Pentecost XI (Proper 16 A) [Matthew 16:13-20] (24-Aug-2014)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker, 8.30am, 10.30am.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The sermon text for today was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the apostle St Matthew. And we read from his gospel:

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Our Gospel reading today begins with a wonderful discussion between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus says to them: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Our reading today teaches us what it means to make a confession of faith. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. As Christians, Jesus calls us to make a faithful confession: to listen to the Word of God, and then to speak back to him as our own faith the same words which he spoke to us.

When we stand and say the creed in church, sometimes a pastor might introduce it by saying, “Let’s stand and confess our faith together.” Confess. And the beginning of the service we confess our sins: we hear what God says in his word about sin, and we speak back to him in confession: we are sinners, we are guilty, we have sinned. But also, we confess our faith: we hear what God says in his word about his Son, our Saviour, our Redeemer, and we speak these words back to him. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. Or we might say like Peter in the reading today: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is what it means to confess our faith. – But who are we confessing to? Well, first of all, we are confessing our faith before God and before Jesus Christ himself. He’s listening to us. But also, we are confessing before each other—when we confess the faith and each of us hear it, then we are all built up and strengthened by that confession. But also, we confess the faith in the presence of the angels—they rejoice and celebrate when they hear the word of God on our lips. And also, we confess to the world—we live in a fallen and corrupt world, full of sin and problems, and yet, every Sunday we come here together and we say: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. Take that, world! Take that, despair! Take that, liars, grumblers! Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

So here we are today, coming together as the Christian church on earth, making a confession of our faith.

But first of all, Jesus says to the disciples: Who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Jesus makes a distinction here. There’s a difference between a confession of faith and a mixed bag of opinions. We are not a place where we are called together to share our opinions—we are a place where we are called to make a confession of faith together with one voice. So it’s true: Jesus has some things in common with John the Baptist. John the Baptist preaches the word of God and calls people to repentance, and so does Jesus. Elijah performs wonderful miracles, and so does Jesus. Jesus makes many prophesies like Jeremiah and the prophets. But if Jesus is simply just another John the Baptist, or just another Elijah, or just another prophet, then we don’t know who Jesus is yet.

We might think: Jesus is a bit like the Dalai Lama. We might think: Jesus is a helpful teacher, a wonderful philosopher. We might think: Jesus helps me get through the day. Yes – all those things are somewhat true, but they are not the full truth. They’re simply opinions. The church is not built upon opinions.

Jesus says, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

You are the Christ, says Peter. You are the Messiah, the chosen king of Israel who has been promised for centuries in the Old Testament. You are anointed by the Holy Spirit to be our prophet, our priest, and our king. You are the Christ.

And Peter also says: the Son of the living God. Every other god is a dead God—a statue, a picture, a figment of human imagination, a dream, a delusion. But Jesus is the Son of the living God. He is conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He is one with the Father, true God, God of God, light of light, true God of true God. Yes, Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

To make a confession of faith like Peter is not something that has a human origin. People like you and me don’t just make up stuff like calling Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God. We don’t come to these kind of conclusions because of our reason and intellect.

To make a confession of faith like Peter comes from the Holy Spirit, it comes straight out of heaven from our Father in heaven.

Jesus says: Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

As a pastor, I’m not actually called to tell you what God’s word means. I’m not actually called to interpret God’s word to you, and make it relevant to you.

Sure, I can explain things, and try to make things easy for you to understand, but the word itself is already relevant. The word of God is already powerful, without me making it powerful for you.

All I am called to do is to tell you what God’s word says. I’m not called to say, “I know God says that, but this is what he means.” No, I’m only called to tell you what God says. Thus says the Lord.

And when we speak the word of God, then the Holy Spirit works in us a confession of faith when and where he pleases. This is not something we can control—this is the Holy Spirit at work. So Jesus preaches his word, and then Peter listens to it, and he says: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And then Jesus tells Peter where this confession of faith came from. He says: Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

And so, on the basis of this confession of faith, Jesus is now going to do something really wonderful. And he says something quite extraordinary to Peter. He says: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus gives Peter a new name. Beforehand Jesus calls him “Simon”. Now he calls him “Peter”. And the name Peter means a rock. Sometimes people have the nickname “Rocky”. This is a bit like what Peter means—it sounds like the word “rock”.

Why does Peter get this new name? It’s in honour of the fact that he had made this powerful and wonderful confession of faith, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and revealed by our Father in heaven. Peter, do you realise, just what a ground-breaking thing this is, to call Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God? Do you understand just how amazing this is? This is a going to be a powerful foundation which is going to change the world, and bring new live and hope and salvation to millions of people all throughout history. The words you have spoken are a solid rock.

