Sermon for Lent 1: "Not Today, Satan"

 + Lent 1 – February 26^th, 2023 +

Series A: Genesis 3:1-21; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The season of Lent that we are now in calls us to do something which is considered by many to be unpopular, politically incorrect, even extreme. In Lent we talk about sin. 

 

In Scripture, sin is missing the mark, like an archer who aims but misses the bullseye. Sin is falling short, like a hiker who falls in the creek he tried to jump over. Sin is a trespass, a crossing the line. In Scripture sin is a weight, a burden, darkness, sickness, corruption, the wages of sin is death.

 

Today’s Scripture readings remind us of another way God’s Word reveals our sin. Sin is incurvatus in se – that’s Latin for “turned, curved inward.” Self-absorbed. Self-serving. Self-loving.

 

In Genesis the Serpent, Satan, tempted Adam and Eve, “Did God really say?” They knew what God said. But that’s what the devil does. He lies. And he turned Adam and Eve inward upon themselves, their eyes, ears, desires, and hunger. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise. 

 

In Matthew 4, Satan tempts Jesus like he did Adam and Eve, to fall short, miss the mark, trespass, and curve inward on himself. To serve himself only. To be like Satan, consumed with selfishness.

 

But for your sake, Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He doesn’t fall. He doesn’t give in. For you, Jesus overcomes temptation in your place. 

 

The first temptation is aimed at Jesus himself. Jesus has been fasting forty days. Satan tempts Him to curve inward. “You’re hungry. It’s been a long 40 days. Go ahead. Treat yourself.” “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 

 

Satan tempts Jesus to use His divine power to serve Himself. Notice he doesn’t deny that Jesus is the Son of God or even that he has power; the question is how will he use it – for himself or others? The devil tries to twist Jesus into the wrong kind of Son, one turned inward upon himself. One who possesses divine authority but will use that selfishly.

 

The devil tempts us the same way. When we’re weak. Alone. Tired. Hungry. Unsatisfied. So often temptations to sin are not about what is obviously bad for us, but what appears at first to be good, but is deadly on the inside. The poison apple in snow white. The devil in a blue dress. Satan tempts us to misuse God’s good gifts selfishly, to turn inward on our desires. 

 

Jesus, however, came selflessly, to give his life and death in the greatest act of self-sacrifice and do it for you. Jesus lives life by denying Himself in order that He might give all He has for you. 

 

The second temptation is aimed at Jesus’ trust of God the Father. Can he really trust the Father’s word and will? How about just a short, little test… a brake check before the downhill. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you.’

Where Satan’s first temptation assumes Jesus has power as the Son of God, his second temptation assumes that as the Son of God, God’s power is there to protect Jesus. The devil’s trap is set: to see whether Jesus will turn inward upon himself or outward to trust the Father’s word and promise.

 

Again, the devil tempts us the same way. He hurls temptations our way with the same word…”If.” 

“If you really were a Christian God would protect you from things like sickness and sadness. If you were really a Christian you wouldn’t sin the way you do so often. If you just had enough faith God would hear your prayers. Remember. Satan’s name means deceiver. That’s what Satan does. He’s a liar, and the father of lies. In the garden. In the wilderness. And in our lives. 

 

Jesus stands firm for you. “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

 

Jesus the Son of God trusts the Father’s word and will perfectly…for you. Jesus knows where the Father’s will leads – to his bloody death on the cross. And he knows that the Father will be with him through the betrayal, mockery, lies, agony, his crucifixion, death, burial, and rest in the tomb. Every step of the way, Jesus endured obeyed the Father’s will for you. 

 

When it comes to God’s love for you in Jesus, there are no “ifs,” no “maybes.” Only yes. So, when Satan or your sinful flesh tempts you to doubt or despair that and turn you inward to trust in yourself or something else – you need look no further than the cross. That’s where Jesus threw himself down on the hand grenade of our sin. Where he turned towards you in -selfless, self-giving, sacrificial love to save you from Satan’s temptations and from all sin.

 

In the third and final temptation, Satan tempts Jesus to turn aside from his total, self-giving, self-sacrificing service of his death on the cross and to be the lord of the nations in a self-serving way. 

