Blessed - November 2, 2025 - All Saints’ Day - Text: Matthew 5:1-12

Today we celebrate All Saints’ Day. This does not mean that we give undue credit or glory to those faithful family members and friends who have fallen asleep in faith, but it does mean that we place their lives before us as an example of how we are to live the Christian faith. As we remember the saints who have gone on before us we remember that they too were at the same time sinner and saint, just like us. We also take the time to be reminded that by faith in Jesus Christ we are all saints. As we go around the room we might call each other by our sainted name, Saint Shirley, Saint Pat, Saint Jon, Saint (place your name here) and that would continue for each one of us. As saints, then, heaven is not just something we look forward to, it is a present reality. By faith in Jesus, His life, suffering, death on the cross and resurrection, we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Heaven is ours now, it is just that we will have to wait until we fall asleep in faith from this life until we will awaken in our heavenly home.
 

This morning our text is what we call the Beatitudes, or the statements of blessing from Jesus. Before we get to these statements of Jesus let us take a few minutes to remind ourselves what is the world’s idea of being blessed. And I will use what may be the world’s term for blessed as success. I hope we have all at least heard about these various items from time to time. Being blessed according to the standards of this world means having riches. Wealth and money is a sign of worldly success. The more money one has, the more successful they appear to be, at least in the eyes of the world.
 

Another indicator of success in our world is power. Power is a sign of worldly success. The more powerful one is, or the more powerful they seem to the world, the more successful they appear to be, again, at least in they eyes of the world.
 

A third indicator of success in our world is fame. Being famous is a sign of worldly success. The more famous one is, the more successful they appear to be, again, at least in the eyes of the world.
 

Yet, as we have been reminded time and again, these worldly signs of success are not necessarily indicative that a person is successful, because, as we know, as we have heard stated and read about, some of the most wealthy, most powerful and most famous people are also some of the most depressed. Jesus has a different idea and understanding of being successful and that is where we now turn our attention.
 

Beginning at verse three, Jesus’ idea of being blessed begins with admitting our weak faith. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3). Jesus is not talking about simply being poor in spirit, or weak in faith, but admitting that we are in a constant need of having our faith strengthened. Here we might remind ourselves that confirmation was not graduation and that there is always more that we do not know about God than we do know about Him and so we have a constant need to be in His Word, to read our Bible, to be not only in divine service, but also in Bible Class so that we might be strengthened in our faith.
 

Continuing on at verse four, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes being ashamed of and mourning our weak faith. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (v. 4). Jesus is not talking simply about some outward speaking of our weak faith, you know the line, “I know I should be in Bible Class, I know I should read my Bible every day, I know I should be in church every Sunday,” and so forth. No, Jesus is talking about a yearning which comes from the heart, a yearning so deep that it moves us to do something about our weak faith. In other words, we simply cannot help but be where the gifts are given and distributed.
 

In verse five, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes meekly acknowledging one’s part in Jesus’ crucifixion. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (v. 5). Blessed are those who are not arrogant, but who bow their heads in grief because of their sin and their part in Jesus’ death, that Jesus had to die for their sins. This confession means that each one of us confesses, for ourselves, that it was because of my sins that Jesus had to shed His blood and die on the cross. For if we cannot and do not acknowledge our part in Jesus’ death on the cross, then we have no part in Jesus’ resurrection and eternal life. It is this acknowledgment, when it is a faithful and true acknowledgment which gains for us an inheritance in heaven and which leads us into action as we read in verse six.
 

In verse six, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes craving, hungering and thirsting after doing the right thing. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (v. 6). Those who are blessed are those who hunger and thirst after the Word of God, those who truly hunger and thirst after the Lord’s righteousness, and those who strive, with the Lord’s help, for an eternal righteousness and a piety of life. Again, this is something that is so powerful we simply cannot help but want to be where God’s gifts are distributed and given out.
 

So far Jesus has been pointing to us as individuals. We are blessed when we confess and grieve our sins, confess our need to be in His Word, and then hunger and thirst for His word and righteousness. Our confession brings forgiveness, but even more. Here we are reminded that our faith does, or at least should, make a difference in our lives, the way we live, how we speak, what we do and so forth. There is more to our Christian lives than just showing up for church and Bible Class on Sunday morning.
 

