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Here’s my brief summary of the rector’s report delivered at St. Paul’s annual meeting this afternoon in the short time slot as allocated by Pastor Martin Paul – in writing: LTS RRStPaul 2016 and for listening:
The Lord our God said to Joshua: „Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.“ (Jos.1:9 KJV)
And his apostel St. Paul writes to the pastor and bishop St. Timothy: „For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.“ (2.Timothy 1,7 KJV)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you +
Dear friends of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ + In trying times it is necessary to remember that our living God would not want us to be timid or even cowards, but rather to fear no ill nor evil, being strong and of good courage, not afraid nor dismayed filled with his Holy Spirit, who grants strength, love and a sound mind. The triune God does not just demand this positive attitude, but rather equips his saints with power from on high and more still he himself is with us (Immanuel) and not just on Sunday mornings, but rather „whithersoever thou goest!“ That is his encouragement to Joshua in those trying times, when Moses had to stay behind and Joshua was now to lead God’s people over the river Jordan and into the holy and promised land. Joshua is not to be afraid to carry out God’s sacred command. Rather he is to be strong, stick to his guns and courageously do, whatsoever his high and precious calling as leader of God’s people demands of him. This calling is not some vague idea, but rather God’s holy law and prescepts, his rules and regulations. God wants Joshua to be faithful and to lead his people according to God’s revealed will – in all that his brother Moses had recorded faithfully in the Torah. Through these five books of Moses God would continue to direct, lead and guide his people as they were now facing a new world – no longer in Egypt and in slavery, no longer in the desert and on the move, but settling down, farming, doing business and going about their daily lives in towns and cities as God’s holy people: A light amongst the nations and a beacon of hope to those, who didn’t know the true God yet. He – the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – was with them and he would rule and reign as the true Lord and saviour of his people forever.
The greatest challenge for God’s elected and chosen people is to think, feel and be neglected, forgotten, deserted and rejected by God himself. It’s the greatest affliction and the worst fear there is. „God is dead!“ is not just a slogan, but our worst nightmare and most terrible threat there is – even if it is a contradiction in terms. God is the source of life and even better, more and greater than life itself. But for us without him there is no hope, love or light. Without him we are lost, condemned and dead. And the worst punishment throughout history was never this or that, but the threat, that God had left his people to their own devices. See the stories of Joseph and how he gets mistreated by his very own brothers, by his trusted master in Egypt and forgotten by that baker/foodtaster, whom he had helped. Still, he was doing just fine – even in slavery, in prison and always. Why? Because God was with him. Same with Daniel in Babylon – right there in the lion’s den. Same with Job even as he was filled with sores and sitting on the ashheap. Same as St.Paul and Silas there in the prison of Philippi. As long as God was with them, there was no cause for overt concern, anxiety or despair. Rather God filled out their every need. He cared for them and kept them even in the darkest of times. Yet, if God hides his face, rejects us and departs from us, then we have all reason to fear and to give up. That really is the worst scenario. It can’t get worse than that. Then we even dread the rustling of falling autumn leaves. We can’t see the light anymore. We are truly alone. There is nothing that can help us. It’s when people rather commit suicide than try to carry on – Judas and king Saul are frightful examples of this.
Our Lord Jesus Christ on Golgotha went through this very great tribulation and worst nightmare, but it was not just a dream, but harshest reality. There on the cross, when the sun stopped shining and the earth was trembling and all was falling apart, he our Lord and God cried out: „My God, my God why hast Thou forsaken me!“ That was the very pit of the deepest and most dismal abyss. That was the cup of wrath that he drained for us and on our behalf. The bitter pain of death and the very poison of sin and all devilry and evil too. It all was laid on his shoulders. That was the burden he bore for us, on behalf of us and on account of our sin, but for our good and eternal salvation. In this vicarious sacrifice there on that Mt of Calvary he soothed the wrath of the Father that was against us. By going through with this work of suffering and dying, bleeding and giving up his Spirit even being obedient to his very last breath, not in vile rebellion against the Father, but in perfect harmony and obedience he fulfilled the will and law of the Father, placated him, met his highest demands absolutely and even in the last moment committed his all and everything into the hands and being of the Father: Not my, but your will be done! Thus this only begotten Son of the Father, the Son of Mary there in Bethlehem begotten by the Holy Spirit made everything right again. Caused the change of favour in the heart of the living God. No longer against us, but for us in loving care and gracious favour. That’s how he was victorious and triumphed over sin, death and devil for us.
