Thanksgiving Day Sermon: "The Giver"

 + Day of Thanksgiving – November 25^th, 2021 +

Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Philippians 4:6-20; Luke 17:11-19

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

What do the Israelites in the wilderness, Paul’s words to the Christian church in Philippi, and Jesus’ healing of the 10 lepers have in common? 

 

Because it’s thanksgiving day, we might think at first, well, giving thanks, of course. They are all thankful. And while that’s certainly true; it’s not the whole truth. There’s something more, something deeper and richer that covers all of these readings together; think of it like the gravy that covers your turkey, potatoes, and stuffing. It’s true, Israel, Paul and the Philippians, and the Samaritan leper – they were all thankful. But before we give thanks, there is a gift. And if there’s a gift there’s a giver. That’s what these readings are all about – God, the gracious giver. 

 

From his first “Let there be light” in Genesis to his final “I am coming soon” in Revelation, God reveals himself as the God who gives. He gives life to Adam and Eve. He gives Cain a protective mark even after he murders Abel. He gives Noah and his family the ark, along with a promise to all creation never again to flood the earth. He gives Abraham and Sarah new names, a promised son, Isaac, and a covenant that is finally fulfilled in the giving of God’s own Son. God gives Jacob the blessing that he didn’t deserve. God gives Israel an exodus out of slavery, through the wilderness, and into the promised land. Step by step through the wilderness. Day by day. Year by year, God gives to his people. 

 

Moses reminds God’s people then, and us today, that God is the God who gives. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

 

God is the Giver. Did Israel deserve any of God’s gracious, giving ways? Did they earn them? Do we? Of course not. That’s not how our gift-giving God works. Not by entitlement but grace. Not by our works, but his. Not by our efforts but by his loving kindness.

 

This is what Paul has in mind as he writes his letter to the Philippians. To be sure, Paul thanks the Philippians for their generosity in the faith; their faithfulness as stewards. And as he does that he thanks God the Giver. For… my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

 

Paul reminds God’s people then, and us today, that although we are empty and dead in sin, it is Christ who fills us with his promise. Who gives us life. Although we lack, Jesus gives. God is the most gracious giver of all.

 

Nowhere in Scripture is this better revealed than when God gives and sends his own Son, Jesus. Jesus is the Giver-God incarnate. He gives himself over to temptation. He gives his perfect obedience to the Father’s will for us. He gives his life into the hands of sinful men that he might give his hands to the nails. Give his head to the crown of thorns. Give his body unto death. Jesus rises from the grave to give you victory in his triumph. Jesus gives, gives, and gives some more. Gives his Word. Gives his promises. Gives his Holy Spirit in water and word. Gives his body and blood in simple bread and wine. 

 

When we hear Jesus teaching, preaching, and performing miracles in the gospels, what is he doing? You guessed it. Giving. Jesus is both the gift of God the Father and the God who came to give himself for you.

 

In Luke 17 that’s exactly what we see our Lord doing. 10 lepers cry out to Jesus, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

 

And what does Jesus do? Jesus does what he has done throughout Scripture. Jesus gives. Jesus speaks. Jesus heals. “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

 

Notice that Jesus doesn’t heal and cleanse the 10 lepers on the basis of their thanks to him. He simply heals them. He gives them what they cannot give themselves. Cleansing. Healing. He does the same for us. The cleansing from sin we need. The healing we cannot perform ourselves, Jesus gives. 

 

And having received and seen the gift, what does the Samaritan do? He returns to Jesus and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. That’s how faith – which is God’s gift too! – works. God gives. We receive. Jesus cleanses, forgives, and saves. We thank, praise, and love as he has first loved us. 

