Trinity 6 2019

Romans 6:3-11

July 28, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

This last Wednesday we held another funeral here, this one for Marvin Gilster. So far this year, that makes 5 of our brothers and sisters who have transferred from Zion to the heavenly congregation of saints. Each of these are sad for us, but not for the deceased.  They are in the never presence of Christ awaiting the resurrection of the dead and eternal life in the new creation. 

In our funerals, we often begin with a remembrance of baptism. The paschal candle is lit as a reminder that in baptism, Christ who is the light of the world has been received in faith.  The casket is front and center here in the church, head laid at the west in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the body facing the coming Christ. A while pall with a gigantic golden cross and the initials of Jesus, IHS, upon it.  The pall symbolizing that the blessed dead are clothed in the robe of Christ’s righteousness even now.  The words from our Epistle for this morning, from Romans 6, are read.

It’s a powerful image, but even more powerful words about a powerful sacrament. Draws us back to Easter, to the victory we have through Jesus Christ.  When God baptizes He unites a person with the death and the resurrection of Jesus.  This is where baptism gets its power to save us.  It’s not in the water, as if the water was holy in and of itself.  It’s not in the pastor who pours the water over our heads, as if he has some special pastor power to make baptism work.  It’s not in those who are being baptized, as if baptism does what it does because of something we do.  We don’t baptize ourselves.   God baptizes.  God is the One doing the work.  If baptism were merely our work it could not provide us with the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit.  But baptism is God’s work.  It is a wonderful work that has its power in is the death and resurrection of Jesus.  You are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection.  Sins are forgiven and death cannot rule.  God has delivered new life to live.

This is how St. Paul can say that we who are baptized into His death are also baptized into His life.  When God calls a person to faith, He bids them to come and die.  In order to live, you must die.  “A do-it-yourself approach to the Christian life is doomed from `the start.  Reform a sinner and you get a reformed sinner.  Discipline a sinner and you get a disciplined sinner.  Educate a sinner and you get an educated sinner.  In every case, you still have the same sinner you started out with.  No, the Old Adam will not be tamed or reformed or disciplined or educated. He can only be killed.  And this is just what God does; in Holy Baptism we are put to death and buried. But since it is the death and burial of Jesus, it makes all the difference in the world.  His death and burial brings with it resurrection and new life.  By Holy Baptism the Triune God crucifies our Old Adam, buries our sin, raises us as a new creation, and clothes us in Jesus Christ—thus giving us a whole new life to live.  This is the authentic formula for Christian living.”[1]

Baptism is a deadly thing.  Baptism kills.  At your baptism, God’s applies Christ’s death to you so that you receive the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice.  Baptism connects you with Christ’s work.  Jesus was intent on dying our death.  And die He did. Suffering and hanging on a cross.  It was a borrowed death.  It was our death.  But it brought life.  Thus your Baptism into Christ is your grave, a watery grave.  But it is also the womb where new birth from above happens, where Christians are born again in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Holy Baptism, then, is both your tomb of death and your womb of life. Baptism kills you in order that through Jesus you might be raised back to life. 

Because it is a work of God, baptism gives.  It doesn’t lend, rent, or sell.  You cannot buy forgiveness.  You can’t earn forgiveness.  If God is going to forgive you, it will have to be on His terms.  He required the obedience and death of His only begotten Son.  That’s where forgiveness comes from.  Jesus died for your sins.  Jesus rose from the dead for your justification.  That’s where your new life comes from.  So St. Paul writes, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This is your reality, your identity.  Who is a person is, is not defined by gender, job, or judgments, but by your baptismal identity – dead to sin, set free from sin, dead with Christ, made alive to God in Christ. 

Through your baptism, you have already escaped death.  Instead of the death which sin has brought on you, eternal life has begun in you. The new life begun in your baptism is one of constant struggle against sin in which we continue to rely on the atoning work of Christ and the indwelling spirit to be led as children of God. All that is His by His nature as the Son of God becomes yours by His grace. Faith receives what Christ accomplished on the cross, Baptism delivers it to you.