 “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 

 

This third temptation reveals that everyone worships. Everyone has something or someone they fear, love, and trust in. Everyone has a god(s). Satan tempts us to fear, love and trust in the false trinity of me, myself, and I. 

 

“Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

 

Jesus speaks his word and the devil departs. Jesus speaks his word and your sins – all of them – depart. Jesus speaks his word and you are washed and cleansed and baptized and given the shield of faith that can douse all the devil’s fiery arrows. Jesus speaks his word and he gives you his body and blood as food and drink in this wilderness of temptation that we live in. Be gone Satan, and all of your lies with you. Not today! For us fights the Valiant One, Jesus Christ the crucified and risen one.

 

This is why Jesus went into the wilderness, to overcome the all devil’s temptations for you, just as he went to the cross to defeat and die for all your sins. If in sin we have missed the mark, in Jesus, the arrow – or nails rather – land straight in the bullseye of his hands pierced for you. If in sin we have fallen short of God’s glory, Jesus justifies you, by crossing the chasm of sin and death for you. If in sin we have trespassed, it is Christ who walks in God’s word and will perfectly for you. And if in sin we are curved in on ourselves, Jesus life and death is given to you selflessly and in humble, sacrificial service to save, rescue, and redeem you from all sin. 

 

This is why we talk about sin in the season of Lent. Not to wallow in the mud, but to see sin for what it is, and to see Christ Jesus who rescues from and forgives all our sin. Yes, our sin is great. But, Jesus’ victory over sin and death and Satan in the wilderness and on the cross is far greater. 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sermon for Ash Wednesday: "Repentance and Rejoicing"

 + Ash Wednesday – February 22^nd, 2023 +

Psalm 6

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Repentance – that’s the word of the day as the season of Lent begins. And yet in many ways, God’s word and work of repentance is at the heart of our Christian lives every day.

 

When Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-five theses he began this way: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

 

God’s word and work of repentance is not an occasional thing, or a peripheral thing. It’s a daily gift. The daily word and work of the Holy Spirit.

 

We hear that word a lot in Scripture, repentance. Like the prophets before him, John the Baptist went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

 

Jesus, too, preached repentance, and so did his disciples and apostles after him. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

We hear that word repentance throughout Scripture, and in the life of the Church. But what does it mean? Repentance means turning, or returning; you were walking this way, now walk this way; a complete 180; a change of mind. Repentance is the Holy Spirit’s work in turning us away from our sin and ourselves, and it is the Holy Spirit’s work of turning us toward the words and works of Jesus who rescues you from your sin.

 

This is the rhythm of the Christian life: dying and rising in Jesus. Hearing our sin and receiving forgiveness of sins in Jesus. The Holy Spirit repenting us, turning us away from our sin; and the Holy Spirit turning us to the forgiveness of sins in Jesus.

 

This is also the pattern of so many of the Psalms, particularly the seven penitential psalms that we will spend our time hearing during our midweek Lenten services this year. As far back as the 6^th century A.D., these penitential psalms have been the guiding light for Christians living in repentance and forgiveness in all seasons of life, and especially in the season of Lent. These penitential psalms fill our ears, hearts, minds, and lives with God’s word and work of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

 

Psalm 6 is the first of these penitential psalms. David begins his psalm this way.

 

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath.
² Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

My soul also is greatly troubled.
    But you, O Lord—how long?

⁴ Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
    save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of you;
    in Sheol who will give you praise?

⁶ I am weary with my moaning;
    every night I flood my bed with tears;
    I drench my couch with my weeping.
⁷ My eye wastes away because of grief;
    it grows weak because of all my foes.

David’s psalm begins with repentance. Psalm 6 reveals the deep impact of sin in our lives. Our bones are troubled. Eyes wearied by our sin and shame. Weeping. Weakness. Everything around us, says Psalm 6, down to the couch we sit on, is affected by our sin. Psalm 6 beckons us to look into the abyss of our sin, and to realize that we can’t rescue ourselves.

 

Psalm 6, like many other parts of God’s word, brings us to our knees. Brings us to repentance.