In verse seven our attention focuses on our outlook toward others. Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes showing mercy to others even if that mercy is not show back. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (v. 7). Blessed are those who have a deep and sincere concern for the temporal and spiritual needs of their neighbor. Here we might be reminded of the opportunities which the Lord gives to us to be merciful to others, specifically to our guest who come to divine service with us and especially those who have no home church.
 

In verse eight, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes being pure in heart, thinking pure thoughts. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (v. 8). This is the opposite of hypocrisy which is acting like a Christian, but not believing. Are our thoughts on ourselves or on those who have not yet heard the message of Jesus and salvation? Are our thoughts continually on this world and our lives in this world, or on the world to come and our being ready for the world to come and getting others ready?
 

In verse nine, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes seeking to bring peace among ourselves and others. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (v. 9). This is not a peace which comes from compromising one’s faith and beliefs, but a peace which has at its center Jesus Christ. Maybe you have seen the sign or the bumper sticker, “No (N-O) Jesus, No (N-O)Peace, Know (K-N-O-W) Jesus, Know (K-N-O-W) Peace.” Apart from Jesus and apart from faith in Him we cannot know or have true peace. Remember, true peace comes only from sins forgiven so without Jesus there is no forgiveness and no true peace.
 

In verse ten, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes suffering persecution because of our faith. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 10). It is our spiritual righteousness, our moral character, our exclusive claim that there is one way and only one way to eternal life, which makes us Christians stand out and “look” aloof to the world and thus that is why we are hated by the world. When we make the Lord’s righteousness ours and when we adopt our Lord’s intolerant attitude toward sin then we can no longer be accepted by our unrighteous and, ironically enough by our, so called, tolerant society. Do you want to know if you are really a Christian or not? Check to see if you are loved or hated by the world.
 

Finally in verse eleven, Jesus’ idea of being blessed includes suffering, being insulted, falsely accused and spoken against. In His own words Jesus says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (v. 11). Here Jesus names a few forms of hatred which will be bestowed on “practicing” Christians. It is our honor and distinction to suffer in His interest and because of His name. As Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (v. 12). As Christians we still have an irrepressible joy, because no matter how much the world might hate us, no matter how much the world might persecute us, this hatred and persecution is nothing compared to the glory which is ours in heaven.
 

This morning we see a stark difference in our focus and in the focus of the world. The world’s focus is on the here and now. For those who are in the world and of the world, this is all there is and so life must be lived for the here and now. “You have to grab for all the gusto you can.”
 

Whereas God’s focus is on the now and the not yet, the future, eternity. Our life on this earth is short, from conception and birth to a hundred years or so and then it is over, compared to our life in heaven which is forever and ever and ever, without end. As Christians our focus is not so much on the here and now as on the now and the hereafter. That is why we see the importance of confessing our sins and being given forgiveness, that we confess our weak faith, that we hunger and thirst after the Word of the Lord and His righteousness, that we show mercy and seek ways to share the love of Jesus and His Gospel message with others, so they too might be a part of His kingdom.
 

As we celebrate All Saints Day we celebrate that by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, faith and grace given to us, we are a part of God’s Kingdom and that we have a hope and a certainty for now and for the future. We celebrate the example of all the saints who have gone on before us because they showed their faith in Jesus alone for their salvation, because they hungered and thirsted after righteousness and because their lives are an example to us to be about the business of Jesus in spreading His love and Gospel message to all the world.
 

I like the words of one of the songs we used to sing when I was serving with a group that did weekends for church youth groups while in college, it went, “Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, I want to see my Savior’s face, heaven is a wonderful place, I want to go there.” I pray that this is your song as well so that when our last hour on this earth has come we might all together with all the saints stand before the Lord’s throne and proclaim, “to Him be the glory,” for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Truth and Freedom - October 26, 2025 - Reformation Sunday - Text: John 8:31-36

Happy Reformation Day! Let me begin by confessing that Reformation Day is one of my favorite holy or holidays and I think it is appropriate that we greet each other in this way, “Happy Reformation Day!” This year, Reformation Day is as it always is on October 31, which this year it is on Friday. Reformation Day is the day we celebrate the act of one man, the sainted Dr. Martin Luther, after whom our church denomination is named, who on October 31 in 1517 posted his 95 statements or theses for debate on the town bulletin board, which happened to be the church door. It was this act which set off what we now call the Reformation.
 

