they did it in the centurion’s name. And so, it is with Christ and his word. When Jesus speaks a word, he speaks with the authority of God the Father. And when Jesus sends others to speak his word, that word is as powerful as if Jesus himself spoke it. This is how it is with God’s word. We must believe that if God were to have created a man before he created light, even a beggar, and were to say to that beggar, “Say, let there be light.” and the beggar were to say, “Let there be light,” there would be light as good as if God himself spoke it.  
This is exactly what Jesus is teaching us when he says to those whom he sent, “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:16) When Jesus said all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him and then commanded his disciples to make disciples by baptizing and teaching, he was saying that the words his disciples spoke had the same authority that God the Father had given to his Son Jesus Christ. This means that when a pastor, who is a mere mortal, speaks the words of Christ when he baptizes a poor sinner, God himself is washing that sinner clean of all sin and giving him the Holy Spirit.  
People doubt this, because they focus on the inadequacies of the pastor, or the weakness of the faith of the person being baptized, or the simplicity of the water. And when they doubt the power of Baptism for these reasons, they behave like the leper Naaman, who thought so little of the River Jordan. But what did Naaman’s servant say to him? “Was it not a great word the prophet said to you? Did he actually say, ‘Wash and be clean.’?” Indeed, it was a great word; a word of God. And that is what we have in Baptism: a great word of God.  
Likewise, Jesus sent his disciples saying, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” These are powerful words of Jesus, even when they are spoken by Jesus’ servants. But when Jesus says, “Do this.” It is done, whether by an angel or by a human.  
Faith clings to Jesus’ word, no matter who speaks it, because Jesus’ word has the power to forgive and save. Jesus’ word is true. And when we believe what Jesus tells us, our faith becomes powerful. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  
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Epiphany 3:The Word of God Speaks and Accomplishes the Will of God

1/30/2019

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Picture
Matthew 8:1-13 
January 27, 2019 
 