 

Thanksgiving is a day for many things – counting our blessings, remembering God’s countless gifts to us – and most of all, giving thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, the gracious, merciful, and bountiful Giver. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

A blessed Thanksgiving Day to each of you…

 

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

 

 

 

Sermon for 1st Sunday in Advent: "The Great Advent Reversal"

 + 1^stSunday in Advent – November 28^th, 2021 +

Series C: Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 19:28-40

Beautiful Savior Lutheran, Milton

 

 

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

 

When you start reading a novel, do you start with the last sentence and work backwards to the first chapter? When you watch a movie, do you skip ahead to the final sequence and then go to the opening scenes? Probably not. Of course, there’s always that joke about listening to a country music song backwards and the singer gets his dog, truck and girlfriend back. But chances are, unless you’re the character Mater from Disney’s Cars we don’t go through life in reverse. 

 

So, it seems a little strange that on this first Sunday in Advent we hear St. Luke’s account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday. In a sea

son where we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ holy birth; we rejoice in his presence among us in Word and Sacrament, and we await glorious return, St. Luke drops us right at the end of the story. 

 

Instead of angels, shepherds, a manger, and Bethlehem, we hear the Hosannas, see the palm branches, cloaks, and Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. Isn’t this all a little backwards? It’s like we’re hearing Jesus’ story in reverse. 

 

But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense to hear the story of Jesus’ life this way. To hear the end before the beginning. After all, Jesus’ death and resurrection is the reason for his birth. Born to live, to die, to rise…for you. And without Jesus’ death and resurrection, nothing He says or does makes any sense. 

 

So Advent tells us the story of our rescue and redemption in Jesus in reverse. From Palm Sunday to John the Baptist, and finally to the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, the message is the same: the baby born for you in Bethlehem is the man crucified and risen for you in Jerusalem.

 

Luke depicts Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, and his journey to the cross the same way he came into the world. In lowliness and humility. Jesus went to Jerusalem to die, to be crowned king on the cross, to deliver us from sin and death by means of His own death for us.

 

It’s the reverse of everything everyone expected the Savior to be. The crowds, the Pharisees, even the disciples – they all expected someone grand and glorious, not a humble and lowly Savior. 

 

And maybe that’s true of us too. Like the crowds in Jerusalem, we expect a glorious, powerful, mighty warrior King, instead of a Suffering Servant whose power is made perfect in weakness, and whose might is displayed in defeat on the cross. Like the Pharisees we expect Jesus to be pleased with our obedience and rule-following, instead of the man who eats and drinks with sinners and justifies the ungodly. But the truth of the matter goes much deeper than that. 

 

The problem isn’t just that Jesus does the reverse of what we expect, but also that we do the reverse of what God expects of us. We have sinned in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and left undone. We have not loved the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. 

 

This is why Advent begins in Jerusalem. Jesus the King of Creation rides in humility on the back of a humble creature to die in humility for us. Advent begins by telling us Jesus’ story in reverse, in order to show us how Jesus has reversed our story from sin and death to peace and life in Him.

 

Advent is the story of our reversal from darkness to light, from sorrow to joy, from sin to redemption, from death to life. Jesus wins us victory in His defeat. He gives life out of His death. He forgives our sins by becoming sin in our place. We went to war with God. And God won by joining our side. By being made man. Born of the Virgin Mary. Born to be with us. For us. One of us.

 

Advent is the story of the Greatest Reversal of all time. The story of the Greatest who became the least for you. The story of our King who stepped down from His throne to become the Servant of all. Who left the power and majesty of the right hand of the Father to take up the humility of the manger and the cross. Who wore royal purple as people mocked Him. Whose crown was made of thorns. Whose scepter was a nail driven through His hand. Whose throne was the cross on which He died for us.

 

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

 

The angels sang this same song as they announced Jesus birth to lowly shepherds. “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” This song joins Palm Sunday and Advent; the cross and the manger; heaven and earth; Jesus with us. 

 

In Advent, this is our song too. Blessed are you, baptized in the Name of the Lord. Blessed are you, forgiven, absolved, and at peace with God. Blessed are you, kneeling before Him as the Shepherds once did, receiving Him who comes to us in his body and blood.

