A Blog of Sermons, Devotional Thought, Religious Topics, and Just fun information and thoughts from Rev. Keith GeRue
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
Between Girard and Virden Illinois
June 6 Proverbs 3:5–24; John 11:38–57
June 7 Proverbs 4:1–27; John 12:1–19
June 8 Proverbs 5:1–23; John 12:20–36a; Proverbs 6:1—7:27
June 9 Proverbs 8:1–21; John 12:36b–50
June 10 Proverbs 8:22–36; John 13:1–20
June 11 (St Barnabas) Proverbs 9:1–18; John 13:21–38
June 12 Proverbs 10:1–23; John 14:1–17; Proverbs 11:1—12:28
Looking forward to next Sunday: the second sunday after trinity
Wisdom has issued an invitation to the divine feast: “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake foolishness and live” (Proverbs 9:1–10). This is the call of the Spirit of Christ to believe the Gospel and to receive His saving gifts in the Holy Supper. Many make excuses and reject this invitation, even as the Jews did in the days of Jesus, yet the Master’s house will be filled. The Gospel call therefore goes out to the lowly and despised, into the highways, even to all the Gentiles (Luke 14:15–24). For “you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13–22). In Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles are no longer strangers but fellow members of the household of God. The enmity of class and race is put to death through the cross. Having been reconciled in the one body of Christ, we are enabled to love one another (1 John 3:13–18) as we await the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which will have no end.
Collect
O Lord, who never fails to help and govern those whom You bring up in Your steadfast fear and love, make us to have a perpetual fear and love of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
At first glance the account of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man might seem to be a tale of vindication or equalization. All things even out in the end. The rich become poor and the poor become rich. But that is not true. It doesn't always happen that way. Nor does suffering earn favor with God. The difference between Lazarus and the rich man is not found in their wallets, nor in their deeds, but in their hearts. For while it seems as though hungry Lazarus has nothing besides the mercy of canines, in truth, he has riches the world can scarcely imagine. He has Moses and the prophets.
The rich man rejected Moses and the prophets. Even in Hell's fire, from no less of an authority than Abraham himself, the rich man refuses to believe that Moses and the prophets can save his brothers. The hard-heartedness of the goats perseveres into eternity. They want to be judged by their works. They want a god of their own design, one who looks like them. They get what they want. Thus did Our Lord calmly hand over the Pharisees and priests to their self-chosen fate with one of the saddest sentences in all of the Scriptures, “They have their reward.”
Longing for crumbs from the table, while dogs licked his wounds, miserable Lazarus found no mercy from the rich man, no crumb to abate his hunger, no balm for his wounds, no camaraderie for his ego. The kingdom of men rejected him. But in the end, Lazarus found what he sought. He found mercy that endures forever. He found Living Water and Bread from Heaven. He found satisfaction and health. He found it in Moses and the prophets. For he found there a Man in worse shape than himself, a Man who was no man but a worm, condemned for sins He did not commit, in whom their was no beauty, no comeliness, surrounded by dogs. That Man bore the iniquity of all the evil fallen men have done, so that fallen men like Lazarus and the rich man and all of who ever lived might go free.
In His mercy God lowered Lazarus to the point where he was not too proud to beg. For He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. . . As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. He gives to His children harvest where they did not sow, win where they did not tend, grace they have not earned. The God of Abraham and Baby of Mary, the Messiah foreseen and prophesied by Moses, found Lazarus through His Word. So that Lazarus, for all his trouble in this sad life, now knows perfect joy and peace. His chastisement is heavy, but ever placed in perfect love. Soon it is taken away and the angels bear you home.
O that God in His abundant grace and wisdom would make us like that holy beggar, helpless, weak, and dependent, trusting in no one but Him, satisfied with no other food, drinking no other wine! That we would be dogs eating undeserved crumbs from His table, licking His wounds unto salvation, and basking forever in His love! For of such, dogs and children, drunks and outcasts, beggars and sinners all, is the Kingdom of God.