Several weeks ago, a popular “Christian” music singer named Lauren Daigle was asked in an interview whether she felt that homosexuality was a sin. She answered, “I can’t honestly answer on that, in the sense of I have too many people that I love and they are homosexuals. I can’t say one way or the other. I’m not God.” She understandably got much criticism from many Christians, because the Bible is actually quite clear on whether homosexuality is a sin. Leviticus 18:22 states, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” And 1 Corinthians 6 states, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”  
Now while it is easy to condemn this lady for her statement, we should realize that her words reflect the attitude of many of us. Why does she question whether God is displeased with homosexuality? Clearly there is no passage in the Bible that gives her the idea that God doesn’t care or has changed his mind about it. Rather, her judgment is changed because she has so many people that she loves, who are homosexuals. She is unsure about what the will of God is based on her feelings about people, whom she loves.  
Isn’t that a common attitude toward the will of God? What is God’s will. His will is what he wants, what he says is right and wrong. “God’s will certainly can’t say that what my friends do is sinful! They are so nice! God certainly wouldn’t disapprove of my children’s behavior! God couldn’t be displeased with me! I certainly don’t feel that way.” And this is typically the way people think, the way church-folk think.  
Now, let’s lay aside for a moment the fact that God’s displeasure toward sin does not mean that God does not love the sinner. Scriptures says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) What’s important to note here is that our feelings and our thoughts and our experiences do not alter the will of God. God doesn’t change his position on a sin, because you or someone you love participates in that particular sin. And you do not determine how God feels about a situation by looking into yourself and pondering how you feel about it. How then do you determine what God’s will is? The leper in our Gospel lesson teaches us. Through God’s Word.  
The leper says to Jesus, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” The leper has faith in Jesus. He believes he is good. He believes he is powerful and able to heal. But he does not know if Jesus will heal his disease. He needs to hear Jesus’ word. When he hears Jesus say, “I will; be clean.” he knows that Jesus desires to heal him. That is how we all are. How do we know what God’s will is? Through his word. How does God want you to treat your neighbor? Scripture says to live in harmony with him. Don't be haughty. Do not be wise in your own sight. Repay evil with good. Be kind to your enemy.  
We know how God wills for us to live. He says so plainly in Scripture. We have the Ten Commandments. We know from Scripture that we should worship the Lord God only and gladly hear and learn his word, that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, refrain from sexual immorality, theft, murder, and covetousness. This is God’s Law. The Law reveals God’s holy will. Scripture also teaches the Gospel. The Gospel too is God’s holy will. While the Law teaches us how to live and condemns us as sinners when we fail, the Gospel reveals to us how God saves us from sin and hell through Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. It is God’s will that you believe in Jesus Christ and be saved. And you know this is God’s will through God’s word.  
Now, I’ve noted before that our feelings can get in the way of us believing God’s holy Word and knowing God’s will for us. Yet, it is not only emotions that stand in the way of us knowing God’s will, but our reason. We are intelligent creatures. God made us that way. Yet, like everything in us, our intelligence is corrupted with sin. This means that we will use our reason to argue against God’s word and therefore not know God’s will. The perfect example is Naaman, the Syrian commander, who was a leper. Elisha sent a message to him to wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be cleansed. Naaman thought that offensive. See, there was Naaman’s problem. He thought. He shouldn’t have thought. He should have believed. Now, I’m sure Naaman was right that the rivers of Syria were cleaner than the muddy river Jordan. But God said to wash in the river Jordan. As his servant said to him, “This is a great word that the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?” And so Naaman submitted his great intellect to the word of God, and he was cleansed from his leprosy.  
Naaman’s pride still affects many today. It is common for people to doubt the power of Baptism. “It’s just plain water. Spirit Baptism is more important. Or, Baptism is a work of man, and only faith saves, so Baptism can’t possibly save.” These are the thoughts of human beings, who follow the example of Naaman. Yet, what does the word of God say? “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16) “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off.” (Acts 2:38-39) “Baptism … now saves you, not as the removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21) “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)  
Scripture is abundantly clear. Baptism saves through the power of God’s word and the Holy Spirit. It is God’s will that all people be made disciples, being baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The only reason why people question the power of Baptism is because of human reason, which wrestles with the clear words of God.  
Now, people will struggle with God’s will when God’s word reveals something they don’t like or when God’s word reveals something they don’t understand. Yet, perhaps the most exhausting struggle with God’s will is where God’s word does not reveal anything. This is called the hidden will of God. While God does tell us some things plainly, such as, how we should live, that we should repent and believe in the Gospel, there are other things that God does not tell us the answer to.  
When the leper said to Jesus, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” He did not doubt Jesus’ good will. He had faith not only that Jesus was powerful enough to heal him, but also that Jesus was good, as he had heard of Jesus’ many healings before. Yet, the leper did not know if Jesus willed to heal him of this particular disease then and there. He had not yet heard Jesus’ say so. And this is how many of us are in our daily struggles. I do not know how long God will let me suffer from my physical ailments. I don’t know if I’ll recover from cancer or if my friend will be reconciled to me or if I’ll get the job, etc. There are certain things, God just doesn’t tell us. So, what should we do then? The same as when we do know what God’s will is. We pray that God’s will be done.  
What do we know of God’s will? Ezekiel 33 states, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” So, we see here that God does not want to condemn sinners, whether homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, or swindlers, but that they turn from their wicked ways and live. God desires that sinners repent and believe in the Gospel. 1 Timothy 2 states that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” It was the will of the LORD to crush Jesus on the cross, to lay all our iniquities upon him, and to forgive us for his sake. God’s revealed will is good. God is merciful, patient, and loving. So, what we know about God’s will should also help us to accept what we do not know.  
St. Paul says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) We don’t always know what God wills for our life. But, because of what we do know about God’s will, we know that God’s plan for each of us is better than our own. And so, through hearing and believing the word of God, we are able to pray, “Thy will be done” both for what we do know of God’s will and for what we do not know.  
We have learned that the word of God makes known to us what the will of God is. Yet, the word of God does even more. When Jesus told the centurion that he would come and heal his servant, the man refused and asked rather that Jesus say a word and his servant would be clean. The centurion was a man under authority. He understood how authority works. If a captain gives a command originally given by a general, that command has the authority of the general, not just a captain. The word of God carries God’s authority. This means that when a prophet speaks the word of God, it is not the word of a prophet, but the word of God. And also, when a pastor, who is sent by God through the church speaks the word of God, it is not the word of a man, but God’s own word.  
This means that when I say, “Your sins are forgiven.” I am not just relaying to you what God’s will is, but God through these words is accomplishing what he wills. When I say, “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” God is actually accomplishing his will to remove your sins as far from you as the east is from the west! When the pastor baptizes in the name of the Holy Trinity, God through those words is accomplishing his will to make that child a Christian. When the Gospel is preached, God’s will is not only revealed to the congregation, but his will is accomplished as the hearts of many are gladdened with the hope of eternal life in Christ Jesus.  
The word of God makes known to you God’s will, that he desires you to repent of your sins and believe in the forgiveness won for you by Christ Jesus. The word of God assures you that even where you do not know what God’s will is, his will is still good. And the word of God itself accomplishes the good and gracious will of God by breaking and hindering every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh, and by keeping you in the true faith until you die. For this reason, we cling to the word that makes known God’s will to us. We hear it gladly, because through his word God’s will is done. Amen.  ​
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Epiphany 2: Jesus, the Bridegroom, blesses marriage and his Church