Now he rules and reigns at the right hand of the Father – in our favour and for our best even as we still struggle along in the world and fight against our own anxieties, fears and tribulations. So many things seem to get out of hand. We don’t see the dominance and rule of our Lord so clearly. Our faith is weak and we often feel alone and left to our own devices. Like those miserable Emmaus disciples on the way home!
That is why our Lord Jesus Christ so repeatedly says to his disciples after his resurrection: „Don’t be afraid!“ „Do not fear!“ „It is I“ „JHWH“ and „See, I am with you all the days of your life!“ „I will not forsake you. I will not leave you. I will strengthen and keep you in the true faith now and always.“ He wants us to trust his promises faithfully, rely on his gracious presence in his holy Word and sacraments and thus be strong, confident and full of hope and godly conviction: „He does all things well and for our very best! That is why we can go about our daily chores as pastors, teachers, missionaries, evangelists, deaconesses, mothers, father, shopowners, soldiers, farmers, grandparents, children, politicians, lawyers, sportsmen, hunters and gatherers, doctors, nurses, engineeers, accountants and taxcollectors, fishermen and musicians etc etc with confidence, joy and gladness. He is there with us. We need to fear no ill. All is going to be all right. He’s our Lord and our saviour. He will not desert or leave us. Not even in our last hour and in the time of death. Rather he is with now and always with his grace, mercy and peace, which passes all understanding. He will carry us through so that we will eventually see and behold, what he has prepared for us onhigh in the heavenly mansions. Nobody and nothing can harm us ultimately, because he is with us. His goodness and mercy endures forever. His rod and staff comfort me. Even in the shadows of death I fear no ill, for you are with me… Therefore get up, do what you are supposed to do, be manly and be strong – don’t whine, cringe and growel. Rather do your work, carry out your job, be faithful and hard at work, mindful, sober, think straight, get things right, do the right thing, strive to improve and work hard too so that when your Lord comes, he will not find you asleep, loafing or just being good for nothing. Rather let him find a faithful servant doing, what he’s called to do joyfully, gratefully and with dedication. Thanks, praise and mercy be to him, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns together with the Father and the Holy Spirit – one God – now and forever. Amen.
The peace of the Lord be with you always + Amen.
“All Depends on Our Possessing” by unknown author, c.1673
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1828-1878
1. All depends on our possessing
God’s abundant grace and blessing,
Though all earthly wealth depart.
He who trusts with faith unshaken
In His God is not forsaken
And e’er keeps a dauntless heart.
2. He who hitherto hath fed me
And to many joys hath led me,
Is and ever shall be mine.
He who did so gently school me,
He who still doth guide and rule me,
Will remain my Help divine.
3. Many spend their lives in fretting
Over trifles and in getting
Things that have no solid ground.
I shall strive to win a treasure
That will bring me lasting pleasure
And that now is seldom found.
4. When with sorrow I am stricken,
Hope my heart anew will quicken,
All my longing shall be stilled.
To His loving-kindness tender
Soul and body I surrender;
For in Him alone I build.
5. Well He knows what best to grant me;
All the longing hopes that haunt me,
Joy and sorrow, have their day.
I shall doubt His wisdom never,–
As God wills, so be it ever,–
I to Him commit my way.
6. If on earth my days He lengthen,
He my weary soul will stengthen;
All my trust in Him I place.
Earthly wealth is not abiding,
Like a stream away is gliding;
Safe I anchor in His grace.
Hymn #425
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Prov. 10:22
Author: unknown, c. 1673
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1858, alt.
Titled: “Alles ist an Gottes Segen”
Composer: Johann B. Koenig, 1738
Tune: “Alles ist an Gottes Segen”
The holy Christian Churches believes and confesses the biblical truth: “The living God in his holy dwelling is a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows. Our God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” (Psa 68:5-6 NIV)
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Mat 25:40 NIV)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you + now and always +
Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: Well, this seems to be right in line with today’s hot topic of what it means to be Christian and how we should deal with those trying to flee wars and terror, financial poverty and social isolation and destitution. Is it by building higher walls and fences around what we perceive as our own – our birthright or the right we have worked for or that was granted to us in this or that way – and keep others from infringing on that very personal, private and priced possession? Or is it something else?
Pope Francis I said that building walls along the Mexican border to keep out those migrants and illegal immigrants would disqualify a party’s policy from being seen as Christian and a president, who’d promote such a strategy would very much be outside the Church. He probably would consider the wall along the Canadian border in the same categories, but he’s probably talking very closely to his catholic constituency, his followers and adherents on both sides of the borders – in Mexico and in the US. Pushing the political ticket and trying his catholic luck. Trying to regain political clout, which the Roman church has always coveted and tried to manage more or less successfully to its very own benefit and startling enrichment. Probably the pontiff’s reasoning was something like this: Brothers and sisters in the USA, but also in Mexico – don’t do as if you don’t belong together and are called to live together in a common continent, one catholic church and Christian community and koinonia. Building up walls between you – to keep brothers and sisters in Christ apart – is not the Christian way of doing things. It seems to be a very simple matter. In this way Francis I is just addressing this complicated situation rather superficially and perhaps with a little to much ease.