Dr. Luther did not suggest that he had found the real church which was lost. He did not suggest that God had given him any new revelation for beginning a new church. He was not trying to form his own new church, rather he was trying to make his old church, the Roman Catholic church of his day, aware of what he knew were false teachings and false doctrines which were being proclaimed, so that the truth of the Gospel might prevail. And if anyone understood these falsehoods, it would be Dr. Luther. Perhaps you have heard his story.
 

Dr. Luther was born to Hans and Margaretta Luther, November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. He began his college education studying law, but at the age of twenty-two a thunderstorm and the death of a friend moved him to make a vow to enter the quiet life of a monk in monastery wherein he also began his studies to become a priest in the church. Young Luther believed that if he worked hard enough, if he studied hard enough, if he stayed out of the public life and could keep from sinning, then he might be able to earn heaven. This teaching is what was being taught in the church during his life and as we will see, this is also what he wanted to reform. In the language of our text for today, Luther became a slave to works righteousness.
 

The “truth” that young Martin Luther was taught and believed was that if you were good enough, if you kept from sinning, if you did what was right, then you would be justified, then you could stand before God as a just person, deserving eternal life and heaven. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately for us, the more young Martin Luther tried to justify himself before God, the more he felt unjust and undeserving. More than once young Dr. Luther fasted to the point of almost starving himself to death. He would beat himself in hopes of appeasing, what he believed to be, an angry, vengeful God. And so, Dr. Luther really kept himself in a vicious cycle of trying to appease God, thinking he had to do more and so he tried to beat himself more, fast more, confess more, and that only made him realize he could not do enough to appease God, so he tried even harder.
 

Young Dr. Luther did not know the truth. He was like many people in our world today. We live in a world where truth, for some, has become relative. What may be true for me may not be true for you and what may be true for you may not be true for me, or so the world would have us believe. Today, in our world, truth is validated, not by facts, but by feeling. If I feel it, it must be true, at least for me. Or truth may be validated by one’s perspective, that is from my point of view this or that is truth, but it may not be true from your point of view. I am here to proclaim to you that there are not many truths, that each one of us does not possess our own individual truth, but that there is one and only one truth. There is only one absolute truth. I know that goes against the world and against our culture, but I, and the whole Christian Church for that matter, cannot do otherwise. The very reason we are in the mess we are in, having various truths, is because we do not know the Truth. In answer to the question of “What is truth?” the only answer we can give is the answer of Truth Himself, that is, that Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Apart from Jesus there is and can be no truth. Why do we have such a problem with truth in our world today? Because we live in a truth-less, Jesus-less world.
 

John tells us, in our Gospel reading, that it is faith in Jesus Christ alone which brings us into all truth and which makes us a part of God’s family. We are not a part of God’s family by physical birth nor DNA. We are not a part of God’s family by who we know. We are not a part of God’s family because we are so good and deserve to be a part. We are only a part of God’s family by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus makes Him our brother and God our Father, then we are a part of the family. When it comes to eternal life in heaven it truly is not what you know, but who you know, or better, who knows you!
 

Young Dr. Luther’s problem was that he was not a part of the family. Young Dr. Luther’s problem was that he was a slave to everything except Jesus. For young Dr. Luther, the Scripture reading, “The just shall live by faith,” meant that he had to be just, he had to live a just life, he had to do what was right in order to stand before God and be declared righteous. It was only after his eyes were open by the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God that Dr. Luther came to understand the truth. The truth is that “the just shall live by faith,” means that we are declared just and right before God, not by our own accord, but by faith in Jesus Christ. We, you and I, can never do enough good things, we could never fast enough, we could never beat ourselves enough, we could never do anything enough in order to pay the price, to work off the cost of what our sins have earned. And believe me, our sins have earned plenty. We are born in sin and daily we add to our sin. And the cost of our sin, the wage of our sin is death, eternal death, hell. Maybe, before we turn to the Gospel, too quickly, we need to spend some time with young Dr. Luther in the Law. We need to spend more time in the Law, because until we realize that left to ourselves we are deserving of nothing less than eternal life in hell, the Gospel will mean little or nothing to us. To young Dr. Luther the thought of deserving hell was devastating and that is what drove him to do all he could to redeem himself. Perhaps we might need to spend time contemplating our destiny apart from Jesus Christ, because, you see, a part from Jesus Christ, we are, you and I are, deserving of eternal death in hell. And that ought to be pretty scary for us.
 