1/21/2019

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John 2:1-11
Ephesians 5:22-33

January 20, 2019 
 
Jesus manifested his glory for the first time at the wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus chose to reveal his glory for the first time at a wedding. This tells us that God loves marriage.  
God doesn’t just love wedding celebrations with good food and wine and fun conversations. He loves that the bride and groom promise before witnesses and to God and to one another to be faithful to each other for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death parts them and that they ask God’s blessing upon them. God is pleased with marriage itself. He is pleased that a wife submits her own will to her husband’s as the Church does to Christ. He is pleased that a husband cherishes his wife as his own body, that he willingly sacrifices his time, money, pride, even his very life for her sake. God is pleased with the intimacy of marriage, which takes place in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust, and which God blesses with children.  
God doesn’t find marriage mundane or outdated or superfluous. He is pleased with the work that goes into marriage; the budgeting, the working, the cleaning toilets and changing diapers, the communicating, the repenting and the forgiving. God is pleased when husband and wife pray together and have devotions together. God is pleased when husband and wife trade off their crying child, so that at least one of them can hear the Gospel or sing the hymns with the congregation. All these things that are thought burdensome, ordinary, or unnecessary God enjoys. And he blesses by turning water into wine, so to speak, every day, providing for the needs of husband, wife, and children.  
It of course is biblical to emphasize God’s good pleasure toward marriage; however, it is also part of the Lutheran tradition. Martin Luther stressed in his sermons on this very Gospel lesson that God is pleased with marriage. This was because, back in his day the predominate opinion was that celibacy, which is abstaining from marriage and sexual relations all together, was more chaste than marriage. This is a major reason why monks, nuns, and priests took vows of celibacy. They thought these vows of celibacy were better than marriage vows.  
Yet, this is not true! Celibacy is not more chaste than marriage. And Jesus teaches that not everyone can receive celibacy, but that it is a gift from God. (Matthew 19:11) This is why St. Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 7, “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” In his explanation to the Sixth Commandment Luther doesn’t teach us to refrain from marriage, but rather that “husband and wife love and honor each other.” 
God is pleased with marriage, because he himself instituted marriage. He determines what it is and that it’s good. God gives three purposes for marriage: Companionship, chastity, and children. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18) And Jesus teaches, “’Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So, they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matthew 19:5-6) God instituted marriage so that a man and a woman would be life-long companions, never to be separated.  
God instituted marriage, so that men and women might live together in holiness and honor and avoid sexual immorality. Sex outside of marriage is a sin, but within marriage it is a holy gift from God. Finally, God instituted marriage for the sake of children. In Genesis one it says that God blessed Adam and Eve and said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” And God says in Psalm 127, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” It pleases God when a husband and wife are each other’s companion for life, are faithful to each other, and when they raise the children God gives them to trust in Christ Jesus.  
These days few people consider celibacy a greater virtue than marriage. Yet, marriage is abandoned by more and more people nonetheless, especially by my current generation. Many sociologists are studying this phenomenon as it has serious implications culturally, economically, and even politically. They theorize that young people don’t want to get married, because of the risk of divorce and other financial and emotional burdens. And they’re probably right, although you can’t really lump all people who choose not to get married into the same category.  
Yet, marriage has become less attractive. For fifty percent of those who enter into it, it is not a life-long companionship. Sex outside of marriage has become socially acceptable, so fewer people are concerned about God’s gift of chastity within marriage. And children are more and more looked at as a commodity and a burden rather than a gift from God. Many western countries are concerned by their nations’ low birth rates and their governments are trying to encourage their citizens to have more babies, so that they can provide for their large aging populations. Yet, even this desire for children is driven by the same materialistic desire that prevented them from having children in the first place.  