In your baptism, God has united you to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  You are united with Christ.  This is called the mystical union.  It is closer than the union of a man and a woman, a mother and her child, or any brotherly or sisterly love known to mankind.  It is a union with God Himself, a communion with brothers and sisters in Christ as we are brought into the one, holy Christian and apostolic church.  One is made part of God’s body, part of God’s church, by baptism into its Head, who is Jesus.  The church is the Communion of Saints, the fellowship of God’s holy people.  They are made holy by the washing of Holy Baptism where the Holy Spirit washes her clean in the blood of the Lamb. 

Every day you can return to this blessed washing where God sealed His forgiveness of sins and filled you with the Holy Spirit.  When we get up in the morning, claim the promise of your baptism.  By daily contrition and repentance, the old sinful man should be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Trinity 2 2019

Proverbs 9:1-10

June 30, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

It is not that often that you hear a sermon based off the Proverbs.  In fact, out of the 8 years that I have been your pastor, there has been one time that this has happened, about 6 years ago now on Trinity Sunday.  Most of the time when we think of the book of Proverbs we think of disjointed bits of practical insight for living a good life. People read it, maybe even memorize bits and pieces here and there, as a self-help book.  But that is not how Proverbs should be read, referenced, or remembered.  This book, like all of the books in the Bible, is about the Messiah.  It is not about living a better life, or being a better person. It is about the Messiah, Jesus, who came into the world to save sinners. The NT explicitly states that Jesus is the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). Or, as St Paul puts it in 1Co 1:24, Christ is “the wisdom of God.”  Now, in Hebrew, “wisdom” is feminine noun, so that is why it is “she.” But in Proverbs when we hear of wisdom, we should think of Jesus, and our faith in Jesus as to opposed to the foolishness of unbelief.

And especially in light of this, it is very interesting that this is a text paired with our Gospel reading for today wherein Jesus speaks a parable concerning the Kingdom of God and compares it to a great feast.  In fact, Proverbs 9 and Luke 14 are really talking about the same thing.  God has set out a great banquet and invites people to come in an eat.  The fool says in his heart there is no god, and yet these fools are the ones that are invited.  This meal is for sinners.  Yet, those who are foolish ignore this or make other excuses. Those who have been made wise repond in faith to the invite to come and eat.

Wisdom begins by building her house with seven pillars.  This is reference to the world, God’s creation. While the world may currently be a place of foolishness (8:1-5), it was not designed to be that way.  Wisdom designed the world, yet the foolishness of unbelief crept its way in. And so now Wisdom seeks to rescue fools from their sinfully foolish ways.

And so Wisdom prepares the table and the meal and invites people in. The animal has been slaughtered; the Lamb has been sacrificed.  All is finished, and the meal ready to be served.  The invitation is sent especially to those who are simple, who are gullible, those who lack sense.  These are not usually ones we would think of as being wise.  This is a description of the natural state of all humans as they are conceived and born in sin. Our inclination is not to Wisdom, but we are called to Wisdom nonetheless. 

What’s more, this banquet is free by grace, there is no admission fee, no bill, and no tip required.  And what they eat of is by no accident either. The invitation is sent to come and eat of the bread and drink of the wine. And when those who were invited come in and respond in faith to the invitation; those who hear the Word of Christ and believe; when these begin to eat of the bread and drink of the wine; and thus receive the body and blood of the Sacrificial Lamb and Messiah; they receive spiritual nourishment and growth, begin to lose their gullibility and obtain everlasting life, they start to walk in the way of insight, to walk the life of faith in Christ. 

In receiving Him who is Wisdom, they become wise, that is they believe in Him and in His goodness as the Giver of all good thing.  This is why “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”  The wisdom of faith is not simply to know that there is a god, even though that is exactly what the fool denies through unbelief. Rather, it is to fear, love, and trust in God above things.  That’s what we prayed for in the Collect of the Day.