So Jesus calls him: Peter. You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

We have to make sure that we understand these words properly. The church is not built on the person of Peter. The church is built on this rock, the confession of faith that Peter made on behalf of all the apostles.

Peter though ends up being the first person to preach a Christian sermon on the day of Pentecost. In some sense, Peter was the founder of the Christian church. He was the first one to start it off, and to set it going. But Peter wasn’t allowed to simply say anything. He had to continue preaching that same confession of faith he made that day, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, who is now risen from the dead.

And when Christian pastors all throughout the world and all throughout time join with Peter in preaching this same faith, and Christians everywhere believe and teach and confess this same faith, then we know that this is the rock upon which Christ continually builds his church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Some people say, “Never mind if the church is going downhill—the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” That’s not what Jesus is saying here. Without the true confession of faith, there is no rock in the church. Jesus will not build his church on the flimsy foundation of our human opinions. Either the church is built on the pure and clear word of God or it’s not a church. On our sign outside, we call ourselves “St Mark’s Lutheran Church.” But that sign is not a guarantee that what we come inside to find is actually a church. The gates of hell might very well be prevailing against “St Mark’s Lutheran”. We might be “St Mark’s Lutheran social club”, “St Mark’s Lutheran community group. But only when we have the confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, can we stare the world in the face with all honesty, to spit the devil in the eye and say with all our might that we are church. On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

After Jesus says this, he says to Peter: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This passage is the basis of all those pictures (and also all the jokes) about Peter standing at the pearly gates letting people into heaven. But this passage has got nothing to do with this. Because Jesus tells Peter that the keys to the kingdom of heaven are to be used on earth. He says: Whatever you loose on earth.

So what are these keys? Well, Peter’s going to need them. Jesus has risen from the dead—what for? Well, Jesus wants Peter to go out, together with all the apostles, and open up the kingdom of heaven for people. And even today in the church, as a pastor, this is what I am called to do for you: As a called and ordained servant of the word, I am called to announce the grace of God to all of you. And on behalf of my Lord Jesus Christ and by his command I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Do you understand how powerful those words are? Jesus says to his disciples on Easter Sunday: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

So these keys to the kingdom of heaven are what Jesus gives to the church. Peter and the other apostles were the first Christian pastors. And they also gave the pastoral ministry to be shared with others. And even today, we still have pastors in the church, who are called to use the keys to the kingdom of heaven for your benefit.

So what are we supposed to do with these keys? Well, we’re not called to dangle the keys on a chain, but we’re called to lock and unlock: to open the door of heaven, and the close the door of heaven.

To anyone who knows that they are a sinner, and wants to be free from their sin, and wants to turn from their sin, and to do better, we say: the door of heaven is open for you.

But there are also things in the bible which are called sins. And if people don’t want to turn from their sin and stay with it and reject what the word of God says about it, then we say: the door is shut.

So it’s not like pastors just open and shut the door of heaven as they feel like it. A pastor has absolutely no authority at all, except the word of God. We can’t withhold forgiveness from people if God’s word doesn’t withhold it. This is Jesus who forgives through the ministry—this is his work, and so it can only be empowered through his word.

So, in our church, every Sunday you can come and hear the forgiveness of sins spoken for you. Every Sunday you can hear God’s own voice coming out of heaven right to your heart opening the door of heaven for you. And in the Lutheran church, people can also come and badger their pastors to speak these words for their comfort any time they like. This is what pastors are here for: we are sent by Jesus to open the door of heaven for you.

So who do you say that Jesus is? Say with Peter: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Say it with all your might, with every fibre of your being. And say it in all your poverty, all your helplessness, all your weakness, and look to Christ, who is the strong one for you, for has died for you, risen for you, and open the door of heaven for you.

Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Amen.

Lord Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Come and enter into our church today with all your angels and with all your power, and build your church among us, and put away the gates of hell so that the devil, and everything evil in us and in the world may never prevail against it. Amen.

