Lutheran Church
RESURRECTION
Pastor Chris Boyd
Ordained Minister of the NALC for Resurrection Lutheran Church since 2020; a MDiv graduate of the North American Lutheran Seminary and Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA. Pastor Chris is a prior soldier of the Army, but now serves full time as the RLC minister. His ministry extends to the Catawba Island Volunteer Fire Department as its chaplain and as a volunteer fireman, to the township for community events such as street dedications and Wreaths Across America, to the city of Port Clinton for events including their Memorial Day Ceremony and Passion Walk, and many other entities. He passionately encourages rigorous study of the Word of God, apologetics, and communal involvement.
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Sermons
Proverbs 9: 1-6 August 18, 2024
Psalm 34: 9-14
Ephesians 5: 15-21
St. John 6: 51-59
“Sacramental Union”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
One series I grew up on was the Narnia series written by C.S. Lewis. Many of you grew up on it and may remember reading and/or watching the first book/movie called, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Now near the beginning there is an important event about logic. Now keep in mind that C.S. Lewis loved sprinkling in some obvious Christian motifs into this series, and this particular scene is important because the same argument made in the series regarding logic is also used regarding why we believe in the Resurrection even though we didn’t witness it even though, scientifically, people don’t rise from the dead.
The scene goes as such: there are four siblings, Peter the Eldest, Susan the Second, Edward the third, and Lucy the youngest. At this point both the two youngest siblings, Edward and Lucy, have witnessed the magical world of Narnia beyond the wardrobe. Excited, Lucy tells her older siblings that she and Edward saw this strange world. Only Edward, being a very nasty brother, you know how siblings get, claimed it was all made believe. But that is not it. No, Edward proceeded to become a right beast toward Lucy and tormented her. This concerned the two older siblings, so they sought their guardian, the professor for help. They asked him what to do with their younger sister who has become quite depressed for no one believes her. They are concerned that she is going “queer in the brain,” that’s the actual phrasing in the book, even though it is obvious that she is not mad. Logically, Lucy is not telling the truth because logically there is no such thing as magical worlds. And this is when the professor pipes in.
Logically? What do they teach in schools these days? Obviously not logical! Let us begin by asking simple questions. Either Lucy is mad in the head, is lying, or is telling the truth, because Lucy is obviously not mad in the head, let us ask instead, is Lucy a truthful person? Yes, she has never lied. And is Edward a truthful person? No, he loves tormenting Lucy and lying. So, because Lucy is neither a liar nor insane, and because Edward is a particularly nasty liar, she must be telling the truth… logically. The conversation continues regarding logic, and the whole time the siblings are having trouble distinguishing what is scientific and what is logical.
I ask, is it logical to claim that Christ rose from the grave? We have the words of the Apostles which tell us that He did indeed rise from the grave. But the dead do not rise from the grave. True, they do not. So logically, the Apostles are lying. What makes you say that? Well because the dead do not rise from the grave, and because the Apostles are in their right state of mind, then logically that must mean they are lying when they claimed to have witnessed the risen Lord. Let me hold you off there, you keep using that word “logically,” I do not think it means what you think it means. You think you sound logical, but all you are trying to do is sound smart. This was the problem of the Corinthians; they were hung up on trying to sound smart. It is also the trouble of teenagers who lack critical thinking skills but are oh-so “smart.”
So logically, can you prove that the disciples are liars without asserting extra-biblical knowledge? In addition, to what benefit do the disciples gain lying about a risen Lord? None! In fact, they would be far well off if they claimed that Jesus did not rise from the grave. Temporarily, there was nothing to gain by saying Jesus rose, only Salvation in Heaven, but said Salvation must depend on Jesus rising. We conclude that the disciples are neither mad in the head nor had any reason to lie but all the motivation to claim Jesus was still dead. Thus, logically, when they said they witnessed the risen Lord, they must be telling the truth. Thus, logically, not scientifically, the Resurrection is real. Now we do not need logic to know the Resurrection is real for the Holy Spirit has revealed that to us, but it drives me up the wall when people claim that logically things in the Bible did not happen.
Here is another scenario: logically, is Christ lying when He says, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you”? Now, Jesus Christ said much more than that and became quite graphic with his depiction as He emphatically impressed upon the five thousand the absolute need to truly consume His flesh and drink His blood. What is worse is the implication, that if we wish to live then we need to commit cannibalism, which according to the Laws of Moses is a sin. It is deeply wrong to take the flesh and blood of a fellow human and use it for food, and the Jews do not want to commit a sin. Now it is obvious that Jesus is not mad in the head and that Jesus is talking sincerely with the crowd. It is also true that Jesus has been blessed by God and that God works through Him. Now we know that Jesus is God, but the crowd does not know that. Jesus is a sane, righteous man. He is not lying, so His statement must be true. But we need to go to such lengths for we know that Christ is God and God never lies. And yet the Jews have a dilemma, do we eat human flesh or do we not? What do we make of this scenario and what is the logical answer? In the end, the Jews found this too difficult to comprehend and left Jesus, but the rest decided not to think too heavily on it and simply trust Jesus. Those who relied on intellect left Jesus. But those who relied on faith and the wisdom of the Lord stayed.
Now this chapter in John, as well as the Lord’s Supper in the other three Gospels and St. Paul’s words on Communion found in 1 Corinthians 10-11, still confuse the Church Catholic to this day as we are split between Papists, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Zwinglians. All western Christian bodies fall under one of these four camps regarding how they approach communion and the question of Christ’s presence. The Papists would say that the Bread is Christ’s flesh and would describe such as “transubstantiation”; in that the substance of the bread transforms into Christ’s flesh. The Zwinglians, which include most Protestants, believe that Christ is not present, and that Christ was only talking metaphorically. The Calvinists would claim that Christ is only present spiritually and would describe this as “consubstantiation”; in that communion is physically bread and spiritually Christ. But us Lutherans do not believe in transubstantiation, consubstantiation, nor the metaphorical interpretation, but believe in Sacramental Union.
But what is Sacramental Union, this Lutheran approach to Communion? It is such: that the Bread is Christ. End of subject. We know not how the bread is Christ’s body, but that it is indeed physically, bodily, humanly, truly the body of Christ. Now we do not like using metaphysical language to describe such, therefore the farthest we are willing to go is to claim that communion has two substances: both bread and Christ. We do not claim that the bread transformed into Christ thus losing its substance as bread. We do not claim that the bread is with Christ, which is what the Latin prefix “con” means, thus meaning that the substance of Christ is absent or mixed with the bread. We claim that the bread is Christ, thus both the substance of bread and Christ are present, though separately. And when the question of how comes up we say we do not know, it is a mystery. You see, God never revealed to us how short of the fact that the bread in communion is his body. And this is why we call it Sacramental Union, in that in the Sacrament you find union for the bread and Christ are indeed together.
