Sermon for Pentecost 11: "The Giver"

+ 11^thSunday after Pentecost – August 5^th, 2018 +

Series B: Exodus 16:2-15; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:22-35

Beautiful Savior Lutheran - Milton, WA

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

Oh…I know you think you're being generous, but the foundation of gift-giving is reciprocity. You haven't given me a gift, you've given me an obligation… So says Sheldon Cooper on the TV show The Big Bang Theory.

That’s the way of the world: gift-wrapped karma. Give something to get something; it’s all over the marketing at Christmas or Valentine’s Day. 

In truth, it’ a bit more complex. Gifts are a part of our life, from baby-showers before we’re born to memorials when we die. The kinds of gifts we give say a lot about what’s important to us. Gift giving can also to bring out the best and the worst in us.

At times, we give begrudgingly, half-heartedly, deceitfully, or selfishly. And yet we also give gifts out of love and thoughtfulness for others, selflessly and cheerfully even. Weddings, birthdays, Christmas, and the like.

In this life, we are sinners and saints, all of us, in everything we say and do. That means, whenever we give gifts, we have the new, baptized man in us who is a cheerful, sacrificial, selfless giver. But we also have the old man within us, our sinful nature, who lurks and lunges like a Jack-in-the box bursting its lid to grab whatever is in front of us with famous toddler words, “Mine!”

Today’s Gospel reading from John 6 is all about giving, and the God who reveals himself in giving. The verb “to give” is used at least 7 times in our reading this morning.

In the feeding of the 5000 Jesus gave food freely. That’s why the crowds got in their boats, went to Cappernaum, and found Jesus. Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.They saw Jesus as their meal-ticket, not their Messiah.

No wonder Jesus declared to the crowds, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.”

According to Jesus, there are two kinds of food in this life. Food for the body. Food for the soul. Physical life. Spiritual life. The food that perishes keeps death at bay, at least for a while. We have refrigerators, to keep food from spoiling, dying. The food Jesus gives, on the other hand, endures to eternal life.

Jesus’ words are a gut-punch warning to us, just as they were to the crowds. This is just as Jesus intended, a death blow to the god of our belly, only not just our belly. But the gluttony of our every thought, word, deed, desire, and hunger that we fear, love, and trust in above God. This is what sin does to us, it curves us inward on ourselves. Navel-gazers Martin Luther called us. And it’s true. We have an insatiable appetite for destruction. We labor for food that perishes because, ultimately, we are perishing. It’s been that way since Adam and Eve ate in the Garden.

Do not labor for the food that perishes. This isn’t Jesus’ Sea of Galilee diet plan. It’s a reminder that Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

A reminder that we hunger and thirst for righteousness, yet stuff our faces with all the rotten, junk-food this world has to offer.

That even though we give with limits, terms, conditions, and strings attached, our Lord Jesus, the Great Giver, does not. His ways are not our ways. Jesus gives himself, his love, forgiveness, and mercy without limit, unconditionally, no strings attached, no terms, no deals, and no givesy backsies. Jesus gives his life for us freely, graciously, and abundantly in both body and soul.

The LORD gave manna and quail to the children of Israel in the wilderness. Jesus gave bread and fish to the crowds on the hillside. Jesus gives us this day, and every day, our daily bread. That applies to our life of mercy to our neighbor: we who have more than we need give to others who don’t. Also to our lives as stewards: we give Thee but his own, whatever the gift may be, all that we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from Thee.

After all, Jesus is the giver of all gifts, not Moses, not us. Jesus gives us our daily bread on our tables and his. Here Jesus gives us the bread of life in his body and blood.

For the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world is the Bread of God!

Gift. Given. Giving. This is what Jesus does for us. This is who our Lord is. A gracious, superabundant, over-the-top, extravagant Giver.

We see this in the feeding of the 5000. But we see it most clearly on the cross. For God loved the world in this manner, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.