But there is good news. The good news is that hell is what Jesus suffered for us, for you and for me, in our place. Jesus took all our sins upon Himself and paid the price, the wage, the cost for our sin. He suffered eternal death for us. That is what young Dr. Luther realized when he came to a proper understanding that, “the just shall live by faith,” means that we are made just in God’s eyes by faith. By faith Jesus’ life becomes our life. By faith Jesus’ suffering becomes our suffering, by faith Jesus’ death becomes our death. And by faith Jesus’ resurrection becomes our resurrection. Notice that it is no longer we who are doing anything, but it is Jesus who is doing the doing.
 

When Dr. Luther understood the Gospel, that Gospel set him free. Dr. Luther understood that no amount of fasting, no amount of beating himself, no amount of anything could pay for his sins. No amount of money could pay for his sins. His sins, the cost, the wage, the price for his sins had been paid, in full, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. Dr. Luther rejoiced in his new found freedom in the Gospel and from that day forward began boldly to proclaim that same freedom to others who, like him, were devastated by the constraints of the Law.
 

Which brings us back to our Reformation celebration. You see, as Dr. Luther grew in his faith and understanding of the truth of the Gospel, he began more and more to see the false teachings which had made their way into the church of his day. You might say that the straw that broke the camel’s back was the selling of indulgences, that is the selling of the forgiveness of sins. The story goes that on one of his walks through town, Dr. Luther stumbled over one of his parishioners who was on the ground drunk as a skunk. When Dr. Luther told him that he would be waiting for him to come to confession later in the week, the man held up a piece of paper and boldly stated that he did not need to come to confession anymore because he had paid good money for his sins to be taken care of. In other words, he had paid money for his sins to be forgiven so he no longer had to worry about sin, instead, he could live life as he wished with no repercussions, or so he thought.
 

It was this event as well as many other similar events which stirred Dr. Luther to sit down and write his 95 theses or statements for debate. These statements were written in Latin, the language of the educated, because he was looking to debate these concerns with others who were educated in the theology and teachings of the church. His sole intent was to correct and to reform what he knew were some false teachings of the church. He knew that church would be full on All Saints day, November 1, so on the eve of all Saints Day, on All Hallow’s Eve as it is called or as it has been mispronounced today on Halloween, he posted his statements for debate.
 

You might remember that a man named Gutenberg had invented what is called the printing press at about this time, about 50 years earlier and so Dr. Luther’s statements were quickly translated into German, the language of the people, printed and distributed for everyone to read and that is what started what we now call the reformation.
 

I believe there is an adage which reminds us that we need to study and be mindful of our past history lest we are doomed to repeat such history. We live in a world not unlike the world of Dr. Luther’s day. We live in a world where it is believed by many that it is our character, it is our good deeds, it is our sincerity of faith, our living an obedient life,  it is our living as God’s people which will bring us to some sort of eternal existence. Jesus tells us that we are saved by His grace alone, through faith in Him alone. Both faith and the object of faith are important. It is our faith which brings us the truth. It is our faith which makes us members of Jesus’ family. It is our faith which makes us the people we are, little Christ’s or Christians. We are to have faith as a child, not trusting in anything of our own, being completely helpless, but trusting and clinging to Jesus alone who sets us free.
 