But then you have the issue of cannibalism. The Zwinlians and the Calvinists loved accusing Lutherans and Papists of being cannibals, falsely accusing us of promoting this Capernaitic eating of Christ. You see, the reason the people of Capernaum left Jesus in John 6 is because they thought Jesus was ordering them to commit cannibalism. This is not true, for that would violate the Laws of Moses which Jesus did not come to overthrow but to fulfill. So how is it that we receive the actual body of Christ in communion without committing cannibalism? The papists try to act all smart by falsely using “logic” to get an answer. But the only truly wise way to answer this dilemma is to throw your hands in the air and say it is what it is. Christ says it is His body, and it is not a Capernaitic eating. How? We do not know, but we have faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, because we know that Christ does not lie, then we will simply believe in Him who tells us it is what it is. It is a mystery, and guess what, that is ok because it is not necessary for me to understand. Instead, we have faith and look beyond the mystery and towards what is known. Therefore, we do not eat the actual body is a natural way but supernaturally. But what about the promise Christ gave us through Communion? Because of sin there is no life within us. Christ on the cross became for us a sacrifice, a scapegoat, to take on our sins and the punishment we rightly deserve. When we eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, we take into our bodies His death and Resurrection. Every time we receive communion we become Resurrection Lutheran Church, for by the Body and the Blood which supernaturally enters our mouth we receive eternal life and the promise that on the last day we will rise.
So, if anyone claims that your Lutheran faith regarding communion, that is Sacramental Union, is foolish then say such: I know it’s foolish, and? For Christ I am a fool and will believe in foolish things. Why? Because Christ is the source of wisdom, and Christ chose what is foolish to shame the wise.
Let us pray,
Heaven Father, lead us away from false wisdom toward your true wisdom and grant us faith that surpasses all understanding. In Your holy name we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18 August 25, 2024
Psalm 34: 15-22
Ephesians 6: 10-20
St. John 6: 56-71
“Go in Peace, Serve the Lord”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
Is there any reason why we shouldn’t turn to God for answers? As Christians we ought to dedicate our entire life to God and seek His guidance in all aspects of our lives. Now it is true that sometimes God gives no answers, but how would you know if you do not first ask? It is like going to a door and wondering if it will open if you knock. Well knock and then you will find out. It is also like praying, how do you know God will answer your prayers unless you first pray?
Our identity is wrapped up in the arms of God, a people once lost to sin but now reclaimed by the precious blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. He came to us and gave up His life for us because without His help we would continue to be lost and rejected. Everything that comes from God is good for us. As such, because we know that the love of Jesus knows no bounds, because we know that God truly desires us to live good and righteous lives free from the burdens of sin, because God knows every hair on your head and understands your struggles far better than you, who better to turn to for help than God Himself?
All the answers we need can be found in the Good Book. Thus, what is the harm in serving God with all sincerity and faithfulness? What is the harm in saying, “Yes Lord,” whenever God tells you this or tells you that? The Lord your God died and went to Hell to take on all our sins, our griefs, and our afflictions so that we would no longer have to suffer them but be at peace through faith in He who loved us more than anything that has ever existed. Then He rose from the grave and ascended into Heaven to defeat death, to defeat sorrow, and to bring all who abide in Him to the heavenly lands where His throne sits.
He has proven to us that He is a good God, and that everything He has done for us is for our own good. He has freed us from our anxieties and continues to bring us peace. Though we are saved by grace, we are still sinners, thus Christ remains with us to protect and provide for us. His hand is reaching out to you with a concerned smile on His face. Trust me, are the words He says.
As people who are saved by grace but still struggle with sin, we may come to fear the Bible and fear the answers God may have for us. The reasons why we fear are many. Some struggle because they were persecuted by others. Others struggle because of their love toward a family member. Still others struggle because of the sin festering in their heart that they dare not acknowledge. These are the tools of the Devil that he uses against us for his goal is to slowly sow distrust toward the God who sacrificed everything for us, and then to ultimately separate us from God.
However, let me proclaim to you something quite bold: everything in Scripture is good for us, both Law and Gospel. And a sincere command I bring to you: let God guide you. Will God lead you astray? Will God cause your feet to stumble? Will God not instead give you shelter from the scorching sun and be for you a life-giving spring of water? Will He not instead send His angels to bear you up least you dash your foot against a stone? Is He not your refuge and your rock? Did He not promise to make you shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of His hand?
Why turn to other gods? Why fear His judgment? Why become troubled by His words? Did He not graciously save us from our sins on account of our faith?
Yes, I understand this world is still afflicted. Each and everyone of us still struggle with sin and continue to sin against each other. Jesus’ sacrifice did not get rid of sin, and as such there still exists so much horror in this life. I ask did God ever sin against you? Did Jesus ever sin against you? Why do we turn to the world for answers? Why do we let our own experiences guide us? We should instead be turning to God every time we have a question and place our trust in Him. If God gives no answers, then so be it; but if He does answer then we ought to be at peace and say, “Yes Lord.”
The people in Joshua were at peace, and they sincerely desired to place their trust in God, to obey every command He had given, and to turn to Him when in need. The disciples in Capernaum turned away from Jesus because they couldn’t accept the words He said. Oh, they asked Jesus the questions that rested deep in their hearts, so kudos to them for doing that, but they couldn’t simply trust Jesus and say, “Yes, Lord.” They turned because they had preconceived notions, and Jesus did not meet their expectations but instead said some things they disagreed with. They turned because instead of truly listening to Jesus, and thus trusting that the words He said was good for them, they decided it was better to trust themselves and their own “better” judgment.
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him,” is a hard saying to receive. We should be at peace when we hear these words because instead of overthinking it we should respond to Jesus whom we have placed our complete trust in with, “Yes Lord.” We should not turn to ourselves, our experiences, our friends, our families, our political parties, our culture, our philosophers, or our scientists for answers but first we turn to the Lord with the words of St Peter on our lips, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Christ alone is the source of eternal life, and His words and instructions for us lack nothing good. Peace and joy and love and happiness and courage and patience are the fruits we enjoy when we turn to Christ and decide to simply trust everything He and the Father tells us. And when the community of Christians come together and do likewise, the community is also brought to peace and can enjoy all the fruits of trusting God. When a Christian community is truly divided it is because at least one party has decided to place their trust outside of God. But when everyone turns to God to sincerely and faithfully serve Him with both fear and love, then in Christ there is no longer Jew and Gentile, slave and master, male and female, black and white, but one family of Christ who share in the oneness of Christ’s body. This is why as a church we say things such as: one Baptism, one faith, one birth, one bread, one cup, one Lord, one Spirit. The oneness is a representation that we are all one body in, with, and through Christ. We are the one body of Christ.
Now whereas I ask that we must all sincerely turn to the Bible with every question we wrestle with, seeking God for the answers, I have one bit of caution. I pray you do not use the Word of God to justify yourself and your opinions. If we do then we do not trust God to give us the answer, but only care to use God to support our answers. We must still turn to Scripture and use Scripture, if possible, to address all the answers of life. But we must be prepared to receive the answers God has for us and to change our minds if Scripture presents for us an answer quite contrary to what we desire.
Such is like a bad scientist. A bad scientist starts the scientific method by presenting his hypothesis. As he starts collecting data, anything that contradicts his hypothesis is excluded. Thus, when he analyzes the data, behold! His hypothesis is “proven” true. Said bad scientist already concluded he was right before the experiment began and excluded all things that proved him wrong. I have heard a phrase like this called “self-fulfilling prophecies.”