 

Psalm 6 does something else though; it also rescues. Psalm 6 doesn’t end with David or us in despair over our sins. It begins with repentance but ends with rejoicing in the Lord. It begins with cries of despair over sin, but ends with a shout of victory in Christ. It begins with sorrow and suffering but ends with the steadfast love of the Lord.

 

Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
    for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
    they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

 

That’s what Christ does for us; he works a great reversal from repentance to rejoicing. Psalm 6 points to the day when Jesus, judge of the living and the dead, was judged for us. And we see in the hands of our judge the wounds of God’s judgment that he bore for us. Jesus is the salvation and the deliverance that David prayed for, that we so often pray for as well. All our enemies: sin, guilt, shame, death, the devil, the world and even our old sinful flesh are no match for Christ’s victory on the cross and his glorious resurrection. It’s all turned back in a moment, an instant, like psalm 6 declares.

 

In John 12, Jesus alludes to psalm 6 when he says, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

 

Jesus prayed not to be saved from his death, but that he would go to his death for you. Not to depart from you, but to come and save you. To come to you in your weeping. To come to you as you cry out to him in prayer. To come to you with his peace, grace, and mercy, and return you to God the Father.

 

And in Jesus, our bones, troubled by our sin are healed by the life-giving words of him who is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. In Jesus, our eyes wasted away with grief are fixed on Jesus whose eyes are always fixed on you and full of compassion.

 

In Jesus, the Lord hears the sound of your weeping; he hears your prayers, and he answers in Jesus crucified and risen for you.

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon for The Transfiguration of Our Lord: "Only Jesus"

 + The Transfiguration of Our Lord – February 22^nd, 2023 +

Series A:

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

If you’re looking for a Happy Transfiguration Sunday card at the Dollar Tree, I’m guessing you won’t find one. Christmas. Easter. We understand those days. But what’s so important about Jesus’ transfiguration?

 

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

 

The word is “metamorphasized”. Changed appearance. Transfigured. Ever tried looking at the sun? (And I highly recommend that you don’t). It was like that but the light was radiating from Jesus’s face. Think about that the next time you hear the benediction: “the Lord make his face shine upon you.” For a moment, the veil of Jesus’ humility is pulled back. Christ’s glory is revealed. The glory that once filled tabernacle and temple is seen in the man Jesus. This isn’t Mighty Morphin’ Power Jesus or Transformer Jesus – though there is more than meets the eye. All the fullness of deity dwelt in him bodily, as Paul says. 

 

Epiphany is a season about revealing, making known, and manifesting who Jesus really is.

That’s exactly what Jesus is doing on the mountain. Jesus’ Transfiguration reveals who he is and what he’s come to do. Jesus’ transfiguration reveals his glorious divinity and death for you.

 

And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

 

Don’t you love God’s sense of humor here, the irony that the two men in the OT who wanted to see YHWH’s glory (and couldn’t but were both hidden in a cave to protect them from it) now get to see it radiating from the incarnate God-Man, Jesus. Now in Jesus, it’s safe to be in the presence of God’s glory. Now in Jesus you can see the face of God and live to tell about it. It’s no coincidence that Moses and Elijah are there. Mr. Torah and Mr. Prophesy, standing, talking with Jesus like old friends. It’s a great sneak preview of the resurrection. And a reminder everything these two prophets spoke is fulfilled in Jesus. 

 

But Peter interrupts the conversation: “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 

 

Peter says what everyone else is thinking. We’ve all thought it before. “Wow! What a sight. Wish I could’ve been there, even as a little lizard on the mountain top. Just to see it for a moment.”

 

In truth, we’re a lot like Peter. We want the mountain. The experience. We prefer the glory to the cross. We prefer the power and the majesty of a Jesus who shines with unearthly glory than a beaten and bloodied Jesus who hangs dead and defeated. But here’s the rub: you don’t get the glory without the cross. If all that Jesus did was appear shining on a mountain to three of His disciples, we’d still be dead in sin.