In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus is dealing with His own people, the Jews, who had similar beliefs to the people of our world today, people who believed they were saved by pointing to themselves. The Jews believed they were saved by their DNA by being born Jewish. Today people believe they are saved by pointing to themselves as well, by their good deeds. Just as Jesus reminded the Jews of His day so He reminds us today, we are not saved when we point to ourselves. Jesus points us to where we are saved, outside ourselves to Him and Him alone. Jesus said it best in our Gospel reading when He said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” As His disciples, being given faith, through the waters of Holy Baptism, strengthened and kept in faith through His means of grace, the Lord’s Supper, holding on to His teaching, the very Word of God, and being given forgiveness of sins, through Confession and Absolution and knowing that with forgiveness is life and salvation, we rejoice and say, to God be the glory. Thus, we rejoice and celebrate this day we call Reformation Day. We give thanks for the work of Dr. Martin Luther, but even more we give thanks for a clear understanding of our salvation, pointing, not to self but to Jesus and Jesus alone. Indeed we are sons of God, set free by the Son of God so we are free indeed. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Humble Service - October 12,2025 - Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity - Text: Luke 14:1-10

God gives and we are given to and as I have said many times, our purpose in life is to be love by God and to be given to by Him. God gives life at conception. God gives new life, faith and eternal life through the waters of Holy Baptism. God gives gifts, talents and abilities, even our vocations and careers. And our response of faith is to live our lives as living sacrifices, to serve God by serving others. This morning by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God, which is His usual way of working in our lives, we will hear Jesus teach us concerning our humble acts of service to Him in our serving others.
 

Our text begins with verse one, explaining that Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee, “1One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6And they could not reply to these things” (v. 1-6). Interestingly enough, as we read in this opening verse, we are told that the Pharisees were watching Jesus carefully. They were watching, waiting, even hoping that He might “slip up” so that they might somehow catch Him and be able to accuse Him of something, anything. Because Jesus is omniscient, that is because He is all knowing, perhaps His knowing they were watching Him is why He intentionally questions them concerning healing on the Sabbath and because of their refusal to answer, He does heal the man and then uses their smugness and lack of an answer to teach them which He does through the parable.
 

Now, remember, we were told in verse one that the Pharisees were watching Jesus. In verse seven of our text we are told, “7Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this person,” and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you’” (v. 7-10). In verse one we were told that the Pharisees were watching Jesus and now in verse seven we are told that it is Jesus who was observing those around Him.
 

And what is Jesus noticing? He is noticing that the people who were invited to the party were coming in and taking the seats of honor. Now there is nothing wrong with taking the seat of honor, especially if you were invited to sit in the seat of honor. After noticing what was going on, Jesus tells a parable to explain what He is noticing and what might happen.
 

In the parable we are told how someone might be invited to a party and thinking they are the honored guest they might take the seat of honor. However, if this one is not the honored guest, then the host of the party will come to them and asked them to move down to a lower seat and in so doing they would be humiliated, or humbled. In the same way, the one taking the lower seat, would be asked to move up to a higher seat, even to the seat of honor and in so doing they will be honored in front of everyone.
 

Jesus ends this parable with a statement of truth, verse eleven, “11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”” (v. 11). Certainly we understand these words in our world today. How often it is that we might think we are the honored guest and take the seat of honor only to be humbled and perhaps humiliated when we are asked to take a lower seat. And how often are we honored when we show a real humility about ourselves and take a lower seat only to be asked to move up to the seat of honor. How true it is that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
 

I cannot say if Jesus intended to quote the Proverb lesson for today or not, but His word certainly do sound like they come from our Old Testament lesson. Of course, we understand that Jesus is God and is the author of the Old Testament as well, so perhaps He did have in mind this verse from Proverbs when He told His parable. Above all, please make note that Jesus’ words are not just for the Pharisees He is addressing. His words are to us today. I will say that I know from personal experience that His words are true, if we exalt ourselves we will be humbled, and if we humble ourselves we will be exalted. And remember that the ultimate exalting and humbling will be done on the day of Judgement.
 

Interestingly enough, the three year lectionary series continues with Jesus speaking to the host of the gathering, we pick up at verse twelve. “12He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (v. 12-14).
 

True charity is not simply inviting those who you know will invite you over and in so doing repay you. True charity, true Christian charity, true charity in God’s eyes is not what most of us do, most of the time. And let me say that does not mean that there is anything wrong with having friends over, even if you know that they will invite you back over to their house on another occasion. It is certainly God pleasing to share in fellowship of food and company of fellow Christians, family and friends. Yet, our text is speaking about true Christian charity which is not simply inviting those who repay you by inviting you back over to their place. True Christian charity is inviting those who cannot repay, those you know cannot repay.
 