No, we must be careful that we do not prematurely judge our questions with pre-made answers, and then use Scripture to justify our answers, but instead honestly seek God’s word and simply say, “Yes, Lord” to whatever God says. And who knows, maybe God’s answer is what you expected, but you will never know if you do not first start with the mindset to trust God and to let His truth reign supreme over “your truth.”
Now I ask that you pray for me. I, like St Paul, am an ambassador in chains, for it is not you whom I serve but God alone. I ask that you pray that I remain to be an ambassador in chains, that I teach, preach, and lead in accordance to God’s Word, that I present to you God’s commands, and that I enslave myself to the task of being His messenger. In return, I pray that you listen to my words and place your trust in me, not because of the words I say but because of the Word of God which I speak.
In the end, let us all turn to the Good Lord who suffered and died for us so that we may no longer suffer affliction but be delivered from darkness. Let us turn to Him with prayer, thanksgiving, and questions. Let us be at peace and serve the Lord knowing that He can be trusted. And when He does respond, let our lips proclaim, “Yes, Lord.”
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, by your Spirit turn our hearts to Your Son so that we may trust all that He says and does. And make us all ambassadors in chains, faithfully proclaiming Your Word and nothing else. In Your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Isaiah 35: 4-7a September 8, 2024
Psalm 146
James 2: 1-17
St. Mark 7: 24-37
“God Restores You”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
There once was a little girl who loved her father so much and each day, she would wait at home for her father to come back home. The times of her father’s arrival brought her great joy and as she grew up these regular moments of a father’s arrival rested in a special place in her heart.
As she grew up, she became a fine lady, married, and lived in her own house with her own family. But though she was no longer living in her father’s house that did not mean her father stopped arriving. For on a weekly basis her father would come to her house, but because this was not his house instead of simply entering in he had a special knock so that the young lady and her family would know instantly that dad or grandpa was at the door. Dad had arrived.
Years went by and the young lady was no longer young but a refined elder whose wisdom was lauded in her community and church. She was a lady of great respect and capability and love. She knew her father to be of advanced age and, though sad, was not surprised when he passed away. The special knock stopped, and her father no longer arrived.
Time passed, and one day in her house she heard a peculiar sound: a familiar knock. Her husband was in the house, her children grown and far off. Everyone who knew that knock was accounted for and could not possibly be outside at the door. Maybe it was just her imagination. A week later, the same thing happened. She went to the door and saw no one there. Could this be a child pranking her? No. Could this be her father reminding her that he is looking over her? She hoped so.
So, each week, on the same day and same time of the week, she would sit where she could see the door. And at the same time each week she would hear the special knock and say, “Welcome, Dad.” This became a newly regular part of her schedule; something she greatly enjoyed and appreciated. She thanked God for this opportunity and each week welcomed her dad, even opening her door and saying, “Please come on in.”
More years passed, and the refined lady slowly changed. At times she would get cranky, other times slightly moody. Occasionally she would have an outburst and to the surprise of those who loved her and respected her she would suddenly blow up in their face. Eventually those who surrounded her no longer saw her as the bastion of wisdom but as the hateful old hag. Her pastor also became concerned for her and tried to counsel her, wondering what happened to her. Maybe old age is catching up to her and is adding to her mind. But each time he approached her, she would push him away, attacking even her pastor. With time he suspected something quite foul was afoot. Was she possessed? But he shook his head and considered it just old age.
Irritated, the lady would leave church and her community, finding solace only in the sweet knocks that sounded on her door now daily.
One day, a man with foresight, a God-fearing man who was gifted by the Holy Spirit to see demons, moved into the neighborhood. He heard stories of the crazy lady but thought nothing of it. As he was making his morning jog, he decided to change his usual route and turned on the street of the lady, and as he passed her house he saw a horrifying sight. The house was darkened with a heavy black haze looming over it and at its door was a line of demons waiting their turn to knock on the door and be welcomed in.
He immediately called the pastor, who called for recruitment. Twelve pastors showed up, chanting the Lord’s Prayer, sprinkling holy water on the house, swinging incense, and preaching from the Gospel. With a medic on hand, the head priest exorcized the legion of demons which possessed the poor lady and her house and after forty days of constant prayer, she and her house was finally released and restored. The refined old lady of great standing and wisdom had returned. The next day she heard a knock, but this time she turned to the door and said, “Get behind me Satan! How dare you pretend to be my father! For I was a fool to believe in ghosts, but I now know that my father is and remains to be in heaven. Leave me in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!”
When God restores us and heals us there are many things He heals us from. Sometimes he heals us of specific ailments such as blindness or deafness. He can and has cured the mute and lame. To each of these he has restored the bodies to their former glory to their intended glory. For it is not a part of God’s design for us to suffer from afflictions such as blindness or infection. Such are ailments that have creeped into humanity by way of sin, and it is for this reason why in heaven there is no ailments for in heaven there is also no sin. God who is the source of life is also the progenitor of perfection; in Him all is good and is working as intended. But apart from Him, we suffer all sorts of things, and our bodies break down and eventually we die. The reason why there is death in this temporal lifetime is because of the existence of sin or evil, which quite simply is the turning away from or absence of God.
Thus, in God all is restored. The once lame, in God, now leaps like a deer. The once mute, in God, now sings praise to the Lord. The once deaf, in God, now hears and enjoys the songs of the once mute. The once blind, in God, now sees the glory of God’s face. And such restoration is not temporary for in Christ the thing that caused us to degrade has been vanquished.
But the restoration of God goes farther, for He not only restores us physically but also in other means. Hunger is vanquished. Slavery vanquished. Homelessness vanquished. Fatherlessness vanquished. Empty homes vanquished. But instead, God eternally restores your health, your stomachs, your reputation, your broken homes, and your lost bonds.
Now I know that some of these things cannot be restored in the here and now but in the thereafter, so let me name a couple of things God does restore in this life. Look outside; wasn’t the grass dead a couple weeks ago? But in the last two weeks God has answered our prayers and is slowly restoring the green landscape with the rain He has brought back; praise be to God! In this room there are those who at one point suffered from cancer and went to the doctor only to find out that the whole tumor had already disappeared; praise be to God! I personally know someone who was gay, but by the grace of God had left that sinful life and is enjoying the life God intended; praise be to God! Through the cross, Christ restores us from sin each Sunday through the Absolution and Eucharist; praise be to God! And there are those who were once afflicted with demons, but through the acts of a brave pastor in the name of God have been set free; praise be to God!
Speaking of demonic possessions, I would like to have a quick word on that. It is easy to ask God for physical restoration, to identify physical restoration, and to praise God when such happens. But what about spiritual restoration? In addition, so often we turn to our neighbor and consider that their affliction is caused by some mental or physical ailment, never considering the possibility that the root cause is because of a demon. On this island I have already identified at least three individuals that I suspect are possessed by demons. But unless asked, what am I to do?
The problem we face today is that science has advanced so far that we have convinced ourselves that science can identify each issue and even solve them. No longer do we consider demons are foul but that there may be a chemical disturbance in the brain. The supernatural is thrown out the window, for such superstition is for Neanderthals. We who are of vast intellect have identified the real issue at stake. In the words of Ebenezer Scrooge, “You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!” The greatest trick the Devil ever played on humanity was to convince it that he does not exist.
