Welcome Back Sunday Sermon - Proper 16C (3yr), 2010

Asking the Right Question

Luke 13:22-30

Pentectost Proper 16 - C (3yr) 2010

CMU Welcome Back Sunday

Christ The King Lutheran Chapel

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

    Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when someone approaches Jesus and asks him a question in today’s Gospel, that person is looking for an answer that will allow him to ask another question. Think about it. If we ask Jesus whether there are many who will be saved, are we really all that interested in the multitude who will be saved? Don’t misunderstand me – we are all interested in the expansion of God’s heavenly kingdom and we certainly hope that all people would receive eternal life from God – but no matter Jesus’ answer to the question; whether it be ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ would we be satisfied?
    Imagine an eleventh grader living in a small mid-western city. His high school is home to an outstanding baseball team – every year they are in the running for the state-championship. He wants to be a pitcher on that varsity team this year, so he puts in a lot of hours, working hard all winter to prepare for the tryouts in the spring. At those tryouts, he sees that he is just as capable of playing on the team as all the other hopeful pitchers, but only half of them can make the team. On the night before the final day of tryouts, this young man finds himself standing in a slow-moving line at a grocery store right in front of the baseball coach. Now, he might start a conversation with the coach by asking whether there were many good pitchers who would be making the team, but we all know that no answer to that question is going to tell him what he is truly burning to learn. Certainly he hopes that the team will have many good pitchers, and he most definitely hopes that they will be the best pitchers so that they will have the best chance of winning a state championship, but what he really wants to know is if he is among those best pitchers who will be throwing for the team when the season begins. The question the young man asked would merely be the first among other, much more specific questions.
    It is the same for the person asking Jesus whether few would be saved today in the Gospel reading, and it would be the same for any of us if we were in the same situation. Whether Jesus answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’, we would still have more to ask him. What we would really want to know is how likely it is that we would be among those who will be saved.
    Today’s Gospel, however, never gets to those answers because Jesus knows this already, and answers accordingly. Instead of falling for the line of questioning that will end up with the person asking whether or not they are going to heaven, Jesus responds that they are to ‘strive to enter through the narrow gate.’ It’s important to note that Jesus does not say whether or not this person is to be counted among those who will be saved, even though he knows that that is what they really want to hear. Again, think about it. Jesus knows the answer, but he also knows better than simply giving a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
    If the coach were to tell that eleventh-grade pitcher that he did not have to worry about making the team before the tryouts were finished, the boy would no longer value or treasure what it cost for him to make the team. He might not even bother to show up for the last tryout, since it would only be a formality anyway. Perhaps worse, what if the coach were to tell him that he didn’t have any chance of making the team before the last tryout? Would he even consider showing up, even though he knew it was for nothing? Would it have been any different for the person in the Gospel? Would it be any different for us?
    The problem here, dear friends, is not that Jesus knows that we will inherit eternal life in heaven on account of his death and resurrection for our sins; nor is it a problem that he knows that we believe in him on account of the faith which he has given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The problem is the question. The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh love this question. Will we be saved? A ‘no’ response leaves a person in despair and without hope; it means that sins are not forgiven and that eternal death is all that stands ahead. A ‘yes’ response is even worse because it gives a person false comfort; it means that temptations will never test faith, and soon faith itself becomes obsolete. Our sinful flesh loves this question because ‘yes’ or ‘no’ means we can do whatever we want; the end has already been decided for us. Our fatalistic world loves this question because it means that our existence might as well conform to the image of the world, rather than transforming the world in the image of God. The devil loves this question because it undermines everything that Jesus ever did, and still does for us; this question turns our focus away from God who created all things from nothing, away from God who became flesh in Jesus Christ and lived and died and rose for us, away from God who comes to us in his Word, his Baptism, his absolution, and his Supper to call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify us in the one true faith. The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh love this question because, yes or no, it drives a wedge between the Lord and us.
    So what does Jesus do when faced with this question? He knows the danger of the question, but more importantly he knows what we need to hear. ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.’ Jesus’ words wander from the scope of the question. The person wanted to learn if few would be saved, and more importantly if they would be saved. Instead, Jesus explained to him the way in which he might be saved. Cyril of Alexandria tells us that, “Jesus is purposely silent to the useless question, and proceeds to speak of what is essential.” ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.’
    In the rest of the today’s Gospel, Jesus makes the point to the people in the cities and villages on the way to Jerusalem that they cannot expect to be included in the kingdom simply because Jesus came to their town, or because they are they children of Abraham, or because they shared food and drink with him. Even more startling, there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth for them when they saw themselves thrust out of the kingdom while others from the four corners of the world – gentiles – would come and sit down in the kingdom of God. Being born and raised in Israel was no guarantee of passing through the narrow gate. Listening to Jesus while he taught in the streets was likewise no guarantee of passing through the gate. Even sitting down to eat and drink with Jesus when he came through their cities and villages carried no guarantee. Similar warnings could be said to us today. Being born and raised in a Christian home is no guarantee of going through the narrow gate. Coming to church and going through the motions, listening to sermons and singing along with the hymns are not guarantees of eternal life. Not even being hospitable to others and doing good things for them can guarantee safe passage through the gate.
    There is nothing, dear friends; not one thing; that we can carry with us through that narrow gate. There is no room for our heritage, no room for mere politeness toward God and his church, and there is most certainly no room between those gates for our good works. The narrow gate is entered only through faith, and that faith is ours only by God’s grace in his Son through the Holy Spirit. We cannot walk ourselves with all of our baggage through that narrow gate, and that is why it is something we strive for – it is difficult to throw off the baggage that we sinful people accumulate throughout our lives. Our enemies, the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, all want to load us up with as much as they can to keep us out of the gate. Only Christ our Savior defeats these enemies, and takes our baggage of sin and death away from us and replaces them with faith and eternal life. Jesus is the only way through that narrow gate. It is he who tells us, ‘Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke easy, and my burden is light.’
    The Gospel today began with a question, but it certainly does not end that way. For many of us, a new school year is starting [tomorrow] [in these coming weeks]. Parents, teachers, professors, students, confirmands and pastors are all preparing for a year filled with questions and answers. When it comes to eternal life and salvation, however, asking the right question is not about whether many will be saved or whether you’re to be included in that number; those are questions that the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh put in our heads to take our focus away from our Lord and his sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Strive, dear friends, to enter through the narrow gate. Our Father in heaven sent his only Son to live and die for us and to rescue us by the Holy Spirit to eternal life.
    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 10th Sunday after Pentecost (3yr)