And the great thing about true Christian charity is the fact that it has a reward, not on earth, but in heaven. As we exchange having family and friends over and going over to their homes, that is its own reward. Yet, true Christian charity of giving to those who cannot repay has its reward in heaven.
 

Not only is there a connection to our Old Testament reading for this morning, but there is also a connection to our epistle lesson for this morning. Paul urges us, “1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3).
 

It all begins with faith which reflects in our attitude, our humble attitude, which reflects in our actions, and finally which reflects in our works of service. James reminds us that “faith without works is dead.” Yet, the heart of works is faith which motivates such works. And Jesus here reminds us that our works come from a humble attitude of putting others first.
 

So, we ask, what does this mean? or what lessons might we learn today? Certainly the greatest lesson we can learn is the lesson of Jesus’ own life. Jesus humbled Himself. He gave up the glory that was His in heaven. And think about it, as God, He certainly was enjoying great glory in heaven, yet He gave up His glory in heaven in order to take on human flesh and blood, to become one of us. Jesus shows His humility in the fact that His first crib was a manger, a feeding trough for animals. He further shows His humility in that He did not come to be served, but to serve. His greatest show of humility was to humble Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross for our sins.
 

Jesus shows true charity in giving His life for us, knowing that we cannot repay and that is precisely why He gave His life because He knew we could not repay. By the giving of His life, Jesus gives us forgiveness of sins and with forgiveness we have life and salvation. And now, here in our text Jesus also gives us instruction in faith, that is that faith shows itself in humility. Faith shows itself in putting others first, in giving and especially in giving when we know we cannot be repaid.
 

Faith shows itself in service and in works of service. These are not works which we do in order to attempt to repay Jesus for all He has done, nor to try to minimize the fact that we owe Him our very lives, but these are works of service done in response to all that He has done, does and continues to do for us.
 

At Christmas time, do we give gifts or do we normally exchange presents? Perhaps this practice or tradition might be something to think about now, before Christmas gets here. I would suggest that our normal way of doing things at Christmas is that we gather at someone’s home and we exchange presents. And this exchanging presents with one another we do to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. How would we like it if everyone came to our birthday party to celebrate our birthday and exchanged presents and we received nothing? And please understand, I believe exchanging presents can be a great expression of love as well. That is not the point I am trying to make, nor the point Jesus is trying to make. The point is that exchanging present for present, invite for invite, meal for meal, is not really charity. Real charity is giving with out expecting and without receiving in return. Real charity is what Jesus gives to us, His life for ours.
 

So, in response of faith and in response to all our Lord has done for us and given to us, might I suggest that this Christmas, since it is still early and you have plenty of time to prepare. This Christmas, along with our usual exchange of presents, perhaps we might think of something to do that is more fitting of Jesus’ words in our text. Something, such as giving a gift to someone we know will not be able to repay us, perhaps even doing it anonymously so there would be no guilt or less guilt on the part of the recipient. Perhaps even giving a gift to the Lord in some fashion or another. And as we make this unusual gift, might we remind ourselves to do it in humility, without telling anyone, so that our reward is indeed not on this earth, but in heaven.
 

God gives and we are given to, our purpose in life is to be love by God and to be given to by Him. God gives life at conception. God gives new life, faith and eternal life through the waters of Holy Baptism. God gives forgiveness of sins through His Word, through Holy Absolution and His Holy Supper. And God gives to us and stirs in us our response of faith to live our lives as living sacrifices, to serve God by serving others. God has indeed done great things for us and certainly He expects nothing in return from us. Instead of our meeting His expectation, of giving Him nothing in return, my prayer for each of us is that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we might live our lives of faith in humble service to others and thus to Him, and as we do so we are boldly professing our faith saying, “To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake.” Amen.

God’s Election of Unsophisticated People - September 14, 2025 - Holy Cross Sunday - Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Our text for this morning is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and for our sakes this morning I am not stopping at verse twenty-five, but I want to include the verses through verse thirty-one because I believe they are essential in helping us to understand the wisdom and power spoken of in our text.
 