Pentecost VIII: Audio Sermon (3-Aug-2014)

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Pentecost VIII (Proper 13 A) [Matthew 14:13-21] (3-Aug-2014)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker, 8.30am, 10.30am.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The sermon text for today was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the apostle St Matthew. And we read from his gospel:

[The disciples] said to [Jesus], “We have only fives loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Today, our Gospel reading is about the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000, with only five loaves of bread and two small fish. But first, let’s read what it says right at the beginning of the reading. It says:

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he crowds heard it, they followed him on from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Just before these words in our Gospel reading today, we read about the death of John the Baptist. John had been arrested by King Herod and was in prison. King Herod had taken his sister-in-law as a wife. (Her name was Herodias.) And it turns out that both of the husbands of Herodias, Philip and King Herod, were also her uncles. Sometimes we know from history, that some people in high positions—royalty or people in public life—have thought that because they have so much power and influence and status, that they thought they could break the laws of common decency when it came to matters of marriage and sex. Even in my lifetime, I could think of a number of situations where people in high positions or high office have caused a public offense and a public scandal because of their morals.

And so John the Baptist preached against this relationship between Herod and Herodias. Herodias particularly found this annoying and John was locked up in prison to keep him quiet. Eventually, when King Herod was celebrating his birthday, Herodias’ daughter performed a dance for the king, and in return asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. And when we read: And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

And at the beginning of our reading today, it says: Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.

We can see that today’s Gospel reading happens just after this tragic event. And we know that in another place, when Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, he went with Mary and Martha to the tomb, and wept. Here we read that Jesus withdrew to a desolate place. In Mark’s Gospel we also read that the disciples went with him, and that they had just come back from their mission and were telling Jesus all about it. And so Jesus says to them: Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest awhile.

So we can see two things here: Jesus spends time by himself, but he also spends time with his disciples by themselves. The disciples have had a time of great busyness, and great productiveness, and also Jesus and the disciples have received this rather sad news about John the Baptist’s cruel death.

And so it’s time for some rest. And here we learn that not all of our life as Christians is always busy, busy, busy. We’re not always called to flap around and make sure that we’re doing something. Sometimes, especially when there is a death or some significant event in our life, Jesus needs to slow us down, to give us a rest, and to prepare us in body and soul for the next part of our lives, whatever that may be.

This time of Jesus with his disciples looks like not much is happening, but it’s very important training. It’s a time of sadness, but also a time of encouragement. It’s a time of prayer, and it’s a time to stop working so that God himself can work on them. It’s a time of silence, but it’s a time for the disciples to listen to their own conscience and have it healed in a fresh a new way by their living Lord Jesus.

And this passage is very important for pastors too—I’m not called to be super-productive as the world sees it, but a lot of time, Jesus also requires us to slow down, reflect, and receive his training. Sometimes Jesus even lets us pastors share in some suffering precisely so that we can learn how to encourage others who experience the same thing. Later, Jesus is going to let these 12 disciples share in his work, when he says to them: You give them something to eat. And the disciples are going to realise that they only have 5 loaves and two fish. What they have in their pockets, and what they have in their understanding is completely inadequate. But at the same time, Jesus, after he blesses and breaks the bread, is going to give them to the disciples and let them distribute it to the crowd. In the same way, Jesus says to pastors today: Feed my sheep. And we’re going to look at Jesus and say: How on earth are we going to be able to do this? How are we going to be able to feed all the sheep in our care? But this ministry doesn’t belong to pastors, it belongs to Jesus, and he is the one who does the feeding, and he is the one who provides the food. As St Paul says: Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant. And also he says: We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Maybe in your particular calling of life, you also feel completely helpless. Well, come away by yourselves with Jesus to a desolate place, in your loneliness, and rest with him for a while. Let him train you, and give him the time to train you. He will provide everything that you need at the right time.

In our reading today, we read that when the crowds heard that Jesus had gone away to a desolate place by himself, they followed him on foot from the towns. This time for retreat and solitude come to an end quickly when the crowds arrive. And Jesus is not begrudging of them interrupting his time for prayer. Instead, it says: When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

And now we read about the miracle of where Jesus feeds these people, 5000 men, plus women and children. And this is a very interesting miracle: these people have come out to visit Jesus. But Jesus work for them in healing their sick has been so abundant and so intense and fruitful, that now it’s getting late, and they almost don’t have time to walk home and get themselves organised for dinner. And the disciples start to worry about this and say to Jesus, This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.

Now what’s the point of this miracle? Jesus could have very well said to the disciples, “You know, you’re probably right. It’s been a long day, and it’s time to wrap things up, and for the people to go home.” We get the impression from what the disciples said that the people probably had enough time to get home, and they probably had enough money to buy themselves some food.

But Jesus wants to teach them something else. He wants to teach them that these people that He himself is the God of heaven and earth, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who actually sends to each person who has ever lived in the world their daily bread. Why should Jesus send them off their homes to eat, when Jesus Himself is the one who is always providing food for them? Why should Jesus send them off to the shops, when Jesus is the one who is the one who laced the supermarket shelves with the abundance of bread in the first place?

