Sermon: First Sunday in Advent

A Whole New World

Luke 21:25-36

First Sunday in Advent (C), 2009

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.  The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from Luke.

‘And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.’  Then he spoke to them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.’

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christmas is coming.  Are you ready?  Many shoppers on ‘Black Friday’ were out and about to ensure that they will be prepared with gifts for their loved ones.  More and more homes are decorated on the outside already, and the Christmas tree lots are officially open for business.  Few of us might be ready, for instance, if we were to look at the calendar and see that Christmas was tomorrow, but we know that it’s still three and a half weeks away.  We have time and maybe even a plan to have everything ready and in place so that when Christmas arrives, we can joyfully spend it with our loved ones sharing gifts, travelling to see family, and eating a feast or two.  We don’t have to be ready for Christmas to be here tomorrow – December 25^th is plenty of time.  We’ll be ready.

            There is also another kind of preparation that merits our undertaking; we prepare to commemorate of the Nativity of Christ in the manger at Bethlehem.  In our Lord’s humble entry into this world, he came under the Law to be the sacrifice for our sins, and we are prepared for this through the penitential season of Advent.  Singing Advent hymns, praying collects that stir up our hearts to repentance and faith, and hearing the Word of the Lord from the Gospels make us ready to celebrate our Lord’s birth on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Advent may strike us by surprise most years, coming on the heels of the Thanksgiving holiday, but there is no reason to panic during Advent, because this is the time for preparation.  It is as Luther himself wrote in the 13^th verse of the Christmas hymn, ‘From Heaven Above’:

            Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child

            Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,

            A quiet chamber set apart

            For you to dwell within my heart

God alone makes our hearts ready to receive the Lord throughout this season of Advent so that come Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we will celebrate the Incarnation of Christ with joy.  We’ll be ready.

            If only it were so easy to prepare for the coming of the Lord.  It’s described in today’s Gospel and the reading says it all.  The Lord is coming.  Like it or not, ready or not, he is coming.  This is the only passage of Luke in which he speaks of the signs that will accompany the end of the world, and they are not the things humanity is hoping for.  The signs of his coming are startling.  Signs in the sun and moon and stars, anguish in the nations of the earth, the sea and its waves roaring, and the hearts of men failing for fear of what is coming on the earth.  Then, all of humanity, whether they have saving faith in Jesus Christ or not, will see him descending in a cloud with power and glory. 

            We know from the Creed that when he returns in glory, our Lord does so to judge the living and the dead.  Like a book that is open for all to see, there will be no more secrets.  The things we have hidden from our parents, our spouses, and even from our friends and enemies will not be concealed anymore.  When our Lord returns, he will be the judge of all.

            Yet, he also tells us that when we see these things begin to take place, we ought to look up and raise our heads, because our redemption is drawing near.  It almost sounds fanciful to our ears, but our Lord is reminding us that his judgment is not ultimately about the things we have done or not done, but about what we have believed.  Luther tells us that the irony with this passage is that those who ought to be afraid of the Lord’s coming, unbelievers, are not afraid, and those who ought to be rejoicing, believers, are instead terrified.

            What Jesus is promising in this passage is a whole new world which will accompany his return; a new Creation that will not be subject to the corruptibility or passability of this sinful age; a new Creation populated by the whole Christian church of all times and all places.  The heavens and the earth will pass away, but Jesus’ words will never ever pass away.  Just as you know the summer is coming when the leaves begin to appear, so also know that the Lord is coming when these things take place. 

            Jesus also tells us to beware, because the day will come suddenly.  Unlike preparing for Christmas Day in both church and society, when we know that there is time yet before December 25^th to make ourselves and our church ready for the celebration, there are no more warnings yet to come from the Lord before his return.  The rich man could not send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers and family of what was to come.  They had Abraham, and we should expect nothing different.  We had Jesus.  The Lord died on the cross and was raised from the grave.  The time to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is not on your deathbed; it’s not twenty years from now; it’s not even tomorrow.  Our days are numbered, friends.  We may not have a deathbed.  We may not make it twenty more years on this earth.  We might not even make it to tomorrow.

