The lesson of the fig tree by Pastor Zarling

The lesson of the fig tree

Luke 13:1-9 At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? 3I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.” 6He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. 7So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ 8But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. 9If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’”

The psalmist declares, “Surely his salvation is near for those who fear him, so that glory may dwell in our land” (Psalm 85:9). Amen.

The man bought land in Judah. He thought it would be great for a fig tree orchard. All the trees were planted the right depth and right spacing from each other. The trees received regular fertilizer, watering, and pruning. After three years, the trees began bearing figs.

The trees were producing an abundant crop. Well worth the wait. Except for one tree. It looked good. It looked healthy. It just wasn’t bearing any figs. The owner had invested three years in this tree waiting for it to bear fruit! And nothing!

The owner tells his gardener to cut it down, dig up its roots, throw it in the fire, and start over. Hopefully, another tree will start bearing fruit in its place. “He said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’” (Luke 13:7).

The gardener calmly asks the owner for another year. The owner has already invested three years in it. The gardener will personally oversee the fruit production of this tree. If it doesn’t bear fruit the following year, then it can be thrown into the fire. “The gardener replied to [the owner], ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down” (Luke 13:8-9). The owner likes the passion of the gardener and agrees to be patient for one more year.

Jesus is teaching us an important lesson with the parable of the fig tree. He’s teaching about God and his kingdom. God is the owner of the vineyard. You are the fig tree.

You can understand the owner’s frustration. Over three years, there is a lot of time, effort, fertilizer, rain, etc., that has gone into this tree for it to do nothing.

Three years is perhaps an illusion to the three years of Jesus’ ministry. He’s been looking for fruits of repentance from the Jews. God’s judgment to dig them up to make room for more trees to bear fruit – the Gentiles.

God is the owner of all of us. He has waited for fruits of faith from his people for a long time. God is patient beyond description. To Jesus’ first hearers and you his current hearers, this patience is shockingly generous. No normal orchard owner would wait so long for fruit. But God puts away his wrath and turns away from his anger as we sang in Psalm 85 (v2-3).

Like the owner who waited all those years for his tree to bear fruit, so God is generous and patient with you. He desires for you to bear the fruits of your faith. These fruits can be in the form of worship attendance, Bible study participation, and financial support of your church’s

ministries. This fruit can be in the form of being a light in the spiritual darkness of your workplace. It can be seasoning your speech with salt among the spicy language of our culture. It can be raising your children and grandchildren in the Christian faith in our church, school, and high school. It can be encouragement to a friend who is feeling down or giving up your Saturday to help someone move or going regularly to check on your elderly neighbor.

Look at your life. Assess your actions. Ponder your priorities. Are you bearing good, healthy fruit for the Lord? Or is your fruit puny, meager, and wormy? Or is it nonexistent?

God is incredibly gracious and merciful. He is also incredibly patient. Thank the Lord he is! Though God is incredibly patient, he is not eternally patient. God’s Word is clear. God’s time of grace will come to an end. His patience will run out. Then judgment is coming. If there is no fruit … then there is fire.

Jesus is the gardener. He comes with a word of extended patience. He puts himself between the owner and the judgment the unfruitful tree deserves. He serves as its mediator and caretaker. He acts to redeem the fruitless tree. He says to his Father, “Leave it alone. Let it be. I’ll take care of it. It’s now my responsibility.”

Jesus promises personal care for you. He doesn’t want to give up on you. You are his priority. Redemption does not come from you or your fruit. Your redemption comes from Jesus Christ. Redemption – buying back for a purpose – is God’s work in Christ. He saves the tree. He saves you.

You are saved for a purpose. You are redeemed to bear fruit. The tree is not given a pass. The unfruitful tree is not told to stand there and be beautiful. It’s not told that God will just gather fruit from others. Fruit is still purpose both of the tree and of God’s work to save the tree. Redemption will either result in fruit or judgment.

The lesson of the fig tree is God’s generosity. We are not moved to repentance by fear but rather compelled by God’s grace and his Holy Spirit. Yet there is a limit to that grace. Today is the day of salvation … but the day is coming when salvation will be replaced with judgment.

The lesson in Jesus’ parable is repentance. The lesson in the stories preceding the parable is also about repentance. “There were some who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. He answered them, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.’” (Luke 13:1-5).

The mixing of the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices was a heinous crime. Pilate violated all holiness codes by sending his Roman troops into the temple to slaughter Galilean Jews while they were slaughtering their lambs for the Passover Seder. During this holy feast the blood of these Jews was mixed with the blood of the lambs.

Jesus then discusses the accident at the tower of Siloam. Eighteen people died when the tower fell on them. Jesus says this was a sign from God, just like the previous incident was also a sign. Jesus says that these tragedies were not signs of God’s judgment on specific people for specific sins. But they were signs of God’s judgment on all people that they are sinners living in a sinful world. God hates sin. He hates the sinners who commit the sin.

Jesus says that these signs are not calls for speculation, but signs for contrition and repentance, for faith and fruits of faith. When the Jews saw this massacre and this tragedy, they should have immediately come to God with repentant hearts begging for forgiveness.

There are accidents and tragedies that happen constantly in our world and in our lives. Some bad things are relatively small. Skinned knees. Traffic jams. Broken appliances. Other bad things are much bigger. Divorce. Disease. Death. Sometimes these bad things happen as a direct result of our own bad decisions. A man gets into his car after spending all day at the bar. He pulls onto a busy road, runs a red light, and slams into another car, injuring a young mom and her newborn baby. A bad thing happened to him because of his own bad decisions.

But sometimes bad things happen not because of our own bad decisions. A young mom gets in the car and straps her newborn baby into the car seat to get some groceries from the store. She drives the same route that she’s driven hundreds of times before. As she crosses a familiar intersection, a car runs through a red light, slamming into her with metal screeching and glass shattering. The drunken man’s driving was not her fault. A bad thing happened to them because of someone else’s bad decisions.

When we see massacres and tragedies, our natural reaction is to think that those people must have done something awful to get God so angry at them. When we endure suffering or accidents, our natural reaction is to wonder what we must have done to get God so furious with us. Jesus says this thinking and wondering is wrong. We should not speculate. We should repent.

We must view massacres and accidents from the perspective of the cross. It is here the suffering Christian meets the suffering Christ. God does not repay an individual’s sin with individual punishment. God put all our individual punishments onto his Son. But we remain sinners living in a sinful, fallen world. So, we need to keep repenting. That’s the lesson of these tragic stories. That’s the lesson of the parable of the fig tree.

This call to repentance seems strange because we normally think of repentance as something we do when we’ve done something wrong. But Jesus is talking about repentance more broadly. Don’t just repent when you’ve messed up. Repent when any bad thing happens. Repent when any good thing happens. The entire life of the Christian is to be one of repentance. Repent of being a sinner living in a sinful world.

That brings us back to Jesus’ story of the fig tree. Jesus continues his call to repentance by telling a story of mercy and patience in the light of coming judgment. The fig tree deserved to be cut down and destroyed. It had not been right for years. But the gardener asked for mercy. He nurtured and cared for this tree, patiently cultivating it so that it might bear fruit. That’s how Jesus responds to those who repent. Judgment is coming. That much is certain. If there is no fruit … then there is fire. But those who repent will receive mercy.

It doesn’t matter your age. God is patient with you. But his patience can wear out. God is incredibly patient, but he is not eternally patient. Be in God’s Word. Cherish your Baptism. Receive the Lord’s Supper. Fulfill your vocation in your home, church, school, and workplace. Support the ministry of your church and church body. Be light and salt in the world. Jesus puts his personal effort into you. He says to his Father, “Leave him alone. Let her be. I’ll take care of them. They are now my responsibility.” The Gardener of Jesus Christ is digging around you, fertilizing and nurturing you with his Word and Sacraments. All so you can bear the fruits of faith.

By God’s grace, our God is patient with us. He gives us this time of grace on earth to repent. We repent so we may bear fruit in the prosperous and sunny seasons, when everything is going well.

We repent so we bear fruit even in the difficult dry seasons, as we struggle through accidents and tragedies. That’s the lesson of the fig tree. Amen.

The psalmist declares, “The Lord will indeed give good things, and our land will yield its harvest” (Psalm 85:12). Amen.

A better sympathizer by Pastor Zarling

A better sympathizer

Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God his Father—to him be the glory and the power forever (Revelation 1:5–7). Amen.

Every morning, Alex passed the same old man sitting on a weathered bench in the park, feeding peanuts to the squirrels. The man always looked nice in a buttoned-down shirt and coat. But he also always had a lonely look in his eyes. Alex was too busy to slow down to say “hello,” and certainly too busy to stop and have a conversation.

One day, as Alex rushed through the park, he noticed the old man on his hands and knees picking up the peanuts that had spilled from his broken bag. Alex stopped to help. They put the peanuts in Alex’s backpack. They sat down together on the weathered bench and introduced themselves. The man said his name was Tom. He used to come to the park every day with his wife to feed the squirrels. But she had recently passed away. For the first time, Alex truly saw the old man, not just as a passerby, but as a person carrying deep pain.

The next day, Alex left his house earlier so he could spend time sitting next to Tom, hopefully to help heal the loneliness. They talked about the weather, Alex’s work, Tom’s retirement, Alex’s girlfriend, and Tom’s memories of his wife. Over the following weeks, Alex made it a habit to visit, bringing coffee and listening as Tom shared stories of his past, his dreams, and the weight of his loss. In turn, Alex shared his own struggles, finding comfort in the shared silence. Though Alex couldn’t erase Tom’s grief, he realized that sometimes the most meaningful connection comes from simply sympathizing with someone.