Marriage has become less attractive because, we human beings are sinners. And whatever we touch tends to get ruined. And this includes marriage. So, what can we do to fix marriage?  Well, we certainly can repent where we have failed in our own marriages and where we have accepted the opinions of this fleeting world over the teachings of God in the Bible. Yet, no matter how hard we strive, our marriages will continue to be unattractive and detached from how God intends them to be. What we need to fix our marriages and to fix marriage as a whole, is Jesus.  
There were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification. Six, the number of days God worked to create the world. Six, the number of days in a week that God gave Israel to work and do all their labor. Six, one less than seven; one less than complete. Stone, as in the stone tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments. The six stone water jars represent the works of the law. No matter how much you labor, you never accomplish what you aim for. These jars were for the Jewish rites of purification. They were for washing the outside of the body, but they could never purify the inside of the body, which is what is needed.  
Jesus, after filling up these jars, turns the water into wine. He turns the water, that could not wash the inside of the body into wine, which makes glad the hearts of man. (Psalm 104:15) This is a symbol of what Jesus does for marriage. No matter how hard you work to make your marriage perfect, because of your sinful limitation, you will never succeed. And we’re not going to fix the marriage crisis in our society simply by trying to enforce a bunch of rules. The only one who can fix a broken marriage is Jesus.  
Jesus turning the water in the full jars into wine teaches that Jesus fulfills the demands of the law for us and makes us clean on the inside, not just on the outside. Jesus makes us clean on the inside by forgiving our sins.  
The forgiveness of sins: it is what every marriage needs. You will sin against your spouse. And you will sin against your God. Sinners cannot please God, as Romans 8:8 states, “Those who are of the flesh cannot please God.” Sinners can’t make themselves holy. They need to be forgiven. You need to be forgiven by Christ. You need to be forgiven for your sins against his holy institution of marriage just as you need to be forgiven for your sins against every other commandment of God. And Jesus freely forgives those, who repent of their sins. St. John writes,  
“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9) 
God loves marriage so much that he honors it by saying that it refers to Christ and his Church. Jesus Christ, who provides wine for the wedding, is the Bridegroom. The Church is his Bride. Yet, like marriage in this fallen world, the Church doesn’t look splendid, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. The Church looks broken up and divided, racked with scandal and discord, stained and confused, as the hymn states, “Though with a scornful wonder/ The world sees her oppressed,/ By schisms rent asunder,/ By heresies distressed.” 
Yet, the Church is not holy and without blemish because it is filled will holy people who have never done anything wrong. The Church is holy and without blemish, because Christ Jesus her bridegroom laid down his life for his bride, and washed her clean through the water and the word of Baptism, joined inextricably with his blood shed on the cross. The Church is without spot or wrinkle of sin, because Jesus her bridegroom has forgiven her all her sins by virtue of his suffering and death. That is what makes Christ’s marriage to his bride holy. That is what makes you and me holy.  
What the Church needs, indeed, what makes the Church the Church, is the forgiveness of sins won by Christ Jesus. She needs the Gospel. That is why we are members of this one, holy, Christian, and apostolic Church. We are members of the communion of saints, because Christ Jesus has washed us clean with his blood, forgiven our sins, baptized us and clothed us in his own righteousness. And this forgiveness is not confined to the walls of the sanctuary, but we take it with us into our lives.  
This forgiveness sanctifies our homes, our marriages, and our families. No matter how much we try to wash our sinful lives clean and fix our marriages with superficial purification, we still remain dirty. But Christ Jesus turns water into wine. He forgives our sins and makes us clean on the inside and outside. When we live as forgiven Christians, God is pleased with us, even if the world can see the spots and wrinkles in our lives, because God can’t. They have been washed clean in Jesus’ blood.  
The solution to fixing our marriages and indeed our whole lives is to repent of our sins and turn to him, who turns water into wine, who forgives sins and places his Holy Spirit within us. Jesus makes good wine. The best wine. He fills our cup with his own blood to purify our hearts and wash our sins away. Jesus is our Bridegroom. We are his bride. And through his forgiveness, which we receive through faith, he joins us to himself forever. Amen.  
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Epiphany 3: The Authority of Faith