That’s where Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse in John 6 leads us. To the cross, where we gather like dogs at the table, begging for scraps of blessings from our Master. Yet to our surprise, He gives us afeast instead. 

Jesus’ teaching in John 6 is a bread-crumb trail that leads us all the way from Capernaum to Calvary, from the feeding of the 5000 to the Passover with the 12, to the night in which he was betrayed, when he gave thanks and blessed the bread and the wine. Take eat, this is my body given for you. Take drink; this is my blood poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. It’s an appetizer for the main course that Jesus prepares for us in His body and blood.

In this blessed mystery, Jesus is the bread of heaven come down to earth for you. Jesus feeds and nourishes us. God takes the stuff of his creation – wheat and wine – and he adds his Word and Promise to it. He does the same for us in Holy Baptism and Holy Absolution; he combines his word with his creation to give us the best gift of all, Himself.

In a day and age when it’s hard to find something built to last and everything seems to break down or perish, Jesus gives us that which is truly eternal, everlasting, and unending. From birth to death, Jesus gives us his selfless, sacrificial death that washes away all our selfish, sinful giving. Jesus gives us himself. His perfect life lived for us. His perfect death in our place. His resurrection from the dead. His Word and Supper. His promise that he gives us today:

I AM the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me shall never hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

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

Sermon for Al Pfeiffer: "Contentment in Christ"

+ In Memoriam - Al Pfeiffer, September 19th, 1948 - July 22nd, 2018 +

August 4th, 2018

Zion Lutheran - Auburn, WA (Beautiful Savior Lutheran, Milton, WA)

Texts: Psalm 121; Isaiah 40:27-31; Philippians 4:8-13; Matthew 6:25-34

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

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” 

How can Jesus say that? Doesn’t he know we have bills to pay, meals to prepare, kids or grandkids to drive around town, not to mention a list of household chore that stretches to infinity and beyond?

We know Jesus’ words (to his disciples, and to us) are true, even if they are hard to hear and perhaps harder to understand at times. Still, when the busy-ness of life takes over, when we see local and national disasters on the evening news, and when our own loved ones get sick and die, these words seem to be a bit easier said than done, don’t they?

Anxieties. Worries. Fears. We know these all too well, and so did Al. He knew that life is hard work. He knew the pain of pancreatic cancer and the helplessness we experience when we’re sick. He also knew his sin just as we God’s Word reveals that we are weak, weary, and sinful apart from Jesus.

But more than that, Al believed and confessed with St. Paul that, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Christ crucified was Al’s strength in his weakness, as he is for you.

Al believed and confessed with Isaiah, that, “the Lord does not faint or grow weary; and that the Lord renews our strength” in Jesus crucified for us.

Al believed and confessed Jesus’ words in Matthew 6: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” For this reason, we pray, “Our Father”, knowing that God is our true Father and that we are His true children.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you.

What’s the common thread in these reading? Contentment.

Sadly, I didn’t have the joy of getting to know Al. But from what I have come to know of him from Vicki and other members at Beautiful Savior, Al was content. Content in our Lord’s blessings in his earthly life: helping his neighbors, family, and friends; spending cherished time with his children, grandchildren, and church family; growing up on the farm in Minnesota, fishing, and taking a drive in his ’57 Chevy.

What was the secret of Al’s contentment? Simply this: our contentment is found in the cross of Jesus. Our strength, like Al’s, is in Christ who knew no anxieties, worries, fears, or sin, and yet became our worry, anxiety, and sin and bore it all for us.

That’s why Al was content in Christ’s promises to him in body and soul, even when that body was failing. In his last days, he knew what would bring him true and everlasting contentment; he asked Pastor Gerken to bring the Lord’s Supper for him in his last days. We need not worry about what we eat or drink, for the Lord who provides his body as bread from heaven, and his sacred blood with the wine will feed and care for us in the body as well.