On the other side it does seem to go accord with those, who oppose the European nations option of constructing their own fences and barricades to try and limit, control and regulate the migratory influx of those millions of migrants and refugees coming in from the Middle East and also from Africa in the South. Even the deep Meditaranean and the wide desert stretches of the Sahara have not been able to put off the flood of migrants, so higher fences, more deterrents are coming into play. And there too, everybody will hear the papal verdict: “If you do that you’re not Christian!” It seems to be the consensus there too.
The biblical verses we read today seem very clearly suited to speak right to this dilemma. The holy Christian Churches believes and confesses the biblical truth: “The living God in his holy dwelling is a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows. Our God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” (Psa 68:5-6 NIV) Obviously there is a lot of history, which seems to draw this into question. It’s because we’re not God and we just don’t see all and everything as clearly as it is. Much suffering seems to go right against this declared good will and best intention of our God. It’s the affliction of our faith, which struggles so much to believe God’s good word and gospel and not be put off by the damage, evil and sin around us. Yet our Lord Jesus Christ encourages us with the promise of the eschatological justice to be implemented at the final end and judgment, when he is going to complete and finish off the good work he has started: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Mat 25:40 NIV) Therefore we should not fear any ill, but trust in his good promises and do what is right, good and salutary for our families, friends and neighbours, but also for our enemies and those that persecute us.
Angela Merkel – the pastor’s daughter – has got some basics right. We need to provide shelter, protection and sure defense to those, who are helpless like the orphans and widows. We can’t just turn our backs on them as if they are not our problem. These desperate people, who have lost all and everything because of war are our neighbours and thus our responsibility too – especially if we are in the powerful position to help and grant assistance like the Germany and the USA are. This is not just the personal responsibility of this and that individual, but also of congregations, churches and people, who call themselves Christian. Remember who your God is and what he did for you and all the world and consider, what you can do to help and assist and alleviate the pressing need of these fleeing people in the most dire straits. And it remains an incentive that our Lord has promised that every one of these good deeds done in favour of these poor, helpless and most needy will not go unrewarded. He himself stands as the faithful guarantee for this promise. However that is to be fulfilled under the opposite – in faith – and not to be seen by our very own eyes as yet. It remains under eschatological reservation – already in faith, but not yet visible.
Still I doubt that the Roman bishop has the authority to expel somebody from the Church and to deny him the membership in the Christian community and ultimately sever him from the body of Christ because he plans to build a wall between us and them. I think he is confusing the temporal and spiritual powers that be. Politics is different from matters of faith. That does not dispense either from the clear laws and mandates of God, but there are issues of the law and those of gospel. The one is under human authority and uses the sword and military force and coercion & compulsion, whereas the other is by the power of the word alone, no brute force there, but only promise and forgiveness and grace and turning of the other cheek.
I can’t remember that a roman pontiff ever declared the East German communists to be excommunicated because of them building that wall and erecting that iron curtain, which thank God has been leveled since. I don’t think my neighbour, who just finished building a higher wall around his property has now stopped to be a Christian. I don’t think it is as simple as that. The Pope is not Jesus Christ after all – he can’t make divine law or godly promises at will – he can only proclaim, what has been entrusted and taught to us by the good Lord himself in the Word of the old and new Testaments. He as pope and bishop of the church remains subject to the Word of God or if he put’s himself over and above it he would be accursed as St.Paul writes to the Galatians. After all in the best construction of things this first Jesuit pope is also only but one of God’s pastors and bishops on earth and even that might be an exaggeration as it remains highly debatable and some would rather follow Luther and the Confessions who still have him as the Antichrist after all for preaching something contrary to the pure and divine gospel of Jesus Christ our one and only saviour!
See, the issue of building a wall is not just about keeping widows and orphans out, there are legal and official ways for them after all even if they admittedly can be very thorny and lengthy processes and nearly impossible to manage for some. Yet these walls, fences and controls are to regulate a border traffic, controlling in the best way possible the illegal influx of terrorists, trying to stop the drug smuggling, human trafficking and highly dangerous border crossings of those, who have no regard for human life and have shown that they are just so keen to strike at the very nerve and heart of American way of life with the brutal attack on the Twin towers or the free and easy going western society and its secular ways in the vicious murder in Paris. There’s a big difference whether the walls were built to keep people in or out too. Keeping people imprisoned against their will is much different from keeping people out, who have no right to come in.