Whose Are You?

Luke 12:13-21

Pentecost Proper 13C, 2010

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 St. Luke which you just heard.

Then one from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”  Then he spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’  So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’  “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, whose are you?  To whom do you belong?  Where does your heart find its rest when you are troubled?  These questions are at the heart of the parable Jesus tells this morning.  It is a reminder to us that God alone is our refuge and strength; our one and only help at all times.

            3 years ago I preached from this pulpit on this very text on what was to be a very significant day for our congregation – that same day we broke ground on River Rd. for the first phase of our congregational building project.  You can imagine, then, that I could hardly help but chuckle yesterday as I was preparing the sermon on this text, when I opened a piece of mail from Zion informing me that our New Sanctuary Campaign is beginning and I am invited to take part.  In other words, the very same week when we set the wheels in motion raise the funds for the completion of the building project, we have a parable from our Lord warning us of the dangers of laying up treasures for ourselves.  I suppose you could call it a coincidence, but I think that the words God gave me then are just as important for us today.

            We may be tempted to hear the words of Jesus and think that we are not the ones of whom he is speaking.  After all, we have given generously of our time, of our talents, and especially of our treasures, and are preparing to do the same once again.  However I warn you - do not be like the rich fool.  It is one of the devil’s favorite ploys to make Christians believe that they are not storing up treasures for themselves when they are building God’s church with their own sweat, ingenuity, and gifts.  It is the forgiveness of sins and the preaching of salvation; the sacraments of holy baptism and the Lord’s Supper; the very presence of God among his people – all of those together – make a building a church.  The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh would have us believe that our building is our treasure.  It is not.  Our treasure is God and the forgiveness, life, and salvation he gives to us wherever two or three are gathered together in his name.

            That was essentially the same thing I said to you three years ago.  God and his Word are indeed timeless.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Yet things are different after three years.  The world has changed, and even our congregation has changed.  Some of you were not among us three years ago.  There have been new faces, new babies, new baptisms, new families, and new weddings.  Also, some of us who have been here for a very long time are no longer among us.  There have been students away at college, some have moved away, and some have died and there have been funerals.  All of this is the regular pattern for a Christian congregation.  It has been like this for Zion since it was established as a congregation in 1889; it will continue as we undertake to finish building the sanctuary in these coming years; and it will remain, Lord-willing, long after all of us are gone and even after the buildings we are working on now are replaced.

            Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our true treasure.  Jesus Christ is the meaning of life.  This is the heart of the Gospel reading today.  A man calls out to Jesus, complaining about his brother taking the inheritance.  It is a common point of conflict within a family.  Jacob schemed to get Esau’s birthright.  The prodigal son squandered the inheritance his father gave him.  Maybe you have seen or even been involved in a bitter dispute over who deserves what from their parents’ estate.