Al received true contentment in Holy Baptism as well. On October 17^th, 1948, the Holy Spirit poured out his life-giving, sin-cleansing, grace-bestowing gift of washing and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. In that font at St. Peter’s in Swanville, MN, Al was clothed – as we all are in Baptism – better than all the lilies of the field, and all the kings of the earth. You are clothed with Christ, covered by his death and resurrection, robed in the righteousness of our Crucified King.

Al heard our Lord’s Word of contentment, peace, and promise, just as we heard them today in the sermon on the Mount from Matthew 6. “Are you not of more value than the birds?”

Indeed, we, Al, and all the baptized are of more value than the birds. So much so that our Lord took on human flesh for you, for Al, and for all. The Lord who does not grow weary or faint, became a helpless infant for you, wept at the grave of his friend for you, and became weak and faint to the point of death on the cross for you. Jesus also rose from the dead for you, so that our bodies, like Al’s, wracked by disease and touched by death would rise from the dead one day, just as Jesus did.

The Lord who feeds the ravens when they call swallowed up death for us to bring us eternal contentment in the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Lord who is the Kingdom and Righteousness of God came to give you both his righteousness and his kingdom, freely. He clothed himself in our sin, threw himself into the blazing oven of God’s wrath, and bore every single one of our worries, anxieties, doubts, fears, and sins.

That’s where our contentment rests. Not in our health, wisdom, wealth, or anything we say, think, or do. Our contentment is found in Jesus crucified for you.

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

Sermon for Pentecost 10: Jesus on the Water

+ 10th Sunday after Pentecost - July 29th, 2018 +

Series B: Mark 6:45-52

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

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

St. Mark’s account of Jesus walking on water is familiar, famous even. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Basilisk reptile in South America that runs across the water, also known as “the Jesus Lizard.”

Familiar though this story is, St. Mark records Jesus doing a few strange things today’s Gospel reading. 

As the story begins, we’re told Jesus made, compelled his disciples to get into the boat and get a head start across the sea of Galilee while Jesus dismissed the crowds. Why does he send them off in such a hurry?

Later, Jesus catches up with his disciples by walking upon the water as easily as we would walk the trail at Five Mile Lake Park.

And if that wasn’t remarkable enough, St. Mark tells us that when Jesus walked on the water to his disciples, he would have passed them by. Only then, when the disciples saw Jesus, were they afraid.They were probably asking the same kinds questions we are: what’s going on here? What are we to make of all this? Or the good Lutheran question, what does this mean?

To answer our questions, St. Mark tells us this story. But what kind of story is this? 

Is it an allegory about how Jesus comes to us in the storms of life and calms the troubled waters? It’s tempting to go that way. And while it’s true, Jesus is with us in all of life’s troubles as he promises, our Lord never promises that all of life’s troubles will end in this life just like the wind ceased once Jesus got in the boat. The promise is that Jesus is with us, comes to us as God in human flesh to save us, and that promise holds you no matter what is going on around. 

So, if it’s not an allegory, perhaps it’s a fable? You know... the moral of the story is…if we just had more faith, unlike those hard-headed, hard-hearted disciples, we wouldn’t be afraid when the winds of life blow adversity in our face. Problem is, if this was the right way to read this story, Jesus would never have gone to his disciples to comfort them in their fear; in fact, they wouldn’t have needed Jesus at all if they had everything figured out.

So, what kind of story is this? It’s not an allegory that trivializes our pain and suffering. it’s not a moral story with a guilt trip the size of the Puget Sound. it’s a remarkable, yet historical narrative. A story where Jesus reveals who he is, what he has come to do for us, and how he is going to save us, just as he did the disciples.

Jesus is in control of this whole scene from the beginning. He compels the disciples to go ahead of him. And then notice how he caringly, lovingly, like a Shepherd, dismisses the crowds. St. Mark depicts him like Moses caring for Israel in the wilderness. Here is the bread of life come down from heaven for you.