In the letter to the Romans St.Paul writes: “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.” (Rom 13:4-5 NIV) See, those walls, fences and borders are not aimed against helpless orphans or widows or persecuted Christians in the Middle East or against law-abiding citizens in the S.Americas. They need not fear these barriers, because they are after all somewhat permeable. There are legal means and ways to cross them. However the proper routes need to be followed and transgressors, evil doers and outlaws should be afraid. They should be kept out in the cold and not be allowed to carry out their works of destruction, terror or brutal violence. Rather they must be stopped, kept out and be isolated. That’s a good purpose and sense of such a border fence and wall. I don’t think they are unchristian either. The borders are like burglar guards in my house. Off course my friends, family and visitors are allowed in through the door, but the railings are to keep the one out, who wants to crawl in by the window and surprise me and my loved ones in our sleep.
The happenings in Syria show that there are exceptions to the rule too. If you’ve got nowhere to hide and can only run from brutal terrorists like Isis or what these muslim radical and extremist vandals and barbarians are called, then there is no time or place to send these refugees back into the hands of their persecutors – especially if those persecuted are being persecuted for their Christian faith. They – together with the entire Christian church on earth and with the triumphant church comprising all saints and martyrs too – know that nobody and nothing can keep us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. He will grant us life and salvation in his good time – in or outside of the worldly borders and fences and walls. Until then we put our trust in him alone, for he is God and nobody else. He alone can grant life and salvation – nobody else – not even the secular state and their highest authorities. They are but instruments and tools to safeguard the safety and peace of their subjects. Even and although they sometimes fail dismally, our God never fails and he will help, protect and keep us from all evil of body and soul – now and forever. Thanks and praise be to him our God and savior, he our Lord and king, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit – one God now and forever. Amen.
The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.
Harry Emerson Fosdick 1878-1969
Here is this mornings sermonette on Hebrews 12:1-7 for reading: Hb12,1-7 Matins 2016.2.18 and also for hearing:
“Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.” (Psa 96:3 KJV) And when Paul and Barnabas were come to Antioch, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. (Act 14:27 KJV)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always +
Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: From the very beginning it was always too little, narrow and exclusive for the only living God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – to be worshipped by one or two individuals, people or nations of this world only. It was always good, right and salutary that his glory would be declared amongst all of humanity and right to the very ends of the world – including the furthest nations, tribes and families of even the most exotic religions and pagan fancies. For his miracles and wonders are just too awesome and wide ranging to be limited to but a single tribe or people. Rather it is his prerogative to be God of gods, King of kings and Lord of lords – ruling over the entire globe, cosmos and universe. There is none other – but he alone.
So when the prophets of old pointed to the Messiah to come it was always the Messiah of all nations and not just of Israel. It was to small and little for him to serve but the twelve tribes of Joseph’s sons, rather he wanted his mission to go out to all and everybody – including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, Chinese and Aborigines of Australia. That is why when the true Messiah came – the son of David, Jesus of Nazareth, the true Christ, God’s only begotten Son born of the virgin Mary, he the godly anointed saviour of all the world and mankind – he let those Greeks know: “When I am raised up from the earth, I will draw all towards me!” And to his disciples he said: “Go to the ends of the world and make disciples of all nations!”
This they did. Starting off in Jerusalem, going to Judea and Samaria and to the very ends of the world. They even came to Africa and to the very South of that continent too. He is reaching out even today as we repeat those ancient words of the Psalmist: “Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.” (Psa 96:3 KJV) It is a standing invitation to the heathen to also acknowledge him as the only Lord and saviour, he who is the only creator, saviour and sanctifier of each and every one. There is none other. Nobody but he deserves this honour and glory. For his wonders in creation, salvation and sanctification are but his due. Therefore they need to be proclaimed, declared and preached, taught and laid out – just as all of Christianity teaches, confesses and professes in great unanimity and clarity to this very day the confession of the one holy Christian and apostolic faith and thus preparing the people of the world for that great day, when all knees will bow before him and every tongue will confess, that he is Lord and God alone +
The Word of the Lord continues to grow across the globe (cf. Martin Franzmann). St. Peter preached on Pentecost and 3k were baptized. Then a crowd of 5k. Then the numbers got out of hand. Even today statistics remain a challenge. Yet at the end when all will be gathered around the throne of the victorious lamb, then the number of the elect and chosen will be full and complete. Nobody will be missing, because nothing and nobody can pull God’s people from his very hand for he is more, better and greater than all and everything. On one of the first mission festivals of sorts St. Paul and Barnabas told what God had accomplished through them throughout the Mediterranean world and “how God had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles”. Well, that’s just how God works. He wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. To attain this true and saving faith: “he has instituted the service/ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works the one and saving faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.” (Augsburg Confession Article 5)
Even today pastors, missionaries, evangelists, teachers and bishops go about teaching, preaching and confessing the miracles and wonders of our Lord publicly and in the open sphere. Christians in the only holy Christian Church throughout the world confess this very same faith, sharing their saving conviction and the true testimonies of their Lord with those, that need it most – going out of their comfort zone, bridging the gap of unbelief and interacting with pagans, heathens, atheists and other convictions and faith with a faithful witness of our Lord’s glories and wonders in faith, love and hope. Praying that the Lord would open doors for the true confession and declaration of his gospel amongst all nations – especially amongst those still behind closed doors, electric fences and prison walls – like in the muslim world, Hindu subcontinent, communist fortresses of China and N.Korea. He has pulled down iron curtains, opened up previously shut continents and is still building his church across the world and amongst all people and nations. Thanks and praise be to him our God and savior, he our Lord and king, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit – one God now and forever. Amen.