            Preparing for the coming of the Lord is not something we can mark on the calendar and set up a long to-do list so that we are ready by that date, and it is not something we can put off until later – it will come unexpectedly.  We are called to be prepared to meet the Lord every single day!  We prepare for the coming of the Lord by hearing his enduring words and receiving the gifts he gives through them.  The white robes of his righteousness are the only clothes in which we can stand before the Lord and his Holy Communion is the only food that will sustain us into eternity.

            As Advent begins once again, let King David’s prayer in Psalm 39 also be ours.

“Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
 That I may know how frail I am.
Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.

Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.
And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.”

We may not know how many days we have on this earth, we may not know how frail we are, and we may not even know who will gather the riches we have heaped up.  But in faith, we confidently wait for the Lord in whom we have the hope of eternal life.

            To him alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

            The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.

           

Sermon for Thanksgiving Eve

The Great Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Thanksgiving Eve (B), 2009

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.  The Holy Scripture for our consideration is the Gospel reading from St. Luke.

Now it happened as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as he entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’  So when he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’  And he said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I always believed that this particular reading was appropriate for Thanksgiving services because of the thankfulness of the Samaritan Jesus healed from his leprosy.  Upon closer inspection, however, and now having seen and experienced what actually takes place during the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, I realize that this reading is chosen because of all the travelling that takes place with this holiday!  Naturally, with such travelling there are usually happy reunions with family and friends we haven’t seen for a while, and for that we give thanks.

            Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, but he was not taking the direct route – in the reading today he’s somewhere to the northwest of Jerusalem, somewhere in the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  He could have been anywhere between Cana and Mt. Gerizim, but he was on the way toward Jerusalem when he met ten lepers outside a village.  They were outside the village because of their leprosy.  When they saw Jesus, they lifted up their voices and cried out to him, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’  And he did, sending them to the priests, because a priest had to confirm that they were cured and a sacrifice, too, was required.  As they went, they were cleansed.

            One of those lepers was a Samaritan, and it is most likely that the other nine were Jewish.  The Samaritan returned to Jesus and fell down before him in thanksgiving for the miraculous cure of his leprosy.  Jesus wondered aloud why only one had returned to glorify God, and then he blessed him, commending his faith, and sent him on his way.  It’s not only Jesus that travels now, but also the thankful Samaritan who had been healed.

            Now, within the Gospel of Luke there is not only this one, but two accounts of Jesus healing lepers. 

The Gospel reading for tonight, from chapter 17, is very similar to an earlier account in chapter 5.  It reads, ‘And it happened when he was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’  Then [Jesus] put out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And [Jesus] charged him to tell no one, ‘But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.’’  It’s surprisingly similar to our Gospel, which leads one to wonder why both were included in this Gospel. 

            Surely one account of healing a leper would have been sufficient to demonstrate that even leprosy is no match for our Lord’s divine powers to heal.  Jesus’ temptation by the devil is only recorded once in the Gospel of Matthew, but it would be naive of us to assume that he was not, like we are, tormented by Satan throughout his earthly life.  He did not give in to temptation and he was not sinful, but there is no reason to believe that after 40 days in the wilderness the devil would have just given up and allowed Jesus to carry out his ministry without any interference.  One account of that temptation was enough for Matthew to convey the struggle Jesus had with the Devil and the comfort he found in the care of God the Father, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that the same would be true of a healing miracle as specific as cleansing people from leprosy.

            Friends, these two accounts are included not because they were so similar; they exist for us because of their differences!  Imagine you had 5 children, and they all went outside, chopped down a tree, and cut and stacked the wood for you.  All of those children are equally worthy of your praise and thanks for a job well done, but what if only the older four had actually been given that chore and the youngest one had done it out of his own free will.  Or what if the youngest one also happened to be the only girl?  All would remain equally worthy of your praise and thanks for a job well done, but the youngest, especially if she was a girl, would stand out because of the difference.