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

After the crowds are gone, Jesus heads up the mountain to pray, just as Moses once ascended Mt. Sinai to meet with YHWH. Only here, YHWH in human flesh prays. Prays in grief over his cousin, John the Baptist’s death. Prays for the crowds to hear and receive him as the Messiah.  Prays for his disciples to understand and believe. Prays for you, though no longer on a mountain, but as your great high priest in the heavenly sanctuary.

And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 

St. Mark makes a subtle point here. There’s a separation between Jesus and his disciples. They were half way across the lake while Jesus was alone on the land. A physical separation, and a spiritual separation. God is God and we are not. God is holy and we are not. 

And yet, as we heard last week in the feeding of the 5,000, there’s something peculiar about this God-man Jesus, something unexpected, and even a little fearful, as the disciples quickly discover.

Imagine the situation from the disciples perspective. There they were on the sea of Galilee; and for Israelites, the sea was always the place of chaos and danger, the home of Leviathan and the deep. It was somewhere between 3-6 AM (the 4th watch of the night). It was pitch black. The wind was howling. The boat tossing to and fro. The disciples were probably exhausted from fighting the headwind. And then they see something. Now every sailor I’ve known has at least one story to tell. But they all saw something. Only, it wasn’t a something. Someone. A man. Their master. The man Jesus. Walking on the water towards them.

To make this scene even stranger, Mark uses that curious phrase “He meant to pass by them”. Is Jesus trying to play hide and seek? No. This is Mark’s way of telling us that YHWH has come to visit his own people. God reveals himself to us and for us. The Lord who passed by Moses in the cleft of the rock in Exodus, who allowed his glory to pass by Elijah in a cave now passes by his disciples on the sea.

Mark wants us to know what the disciples didn’t understand on that boat: Jesus the man is the all-powerful God, the master of his own creation. And yet he comes to his creation with comfort, love, and mercy for us.

Still, the disciples didn’t get it right away. They were afraid. They thought Jesus was a ghost. Sounds silly to us. It’s easy to point the finger at the disciples’ ignorance and foolishness, that is, until we realize we’re no different. We have fears, doubts, and failures just as they did. 

Mark tells us at the end of the reading that the disciples were utterly astounded and that their hearts were hardened, hearts of stone to use OT language. That’s our problem too. Like Israel of old we are a stubborn and stiff-necked people. We prefer to make God in our own image. To have a tame God we can control, or better yet, to put God on trial, to define God on our terms. There’s a word for that in Scripture. Pride. Idolatry. Sin. 

In the culture we live in, Jesus walking on water is a good reminder that he didn’t come to be our buddy, BFF, or our Bro. He’s the Lord of heaven and earth. The very Word of God made flesh, the visible image of God, and radiance of the glory of God. 

And most unexpectedly, and graciously, the Creator comes to his creation. The God of infinite cosmic power chooses the itty-bitty living space of Mary’s womb, and is born in a feeding trough for you. The God who told Job that He alone stretched out the heavens and treads on the sea as on a bed, walked on water revealing himself to the disciples. And with those same feet he walked to the cross bearing our fear, doubt, pride, sin, and death. The God who made a pathway through the waters for Israel makes a new exodus for us through the waters of Holy Baptism. The Lord who made a covenant with Noah and all creation pours out a lavish flood of forgiveness over us here in his holy Ark, the church. 

You are saved through the water, just as Noah, Israel, Jonah, and the disciples were. And the truly remarkable thing is that Jesus does all of this even though the disciples didn’t deserve it and didn’t get it. Just like us...by God’s undeserved, unmerited, unconditional grace. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever.  

Take heart. Be of good cheer. It is I, Jesus said. Do not be afraid. 

Jesus got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. Jesus didn’t abandon his disciples, and neither will he abandon you. He is the King of creation, but also the crucified king for you.

