It's as if Luther is speaking directly to the Church today

Today is February 18th, the day in which God our Father called His servant Martin Luther home to Paradise in heaven. Luther was one of the greatest teachers in the history of the Church, one who boldly and courageously took a stand for the Gospel despite great danger.

Here's a little bit from his final sermon, preached at St. Andreas in Eisleben, on February 15, 1546. The text is Matthew 11:25-30, and as always, Luther explicates the text with faithfulness and forthrightness and applies God's Word to the situation of his day. Luther would die three days later on February 18th.

This is a fine Gospel and it has a lot in it. Let us talk about part of it now, covering as much as we can and as God gives us grace.

The Lord here praises and extols his heavenly Father for having hidden these things from the wise and understanding. That is, he did not make his gospel known to the wise and understanding, but to infants and children who cannot speak and preach and are not knowing and wise. Thus he indicates that he is opposed to the wise and understanding and dearly loves those who are not wise and understanding but are rather like young children.

But to the world it is very foolish and offensive that God should be opposed to the wise and condemn them, when, after all, we have the idea that God could not reign if he did not have wise and understanding people to help him. But the meaning of the saying is this: the wise and understanding in the world so contrive things that God cannot be favorable and good to them. For they are always exerting themselves; they do things in the Christian church the way they want to themselves. Everything that God does they must improve, so that there is no poorer, more insignificant and despised disciple on earth than God; he must be everybody’s pupil, everybody wants to be his teacher and preceptor. This may be seen in all heretics from the beginning of the world, in Arius and Pelagius, and now in our time the Anabaptists and antisacramentarians, and all fanatics and rebels; they are not satisfied with what God has done and instituted, they cannot let things be as they were ordained to be. They think they have to do something too, in order that they may be a bit better than other people and be able to boast: This is what I have done; what God has done is too poor and insignificant, even childish and foolish; I must add something to it. This is the nature of the shameful wisdom of the world, especially in the Christian church, where one bishop and one pastor hacks and snaps at another and one obstructs and shoves the other, as we have seen at all times in the government of the church to its great detriment. These are the real wiseacres, of whom Christ is speaking here, who put the cart before the horse and will not stay on the road which God himself has shown us, but always have to have and do something special in order that the people may say: Ah, our pastor or preacher is nothing; there’s the real man, he’ll get things done!

Sermon for the Sunday of the Passion A+D 2010

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

From palms... to passion; from exuberant joy... to somber grief; from shouts of "hosanna" (John 12:13)... to calls to "crucify him" (Luke 23:20). This Sunday has everything. It begins with the waving of palm branches in procession, it ends with the cross. As a result, over the years, this Sunday has had a number of different names. In some times and places it has been called Palm Sunday... in other times, Passion Sunday. We Lutherans use both: because, well... you see... you really can't have one without the other. Take the palms, for example. Palms are part of our Lord's Passion, yes, but they are not the only thing. Palms without the cross are like leaves and branches without the tree. The world isn't saved from sin by a palm tree but by the tree of the cross, and the passion of our Lord who hung on it.

The Passion of Christ. From the Latin "passus," meaning 'to suffer,' as in the Apostles' Creed: "passus, mortus, et sepultus est." He suffered, died, and was buried. Out of His passion to save the world from sin and death, our Lord endured His passion.

In any case, that is our theme for today—  the dramatic move from Palms to Passion on this Palm Sunday and Sunday of the Passion.

Time permits but a few highlights. We will hear these things in greater depth and detail during the course of this week. On Thursday, we will rejoice in the upper room and the Supper of Jesus' body and blood. On Friday, the cross and the Crucified One. On Saturday, His rest in the tomb and our Baptism into His death. And on Sunday, the open, empty tomb and the glory of Jesus' resurrection. For today, just a few things.

It starts out as you heard in St. John with Jesus being welcomed into Jerusalem as a king, riding a donkey in peace, with palm branches waving. "Hosanna!" the cry goes up. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna" — "save us," the traditional way to greet a victorious king coming home from battle. But this King is headed toward His battle, into holy war with sin, death, and devil.

Half a week later it's the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The time is Passover. The setting is a borrowed, upper room. The Passover lamb is killed, bled to death at the temple. Roasted in the fire until well done. The four cups of wine are filled. The table is set with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. With sour bitterness on their tongues, the disciples hear Jesus speak of His betrayal. One of His own will do it. He knows this — He even knows which one it will be. And yet Jesus allows that betrayal... for us. This is His passion to save.