            It is the same in our Gospel tonight, dear friends – Luke, who was careful to include the events and sayings of Jesus in his Gospel as accurately as possible, saw fit to write two very similar, but not identical accounts.  The difference is not in the result of Jesus’ healing – the lepers are cured every time; the difference between these two accounts lies in the question the lepers asked Jesus as was travelling toward Jerusalem.  In the first episode, the leper fell on his face and asked Jesus for cleansing.  Cleansing is the technical term for being healed from leprosy.  Luke uses that term in both accounts, describing the lepers as having been cleansed, but in this account of the Samaritan, they do not ask the Son of God for cleansing.

            ‘Have mercy on us!’ is their plea.  As Jesus travels closer and closer to Jerusalem and ultimately toward his death on the cross to cleanse the world of sin, those making requests of Jesus are no longer asking for mere temporal cleansing, but for eternal healing.  And as we see in this reading, Jesus grants both.  The Samaritan was cleansed and his life spared from his physical illness, but beyond that, the Lord of life and death had mercy on him and granted him the fullest healing of all – the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life through faith.  He said, ‘Arise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’

            Friends, in the midst of all this travelling taking place around Thanksgiving, let us give thanks to God for the greatest travels of all – Christ’s journey from heaven to earth, from Bethlehem to Calvary, and from death to life, for us.  Jesus has heard our cries for mercy just like he heard the Samaritan’s cries and grants us full healing in his death and resurrection.  Our only response can be to give him thanks and praise for all that he has done for us.

            To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

            The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.

Sermon for the 2nd Last Sunday in the Church Year (One Year LSB)

Come, Inherit the Kingdom

Matthew 25:31-46

2^nd Last Sunday in the Church Year, 2009

Peace Lutheran Church

Alma, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

            Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.       The text for our consideration on this 2^nd Last Sunday in the Church Year comes from the Gospel of St. Matthew, which was just read.  You may be seated.

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'  "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;  'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

This is the text.

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, most of the time when Jesus tells his disciples a parable, they require an explanation.  In fact, most times when Jesus speaks, his disciples require explanation; otherwise, they do not understand Jesus.  Today’s Gospel reading is the last of his Parables of the Kingdom, where Jesus teaches the disciples about the kingdom of heaven, and specifically, about the coming judgment.

            This parable is different from the other Parables of the Kingdom.  The first parable in this chapter of Matthew tells of the ten virgins who were awaiting the coming of the bridegroom.  Five were wise and had extra oil for their lamps to last until the bridegroom would return.  The other five were foolish, bringing only the oil they had in their lamps.  The foolish virgins had to rush to the vendors to buy more oil, and ended up missing the bridegroom when he came.  The door was shut to them and the bridegroom said that he did not know them.  The wedding took place, but those who did not take care to be ready for the bridegroom missed it.  The disciples, and all of us, were to watch, for we know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. 

            The second parable tells of the lord who travelled to a far country, called three of his servants to him, and gave them responsibility over some of his treasure.  One received five talents, another received two talents, and the third received one talent.  The first two engaged in trade and doubled their holdings, but the last was afraid and instead hid it in the ground.  When their lord returned to settle accounts, he was pleased with the first two, telling them that they would be rulers over greater things, and to enter into the joy of their lord.  With the last servant, however, the lord was not pleased.  This servant was so afraid and lazy that he did not even invest his lord’s money with the bankers, so that at the very least he could have some interest to show for his lord’s trust in him.  His lord took the talent from the lazy servant and cast that servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

            Today’s Gospel lesson is the third parable, and unlike the others, it requires little explanation.  For instance, none of us should be surprised that Jesus is going to return in glory and will sit upon a throne in his glory.  We expect that from the Son of Man.  We even look forward to it when we find ourselves suffering in this world.  Two weeks ago was All Saints’ Day, the day we commemorate those of us who have fallen asleep in the faith and who now rest with their Lord.  We suffer when our loved ones are hurt, when they fall ill, and especially when they die.  We look to the coming of the Son of Man because that means the end of this earthly suffering.