The Holy Spirit works through Wisdom’s words and invitation so that even the most simple receives divine knowledge.  2 Tim 3:16-17, “… the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteous, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” There’s no age limit, no IQ requirements, no memory quiz to pass. This gift enables a person to make an informed choice to be wise and not to be foolish, which is not the product of human willpower, rather God works within the believer to enable God pleasing decision and action based upon God’s Word.

There is an art to Wisdom work of re-shaping the foolish to be wise, and for the wise to walk in in the way of insight. We should strive for the ability to make the proper distinction between the good, the bad, and the ugly, no no, the indifferent.  The genuine good refers to the basic virtues of the Christian life, that which is in line with the will of God for His creation, and what proceeds from the hand of the Lord.  The bad are those things which are sinful acts or attitudes.  Indifferent things, or better yet, those things not commanded to do or not to do in Scripture, these things called “adiaphora,” become good or bad according to how you use it. 

How do we order our lives, around what do we order our lives, in order to retain this wisdom from God?  Disorder life leads to sinful living. A well-ordered life, that is, a life ordered and structured around the good things of God, flows from faith in Christ. Christian thinking and living as opposed to the thought of our pagan world. It is a way of life founded and grounded on the basic tenets of the Christian faith.  Catechesis, young and adult, Christian education at our schools that seeks to form and train children in image and likeness of God. I wish that every single one you here would take time to learn more about what this classical Lutheran education looked like in our school and realized this is the way that trains Christians to believe, to think, and to confess in word and deed the wisdom of Christ that we have received.  To give instruction to those made wise by faith in Christ so that this faith would increase; to teach the righteous, so that he will increase in learning.  This education, this formation, this wisdom isn’t just for our children, but it is for all of you. To be made wise by the Scriptures, to learn how to make a reasoned confession of faith before a culture that increasingly attacks, to die a Christian death with the hope of the resurrection upon your heart and mind and lips. 

So, come, you who are called by the Word, washed clean to receive the meal, made wise by faith in Christ.  The meal is prepared. All is ready.  The foretaste of the feast to come is for you.

Trinity 3 2019

1 Peter 5:6-11

July 7, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

One of the things that Martin Luther is well known for is his letters of consolation and comfort for those with a troubled conscience. He was very vocal about his own issues, a kind of spiritual depression as it were, resulting from a terror stricken conscience before a righteous and holy God; an anxiety stemming from spiritual doubts concerning his salvation.  Because he was aware of it in himself, he was also quick to recognize it in others.

For a lot people nowadays, these sorts of concerns don’t seem near as serious.  And yet, recent studies have clearly shown that anxiety is on the rise, especially among the younger generations in our country.  More people seek secular counselors and therapy than ever before. And while we can certainly thank God for medical advances, we would be remiss if we limited treatment and the cause, simply to medical issues.  Frankly, it is shame that so many today, even within the church, seek out secular causes and treatments while downplaying the spiritual. While everyone struggles for a calm heart and peace of mind, as we also have been doing, and run around here and there trying to get it.  Yet it is found nowhere except God’s Word which tell us to cast our anxieties on Him. 

St. Peter warns that we have an enemy who works to take this away.  The devil is the enemy of Christ and of His Church.  The devil is dangerous, there is no doubt. His misery wants company. We often make it harder on ourselves because we fight the wrong enemy with the wrong tactics. You will have the devil prowling about you. You will not entirely tread him underfoot.  Don’t underestimate the devil.  He is strong, he is clever, and furious. Scripture calls him a liar and a murderer (John 8:44).  And he has his eyes set on you Christians. He seeks to devour you.  He doesn’t become tired; but he pursues, he hunts, you without rest.  If you could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are aimed at you every moment, you would be glad to run to Christ as often as possible.