Often, when we eat a meal, people say: Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let this food to us be blessed. Jesus is the one who has given the food, and now we ask him to come and sit with us and bless our meal together.

This is actually a very difficult lesson for us to learn, especially in a country such as ours, where we have so much. We have a tendency to think: I bought my own bread with my own money, which I got from my own hard work. But just as Jesus has given us so much, he can also at the same time take these things away. And many people all throughout the world constantly have to live from day to day, not knowing where their daily bread will come from. But this is precisely what it is: daily bread. And Jesus teaches us to pray: Give us today our daily bread.

Jesus provides for each day everything that we need. We might worry about tomorrow and think about what’s going to happen. But Jesus says: Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

And so here in our reading, Jesus shows to us that he is the one who provides for us our daily bread. So we should also ask him for it. And if there’s anything that we need, not just food, but health, friendship, employment, or whatever else we need, we should ask Jesus for it. And Jesus promises to provide these things for us in his own time and in order to give us whatever particular blessing he wants us to have at a particular time.

In our reading we read: Jesus ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples have them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Sometimes part of the reason why we don’t trust in Jesus to provide our daily bread is that we look at this passage and say, “But Jesus is breaking the laws of nature. Things don’t work like that—surely God helps those who help themselves.”

You’ve got no idea how often Jesus has organised things in your life for your benefit and provided what you need generously, and you haven’t even noticed it. But also, we have to realise, that Jesus isn’t breaking the laws of nature at all. What Jesus does here is completely natural—it doesn’t seem natural to us, but it’s completely natural for him.

You see, we think that all the laws of nature are all completely rigid and fixed, and that everything always works in a calculated scientific way. And so we look at this reading and we ask, “What’s the trick? Has Jesus got an ace of spades up his sleeve? How can we rationalise it?”

But there is a difference between how believers and unbelievers see the world. And this difference comes right from the first verse of the bible: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God is not subject to the laws of nature—he created the laws of nature. And he created laws not just for earth, but also for heaven. And he created the earthly realm in order to serve the heavenly realm. So it’s a completely natural thing for Jesus to use earthly things to serve a heavenly purpose. He uses these 5 loaves and these two fish to show that he is the God who created the heavens and the earth who has taken on human flesh. And this is such a wonderful, great mystery.

In the church, Jesus also continues to do the same thing. He uses human, earthly words in order to speak his heavenly word. He takes the words that are spoken here in our readings today, in the absolution—the forgiveness of sins spoken by the pastor, the sermon, the creed, and all the other bible verses that we pray and sing together, and he multiplies these things into our hearts and minds in such a way that there is almost far too much for us even as a large group of people to take in. We read in our reading: They took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. How abundantly rich Jesus is in feeding us week after week in our church service! That’s because Jesus is here each week, and he is the one who provides the food.

But also, think about baptism, how Jesus takes water, and adds his word to us, and actually gives salvation through it, and also the Holy Spirit, and the forgiveness of sins.

Or what about the Lord’s Supper. Of course, here we see a very strong connection between the Lord’s Supper and our reading today. Sometimes we might think, how is Jesus going to give his body and blood to Christians all throughout the world every Sunday? Isn’t he sitting at the right hand of God the Father? How can he be here in the Lord’s Supper?

Well, yes—Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, but the right hand of God is everywhere. So also, Jesus in his flesh is able to be wherever he promises to be and to feed each of us with his body and blood. He is able to take the five loaves and two fish, he is able to take the simple bread and wine and multiply it in such a way that we are fed not simply with this simple earthly food, but also with his true body and blood, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. And this is not just food for the soul, but also for the strengthening and healing of the body. We say: The body of our Lord Jesus Christ and his holy precious blood strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life eternal. And how is this all possible? And Jesus’ words say it: This is my body, This is my blood, and we know that his word never lies. These words are not against the laws of nature. This is the law of nature—this is precisely how the world works and how Jesus created things to work.

And so listen to Jesus words: They need not go away; you give them something to eat. We never need to go away from Jesus. If he can save us, he can also feed us, both in our bodies and in our souls. He always provides us something to eat, not just in this life, but also in the next life.

Amen.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for feeding us in body and soul. Strengthen and keep us firm in your word and faith both now and into the future and forever. Amen.