In our Epistle lesson, Paul is writing to the Christians at the church in Corinth, and again, I remind you, that at the same time, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he is writing to us Christians here at St. Thomas Lutheran Church September 14, 2025. He is writing to you and me. A few verses before our text Paul expresses the concern and the fact, that outside of the church, that is, outside of faith in Jesus, the message of the cross is foolishness. Yes, Paul is writing to us today. Today we live in a world where tolerance is key to survival, that is unless you appear to be tolerant, then no one is tolerant to you, so much for tolerance. Have you ever noticed how the people who yell for tolerance the most are very often intolerant to those who are unlike them? Today we live in a world where we are encouraged to be our own people, to be original (like everyone else), to be your own person. We are encouraged to believe whatever we want to believe, as a matter of fact, it was not too long ago that an article in a newspaper, in the religious section enthusiastically spoke about people taking bits and pieces from several different religions and made their own religion, and this was presented as a good thing. And so, in our society today we are encouraged to do whatever we want to do, to be ourselves. The problem is, when the Christian, that is when you and I, come into contact with the rest of the world. Jesus tells us, and we believe Him, that He is the only way, the only truth and the only life and that apart from Him and faith in Him there is no salvation. So, when we express this fact to our tolerant society, we are seen as intolerant and foolish. Well, how would it be if the world acknowledged that the Christians were right? That would be devastating for them. No, we are considered foolish because the rest of the world does not want to give up living the way they want to live.
 

With that said, let us get to our text. In our text, Paul calls us to think about our own existence before we were called to faith. For many of us that was just before our Baptism and right after we were born, but for some that was when you were older. Paul says, that not many of us were wise, at least not by human standards. Today the human standard for wisdom is marked by tolerance and open mindedness. We are not considered wise because we cannot see past our own intolerance and praise others for their open mindedness and diversity. The world looks down on us and thinks, “if only the Christians could see and understand that there is an existence apart from Jesus. If only they could see how there are many paths to the same goal of eternal enlightenment.” Yes, according to the world, we are not considered wise.
 

Paul also calls us to think about our influence. The real word in our text is the word “power.” By human standards we are not very influential or powerful. Here again the words “tolerance, open mindedness, and diversity,” DEI are the words our world likes to hear. The world does not like to hear the words we speak from the Bible, “the (one) way, the (one) truth, the (one) life, eternal life.” And so, according to the world, we are not considered influential or powerful.
 

Paul calls us to think about our nobility. By human standards we are not noble. I would guess that Paul knew the people to whom he was writing, but even in our world today, there are not many people who are noble or for whom nobility is an issue any more. But, according to the previous standards, because we are not wise nor are we influential or powerful, we certainly could not be considered to be of noble birth.
 

“But,” Paul continues, and here I am wondering if he had not been reading the Gospel of Matthew, because in his Gospel Matthew gives what we call the beatitudes in which Jesus points out the difference in the way God sees things and the way the world sees things. And so, Paul also points out this difference. Paul says that God chose the foolish and weak to humble (that is to shame) the wise and strong. First, notice who is doing the work, who is doing the action. As my favorite professor always put it, and as I always say, “who is running the verbs.” It is not we who are choosing God, but it is God who is choosing us. God has chosen us, those who are, at least according to the world, foolish and weak. In the beatitudes from Matthew’s Gospel we would add Jesus’ words, that God has chosen us who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness. God has chosen those who acknowledge, confess and repent of their sins. In Divine Service Setting One and Two, from John’s Gospel we confess, “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This morning in Setting Three we confessed, “I, a poor miserable sinner.” If we are so high and mighty, if we think more highly of ourselves and believe we have no sins to confess, then we get no forgiveness, because failure to confess is gift refusal. That is how it is with the wise and strong of this world who think they have no sin.
 

Paul continues by saying that God chose the lowly and despised. Here we are reminded of the difference between the way we and the world look at things and the way that God looks at things. When we and the world  look at things we are left to look at the outside. God looks at the inside, at the heart. Very often we have a hard time looking past the exterior of an individual, but God always looks into the heart.
 

Paul says that God chose the things that are not, the nobodies, to nullify the things that are. Here again we see the difference between the thoughts and wisdom of the world and the thoughts and wisdom of God. God looks into our hearts and sees us dirty, rotten to the core sinners, enemies of Him who are out doing all we can to run away from Him, turn others away from Him and give Him as much grief as possible. Yet, for us there is hope.
 