This is what you should do, you know this, and yet it is so easy to do the opposite.  This isn’t by accident.  One of the greatest tricks the devil plays as he hunts you is to make you feel isolated, alone.  It is like those times when something terrible has happened in your life and you know that you should go to church and yet for some reason it is much harder than it should be.  Or the feeling that the pain you feel, the sadness, the turmoil is yours alone, that nobody truly understands how you feel, and so no one can actually do anything to make you feel better.  Or even more sinister is when things are going well and you feel as though you don’t really need to go to church, you don’t really need to pray, you don’t need to be a part of the body of Christ, because you’re not under attack.  But you are, and you can’t fight it alone.  And you’re not alone.  There are no doubts, no fears, no secret sins, no shame that has not been felt by your brothers and sisters in the faith. For since you are truly the body of Christ, when one suffers, all suffer. And the head, Jesus Himself, has undergone every temptation and suffering for you and He has overcome them all and He cares for you.

Don’t overestimate the devil either.  He is not all knowing, nor all present, nor all powerful. And what’s more, he is already defeated.  Jesus’ death on the cross has defeated Satan. He has crushed the old serpents head.  The devil’s got nothing on you, for your sin is forgiven for Jesus’ sake. Your life is spared because Jesus’ gave His. He gives us faith and the Holy Spirit to stand firm against his futile attacks.  Previously you were under God’s wrath, so without the fear of God and faith you belonged to the devil. You have been called by God to His eternal glory, baptized into Christ, adopted in His family and severed from the devil. At your baptism, and then again at your confirmation, and indeed it should be every day, these renunciations are spoken, to renounce the devil, all his works, and all his ways.

We are called upon to be sober minded and watchful, to stay awake and clear headed.  St. Peter is forbidding a drunkenness of the soul, when a person goes on in fleshly security, without thought or care of God’s Word.  This drunkenness fills a person with the sweet poison of false teaching, which the devil uses to feed the addict of the sinful soul. 

The defense against the assaults of the devil is standing firm in the faith rather than stumbling around in a drunken stupor is found in the Word of God. Resist the devil by standing firm in faith, faith that clings to God’s Word and His promises in Christ.  As Christians, the Word of God is the weapon against all temptations.  The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit.  We learn from Christ and from His temptation by the devil to answer, “It is written.”  The Word of God is best wielded in prayer as we pray at all times in the Spirit (Eph 6:18).  We don’t read the Word, and speak the Word, but we pray the Word. That’s why our liturgies are filled with Scripture, our prayers and songs informed by the Word of God.  “If you take hold of God’s Word and cling to it in faith, the devil cannot win and must flee” (AE 30:142).

Today, we hear the promise of the Word that all the anxieties, the fears, the shame and guilt, is but for a little while.  Whatever your suffering, as real and painful as it is, is for a little while. This is as sure and certain as Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  The Shepherd of souls guards the sheep of His pasture, He has called you, and will bring you to His eternal glory.

Trinity 4 2019

Genesis 50:15-21

July 14, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

One of the greatest comebacks in all of the Bible is that of Joseph.  It’s a classic riches to rags to greater riches story.  As a young man he was a favorite of his father, Jacob.  Apparently, Jacob did little to hide his favoritism, even giving this son of his old age an expensive coat of many colors. It comes as no surprise that his brothers did not like this much, and it didn’t help things that Joseph had dreams about his brothers bowing down to him.  It could have been handled in a better way, but his brothers, filled with jealousy attempted to murder him, sold him into slavery, and made their father think he was dead.  Not a good example of brotherly love.

And it comes as no surprise either that these same brothers are rightly scared silly upon learning that Joseph had become the number 2 guy in all of Egypt, the major superpower of the world during this time. And now their father had recently died, and they fear that he was the only thing holding back Joseph’s anger and revenge over his earlier mistreatment.  They did a horrible thing, an evil thing, and they rightly feared punishment. They deserved harsh judgement for selling their brother into slavery out of their jealousy and letting their parents think that Joseph was dead.

With shrewdness and in true repentance, they send a message to Joseph.  It is especially important.  Not only do they repeat the commands of their father and their obedience to him, but they confess their sin and plead for Joseph’s forgiveness.  They don’t sugar coat their evil acts and they don’t make excuses.  They are fellow servants of God, and God of Israel their father. They don’t assume the rights of brothers, but rather that of humility and servanthood. 