            The parable goes on as Jesus tells of the coming judgment.  All of the nations will be gathered before the throne, and they will be separated, one from the other, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  The sheep will be gathered at his right and the goats will be gathered at his left.  This too is quite clear.  To the sheep, the King will say, ‘Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’  To the goats, however, he will say, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, in the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’  The sheep will have everlasting life, and the goats will have everlasting death.

            The rest of the parable, however, is a bit more difficult.  Jesus goes on to describe the sheep and the goats.  The sheep feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, and take in strangers.  They clothe the naked, visit the sick, and come to those in prison.  The goats do otherwise.  The reason this parable becomes difficult is because we want to see ourselves as sheep, but we cannot help thinking that the description of the goats is more accurate of ourselves.  Is Jesus’ accounting of qualifications for the sheep and the goats some kind of eternal checklist, a set of goals for us to accomplish before he returns?  Perhaps we are to perform as many of those things as we can to tip our scales from ‘goat-hood’ to ‘sheep-hood’?  The answer is no, of course.  Neither of those solutions fits the problem, because in both cases we are looking at the wrong thing.

            The day is surely drawing near, dear friends, when God’s Son will return.  The dead will be raised, and each of us will stand before the judgment seat.  Thankfully, however, we will not be concerned about the things we have done or have not done, for the judge does not look at us.  The king, Jesus, does not judge us based on ourselves, otherwise none of us qualifies as a sheep.  The conditions are impossible.  The judgment of God, however, does not fall upon us.  The parable also includes these words.  ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’

            What else has happened from the foundation of the world?  John teaches us in the book of Revelation that the Lamb has been slain from the foundation of the world.  In other words, Christ has been crucified from the foundation of the world, and in that crucifixion, he has redeemed humanity from sin.  The wrath of God’s judgment has been delivered to the Son on the cross from the foundation of the world.  The penalty has been paid and the ransom for humanity has been satisfied.  The fact that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day is proof that his death means life for those who are in him.

            That cross, dear friends, is where we are to look, so that we do not need to wonder whether we are sheep or goats.  All of us are sinful goats by nature, but the Good Shepherd laid down his life to make us his sheep.  Instead of thinking about what we have done or what we have not done to be sure that we are counted as sheep, Jesus demonstrates that he has taken our ‘goat-hood’, our sinfulness, upon himself, and replaced it in us with his ‘sheep-hood’, that is, his righteousness, his forgiveness, his life.

            We do not do the righteous things, but Jesus is the righteous one.  Even though we have failed to be that which were created to be in the Garden of Eden, God sent his only Son to fulfill all righteousness in our place.  When the King looks at us in that day, he will not say that we left him naked and without clothing.  He will instead see that He has given us his own clothing in baptism; a white robe of righteousness.  He will not say that we have not given him food or water.  He will instead see that he has fed us not only our daily bread, but he has also given us the very best food and the very best drink in his body and blood.  We will not be condemned for neglecting him when he was a stranger.  Instead, he will see that he has taken us in when we were not only his strangers – we were his enemies.  We were also the sick ones.  He looked beyond any physical illness that might have been ailing us, and visited himself upon us, healing our most dreadful ailment – death from sin – and replacing it with eternal life.  We were the ones in prison to whom he came, and he released us from our selfish bondage of sin so that we might love him, have faith in him, and love and serve our neighbours as well. 

            On account of Jesus’ giving of himself to us, we are not the goats that our sinful natures try to tell us that we are, we are instead his sheep, and he has made us that way.  So come, dear friends, blessed of the Father in heaven, and inherit the Kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  The sufferings of this world will be over, and our Good Shepherd will have made us free to dwell at his right hand in his pasture, forever.

            To Christ alone be all the glory, both now and forever.  Amen.

            The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Sermon for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity

The Forgiven

Matthew 18:23-35

22nd Sunday after Trinity, 2009

Peace Lutheran Church

Sandusky, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen. The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from St. Matthew.

"Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is an alarming Gospel to hear because it offers no hope to those who cannot forgive others. It gives an uncomfortable thrust to the 5th petition of the Lord’s Prayer, because we do not want God to actually forgive us as we have forgiven others. If our forgiveness of others is to be the standard by which God measures his forgiveness for us, we might as well present ourselves to the torturers of debtors’ prison right now and be done with it, just like the unforgiving servant in the Gospel. Though we strive to forgive and forget like the king in Jesus’ parable, we often find ourselves holding on to grudges, old and new.

Today’s Gospel does not include it, but Jesus’ words are actually a response to a question asked two verses earlier in this chapter of Matthew. Peter approached Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ And Jesus responded, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’ And, if that was not quite clear, our Lord goes on to speak the parable of our Gospel reading to illustrate what he means by such forgiveness.

Now, Peter didn’t ask this question out of the blue – there was a reason behind his inquiry. He had been listening to the Lord throughout his ministry and had grasped many important facts. Forgiveness, for instance, is not just a one time action, and moral perfection is not possible for sinful people. He also understood the implications of that fifth petition from the Lord’s Prayer. Yet he had also just heard Jesus speak earlier in this chapter of Matthew about restoring, and in some drastic cases, removing the unrepentant from the church. Peter logically concluded that forgiveness must have its limits, and so he asked Jesus what those limits were.

Now, what Peter really wanted to know, was what was the least number of times he had to forgive his brother to still be acceptable in God’s sight. The answer is obvious to us – there is no limit to how much we ought to forgive one another. Our Lord could have simply said that, but it would have ignored the deeper problem: the hardness of Peter’s heart which led him to ask that question in the first place.

Think about it. When a child asks their parents how much homework they must do before they can visit their friends, or when someone asks how much beer they can drink before they’ve had too many, or even when someone wonders how much work they really need to do to keep the boss happy, they are all after the same thing. They are taking a lowest common denominator approach to questions that should really be asked from a different perspective; from a perspective of love.

Consider it this way: have you ever wondered how many times you must hug or kiss your husband or wife in a month before they know you really love them? Or have you ever wondered how many times you have to tell your children that you love them for them to believe you? Of course not – you do all of those things and more for the people you love, for those God has placed into your lives. You don’t just tell your children you love them; you go and watch their team is playing, you help them with their homework, and you teach them the life lessons you’ve learned. You don’t just hug and kiss your spouse and hope that’s enough for them to know you love them; you fold the laundry, you cook dinner, fix the car, and get up in the middle of the night to make sure the front door is really locked.

Asking what’s the least you have to do so that your family knows you love them sounds almost absurd to our ears – we don’t do the things we do for our families because we hope that they will finally realize that we love them; we do all of those things and more because we love them. Who keeps count of hugs and kisses? Who keeps count of saying, ‘I love you.’ You don’t need a Law from God to tell you to love your children; you love your children because they’re your children.

Love is the fulfillment of the Law, but love was not behind Peter’s question just before the Gospel reading. Peter wanted to know the minimum number of times he had to forgive his neighbor before his sins were to be held against him. Peter was searching for the limits of love, but for Jesus, however, love has no limit. He says seventy times seven times, but then goes on to show just how pointless it is to measure and count when it comes to forgiveness – when it comes to love.

The man who had a debt of ten thousand talents is like Peter – he appealed to the king for the forgiveness of an enormous debt. Ten thousand Talents is comparable to a billion dollars today – it was an utterly insurmountable debt that the man could never repay even if he, his children, and grandchildren worked every hour of every day for the rest of their lives. The king who forgives that debt – and truly no earthly king could ever afford to forgive that debt – is like Jesus who forgives our sins. The man in the parable, forgiven by the king, had clearly missed the point of that forgiveness. He chased down someone who owed him 100 denarii – a hefty sum to be sure – somewhere in the neighborhood of ten-to-fifteen thousand dollars, but not an insurmountable debt for a man and his family. Instead of showing love to this man and forgiving that debt as he had been forgiven, he showed no mercy and demanded full payment. When his debtor could not pay and begged forgiveness, he threw him into the debtor’s prison until the debt could be worked off. It was particularly cruel, considering the great mercy of the king in erasing his own debt, which was incomparably greater than this little one. When the king discovered the way his forgiven servant had handled the situation he was furious – anyone who had received such love and did not likewise show love others, even in a comparatively small way, surely did not appreciate or even understand the greater love shown to them in the first place. When the King caught up with him it was clear what would happen: he would be delivered by the king into the hands of the torturers of debtors’ prison, where would stay until he paid his debt in full.