The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.
Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God– the LORD, the God of their ancestors– even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.” (2Ch 30:18-20 NIV)
“A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.” (Luk 19:2-3 NIV)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always +
Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: In this mornings readings we are reminded that all depends on God’s gracious favour and mercy to grant pardon even to the best of us and even if we are convinced that we are but “a poor soul, whose intentions are good” (The Animals). That was true from the very beginning and continued to be so even in the heydays of Israel. There is nobody, who can just enter the forecourts of God, demand an audience with him or even just catch a glimpse of his face without he himself granting this privilege, honour and right to do so. Not even the greatest of old prophets Moses himself could do that without God conceding this license and noblest of freedoms. It was the essence and joy of paradise that Adam and Eve could walk, talk and be with their God and creator face to face on a daily basis. That’s what was lost with the fall into temptation trusting the serpent’s charms more than God’s clear rules and regulations. With paradise lost (Milton), mankind was on an ongoing quest to seek God’s face yet unable to find it. Restless he would transverse the globe, plodding the pathways through jungle and desert, across mountains and oceans he would go, seeking the lost grail, the vanished arc and the elusive unicorn – only to realize in the best scenario that it was all in vain and trying to catch the wind. Not even by philosophies profundities or religious complexities and extremes was this goal attainable. It remains the sad truth of fallen man, “that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him.” (Martin Luther’s Explanation of the 3rd Article of the Apostolic Creed) and without him, there is no finding of God, never mind getting to him, seeing, appeasing or staying with him on good terms. Outside of Christ – the centre, head and life of the Church – there is no life and salvation, but only condemnation, empty vanities and desolation and never ending death and dying.
The wonderful tiding in this context however is, that the triune God himself did not let man just vanish from his presence to get lost and perish. Rather from the very beginning it has been God’s mission to call Adam back to him and restore him to paradise and the lost privileges of his enduring care and most merciful and gracious presence and favour. So God opened up the way to him. He let his son Jesus Christ go and seek and find the lost, so that he would repair the broken relationship of those lost sons and daughters with their heavenly father, return them to the family mansions in heaven and open up the communication so that they could call upon him as the little children do with their dearly beloved and most trusted father. That is why he has taught us to pray with the “Our Father” for “God would thereby [with this little introduction] tenderly urge us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father.” (Martin Luther’s introductory explanation of the Lord’s prayer). See, God himself encourages us to pray and has promised to hear us for Christ’s sake – just like he heard Hezekiah’s prayer for the people and consequently healed them. He still does so today: Hear and answer our prayers and do great things, because he’s our heavenly Father and wants us to love, trust and fear him above all things. That is why he daily and mercifully fills us with goodness in the works of his creation, salvation and sanctification.
He even sees the hidden desires and hopes in our hearts like he did with Zacchaeus. He goes and calls him down from the tree, visits him at home and restores him to the holy family of God consisting entirely of forgiven sinners, who are at peace with their heavenly Father through the gracious forgiveness worked by the Lord and saviour of the world: Jesus Christ. Wherever he enters in, there life and salvation follow suit. Thanks and praise be to him our God and savior, he our Lord and king, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit – one God now and forever. Amen.
The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.
(Chad L Bird: * 1970.)