The writer to the Hebrews gives us this encouragement, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus purposely spends his time with us. You can talk to him about the weather, your work, your retirement, your children, your losses and gains, your joys and pains. He will sit with you on the park bench or the church pew or at the dining room table. He is always available for you to converse with. You talk to him in your prayers. He talks to you in your Bible.

What a blessing to know that when you talk to your Savior, he’s not at the edge of some distant galaxy in deep thought. Because of his divinity, he is at God’s right hand in heaven and at the same time right here with you. Because of his humanity, he has been right here in this world to know exactly what you’re going through.

Poverty? He knew it. Pain. He suffered it. Rejection? He endured it. Temptation? He felt it. Betrayal? He lived it. Loneliness? He experienced it. God’s wrath? He tasted it. Death? He let it touch him. Innocent suffering? He could write the book on it. Loving the unlovable? He did write the book on that.

But remember: Jesus did this not only so he could feel what we feel. He did it to be our perfect Substitute. He willingly took the punishment for our failures and paid for them completely at the cross.

God had been teaching his people about the need for substitution even before he started anointing men like Saul and David as king. Several centuries earlier, he anointed men like Aaron to serve as high priests. The high priest was selected from among the people to represent them before God. He was able to sympathize with the people he represented because he knew temptation like they did.

The writer encourages us to approach God’s throne. It is a heavenly throne of infinite majesty and divine justice. As sinners, we should approach God’s throne with terror and remain mute with guilt. But Jesus turns us from sinners into saints. As our Greater High Priest, Jesus turns the throne of justice into a throne of grace. Instead of being mute with guilt, we can approach with shouts of praise with forgiven hearts and lips. The writer encourages us, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Now we can approach God’s throne of grace in our congregational prayers or in our personal prayer life. In the nick of time, right when we need it, when temptations come and troubles abound, we can approach our Greater Sympathizer who knows exactly what we need and knows just how to give it.

We approach this throne to give God our sins and receive back his forgiveness. We pour out our sorrow and receive resurrection comfort. We lay down our weakness and receive strength from the Almighty. We tell God our needs and he gives us what we need at that time.

I’ve been told in my ministry that I’m not always very sympathetic. And that’s probably true. First, I’m a guy. And guys may often not be very sympathetic. Second, out of the 34 strengths on my StrengthsFinder test, empathy is number 28 – way at the bottom. Third, I married a woman whose number one strength is empathy. Her strengths cover many of my weaknesses. Pastors, teachers, parents, friends, counselors, can all give you advice or counsel, but none of them have experienced what you are going through. They don’t know what you know. But there is One who does. He understands. Jesus knows. He is the Better Sympathizer. He felt repeated and very real temptations, so he understands what it’s all about. Jesus experienced what we experience, so he can sympathize with us.

Jesus had this in common with the Old Testament high priests. He had been tempted in every way, just as we are. The battles he experienced against the great enemy of the Devil are not all that different than the ones we experience. He knows what it’s like to face the temptations we face, like every high priest before him.

That’s part of what makes Jesus so much better. In his life on earth, when he took on our human nature and became true man, Jesus was also “tempted in every way just as we are.” From the beginning to the end of that earthly stay, Jesus faced temptations more severe than we will ever know. He felt the full force as hell’s barracks emptied with as demons stormed against him. He felt Satan’s temptations even more than we do because while we so often fall under temptation’s first round, he remained standing to the final bell to receive every assault.

He willingly underwent hunger, thirst, cold, heat, exhaustion, ridicule, persecution, sorrow, poverty, scourging, the piercing of thorns, and even a bitter death on a cross. How wondrous is this kind of love that plunged our Savior willingly into a sea of that kind of suffering for miserable and ungrateful slaves such as us. We committed the crime. He underwent the punishment. We plundered. He made amends. We caused the debt. He became our defendant.

Because of everything we have done, because of everything we have left undone, because of who we are, and what we have become, we rightfully deserve to be assigned to the unceasing, scorching flames of hell. But our Better Sympathizer boiled with the fire of love on the altar of the cross, setting us free from those hellish flames. We should be cast away from God’s presence forever. But our Great High Priest chose to be abandoned by his heavenly Father and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We deserve to be taunted daily by the devil and tormented eternally by demons. But with immeasurable love, Jesus cried out that all of that is finished!

Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet he remained without sin. Have you ever wondered about some of those temptations? As Jesus lay down on a hard mat in Peter’s guest room, because he had no place of his own, do you think Jesus was ever tempted to reclaim the majesty of his heavenly mansion?

In the middle of a long trip, did he ever consider transporting himself to the next city? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather? When the heat parched his lips, did he give thought to popping over to the Caribbean for some refreshment?

If ever Jesus entertained such thoughts, he never gave in to them. Not once. Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort. With one word he could have transformed the hard earth into a soft bed, but he didn’t. With a wave of his hand, he could have boomeranged the spit of his accusers back into their faces, but he didn’t. With an arch of his brow, he could have paralyzed the hand of the soldier as he braided the crown of thorns. With a single word, he could have called down a legion of angels to wipe out his enemies. With the breath of his mouth, he could have wiped out this whole earth and started over. But he didn’t do any of that.

Why is all of this so important? How is Jesus’ coming so vital for us to understand? What is the coolest thing about everything Jesus did do and didn’t do leading up to his death on Good Friday?

It’s not that in a few moments of time, Jesus went from needing nothing to needing air, food, and water. He needed a diaper change and to take a bath. It’s not that he kept his cool while his twelve best friends felt the heat and got out of the kitchen. It’s not that he gave no command to the angels who begged, “Just give the nod, Lord. One word and these demons will be deviled eggs.”

It is not that he literally turned the other cheek so the high priest could strike another blow. It is not that he prayed for his disciples before they fled or that he reached out to Judas before his betrayal. It is not that he declined the tears of the women but told them to weep for Jerusalem. It is not that the Palm Sunday King was crucified as a criminal on Good Friday. It is not that a crowd cheered for him on a bright Sundy morning, while a mob jeered him on a gloomy Friday morning.

It is not that he refused to defend himself when God blamed him for every sin since Adam. It is not that he endured the poisonous bite of the serpent on his perfect heel, while then stepping down with that bloody heel to crush the Ancient Serpent’s head. Or that he stood silent as the Ancient of Days’ verdict of judgment was pronounced upon him.

It wasn’t even that after three days in a dark hole, Jesus stepped into the Easter sunrise with a smile on his lips, a swagger in his step, and a question for lowly Lucifer: “Is that your best punch?”

That was cool. Undeniably cool. Incredibly cool.

But do you want to know the coolest, most vital, most important thing about the One who gave up the crown of glory for a crown of thorns? He did it all … for you. Just for you. To save you. To live with you. So you can live with him. To sympathize with you. Amen.

Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever (1 Timothy 1:17). Amen.

The Danger of the Easy Path by Pastor Klusmeyer

The Danger of the Easy Path

Have you ever been fooled by something that sounds too good to be true: an infomercial that promises amazing weight loss results without the hassle of diet or exercise, a sure investment with a massive rate of return and no risk on your end, a Cliff’s notes that promises you an excellent grade on a test without having to actually read the book or do any of the studying? We all know the dangers of taking the easy path. Things are never as easy as they look, and the end result never lives up to the promises that were made.

When it comes to our spiritual lives, Satan does everything in his power to trick us into taking the easy path. He promises that his way is the easy way, and God’s way is filled with trials and hardship. He wants us to believe that he is our friend and has our best interests at heart. He wants us to believe that God is holding out on us by denying us the things that will make us truly happy. He did this with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, he did this when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and he does this to us each day of our lives.

But Satan isn’t our friend. He doesn’t want us to be happy, he wants us to suffer with him eternally in hell. Unfortunately, so many people listen to the lies of Satan. They believe that God’s way is the hard way because God is telling them to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow him. They want the quick and easy way that satisfies every sinful want, lust, and desire. As Paul tells us in Philippians 3, “Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things.”

Jeremiah the prophet must have faced the temptation to take the easy path. When the Lord called him to be his prophet, he warned him that his message would be met with opposition. Look, today I have made you like a fortified city, like an iron pillar, and like bronze walls, to take a stand against the whole land. Stand against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, because I am with you to rescue you, declares the LORD. During his ministry Jeremiah was opposed by the rulers of Judah, the priests, false prophets, the people, and the king. Jeremiah was beaten, imprisoned, and hated. At one point, as King Jehoiakim was being read the scroll of Jeremiah’s words, he cut off each section and threw it in the fire. Jeremiah knew what it was like to walk the hard path in service of the Lord.

In our lesson this morning, Jeremiah was commanded by God to preach against the temple in Jerusalem. Jeremiah told the people because they had broken the covenant with God by worshipping false gods, the Lord would destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem. The people were outraged by the preaching of Jeremiah and wanted to kill him. They had fallen for the devil’s lies and took the easy path. They thought they could follow the desires of their hearts and ignore the commands of God. They thought that because they were God’s chosen people and had his holy temple in their midst, they were safe. Surely God would not destroy them if they went through the motions of worshipping him. They could worship God and still worship other gods as well.

We fall for this lie of Satan as well. We think that we can be good Christians and still conform to the patterns of this world. We can be a good Christian and break any Commandment we want as long as it satisfies our sinful appetites. If it feels good, do it because God will just forgive that sin. We make a mockery of the Gospel and ignore the warnings of the Law. We want to have our cake and eat it too. We want to follow the easy path. We want the name of Christian without the struggle of denying ourselves and bearing our crosses.