1/23/2017

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Picture
Matthew 8:1-13
01/22/17


The two men in our Gospel lesson teach us a great deal about faith. And since we know that it is by faith and faith alone that we are saved, it would be of great benefit for us to pay attention to these two saints, who will dine with us at the Feast of Salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven.  
The first man is a leper. He falls down on his knees before Jesus and says, "Lord, if you will, you are able to make me clean."  
"If you are willing and able." Those two need to come together, don't they? A mother may hold her sick child to her chest willing as ever to heal her baby's illness. But she remains unable to cure the disease. Likewise, there are many millionaires, who could easily pay the debts of many poor. But if they are unwilling to do so their ability doesn't help the poor.  
The man calls Jesus, "Lord" and confesses that he is able to cure him of his disease. Yet, he says, "if you will." True saving faith requires that one believe that God is both able and willing to save. The man, however, does not express a lack of faith here. He is not praying for the forgiveness of sins or eternal salvation. Rather, he pleads for his daily bread, the cleansing of his leprosy. Here the man prays the third petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The man acknowledges God's ability to save him. He trusts that his Lord desires to do him good. But he submits to the will of God, even if Jesus chooses to let him bear the cross of leprosy.  
And so this teaches you to pray, "Thy will be done." You know your Lord desires good for you. He tells you so. But whether he will cure your cancer or heal your disease in the time you want is up to his will. So each of us must in humility and trust say, "Thy will be done" and believe that God's good and gracious will is better than our own.  
However, when you pray that God will forgive your sins, or strengthen your faith, or bring you to heaven for Christ's sake, you should not doubt that God will do it. In some cases, God's will is hidden from us. You don't know if you will get the job or recover from the illness. Yet, when it comes to the Gospel, whether God will forgive or damn you, you know God's will. When you pray "Thy will be done" concerning your eternal salvation, you know what God's will is, because he tells you. God's Word says that Jesus died for the forgiveness of your sins (Rom. 4:25). When Jesus said, "I will; be clean," the man no longer doubted Jesus' will. And so, God's will concerning your eternal salvation is not secret. So when you pray to God concerning earthly matters, pray, "If you will, O Lord" and know that your Lord is able to help you and his will is good. But when you pray concerning the forgiveness of your sins and your eternal salvation, do not doubt God's will. He has revealed his will to you in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and in his resurrection. God wills to forgive you and to give you eternal life.  
"And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him." Here Jesus demonstrates the blessing of the incarnation (the fact that God became a human being). Jesus comes to be with us sinners in our misery. When Jesus' skin touched the rotting flesh of the leper, he cleansed him of his disease. And so when Jesus went to the cross, the Father laid on his body the sin and guilt of every human and Christ's body became the vessel into which God poured his wrath and punishment for all sins. And so Christ reaches out his hand and touches your uncleanness and he snatches away your sin and makes it his own. It is no longer yours, but Christ's. Even in church today we see Christ's willingness to be with us sinners, to touch us, to clean us. He feeds us his body and blood in bread and wine, he joins to his word a physical touch to assure us of his willingness to forgive and heal.  
Of the second man Jesus says, "Truly, I say to you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith." This man too calls Jesus, "Lord" and says his servant is paralyzed and suffering terribly. When Jesus says he will come and heal him the centurion replies, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof." Here the man dispels perhaps the greatest myth about faith. Faith has nothing to do with your worthiness. The man claims no merit of his own or that he deserves anything from Jesus. And so he teaches you that you are not more worthy than all those unbelievers. You church goers aren't better than those absent. God didn't choose you, because of your good works, your love, or your piety. You are as unworthy of God's love as any other sinner. But faith doesn't claim to be better than others. Faith claims unworthiness, yet clings to the promise of God.  
"But only say the word." The Word! That's what faith clings to. The Word, which reveals God's good and gracious will to you in great detail. The Word that tells you that God loves you so much he sent Jesus to die for you and forgives you, not based on your worthiness, but because of his great undeserved love for you. This word is the Gospel, of which St. Paul writes, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to all who believe." And so, while by faith you claim no worthiness of your own, you tap into the power of God's saving word.  