 

Thankfully, before Peter could build his shrines, God the Father interrupts Peter. A thick cloud covered the mountain. The same cloud that covered Sinai; filled the tabernacle and temple. The Father’s voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”

 

Epiphany ends as it began: with the Father’s voice resounding: the Lord’s presence in the cloud, and Jesus standing in our place. We heard these words at Jesus’ baptism. Now as Epiphany gives way to Lent, we hear these words again: “Hear Him.” 

 

We might want to go to that mountain, but you don’t need to go to. We don’t need to go find the glory of God. The mountain comes to you. God’s glory comes to you….in Jesus. Christ draws near, comes to you personally in the water of your Baptism, in the bread and wine of the Supper, in the spoken Word of forgiveness, wherever two or three gathered in His name. The Scriptures, the Font, the Altar – here’s your mountain. Here’s the place where Jesus meets you.

 

This is why Peter hangs all hope – not on the glorious vision - but on God’s word: For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”  we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word…

 

Jesus’ Word is that “something more sure”. In our life as stewards of God’s gifts at home and in this congregation, Christ’s word is our great treasure. In our life of speaking the Gospel with others, Christ’s word is a firm foundation. In our life of devotion and prayer, Christ’s word is our life. In all our daily vocations, Christ’s word leads and guides us, and reveals Jesus’ promises to us. Jesus’ transfiguration reveals his glorious divinity and death for you.

 

And that’s the key. Without the cross we don’t understand Jesus. Without the cross we have no idea how to live as Jesus’ disciple either. Peter sure didn’t…at least not until after the resurrection.         Like Peter our fear is exposed. Fear is our denial of God’s promises in the first commandment, that he will be our God and we need no other. And people do strange things when they’re afraid. The disciples fell on their faces. 

 

What about us? When our friendships and family bonds are strained, finances are tight, futures are uncertain…do we fear, love and trust in God above all things or do we panic, turn inward on ourselves and lean on someone or something else? What about our life as God’s people? When it’s hard to find people to serve, when we wonder what the future holds for us as God’s people, when our friends constantly reject our invitations to church, do we fear, love, and trust in Christ’s word and sacraments to do what he says they will or do we panic, turn inward, and lean on other spiritual means of hope and comfort? The same light of Jesus’ transfiguration that revealed Peter’s foolishness also exposes the folly of our sin.

 

And yet, look how Jesus answered his disciples. “Arise. Get up. Stop fearing.” That’s death and resurrection language. Arise. Stop fearing. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

 

The glory was gone. The cloud…gone. Moses and Elijah…gone. The splendor, the mountain-top moment…the divine revelation all of it…gone. Except for Jesus. They saw Jesus only.

 

Moses and Elijah can’t save you. Jesu’s word opens heaven for you. Jesus’s word forgives your sin. Jesus’ word feeds and nourishes you along with his body and blood. Jesus’ word will raise you from the dead. Arise. Do not fear. Jesus spoke those same words after his resurrection to the women as they left the empty tomb in grief and confusion. Arise. Have no fear.

 

That’s why Jesus charges his disciples, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” Jesus’ transfiguration only makes sense after His death and resurrection.

 

Jesus’ Transfiguration reveals his divinity and his death…but also his resurrection. You will see shining, glorious Jesus one day. Jesus will come again in glory to raise us from the dead and give us eternal life. You’ll see Moses and Elijah and all the saints. And we won’t need any tents to preserve the moment, because the moment will be an eternity. And what a sight that will be.

 

But for now, the mountain of transfiguration gives way to the mountain of crucifixion. Alleluias give way to ashes. Shining Jesus gives way to crucified Jesus. Transfiguration Sunday gives way to Ash Wednesday. And in all this the Father is pleased with his Son, and through His Son Jesus, he is well pleased with you.