Jeremiah knew this temptation as well. There undoubtedly were days when he did not want to proclaim the message God had given to him. He must have wanted to run away like Jonah did because he knew the opposition and pain he would face. But Jeremiah remained faithful. He did not take the easy path but remained faithful and preached a message of repentance that the people needed to hear. We do not like to hear the message of Jeremiah either. We don’t like to be reminded that we are sinners who have failed to live as God demands. We don’t like to have our pet sins exposed by the blinding light of the Law. But it is a message we need to hear. We need to be called to repentance so we can confess our sins and turn to Christ.

The world needs to hear this message as well, but the world hates the Word of God. People don’t want to hear how they are sinful. They don’t want to hear that they can’t give into their desires and satisfy every craving of their hearts. The world doesn’t want to hear that God promises a life of hardship and suffering for the people of his kingdom. The world wants to follow the easy path. And we at times want to let it. It is far easier to

remain quiet than to share the message of our Savior. Like Jeremiah we know that we will face hatred and opposition for proclaiming God’s Word. The world will call us unloving and hateful for daring to say that Jesus is the only way to salvation. We don’t want to have those difficult conversations. We don’t want to feel embarrassed that we are talking to someone about religion. And we certainly don’t want people to know that we are Christians because then they might look at us differently or judge us when we join with them in doing things that a Christian really shouldn’t be doing.

It is very easy for us to follow the easy path. It is easy for us to conform to the patterns of this world to avoid the troubles and hardships that come with being a Christian. We know this, but we also know what waits at the end of the easy path. Paul reminds us that the easy path leads to destruction, but the difficult path of being a Christian ends with our citizenship in heaven.

Like Jeremiah, Jesus faced intense hardship and persecution. He could have taken the easy path. He could have avoided the terrible fate that awaited him in Jerusalem. But that is not what our Savior did. Jesus did not take the easy path, but instead resolutely made his way to Jerusalem and ultimately Calvary. Jesus never wavered in his mission. Our Savior loved us so much that he lowered himself to save us. Christ gave up the joy and glory of heaven to be born as a helpless child. He endured all the pain and sorrow of human life for us. He who had never known pain or discomfort knew what it was like to know hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. He became true man so he could place himself under God’s law and keep it perfectly in our place.

Christ never wavered from his path but willingly went to Jerusalem so he could suffer and die. Jesus knew the horror, pain, and agony that awaited him on the cross. He knew that he would have to drink deeply of the cup of God’s wrath and endure the torments of hell for us. Christ never wavered in his commitment because he wanted to save us. Christ offered his life on the cross to pay for our sins and give to us citizenship in heaven.

During the season of Lent, we remember the sacrifice of our Savior. We confess and acknowledge that it was because of our sins that he was nailed to a cross. Jeremiah called on the people of Jerusalem to repent of their sins and return to the Lord. “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the things that you have heard. Now reform your ways and your actions, and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring about the disaster he has pronounced against you.”

We know that we are sinners. We know that we often listen to the devil and his lies and take the easy path. We ignore the commands of God so we can satisfy the cravings of our sinful hearts. We avoid proclaiming the message of God’s Word when it is inconvenient or will bring hardship into our lives. We sin against God in countless ways and know the disaster that God has pronounced against us. We know that we deserve only God’s wrath and punishment. But we also know that God in his great mercy sent his one and only Son to suffer and die to save us. We desire to reform our ways and actions. We want to confess our sins and repent because we know that through Christ God has relented in his anger. He has spared us from the destruction that we deserve and instead has made us his dearly beloved children. We seek to avoid the easy path because we know it leads to disaster. Instead, we seek to walk according to the pattern given to us by Christ and look forward to that great and glorious day when we will be freed from all sorrow and pain and our bodies will be transformed to be like the glorious body of our Savior. Amen.

Reflecting God’s Glory by Pastor Zarling

Reflecting God’s Glory

Exodus 34:29-35 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not realize that the skin of his face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord. 30When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they were amazed that the skin of his face was shining, so they were afraid to come close to him. 31Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the rulers of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32Afterward, all the people of Israel came close to him, and he gave them all of the commands that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 33When Moses was finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out again. Then he would come out and tell the people of Israel what he had been commanded. 35Whenever the people of Israel saw Moses' face, they would see that the skin of Moses' face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord again.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Amen.

Moses was a great mountain climber! This was the second time he had hiked up and down Mt. Sinai. Forty days earlier, Moses had been on top of Mt. Sinai receiving the two tablets of the covenant. This covenant was God’s two-way promise with the children of Israel. He would be their God if they loved and worshiped him.

When Moses came down the mountain the first time, he heard the sound of celebrating in the campground (Exodus 32:18). The Israelites had talked Moses’ brother, Aaron, into making a golden calf. The people worshiped the calf saying, “This is your god, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4). Moses was rightly disgusted by their idolatrous and adulterous breaking of God’s covenant. He smashed the two tablets of the testimony.

Now, forty days later, Moses makes the long trek down from Mt. Sinia and into the Israelite campground. But the people are afraid. They see Moses’ face glowing with the glory of the Lord. Moses has no idea that after being in God’s presence for the past forty days, his face is reflecting God’s glory. The people should have been thrilled when they see God’s glory. The reflection of the glory of the Lord on Moses’ face was a sign that the two-way covenant between God and his people was reinstated. God was not leaving them.

But the people are troubled instead of thrilled. “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not realize that the skin of his face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord. When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they were amazed that the skin of his face was shining, so they were afraid to come close to him. Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the rulers of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them” (Exodus 34:29-31).

Like a father coaxing his fearful children, Moses had to coax the children of Israel into his presence. God had mercy on them. Instead of destroying them with fire from heaven or leaving them alone in the desert to die, God would be present with them. His presence would be present among them as they traveled through the desert to the Promised Land of Canaan. God would go with them. They were his special people.

“Afterward, all the people of Israel came close to [Moses], and he gave them all of the commands that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. When Moses was finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak

with him, he would take the veil off until he came out again. Then he would come out and tell the people of Israel what he had been commanded. Whenever the people of Israel saw Moses' face, they would see that the skin of Moses' face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord again” (Exodus 34:32-35).

Moses’ face reflected God’s glory contained in the two-way covenant. Yet, this glory needed to be veiled, because the reflection of glory would not last. Moses wore a veil so the people would not see God’s glory fading away after every time he went into God’s presence.

St. Paul teaches about that veil covering the fading glory. “We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the Israelites could not continue to look at the end of the radiance, as it was fading away” (2 Corinthians 3:13). The glory of the old, two-way covenant would not last. It was just for the time being. Eternal life is found in another face – in the face of Jesus Christ. The glory the people saw in Moses’ face was temporary. It was fading.

God knew his people would continue to break the old covenant. That’s why he established a new covenant. The Lord declares, “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days … I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). Jesus promised, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

This new covenant is a one-way covenant. It is only from God to his people. This covenant is established through the death and resurrection of God’s Son. This is a permanent promise. God promises that he will not leave us. He will never forsake us. He is our Father. We are his children. Instead of destroying us with fire from heaven or leaving us alone in this world to die, God is present with us. He will lead us to the Promised Land of heaven.

Yet, like those Old Testament children of Israel, we don’t act like God’s beloved children. We don’t behave like we are going to heaven. We act like we enjoy this world more than the world Jesus won for us.

We should be thrilled at seeing the glory of God. But we often act like we are afraid of God’s glory. We recoil at God’s holiness. We withdraw from God’s presence. We cringe at God’s righteousness.

We are afraid that God’s purity is going to ruin our party. We’re terrified he’s going to shine his glorious light into the dark crevices of our lives, our hearts, and our minds. We are often like those Old Testament Israelites. We want to party, drink, and indulge. We want the sound of celebration in our campground. We want to worship when we want, how we want, and what we want.

God’s purity petrifies us. His sanctity scares us. His reverence for holy things reviles us. And so, we are afraid of God’s glory. St. Paul states that we live like there is a veil over our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:15).

Paul continues, “But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16). By God’s grace, the Holy Spirit removes the veil from our hearts. He connects us to Christ. He cleans out the filth in our hearts to make room for loving and living for purity. He shines his holy light into our minds to sanctify us for holy living. He changes our view of fun from indulging our sinful nature to finding fun in living for Christ.

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration. Frightened disciples on another mountain saw the glory of God in Christ Jesus. Moses was there as the mediator of the old covenant. He was happy to be replaced. Jesus is the new Mediator between God and people. He is the new covenant in the

flesh. “There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Standing next to Moses was Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of those two tablets of the covenant. Jesus said of himself in his Sermon on another Mount, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). Jesus is the permanent glory, the glory that would never end. “Indeed, if what is fading away was glorious, how much more glorious is that which is permanent” (2 Corinthians 3:11)!

Jesus’ glory shone in all its brilliance there on the Mount of Transfiguration. Savor that glimpse of glory. For during the dark days of Lent, we will see our Savior betrayed, denied, and forsaken. We will see Jesus climb Mt. Calvary and put his greater glory on display on the cross. It is a glory hidden under bruised cheeks, swollen lips, pierced hands, bloodied head, and torn back. Christ’s hidden glory is in his suffering. Hidden glory in the curse of his crucifixion. Hidden glory in his substitutionary death.

God continues to hide his glory among us. The glory of God hidden in his plain words – read from Bibles, sung from hymnals, taught in classrooms, and preached in sermons. The glory of God hidden in water and Word splashed on a saint’s head at the baptismal font. The glory of God hidden under the bread and wine placed on our lips as the body and blood of Christ.

As you go out in the world, by God’s grace, you reflect God’s glory. As you curtail your cursing at work. As you discipline your children at home. As you go on a date with your spouse. As you moderate your drinking and partying. God’s glory is reflected in your face, your mouth, your hands, your attitude, and your whole life.