Their attitude and approach illustrate something very important.  As someone once said, we should be ashamed of our sin but never of our repentance over sin. A sinner should not abandon his confidence in the mercy of God. A righteous man should not be proud. For as the Psalmist says, “the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him and in those who hope in His mercy” (Ps. 147:11). He hates those who are proud and presumptuous, and He loves those in whom fear still retains some hope and confidence, not in ourselves but in the mercy of God.”^[1]

Joseph’s brothers don’t doubt that God has forgiven their sins, but they are uncertain about their brother.  And isn’t this just the way that we act too.  Too often the fear of punishment and the doubts concerning forgiveness prevent us from confessing our sins to one another and receiving absolution. I know God forgives me, but I’m not so sure that you will.

The answer of Joseph gives answer to this and points to the mercy of God and the mercy that God’s people are to have. “If you consider me a servant of God, do not think I intend to oppose Him. If God has forgiven you, why should you have doubts against me? For I am not above God.” He does not want them to deny or forget their sins and their plans to murder hm.  But he points to the mercy of God, who turned their worst thoughts and intentions to his advantage and the greatest good. 

We should fear God’s wrath and judgment, for we have done evil in His sight. And He hates sin.  Yet He still gives this promise that you who fall shall not despair. God forbids sin and evil, but after sin has been committed and His Law accuses and terrifies the sinner, as it apparent in Joseph’s brothers, then He does not want death to rule, for He does not want the death of sinners, but “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather than he should turn from his way and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23)

Servants of God, children of Israel, turn from your sinful ways and live.  Repent of your sin and your evil in thought, word, and deed. Run for refuge in Christ the Savior, who does not want the death of sinner, who does not want sin and does nothing for the sake of sin, He offers grace and salvation. As we heard last week in the Gospel, that there is great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.

This is the joy of Joseph, and of his brothers. In faith, Joseph forgives their sins and he directs attention to the God of all mercy. “Your meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”  St. Paul says the same in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Augustine says in his book, City of God, God is so good that He does not permit evil to be done unless He can draw great good from it.” (City of God, Book XIV, ch 27). Sometimes that means that we undergo suffering for the sake of Christ.  You can, and will, as a Christian suffer unjustly.  Joseph certainly did.  Even while he was imprisoned, forgotten, betrayed, the Lord was faithful through it all. 

By means of Joseph’s elevation, he was able to save many lives, to bring his people to safety in a time of drought, to establish them in safety.  But their material prosperity in Egypt was not God’s ultimate blessing for them. The coming gift was the Lord Himself, was His presence with His people, was their deliverance from famine, through slavery, and into the promised land.  But even this pales in comparison to that which is points, in the visitation of God’s Messiah and the final deliverance from all evil.

We see how this foreshadows Christ.  Jesus bases His mercy upon the Father, who sent Jesus in the world to save sinners. The evil intentions of those who crucified Him were used by God to bring about the greatest good. To elevate Christ upon the cross so that all might see and believe in the Son of God crucified for the forgiveness of sins. By God’s mercy you are free from God’s wrath.  God causes good to result from evil, not that He wants evil to be done, but His goodness and mercy is so great in our evil that He forgives sin where there is repentance.  Ultimately, God delivers us from the last enemy, that of death, to bring us into His very presence by the power of Jesus’ resurrection.

Because of this, you cannot condemn another repentant sinner.  God will judge the person who does not want to forgive his neighbor, who refuses to be reconciled to him, who does not ask forgiveness from the one who he has sinned against, those who remained hardened against others. For by God’s mercy, all your sins are forgiven, and the sins of the whole world.  God is just. To the merciful, He shows mercy. To the good, He is good. To the reconcilers, He is reconciled.  To the generous, He is generous, for as Jesus says, “For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). “If you forgive, you have this comfort and assurance, that you are forgiven in heaven. This is not because of your forgiving. For God forgives freely and without condition, out of pure grace, because He has so promised, as the Gospel teaches. But God says this in order that He may establish forgiveness as our confirmation and assurance, as a sign alongside the promise” (LC III 95-96).