 

 

A blessed Transfiguration Sunday to each of you…

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for Epiphany 6: "Law and Gospel with Jesus"

 + 6^th Sunday after the Epiphany – February 12^th, 2023 +

Series A: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

 

That’s what our Lord said before he gave the 10 commandments on Mt. Sinai. Before the thunder, lightning, and trumpets. He did this so that his people would always know he is the God who saves. That his people know they belong to him. That he would be faithful to his promise even when, not if, when they made a royal mess of living in his commands. Yes, you broke the 1^st commandment, and all the rest. You sinned. You deserved punishment. But instead God says, go back to the beginning. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

 

Jesus begins his sermon on the mount in the same way and for the same reasons. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You are blessed; you are salt and light; you are righteous in Jesus. Jesus says this at the beginning of his sermon on the mount so that when you hear the rest of his sermon (especially vs 21-48), you will know that he is your Lord and your God, so you know all he has done for you, so that when, not if, when you make a royal mess of his living in his commands, that he will always be faithful to you. As we hear Jesus’ sermon on the mount this morning that’s important to remember. 

 

Last week, we heard Jesus say, I have not come to abolish the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. Today we hear Jesus expound the true meaning of his Law. He intensifies it, like a magnify glass. He gives the proper, authoritative understanding of his Law. 

 

When Jesus preaches the Law, he isn’t giving us a prescription for righteousness, but what righteousness looks like in him. Jesus’ Law isn’t a stairway to heaven, more like a doctor with a microscope, zooming in, further, deeper, down to find the bacteria; like a biopsy needle stuck in to find the cancer. Jesus preaches his Law not to reveal how we become his righteous disciples; but to reveal our unrighteousness. 

 

With each commandment, Jesus moves from action to attitude, from outward compliance to inward attitude, from orientation to God and neighbor to the orientation of the heart. In each instance, Jesus goes from the outward sin to the inward sinfulness, from the symptom to the underlying disease. The problem is not simply that we do bad things, but that we are corrupted by Sin. 

 

Here in his sermon on the mount, Jesus gives his Law once again. Only this time the peals of thunder and flash of lightning come not from the clouds, but from Jesus’ mouth. 

 

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ “Well, that’s not so bad, right? I haven’t stabbed, strangled or slain anyone.” “Not so fast,” Jesus says. But I say to you that everyone who is angry( yes, angry) with his brother will be liable to judgment and whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

 

Jesus’ words are meant to shock us. Jesus intensifies the Law for us. We may not have a bloody knife in our hand or a shovel in our trunk, but we’re murderers. You can murder someone – that is take away their life – by your words. Jesus goes deeper than that, though, doesn’t he. Deeds. Words, and thoughts. Anger. Bitterness. Hatred. According to Jesus’ preaching of the Law every one of us is murderer. And if Jesus hadn’t become the murderer in our place, the hell of fire would be ours. But Barabbas the murderer goes free as Jesus goes to His innocent death for you.

 

Jesus continues. The 6^th commandment. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’” Again, we fool ourselves into thinking we’ve kept this commandment too. Remember all those guys lined up to stone the woman caught in adultery? Let the guilty cast the first stone, Jesus said. Jesus lowers his microscope all the way down to our sinful hearts. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 

 

That’s right. Just a look. Doesn’t matter if it’s in person, online, or at the store. We’re all guilty. You could be celibate all your life, or the perfect, faithful husband or wife, but just one look is all it takes, and the commandment is broken. According to Jesus’ preaching of the Law, we’re all adulterers too. 

 

Jesus uses his Law like the Cobra Kai karate motto says. Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy. God in his law offers no mercy. No quarter. No wiggle room. Had our Lord, not come to be our holy, righteous, and pure bridegroom, and sacrificed himself we’d be all be done for. But Christ the bridegroom has come; he gave his life for you, cleansed you by his water and word, and presents you to God the Father as pure, holy, and in splendor, without any spot or wrinkle.

 

Jesus moves to the 8^th commandment. Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’

 

This one seems easy…at first. “I’m an honest person, maybe just a white lie here or there.” But then Jesus drops his Law foot onto our prideful bubble. But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 

 

Don’t swear at all – by heaven, by the earth, by the hairs of your head. The very fact that we have to swear an oath at all means that we’re natural-born liars. We’re put under oath to ensure we don’t lie. Half-truths and untruths come out much more easily than the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We’re always the hero of our own narrative. History gets rewritten in our minds to vindicate ourselves. Jesus’ preaching of the Law reveals that we’re all liars on top of everything else.