It's at that same time that Jesus takes the unleavened bread, the Bread of Affliction, gives thanks, breaks it into pieces, and gives a piece to each of the disciples. "This is my body, given for you" (Luke 22:19) He takes the third cup after the meal, gives thanks, and gives it to each of them. His cup is theirs to drink. "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). His body and His blood, soon to be offered on the altar of the cross, here He gives as food and drink. He is the Bread of Life, the Wine of heaven. He gives the very same Body and Blood to you here today - for your forgiveness, life, and salvation. This is His passion to save.

They head to the place called Gethsemane. He is deeply distressed and troubled. The sin of the world weighs heavy on Him. It drives Him to the ground in prayer. "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). He prays for us all, for everyone who has cried out in the silence in an hour of despair and death, and heard nothing return from the silence. He prays, "Thy will be done" (Matt. 6:10) as He taught His disciples. And the will of His Father is that He should drink the bitter cup and die for the world. This is His passion to save.

He is betrayed with a kiss, a sign of friendship, and arrested like a criminal. They come with "swords and clubs" (Luke 22:52) against this gentle Shepherd, who healed their sick and brought good news of the kingdom. For this, you see, is the hour of darkness (Luke 22:53). It is Satan's hour... not ever the hour that Jesus longed for... not ever the hour that Jesus wanted... but still the hour Jesus willingly underwent, for this is His passion to save.

Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin, the religious high court. The priests, elders, and teacher of the Torah examine Him... to accuse Him: "if you are the Christ, tells us" (Luke 22:67). Every religion must ask this question, and hear the answer. Who is this Jesus? Is He the Messiah, the Son of God? "You say that I am" (Luke 22:70), He says... alluding to the great Old Testament name of God, Yahweh, the great "I Am Who I Am" (Exod. 3:14) adding to that the promise that "from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God" (Luke 22:69). Really?!? That's what He chooses to say? He's either a liar, a lunatic, or He is who He says He is. There is no other option. You can't say, "He's a great prophet, a great teacher, a great example, a great anything" unless you also say that He is "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matt. 26:63).

At that, Religion renders its verdict. In their eyes, Jesus has condemned Himself by speaking blasphemy. God in the flesh is a blasphemy to man's religion, which wants to keep God nicely in a box on a shelf somewhere in heaven. God in heaven is safe; God dwelling in the flesh among us is a threat to our religions, our attempts to be gods in place of God. Jesus endures it all silently. He offers to apologetic, no protest. It has to happen this way. His rejection is the world's salvation. This is Jesus' passion to save.

And so He's brought before Pilate, the Roman governor, the representative of Caesar. He taught His disciples to render unto Caesar, now Caesar will render unto Him (Mark 12:17). To the heavy handed world of Politics, Jesus is a threat to the peace, a usurper to the throne, a troublemaker, a subversive. King of kings and Lord of lords, yet His kingdom is not of this world. Pilate shakes with fear at the glimpse of an authority greater than His own. One day every knee will bow to this King. But not this day. For Christ is silent and makes no defense (Luke 23:9).

Pilate tries to cut a compromise. Political correctness isn't new to our day. He offers the people a way out, a choice - Barabbas the murderer... Barabbas the terrorist... or Jesus the messiah. Who would want the likes of Barabbas loose on the streets? But Barabbas goes free, and Jesus goes to His death. The guilty one gets off, the Innocent One dies. He becomes our sin, we His righteousness. This too is His passion to save.

And so the die is cast. The Creator of the World stands condemned by the world and is led away by soldiers through the city. Through the city to a place called "the Skull" Led through the city to a place called "the Skull" to hang an innocent man among thieves. Jesus... Jesus the Christ, Jesus the King, Jesus the Son of God. He is all these, and more, hanging there in the darkness, forsaken by His Father, that forgiveness might be won. This is His passion to save.

Dear friends in Christ, faith (Christian faith) is a passion for the Passion of Jesus. The bad news is that you and I have no credential to wave before the Lord. No perfect work that makes us pleasing to God. We cannot  —we must not— try to justify ourselves. That's the bad news. The good news is you and I already have all that you need to stand before God on the day of judgment: the passion of Jesus - His suffering, death, and burial. Your Baptism declares it; the Supper confirms it. He is passionate to save you.

The peace of God –which surpasses understanding– guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

  

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, A+D 2010

Readings for this sermon are available here.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Listen to the parable of the vineyard, a parable Jesus tells about a landowners and his tenant farmers. "A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while" (v.9). As Jesus tells the story, he begins first of all with a note of grace. The landlord plants the vineyard. He does all the preparation, all the work to guarantee a harvest. The tenants simply have to tend the plants, harvest the fruit, and pay the owner his agreed-upon share.