And even though the disciples didn’t get it then, they would. They saw Jesus crush the head of the great Leviathan on the cross. They saw the blood and water pour forth from his pierced side. They saw Jesus alive again, not as a ghost, but with nail marks in his hands and side, for them and for you. 

Do not be afraid. Peace be with you.

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

Sermon for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist: "Christmas in June"

+ Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist – June 24^th, 2018 +

Isaiah 40:1-5; Acts 13:13-26; Luke 1:57-80

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

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

As readers enter the wardrobe into C.S. Lewis’s magical world of Narnia, we hear those haunting, sorrowful words: it was always winter and never Christmas. Now, here in Southern California it might feel like it’s always summer and never winter. Nevertheless, it’s beginning to look and sound a lot like Advent and Christmas.

Today it’s 6 months till Christmas Eve. How’s that Christmas list coming along?

Today the prophet Isaiah’s words are fulfilled in our hearing, and in the eating and drinking of God’s comfort in his Word and in Jesus’ body and blood.

 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
    that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
    double for all her sins.

And if every Sunday is a little Easter, a weekly celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection for us, then every Sunday is also a little Christmas, even in June. Today we rejoice that our Lord prepares us for his coming and continues to visit us and redeem us.

On this Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, we join Zechariah in singing the Lord’s praises: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, 

    for he has visited and redeemed his people.”

We join Elizabeth in receiving great mercy from our Lord. We join the crowds in listening to John’s preaching. For this reason, the Lord sent John.

You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

John is that voice, a human gramophone playing broken record filled with God’s Word of repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus. John is the moon, not the sun. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.  He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

John is the messenger, but what really matters is the message he proclaims: Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

As John said of himself, let it be true among us as well. I must decrease; and Christ crucified must increase. Because as important as John’s work for Jesus was and still is, Jesus’ work for John and us is even more important. After all, that is why John is sent.

We still need John’s voice. For this wilderness is not a quiet place. Like turning your iTunes or Spotify account on shuffle, there is an endless cacophony of voices competing for your attention.

The world never tires of singing the same old tune: “Christians are close-minded, bigots, and hypocrites. Come on, forget your fairy tales, let go of the past, leave your imaginary friend the flying spaghetti monster behind, and join the side of reason, science, progress, tolerance, acceptance, peace, love, pleasure, and freedom.”

The devil’s voice rages as well, offering false promises, false hopes, and false comfort.

And then there are the more familiar voices. That relentless voice from within that pounds our ears with our own shame, sorrow, sin, guilt, pride, pain, failures, fears, disease, doubt, despair, and death.

Into this wilderness of noise, the Lord sends us his voice John.

Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Because of this Word we often think of John the Baptist as a gruff prophet of repentance. Like the Advent card I saw last year on social media: “Happy Advent, you brood of vipers. Now, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

Thankfully, God speaks another word through the voice of John. John is also a prophet of Good News, God’s grace. That’s what John’s name means: God is gracious. A fitting name for a preacher of consolation, comfort, and Christ Crucified for you. John is sent to give knowledge of salvation to us in the forgiveness of our sins, through tender mercy of our God.

This comforting, consoling word of the Lord filled Zechariah with joy. The Lord opened his lips, loosed his tongue, and his mouth declared the Lord’s praise. As Zechariah sings, the volume of God’s gracious salvation is turned up to 11, full blast, blow-out-the-speakers Good News. Every word of his song blares comfort that rings Jesus’ salvation into our ears.

God speaks and delivers his word to us in water, word, bread and wine. At this altar our Lord visits and redeems us. In this church and school, the Lord speaks salvation to us as he spoke through the holy prophets of old. Here the Lord quells all the voices of our enemies and drowns them out with his mercy, salvation, and promise.

There’s a marvelous picture of the church in John the Baptist. Our new birth in Holy Baptism, like John’s birth, is by God’s grace. From Elizabeth’s barren and aged womb, the Lord brought forth life. From the barrenness of sin and death, our Lord brings forth new life in us in Holy Baptism.