Here is the sermon on Deut 8,2-6.11-18 held by Rev. Dr. Karl Böhmer this morning. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart,whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you andlet you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word[a] that comes from the mouth of the Lord.4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lordyour God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lordyour God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Bewarelest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Famous Last Words. For some reason, people seem to set a lot of store by a person’s last words. They are often recorded for posterity. There are many famous examples, ranging from Roman Emperor Vespasian who died saying, “Woe is me. Methinks I’m turning into a god,” to General John Sedgwick who was killed in battle during US Civil War while saying, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist…” to Karl Marx who said to his housekeeper: “Go on, get out – last words are for fools who haven’t said enough.”
In a sense, the whole book of Deut. is a book of Famous Last Words. They are Moses’ Famous Last Words, spoken to the people of God gathered at the river Jordan getting ready to go and finally take possession of the promised land. One last time, Moses marshals his strength, one last time, raises his voice, addresses the people of God, one last time. The difference being, of course, that Moses’ Famous Last Words also happen to be just one part of the enduring Word of God, that God himself is speaking, and that he also has something to say to you and me here today.
I would like to exposit on what the Lord says here in three brief sections. The first is “The curse of blessing;” the second, “the blessing of curse;” and the third, “the food of God’s people.” Now the Lord has promised to his people that they will enter a land of milk and honey, a land with many blessings. Blessings to make the mouth water. Much to eat, not just kop en pootjies (walkie talkies), not just stywe pap and phutu, but honey and meat and gravy, gourmet goodies to make you go weak at the knees. And there will be flocks, great herds they can graze on the grounds of the Union Buildings, and money too, silver and gold, ingots and bullion to make the Guptas jealous. Yes, the Lord will bless his people. But, warns Moses, but… but… Remember the curse of blessing. Take care, he warns his children, take care that these things do not so fill your stomach and so fill your heart that you take your mind off the Lord and set your heart on your wealth, that you devote your prayers to your stomach. A sumptuous mansion in Silver Lakes or Sandton and sushi parties with Kenny Kunene is something many of us may secretly lust after. But such blessing comes also with such great curses that one wonders whether it might not be better to stay in a shack and have nothing to eat but mopani worms. For when the stomach is bloated and full, it is easy to forget the Lord. [14.17] When want becomes need, and need becomes have, then have also becomes deserve, and deserve becomes pride, and pride worships no god but the great false golden god ego. As the saying goes, be careful of what you wish for – you just might get it. To put it plainly: The great prophet Moses warns God’s people that the curse of blessing might well mean spiritual – and therefore eternal – death.
The great church father Tertullian preached on this text and commented (I paraphrase): “God made it so that those who eat a lot and who always want to eat more, who are greedy and have voracious appetites, that the wealth they grab and the riches they seize will not satisfy them but make the appetite only ever greater. Israel replaced God with God’s blessings, and they pulled them away from God. Their wealth made theirs heart dull, and their ears heavy, and their eyes blind; so they could no longer see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. (Isa 6:10) This is why God expressly forbade his people from eating fat: (Lev. 3:17) So that the fat would not make them so full and dull that they have no room for God. Here God was teaching man not to be studious of the stomach.” Tertullian, On Fasting, VI, ANF 4:105.
Yes, dear students, the blessing you want may well come with potential curses you don’t want. But by the same token, the “curse” you have may well be a blessing. As the people of Israel stand there by the river – tired, weary after 40 years of wandering, without milk and honey, having long lived in a land of snakes and scorpions and thirsty ground and little water, a land of permanent heat wave and rocky barrenness – who would ever want to live in a place like that? And for 40 years! Surely they wanted to forget such horror as quickly they could – in his Famous Last Words, Moses tells them: Don’t forget. Remember the hardship and your suffering. Because this “curse” was God’s blessing to you. He humbled you, so that you would trust only in Him to lead and guide, to feed and provide. He was testing your heart, to see what was in it. Your father was disciplining you for your good. So it is with you in your life. You might well look on what is hard in your life and wonder when it will end, look at your suffering and your lack and need, and wonder whether God has forgotten you, hates you, is cursing you. Dear saints, listen to Moses. Here in his Famous Last Words he shows you this is not so, and the NT backs him up. What son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Heb. 12) If there were no discipline in your life – hardship, testing, endurance – then it means you are fatherless, there is no father in your life who loves you and shapes you and molds you as his own true child. Much that you look on as curse is in fact blessing.