No, demonic possession is still a grave threat, and I would say a much graver threat today than all of human history. So many issues we face today can be easily rectified with a quick exorcism. But instead, we turn to science. And don’t get me wrong, the advancement of the medical field is a blessing from God. I’m just concerned that this blessing is now being used to hide the existence of demons. And this concerns me greatly because should we not turn to the Lord asking for the restoration of all things, both the physical and spiritual?
Let it be known that God does restore, and desires to restores all things, and have promised that with due time all will be restored. But until the day of our Lord let us turn to the Lord our God presenting all our ailments. Let us ask that He cure our wounds, that He cures our doubts, that He restores us with Living Faith from the Holy Spirit which produces good works, that He restores us from death, that He restores us from evil, and that He restores creation.
Let us pray, dear Heaven Father, please restore all things. In your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Isaiah 50: 4-9a September 15, 2024
Psalm 116: 1-9
James 3: 1-12
St. Mark 8: 27-38
“Watch What You Say”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
Talk about whiplash. One moment Peter is calling Jesus the Christ and the next Jesus is calling Peter Satan. And in a matter of moments this happened! Here we have an example of two different Peters. One Peter is speaking that which is inspired by the Lord. The other Peter is speaking, which is inspired by the Devil. Now they are both the same Peter, that much is obvious, but the stark difference in how Peter approached Jesus and how Jesus responded is just so shocking. So let us dive into our Gospel and get a better grasp of what is happening.
So while Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples what the people said He was. By this point the people have already identified that Jesus was a great Rabbi and a great Prophet who may potentially be one of the great prophets of old now back on Earth. Word had spread of Jesus far and wide, though not much information about Jesus’ message had spread. Word of the miracles on the other hand most definitely was spreading. But no one had a good grasp on who Jesus must be. It is for this reason why many suspected that Jesus was Elijah. A fair guess, but not correct.
On the other hand, many who have received word of Jesus but have not personally witnessed Him and/or John the Baptist have concluded that the two are one and the same. News of John the Baptist had already spread for John has been around for ages, so as news of Jesus spread some people may have confused Jesus and assumed that this preacher must be John the Baptist. Keep in mind, at this point John is already dead.
Then Jesus asked the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” By including the word “but” Jesus is implying that all the previous answers which have come not from the disciples but from the people were wrong. So, what is the correct answer? Jesus is obviously not lesser than a prophet, so who is greater than the prophets? Who is greater than Elijah? The answer is obvious, the only human prophesied of old in Scripture that was greater than the prophets is the Messiah. Now because messiah is not a Greek word but a Hebrew word, what is the Greek equivalent to Messiah? Christ!
But let me tell you a secret, no disciple was going to earnestly claim that Jesus was Christ, not because they merely didn’t believe but because they couldn’t believe. It is not within the nature of the fallen human to proclaim such a true statement, and yet when pressed Peter did the impossible, He sincerely proclaimed that Jesus is Christ.
Now our Gospel is from Mark, which means there is some details left out, such as Jesus’ reply to Peter’s proclamation. So let me read from Matthew 16: 17-19. Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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. 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 lose on earth shall be lost in heaven.”
Flesh and blood did not reveal this to Peter but the Father. According to Peter’s status as an unregenerate fallen human, no amount of intellect or wisdom could have led him to conclude that Jesus was Christ. In fact, his own flesh and blood was preventing him from coming to that conclusion. It isn’t until the Father intervened did Peter speak the truth of who Jesus really was. To be more accurate, it is the Spirit of the Father, the Holy Spirit, which entered Peter for a moment and spoke through Peter.
Now because English is weird, some people may get confused as they read the rest of Jesus’ proclamation, believing that Peter was to be the rock Jesus built His church on; this is because Peter is Greek for “rock”. And yet, by parsing the words we realize that the “rock” Jesus is referring to is not the person Peter but the message from Peter. The rock of the Church is the message from the Father, “You are the Christ.”
But who is Christ? This is when everything for Peter went downhill. So, Jesus then proceeded to teach the disciples who Christ is supposed to be, referring to primarily the prophetic Scriptures in Isaiah and Daniel. Now the disciples were well learned enough to know that the title “Son of Man” is just another title for Christ, so let us use Christ in lieu of Son of Man. Jesus tells His disciples that Christ, “must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
This is the first time Jesus has revealed to the disciples what is to happen to Him and spoke these words plainly. There was no doubt in the disciples’ minds that Jesus was proclaiming that He was going to suffer and die at the hands of the Jewish leaders. Let us ignore the fact that Jesus did promise that on the third day He will rise again; that part of the proclamation fell on deaf ears. All Peter heard was “be killed”.
Now the disciples loved Jesus and did not want to see Him go nor to see Him suffer. It is a reasonable human reaction to tell someone to avoid doing an action they know will lead to suffering. Jesus says this will happen, but the disciples did not want any of this to happen; it was up to Peter, who has just been appointed the leader of the group, to rebuke Jesus. It is like a crew asking the first man of a ship to advise their captain. Peter, who loved Jesus, rebuked Jesus for even contemplating going on a suicide mission. Peter had good intentions, but the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
“Get behind me Satan!” Oh, Jesus was furious, but it was not Peter He was angry at but Satan who was using Peter. Satan was once again trying to tempt Jesus, but this time through His most trusted friend, Peter. I wonder how much Jesus would have suffered if instead of Peter, Satan used Jesus’ mother Mary to convey the same message. Satan was trying to get Jesus to abandon His mission using love. Imagine the consequences if Jesus listened to the emotional distress of His disciples and relented. The reason why we have the assurance of Heaven is through faith in the grace of God who won Salvation on the Cross. Had not Jesus died on the cross, taking on all our sins as a scapegoat, we would remain lost and rejected. Jesus came into the world to give himself up as an eternal sacrifice, and Satan through Peter was standing in His way.
So here we have two different Peters, one who has set his mind on the things of God and thus proclaimed with the help of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is Christ, the other who has set his mind on the things of man and thus rebuked Jesus for going on a suicide mission.
The tongue is a tricky part of the body. From it comes both things divine and things demonic. From the tongue we both bless and curse.
This is why we must watch what we say, lest we fall victim to Satan’s trickery who will use what we think is right and loving and feels good to proclaim things that are objectively false and thus from God’s perspective evil.
But let me reverse this phrase into a more uplifting variant, since the words, “watch what you say,” is used more as a preventative measure. Remember, it was not the flesh and blood that revealed to Peter the sweet words of which the Church of God is built on, but the Father who through Peter proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ. In like manner, the Father also speaks through you. So, I say, watch what you say, not merely as a preventative measure but also as a means of observing the Holy Spirit. You may just surprise yourself for one minute you are talking about raising children and the next minute the Holy Spirit speaks through you as you, by way of using Scripture, profess a profound statement.
There are times when I preach, I notice that my heart flutters as the Words of God leaves my lips and speaks the Good News right back at me. There are times when children say the darndest things, but suddenly they utter words far wiser than the wisest theologian.