 

For this reason, Jesus is the Truth of God incarnate. Jesus suffered the false accusations and lies of humanity. In becoming our Sin, the One who is the Truth became the Lie in order to rescue liars from the father of lies.

 

After hearing Jesus’ preaching on just three of the commandments, we realize, “I haven’t kept those commandments at all, not even a little.” Jesus’ sermon reveals that we’re all murderers, adulterers, and liars. Jesus leaves us nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to turn to except to him. 

 

That’s exactly where he’s been leading us all along, to see our sin and confess, Lord, have mercy on me a sinner. And then, like Moses in the rock, take refuge in the wounds of Christ. Like the people of Israel, you are covered by the blood of the Lamb. 

 

Whether it’s on Mt. Sinai, or in his Sermon on the Mount, whenever our Lord gives us his law, it’s not given as a ladder to climb into heaven, not as a golden ticket into the chocolate factory, not a teddy bear you snuggle up to. Our Lord intensifies his Law in order to put our sin to death. 

And he puts our sin to death in order to raise us to life in his life, death, and resurrection. 

 

For where our sin abounded, God’s grace to you in Christ abounded all the more. Where God’s Law reveals the depths of our sin, Jesus dies and rises to reveal the greater depth of his mercy and grace to you. No matter how great our sin, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to pay for your sins is greater. No matter how deep our sinful corruption goes, the grace of God in Christ goes deeper. No matter how many times we fail to keep God’s commands, for all the times we’ve been guilty of murder, adultery, and lies, Jesus stands as the one who has kept all of God’s Law for you. Jesus withstood the intensity of God’s wrath on the cross for you. Jesus gives you his righteousness freely, abundantly, graciously.

 

When we fail to keep God’s Law, go back to what Jesus said at the beginning. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for Epiphany 5: "Righteous Salt and Light"

 + 5^th Sunday after the Epiphany – February 5^th, 2023 +

Series A: Isaiah 58:3-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12; Matthew 5:13-20

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church 

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

I had a professor in college who told us the very first day of class – it was Christian Apologetics – that we could skip every day of class if we wanted – go surfing or whatever - and if we only came to take the test, he wasn’t taking attendance. Some did just that, but they missed out on a semester of fantastic teaching. 

 

Today I’m going to try something similar… a dangerous thing in preaching…I am going to start by giving you the end of the sermon first. And then we’ll travel the road to get there through Jesus’ words in Matthew 5. Reading Matthew 5 this week, I came to the following conclusion. 

 

In Jesus’ righteousness you are righteous; in Jesus’ righteousness you are his righteous salt and light and in Jesus you do righteous good works he gives you to do. 

 

Now, how do we get there? How does Jesus’ teaching at the beginning of the sermon on the mount lead to that conclusion? Two simple questions will help us: Who are you as Jesus’ baptized, blessed disciples? And, who is Jesus?

 

Who are you in Christ? Jesus uses two images. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

 

A couple quick points of grammar. “You,” here, is plural. Ya’ll as they say in Texas. You, all of you, are salt of the earth. And this is present tense, indicative. You are. Not was. Not will be. You are. In a world that is obsessed with identity, identity politics, identifying by certain pronouns, the identity that matters most is what God declares of you. We don’t determine our own identity, Jesus does. Jesus gives you this identity: baptized, blessed, bought with his precious blood. You are salt of the earth. 

 

What does that mean? Salt is a common thing in Scripture. Used for preservation. Flavor. Cleansing. Used in the OT sacrifices. Jesus is telling us that as his baptized believers, your life in his righteousness is one that has a preserving, flavoring, cleansing, sacrificial effect for those around you. You are Jesus’ salt of the earth. Paul says it this way in Colossians… Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

 

How, then, does salt become unsalty? It’s a compound element after all. It can’t lose its saltiness. And that’s the point. Unsalty salt is an oxymoron; it goes against the very nature of salt. It would be like saying, “Have a cup of dry water,” or “throw a hot ice cube in your iced tea.” Unsalty salt is useless; it is untrue to its nature. This is what Jesus is getting at, he is teaching us to be true to who God has made us to be in Christ. Jesus is calling us to be true to the nature of who you are, of whose you are. And who you are is righteous in him. True, once you were unsalty, useless in sin and death. But now in Christ’s death and resurrection you are his: forgiven, beloved, baptized. You are his salt. You are righteousness in Christ (more on that later).