Yes, and then we consider in this week of temptation and in this time of fasting what is the food of God’s people. Moses reminds the people of the manna God gave them every morning. Manna literally means “Man hu?” “What is this?” The people did not know what they received from God’s hand. The Lord had to open their eyes and show them. But always there was enough for just one day, not more. They got each day their daily bread. Here again the Lord was teaching them through His blessing and care. Their hunger kept them close to Him, the bread bound them to Him. [3] The manna was a daily lesson that the Israelites could not feed themselves, could not provide for themselves, dare not turn away from the Lord; they had to trust Him to give them their daily bread, and they had no choice but to rely on Him completely. It is no different with you and me. Jesus teaches us to pray: Give us this day our daily bread. Food for this day, trust in the Lord always. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. God’s Word is no Famous Last Word, but an eternal, living Word that is your true food. Think here of the words of Jesus at his temptation, as he fights Satan for you, a fight that came down to the finish at the cross. Draw strength from his life-giving word for your own times of temptation. Draw nourishment and strength and healing and zeal and life itself from Christ, who is the living Word of God, the personal Famous Last Word, if you will, and give thanks that this Word is eternal – the famous last Word because HE is the first Word, the Word of eternity, fed to you in His supper as nourishment for eternity.
Hear the words of St. Ambrose as he teaches those who would become pastors, directing them to good will: “It is therefore a good thing for us to be bedewed [i.e. to be given the manna that falls with morning dew by means of] the exhortations of the divine Scriptures, and that the word of God should come down upon us like the dew. When, therefore, you sit at the table of that great man, understand who that great man is. Set in the paradise of delight and placed at the feast of wisdom, think of what is put before you! The divine Scriptures are the feast of wisdom, and the single books the various dishes. Know, first, what dishes the banquet offers, then stretch forth your hand, that those things which you read, or which you receive from the Lord you God, you may carry out in action, and so by your duties you may show forth the grace that was granted you.”
I began with Famous Last Words; I would like to end with Famous Last Words. The famous inventor Thomas Edison supposedly said: “It is very beautiful over there.” Our own dear Dr. Martin Luther’s Famous Last Words were: “We are all beggars. This is true.” Yes, it is, but we are rich beggars, for we sit at the table of a great man who fills our pockets daily with goods. Let us then live as beggars by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord and be good Lutherans, having as if we did not have, possessing as ones who are possessed and as if we did not possess anything, stewards of God’s bounty, hungry for God’s bread, and answering God’s grace with good works that direct others to the Lord’s Famous Last Words and the bread of his grace we receive from him daily. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Karl Böhmer
Through his prophet Isaiah the living God promises: “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” (Isa 55:3 KJV)
And St. Paul hands on the holy account of that blessed history he himself was told and which is celebrated in the Christian church ever since: “After the same manner also our Lord Jesus Christ took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1Co 11:25 KJV)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always +
Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: In this mornings reading we are reminded of the great things and saving miracles our Lord God and creator of all has done especially to his servant Israel, but also to his one holy Christian Church. Today the focus is on his abiding covenant which he made not just with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but also with their children and children’s children in more than a thousand generations. It is the covenant, which has its binding power and enduring fulfilment in the very faithfulness of our God and his great mercy and goodness. Not even the unfaithfulness of the receiving party can make this undone. Rather even when heaven and earth pass away God’s gracious promise and merciful favour will not cease or depart from us. Rather God’s word remains forever and therefore also his most stable and abiding covenant of mercy, forgiveness and eternal life. That is why God’s covenant with us is not so much a partnership between two equal parties depending on the strength and power of both, rather it more of a testament instituted and grounded by the almighty and lasting faithfulness of God. He thus ensures and guarantees the permanence of this institution and testament with his own longevity and lasting stability and durability.
In the night, when our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ was betrayed, he instituted his new testament of his most holy and precious body and blood for us Christians to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins. He invited us and said: “Drink of it all of you!” “This blood is shed for your for the remission of all your sins.” Nothing can stand up against it, dent or cancel the loving goodness and forgiving mercy of our Lord, which is shared for us in this holy cup of salvation and everlasting life. All sin is washed away. All transgressions are forgiven. All iniquities subsumed are now cancelled and nailed to the cross, which no longer is only a sign of accursing for us, but rather it is now also the high throne of the Lamb of God’s glorification, the revered place of our propitiation, redemption and sanctification too. There is no forgiveness without the shedding of innocent blood, but where there is forgiveness of sins there you find blessed life and salvation.
We eat and drink the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in this most holy sacrament. The gift of his grace and enduring mercy. So that we never forget how much it cost him, that we are saved, but also that we taste and see, how friendly and forgiving and merciful he is. If he didn’t spare his only begotten Son, but rather gave him into this sacrificial death so that by his vicarious death in our stead and for our sins, we would live instead of die and be condemned forever, and by his resurrection we would also be drawn into the new and sanctified creation where he is all and everything now and forever. This wonderful and miraculous exchange happened objectively there on Golgotha and through the awesome resurrection on Easter, but it also happens subjectively wherever we are baptized into his death and raised by his glorious resurrection, wherever we by God’s goodness and mercy hear and believe his promise of him doing this for us and our salvation, where we eat and drink his most holy sacrament instituted by him and practiced in the way he ordered it most right, good and salutary – there he does and fulfills the promises of his holy covenant, that he doesn’t hold our sins against us, but rather forgives, heals and lets us life with him now and forever.