May we always be quick to forgive, slow to condemn. Quick to give mercy, slow to anger. And may the Lord forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Amen.

Trinity 1 2019

Genesis 15:1-6

June 23, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

“And Abraham believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”  This is our text.  Genesis chapter 15 is one of the most important chapters in the book of Genesis and it should be heard with great meditation over its meaning and importance.  Abraham had just rescued Lot who had been captured by an invading army.  After this, the Lord fulfilled His earlier promise to Abraham to bless him, doing so through the ministry of Melchizedek, king of Salem.  And now, the word of the Lord comes to him in a vision and says, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  Abraham questions what the Lord could give to him since he still remained childless with Sarah his wife.  This was what God had promised.  And so God brings him outside to number the stars, and reassures His promise to Abraham from Genesis 12 that He would make Abraham a great nation.  And Abraham believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.

Now, when Moses adds that Abraham believed God, this is the first passage of Scripture which we have had until now about faith. In this passage no mention is made of any preparation for grace, of any faith formed through works, or of any preceding disposition. This, however, is mentioned: that at that time Abraham was in the midst of sins, doubts, and fears about his future and the future of his family, he is declared to be righteous.  How? In this way: God speaks, and Abraham believes what God is saying. Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, bears a trustworthy witness and declares that this very believing or this very faith is righteousness or is imputed by God Himself as righteousness and is regarded by Him as such.

No one has treated this passage better, more richly, more clearly, and more powerfully than St. Paul in the third to the twelfth chapters of Romans. Moreover, Paul treats it in such a way as to show that this promise concerning Abraham’s descendants should not be interpreted to apply solely to the legitimate biological offspring, but to the spiritual and eternal heritage, those who are children of Abraham by faith in promises of God.  For righteousness is given to Abraham not because he performs works but because he believes. It is the same for us: righteousness is given because of God’s thought, which faith lays hold of.  So Paul writes in Romans 4:24-25, “[Righteousness] will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

The chief and most important part of Genesis 15 is the promise; for faith lays hold of it. Moreover, the confident laying hold of the promise is called faith; and it justifies, not as our own work but as the work of God. For the promise is a gift, a thought of God by which He offers us something. It is not some work of ours, when we do something for God or give Him something. No, we receive something from Him, and that solely through His mercy. Therefore he who believes God when He promises, he who is convinced that God is truthful and will carry out whatever He has promised, is righteous or is counted as righteous in God’s sight.

Learn, therefore, not to attribute righteousness to your love or to your works and merits; for they are always unclean, imperfect, and polluted. Consequently, they call for a confession of our unworthiness and for humbling ourselves with a prayer for forgiveness. But attribute your righteousness to mercy alone, to the promise concerning Christ alone, the promise which faith receives and by means of which it protects and defends itself against conscience when God sits in judgment.

Accordingly, our righteousness does not depend on the Law and works, it depends on the promise, which is sure and unalterable. Therefore this promise is surely carried out and fulfilled when faith takes hold of it; and it follows with infallible logic that faith alone justifies, inasmuch as faith alone accepts the promises of God.

We know indeed that faith is never alone but brings with it love and other gifts. For the Law of God is still good and wise, and God not only promises, but He also commands. And not only does He command, but He equips. It is the concern of the Law that you conform your will to it and obey God’s commands. It is the concern of the Gospel that faith in the promise of God is the source from which all good works flow.  For whoever believes in God and is sure that God is graciously inclined toward sinners, since He gave His Son and with His Son the hope of eternal life, how could he not love God in return and love his neighbor?  So we hear in the Epistle today, “we love because God first loved us.”  If faith is not there first, you would look in vain for those virtues. If faith has not embraced the promises concerning Christ, no real love and no other true virtues can be present.  This is the difference between the rich man and Lazarus: the difference was not the earthly riches, but in faith in the promises of God.   