 

Jesus makes a similar point with a different image. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 

 

You, all of you, are. Present tense, Christ’s light of the world. If the nature of salt is to be salty, just as the nature of a disciple is to be true to Jesus’ word and ways, it is the nature of a light to shine. A city set on a hill is meant to be seen. A congregation with a beautiful A-frame church is set on Milton Hill in order to be seen. To be a light in the darkness of this fallen world. To be a light to our community, our preschool, your neighbors. To live in the light of Christ and be ever watchful for his coming. To live by the clarity and radiance of Christ’s words…his word that calls you out of darkness into his marvelous light; his life-giving word, water, body and blood that dispel the darkness of our sinful hearts and illuminate our lives. Darkness in Scripture usually means evil, danger, lostness is at hand. And yet, light is life. Even a little light – a small oil lamp can light a whole room. You are the light of the world, Jesus says.

 

The key to all of this, of course, isn’t found within us. We are not salt of the earth or lights of Christ on our own. The key is in Christ. In Christ’s preserving, cleansing, sacrificial death, you are salt of the earth. In Christ who is the Light of the world, overwhelmed by darkness on the cross yet risen in glorious light out of the grave, you are the light of the world.

 

In the same way, Jesus says, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Notice who gets noticed there. It’s not you. Not me. It’s our heavenly Father. The good works God gives us to do and prepares for us are given to point to him, not ourselves. Christ is the vine, we are the branches. The fruit of good works is all his doing.

Who are you in Christ? You are Jesus’ righteous salt and light, made salty and shining with his righteousness given freely to you. 

 

The best way to answer the question, “who are you in Christ?” is to answer the second question of Matthew 5, “who is Jesus?”

 

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 

 

When Jesus says “The Law and the Prophets”, or simply “The Law” he’s referring here in this context to the Old Testament. It’s as if he’s saying, “I didn’t come to abolish or toss out the whole Old Testament. No, I came to fulfill it. Every word of it. Every prophet, every book, every sentence, every word, every letter, even down to the smallest Hebrew letter Yod (iota in Greek), and the smallest squiggle of a line on a letter of the Old Testament Scriptures…they all point to me, and I fulfill them all.” 

 

Jesus is the “Yes” and “Amen” of all God’s prophets and prophecies. Jesus is the period of every Old Testament sentence; the exclamation point on every one of God’s promises. This is both a warning and a comfort. A warning to his disciples then and now: don’t set aside, soften, or slack in teaching Jesus’ words – all of them. And yet comfort, for in, and with his word Jesus tells you who he is – fulfiller, keeper, and giver of God’s righteousness. Jesus’ word is where he tells you who you are in him: salt and light and righteous in his living and dying and rising for you. Teaching, hearing, living in Jesus’ word, that is what brings greatness in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is God’s righteousness enfleshed for you. 

 

This is what the scribes and pharisees were so confused about and why they opposed Jesus so violently. 

 

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

The scribes and pharisees were looked at like religious super stars, the best of the best, the gold medalists of piety and faith. And they did have a righteousness of sorts. A righteousness that looked at the works of the law, not the Scripture’s fulfillment in Jesus. A righteousness of their own efforts and making, which is really no righteousness at all.

 

As the prophet Isaiah says, our righteousness is like filthy rags. But in Christ, God gives you a righteousness that is not your own. We don’t need a righteousness that we can work up on our own; we need the righteousness that is received. The righteousness Jesus is, and fulfills, and gives. The righteousness that exceeds the scribes and pharisees is the righteousness that comes to you in the saving work of Jesus, in his righteous words that forgive you, cleanse you, and feed you. In Christ crucified and risen you receive the righteousness that declares you right with our heavenly Father.

 

And that brings us back to where we began. In Jesus’ righteousness you are his righteous salt of the earth and light of the world, in Jesus you do the righteous good works he gives you to do. In Jesus’ righteousness you are righteous. 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.