Pentecost VII: Audio Sermon (27-Jul-2014)

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Pentecost VII (Proper 12 A) [Matthew 13:31-33, 44-50] (27-Jul-2014)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker, 8.30am, 10.30am.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The sermon text for today was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the apostle St Matthew. And we read from his gospel:

The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells his disciples eight parables about the kingdom of heaven. Two weeks ago, we read about the parable of the sower, and last week we read about the parable of the weeds. And in today’s gospel reading, we read about the other six parables. Today we’re going to focus on the first four: the mustard seen, the leaven in the flour, the treasure hidden in a field, and the pearl of great price.

And so we can see there is a gardening parable (the mustard seed), and a cooking parable (the leaven). There is a parable about a man who “strikes it lucky” (the treasure), and about a merchant who searches the world from top to bottom (the pearl).

And Jesus shows us that everything we see on earth, everything that is created by God—mustard seeds, leaven, treasure, pearls, nets--, everything that God has given for us to do – gardening, cooking, and so on, all point to something else. Everything that we can see has a message from God hidden in it telling us about things that we can’t see. Everything that we experience in our life has a message from God hidden in it telling us about things in God’s life.

You see, there is a great tendency sometimes for people to say: what you see is what you get. And that’s simply not true: we get a lot more than what we see. And God didn’t simply create the earth, and nothing else. He also created a heavenly realm.

So we look at our lives and we have clothing and shoes, but God also gives heavenly clothing. He says: You will be clothed with power from on high. Put on the whole armour of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the readiness given by the gospel of peace as shoes for your feet.

But also, we have food and drink. But God also gives us heavenly food and heavenly drink. Jesus says: Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. He says: I am the bread of life. He says: Whoever is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

We have a house and a home. But God also gives us a heavenly house and a heavenly home. Jesus says: In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

You see, each of these parables today talks about one thing: the kingdom of heaven. Jesus teaches us that there is such a thing as heaven, and that it exists. This world is not everything. And we read that heaven is not a democracy, but a kingdom—it has a king, and this king has a realm, a nation, a country over which he rules.

So many Christians today live as if this world is all there is. People even come to church and want to hear something that is “relevant to their lives”. If you’re not striving towards another life, towards eternal life, towards heaven, then nothing here will be relevant. People think that Christianity is useful only insofar as it helps me with this life.

There is more. The first verse of the bible says: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He didn’t just create earth, he didn’t just create the things that we can see, but he created the heavens, a completely different realm where he lives in perfect light together with all his angels and archangels.

And so in our Gospel reading today, Jesus teaches us particularly about the kingdom of heaven.

He says: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nest in its branches.

Some people like to have a quick fix to solve all the problems of the church and all the problems in life. If you are this kind of person, Jesus is going to frustrate you this morning. Jesus wants us to go out to the backyard and observe what we find out there: to go and observe the trees, the bushes, the seeds, the soil and to take note of these things as little teachers. He wants us to appreciate them as his creation, and learn from them. Many people just can’t appreciate anything, and can’t look at the simple things of life and see just how wonderful they are.

And in this parable, Jesus tells us about a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all seeds. Of all the things that people were used to planting, the mustard seed was one of the smallest. And at the same time, it grows into a large bush, with all kinds of branches and leaves.

The mustard seed is Jesus Christ himself. He is the seed that God the Father plants into the world. Jesus is the king of this heavenly kingdom. At the heart of this kingdom of heaven is the king of heaven himself. And with this kingdom comes eternal joy. But also here on this earth, before we finally experience that eternal joy in all its perfection and in all its perfect glory and before we meet this king face to face with our own eyes, this kingdom is planted through the preaching of God’s word. And this preaching involves explaining to people each part of God’s word, showing people what their sin is and showing them how Jesus forgives it. And also, this kingdom involves people using God’s word, hearing God’s word, and being strengthened in this word, and faith in this word. People recognise each day that fall short of God’s glory, and find something new to repent of. Christians find some new situation or some new person or some new thing to pray about or to pray for. Christians are allowed each day to see some new situation of darkness in which God’s light is needed.

All of this is Jesus’ kingdom at work. And most of the time it looks like nothing it happening. Jesus only ever preached in a small corner of Judea, and he sent out only 12 apostles, many of whom were only simple fishermen. People look at their pastor and think: what’s this idiot going to do? What’s he got to tell us that we haven’t heard before? People look at baptism, and think: what’s a bit of water? People look at the Lord’s Supper, and think: what’s a bit of bread and wine?

But these things are everything – because these things are where Jesus is to be found. The whole kingdom of heaven is hidden in each word of the Scripture. And from there the kingdom grows into a massive tree. For so many people, they can look back at the life and see how their faith had such humble beginnings, and yet, Jesus says: It is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

Jesus says: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.