"For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Here the centurion displays another important attribute of faith: knowledge. He understands remarkably well how God works. Just as the man gives a command, so his servants obey his word. And so God the Father spoke to God the Son, and although they were equal in majestic divinity, the Son submitted to the Father's word. The Father said, "Go," and the Son went to earth, born of the Virgin Mary. He said, "Do," and the Son willingly went to the cross and died for all sinners, whom the Father loved. The Father said, "Come," and our Lord rose from his mortal sleep and returned in glory to the Father, having subjected Satan, sin, and death to himself.  
The centurion's military experience helped him understand what authority is. Authority is not the same as power. Power is the ability to do something. The leper confessed Jesus' power to cleanse him. Authority is the right to exercise power. A gun if power. A police badge is authority.   
Authority can be passed on. When a king gives a command to a messenger, that command has just as much authority when repeated by the messenger, as it has when spoken by the king. An angel from God speaks with God's authority. So Jesus gives the word that the servant will be healed, and the command is carried out even though Jesus doesn't stand above the boy himself.  
It is important for us to understand how authority works, because when Jesus ascended into heaven he left us with authority. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) So although Christ does not walk before us as he did two thousand years ago, he has given his authority to his Church.  
When Christ told his disciples to baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity, he gave authority to Baptism. When a pastor even in the 21st century baptizes it is as powerful as when the Apostles baptized those centuries ago, because the authority comes from God himself. The Gospel remains the power to salvation to everyone who believes, because its authority comes from Christ. We partake of the same meal this morning as the disciples did in the upper room on the night our Lord was betrayed, because the words, "Do this" carry this authority through the millenia. This authority gives us comfort, because the paralyzed servant received the same Jesus by the authority of his word as did the leper whom Jesus touched.  
Many of the faithful wonder why people don't go to church. You could ask them, but that wouldn't give you the answer. Because the reason people don't come to church is not because of work or sports or leisure, or a busy schedule. People don't come to church, because they lack faith. The centurion of great faith trusted not only that Jesus could heal his servant, but that he had the authority to command even an angel to accomplish his word. And so if you have faith like the centurion, you will not simply believe in Christ, but you will believe his word and that his authority is carried through his word. This means when the pastor forgives sins, Christ Jesus your Lord speaks to you! The sermon should never be thought of as meanderings of some guy. They carry the power to save those who hear and believe it!  
And so it is, even for those who do come to church the lazy flesh and the nagging devil try to distract the faithful from the fact that Christ's authority is being exercised before their eyes and the power to salvation is being worked for them. For this reason, we must constantly pray that God strengthen our faith, so that we may receive his holy word with thanksgiving.  
"Many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness." It is those of faith, who will sit at the table of salvation. No one will earn a seat by his good works or pedigree. Jesus even says that the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. That means that even those of the nation of Israel, the promised people, who do not have faith will not be saved by their Jewish blood. And so neither will anyone be saved, because he was a member of the Lutheran church or because he got confirmed, or because he volunteers a lot.  
Each of us is saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone. This means we call Jesus Lord. It means like the leper, we believe Jesus is willing and able to do for us what he says he will do. Like the centurion, we do not claim to be worthy by our own works, but cling to the promise of God's Word. Faith believes that Jesus has the power and authority to forgive sins and that he has given that authority to his church.  
Jesus said to the centurion, "Let it be done for you as you have believed." The centurion believed Jesus' word. So Jesus was really saying, "Let it be according to my word." You see, faith grasps Jesus' word. It takes possession of God's power. St. John wrote, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the authority to become children of God." Faith is the authority to apply the Gospel to yourself. Faith is the authority to look at Jesus on the cross and say, "He did that for me." Faith is the authority to remember your Baptism and trust, "I am a child of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in me." Faith is the authority to sit at the feast of salvation with all believers from every land and century, who believe in the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the cross.  
Dear friends, do you believe in the Gospel? Let it be done for you as you have believed. Amen.  ​

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    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 

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