 

Blessed are you, for Jesus came in blessed lowliness in his first Advent, wrapped in swaddling clothes and crowned in thorns for you. 

 

Blessed are you, for Jesus comes for you in a continual Advent here, hidden in humble forms of bread and wine, words and water for you. 

 

Blessed are you, for Jesus will come again in his final Advent. 

 

God’s blessings to each of you this Advent season…

 

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

 

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year: "Back to the Future"

 + Last Sunday of the Church Year – November 21, 2021 +

Series B: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Jude 20-25; Mark 13:24-37

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

Whenever you lose something – such as your phone, wallet, keys – inevitably, you, a family member, or friend will offer you that age-old advice: try retracing your steps. And most of the time when you backtrack to the door or the car or wherever you were, you find the way forward. 

 

Something like that is going on in today’s gospel reading from Mark 13. It takes place in the same setting as last week’s reading, during Holy Week, in Jerusalem, near the temple. Part of the time Jesus appears to be foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the other part of the time he appears to be teaching his disciples about his advent, his coming – his coming in the flesh to save, and his coming again in glory at the end, on the Last Day. Which is it? Is Jesus talking about the end of Jerusalem or the end of the world? The answer, in good biblical fashion is yes.

 

Jesus does it in a similar way we might find our lost phone, wallet, or keys. Jesus retraces the footsteps of his prophets by quoting Isaiah and Daniel. Our Lord backtracks through his words to his people of old – words about the destruction of Babylon and other great Old Testament enemies of God’s people – in order to point the way forward to the future destruction of God’s enemies and deliverance in Jesus.

 

Christ shows us the way forward to his second coming by taking us back to the Old Testament that foretold his first coming. Great Scot! It’s a biblical back to the future. 

 

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; Here Jesus takes us back to Isaiah 13, a prophecy foretelling the destruction of Babylon, one of Israel’s ancient enemies that later becomes synonymous with all enemies of God who reject and oppose his word and promise and Messiah. 

 

 ²⁵ the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Jesus quotes Isaiah again. This time he backtracks to Isaiah 34, where the destruction of Edom is foretold. Edom also later became a symbol of those who opposed and rejected YHWH and his promises, especially Rome. 

 

²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. Here Jesus retraces his steps in the prophet Daniel where the Son of Man appears before the Ancient of Days and receives dominion, glory, and a kingdom. God gave Daniel a glimpse of the Son of Man, the Messiah, Jesus; a prophetic preview of his resurrection, ascension, and coronation – the dominion, glory, and kingdom he has won by his dying and rising. 

 

Lastly, Jesus revisits Deuteronomy 30 and Isaiah 11… And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

 

This is an Old Testament way of depicting God’s salvation in the Messiah, Jesus. In Jesus there will be a return from exile, a restoration, a gathering of his saved, chosen people from the four corners of the earth. 

 

Well, that sounds interesting and all, pastor. But what does that have to do with us here, now, today? 

 

Remember, Jesus is showing us the way forward by retracing our steps through the Old Testament, backtracking through his promises then, to give you hope now. Showing you his promises kept yesterday to fill you with hope for his promises tomorrow. 

 

Jesus shows us the way forward to his second coming by taking us back to the Old Testament that foretold his first coming, especially his birth for us, his dying and rising and ascending for us.

 

Jesus uses the setting of the temple to foretell its destruction. He recalls the former prophecies of Babylon and Edom’s destruction. The destruction of Babylon, in turn, he uses as a picture of the destruction of Jerusalem. And the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, in turn, is a picture of the end of the world.

 

And whenever the end of the world comes up in Scripture, or in our discussions, we tend to run to one of two places: doubt or dread. Either we doubt all this end times talk and go about our business as though this world will go on forever. Or we dread the coming end and live in fear, seeking signs, trying to control or know what God has said we cannot know. 