Jesus has told us gardening parable, now he tells us a cooking parable. Three measures of flour was the normal amount of flour that people used to cook a meal with. And here we read where a woman not just puts some leaven in the flour, but hides it.

Here we come to listen to the Gospel. We come to listen to the words that come straight from heaven that because of Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, each and every single one of our sins is forgiven us. The church has the task, like his woman, to hide this Gospel in the hearts of people, like hiding leaven in flour. And when we hear this gospel, God creates faith in our hearts, and sends us the Holy Spirit.

But you know, all this is hidden. It is buried deep in the conscience. We so often want to be completely fixed and healed right now. We have the temptation to want to wake up one morning and to say: I’ve come up with the miracle fix. But that’s not how the leaven works. It takes time and patience. 

So the Gospel is hidden in our hearts, but it doesn’t stay hidden: it ferments. Can you think about some dough with some yeast that is left to ferment, and then you come in later, and you can smell it all in the kitchen? That’s what the Gospel is like.

So daily and gradually this Gospel begins to take effect, slowly, steadily. The gospel starts to make our flesh uncomfortable, and we start to recognise new sins that need to be cleansed out. The new leaven destroys sin, and daily our hearts learn to despise and overcome this worldly life and all its hardships. You see, this life isn’t godliness, but it’s training in godliness. This life isn’t health, but continually getting well. This life isn’t rest, but it’s exercise. Martin Luther says: “We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed.”

But Jesus says that eventually: it was all leavened. What a wonderful day it will be in the kingdom of heaven when our old self of sin and disappointment is completely peeled away, and our bodies and souls are full completely of heavenly light and joy!

Jesus says: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and seels all that he has and buys that field.

In this parable about the treasure hidden in a field, Jesus teaches us once again how the kingdom of heaven is hidden. But here we see how a man comes upon this treasure almost by chance. There are many people who wouldn’t know the gospel if they fell over it, but then what a wonderful thing it is when one day they fall over it! And because this treasure is hidden, people think they already know it, and they neglect it.

Also, many a pastor knows that there are many people who don’t really know what the Gospel is, and have never come to enjoy it, even in the church. In the book of Revelation, it uses a special number 144,000 to talk about those who have been redeemed. I remember a pastor once said: When I was a young seminary student, I used to think that 144,000 wasn’t very many. Then I was a pastor for 10 years, and I thought it was a lot!

People look for salvation in the law, and the law of God simply doesn’t give us salvation. People have some kind of instinct that God keeps a list of all of what we do right and all of what we do wrong. But they make two mistakes: they think first that through their own works they can cross off God’s list the things that are wrong. But also, they forget that the list of wrongs is much longer, 10 times longer, 100 times longer than the list of good things. And if you think otherwise, then you’re simply not honest.

Jesus loves you so incredibly more than you think! Jesus’ blood is the only thing that has the kind of power to make us completely clean in God’s sight, and through this blood, Jesus forgives each and every single one of our sins, blemishes, and faults.

Galatians says: The Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. And in Romans we read: God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. In John we read: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him may not die but have eternal life.

This Gospel, this free forgiveness of sins, is such a wonderful treasure hidden in the field. The field here is God’s word, which looks like a dirty dusty old field – if only we knew what treasures were hidden beneath each page and in each word! Jesus says: Then in his joy he goes and seels all that he has and buys that field.

And for our last parable today, Jesus says: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

This parable is similar to the treasure hidden in the field. But in this parable, the merchant doesn’t simply come across the treasure by chance which he didn’t even know was there. In this parable, the merchant know that there must be better pearls in the world than the ones he already has, and he goes out looking for them. He is a like a person with a burning conscience that says: I know that there must be more to life than this. There must be a better philosophy of life than the one I have now. So many people even in the church go for years without any comfort for their sin, or a particular sin, one that keeps on niggling them, and think that there must be some comfort for it, if only I could find it. They think: all the comfort I have now is like plastic pearls from the two dollar shop. I want a real one, real enduring comfort, comfort that comes from God!

And then, God has a word for them. A word of the kingdom of heaven! A word of the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. A pure word, that is more pure than any other word that we have ever found before.

And once the man has found this pearl, then he sells all he has to buy it. He gives up his worldly philosophies, and he endures suffering, persecution, and ridicule just so that he can have the pearl.

What a fine pearl this kingdom of heaven is! Do we understand just how much Jesus loves us, and just how powerful his blood, his death and resurrection really are?