In all these, and in many other scenarios, let us pay special attention to the words that leave our lips, for you never know, maybe, just like Peter, God is using you and is speaking the Good News through you.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, grant us your words and fill us with your Spirit. May our lips utter your wisdom. May our ears hear the wisdom you utter through us. In your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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2 Kings 4: 42-44 July 28, 2024
Psalm 145: 1-3, 10-18
Ephesians 3: 14-21
St. John 6: 1-21
“Beyond Limits”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
In the recent past I gave several sermons about Christology, or the study of Christ, and in a sense this sermon too will be a Christological-centered sermon where I focus on the Divine nature of Christ. But let me first begin with a series of questions that will grant us a foundation to work with. First, is Christ fully human? Yes. Is Christ fully God? Yes. Post-incarnation, is Christ ever lacking in His humanity or divinity? No. Are there two distinct Christs or only one? One. And last, are the two natures of Christ distinct from each other, in that neither mix? Correct. So, with this as our foundation let us now address Christ’s divinity, communion, and His various miracles.
When we say that Christ is fully human, then we confess two things. The first is that wherever there is Christ there is also His humanity. For if it is possible for Christ to be present without His humanity then that would mean that Christ is not fully human as part of Him is devoid of such characteristics. The second is that Christ is the fullest or most complete human. To be human is to serve God, and thus because of sin we are all sub-human. When God made humanity, He deemed it good because it did what it was made to do, but sin broke us. Christ alone is truly the most human and the only good human as He alone perfectly serves God.
In like manner, we ought to apply the same to Christ’s divine nature, for when we say that Christ is fully God then we too confess two things. The first is that wherever there is Christ there too is His divinity. At no point is Christ present merely as a human for that would mean that Christ is not fully God. The second is that Christ is always, in His fullness, truly divine. At no point is human nature limiting His divine nature, for every divine capability of the Father is also shared by the Son. This is why we say, though Christ is subservient to the Father according to His humanity He is always also equal to the Father according to His divinity.
So, if Christ is at all times divine and human and never divides Himself into two distinct Christs, one divine and one human, then when we observe the Lord’s Supper and hear the sweet words, “This is my Body,” what natures of Christ are present? Is Christ present only spiritually? No! Is Christ present only humanly? No! Is Christ present both spiritually and humanly? Yes! Thus, we confess that because Christ is always fully human and fully divine then when Christ comes to us in the Lord’s Supper, we are indeed receiving the fullness of Christ, both His body and soul, both His divine nature and human nature, both physically and spiritually. How is this so? We do not know, but regardless we know this to be most certainly true because Christ said so.
Now it may appear that I am going off topic and providing a sermon that is far removed from the given Scripture and Gospel today, for how is the feeding of the 5000 connected with Christ’s divinity and the Eucharist? Far more than meets the eye.
In the entirety of John 6, which is not only today’s Gospel but also the Gospel for all of August, we have two primary events that St John focuses on. The first is the feeding of the 5000, the second is Jesus’ message regarding Communion. The coupling of these two events is no coincidence, for there is such a profound connection between the two on so many levels. It is as if God is intentionally telling us that the feeding of the 5000 is an antitype, or prefiguring, of the true message regarding the Eucharist. And in fact, that is indeed the case, for the miracle of bread and fish is supposed to help us understand the miracle of Communion.
We begin not with the feeding of the 5000, but with the feeding of the 100 in 2 Kings 4. John 6 is not the first time a miracle happened that expanded the limitations of God’s creation. In 2 Kings you have 20 loaves of bread to feed 100 men. The men who followed Elisha did not trust that with this amount of food that all 100 men would be sufficiently satisfied. These men understood mathematics and the simple Laws of Nature for any sane and reasonable man would comprehend the obvious, you can’t fill the bellies of 100 men with 20 loaves of bread. And yet Elisha was not troubled by this physical limitation because he trusted in God’s promise, “They shall eat and have some left.” And by the grace of God, a miracle happened. God through Elisha fed all the men, and they were so full of bread that they couldn’t finish the feast.
I ask, does God serve under mathematics or is God the lord over mathematics? God does not serve math, but rather math serves God. God created the laws of mathematics and measured everything as it ought to be. God fashioned the Laws of Nature for our good, and the Laws of Nature were deemed good because it did exactly what God wanted it to do. Thus, if God was to command nature to do that which is outside the original laws governed by God, then it will obey because nature is good. The laws made by God do not control God but are themselves controlled by God. Thus, God can do whatever He wants. He can break the Laws of Nature and make the finite capable of the infinite simply because He commanded it so. Hear now the words of Ephesians regarding Christ who is God, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”
Now I ask, is it within the power of man to perform such a miracle that the Laws of Nature are ripped asunder and suddenly 20 loaves of bread can feed 100? Far from it, for only God can disobey the natural laws. So, when we see Jesus feeding the 5000 on the Passover (remember that) is Jesus conducting the miracle or the Father? If you say the Father, that is because you doubt the divinity of Jesus. But we say that Jesus did the miracle Himself because Jesus is fully God and is equal to the Father in His divinity. Jesus, in accordance with His divine nature, grabbed a finite and severely limited portion of food, 5 loaves and 2 fish, and with that multiplied the food to satisfy 5000 men and fill 12 baskets with excess food. Jesus made the finite capable of the infinite by breaking the bonds of physics in this miracle. He did this not according to His humanity, but according to His divinity. And in the same way Jesus could break the limits of bread to feed far more than it is capable, so too can Jesus do that to Himself who is the Bread of Life.
An argument I hear from Sacramentarians is that Jesus’ body can’t possibly be present in the Eucharist because Jesus’ body is in heaven and the flesh according to human nature can’t be in two places at the same time. Alongside this argument you may hear people saying the catchphrase, “the finite is not capable of the infinite,” or even support the Calvinist theology known as Consubstantiation (which is the belief that Christ is present spiritually and that the bread is present physically; that communion is physically bread and spiritually Christ). Both we reject for in communion Christ isn’t “with” the bread but IS the bread, and it isn’t merely Christ’s spirit that is present but both His spirit and body. And as for the finite is not capable of the infinite, let me present… miracles!
But when we say finite, we mean human and infinite to mean divine, thus humans are not capable of the divine. True, humans can’t become God, but God can become human, and in fact He did for our sake as Jesus Christ who as a human died for our sake so that by his singular finite death, He, according to His divine nature, infinitely forgave all sin. And just because God the Son took on humanity into Himself that does not mean that He lost His divinity, such is a disservice to the grace and majesty of God when you claim that Jesus can’t possibly be bodily and humanly present in the Lord’s Supper because He is a human. Last time I checked, God is more powerful than humanity. So if Jesus, according to His divine nature, wants to be present humanly everywhere there is communion, then so be it. Who are we to judge God and say He can’t do such?
But this is a most blessed good news for us, that Jesus for our sake loves us so much that He will even break the Laws of Nature to save us. He is willing to tear down the things He built to reclaim us as His own and grant us a seat in His holy kingdom. God cannot die, and yet Jesus died for us. Humans cannot rise from the grave, and yet Jesus rose for us. Humans can’t be present in two places at once, and yet in communion Jesus is for us. If it is for our sake, God will rewrite the Laws of Nature and make the impossible possible. He spoke through a burning bush. He split the sea in half to save His people from slavery. He made bread rain down from heaven to feed His people. He crushed the walls of Jericho. And He took on your sins and paid the debt in your place.