Thanks and praise be to him our God and savior, he our Lord and king, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit – one God now and forever. Amen.
The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.
1. O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee,
In thanksgiving bow before Thee.
Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish
Our weak souls that they may flouish:
O Lord, have mercy!
May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary,
That our sins and sorrows did carry,
And Thy blood for us plead
In all trial, fear, and need:
O Lord, have mercy!
2. Thy holy body into death was given,
Life to win for us in heaven.
No greater love than this to Thee could bind us;
May this feast thereof remind us!
O Lord, have mercy!
Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain Thee
That Thy blood should bless and sustain me.
All our debt Thou hast paid;
Peace with God once more is made:
O Lord, have mercy.
3. May God bestow on us His grace and favor
To please Him with our behavior
And live as brethren here in love and union
Nor repent this blest Communion!
O Lord, have mercy!
Let not Thy good Spirit forsake us;
Grant that heavenly-minded He make us;
Give Thy Church, Lord, to see
Days of peace and unity:
O Lord, have mercy!
Author: Martin Luther 1483 -1564 and melody: “Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet”
“What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10 KJV)
“God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1Co 10:13 KJV)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always +
Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: In this mornings reading we read the apostle St. Paul’s encouraging assurance that the living God is faithful and that he will not push us over the cliff. He doesn’t want us to fall victim to temptation, but rather be strengthened and edified by it. So even if we fall off that cliff, he’s there to catch us.
Job went through very deep waters. Lost not only his possessions, but also his sons and daughters and finally his health and well-being. Reason enough to despair. Yet, he does not curse God and die. He commits all and everything to God in the knowledge, that he himself is not omnipotent like our heavenly Father nor omniscient like him either. That is why some things are just impossible for us and do remain in the dark for us too. We’re not God, but just his creatures and entirely dependent on him. That is why the first commandment has absolute priority: We must love, trust and fear God above all else – and have no other gods besides him.
As long as we believe that God is out to get us, so long we will flee, shun and even hate him. It’s our sinful disbelief and mistrust that is the root cause of our dismal situation as outcasts from paradise and strangers and even enemies of God. Somewhat like Luther, who struggled with the just God until he was shown the gospel light, that this divine justice does not primarily just condemn him, but rather it’s God’s powerful means to justify him rather with the foreign righteousness of Christ, who is the propitiation of our sins and the vicarious sacrifice for our salvation and deliverance – outside of us and purely by grace and God’s overriding favour and mercy. In the same way God does not use his almighty power and absolute foreknowledge to harm, destroy and condemn us, but rather to save, deliver and bless us in eternity. That’s what God’s good and merciful will is all about – that he wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.
Job was shown that. St. Paul taught that in his preaching and teaching, his writing and living. Obviously we need to see the big picture for this and not be too shortsighted either. For some of these things, we will only see once we are on the other side of death and beyond the ultimate judgement of God, when he has finally brought to completion his work of salvation and justice. Then, when he will have wiped off all tears and healed all our diseases, after he has raised the dead from the graves – all those martyrs and holy innocents, those aborted children and murdered imbeciles, victims and all and everyone – to face his absolute just and righteous verdict. Before that there’s a lot of injustice and many wrongs and terrible pains and innocent sufferings too. This will tempt many to loose faith and hope and love, because they don’t believe in God’s help and salvation anymore. Yet, God is faithful and he will find a way to make his promises come true. Therefore we should rather despair of our own means and faculties, our own thoughts and ideas, our deapest fears and anxieties and rather look up to Jesus Christ – who is the author and perfector of our faith, hope and life – in this life and the next. Thanks and praise be to him our Father and savior, Lord and king, who lives and reigns one God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.
Hans A.Brorson 1694-1764 translated Ditlef G. Ristad (“Der lieben Sonne Licht und Pracht”)
Watchword for this first week in Lent: For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1.John 3:8b)
Psalm of this week: „He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.“ (Ps.91:1-2.11-12)
The readings for this first Sunday in Lent (Invocavit) are:
The liturgical colour is purple.
The hymn for this week is from the Lutheran Hymnal 262:
Martin Luther 1483-1546
We pray with this collect: „O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer and stretch out the right hand of Your majesty to defend us from them that rise up against us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (TLH 62)
Wilhelm's space 