St Paul says: I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Amen.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gift of your heavenly kingdom. Help us to understand it, and draw us daily into its great mystery. Strengthen us daily in your word and in faith until we die, when we will see you face to face. Send us the Holy Spirit, that we may relish and enjoy this most precious treasure of your pure Gospel! Amen.

Pentecost VI: Audio Sermon (20-Jul-2014)

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Pentecost VI (Proper 11 A) [Matthew 13:24-30, 34-43] (20-Jul-2014)

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Lutheran Church, Mt Barker (8.30am, 10.30am). 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The sermon text for today was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the apostle St Matthew. And we read from his gospel:

Gather the wheat into my barn…Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

In John 3:16, we read: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

God so loved the world. He created the world, and he sent his Son into the world. And yet, the world in which we live is not the same as it was at the very beginning when God created it. We read that when God created it: God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.

But we also read in the book of Genesis, how the first people fell into sin. After sin entered into the world, the world is full of corruption and sin. It is still the world that God created, but it has fallen from the beauty, the goodness, the wonder that it had when God first created it. And it wasn’t the fault of God that the world now has problems, but it was the fault of human beings.

And so, on the one hand we read that God so loved the world.

But on the other hand, St John writes to us in his letter: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

So even though God loves the world, we are called not to love the world or the things in the world. Now how does this work? Aren’t we called to love the whole world? Well, yes – God shows the deepest love to the world, and Jesus shows his deepest love for the world by dying his death on the cross. And of course, he wants us, his Christians, to show deep love together with him to all the people of the world around us.

But God doesn’t want to learn anything from the world. He doesn’t change, and he doesn’t need to learn anything new from the world. All wisdom and power belong to him. In the same way, even though we should love the people of the world around us, we Christians are not called to love the people of the world as our teachers. Christians are called to love God alone, and to listen to his voice, and to let him be our teacher. That’s why in the church we preach God’s word, because we haven’t come here to learn something from the world, but we have come to learn something from God and from his Son, Jesus Christ.

So it makes sense: God so loved the world that He gave his only Son. But also we are told: Do not love the world or the things of the world.

In our Gospel reading today, we read the parable of the weeds. And this parable teaches us what it means to be a Christian in our world. This parable is so incredibly relevant to our lives today, because, I’m sure that you know what it’s like to be a reasonably lonely Christian in a world that is hostile to Christ and hostile to his gospel.

Jesus says: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven. It is so important for us to realise that Jesus isn’t talking about the some worldly kingdom here, but he’s talking about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The whole point of me preaching God’s word here today is so that God may bring people into his kingdom.

And so Jesus explains: The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed are the sons of the kingdom.

So here we see that the man in the parable is actually Jesus himself. He is the man who sowed his good seed in his field. And the field is the world. The world is Jesus’ field. The whole world belongs to Jesus, and he wants to sow his seed in it. And what’s the good seed? Jesus says: The good seed is the sons of the kingdom.

Notice here that the good seed is not the word of God, but it is the people who have heard the word of God and believe it, those in whom the word of God has been planted and taken root. So we have this picture of Jesus, the Son of Man, planting good seed, the children of his heavenly kingdom, into his own field, the world.

Now we read: But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.

Now Jesus gives us his explanation: the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.

The first thing that Jesus teaches us here is that there is a real enemy of the church: the devil. Jesus teaches us that the devil is real and that he exists. It’s interesting if people sit and have a discussion, or the topic comes up on TV: Does God exist? But it would take a very different turn if the discussion was: Does the devil exist?

When we talk about Christian faith, we’re not talking about a belief in whether or not God or Jesus exists. Because there are all kinds of other things that exist that we can’t see, like angels, demons, and the devil himself. But we don’t put our trust in them. So when we say: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, it doesn’t mean that we simply believe that he exists, but that we trust in him, that we put ourselves in his hands, so that we are on his side. But we don’t say, I believe in the devil. Yes, we believe that he exists, but we don’t put our trust in him, we don’t put ourselves in his hands, and ask to bat on his team.

So we read that this enemy, the devil, came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.

Wherever Jesus builds a church, the devil also builds his own across the road. The devil always goes about mimicking Jesus. Jesus goes out and sows some seed, and then the devil goes out and sows some seed. It’s a bit like one man sees another guy start a business, and he thinks: I might do the same thing and make some money as well.

So Jesus preaches his word, and then the devil thinks: that’s a good idea—I might preach my word. Jesus makes some disciples, and the devil says: I might make some disciples too. Jesus builds a church, and the devil builds one too.

And so, right wherever we find true Christians, what do we find right alongside? We find false Christians. And this has been going on ever since Jesus entered the world: he sends out the apostles, and then there are false apostles. There are prophets, and false prophets. Christ is preached, and a false Christ is also preached: the antichrist.