Now I said I would mention the timing of this miracle, the feeding of the 5000. With God there are no coincidences. Everything God does He does for a reason. There is a reason why Jesus fed the 5000 on the Passover, and on the next day in Capernaum, said that He is the Bread of Life and if you wish to receive eternal life you must eat of His flesh. Then one year later, also on the Passover, Jesus said these words according to St Luke, “This is my body, which is given for you.” It is no coincidence that the Last Supper and the feeding of the 5000 both happened on the Passover.
Let us pray,
Dear Heaven Father, grant us miracles and help us see the miracle of Communion each time we receive our Lord and Savior. In Your name we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Exodus 16: 2-4, 9-15 August 4, 2024
Psalm 78: 23-29
Ephesians 4: 1-16
St. John 6: 24-35
“The Work of God”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
One of humanity’s most natural impulses regarding religion in general is the need to acquire for oneself the means of salvation. We so desperately want to be involved in our own righteousness. We ask questions such as, “What can I do to get closer to God,” or, “What can I do to enter heaven.” This natural impulse of humanity becomes more apparent when one observes the worldly religions that humans have created throughout time. If we ignore Judaism and Christianity, but obverse all other religions there is a single threat that connects all of them, “What can I do to achieve Heaven?” Now obviously not all religions have heaven but may have a variant thereof. Regardless, every religion puts the onus on the people.
Christianity on the other hand is quite unique and different, mostly because all other religions have been created by man and thus are influenced by mankind’s sinful impulses whereas Christianity is from God. And that is the key to understanding the difference. In all religions we ask, “What must I do?” In Christianity we ask, “What has Christ done for us?”
Pride and vanity, though disguised, is the root of our issue for as fallen humans we cannot see the total depravity of our complete corruption under sin and instead try to desperately convince ourselves into thinking that we can partake in our own salvation. We want to take hold of our future and be able to steer it in the desired direction toward a more perfect good. We want to claim that we were somehow in some way, shape, or form involved in the most precious conclusion of this life which blossoms forth into the endless bliss of Heaven. We do not like being powerless. We do not like incompetence. We do not like looking into the mirror and seeing reality for what it is: a person who deserves Hell and by their own power will never meet God’s minimum standard.
It is this vanity that creates in us the belief that we can earn God’s grace. We who are sinners and drowning in endless darkness delude ourselves into believing that we have the power to swim our heads toward the light where air is available. We desperately swim toward the place where life can be breathed back into our lungs as we hold on to dear life, swimming as fast as we can toward the light. Only we are confused and delusional and cannot tell that what we swim towards is a trickster monster that lurks in the depths, the outer darkness of this watery abyssal. When we take matters into our own hands, we swim toward our death, and finally we open our mouths only to die from the waters of sin which drown us. We cannot save ourselves, nor should we remotely try to for we will always fail. Salvation comes only from God and if we are saved it is only by the grace of God.
We are the drowned child which thrashes as the strong adult rescues us and lifts our head above the waters. If life is in our lungs, it is because Christ Himself breathed life into us and expelled the waters of sin. In no way are we involved in the life that we now live thanks to God. For in the same way a drowned child receives breath from a lifeguard, and lives solely on account of their rescuer and in no part by their nonexistent willingness to receive the breath of life, so too are we with Christ. For we were dead in sin, not drowning but already drowned in sin, incapable of choosing to willingly receive God’s grace. And yet Christ comes to us sinners and grants us grace via the cross. He died so that we might live. And this gift He gives us out of the goodness of His soul is received not by faith (imagine faith actively grasping a gift being given) but rather because of faith or in accordance with faith, for it is grace that saves us. In the same way a drowned child receives breath from a lifeguard and now lives, we who were dead to sin receive the breath of life from Christ and now live. We did not choose Christ, for how can a dead person choose to receive the means to live. No, but Christ chose us, and acted upon us, and brought us to life asking for no conditions. John 15, Christ says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.”
In no way were we involved in our salvation, and in no way are we able to do things that maintain our salvation. There exists no work on our part that brings us closer to Heaven. And yet we know we will go to Heaven, we who have faith, because of the work of God.
So, it is no wonder when the people who heard from Jesus about food that does not perish but leads to eternal life then asked, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Such an odd phrase, for is not a work of God an action that God Himself does. But here the Jews are asking what they must do so that their works may be called works of God. They have confused who the actor is by placing themselves before God. But again, I say this is the natural impulse for us sinful humans, for if anyone was to have heard this amazing news of imperishable food, they too would have asked what they must do to receive the food.
Some things to consider: A good king just does not give his citizens things without expecting something in return. Rewards are not given to those who did not earn them. And in no religious system do the gods unconditionally give gifts. He who does not work shall not eat, 2 Thessalonians 3:10. So we should not fault the Jews who thought that gifts, especially from God, must first be earned on account of an action done by the receiver, and yet when it comes to Salvation and the Sacraments that is not the case.
Jesus responded, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” Faith is not a work, nor should we transform it into a work which is easy to unwittingly do. But faith is of God. It is a work of God, but it is also something that God works into us. We are like dough and faith is like yeast, when you work the yeast into the dough and then put it to the side it naturally rises. Faith is an act of God which He provided for you, not a decision one makes. So too are the Sacraments works of God, for neither Communion or Baptism are acts of Men but the righteous Work of God where the forgiveness of sin is so plentifully and graciously provided.
Many may say that Baptism and Communion are acts of men, but we confess that both are acts of God through which we receive the forgiveness of sins. Remember, “It was not Moses who gave (past tense) you the bread from heaven, but the Father who gives (present tense) you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:32-33. The Father gives you communion; communion is not an act of Moses, of men, but comes from God Himself.
Now one may ask, is not God alone the provider of forgiveness of sin? How then can mere bread and water do such amazing things? To such a person, they are most certainly correct for only Christ has truly taken on your sins. Bread and water do not forgive sins, and yet Baptism is not mere water but is Water and the Word and it is not the water of baptism that forgives but the Word of baptism. In like manner, Communion is not mere bread but is the literal body of Christ and it is Christ who forgives us when we eat of His body during communion. When we realize that communion is an act of God we see past the human impulses and witness the truth before us, that Christ is physically and humanly present and is providing for us the forgiveness of sin.
Now one may ask, is not communion still an act of man because do I not have to eat of the bread to receive Christ into my body? Such a crafty question that misses the deeper understanding of the reality before us! When I say the words of institution, the very words of Christ which I am commanded to say, I am not summoning Christ but confessing that Christ is present in accordance with His promise. When Christ says this is my body then it most certainly is. I am just obeying God’s command as I witness the Body and Blood’s presence. In no way did I cause God to be present, but rather God Himself acted. And though you have not eaten of the bread yet, that does not negate the truth, that Christ is indeed present and all the benefits thereof. So regardless of if you desire to receive Christ or not, Christ is present not on account of me but on account of His will.
But do I not receive the means of grace by faith through the eating of Christ’s flesh? If so, does that not mean that I am still committing an act? No, because regardless of if you trust or despise Christ you still receive Christ and the consequences of His sacrifice on the cross. When Christ died, He died for the sins of the entire world. Thus, He takes on the sins of the partaker and thrusts those sins into Hell. To the one who abhors sin and thus trusts in Christ, this forgiveness is bliss, but to the one who is secure in their sins and thus does not let go the sin is still taken to Hell but you who dare not let go are dragged alongside the sin as well. Thus, the forgiveness of sin via communion is a curse to the one who will not let go of sin.