We’re like John, called to live in the wilderness of this fallen world. An unrelenting, arid wasteland of sin and sorrow, grief and pain, disorder, decay and death. We stick out like John too. We may not wear camels-hair clothing or eat locusts and wild honey. But John’s message of repentance and forgiveness in Jesus are just as unpopular today as it was in his day. Yet, we are not alone, just as John was not alone. Our Lord comes to us as he did to John in the wilderness to silence the devil’s temptations, to irrigate the deserts of our hearts with living water, and to deliver us from the hand of our enemies.

And like John, we’re sent out as a voice in the wilderness. As pastor and people, we have different vocations and responsibilities, but our message is the same as John’s: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

By God’s grace this is what Redeemer has done, and will continue to do: in Redeemer’s preschool where a flock of little lambs sings the praises of the Lamb of God, and learns the love of their Good Shepherd; in Redeemer’s VBS, youth, and Sunday School as we train the children up in the ways of our Lord, giving them a faith to grow into, not out of; in Redeemer’s symphony of musicians, choirs, and musical talent where you sing the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The same Holy Spirit who sent John into the wilderness to be a voice of comfort also fills our hearts, minds, and voices with the comfort of Jesus crucified; and we’re sent into the wilderness to point our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, barbers, doctors, mechanics, and anyone else we know to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

A Merry Christmas in June and a blessed Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist to each of you…

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

Sermon for Feast of St. Barnabas: "Sons of Encouragement"

+ Feast of St. Barnabas (observed) – June 10^th, 2018 +

Isaiah 42:5-12; Acts 11:19-30, 13:1-3; Mark 6:7-13

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

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

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:1-3)

Set apart. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies –gives the Lord’s holiness to his people, consecrates, and sets apart – the whole Christian church on earth and keeps her with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

Barnabas was not the first to be set apart by the Holy Spirit for the work of the Gospel. The Lord set apart Noah and called him to build an ark. The Lord set apart Abraham and called him the father of many nations, for by the Seed of Abraham, all nations on earth would be blessed. The Lord set apart Moses and later Joshua to lead his people out of slavery in the exodus, through the wilderness, and into the promised land. The Lord set apart David to be his anointed king and promised him that one of his descendants would make his throne an everlasting throne and give us an eternal kingdom. The Lord set apart the Old Testament people of Israel to be the family tree that would bring about the birth of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit sets us apart too. And just like Barnabas, our Lord’s holiness, his calling us, our being set apart is gift. To be holy isn’t like being bit by a radioactive spider and wake up in the morning with super-holy powers; it’s not like a caffeine buzz or a Red Bull energy boost; and it’s not likee that feeling of being twitterpated that Thumper tells Bambi about in the springtime. No, for Barnabas, you, me, and all Christians, God’s holiness isn’t something you achieve, but his gift you receive. Think of it like a noun that our Lord declares about you – you are holy in Him who is holy - not a verb you do to be holy.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sets us apart by water and word in Holy Baptism. We are set apart as God’s children through baptism into Christ. We are set apart from sin and death by baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are set apart by the Holy Spirit to be God’s holy, chosen people, his beloved, treasured possession. Called by the Gospel. Enlightened with his gifts of water, word, bread and wine. Sanctified and kept in the one true faith, just as St. Barnabas was…by grace through faith in Christ. You are holy in Jesus. You are set apart in Jesus.

Barnabas was too. We first meet Barnabas in Acts 4, where Luke tells us that he sold a field that belonged to him and brought the proceeds to the feet of the apostles for the work of the Gospel. Barnabas had heard Jesus’ call to take up his cross and follow him, by grace in the same Lord Jesus Christ, who though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

After Paul’s conversion to Christianity, it was Barnabas who took Paul under his wing, introducing him to the apostles and assuring them that Paul no longer persecuted the Church, but proclaimed Christ Crucified.

Barnabas also joined Paul on his first missionary journey. There at the church in Antioch, Barnabas was ordained by the laying on of hands for a simple, yet important purpose. Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. The work preaching God’s Word of good news to all nations. The work forgiving sin in the stead and by the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. The work of teaching and baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The work of being a steward of the mysteries of God, faithfully administering the sacraments.

His name says it all. Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” And if that word sounds familiar, there’s a good reason for it. It’s the same Greek word for comfort, consolation, and helper. It’s similar to the word Jesus uses when he promises to send the Holy Spirit, the comforter. Coincidence? No.

As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians (1:3ff) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 

This is the work Barnabas was set apart to do, wherever the Lord called him. But of course, St. Barnabas’ feast day isn’t really about St. Barnabas is it?

It’s about God the Father who sent his only Son who gave up all he had - not a field, gold or silver, but his holy precious blood, and his innocent suffering and death…that Barnabas, and you, and me, and all people, would be his own.

It’s about Jesus who was set apart for you. Born for you and called the Holy Child, the Holy One of Israel. Jesus is God and man to deliver us from everything we think, say, and do that is unholy. Jesus is holy for you. He is called and set apart in His perfect life, lived for you, and His perfect death on the cross where He died for you. Jesus was set apart and called by God to accomplish salvation for Barnabas and for you. Jesus our greater Noah by whom we are set apart in his holy ark of the Christian Church. Jesus the Offspring of Abraham who is our brother, Lord and Savior, who set’s us apart to be God’s own children. Jesus, David’s son and David’s Lord who reigns as king from his manger to his cross, and from his resurrection to his heavenly throne.

It’s about the Holy Spirit who set apart Barnabas for the work he was called to do, which means today is also about how the same Holy Spirit calls and sets you apart too.

Through Jesus’ dying and rising you are also set apart and called. In Baptism you are set apart from your sin, and you are holy. In your Baptism you are set apart by God for His calling: your calling to faith in Jesus, and to love your neighbor. Your vocation may be entirely different from Barnabas’, but like Barnabas, you are set apart to receive the Lord’s treasures: His Word, water, Body and Blood, and called to speak that Good News to anyone who asks you for a “reason for the hope that is within you” (1 Peter 3:15).

As a congregation you are set apart as well. The work that our Lord called Barnabas to do, he calls Redeemer to as well. The faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word to you his people, and to this community. The work of calling and ordaining pastors who forgive sin in the stead and by the command of Jesus. The work of teaching and baptizing in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The work of being rightly handling the word of truth and faithfully administering the sacraments as our Lord taught and gave you. The work of being a Barnabas, a son of encouragement in all you say and do, in your callings in life here at Redeemer, and in your callings in life at home, work, and society. It is my heartfelt prayer and encouragement to you all that you remain faithful in these things, even as our Lord kept Barnabas in the one true faith.

Today, we thank God for St. Barnabas, the “son of encouragement,” who brought the encouragement of Christ wherever he went, who lifted up the weak and the wavering, who comforted the distressed and brought calm to controversy. And we thank God for the Barnabas’ in our congregations today, who encourage the discouraged and bind our wounds, that the good news of Jesus may be preached even more.

A blessed St. Barnabas’ day to each of you…

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

Sermon for Trinity Sunday: "Born from Above"

+ Feast of the Holy Trinity – May 27^th, 2018 +

Series B: Isaiah 6:1-8; Acts 2:14, 22-36; John 3:1-17

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

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

Whether it’s the birth of your own child, grandchild, or that of family or friends, or your own, there’s something special about one’s birthday. True enough, as we grow older we may be less excited about our birthdays than we were when we were younger; we may move from counting how many presents we received to counting the innumerable blessing the past year has brought. Either way, a birthday is a time of excitement, joy, and above all, life.