And so people who love Jesus always live next to people who hate him. But people who are not Christians pretend to be Christians, and sometimes it only becomes clear that a person is a false Christian when both the wheat and the weed grow up together and the plants start to bear fruit.

I know a man who used to say: If you find a perfect church, don’t join it, because you’ll stuff it up! Is it any surprise to you that there are fights within the church? Is it any surprise to you that in many churches people don’t want to learn God’s word? Is any surprise to you that people around you are hostile to Jesus? Well, this parable explains this. Everywhere where there are Christians, there are also hypocrites close by. Wherever Jesus is sowing, growing and forming his disciples, the devil is also close by sowing his seed.

It can be easy sometimes to give the appearance of being a Christian. But Christians come to church to gather around Christ. Hypocrites come to gather around Christians. Jesus calls people to look towards the forgiveness of sins, to the resurrection from the dead, and the life everlasting, and to look forward in their journey towards heaven. But the devil doesn’t want people to look towards heaven, because he doesn’t have one to promise to them, so he turns people’s eyes to look simply at this life. And so people use the blessings of Christianity simply for worldly purposes.

So be careful: let the word of God, the word of the heavenly kingdom of Jesus, grow in you. Do not love the world and the things of the world.

And so we read: And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.”

Here we see the servants puzzled, just like we might be. Where did all these weeds come from? And Jesus gives us a very clear explanation. He says: An enemy has done this. It’s not Jesus’ fault that there are problems in the world and problems in the church—this is the devil’s work of sowing his seed. As St Peter says: Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.

We read: So the servants said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he said, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.

Jesus says: The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Jesus lets both the wheat and the weeds grow together, because he doesn’t want one single blade of wheat to be destroyed. There will be a close of the age. But he allows us to grow right in the middle of our enemies, right amongst hypocrites, for our sake, for the sake of the wheat. See the great love that Jesus has for each blade of wheat, and how precious each of his disciples are in his eyes!

At the end of the world, though, it will be a different story. Jesus says: Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If there’s one way to ridicule a pastor, it’s to call him a “fire-and-brimstone” preacher. It gives the impression that he’s loveless, heartless, old-fashioned, and out-of-touch. But Jesus himself has preached more sermons about hell that anyone put together. And he always just says enough: not too much to leave us in despair, but just enough to warn us from away from hell. People today don’t take hell very seriously, but they should. Jesus took it seriously, in fact, he descended into hell, and gave hell a good kicking. Jesus teaches us seriously here about hell, because he takes us seriously, and wants to have us all completely for himself. So Jesus always teaches the Law: he teaches about sin, about hypocrisy, about the devil, about judgment, about hell. And when he teaches this, he wants us all to hit by this word, to be cut to the heart, and to recognise this as a word that comes from him. He wants to find sinners, sinners like you, like me, and root them out.

But then: here’s a question for you—what’s the one prerequisite for you to go to heaven? The one thing that you need to be is a sinner, because sinners are the only people that Jesus died for. The devil doesn’t want you to know you’re a sinner, he wants you to cover your sin up and pretend to be wheat. But real wheat knows that one day it’s going to be cut down and harvested. Real wheat knows that the wages of sin is death, and it’s only when the wheat is harvested, put to death, that it’s useful and gathered into the barns. The death of Christians is not our failure, but it’s God’s victory, it’s his triumph.

And so, what does Jesus promise about these people who know they are sinners for whom he died? He calls them: righteous!  

He says: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Not only will our souls be with Jesus in heaven, not only will our bodies rise from the dead, but they will be transformed, free from every disease, sickness, pain, heartache, free from every sadness, sorrow, hurt, betrayal. And not only will Jesus take away from us our sin, and all the things that come with it, but he will let us share in his glory. The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. St Paul says: The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. Think about Jesus at the transfiguration – our faces will shine like his, our clothes will shine like his, not with our own light, but with his light, the light of his forgiveness, the light of life, the light of his salvation. And if this is what Jesus has called us to, wouldn’t we want to seek this kingdom first and God’s righteousness with all our heart, mind, soul and strength?

As Jesus says: He who has ears, let him hear. Amen.

Dear Lord Jesus, encourage us and give us patience as we find ourselves surrounded by all kinds of people who are hostile to your word and your kingdom. Set our eyes on you, Lord Jesus, the first-fruits of the harvest, and give us the living hope that one day we will also shine together with you, like golden and ripe grain, in the wonderful, glorious sunshine of your face. Amen.