Either way, in the end Communion is an act of God which He, not us, instituted for our own benefit so that when we who are worn out by sin receive into our bodies the Body of Christ, which is freely given for our sake, then Christ works within us so that we neither hunger nor thirst but become in Christ satisfied and strengthened and forgiven.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, sustain us and forgive us for your many works. In Your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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1 Kings 19: 1-8 August 11, 2024
Psalm 34: 1-8
Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2
St. John 6: 35, 41-51
“Taste and See that the Lord is Good”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
Before Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, and then handed it to Adam, she perceived that the fruit was good to eat, and when she tasted the fruit, she determined that it tasted good. Nothing by sight nor taste convinced her that the fruit was bad and would lead to her death. Instead of listening to the command from God, which was spoken to her through Adam, she let her eyes and tongue determine whether the fruit was good. Yes, the serpent tricked her, and yes Adam was equally at fault for being a weak man and letting Eve make decisions he knew were contrary to God’s Word, but in the end, it was Eve who decided to eat the fruit. No one forced her to eat it; she decided to disobey God because her eyes to her were far more dependable than God’s simple command.
And this is the crux of our issue as fallen humans, too often we turn away from God simply because we have decided that something else is good. This is why time after time we fall for falsehoods and lies. It is not because we are ignorant, but because we are too proud to simply claim the obvious: that God alone knows best. We know a lot of things, but everything we know is false, simply because sin is hardwired into every facet of very being.
We may claim that sin originated from the fruit, but in all reality, it originated in our prideful assertion that we know better than God. In fact, all sin originates from this internal pride. It was not the fruit that corrupted Eve, but vanity that corrupted Eve. To this day, with concupiscence as our modus operandi, we consistently turn to falsehoods simply because we want to chart our own path and make our own decisions on what is morally acceptable. When we do not let God tell us what is good and what is bad but try to choose for ourselves what is good and bad then we will always turn to falsehoods. As such our lying eyes convince us into believing that things we ought not to eat are good to eat. So of course, it was not the fruit that killed Eve, but the vanity festering in her heart that killed her. By deciding that she knows better, she separated herself from God who is the source of her life. And after she fell, Adam followed suit as he too ate the fruit.
At the point of conception, when our lives begin, we are all completely subjugated to this corruption which originated with Adam and Eve. The ability to think and make our own decisions, the ability to have emotions, are not to be considered because it is not the emotions and thoughts that affect the soul but rather the soul that affects our emotions and thoughts. If the soul is completely corrupted, then all thoughts which originate from our soul are likewise corrupted; and if all our thoughts are corrupted then all our words and deeds do so too. At the point of conception we are fighting a losing battle, for nothing good can come out of us. Even the ability to choose to follow Christ is not within our grasp. This is why Christ says in our Gospel, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me drags him.” If we rely on our ability to reason, then we will always choose to deny Christ. We who like Adam and Eve, will always make the wrong decision. Our reasoning capabilities are completely enslaved by sin, therefore the only decision we will make is to run away from Christ and His mercy. Though let me be clear, the reason we run away is because we love sin and sin loves us and Christ will separate us from our sins.
This is why the Father must drag us to Christ. For if the Father allowed us to choose Christ we will always say no, and in fact many of us have said no. So, God the Father through the means of grace grants us faith and through such He himself brings us to the Son. Faith is not something to accept nor is it something you originally have or decide to have. Faith is thrust upon you by the power of the Holy Spirit which is received by hearing the Word and through Baptism. Faith is not something that exists in the brain or mind but is a fruit of the Holy Spirit which rests in your soul. The reason why John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb is because of the Holy Spirit. The reason Peter was capable of proclaiming that Jesus is Christ is because the Father sent His Spirit into Peter. The reason every baptized infant is a Christian is because of the faith they now have on account of the Holy Spirit given to them through the Water and the Word. In Baptism, all babies are dragged by the Father to the cross and receive the forgiveness of sin, salvation, and baptismal regeneration. Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
But Baptism is not the only means of grace for when someone hears the sweet words of God’s Gospel then the Spirit of God may enter their heart and provide them with faith. And it is this faith which originates from God that overrides our original sin and drags us to Christ. Note this, it is not faith that grants us the ability to decide to follow Christ (such confuses the definition of faith) but rather to have faith is to follow Christ and it is God who grants us faith thus we follow Christ not because we chose to but because God chose us. And again, Christ does tell us that unless the Father drags you, you will not come to Him.
Now, because infants cannot receive faith via hearing the Gospel, we baptize them, and as soon as possible, so that through the waters of regeneration they may be fill with the Holy Spirit and be saved. Thus, the following is fulfilled in John 3:5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” I do not want to wait one day, the Kingdom of God is too important, thus I will baptize on day one of any child’s life just so I can have the comfort in knowing that if anything happens, I will know that that child is indeed in heaven. This is also one of two reasons why I am against abortion, because it robs me of the assurance that they will indeed be in heaven, an assurance that I have with baptized babies who unfortunately die. All this is to say, that according to our own will, without God’s assistance, we cannot turn to Christ but will always turn to falsehoods.
Observe now the vanity that rests in the heart of the Jews who heard Jesus said that He is the Bread of Heaven. Immediately they grumble not because of the ramifications of eating flesh, that’s next Sunday’s Gospel, but because they personally know Jesus to be the son of the humble carpenter Joseph. It does not matter that Jesus performed a miracle before their eyes a day prior, that being the breaking of bread and fish, and it does not matter what Jesus says regarding who He truly is. Their assertion of what they believe is the truth blinds them to reality. It does not matter what Jesus says or does; they will not believe, nor can they believe by virtue of their own abilities.
This is why Christ came into the world, to free us from the enslavement of sin. Because sin prevents us from coming to Christ, Christ came to us and through the cross freed us from the very sin that blinded us. He died on the cross to take on the sin that continually leads us astray. In His hands are the keys to your salvation, not keys that unlock the gate of Heaven but keys that unlock the chains dragging you toward Hell. The gate to Heaven is wide open, with Christ as the door welcoming us through. Thus, Christ needs not to unlock the door to Heaven, it was already open to begin with. No, the keys he holds are for the cold iron that is wrapped around your eyes and your neck. Starting at conception you were already a slave to Satan, but through the means of grace, Word and Sacraments, Christ brings to you the cross and unlocks those cold irons.
Now because sin is still an ever-present reality for us though we no longer are its slaves, the struggle to reach the end of our race continues. Satan is a sore loser and continues to throw at us a multitude of fiery darts hoping to trip us in our faith. Though we are saved by the waters of Baptism that does not mean we will always be saved. Apostasy and reckless sinning are still threats we face. As such Christ granted us another means of grace, and that is by physically consuming Christ’s Body and Blood. Unlike the fruit eaten by Eve, Christ Himself comes to us and shows us that His flesh is good to eat, for He is the Bread of Heaven. We need not look at the bread and the wine and determine whether they are good for us. We need not debate the metaphysics as to how Bread is Christ’s flesh. We need not let our judgments cloud our minds to see this gift which Christ is offering us. All we need is to simply accept the Word of Christ.