There is another face that shone in Scripture. Another face that reflected God’s glory. It was Stephen, the first martyr in Acts. It happened after Stephen was seized, before he was stoned. “All those who were sitting in the Sanhedrin were looking intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Do you know what Stephen did as his face looked like that of an angel? He talked about Moses and preached about Christ. Then, as the Sanhedrin brutally stoned him to death, Stephen called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And he prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59-60).

Stephen’s face reflected Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. His words echoed Christ’s words on Mt. Calvary.

Stephen died a condemned man in the eyes of the world. But he was free in the eyes of God – the freest of anyone there. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Stephen was free because he had seen the glory of Christ through the Spirit, who brought him to faith, and kept him safe – even as he was pummeled with rocks. Christ had shone the light of faith into Stephen’s heart. That light shone brightly even in that dark hour. As a man freed of his sins, Stephen forgave freely, as he had been freely forgiven.

St. Paul – who in his previous life as Saul, stood on the side holding cloaks as Stephen was stoned – could have been referencing Stephen when he wrote, “But all of us who reflect the Lord's glory with an unveiled face are being transformed into his own image, from one degree of glory to another. This too is from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). When Christ’s glory shines in us through Word and Sacraments, we will reflect that glory with unveiled faces. The world will see. They will notice. They will react. Either positively or negatively.

Stephen saw Christ and then was taken to Christ’s home. St. John writes of our heavenly home, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God has given it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:23). Our faces will shine when we are in our heavenly home reflecting the face of Christ in his full, unveiled glory!

Until then, shine for Christ now. For we end each worship service with the blessing, “The Lord makes his face shine on you.” You don’t have to be a great mountain climber like Moses to see God’s face. You see God’s face here in worship. Your face is shining as you reflect the glory of God that you have heard, spoken, sung, felt, and tasted in Word, water, bread, and wine. Shine and talk and reflect God’s glory like Moses, like Stephen, and even like Christ, our Lord and our Light! Amen.

But all of us who reflect the Lord's glory with an unveiled face are being transformed into his own image, from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). Amen.

Show Undeserved Love by Pastor Klusmeyer

Show Undeserved Love

This morning, we hear from our Savior some difficult teachings and commands that our sinful natures immediately balk at: love my enemies, turn the other cheek, pray for those who have hurt me?! How can our Savior ask these things of us? Where is God’s justice? Won’t this kind of behavior encourage evil people to continue taking advantage of me? These are questions that we struggle with because what Jesus tells us today goes completely against the wisdom and reality of our world.

The world operates on the principle that people should get what they deserve if they have done something to hurt us. We are obsessed with the idea of justice and fairness. Think of all the cliches we have that describe this: getting even, settling the score, an eye for an eye, etc. Or consider how many of our superhero myths deal with the idea of someone gaining powers to right a wrong that was done to them. The attitude of the world is if someone is nice to me, I’ll be nice to them. If someone hurts me, then I’ll hurt them.

Jesus calls his followers to a higher standard. Jesus commands us to do more than just love those who love us or treat us well because even sinners do that. Jesus commands us to love all people even our enemies, even those who have hurt and harmed us physically, mentally, or emotionally. Jesus reminds us that God’s kingdom is not about getting what we deserve, God’s kingdom is about getting what we don’t deserve. God’s kingdom is a kingdom of grace. Jesus calls us to show the same undeserved love he has shown to us to others.

O how our sinful hearts hate this command of our Savior. We know how difficult it is at times to show love to those we love and care about. Jesus is asking us to do something far more difficult. He is commanding us to “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other too. If someone takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes away your things, do not demand them back. Jesus is commanding us to do more than just show love to some abstract person who we might consider our enemy. We are told to show love and forgiveness to those who have personally hurt us.

This is a hard thing to do. We all have people in our lives that we would be happy never seeing again. They have hurt and wounded us in some way and that pain is still raw and real. We don’t want to forgive them. We want to hurt them the way they have hurt us. We don’t want God to bless them. If anything, we want God to punish them for what they have done to us. We foolishly demand that God be harsh in his justice forgetting how terrible it would be if God acted with justice toward us. In our pain and anger against this person who sinned against us, we forget how often we sin against God. We do not deserve God’s love, but his wrath and judgment.

We also fail to show undeserved love to those who have only wronged us in minor ways. Think of how quickly we lash out in anger against those who slighted us in some way. We scream and rage at the person who cut us off in traffic. We say an unkind word to the overworked store clerk who didn’t solve our problem fast enough. We fire off an angry email or harsh reply to a post because we want the other person to be hurt the way we have been hurt. We are impatient and demanding with our friends and families because they haven’t fulfilled our needs and our desires. Instead of showing undeserved love we conform to the patterns of the world and strike back at those who have wronged us.

But we often fail to show undeserved love to others. We know the good that we should do and fail to do it. We are not kind and loving to others. We don’t put forth the minimal effort to thank someone for helping us or offer a kind word to a stranger. We aren’t quick to offer help and assistance to someone because we don’t know that we will get anything in return. We are often oblivious to the needs of others because we are too absorbed in our own busyness to notice those who could use our help. We are often quick to help those who we know will help us, but slow to help those who we know will never repay us and may not even appreciate what we are doing for them.

These commands of our Savior are a bitter reminder of how bad we are at showing undeserved love to others. We daily fail to mirror the love of our Savior. And yet these commands of Jesus also remind us of the amazing and undeserved love he showed to us.

As the perfect Son of God Jesus showed perfect, absolute, and utterly undeserved love to his enemies. The Gospels reveal to us the amazing love of our Savior who offered the love and forgiveness of God to those who were his enemies. We see how he tried again and again to call the Pharisees and teachers of the Law to

repentance. We see how he offered Judas, who he knew, would betray him the opportunity to repent. We know how Jesus forgave Peter for betraying him and Paul for persecuting him. Jesus never failed to be loving and compassionate. Jesus was perfect and we see this perfect and undeserved love of our Savior on full display during the week of his passion.

Jesus asks us to show the same kind of love he showed to his most bitter enemies. Jesus showed undeserved love to the very people who tortured and crucified him. When Jesus was arrested, he was beaten, flogged, spit on, and humiliated. He could have called down twelve legions of angels to fight for him, yet Christ turned the other cheek. Christ allowed the Roman soldiers to take all his clothing and watched as they gambled for his belongings. Christ showed undeserved love for his enemies as he asked God to forgive the very people who had nailed him to the cross.

All of this Christ did for us. By nature, we are enemies of God. Yet Christ endured the pain of the cross and the torments of hell for us, his enemies. We are born dead in our trespasses and sins and are by nature enemies of God. Every day we continue to sin against God in our thoughts, words, and actions. Yet God in his great mercy showed undeserved love to us by sending his one and only Son to suffer and die for us. Christ lived a perfect life in our place so he could offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus endured the horror and agony of the cross and suffered the torments of hell so that he could save us who are by nature his enemies. All the times that we have failed to show undeserved love to others have been paid for with the blood of Christ.

This is the reason that we daily drown our sinful nature in the waters of our baptism. We strive each day to love our enemies as Christ commands because we know the amazing love that has been shown to us. We know that we are not worthy of the grace that has been shown to us and so we show that same grace to others. We love our enemies because we know that by nature, we are enemies of God. We forgive the sins of those who have sinned against us because we know the amazing debt of sin that God has forgiven us.

As followers of Christ, we seek to imitate the love of our Savior. We look for ways to serve rather than being served. We hear the words Jesus speaks to us this morning and strive to pattern our life after the life of our Savior. We give without expecting to be repaid. We pray for those who have hurt us. We refrain from demanding justice against those who have wronged us. We do not repay evil with evil but instead, seek to overcome evil with good. As sinners, we are not good at doing these things. We often conform to the pattern of the world and repay evil with evil. When we fall into sin we repent and turn to the cross knowing that all our sins have been forgiven by the death of our sinless Savior.

We live in a world that tells us to be kind to those who are kind to us and to do good to those who are good to us. The wisdom of the world tells us to repay evil with evil. Jesus calls us to live a different way. Jesus commands us to love all people even our enemies. This is hard for us. This is contrary to the way the world tells us to act. It is only because of the love of Christ in our hearts that we are able to follow the commands of our Savior. Our new man desires to do the will of God and love our enemies. We want to forgive as we are forgiven and so we pray each day that God would give us the strength to love as he loves us. We take courage knowing that by mirroring the love of our Savior we are showing others the amazing love that is found in Christ alone.

Romans 5:8- But God shows his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

“I’m blessed!” by Pastor Zarling

“I’m blessed!”

Luke 6:17–26 17He went down with them and stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples, and a large number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, as well as from the coastal area of Tyre and Sidon. These people came to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. 18Those who were troubled by unclean spirits were also cured. 19The whole crowd kept trying to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.

20He lifted up his eyes to his disciples and said: Blessed are you who are poor, because yours is the kingdom of God. 21Blessed are you who hunger now, because you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh. 22Blessed are you whenever people hate you, and whenever they exclude and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

23“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy because of this: Your reward is great in heaven! The fact is, their fathers constantly did the same things to the prophets. 24But woe to you who are rich, because you are receiving your comfort now. 25Woe to you who are well fed now, because you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, because you will be mourning and weeping. 26Woe to you when all people speak well of you, because that is how their fathers constantly treated the false prophets.

“Blessed is anyone who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him” (Jeremiah 18:7). Amen.