            Inheritances are important things.  Jesus knows this better than any of us.  He is his Father’s one and only Son.  Yet few of us consider our inheritances the same way.  When we are young, unless we are royalty, we do not give much thought to such things.  Our parents have always been with us and will always be with us.  There is no distinction between what belongs to our parents and what belongs to us – it’s our house, it’s our car, it’s our family.  Things change when we get older, though, and see that there is a distinction in property – we have debts that we wish we could pay; we have a desire to live in nicer homes and drive nicer vehicles; we have children of our own and begin to think of what we will hope to be able to do for them in due time.  Where will they live and what will they drive?  Where will they go to college?  What will they have for their children?

            It goes on and on and on.  Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.  How many of us take comfort and find security in the inheritances we anticipate receiving from our parents and grandparents?  Not that we are hoping to receive them quickly or anything morbid like that; but we have faith that eventually things will be easier for us because of what they will leave behind.  Repent.  As our Lord tells us, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’

            A good summary of Jesus’ parable in the Gospel today would be, ‘you can’t take it with you.’  That is most certainly true.  What is also true is that you can barely leave it behind when you go.  Think about it.  What material possessions do you have today that you received from your parents?  What do you have that they received from their parents, or from their parents’ parents, or their parents’ parents?  Certainly, there are heirlooms, and even sizeable treasures can be made to last for a very long time, but the things we have in this world will not last forever for us or our children.  Eventually, usually sooner than later, the things we have now will all pass away.

            Consider the rich man in the parable who became a rich fool.  He was a wealthy landowner, and his farms produced very well.  When this happens to us, we consider it to be a blessing from God.  We respond with thanksgiving.  We are right to react, like that rich man, by making a plan to accommodate such blessings.  When the harvest is plentiful, we build bigger grain bins; when our families expand, we buy larger homes; and when our income expands, we save and invest for our future.  None of this is condemned – it is the proper management of the things God has entrusted to our care in this life.  Neither is the rich man a fool for tearing down his barns and building new ones.

            What makes the rich man a fool is the faith he stores up with his harvest in those great barns.  Finally, after all that hard work, after a life of concern about whether his choices would help or hinder him and his family, he has no need to worry anymore about anything to come in this world.  He has more food than he will ever need.  If he needs money, he has more grain to sell than he will ever need.  If he becomes sick, he has grain to spare that he can sell to bring in the best physicians.  He says to his soul, ‘Soul, take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’

            Like I said before, how many times have we found ourselves longing for what the rich man achieved?  Maybe our hope is not for the barns of grain, but how many times have we dreamed and longed for the security that an overflowing checking and savings account would give us?  How many times have we looked forward to the day when our debts will be paid, when our cupboards will be full, and the rigors of full-time work will be behind us?  When we put our trust for such peace and comfort in earthly things, we are just as foolish as the rich fool in Jesus’ parable.  It is the same for all who lay up treasure for themselves, and are not rich toward God.

            Only God, and him alone, can give us such comfort, and only God, and him alone, can take it away.  And he will, indeed, take it away.  Jesus calls the rich man a fool because that very night his soul would be required of him.  It may not happen tonight for any of us, but just as God has numbered the hairs on our heads, he also has numbered the days and hours we have in this life.  Nothing we do in this world can give us one more second than the Lord gives.

            Worldly inheritances all pass away.  Few last longer than a few generations.  There is another inheritance, however, of which Jesus knows – the inheritance which comes from his Father in heaven and is unlike any other.  Certainly it is divided among many children, like most others; and certainly death precedes the disbursement, like most others, but the similarities end there.  Unlike every other inheritance, even though this one is divided among many children, every descendent receives the full birthright.  Stranger still, it is the descendents themselves who die before they receive the fullness of this inheritance.

            Friends, you know this inheritance.  This is the inheritance that is stored up not by you but by the Lord.  This inheritance is the eternal life won for you by your Lord, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead to the right hand of the Father.  This inheritance is the forgiveness of sins which is given to you by the power of the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you in the one true faith.  This inheritance is what it means to be rich toward God.

            Today you are not called to be careless with the earthly things our Lord gives you, but you are warned that laying up treasures for yourselves leaves no room for God.  Richness towards God, instead, means that you look to God for every help in every time of need.  Richness towards God means that you put yourselves and your own comforts last because Jesus Christ is the true treasure, and the only one for you.  God provides you that richness through the Holy Spirit and fulfills that inheritance for each of you.

            And when the Lord finally does call you home, whenever that will happen; and when he has poured the inheritance upon you, then he will say to your soul, ‘Soul, you have the good things which laid up for eternity; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’

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

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