However, before we move on, let us put Paul’s words into how we might say this today. Today, Paul might say something like, “You see what happened, fellow Christians, when God called you, not many of you were wise or in positions of power or influence, nor were you famous, nor were you born of special parents, at least not according to the point of view of the world. Instead, God chose the foolish things of this world in order to put those who are worldly wise to shame. God chose the weak things of this world in order to put those who are worldly strong to shame. God chose the lowly things, the despised things, the nothing things and the nobodies of this world in order to do away with those things the world thinks are something.” By ourselves, left to follow the ways of the world, we would reject Jesus and we would be eternally condemned. By ourselves we would have no hope.
 

Thanks be to God that Paul is not done. He goes on to tell us why God did what He did. In telling us why God did what He did Paul also tells us how we are saved. God did what He did “so that no one may boast before Him.” We cannot boast about our coming to faith in Jesus. We cannot boast about our choosing Jesus as our Savior. We cannot boast about our dedicating our lives to the Lord. We cannot boast about how good we are or how good we think we are or how we are good at being the people God would have us to be. All we can boast about is in what the Lord has done for us. We cannot boast because it is by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved. It is Jesus who gives us faith and He does that through His means of grace. It is Jesus who calls us to faith through the Word and the Sacraments. It is Jesus, who through the Word and the Sacraments comes to us to gives us His good gifts and blessings. Here we are  reminded of the importance of making regular and diligent use, every Sunday and every day, of the means of grace. But Paul is not done yet. Next he outlines the gifts of wisdom which Jesus gives.
 

Through the means of grace Jesus gives us the gift of righteousness. This is not our righteousness, for apart from Jesus we are left in our sins and we are completely unrighteous. By faith in Jesus, faith given to us, His righteousness, earned by His suffering and death, has become our righteousness. We are justified, that is we are made “just as if I’d never sinned,” in God’s eyes, simply by believing in Jesus and His death for us.
 

But there is more. By faith in Jesus we are given the gift of holiness. Here we understand that what happens after we are made just and right in God’s eyes is that the Holy Spirit comes into our lives in order to help us to do the good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do, which works are a part of our holiness, our sanctification, our continuing to grow in our Christian faith and life.
 

And still more, by faith in Jesus we are given the gift of redemption. To redeem something means to trade it. Certainly some of you remember the S & H Green stamps of old. You go to the store. For so many purchases you received so many stamps. Once you filled a book of stamps you would take it to the redemption center where you would redeem or trade your stamps for some merchandise. Today you collect points on your app and cash them in. It is similar with us. Jesus redeemed us, traded His life, His blood, His suffering and dying for us, for our life, for our eternal life.
 

So, were is the boasting? There is no boasting. Oh, sure, we may boast, in that we rejoice and give thanks to God for His indescribable gifts. We may boast in the fact that it is God who chose us. It is God who put His name on us. It is God who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. It is God who put His name on us at Holy Baptism. It is God who put faith in our hearts through His means of grace, His Word and His Sacraments. It is God who gives us faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. It is God who gives us the whole lot of His gifts and a whole lot more. Have you been noticing who is running the verbs?
 

Yes, we can boast but only in the Lord. And as we see, it is easy to boast in the Lord. To boast in the Lord means to take the I and me out of the subject line of all our sentences and to put in the name, Jesus. To boast in the Lord is to point to Him in all aspects of our lives. No matter how foolish to the world, no matter how weak or uninfluential it may seem to the world, no matter how lowly or despised, or anything it may appear to the world, we boast in living our lives through our thoughts our words and our actions, as we are living for the Lord.
 

Our God is a great and awesome God. Left to ourselves we would be lost in our own sin. We would be foolish, powerless, lowly and despised. But thanks be to God that He has come to us to call us out of the darkness of our sinful lives. He has called us to faith though His means of Grace. He has given us faith and He continues to strengthen and keep us in faith. Yes, we do boast in the Lord. And most certainly on this Holy Cross Sunday we boast in the cross of Christ our Savior. To Him alone be all Glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.