When someone asks, “How are you?” You will usually reply, “Fine” or “Good.” If you ask me how I’m doing, I’ll reply, “Fantastic!” You might answer, “Better than I deserve.” Or, “I’m living the dream!” When Pastor Klusmeyer or I visit our shut-in members, and we ask, “How are you?”, we’ll often hear, “Let me tell you, Pastor …”. Then there will be a long litany of life’s ailments.

What if you aren’t fantastic or fine? What if you feel like God is pounding on you because of what you deserve? What if your life seems more like a nightmare than a dream? What if your life is filled with a litany of ailments?

Jesus ministers to us when we are fine and fantastic. He also ministers to us when we are unhealthy and unpleasant. He blesses us when we are poor, hungry, weeping, and persecuted. Jesus blesses us in all those situations.

After calling his twelve disciples (Luke 6:13-16), Jesus begins their intensive Seminary training. He first introduces them to the mass of mankind in need of their ministry. Jesus is quickly surrounded by a horde of humanity who have traveled from the south from Judea and from the west along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They want to hear Jesus teach God’s Word.

These are not people who are fantastic or living the dream. Many of them are not even fine. They are diseased, crippled, and demon-possessed. They have a litany of ailments. To all these people – in their health or sickness, their wealth or poverty, their dreams or nightmares – Jesus teaches that they are blessed.

In our Gospel, Jesus preaches on four statements of blessing or Beatitudes. Jesus had preached on the Beatitudes before with his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12). This sermon on the Beatitudes could be called his Sermon on a Medium-Sized Hill. Luke’s version of the Beatitudes groups them in four pairs. Each pair tells the disciples that the good they seek will be found in the place they’d least expect. The worth we crave is found in what we lack, not in what we have. The satisfaction we crave is found where our lives seem empty, not where they seem full. The joy we crave is found in tears, not laughter. The approval we crave is found in criticism, not praise.

Jesus teaches, “Blessed are you who are poor, because yours is the kingdom of God. … But woe to you who are rich, because you are receiving your comfort now. Blessed are you who hunger now, because you will be satisfied. … Woe to you who are well fed now, because you will be hungry.” Jesus teaches that we are blessed when we are so poor that we must beg.

“We are all beggars, this is true.” Martin Luther had written those words in preparation for his death. In those days, it was common to spend a great deal of effort planning one’s burial and carefully choosing one’s last words. The story goes that Luther had written these words on a piece of paper on a nightstand next to his bed. We are all beggars, this is true.

Jesus is not saying that being wealthy is a sin. Because even if we are struggling financially, as Americans, we are wealthier than most of this world’s population. Jesus is warning about taking comfort in our wealth. He’s warning about making our bellies into our gods.

Most of us would say that we aren’t necessarily wealthy, but we’re not real poor, either. We’re not hungry, but we can’t afford the high prices of the healthiest foods. We struggle financially. Financial struggles that make us poor and hungry are not fun. Inflation on things like housing, clothing, groceries, and especially eggs is difficult. It’s hard to make ends meet. Financial struggles create long hours at work, stress at home, and hungry bellies at night. As Christians, though, we know we are still blessed. Even when we may have little, God is still blessing us with daily bread (Luke 11:3). That’s why we learn to pray, “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16).

As beggars, beg for Jesus’ mercy, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Starve your sinful nature. Don’t give in to its cravings. Don’t worship the god of your belly, or your mind, or anything that satisfies yourself. Beg God for food and forgiveness, riches and righteousness. Be fed with the Bread of Life. Be refreshed with the Water of Life. Be like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and its leaves do not wither (Psalm 1:3). When you are rich in Christ’s forgiveness, fed with God’s Word, and kept alive by the Water of Life, then you bear fruits of faith. Then you are truly blessed.

Jesus teaches, “Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh. … Woe to you who laugh now, because you will be mourning and weeping.” Weeping at the death of a loved one is never pleasant. Death has ripped another family member or friend out of your life. There is a gaping hole in your heart. Yet, because your loved one was a Christian, you are blessed. Your mourning is turned to laughter. I’ve attended lots of funerals. I’ve only known Christians as the ones who can smile and laugh at their loved one’s funeral. That’s because Christians know we will see our sainted loved one in heaven again. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one of his saints” (Psalm 116:15).

But cursed are those who laugh only for this lifetime. They have no use for Christ and his eternal kingdom. They are living only for this world and not for the world to come. There is no smiling or laughter at their funeral. That’s because their family knows where the dead are now. They are in a place where there will be eternal mourning and weeping.

We also receive blessing when we are suffering for Jesus’ sake. Jesus must have raised a few eyebrows when he said that we are blessed by being hated, excluded, insulted, and rejected because of our connection to him. He teaches, “Blessed are you whenever people hate you, and whenever they exclude and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. … Woe to you when all people speak well of you, because that is how their fathers constantly treated the false prophets.”

This week a so-called “pastor” in Toronto, Canada, preached a sermon where he said that calling Jesus “Savior” is offensive to people of other faiths and the title should be removed from the church. He explained himself, “Many, before they come to our church, will check out the website to see what this church is about: to see what they believe. And many of the folks that did that will tell me, out in the community, ‘Brent, I looked up your church, and it sounded reasonable, but when I got to that word “Savior”, it was a problem.’” Brent’s solution to people being offended by the fact that Jesus Christ is the Savior is to tell them that Jesus is not the Savior.

He goes on, “And for me, ‘savior’ means the person, persons, or situations that help me to heal my relationship with god.” Brent’s solution is to chide Christian believers for believing Christian things: “I would hope that someday, this church would see the possibility of changing that word because it is a stumbling block to so many.”

Brent is the kind of “pastor” this world wants. They will speak well of him because he’s so open-minded. He’s so carefree with Jesus’ teachings. He’s saying that Jesus as Savior is offensive and there are many ways to be saved.

Except … Jesus’ name literally means, “God saves!” The angel told Joseph, “[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Salvation is the point!

The stumbling block reference is even more on the nose. St. Paul literally calls Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection for our salvation a stumbling block for those who will be offended by that claim. “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Jesus explicitly says that people will be offended by him, and that he came to offend. “Blessed is the one who does not take offense at me” (Matthew 11:6).

People are going to persecute, exclude, and pummel us for no other reason than our connection to Jesus our Savior. Jesus says we are in good company when we are persecuted for our faith. We are suffering like Isaiah and Jeremiah, Moses and Daniel. We are enduring pain like Paul, Peter, and Stephen. We are abused and shamed just as Christ was abused and shamed. We are enduring it all for him. We endure this suffering because he endured it first for us. When we suffer for Jesus’ sake, we really aren’t doing anything all that extraordinary. Jesus endured mockery and shame, betrayal and beatings, he endured the cross and separation from his heavenly Father. He endured all that for us. When we suffer for Jesus’ sake, we are really saying, “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for what you went through for me. Please let me show you my gratitude by standing up for you.” St. Peter, who knew quite a bit about suffering, wrote his epistles to Christians who were suffering great persecution. He reminded them, “If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:14).

It may sound strange, but there really is a joyous and satisfying feeling that comes from suffering in the name of Jesus. That is God’s kind of blessing.

It sounds counter-intuitive that we are blessed when we are poor, hungry, weeping and hated. It sounds even more crazy when Jesus adds, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy because of this: Your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:23)!

In our world, the rich, powerful, and happy are blessed. Jesus turns our world upside down so we may be saved. He blesses the poor with the riches of his grace. He blesses the hungry with the good things in his house. He blesses the weeping with resurrection hope. He even blesses those

who are hated, insulted, and persecuted, because these things are happening to them because they are connected to Christ.

When you are asked how you are, better than saying “I’m doing all right” or “I’m having a tough day”, why not answer, “I’m blessed”?

Whether you are the sick and crippled in the crowd or those who are touched and healed by Jesus, you are blessed. You are blessed in all things by the Creator who created and preserves you, blessed in all things by the Redeemer who bled and died to save you, and blessed in all things by the Sanctifier who brought you and keeps you in the one true faith.

Your reward is great in heaven. Now you can say, “I’m blessed.” Amen.

“[The blessed one] will be like a tree planted by water. … It does not stop producing fruit” (Jeremiah 18:8). Amen.

What are Your Qualifications? by Pastor Klusmeyer

What are Your Qualifications?

What are your qualifications? Maybe you have been asked that question at some point when you were applying for a new job or trying to get a promotion at work. Maybe you have asked that question when you need to get some important work done on your house or car, or you’ve needed a serious medical procedure. Employers want to know that they are hiring the best candidate who can do the job well. If someone doesn’t have the necessary qualifications for a position most of the time they are not going to get hired for a position. We ask that question when we want to make sure that someone knows what they are doing in an important situation.

But what about service in God’s kingdom? What kind of qualifications is God looking for in those he calls to service in his kingdom? The Call of Isaiah gives us an example of the qualifications that God is looking for. We don’t know much about the life of Isaiah the prophet when he received his call from God, and that seems to be the point. Isaiah tells us that in the year that King Uzziah died, he received a vision. Isaiah saw God sitting on his throne surrounded by seraphim, mighty angels of God, who called to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies. The whole earth is filled with his glory. This song alone was so powerful that it shook the very foundations of the temple.

Isaiah is filled with terror. He cries, “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies!” As soon as Isaiah saw God on the throne, he realized he didn’t have the necessary qualifications to be in the presence of God. Isaiah realized that as a sinner he was so far away from the holiness of God that he could only conclude that he was doomed. Sinners cannot stand in the presence of God and live. When he sees the power and holiness of God and sees that even the mighty seraphim cover their feet and their faces in the presence of God, he knows that he is a sinner who deserves only God’s punishment.

This is true for all of us as well. We may be tempted at times to think that we are doing pretty well in our lives. We avoid the worst of sins. We keep most of the commandments most of the time. We’re nice to those who are nice to us. We’re good and upstanding people who have the required qualifications for service in God’s kingdom. But then the holy law of God strips away our pride. We are vividly reminded of the vast gulf that exists between holy and almighty creator and sinful creature. Everything in us is tainted by sin and our only response is to cry out like Isaiah and say I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips. Our sin makes us detestable in the eyes of God and there is absolutely nothing we can do to remove that sin or make ourselves worthy.

God in his mercy did not destroy Isaiah. Instead, he sent one of the seraphim to take a coal from the altar and touch it to the lips of Isaiah. The seraphim assured Isaiah, He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.” God reached across the vast gulf between his holiness and Isaiah’s sin. God took away the guilt of the prophet in one symbolic action.

God has done the same for us. On our own, we do not have the necessary qualifications to be forgiven or earn our way into heaven. We are sinners who cannot stand in the presence of God and live. Instead, God has reached across the gulf between his holiness and our sinfulness and purified us of all sin. He did this by sending Jesus to be our Savior. Jesus had the necessary qualifications to earn salvation for us. As God’s own Son he was perfect. He could offer his life as a sacrifice in our place to make full and complete payment for our sins. On the cross, Jesus Christ paid for our sins and took away our guilt. Through faith in Christ, we know that we have been cleansed of all sin and are now able to stand in the presence of God. By his death, we have been cleansed and made pure and holy. By his resurrection, we know that the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf was accepted by God. Our sins have been paid for. The power of death and hell has been destroyed, and we have the certainty of eternal life with our Lord.

After the coal touched the lips of Isaiah God asked “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Then Isaiah said, “Here I am. Send me!” Notice the change in attitude. Isaiah is no longer filled with fear. He is filled with joy because his sins have been forgiven. Isaiah is ready and willing to serve the Lord because he wants to share this joy with others. Such joy and relief are found only in Christ! Through our Savior, the

burdens of guilt and shame are removed. It is only by hearing the message of the Gospel proclaimed through the Word of God that we know the peace of forgiveness. The Apostle Paul tells us that faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. God has chosen the least qualified to proclaim his message of salvation to the world. Isaiah was not qualified; he was a sinner. Peter was not qualified; he was a sinner. Paul was not qualified; he was a sinner. Ministry begins with the knowledge of human limitations and sin. If Isaiah was unfit for ministry, so is every Christian. Yet God chooses each of us to be his messengers.

Each of us has been entrusted with proclaiming the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of the whole world. Those who have not heard and believed the Word of God cannot be saved. Satan does not want us to fulfill this calling. Satan wants us to ask the question, “What are my qualifications for sharing the Word of God?” He wants us to doubt our abilities and to say, “Here God, please send someone else.” We do not need to listen to these doubts. We can be filled with confidence and boldly proclaim the truth of God’s Word because of the peace we have through Christ. Jesus has given us his perfect qualifications to go out into the world and proclaim freedom for the captives.

One of the things I love about the hymn we sang before the sermon this morning is that it gives us a picture of what our ministry in this world will be like. God has called each of us to serve in the fields that are ripe for the harvest. But he has not called on all of us to serve in the same way. We have all been given different talents and abilities. We will serve God in different ways at different seasons of our lives. The hymn writer speaks the beautiful truth that not all of us have been gifted with a silver tongue like Peter and Paul. Not all of us have the ability to travel to places where people have never heard of Jesus. But each of us has been given opportunities in our lives to talk with our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to tell them the simple story that Jesus died for our sins.

There will be times when we are limited by age, sickness, or circumstance when we don’t have the opportunity to share the story of Jesus. During those times we can serve in other ways. We can use our gifts and our offerings to support the work of the church. We can send others to do what we ourselves cannot. There may be times when we financially can’t support the work of the church. When we are doing everything just to care for our families. This is good and God-pleasing as well. God gives us an unlimited buffet of different ways that we can serve him. We can raise our children in the knowledge and instruction of the Lord, we can use our offerings to support the church, we can use our time to do things to free up the time of others to go into the world on our behalf. All these things are carrying out the mission of God’s church.

I once heard a story about an older couple who owned a farm. Each year they hired some students from the Seminary to work on their farm and paid them very, very well. One of the Seminary students felt guilty for how much money they were paying him because he knew this couple was not very wealthy. When he offered to give some of the money back the farmer told him. I don’t leave this farm. The cows need to be milked every day. I only go into town to get supplies, and I don’t have the opportunity to tell others about Jesus, but you will. I can use my money to send you to tell others about Jesus for me. That farmer understood what it meant to use his gifts and circumstances in service to the Lord.

What are your qualifications for service in God’s kingdom? We may be tempted to think that we aren’t qualified to tell others about Jesus. But our qualifications are found in Christ alone. We have been covered over with his righteousness. We have been filled with the peace and joy of our forgiveness. Like Isaiah, our fear of God’s wrath has been removed. We understand that we have been called by God to use our unique gifts and abilities in his service. We look for opportunities to serve and filled with the love and confidence of our Savior we echo the words of the Prophet and say, “Here I am. Send me!”

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

But I’m only a child! by Pastor Zarling

But I’m only a child!

Jeremiah 1:4-10 The word of the Lord came to me. 5Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations. 6But I said, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child!” 7The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. 8Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord.” 9Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me: There! I have now placed my words in your mouth. 10Look, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.

Preach the word. Be ready whether it is convenient or not. Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2). Amen.

Max is nine years old. He thinks this is a wonderfully valid excuse for getting out of chores. One Saturday morning, Max was sitting on the couch, with his eyes glued to the TV screen. Mom called from the kitchen, “Max, can you please take out the trash?” Max paused the show and called back with the excuse, “Mom, I’m just a kid. I’m too weak to do that stuff.”

Later in the afternoon, Max’s dad was working in the garage changing the oil on their SUV. He wanted to start teaching Max how to work on cars. He said to Max, “Come out to the garage and help me.” Max gave his dad the excuse, “Dad, I’m just a kid. I don’t know how to do that stuff.

In the evening, Max’s sixteen-year-old sister was doing laundry. She told Max that his clothes were in the dryer and that he should fold them and put them in his dresser. Max made the same excuse to his sister, “Sis, I’m just a kid. I’m not able to do that stuff.”

The next day, after the family returned home from church, suddenly the family made sure that Max knew he was old enough to do everything. Mom made sure Max took out the trash. Then he helped clean the whole kitchen. When he was done with that, Dad had Max out in the garage. After changing the oil in the SUV, they worked all afternoon on cleaning the garage from top to bottom. All Max wanted to do was sit in front of the TV. But his sister dragged him upstairs and had him fold all the laundry and put it away in everyone’s rooms.

Max didn’t use the excuse to his parents anymore of “But I’m only a kid.”

When the Lord appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations, Jeremiah made the excuse to his Heavenly Parent, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child” (Jeremiah 1:6)! Jeremiah is the son of a priest. His call is unique in the Old Testament as he receives his call before he is even born. “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations’” (Jeremiah 1:4,5). No other prophet in the Old Testament is like this.

Jeremiah’s ministry was during the last days of the kingdom of Judah from about 627 to 585 BC. His ministry consists mostly of dark warnings about the destruction of Jerusalem and about the captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophecies also contain a few glimmers of gospel hope that would be fulfilled through Christ.

Jeremiah was probably only a teenager or in his early twenties when he begins his prophetic ministry. That’s why this is a fitting text for this Youth Sunday. You young people – children, teens, and young adults – will hear people say that you are the future of the Church. They are partly right. You are the future of the Christian Church. You are also the present.

One of the largest groups we have at Water of Life is the teens. We are blessed to have 40 teens from 6th – 12th grades. That’s a lot of youth for a church our size. You teens are the ones inviting your friends to come to worship with you. Next week we’ll have the Baptism and adult confirmation of Layton, a college student. This is happening because Layton’s girlfriend, a Shoreland senior, invited him to worship and adult instruction classes with her.

You teens are very active in the ministry of our church – ushering, singing, playing, serving, canvassing, helping with Happy Birthday Jesus and Soccer Camp. Most of you are busier than the adults. Yet, you fit God’s service into your packed schedule.

The people who are attending our adult instruction classes are all young adults. They’ve been invited by a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancé, or spouse. We finally have a full Church Council. Three of those men on the Council are under the age of 30.

You young people are not the future of Christ’s Church. You are the present.

That’s a lot of pressure!

You can be like Max and Jeremiah. You can make the excuse, “But I’m only a child.” Why did Max make excuses? He was afraid. He didn’t have confidence in his abilities. He was probably a little lazy, too. Why did Jeremiah make excuses? He was afraid of what would happen to him as a prophet.

You might be afraid, too. Afraid that you don’t have the ability to speak or teach or be patient. Afraid you don’t have the ability to serve in the church with your mind, voice, or hands.

Afraid of your lack of knowledge for sharing God’s Word. Afraid of rejection when you attempt to correct and rebuke your friends of their sins (2 Timothy 4:2). Afraid of being canceled on social media when you quote scriptural sound doctrine to counter what the culture’s itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). Afraid of being bullied by those trapped by their own desires when you tell then what God desires (2 Timothy 4:4). Afraid of being thrown in jail for praying outside an abortion clinic, or harassed for speaking against woke policies in your college, or being labeled something awful because you love God and his Word more than you love the people of this world.

Probably worst of all – for all of us older people, but especially you younger people – is the fear of being left out. Apart from the group. Isolated. Alone and lonely.

Jeremiah was afraid of what would happen to him. He had good reason to be afraid. After several years of preaching, Jeremiah’s family turned against him and even plotted to kill him (Jeremiah 11:21-23). Over the years, he was whipped and put in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:1-3), attacked by a mob (Jeremiah 26:1-9), ridiculed (Jeremiah 28), threatened by the king (Jeremiah 36:26), and thrown in an empty well (Jeremiah 38:1-6).

Perhaps worst of all, Jeremiah was alone. He was not allowed to marry (Jeremiah 16:2), and his family abandoned him. The people turned against him and didn’t believe him. He was alone with the knowledge of the judgment coming upon Judah.

The Lord gives young Jeremiah and you in your youth this promise, “Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:8).

God desires to be with his children. God walked with and talked with his children until they were separated by man’s fall into sin. From that moment on, God has been working to restore the relationship between him and his fallen children. He does this by establishing his presence with

his people again and again. He finally did that with the incarnation of his divine Son taking on human flesh. It’s a true Epiphany Moment.

The Lord is present as he reaches out, touches Jeremiah’s mouth, and puts his words in the mouth of his young prophet. Jeremiah writes, “The Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me: There! I have now placed my words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9). This is like what God does with the prophets Isaiah and Ezekial where the Lord touches and prepares the mouths of his prophets. The Lord cleanses, prepares, and fills the mouths of his prophets, so they might be able to proclaim the holy Word of the Lord.

Does it help you to know that the Word of the Lord is powerful? God says to Jeremiah, “Look, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). God’s Word uproots and tears down, destroys, and overthrows, it builds and plants. You can count on it accomplishing exactly what the Lord wants it to.

Jeremiah was nervous when God called him to be his prophet. He made the excuse, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child!” Jeremiah was right – he wasn't up to the job, and he knew it.

But he missed one thing – and God pointed it out. God said, “I have placed my words in your mouth.” It’s as if God said, “Don't worry. It’s not about you. It’s about Me. You don’t have to be smart enough or strong enough or good enough. I have put my words in your mouth, and they will do the job.” And they did. Jeremiah spent the rest of his life speaking God’s Word to the people. He did the job God had for him.

God has called you, too, to certain jobs. They may not be flashy jobs like being a prophet. It may not even be cool jobs like a pastor or a teacher. More likely, God is calling you to humble jobs one day of being a spouse, parent, child, sibling, and friend. You may be a caregiver, an encourager, a pray-er, and a protector. You may even think that you have no job at all, because at this point in your life – because you are a child or elderly – your role is mainly to receive care from others. But that’s a job! And a hard one, at times.

What happens when you feel overwhelmed by your job, whatever it may be? You can turn to the same source of help Jeremiah did. “I have put my Word in your mouth,” God said to him. “You aren’t doing it alone.” And to us he says, “I have put my Holy Spirit in your heart. You are not alone. I laid down my life at the cross to make you mine, and I will not forsake you now. I am present with you in the waters of Baptism, in my body and blood upon the Lord’s altar, and in my holy Word. I am with you as a Shepherd to protect you from Satan, as the Divine Physician to heal your broken heart, and as your Champion to lead you into spiritual battle. I will work through you and your job – with all your faults and weaknesses – and I will use you to bring glory to my name.”

The Lord knows you. He cares about you. He has plans for you. Like Jeremiah, the Lord’s plans started even before you were born. He planned for you before this world was formed. His plans included a cradle where his Son, your Savior, was born. His plans included a cross where his Son, your Savior, was sacrificed. His plans included a tomb where his Son, your Savior, rose from the dead. All because God is planning and preparing a room for you to be present with him forever in his heaven.

The Lord has formed you. Set you apart. Made you his own. He is with you. He’s placed his words in your mouth. You are the future of the Christian Church. You are also the present. Don’t

use the excuse of “But I’m only a child.” The Lord has equipped you for the future, for the present, for this very moment. Amen.

Keep a clear head in every situation. Bear hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5). Amen.

Speak with Boldness by Pastor Klusmeyer

Speak with Boldness

There had been an absolute whirlwind of events in the lives of the Apostles. During Passover, they had journeyed with Jesus to Jerusalem and helplessly watched as he was arrested, tried, and crucified. They huddled in fear in those days after the crucifixion wondering what this meant. Then on Easter morning that fear turns to joy as they see face to face the glory of the Lord in their resurrected Savior. Over the next few months, they see the resurrected Lord several more times. But then the day arrives when they watch in awe as Jesus ascends into heaven with the promise that he will return on the Last Day.

Fifty days after Easter the Lord fulfills his promise and sends the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. These men who had huddled in fear that the same Jewish leaders who had crucified Jesus would soon come after them are now filled with boldness as they begin teaching and preaching that the same Jesus who had been crucified has now risen from the dead. The Apostles knew the risks. Jesus had promised that they would face hatred and persecution for preaching and teaching in his name. Jesus had said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, for that very reason the world hates you. Remember the saying I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too.”

Peter, John, and the other Apostles had been boldly preaching the Word of God in the city of Jerusalem. In Acts chapter 4 we hear that Peter and John went up to the temple one day. As they approached, they saw a man who had been lame from birth who asked them for some money. Peter replied, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Immediately the man was healed. He jumped up and began praising God. The people who saw this miracle were amazed.

Peter used this opportunity to boldly proclaim the truth that this man had been healed by the power of Jesus. The same Jesus that the people of Jerusalem and their leaders put to death. The Jewish leaders hear this commotion and are scandalized. They were very upset because Peter and John were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead in connection with Jesus. They arrested them and put them in jail until the next day because it was already evening. They put Peter and John on trial and commanded them to stop preaching and teaching about Jesus. But Peter and John are not afraid. They know that God has commanded them to keep on preaching no matter the opposition they face. As they stand before the same group that condemned their Lord to death they boldly proclaim, “Decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

This story reminds us that we have a powerful foe who will do everything in his power to hinder the proclamation of the Gospel. As Christians, we face this challenge every day of our lives. The world does not want to hear the truth of God’s Word. The voices of “science” and “reason” will tell us that God’s Word is not truth but foolishness. The voices of “culture” tell us that it is “unloving” to call sin, sin and to insist that the only path to eternal life and truth is found in Christ alone. As we face the forces of darkness in this world that want to obstruct the light of the Gospel we turn to God in prayer as the Apostles did and ask that God would give us the strength to speak with boldness.

The truth of God’s Word has always been challenged by the forces of evil in this world. We see this at the very beginning when Satan asks Eve that terrible question, “Has God really said…” Satan wants to cast doubt on the truth of God’s Word. He wants to undermine our faith and put up roadblocks and opposition wherever and however he can. He turned the people of God against Moses, Elisha, Jeremiah, and all the other prophets. He hardened the hearts of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other members of the Jewish ruling body against Jesus.

We will face opposition in our lives as well. Our friends, family members, co-workers, and even our own sinful natures do not want to hear the blinding truth of God’s Word. We do not like being reminded that we are sinners. We do not like hearing the Law’s terrible demand: be holy as I the Lord your God am Holy. We do not like the powerful condemnation of the Ten Commandments that reminds us of the countless ways we have sinned against God in our thoughts, words, and actions. We have a choice. Will we proclaim the Word of the Lord boldly to a hostile world or will we cower in fear? Will we let the love of Christ shine from our hearts like

a lamp on a stand, or will we hide the light of our faith under a basket and conform to the patterns of this world to avoid judgment and ridicule?

Peter and John had a choice as well. After standing before the same group of men who had condemned their Lord to death and being placed in jail, they could have stopped preaching and teaching. They could have changed their message to make it more acceptable to the chief priests and elders of the people. They could have done the easy thing and just gone back to fishing. But they did not. We are told that after they were released, they went back and immediately told their friends what had happened. And what was their response? They praised God and asked for boldness to continue preaching the message of truth!

They did this because they understood that rejection was not proof of failure. They praised God because they knew that speaking the Truth would always be met with opposition. They knew from Psalm 2 that the nations of the earth would rage, and the rulers would take their stand against the Lord and his Anointed. They had seen this happen with their own eyes. They had seen Herod, Pilate, the chief priests, and the people of Jerusalem gather together against Jesus. But they also knew that this was all according to God’s plan.

They had seen the results. They had seen the resurrected Lord. They knew the wonderful truth that on the cross Jesus crushed the head of Satan and defeated the power of all those who opposed the will of God. When Jesus rose victorious from the grave, he shattered the power of death and hell and gave us the certainty that God had accepted his sacrifice as payment for our sins. Even now the rulers of the world may take their stand against the Lord and his Anointed. They may ridicule and mock us. They may command us not to teach and preach as they did to the Apostles, but our Lord scoffs and laughs at them. The power of the devil and the rulers of this world is insignificant when compared to the power of the Lord of Hosts who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them with the Word of his mouth.

This is the promise that has been given to us as well. We have a God who is mighty to save. We have a God who loved us so much that he became one with us so that he could suffer and die for us. After the Apostles prayed for boldness God shook the place where they were gathered. God has given us signs as well. The Bible is a record of every promise that God has ever made and how he has kept them. It shows us his love and faithfulness. It tells us of the limitless love of God who sent his one and only Son to suffer and die for our sins. It shares with us the promise that through the waters of baptism, we have been reborn and sealed to God as his dearly beloved children. Our sins have been completely washed away by the perfect blood of Christ, and we have been clothed with his righteousness. Through the Lord’s Supper, we receive a visible and tangible reminder of this promise as we eat and drink the very body and blood of our Savior who died on the cross to save us.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ we will face opposition and hatred from this world. The world will hate and reject us as they hated and rejected our Lord and Savior. As we face the forces of evil in this world, we pray that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and continue to speak the Word of God with boldness. Let us be certain that rejection is not proof of failure. We know that the power of God’s Word can never be defeated. We know that we have a message of truth that those who are lost in the darkness of sin need to hear. We are offering them the very Words of eternal life. Let us go forth and boldly proclaim the message of the Gospel with the confidence that our Mighty God has already won for us the battle. Amen,

2 Timothy 1:7-8 -- For God did not give us a timid spirit, but a spirit of power and love and sound judgment. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Instead, join with me in suffering for the gospel while relying on the power of God.

The day they tried to kill the preacher by Pastor Zarling

The day they tried to kill the preacher

Mission Festival sermon for St. Paul, Slinger, WI

Luke 4:16-30 16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 20He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22They all spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth. And they kept saying, “Isn't this Joseph's son?” 23He told them, “Certainly you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Do here in your hometown everything we heard you did in Capernaum.” 24And he said, “Amen I tell you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25But truly I tell you: There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months, while a great famine came over all the land. 26Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in Sidon. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28All those who were in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard these things. 29They got up and drove him out of the town. They led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the middle of them and went on his way.

Jesus quoted Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted (Isaiah 61:1). Amen.

I don’t know if any of you have done any kind of mission work. But mission work is filled with rejection. I have canvassed thousands of homes and had plenty of doors slammed in my face. Three decades ago, when I was a pastor of a mission church, I did phone canvassing. I’ve had plenty of conversations cut off by having the phone slammed down. (That was back with the old phones where people felt satisfaction from physically slamming down the receiver. It’s not quite the same feeling with a cell phone just pressing “end call.”)

Once in my mission congregation in Radcliff, KY, we had first-time visitors hear our announcement about closed communion. They stormed out of the sanctuary into our fellowship area and started cussing. The worshipers in the sanctuary could hear a string of four-letter words that were not appropriate for anywhere – especially a church.

When we are doing mission work for Christ, for his church here at St. Paul, or starting new mission churches in the Wisconsin Synod, we should expect rejection. People don’t want to confess their sins. They want their lifestyle choices accepted and affirmed. They don’t believe in sin, so they have no need for a Savior. There is no threat of hell, so there is no purpose for going to heaven. They make themselves gods, so they don’t want the true Lord God.

Be prepared for experiencing rejection when you are doing mission work. We hear in the Gospel today how Jesus experienced rejection in his hometown of Nazareth. This was the day they tried to kill the preacher.

Jesus had come home. The Nazarenes had heard about all the great miracles Jesus had been doing in the surrounding country and how he was preaching with authority. They filled up the synagogue on the Sabbath. During the Divine Service the hometown boy read from Isaiah 61. A big time Messianic prophecy! It’s where God promises to send a Savior. He would be the anointed Messianic preacher bringing spiritual healing for the brokenhearted, freedom for those in spiritual captivity, and spiritual sight for the spiritually blind.

At first the people were impressed. They liked what he had to say. But then Jesus preached some specific, brutal, attention-getting Law. He talked about how they and their ancestors had always been stubborn in their unbelief, deafness, and blindness. Jesus pointed out that because of their hard-hearted unbelief, God took his grace and miracles to the Gentiles – Elijah gave unending flour and oil to the widow in Zarephath and Elisha cured Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy.

The Nazarenes had heard how Jesus had been healing folks, driving out demons, and changing water into wine. That’s what they wanted. They wanted Jesus to be a nice guy. Compliment them. Praise them. Wow them with free things. Instead, they heard stinging words of rebuke. They heard specific Law … and it hurt. They didn’t like his message. Everything went downhill fast. In fact, that’s what the crowd wanted to do – throw Jesus down a hill … fast. That was the day they wanted to kill the preacher.

During last year’s spring break, four of our Water of Life high school seniors and three adults went on a mission trip to Hood River, Oregon. The week before we arrived, the pastor and the people of the church placed flyers on one thousand homes to let them know we would be coming on certain dates to collect food for the local food pantry.

We asked those who answered the door, “What do you think people want to see and hear in a church?” One lady answered that question, “I want Jesus to be like me. A Jesus who smokes weed.”

We invite people to get to know the real Jesus, but their hearts are stubborn and resistant, feeling no need to repent, and no hunger or thirst for God’s Word. They don’t think they need salvation, and they certainly don’t need conversion. They want a Jesus like them or who accepts them without making a change in their hearts and lives.

If you do door canvassing in Slinger, you’ll have people hide from you, yell at you, sick their dogs on you, or slam the door in your face. But thank the Lord that you and Pastor Golisch won’t ever have to experience phone canvassing. There is nothing more soul-sucking than phone canvassing.

You’ll invite friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to worship with you. Many will flat-out say no. Others might come for a while and then abruptly stop. You’ll meet lots of people who only want a quick and convenient faith. They don’t want to be involved in your church with a commitment of membership and a consistency of confessional Lutheranism. They don’t want the heat of challenges, the persistence of doctrines, or the pain of persecution that comes with Christianity. They will be acting naturally … just like those Nazarenes.

But notice what Jesus did not do that day in his hometown. In response to their rejection and violence, Jesus does not lash out; he does not berate the people; he doesn’t call down a legion of angels to drive the people off the cliff. He could have done that. He had the divine right to do that. But he doesn’t. Instead, he simply walked away. Calmly. Quietly. Not because he wanted to leave them, but to continue his work. To continue teaching. For he had a job to do.

It wasn’t time for him to die yet. That would come three years later – not on a hill outside of Nazareth, but on a skull-shaped hill outside of Jerusalem. Not by falling off a cliff, but by being raised up on a cross. To lay down his life for these very people. To bear the punishment for their sins, for their anger, for their rejection, for their murderous intent against him, and for a whole host of other sins. So that they could be forgiven. That they could believe – not in his miracles – but in his sacrifice.

That is what Jesus always does. Jesus gives the opposite of what we deserve. Instead of punishment he gives peace. Instead of anger he gives grace. Instead of abandonment he gives love. Instead of throwing us off the cliff, he went quietly and purposefully and intentionally to the cross. He said, “Father, throw me off the cliff. Throw me to the serpent. Punish me instead of them. Father, forgive them.”

This is the message we need to hear and believe. This is the message we need to preach and promote. You’ve been blessed to do that here in Slinger for 152 years. Our Wisconsin Synod has been blessed to do that for 175 years throughout the United States and around the world. God wants his kingdom to continue to expand through more mission work.

The Wisconsin Synod has created a goal of starting 100 new home mission churches over 10 years. That’s 10 new dots on the map throughout North America each year from 2023 to 2033. During the same time, we want to fund 75 enhancement grants to help existing congregations who wish to start a new outreach effort to reach more souls.

But more outreach often means more rejection. More new churches may mean that some older churches might close. More pastors taking calls to churches with growing communities may mean it’s harder for churches with diminishing communities to attract pastors. These are difficult issues. They take time and discussion. They take prayer and trust in the Lord of the Church that he’ll lead our pastors, churches, and church body to make the right decisions with difficult circumstances.

Let’s be honest. We want ease, not difficulty. We want comfort, not the cross. We want predictability. But instead of predictability, we have something better – we have God’s promise: “Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return there unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout, so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty. Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). God’s Word works. It will either be rejected or accepted. It will either harden or convert. It will either create enemies or create saints.

Jesus was rejected by those who were closest and most familiar with him. Rather than considering this rejection to be failure and then adjusting his message, Jesus calls attention to the fact that this is how it had always been and would always go. Old Testament prophets like Elijah and Elisha were similarly rejected within Israel’s borders. As a result, their message and miracles were given to outsiders. In the same way, Jesus’ rejection in his own hometown served as the impetus for taking his message and miracles elsewhere.

Just as they did in Nazareth, Jesus’ words will always offend. The people in our mission fields will not want to be confronted with their sins and their need for a Savior. Those who believe that all religions are the same won’t like the message that salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. People will think it’s silly to believe that some drops of water save, or that some bread and wine is Christ’s body and blood, or some words from an old book can really bring comfort and consolation to twenty-first century problems. The people in America are no different than the people in Nazareth. They will all try to kill the preacher.

The words of Jesus will always offend. Just like the unwelcome diagnosis from the doctor is offensive. Just like the life-saving treatment with painful side effects is offensive. But what causes Jesus’ words to hurt is also what give them the power to heal. What Jesus preaches will often be a bitter pill to swallow, but it is exactly the pill our Good Physician knows we need. They may try to kill the preacher, but they can’t stop him. Jesus will continue to preach, continue to teach, continue to baptize, commune, comfort, heal, and save.

Don’t ever let rejection get you down. Jesus often turns rejection into reception. That’s what happened with Staci and Justin and their family. When Stacie and Justin were young adults, they rejected their WELS church and became involved in paganism … even Satanism. Later they found the Church of Latter Day Saints. Well, Latter Day Saints found them by knocking on their door.

Friends and family kept encouraging Justin and Stacie to check out our church in Racine. Last year, they enrolled their three children in our Lutheran elementary school. Justin and Stacie took adult

instruction classes with me and became members. I baptized their three children that same day. And now Stacie is pursuing becoming a WELS teacher.

Keep on inviting your friends and family to church with you. Keep on inviting them to make use of your preschool and childcare. Support the ministry of your church and church body with increased offerings and intensified prayers. Support the aggressive 100 in 10 outreach mission plan of our Wisconsin Synod. Jesus did not let rejection stop him. Don’t let rejection stop you. People may try to kill the preacher. But that preacher is their Great Physician of body and soul. Lord willing, through your efforts and Christ’s grace, he will change their rejection into reception. Amen.

Jesus quoted Isaiah: He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance for our God (Isaiah 61:1-2). Amen.