 

But this is not why Jesus teaches us about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and his eventual return in glory. Jesus would have us on the alert and watchful, waiting, and watching for the approaching Day not with fear or dread, but with steadfastness, faith, hope and longing. 

 

God told his people Israel that Babylon would be destroyed and they would return to Zion. God foretold his people Israel that he would send a Deliverer, a Savior, a Redeemer. And that’s what he did. In the fullness of time God sent forth his Son, Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man. The one who brought destruction to our greatest enemies of sin and death and the devil. That Good Friday the sun was darkened. The earth was shaken. And the Son of Man was suspended in the clouds revealing his greatest power in weakness, and his glory in suffering on the cross for you. Salvation is accomplished. Completed. It is finished. 

 

In Jesus, you need not fear the end of the world. It has already come for you in Christ crucified. The verdict is in. Jesus is judged and you are free. Innocent. Forgiven. 

 

And should you find yourself feeling lost in this world, overwhelmed, weary, and worn out from sin and death and evil, Jesus invites us to retrace our steps back through his promises. Backtrack to the cross and the empty tomb, where the Son of Man is crucified and risen for you. 

 

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

 

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

 

Sermon for Pentecost 25: "In the Hands of Christ"

 + 25^th Sunday after Pentecost – November 14, 2021 +

Series B: Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-13

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.

 

Natural disasters. Wars and rumors of wars. False religions. False messiahs. Persecutions.  Jesus’ words in Mark 13 sound like they could have just as easily been pulled from this morning’s headlines. I imagine that for all of us, in one way or another, Jesus’ words hit close to home. You turn on the news or the radio and you’re overwhelmed by one disaster after another. You talk with family or friends and your prayer list grows by the minute. It seems that everywhere we look, there is suffering. 

 

As the disciples stood there, admiring the stones of Herod’s great building project, Jesus draws their attention to the future. And it’s no utopian paradise. It is full of suffering. 

 

In forty years’ time, those beautiful temple stones the disciples were admiring that day would all come crashing down. It’ll all be destroyed. 

 

The disciples must have thought Jesus was crazy at this point. Like the crowds watching Noah build an ark in the desert before the rain started. And yet, Jesus stands with his disciples, like a farmer on the plains watching the skies. Jesus warns his disciples, us his church, there’s a storm on the horizon. Take shelter. Head to the high ground of Jesus’ cross. Rest in the holy ark of his church. It’s a hard rain’s gonna fall.

 

Jesus gives his disciples, and us his church, a glimpse of the future. This destruction will not only take place in the world, but it will also affect the Church. Believers will be persecuted. Churches which are family friendly will fall apart as brother delivers brother to death. Fathers will turn-in their children. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death.

 

The vision is horrifying. For the disciples, it lies in the distance. Just Read the book of Acts. But, for us believer, I think it hits closer to home. Fires. Droughts. Flooding. Riots. Violence. Corruption on every level of society. Broken families. Broken bodies and minds, suffering the effects of physical and mental illnesses. Immorality is normalized and the list could go on. And that’s just the suffering of a fallen world. There’s plenty more when we look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Law as well. What we have done and left undone. What we experience as a result of living in a broken, fallen world. 

 

It can all be rather exhausting. "How long, O Lord?" We hope to survive as the world falls apart. Everywhere we look, there is suffering.

 

But notice that in Mark 13, Jesus is not calling us to look. He’s calling us, rather, to listen. Do not be alarmed. Do not be anxious.

 

 

 

Notice how Jesus punctuates His horrifying vision with words of comfort. “Do not be alarmed” (verse 7). “Do not be anxious” (verse 11). He speaks words of promise to those who are running from destruction. Amid this suffering, the Gospel will be proclaimed. The Holy Spirit will speak and even give you words to say. There will be an end to destruction and those who endure to the end will be saved.