But the relationship between tenants and landlords is rarely easy. In part because most of us would rather be owners than renters. It makes sense. Renters pay out rent, while owners collect rent. Owners control the property while tenants are under another's control. And let's face it, we do not like to be at another's mercy, even when the other is God Himself.

Which, of course, is the actual case. We are all tenants, after all, not owners. Everything we have is on loan from God. We might imagine that we're owners: "It's my money and I can spend it as I please." "It's my body and I can do what I want with it." "It's my life and I don't need God or the Church or anyone to tell me how to run it." But that's the myth of this age. But the truth is that God is the owner; we are his tenants. We are simply stewards with a responsibility to use His gifts faithfully.

Anyway, in the parable, the tenants stage a revolt. When harvest time comes, the land owner sends a servant to collect his share. Instead, though, the tenants beat him and send him away empty-handed (v.10). When the owner tries again they beat that servant up and send him back (v.11). A third time this takes place (v.12)!

Clearly this method of collection has failed. It's at this point that most landlords would give up and take legal action. But this landowner goes one more step, hoping against hope to receive a harvest instead of hostility. "What shall I do?" he says to himself. "I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him" (v.13)

Of course, there's nothing in the track record of those tenants to suggest they would. And you have to stop and wonder. What kind of father would send His beloved Son to a bunch of thugs who've already beaten up three others? What sort of father would send His beloved Son to a bunch of murderous deadbeat tenants?

• "God so loved the world that He gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

• "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:9).

• "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10).

While we were still His enemies, turned against Him in rebellion, the Father sent His Son into the world, to take on our humanity, to become one with us, to save the very world that rejected him. Even after Israel had beaten and stoned and killed God's prophets! But that's the nature of God's mercy. He keeps coming back again and again, seeking the fruit of repentance and faith, risking everything.

The parable's not yet done, of course. When the tenants see the son, they assume that the owner's dead. They come up with a plot: "This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours" (v.14). It sounds crazy, but it's actually not. If the landowner died and left no heirs, the tenants could claim title to the land free and clear. Provided, of course, they could first get away with the son's murder, which is why they killed him off the property.

It's a picture of Jesus' impending death. Within a few days of speaking this parable, the religious authorities of Jerusalem would stir up Jesus' crucifixion at the hands of Pilate, on a hill named Golgotha outside the city. The parable would become reality. God sent His Son to His vineyard, to His Israel, and His Son was despised and rejected and killed outside the city gates.

"What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those [ingrate] tenants, and give the vineyard to others" (vv.15-16). The message is this: reject the Son and there's nothing but judgment. Jesus is God's last Word to the world. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus (see John 14:6). There is no other Savior from sin and death but Jesus, the beloved Son of God, who came to His own, who was rejected and crucified, whose death the Father received as the atoning sacrifice for our sin. To reject the Son is to reject the Father's will to save you.

The tenants in the parable are condemned (not because they were worse tenants than any other in the neighborhood... not because their harvest was poor... they were condemned) because they rejected the Son. The parable is a warning to the religious leaders of Jesus' day and to the Church of every age not to take God's grace for granted, not to reject the Son who comes to us in the name of the Lord, not to despise His Baptism or the Supper of His body and blood or His Word of forgiveness. God forces His grace on no one. He forces no one to be saved from death and hell. He gives His gifts; He sends His Son; He gives us the Holy Spirit who delivers all that Jesus died to win for us.

Your Lord God, the heavenly Father, awaits the harvest: the harvest of broken and contrite hearts, the harvest of faith in His Son Jesus, the harvest of love for one another. Don't be deceived by appearances. The Son may appear weak. God's servants may appear as the wimps and losers of this world. The Church may look like a fractured and failing institution against the backdrop of this world's success stories.

Jesus said, "the stone that the builders rejected has become cornerstone" (v.17) and "everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces" (v.18). We must be broken, if we are going to be made whole again. We must die, daily to ourselves in repentance, if we are going to live. The alternative to falling on Christ in repentance is to be crushed by Him. Verse 18: "And when [that rejected stone] falls on anyone, it will crush him." Either receive the forgiveness, life, and salvation Jesus won for you by His death on the cross, or... be crushed resisting and refusing Him.

Dear friends in Christ— every sin has been spoken for in the death of Jesus. Every sin is forgivable. Every sinner has been died for. Only unbelief is unforgivable because unbelief is rejecting the forgiveness Christ won on the cross.

Trust in the Son, that rejected Stone who is now the cornerstone of your salvation. Fall on Him with all the brokenness of your life, for He was broken for you. He will raise you up and give you life, "just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity."

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.