Therefore the promise must be distinguished from the Law. The promise requires faith; the Law, works. The Law and works do not justify; yet Law and works must be taught and performed, in order that we may become aware of our sinfulness and accept grace all the more eagerly. Both the Law and the promises are the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit uses to draw us closer to Him in God’s righteousness obtained by faith and in righteous living.

And this is the promise of God-Jesus the Christ who was crucified for you, of whom Moses and the Prophets prophecy, and who was raised for your justification. Every promise of God includes Christ. Therefore, the only difference between Abraham’s faith and ours is this: Abraham believed in the Christ who was promised, while we believe in the promised Christ who has come and who promises to come again; and by that faith in Christ we are all saved.^[1]

Funeral Sermon for Rev Mervin Kellerman

John 5:24-29;  11:25-26; 12:21

June 22, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Beloved in the Lord, grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

A pastor, undershepherd of God’s flock.  Father, grandfather, husband.  We could add up all the accomplishments, which are many, but all we would be left with is something that Mervin himself like to quote, that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. He was quick to add that by the grace of God he was forgiven.  Mervin would have you today not look to him, nor to yourselves, for any comfort or hope, but to Jesus. 

In the last several years of his life, especially after the series of strokes, he new and felt guilt and shame deeply, someone for what many would have viewed as minor sins. Merv acutely aware of his sinfulness, and of the grace of God in his life.  He rejoiced, outwardly as much as a staunch Lutheran could, in the forgiveness of sins.  He embodied Romans 1 well, “I am not ashamed for the gospel, for it the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes… and the righteous shall live by faith.”

Fierce critic when it came to anything that denied this truth of God..  He would not tolerate the false idea, false hope, or false gospel that our actions contributed anything to our salvation. If left to ourselves, to our actions, to our good works, our destination is eternal hell and damnation.  Righteousness comes by faith and by faith alone in Christ alone.

He was more fierce in his support.  Several years ago, while a thorn in my flesh to keep me faithful in preaching the Gospel, he gave me something that I have put up here in the pulpit and look at every Sunday.  It’s a simple sign, one that is common enough, and something that he often put on his various pulpits.  It comes from John 12, when some Gentiles were seeking Jesus, they approached Phillip and say, “Sir, we wish to the see Jesus.” And when they did, the Lord responds in this way. “The hour has come for the son of Man to be glorified.  Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, He must follow Me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

“Sir, we would see Jesus.”  Mervin spent so much of his life, both personal and profession, pointing people to Jesus, and even now, in death, this is still his confession.  For that is why we are here, not to see Merv, but to see Jesus.  Not just Jesus, but Jesus as He is the glorified Son of Man, the crucified and risen Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus the Lord of the living.

I have a 5 year old son, who sometimes has a hard time paying attention. Kids are like that.  Most of you know this from personal experience.  When he is looking around at other things, he has a hard time listening. It’s easy to get distracted when there’s all kinds of things to look at.  There’s a saying that we’ve all heard, by to us and by us, that I often tell him. “Look at me while I’m talking to you.”  It let’s me know that he is paying attention, that he hears me. 

Stop looking around, whether at Mervin or at yourself. Focus. Look at Jesus while He is taking to you and listen up.  Jesus says in John 11, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?”  And He speaks through St. Paul in Romans 1, “The righteous shall live by faith.”  Faith in these promises of God.  Jesus is our living hope in the midst of death, death that cannot rob our Lord of life, nor rob those who belong to Him. 

There is a time coming soon when Mervin, and all who are in their tombs, will hear the voice of His Lord and his body will come out of the grave. The dead body, the worn out limbs, the frail health, the confused mind, the gnarled hands, all restored, redeemed, renewed.  Risen from the dead, with eyes focused on Jesus.  This is our Christian hope, this is our future that we would see Jesus face to face, shoulder to shoulder with brothers and sisters in Christ. On that day of resurrection, when our Lord returns in all His glory. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Trinity Sunday 2019

June 16, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID