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. 

 

Sermon for Pentecost 22: "Turning Darkness into Sight"

 + 22^nd Sunday after Pentecost – October 24, 2021 +

Series B: Mark 10:46-52

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

This is about the time of the year when you wake up saying to yourself; it’s sure dark out this morning. The daylight shortens. Shadows lengthen. And even though Advent is still a little ways off, this week I couldn’t help but think of the great Advent hymn, O Come, O Come Emmanuel: O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting: Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. 

 

These days it seems like the seasonal darkness reflects the times we live in. We live in dark days. Darkness in the world. Darkness in the hearts of men. Darkness in our own sinful flesh. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide.

 

Today’s Gospel reading from Mark 10 begins in the dark as well. Not the darkness of spiritual blindness of unbelief, but the physical darkness of blindness. 

 

This blind man’s name was Bartimaeus, Mark tells us. His physical blindness evidence of the fallen world where everything and everyone is affected. The Old Testament prophets foretold this very thing. Isaiah listed the restoration of sight as the first of the signs of the coming salvation of God in the person of the Messiah. This is no coincidence that Jesus is there in Jericho to heal this blind man on his way to the cross.

 

Blindness in Scripture is one of those things that has a physical and spiritual dimension to it. Physically, it’s an enormous burden. Without the modern advances we have blindness to one degree or another would be much more common. Imagine a world without contacts or glasses, cataract surgeries or lasik. 

 

There’s also a spiritual dimension to blindness in the Scriptures. Not so much the physical burden of blindness but spiritual blindness which plagues all humanity, which Jesus has come to heal by his dying and rising. Ironically in Jesus’ own ministry it’s often the physically blind who see Jesus for who he is and believe in him while it’s those who physically see him and follow him are the ones who so often fail to see Jesus as the Messiah.

            

When he fed the five thousand, many of his own followers didn’t comprehend what it meant. Jesus even mocked their confusion – “although you have eyes, do you not see?”  

            

We’re not all that different really. We’re surrounded by darkness. Darkness in the world. Darkness within as well. Constantly tempted to spiritual blindness,; when we fail to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Or when we seek to cast God after the desires of our will or our flesh. How often might we hear the same words from Jesus? Although you have eyes to see, don’t you notice how off kilter your life and priorities are? Where do we fix our eyes? On ourselves and own wants and desires or upon Christ and the cross, the place where his focus is set?  

 

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”. That was the confession of blind Bartimaeus as he approached Jesus. That’s our confession too as we approach him here in this place. Bartimaeus had no illusions about his situation or his need for help from God. God’s Word brings us to the same conclusion. In the light of God’s Word, even the 10 Commandments alone, we see our sin for what it is. Darkness. Blindness. We are but blind beggars in need of mercy.

            

And that’s exactly what Jesus does for Bartimaeus. He has mercy on him. He called him over and gave him sight. Jesus turned darkness into light. Blindness into sight. 

 

 “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” Jesus tells him. And faith, you see, always has an object. His faith was not something he worked up on his own anymore than he healed his own eyes. Both his faith and his sight were a gift from Jesus.

            

Bartimaeus may have been blind in his body, but by God’s grace he was given to see where mercy could be found. Bartimaeus shows us the way of faith as well. To look to Jesus knowing that the faith we need, he gives. The eyes and hearts and minds that are blinded by sin that we need opened, he opens. The eyes of faith that look to Jesus and follow him to the cross, he fixes our eyes on him. In a world where we are surrounded by darkness, Jesus is the Light of the world; the light no darkness, no sin, no doubt, no shame, no guilt, none of it - the light no darkness can overcome.

 

For us and for Bartimaeus Jesus was revealing that the coming of his kingdom could only be seen and understood in light of his crucifixion and resurrection. That’s the sight Jesus truly wants us to have– to see that God’s kingdom has come in his flesh. In him. It’s surely what Bartimaeus saw with the eyes of faith that had been granted him by God. It’s what we also see when we believe that Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead have taken away our sins and saved and healed us. 

            

Indeed, the seeing one who follows in Jesus’ way – that one what makes us the Lord’s true disciple.  Discipleship is, as Jesus has described each of the past two Sundays, the ability to see everything in light of God’s promises. It is not loving our stuff so much that we walk away sorrowful from our Lord. It is not being so short-sighted toward God that we indulge ourselves by giving in to the temptations of this world, forgetting what God has promised in the world to come. From the Lord’s mercy to you in Baptism, Absolution, his Word, and the Lord’s Supper to the earthly gifts he also gives, he has granted you eyes of faith. Following Jesus is exemplified for us today by Bartimaeus, the beggar – a beggar can offer nothing, but only receive, and Bartimaeus, by faith, received everything.  Following Jesus will also mean carrying a cross, just as Jesus carried his cross. We too, are blind beggars, blessed in the cross of Jesus.

            

For although following Jesus will mean suffering and persecution in this life, he will lead you on the way to the resurrection of all flesh according to his gracious, eternal rule and reign. He will lead you as he did Bartimaeus and his disciples - through the cross to life everlasting. Turning darkness into sight.

 

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

 

 

Sermon for Pentecost 21: "Short-Sighted"

 + 21^st Sunday after Pentecost – October 17, 2021 +

Series B: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20; Hebrews 4:1-16; Mark 10:23-31

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

Fix your “eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter” of your faith. Easy to say. Much harder to do. Sunday morning, sitting in church, hearing the Word, singing the hymns, the crucifix, the font, the altar – here it is easy to fix your eyes on Jesus. But that’s not always the case. Outside of church, when the stresses and grind of life wear at you, it’s easier to lose focus; to forget. It’s easy not to pray or open our Bible. 

 

In today’s Gospel reading in Mark 10, Jesus warns his disciples then and now about some of the snares laid for us by the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.

 

“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

 

No this isn’t Jesus wearing a tax the rich robe to a Pharisees dinner. He’s not making a political speech, but pointing out a spiritual reality. 

 

Remember the rich young man we heard about in last week’s Gospel reading. He had great possessions – he was wealthy – yet he went away from Jesus sorrowful. Why?  Because Jesus’ words cut him to the heart. He thought he was righteous because of what he did or avoided doing; he didn’t murder, commit adultery, steal, or slander. He honored his parents. He was basically a good guy, so he thought. Yet His heart loved the things of this world. He coveted his own possessions and feared, loved, and trusted in them so much that he wouldn’t consider parting with them for the sake of others, or for the sake of his own soul. As he walked away from Jesus, he revealed that his love for his stuff was more valuable than God.

            

Today’s reading picks up where last week’s reading left off. Jesus teaching his disciples. “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  

 

Indeed, Jesus goes on to say, “it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” Jesus said.  Listen carefully to what he says. Difficult, but not impossible. This is Jesus’ point – what is impossible with man and all his temptations and idols and weaknesses is possible with God!  The wealthy young man thought he could do it himself. But he couldn’t do it.

            

And neither can we. What’s impossible for man…is possible for God. And before we go pointing our finger at the rich young man, Peter reveals that we’re not all that different from him. 

 

He began to say, “see, we have left everything and followed you.” And in one sense, he was right.  He and the other disciples had walked away from whatever living, whatever career they had, and they had followed Jesus. Thinking he could receive Jesus’ approval for what he had done, he was sorely mistaken.  

            

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time…houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands…” Yes, Jesus has a lot of good things to promise, and you can almost see Peter’s chest puffing up with pride at having put the camel through the eye of the needle, until the next words out of Jesus’ mouth: “with persecutions.”

            

Yes, you heard that right. Jesus said there was no one who left everything behind who wouldn’t receive a hundredfold now in this time…but with it would come persecutions. It all sounds good until that! Persecutions?  That’s not what they were after, they were after righteousness and didn’t want persecutions or anything unpleasant. Truth is, neither do we. Persecution is painful. It’s not what anyone wants or expects as a result of faithfulness. And yet, of all the things we’re given in this world of which we are stewards, if we are faithful to God above all things – if we fear, love, and trust in him above all else – we will not have control over how the world will treat us. As our Lord said, the world will hate us because it hated him first.

 

Sounds rather overwhelming and frightening; but it’s not hopeless. Jesus went on. Yes, persecutions would follow faithfulness, but then, after faithfulness and persecution, there is eternal life in the age to come. And that is Good News. Not and earthly glory, riches, power, or honor, but eternal life in the age to come. That’s the promise.

            

Again, the problem isn’t an abundance or lack of earthly things. After all, those are good gifts from God. The problem comes when we turn it all into an idol. And there’s nothing wrong with not being wealthy as long as it doesn’t embitter us and turn us against those blessed by God with more than you. The problem for the rich young man wasn’t the wealth he had; it was the faith in God that he lacked. 

 

And instead of seeking it in Jesus and finding every good thing from him, he looked for it in his own hands. We’re tempted the same way. Tempted to short-sightedness. The big picture is there but we, as we (like Peter) seek to find assurance in our own attitudes and deeds. The kingdom of God, however, isn’t found in our wealth or lack of wealth or in the work of our hands. But in the riches work of Jesus’ hands, outstretched on the cross for you. 

            

In the God who came to earth in human flesh in order to rescue us. In Jesus who delivers us from the weakness of our short-sightedness. He does it all by his gifts. He gives us many earthly things of which we are stewards. You also have time and talents that God has placed into your care. He has given you everything so that as his children, you may render thanks unto him for all he has given.

            

And those gifts are joyous. They go beyond earthly things, and even beyond anything we might lose, even by persecution. Christ’s gifts to us are eternal. Never ending. Eternal life in the resurrection of all flesh. Eternal joy as his children. Eternal gifts of his grace and mercy that fix our eyes on Jesus. 

 

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

Sermon for Pentecost 20: "Superficial Eyes"

 + 20th Sunday after Pentecost – October 10, 2021 +

Series B: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15; Hebrews 3:12-19; Mark 10:17-22

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

 

 

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

 

The author of Hebrews exhorts us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” In this Christian faith this is always true, especially when we look at the Scripture’s teaching on stewardship, as we’ll be doing these next few weeks. 

 

After all, everything in faith and life begins and ends with Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega. His words and deeds in these Gospel lessons, starting with the rich young man today, will lead us toward the fear, love, and trust in God above all else that puts every other thing in its proper place, giving us eyes of faith.

 

Jesus’ words with the rich young man in Mark 10 reveal not only his own sin but also ours. That we have superficial eyes. That’s the reality of our sinful nature, that all too often we see what we want to see when we look at ourselves. Problem is, this isn’t the right view of things in God’s eyes. After all, which is more reliable, God’s Word or our superficial eyes? 

 

This is why the Ten Commandments end and begin with the heart of man. The first commandment deals with faith; and the final commandments forbid coveting. Believing and coveting both originate in the human heart. Believing and coveting are more than thoughts, words, or deeds. Believing and coveting proceed from the depths of man’s nature; “out of the heart,” as Jesus says. To believe in God is more than simply thinking godly thoughts, speaking godly words, or doing godly deeds. So too,  coveting the world’s treasures runs deeper than the eyes, mind, tongue, or hands; to believe and to covet are fundamental yearnings of the human heart.

 

This is exactly what’s going on in our Gospel reading this morning. A man came to Jesus came seeking salvation, so Jesus began with the commandments. But did you notice…Jesus didn’t mention the beginning or the end of the commandments. Honoring father and mother, avoiding murder, adultery, stealing, and false witness were all listed, but Jesus was silent about believing and coveting. He listed the commandments that govern the thoughts, words, and works of man, but did not speak the commandments that govern the desires of the heart. Why? To reveal where the eyes of this man’s faith and desire were focused. Jesus is doing the same for us as well. 

 

You see, the beginning and ending of the commandments go straight to the heart of our life; they testify that above all else, man is a creature of desire. We hunger, thirst, and yearn. It’s another way of saying that man wasn’t created to be an independent, autonomous, or self-fulfilling being. No man is an island; no man is truly a rock. We are creatures of need. We need air to breath, food to eat, water to drink – and so on. To hunger means that food is a necessity. It is this necessity that is felt at the depth of our human nature.

 

Here is where we begin to understand the nature of what it is to covet. To covet is to believe, to desire, to need anything other than God. Coveting is not merely a superfluous want, and extravagant wish, or an impossible dream; coveting runs deeper than any thought, word, or deed. Instead, coveting is believing something to be a necessity. Coveting means that the need for God is overwhelmed by a need for something or someone else. 

 

The man in the Gospel is a picture of our covetous humanity. This man counts the wealth of this world to be a necessity, and makes himself a slave to this necessity. Coveting is the worst kind of slavery, for it is not a slavery that comes from outside of us. The covetous man is not enslaved from without, but from within. It is not unlike a fountain from which all sinful thoughts, words, and deeds proceed. It was desire that compelled Adam to grasp for what is forbidden; it moved Cain to steal his brother’s life; it inspired Jacob’s sons to persecute and sell their brother; it lead King David down the path of adultery and murder; and it compelled this rich man to reject Jesus and go on his way in sorrow.

            

“You lack one thing,” Jesus said, “go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” With these words, Jesus exposed the man’s heart. This man may have had righteous thoughts. He may have spoken righteous words. He may have done righteous deeds. But that is not what makes a man righteous. 

 

If we are to be truly righteous, then we must have a righteousness that reaches beyond the hands, the mouth, or the mind.  Indeed, we need the righteousness that penetrates to the very core of our humanity. We need a righteousness that creates a new heart, a new spirit, a new nature. This is the true righteousness that Jesus offered to this man when he called him to come and follow him in the way of the cross. In Jesus, God does not merely offer laws to govern the thoughts, words, and deeds of man; he offers his Son, who entered into human flesh and blood so that human flesh and blood would be created anew in his own image and after his own likeness.

 

Jesus is righteous not merely in what he thinks, says, or does; but even in what he believes, needs, and desires.  On the tree of the cross, humanity is fundamentally altered. Since it was at a tree that Adam filled man with a heart that covets, so now it is at the tree of the cross that Christ fills man with a new heart – one that fears, loves, and trusts in God above all other things. 

 

Jesus’ perfect righteousness is revealed in his cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words reveal the depths of Jesus’ righteousness, for in this cry we see Jesus’ deepest desire, his most heartfelt yearning, and his greatest need. In the face of death Jesus does not cry out for life or breath, he does not yearn for vengeance or even an escape from his enemies; instead, Jesus simply cries out for God. His desire is nothing but the presence of his Father. For Jesus, there is only one necessity; there is only one need, one requirement for man – the presence of the living God.

 

“Come,” Jesus says, “take up your cross and follow me.” On the cross, Jesus keeps the beginning and the end of the law for you. Our sinful coveting is overwhelmed by Jesus’ righteous believing. The cross is the perfect worship of God, the perfect love for God, the perfect faith in God. On the altar of the cross Jesus offered his own flesh as the perfect sacrifice, the very flesh and blood you receive today from this altar. 

 

Here Jesus offers his own flesh and blood to be the one thing needful for you. Here Jesus’ righteousness becomes your justification; his holiness your sanctification; his life your resurrection. Here is true treasure the likes of which the world can never give. Here you are filled with an eternal wealth of God’s grace that fills your eyes, ears, hearts, and minds with the love of God. Here our Lord gives us eyes of faith that look to him for every good thing.

 

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

Funeral Sermon for Barbara Toma: "God's Own Child"

 + In Memoriam – Barbara Toma +

Job 19:23-27; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; John 6:35-40

 

 

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

 

Every so often you hear a song on the radio or sing a hymn in church and in an instant you think of someone you know and love. Maybe it was sung at a funeral – like For All the Saints. Or maybe it was your first dance at a wedding. Whatever the occasion may be, sometimes people and a certain song just seem to go together, like a good four part harmony. 

 

Now, there are probably a lot of songs that come to mind when you think of our dear sister in Christ, Barb. But the one that came to my mind this week was the old Sunday School classic, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.”

 

And what is true of our Lord is true of Barb as well. She loved her children. She dropped out of nursing school to raise them, care for them, and teach them the important things in life, like the finer points of the rules of baseball. She even earned a black belt in taekwondo, no doubt, in part, to protect her children.

 

Barb loved the children of her church family as well. From VBS to youth group, from Sunday School to preschool she lived and proclaimed, and yes, even sang, of Christ’s love for all his little children. I know my daughter isn’t the only one blessed to have had Miss Barb, as she called her, as one of her favorite teachers. 

 

Yes, Barb loved children. Something she has common with our Lord. And she loved children – not because she was childish – no just the opposite, because our Lord gave her his gift of child-like faith and trust in him and his Son Jesus.

 

Barb loved children because she herself was a beloved, baptized, redeemed child of God. On a winter’s day in Chicago our Lord adopted Barb by his grace. By water, word, and the Spirit, our Lord made Barb his own dear child. And it was this new birth from above that filled Barb – as it does for all you who are baptized – with the love, joy, and grace of our Lord Jesus. From that day on, and into eternity, Barb was, and is, and ever shall be a baptized child of God, as are each of you, baptized into the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus.

 

And that is why we have a song to sing. That is why we have love for others, especially the children God places in our lives. The joy, praise, and love are God-given gifts to us, just as our Lord gave those gifts to Barb. 

 

For Barb knew that when it comes to the Christian faith, we are more like children than perhaps we care to admit at times. We are completely, totally, utterly, each and every day, hour, minute, and moment dependent upon the grace and love of our Heavenly Father for this body and life, and also for eternal life. Is it any wonder that our Lord places a child in the midst of his disciples and declares, ““Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” 

 

That is why God sent his only begotten Son to become – of all things – a little child for Barb. For you. For all. In love and mercy God sent Jesus to become a child so that in him – his perfect life, his death, his resurrection – we might become children of the heavenly Father. The Father sends the Son. The Son lives and dies and rise again to bring us rebellious, wayward children home. 

 

That our Father in heaven would fill us, as he did Barb, with the hope and comfort of Job’s words. I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in^[c] my flesh I shall see God.

 

 

That our Father in heaven would strengthen us and console us with the coming resurrection of the body for Barb and for all his children, as Paul proclaims, “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” 

 

That our Father in heaven would deliver his word of peace and promise to us in his Son Jesus. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

 

Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us. That we – Barb, you, me, and all the baptized – should be called children of God. For that is who you are. That is who Barb is. 

 

I say, “is” because this is the way of things in our Lord’s family. Just we tell our children – you are always my little girl, my little boy. So too, God is always our heavenly father. Jesus is always our Savior and brother. And you are God’s children. Today. Tomorrow. And every day as we await the great family reunion of the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. Until the resurrection…

 

The grace of our + Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.