Thus, without sin clouding our eyes, but by faith, we see the truth before us, that in Communion the bread is the Body of Christ and that the wine is the Blood of Christ, and that both are indeed good for us to eat. Christ knows that we will continue to struggle with sin, which is why for our sake on the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, blessed it, and broke it, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And with a cup of wine, He gave thanks and said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Is this not utterly amazing food? For only food that never perishes, brings eternal life, and forgives sin can be considered truly good.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Let us pray,
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, opens our eyes and purifies our tongues so that we may taste and see your goodness, oh Lord. In Your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-9 September 1, 2024
Psalm 15
James 1: 17-27
St. Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23
“Traditions”
Grace and peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.
Within the Augsburg Confession, our Lutheran Forefathers, to include Philip Melanchthon, Luther’s go-to person, Article XXVI states, “In former times it was taught, preached, and written that distinction among foods and similar traditions instituted by human beings serve to earn grace and make satisfaction for sin. For this reason, new fasts, new ceremonies, new monastic orders, and the like were invented daily. They were fervently and strictly promoted, as if such things were a necessary service of God whereby people earned grace if they observed them or committed a great sin if they did not. Harmful errors in the church have resulted from this.”
In response the Vatican refuted most of what was said but agreed with the Lutherans here by stating, “Christ (Matt. 15) does not absolutely disapprove of human ordinances, but of those only that were opposed to the law of God, as is clearly acknowledged in Mark 7:8, 9. Here also Matt. 15:3 says: “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” Paul (Col. 2) forbids that anyone be judged in meat or in drink, or in respect to the Sabbath, after the Jewish manner; for when the Church forbids meats, it does not judge them to be unclean, as the Jews in the Synagogue thought. So the declaration of Christ concerning that which goes into the mouth (Matt. 15:11) is cited here without a sure and true understanding of it, since its intention was to remove the error of the Jews, who thought that food touched by unwashed hands becomes unclean, and rendered one eating it unclean, as is manifest from the context.”
Human traditions can be difficult to manage in the church. Most especially true if said tradition has been done for generations. Such becomes troublesome because said human traditions have the possibility of transforming into a divine order or transforming into a practice that prevents us from obeying a true divine order. When faced with a tradition that we have done our entire lives, a tradition which God himself commands us not to do, what then are we to do? Say we were to read from Scripture a commandment that we cannot currently observe simply because of a tradition of ours which stands in the way. Let us say said tradition has been passed down from generation to generation to the point that it is not a mere habit but an identity, what then? The right answer is to immediately get rid of the tradition so that we can rightly observe the commandments of God. Sounds simple, but this is one of the hardest things to do.
During the days of Luther, there were traditions of the Catholic Church, too many, that were being mandated upon the common people. So much so were these mandates that the average person struggled with obeying all of them. What was worse was the fact that these traditions were mandated by the Church at the cost of committing a sin. As such the Church has not only elevated a mere human tradition to the level of Divine Moral Law but are now troubling the conscience of the peasants they are commanded to love and care for. Keep in mind, these peasants genuinely loved the Church and desired to follow all of her mandates; also keep in mind that during Luther’s youth the culture was very much works-based and not faith-based. Such was the torment of the homeless, the orphan, the widow, the carpenter, the fishermen, and so forth.
During these days, to eat meat on Friday was a mortal sin. To not observe one of the feast days, sin. And so forth. It was a sin to disobey the Church. It was also considered a sin to translate the Bible since it had to be in Latin and the Mass had to be said in Latin. This is why John Hus was burned at the stake because he committed the grave sin of demanding the Bible be translated in the common tongue. The church had invented so many human-made traditions; lifting them up to divine status. This is what troubled the New Testament Professor of Wittenberg, St. Martin Luther. But he remained silent on said issues.
Then a conman by the name of Johann Tetzel, a Renaissance Kenneth Copeland, came to Wittenberg preaching indulgence; “When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from Purgatory springs.” Abusing the public’s concern for salvation, not just their own but also their loved ones, Tetzel swindled on behalf of the Church so much money off the already poor and demoralized. This outraged Luther so much that no longer could he remain silent, thus the 95 theses.
As such, the Lutherans eventually got rid of all the nasty traditions that violated Scripture, all while keeping all the human-made Roman Catholic traditions that did not. But along the way, the Vatican did learn the errors of their ways and got rid of claiming eating meat on Friday was a mortal sin by the year of 1531. The rest took some time, and even 500 years later there are some human-made traditions the papists still practice which quite obviously contradicts Scripture. Riding yourself of man made traditions is indeed hard.
After Jesus said, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men,” He then said, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Jesus is calling out the Pharisees for they treat the traditions they have received from their parents as if they were from God, and by doing so they also reject God’s commandments in lieu of man made traditions. These traditions in question are known as the Talmud, or the traditions of the elders. Next to Scripture, you do not disobey the Talmud, in fact it was a sin to disobey the Talmud, and yet here Jesus has instructed His disciples that it is ok to forsake the Talmud because it isn’t the Torah (Hebrew Bible), nor is it found in the Mitzvah (the 613 Law of Moses).
To grant a different perspective, it says in Luke 11:37-40, “While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?’”
The command to wash your hands before you eat and to wash your dishes beforehand is found nowhere in the Old Testament, but the Elders did command this orally. Eventually the Talmud was written, and it is in the Talmud that the above command exists. Sadly, the Pharisees paid more attention to the Talmud, lifting it up to divine status, and little attention to the actual commands God gave Moses. This is why Jesus called them hypocrites, for they praised God through their own traditions and not by God’s commandments. By doing such they disobey one of the first commands according to Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it.”
And yet this issue still exists today. Practically every denomination and congregation have or are currently struggling with this Pharisaic sentiment, holding fast to our traditions at the cost of rejecting something God has commanded of us. It is for this reason the Reformation never truly ended nor should it end; constantly asking ourselves, “Am I rejecting a commandment of God by observing this tradition of men?” Or even worse, are we rejecting the grace of God by observing this tradition of men?
Going back to Luther, the absolute core of his mission, granted to him from God, was to bring us back to hope and the assurance in knowing that we are indeed saved by the grace of God. The works-based environment where a human-made tradition was elevated to Moral Law, caused so much grief that too many did not know of the surpassing compassion of our Lord who bled and died and descended into Hell and rose from the grave all to save us from our sins. Too many faithful Christians asked, “Am I going to Heaven?”
When the Church does not bridle its tongue, it lets corrupt philosophies enter and thus defile the religion. As such the religion of the Church becomes worthless when it looks toward human-made things for salvation, inspiration, and truth. Instead, if we wish to find the good and perfect gifts such as salvation and truth, we must look towards Christ who is from above but came down from the Father to be with us and die for us. Remember, Christ is the most perfect gift which humanity has ever received. He is more precious than gold and silver. He is the Truth and the Resurrection.
When we bridle our tongues from filthy worthless things, preaching and teaching and doing the things that are from God, then our minds rest on the more important things in life. And the most precious thing is this: Christ died to save you from your sins and on account of faith you will go to Heaven.
Let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, help us purify our religion so that we may rest more perfectly upon Your saving grace. In Your most holy name, we pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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©2023 Resurrection Lutheran Church
John E. Braun
Memorial Park