 

At this point in the gospel, the disciples do not yet know what it means for Jesus to be Lord. They have seen His miracles, they have heard His teachings, but they have not yet seen Him rise from the dead. In a few days, their entire world will have fallen around them. Jesus will be dead. Religion and its leaders will be thick with deceit. But then Jesus will appear, risen from the dead. He who took on the brutal forces of sin, died under the wrath of God, will rise to reveal the conquering power of God’s eternal love. He will be the source of life and everlasting salvation for all who believe and follow Him.

 

Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples, and us his church these things, so that we might despair or be afraid. Just the opposite. That we would find in him our hope. Comfort. And shelter. For in Jesus, the world has already come to a much greater end. On a good Friday, outside Jerusalem. In darkness at Noon. On a cross. When Jesus said, “It is finished.” That was the end of the world as we know it. Jesus embracing the world in His own body brings the world to its end in His death. He is the persecuted One. The Martyr of all martyrs. The Lord of lords. The King of kings. He endured to the end. And in the end, He saved the world, and you. Baptized into Him, you have died to this dead world, and now live to God in Christ. For you, the end came in the water of Baptism with the Name. You died. And your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

 

For that reason, the world will hate you. Don’t take it personally. It’s not you. It’s Jesus the world hates. But you can’t kill Jesus. Not forever. Three days later, He’s back. Alive and well. And the world can’t kill you either. Not forever. At the end, you’ll be back, alive and well in Jesus, as you are already alive and well in Jesus.

These are the but beginnings of the birth pangs, Jesus says. Though that may not sound comforting at first, it is meant to be. Birth pains give way to joy and a birth, new life. The end times pains give way to salvation and life. Present darkness gives way to future light. Your sorrow becomes joy. Your death becomes life. The one who endures to the end will be saved. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. That’s you.

 

Jesus reminds us that no earthquake, no fire, no famine, no hurricane can overcome the grace of God. Christ will rule this world in the end. And, until that time, He calls us to hear His voice, to listen to Him speak. He will preserve His people.

 

Christ will actually do more than that. He will preserve His people, but He will also pursue them. Remember Psalm 23. The vision of the Lord as our Shepherd, the green pastures, the cool waters, the presence of the One who walks with us through the valley of death. But then, when the psalm ends, you have one more glimpse of comfort. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” The word for “follow” there, means “pursue.” Until the end of our life, Jesus will pursue us with His love.

 

Though we see the world changing, the storm clouds gathering on the horizon, though in fear we run through the streets to escape the suffering, there is one thing we will never escape: The love of God. Jesus has risen from the dead and reigns until the end. He will call to you with His voice and pursue you with His love. As the world falls apart, rest assured…fear not…you are in the hands of Christ.

 

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

Funeral Sermon for Janice Westmark: "The Party Planner"

 + In Memoriam – Janice Westmark +

November 12, 2021

Psalm 23; Psalm 31; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; John 14:1-6

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in John 14, our Lord declares…

 

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

 

From what I know, and from what the family has told me about Janice, these words of Jesus gave her great comfort, as they did for his disciples in John 14. As they do for us today as well. 

 

All of this talk of rooms and preparations by our Lord. It sounds as if Jesus was preparing for something big. A party. A celebration. A joyous occasion. Indeed, he was. His whole earthly life - from the time of his birth for us, to his life lived for us, from death he died for us, to his resurrection from the grave for us and his ascending to heaven for us – his life was one of planning and preparation to save you by giving his life for you, just as he did for Janice. 

 

You could even say God is the ultimate party planner. After all, he prepared, planned, and organized all of history to bring about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for Janice, and for you. So that all who believe in Jesus, like Janice, like each of us, that even though we die yet shall we live in him. So that we, along with Janice and all the saints who have gone before us, would be welcomed to the eternal marriage supper of the Lamb. So that we, along with Janice, rest in the peace of Jesus until that great day of the resurrection of the body, and a joyful reunion in heaven with those we love who have died in the faith.

 

All of this. Jesus’ dying for you to rescue you as he did Janice from the sin and the grave. Jesus rising for you, as he did Janice, so that in him we will rise again with new and glorified bodies and, yes, minds and memories. Jesus’ promised return on the great day of the resurrection. It all sounds like a cause for celebration.

 

And Janice knew that. Confessed that. Believed in our Lord and his promises. All of these gifts of our Lord Jesus, that was the source of Janice’s gift of hospitality and love of party planning and celebrating. The joy that comes from Jesus’ victory over sin and death on the cross. The joy that he gives us in his rising from the dead. Eternal joy. A never-ending celebration.

 

Janice knew that well. Even when her memory was failing, Jesus’ promises and words to her never failed. Our Lord promises here and throughout his Word that he has not, nor will he ever forget Janice. 

 

When our Lord makes a plan and promises to save, rescue, and redeem us. Well, that’s exactly what he does. That’s what he did when he adopted Janice by grace in the waters of Holy Baptism. With water and word Janice was made a child of God, part of the family. That day may have looked like any other ordinary day, a pastor, some water, and God’s Word. But make no mistake, that day was a celebration and a joyous party. For on that day, as on the day of your baptism, Janice was buried into Christ’s death and raised with him in his resurrection. 

 

That’s what God did, he planned to save Janice and you, to write our names in the Lamb’s book of life, in the mysterious promise of Scripture, before the foundation of the earth. Jesus, the Lamb, the Good Shepherd; he has done this for Janice and for you by engraving your names in crimson ink, signed and sealed by his hands outstretched on the cross for you. And then three days later risen and glorified for you. Don’t you love it when a plan comes together! 

 

That’s what our Lord did when he called our dear sister in Christ, Janice, home to be with him, on All Saints’ Day even. Seems fitting, I think, for someone who loved celebrations and gatherings and family occasions so much, to fall asleep in Jesus on the very day the church on earth remembers and gives thanks for the saints who have gone before us. 

 

That day, like today, may cause us to grieve our loved ones. And that’s alright. Yet even though we mourn, we do not grieve without hope. Because of these words…

 

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

 

You see, in Christ, the party is never over. The celebration, the joy, the peace that he gives – it never ends. His promise endures. His gifts of life and salvation are eternal. 

 

As we hear in Psalm 23, His goodness and mercy shall follow me  all the days of my life, and I shall dwell^[f] in the house of the Lord     forever

 

That’s our Lord’s promise to you and to Janice. To dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Just as our Lord rose from the grave, so too, in him, Janice will rise from the dead. Rise with a new and glorified body, and yes, mind. And so will you. A resurrected. Real. Tangible. In the flesh eternal celebration before the Lamb. 

 

Until that great reunion with those we love who have died in the faith. Until our Lord returns. Until the resurrection…

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard and keep you to life everlasting. Amen.

Sermon for All Saints' Day: "Robed in Christ"

 + Feast of All Saints (observed) – November 7, 2021 +

Revelation 7:9-17; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

Our clothing may not talk, but quite often they’ve a story to tell. The uniform of a veteran who’s witnessed history. Those broken-in shoes that’ve travelled miles. That piece of grandma’s wedding dress is more than something old. 

 

Yes, the clothes we wear often have a story to tell. It’s no different in the Scriptures. Fig leaves in Genesis 3 tell us the story of Adam and Eve’s foolish attempt to cover up their shame and hide their sin from God. Animal skins, however, tell us the story of the God who makes a sacrifice to clothe Adam and Eve, covering their nakedness and shame. Goat skins disguised Jacob as he received the older brother’s blessing from his father Isaac. Swaddling clothes were wrapped the Lord at his birth for us, just as he was enveloped in burial clothes at his death for us. Scripture is a wardrobe that’s bigger on the inside…a veritable walk in closet full of God’s promises.

 

And though we may not realize it, All Saints’ Day features a unique set of clothing all its own. And along with those gracious garments, a magnificent story to tell.

 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 

 

A multitude that no one could number. A sea of saints. All of them decked out for a victory feast like no other, dressed to the nines in the Lamb’s finest white robes, waving palm branches and praising God and the Lamb. 

 

On All Saints’ Day we find ourselves asking the same question one of the elders asks John in Revelation 7. “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 

 

We may not know them all, at least not yet, but we know some of them by name. Names we remember today. Names we remember every day no matter what day the calendar says it is. Names of our loved ones, family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, who have died in the faith. 

 

Evelyn Colclough. Don Gutz. Buddy Allison. Russ Waetzig. Ken Howell. Janice Westmark.

 

These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

That phrase sounds strange to our ears, doesn’t it. Made white in the blood of the Lamb. Usually bloods stains. Especially the blood of sinners. Like Lady McBeth we have a damned spot that we just can’t wash out. Like the blood that covered Joseph’s coat of many colors or the reddened soil where Cain murdered Able, our blood is stained with the guilt and shame of sin. But not Jesus’ blood. No. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Jesus’ blood redeems. Saves. Cleanses. Forgives. All of this is what Jesus wraps you in, and clothes you in as you are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

 

My dad’s side of the family has a baptismal gown that was worn by more than twenty-something of the family as they were baptized. Adopted by God’s grace in water, word, by the Spirit. As they were clothed in Christ’s righteousness that covered all sin. What John describes here is even greater than that. A robe of Christ’s righteousness. That is why they are called saints, for they are clothed, wrapped, and robed in Christ’s righteousness. Made white, holy, pure by his blood. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

If our clothing tells a story, the story told on this All Saints’ Day is the story of redemption. What John sees in Revelation belongs to you as well. These are your garments too. Custom made by the Lamb who was sacrificed that we might live. Like Adam and Eve, all our guilt and shame and sin are covered by Jesus’ redemption for us. 

 

These white robes were tailored especially for you as Jesus hung on the cross taking on our nakedness, shame, guilt, sin, and death. Like Jacob, we are clothed the garments that belong to our elder brother, and Savior, Jesus. And in exchange for his suffering we receive the Father’s blessing. 

 

Jesus has taken our filthy rags and replaced them with new ones. An eternal garment of his righteousness that will never fade, wear out, or fall to the latest trend. When the Lamb robes you in his redemption, his rescue, his righteousness, that’s one garment that will last more than a lifetime. It’s a promise that lasts forever. Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

 

Still, I know that for most of us, many days that seems hard to believe. We remember the saints and think, “Lucky for them!” We feebly struggle. They in glory shine. 

 

And yet, All Saints’ Day is a reminder that when John sees the saints clothed in white robes in Revelation he is seeing the past, present, and future all at once. The faithful departed are there. And so are you. Salvation belongs to the Lamb. And in the Lamb salvation belongs to you as well.

 

You see, those white robes in Revelation tell a magnificent story. The true story and wonderful story of your salvation. You are robed in Christ. Washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. And he will see you through this great tribulation until that day when we are reunited with the saints in heaven and earth.

 

A blessed All Saints’ Day to each of you…

 

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

 

Sermon for Reformation Sunday: "The Master Key"

 + Reformation Sunday – October 31, 2021 +

Revelation 14:6-7; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

Schools and churches, like ours, often have many doors. Entrances and exits. Front doors and side doors. Closets and rooms. And so on. Instead of having a separate key for each and every door and walking around like a jailer in an old western, you have a key that opens all the doors and rooms. A master key.

 

In many ways God’s Word is a house full of many doors and rooms: psalms, prophets, Gospels, epistles and so forth. Wouldn’t it be great to have one key that could get you into all those rooms? A master key to that opens the Scripture. 

 

Five hundred and four years ago, to the very day in fact, Luther was in the process of discovering – or rediscovering, rather – the master key to Scripture. Luther found it, not in good works, nor in the indulgences and merits of the church, nor even in his own prayers and piety. 

 

Have you guessed what, or rather who, that key is? Luther found it in the words of the Master Key himself. Jesus is the Master Key. And once Luther rediscovered that all of Scripture centered on this glorious promise and good news, that sinners are justified freely for Christ’s sake by his death and resurrection, well, suddenly all the other doors and rooms of Scripture opened up to Luther as well. Christ crucified and risen; he is the Master Key. 

 

What our Lord did for Luther in the Lutheran Reformation, he was doing for the Jews he was teaching in John 8 as well. Jesus came to open their hearts, ears, eyes, and minds to see that he is the promised Christ. That he is the very Word and Truth and Freedom of God in human flesh. That he is the Master Key of all Scripture, and indeed, of all of God’s promises. 

 

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 

John uses one of his favorite words in his gospel here. To abide. To remain, stay, dwell, endure, reside, to stay put and sit in place. It’s much like we’re doing right now as we sit in our Lord’s house. We are abiding. Sitting in and receiving God’s Word. Dwelling in his Word even as he is dwelling with us in the Scriptures, in his body and blood. In his gifts of forgiveness. 

 

This is what it means to be a disciple. To sit in. To dwell. Remain. To abide in the Words of Christ. To abide in him who is the very Word of God in human flesh. To be set free by the Word and promise Jesus declares. It was not the blood of Abraham that saved or made one a disciple, but the faith of Abraham which looked to Christ. It was not the good works or efforts of Luther that saved him or made him a disciple, but the work of Christ for him and for you. No, the key to Scripture isn’t found within ourselves any more than it was Luther for the Jews before him. 

 

They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

 

It sounds crazy. Ridiculous even. Never been enslaved to anyone? Did they forget about Egypt? Or Assyria, Babylon, or Persia? Greece and Rome? But this is how our sinful flesh works, isn’t it. Sin and unbelief leave us so blinded we don’t even see just how blind we really are apart from Christ.

 

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 

 

Jesus speaks the honest, hard truth. Apart from Christ, we are no different from the Jews Jesus was teaching. Spiritually blind. Dead in trespasses. Apart from Christ we are locked out. Trapped and enslaved in our own sin. And not only that, if we’re honest, we’re just as proud and defiant as the Jews in John 8. There’s that part of us we call our sinful nature that loves to be enslaved in sin. 

 

Yes, Jesus delivers a hard, honest word here. But he doesn’t leave us in bondage to sin and death, just as he didn’t leave Israel in bondage to slavery in Egypt. It’s true, what Paul writes in Romans 3. all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…And this is true as well. You are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. 

 

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. The freedom he won for us on the cross is pure, unmerited, undeserved, unconditional, no-strings-attached gift. In Jesus crucified, we who were enslaved to sin are set free. In Jesus crucified, we who were held captive by death are liberated. In Jesus crucified, we who were imprisoned are busted out of an eternal prison in the greatest jail break of all time. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the Master Key that unlocks not only Scripture, as it did for Luther, but also frees you from sin and death.

 

This is the truth that sets you free. And the truth is Jesus himself. His birth for you, his life lived for you, his keeping the Law for you, his bearing the punishment of sin for you, his dying and rising for you, by his blood shed and given for you here, today. 

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

This is what Luther rediscovered five hundred and four years ago. When the Son of God in human flesh sets you free you are part of the family, you belong to God the Father; you are part of the house, adopted by God’s grace, inheritors of eternal life; you are no longer a slave of sin and death and the devil; you are set free from sin in Jesus. 

In Jesus you are freely justified. Freely saved. Freed from sin. And set free to serve. Free to love your neighbor. Free to remain, dwell, abide, and rest in Jesus’ word, water, body and blood as his disciples. Christ the Master Key has opened heaven and all his gifts to you by grace, through faith in him.

A blessed Reformation Sunday to each of you…

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