Birth and new life is the topic of discussion between Nicodemus and Jesus here in John 3.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Notice how John says Nicodemus came to Jesus “By night.” That’s more than a time stamp. It’s a theological statement. Nicodemus was probably afraid, ashamed, and apprehensive. He was in the dark physically and spiritually, the darkness of unbelief and sin. But at least he came to the right source: to the one who is Light of Light, very God of very of God.

Nicodemus also didn’t come to Jesus for a confrontation. He wasn’t like the other Pharisees, always looking for an angle on Jesus, trying to trap him in his words or hit him with a gotcha question. Nicodemus came to Jesus like a thirsty man in the desert, like a blind man in search of sight.

We’re like Nicodemus you see. We come to Jesus by night too. Afraid. Ashamed. Apprehensive. We try and hide our shame, fear, and guilt. We try and bury our burdens in the dark in hopes of staying invisible, of hiding from God and others. But we can no more hide from our Lord than Adam and Eve could.

The world around us is veiled in darkness too. “This is the condemnation, Jesus declares, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.”

But here’s the shocking, amazing thing. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through Him. Jesus found Nicodemus that night, and he finds you. Jesus the Light of the world enters the darkness for us. Nighttime and darkness may be full of bad things, but it’s also when God works his greatest for us. YHWH rescuing Israel in the Exodus by night. Jesus’ birth announced to the shepherds watching their fields by night. The Lord’s Supper given on the night in which Jesus was betrayed.

Jesus came to bring Nicodemus, us, and the whole world from dark to light, from death to life, and from our old birth from below in Adam, to a new birth from above in Jesus and the gift of word, water and spirit in your Baptism.

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

Maybe you’ve heard that phrase before. “I was born again.” Or, “have you been born again?” I always like to answer, yes. I was born again in Holy Baptism when I was about 2 weeks old. “Born from above” – that’s what the phrase can also mean, and that’s what Jesus is telling us along with Nicodemus. Unless one is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.

In John 1, we’re told the same thing. Jesus came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Safe to say, we’d probably agree with Nicodemus if we were in on this conversation that night too. It all sounds rather odd, doesn’t it?

“How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

We have two births according to Jesus. Our first birth is usually in a hospital, where we receive life from our parents. Breathing, growing, muscular movements and all that life entails. Our second birth is in the baptismal font, where we receive life in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Mercy, love, and receiving God’s gifts and all that life in Christ entails. Our first birth is from below, from Adam and it’s a birth that leads to death. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. Our second birth is from above, from Christ the second Adam in whom we live; it’s a birth in which we die and rise again in Jesus. In Christ in Baptism you are a new creation. In Christ in Baptism you are born from above. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of God. And so we are. We had no more to do with our birth from above in Holy Baptism than we did our first birth from our parents. Both are God’s free gift of life.

We join Nicodemus in wondering, How can these things be?

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus is the center, the One on whom the spotlight is focused. No one has ever seen God, John says, but the only-begotten God, the Word Incarnate, the second Person of the undivided Holy Trinity, He has made God known. If we want to know and see God, we look to the God who came to us as the Son of the Virgin and the Man of the Cross. This is God in terms we can comprehend, who embraces us, who is born and suffers and dies, who is bone of our bones and flesh of our flesh.

This is why we have a Trinity Sunday and why we take the time to confess the Athanasian Creed. Jesus is the one who reveals the Father, who sends the Spirit, who declared, “Baptize in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” He is the One who said, “No one comes to the Father except by me” and “I will send you another Comforter who will be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth.”

The Father sends the Son to die and rise who sends the Spirit who leads us to the Son who brings us back to the Father. This is what it means to be born of God, born from above, born of the Spirit. The Father is our Father. The Son is our Brother. The Spirit is our Guardian, Guide, and Friend. We are caught up in a mystery that defies our reason and our senses just as Nicodemus was. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is the name you are baptized into, the name that is placed upon you, and the name that gives you a new birth from above.

Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to Him because he has shown his mercy to us.

A blessed Trinity Sunday to each of you…

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