Jesus’ then ends the parable with these words, ‘So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.’ Peter’s question had to do with limiting forgiveness. Having just heard the parameters for the discipline and removal of the unrepentant from the fellowship of the church, it is possible he was looking for the means by which he could exercise that discipline and removal over the other disciples and over others who followed Jesus. What Peter did not realize, just like anyone who wants to lord power over others in the church does not realize, is that punishment and judgment are the alien works of God, foreign to his nature. He will do those things when he must, but God’s chief work is to give life, and to give it eternally. This he did by sending his Son in the flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior on the cross, and this he continues to do by granting and strengthening faith in his Son by the power of the Spirit through the Means of Grace.

Peter got the message, or at least we can surmise as much from his own writings and the Scriptural accounts of his life after this point in the Gospels and Acts. He may have been a little overzealous at some points in his future, especially during the arrest and trial of our Lord, but he never again sought to use forgiveness as leverage over others. Peter was the one who was given to feed and tend Jesus’ sheep.

Friends, we too must get this message – there is no room in our Lord’s church for holding grudges and hardening our hearts against one another. Remember the love shown to us by our King, Jesus Christ, when our debt of sin was and is beyond the possibility of us repaying it. God does not love us with a checklist, working continually toward the point at which he will withdraw his gracious love and mercy from us – he loves us without conditions or limits, and through the Holy Spirit he provides the means by which he forgives us all our trespasses: he gives us faith in Jesus Christ, his Son.

Forgiving others is, therefore, no chore from God by which we make ourselves righteous in his sight; forgiving others is what we do in the church both to other Christians and the world. God doesn’t think better of you or me individually because we forgive others so many times – we can never forgive enough to make ourselves even with God. Rather, he rejoices with all of heaven when one sinner repents of his sins and receives forgiveness as a believer.

So, we need not listen to Jesus’ words this morning with fear; instead we can rejoice that our debt of ten thousand talents has been forgiven, and that God’s love for us in his Son is without limit.

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.

November Newsletter Article

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. 

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works, and my soul knows very well.

Psalm 139:13-14

            Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ, this past month we hosted a Anthony Horvath, who gave a compelling presentation at Christ The King Lutheran Chapel for the college students, members of our youth group, and some congregational members as well on the topic, “We Chose Life: Why You Should Too.”  As I was listening to his presentation, he raised a number of excellent points about our Christian understanding of life.  In his explanation to the fifth commandment (you shall not kill) in the Small Catechism, Luther writes that, ‘we should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.’  We believe that all people are our neighbors, especially the unborn.  The following are some of the salient points to Anthony Horvath’s presentation that I wanted to pass along to you.

1.      We live on the front lines in the battle for life.  The prevailing notion most of us have about the abortion issue in society is that it is a political battle waged in courtrooms and elections.  In those spheres we usually see ourselves as tiny, insignificant numbers – our opinion matters, but our own influence is minor.  Horvath agrees that in courtrooms and elections personal influence is slight, but he disagrees that this is ultimately a political or legal battle.  The battle for life is not a matter of statistics, but rather a very personal battle.  It is not a war waged in Washington, DC, but anywhere people find themselves confronted with unexpected pregnancies or pregnancies with complications.  Chances are that you know someone or a couple who have either contemplated or gone through with an abortion.  Perhaps they were grappling with that very question and did not know where to turn for support or advice.  Horvath suggests that one of the most important things Christians can do is be the kind of people others would approach when they face such a difficult decision.  Of course, there are no guarantees that others will listen to our guidance or accept our help, but every life is valuable and it is worth the effort to make ourselves available to those who may be facing these critical decisions.  The front lines of the battle for life are right here – please don’t take it for granted that you could be of valuable service to others struggling over such a question.

2.      Doctors are not infallible.  This is not to say that doctors cannot be trusted – far from it!  Doctors, however, just like pastors, professors, police officers, farmers, etc., can make mistakes.  According to Anthony Horvath, 90% of parents consider terminating a pregnancy if they are offered the option along with the information that their child will or will likely be born with significant health problems, such as Downs Syndrome.  In Mr. Horvath’s case, a genetic screening in the 20^th week of his wife’s pregnancy with their daughter revealed that she would almost certainly be born with Spina Bifida, a difficult condition to live with, but until she was born and had lived a few years, there was no way to actually determine the extent to which the condition would effect her life.  In many cases, parents are put on the spot with these critical questions and because the circumstances are often discovered with little or no advanced warning, parents have little chance to educate themselves so that they understand the spectrum of the possible outcomes for their children.  There are, sadly, documented cases of misdiagnoses when it comes to pre-birth genetic screenings, one in particular that was only revealed when the procedure to abort the baby failed and a healthy boy was born.  Even sadder is the fact that we will never know the exact failure rate of such tests because a large portion of these children are aborted.  This is not to say that a correct diagnosis of any kind justifies an abortion, but rather that people who would ordinarily never have considered such a choice sometimes find themselves facing it with little or no warning.  According to Mr. Horvath, the time for making such decisions is not just after being presented with unhappy results of a pregnancy screening; the time to make a decision for life must take place long before parents find themselves thrust into the confusion, sadness, uncertainty, and grief that accompany those circumstances.  Even if the results of the test are 100% correct in diagnosing a serious future health problem, research shows that parents of disabled children overwhelmingly enjoy parenting a disabled child in spite of the drastic changes to their lifestyle that are often required by their children.  Everything we have in this life is a gift from God, and that includes our children.  Don’t wait and hope you never face such a decision; think about it now and talk it over with your spouse, which bring us to the last point.

3.      Victory begins at home.  Here is a provocative statement: “Making abortion illegal is not the most important thing we can do for the lives of unborn children.”  Should people be allowed to electively decide to end the lives of their unborn children?  Of course not, but simply making it illegal does not address the heart of the problem with abortion.  The heart of the problem is that many people believe, for a great number of reasons, that it is morally acceptable for a mother to decide to end the life of her unborn child.  Mr. Horvath said very briefly in his presentation that were everyone to be Christian, there would be no battle over abortion.  Now, to be fair he did not have time to flesh this particular idea out, and at face value it seems a bit outlandish, but he does have a point.  Only a change of heart in society will make people think differently about abortions, and such change can only begin at home, on the real front lines of this battle for life.  Let it not be forgotten among us that seeing these babies born is truly only the beginning of our love for them – we desire above all that they would share with us in the joy of the forgiveness of sins won for us on the cross and the hope we have in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and we desire this for their parents as well.  In other words, what we hope for all people is not merely that they have life, but that they have eternal life.  Such hope and faith are given only by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit uses Christians to reach out and love and care for their neighbors, and this victory most definitely begins at home!  We don’t have to wait until people find themselves in a difficult pregnancy to show them God’s love and seek to help them – the time to show them God’s love in Christ is now. 

            The battle for life is ongoing, and we are all living on the front lines.  There is much to discourage us in the battle, but we look in the wrong place if we endeavor to make a difference through politicians, elections, and legislation.  Instead we must always be reminded that the battle against sin and death has already been fought…and won!  The solution to sin and death is nothing we can work for, persuade others into, or win for ourselves; sin and death were conquered by Jesus’ all-sufficient death on the cross.  In the battle for life, Christ has the victory and gives it to us!

            To him alone be all the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

                        Pastor Bakker