Holy Trinity Sunday Numbers 35:9–30; Luke 24:28–53; Acts 1:1—7:60
May 31 Ecclesiastes 8:1–17; (Visitation) John 9:1–23;
June 1 Ecclesiastes 9:1–17; John 9:24–41
June 2 Ecclesiastes 10:1–20; John 10:1–21
June 3 Ecclesiastes 11:1–10; John 10:22–42
June 4 Ecclesiastes 12:1–14; John 11:1–16
June 5 Proverbs 1:8–33; John 11:17–37
Looking Ahead to next week
The First Sunday after trinity
When the beggar Lazarus died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. For he was truly Abraham’s seed. He believed in the Lord, and the Lord “accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:1–6). The name Lazarus means “God is my help.” The unnamed rich man, on the other hand, did not love and trust in God. For he evidently cared little for the beggar at his gate. And “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:16–21). He who loved and trusted in possessions and prestige died and was in torments in Hades (Luke 16:19–31). Repentance and faith are worked only through Moses and the prophets—that is, the Word of God, for it points us to Christ. Through His death and resurrection, we are brought to the comfort of life everlasting.
Collect
O God, the Strength of all those who put their trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us the help of Your grace that in keeping Your commandments we may please You both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord . Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There are two things that often make Lutherans feel uncomfortable in confessing the Athanasian Creed, as we just did. The first is the use of the term catholic. But that’s easy enough properly to understand. Catholic with a small ‘c’ simply means “universal.” The catholic faith is the one true faith delivered by the apostles and prophets and recorded for us in the Scriptures, the one, universal faith which has been confessed by the true church in all places at all times, the faith which trusts in Jesus Christ alone as the Savior, which worships the Holy Trinity as the only true God.
But there is another part of the Athanasian Creed that, at first, seems to present a little more difficulty. The Creed says, “They that have done good will go into life everlasting.” Perhaps while you were saying those words, you were wondering to yourself, “Hey, that doesn’t sound quite right. We’re saved by God’s grace alone, not by our works! How could that statement be correct?” Indeed we are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ. It is a pure gift of God, as Ephesians 2 clearly states. But what the Athanasian Creed states is not unscriptural. For in John 5:28-29, Jesus says this, “The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear the Son of Man’s voice and come forth-those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
So how do we reconcile these things? How can both be true? The answer comes from Jesus’ words in John 6:28-29. There the people ask Jesus, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.” So to do good is to believe in Jesus, whom the Father sent to be our Savior. The “good work” which the Father seeks and which He works in you by His Holy Spirit is to trust in Christ as the One who made full payment for your sins on the cross and who was raised again on the third day to give you life and resurrection.
To do good is to have faith in Jesus, for it is written in Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin, no matter how good and holy it appears to man. Only works which have been cleansed by the blood of Christ and which are worked by Him in us through faith are good and holy before the throne of God.
So it is that we rightly confess the truth of the Athanasian Creed, “They that have done good will go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the catholic faith which, except a man believes faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.” There is no salvation, no eternal life apart from faith in this 3-in-1 God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; this Jesus, the Son of God who became flesh to redeem us.
Now if that is true, if we believe that only through Christ is there life everlasting and without Him the rest are bound for hell, you would think that we’d be eager to speak about that out in the world to our family and friends and neighbors. For we have been shown the only truth that can save. Out of love for others, we should want to confess what we believe, so that they may be drawn into this same saving faith and worship and not be lost. But the truth is, it’s not easy for us to confess that faith out in the world is it? It’s easier just to keep quiet and avoid possible trouble. We don’t want to be stereotyped; we don’t want to be thought of as nut cases. And so we often keep what we believe secret, unless we’re sure it’s safe. We think and talk one way in here, and we think and talk another way out there.
That’s what Nicodemus was doing in today’s Gospel. He came to Jesus at night. It is written elsewhere in the Scriptures that Nicodemus was a follower of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews. You see, Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin. And that council saw Jesus as trouble, a rabble rouser and a blasphemer who needed to be silenced. So Nicodemus felt the pressure to conform and maintain the status quo, even as we know all too well the pressure to conform to this world and follow its ways.
But Nicodemus was beginning to be drawn in by the words of Jesus. Those words of life were beginning to penetrate his heart. He was beginning to want something that he didn’t have, just as every sinner, whether he admits it or not, knows that he’s missing something without Christ. Our hearts are indeed restless until they rest in Him.
So Nicodemus comes with his restless heart to Jesus by night. And he says, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Nicodemus reasons that Jesus must be from God, because He’s able to do these signs and miracles. And so Nicodemus figures that Jesus might be able to teach him something so that he can get his spiritual life together and make religion really work for him. But Jesus responds in a way that shows Nicodemus is missing the point entirely. The Christian faith is not about cleaning up your act; it’s about stopping the act and getting a whole new life. It’s not doing something to get yourself in touch with God and in harmony with His will, it’s about being reborn in Christ. Jesus said, “Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. “
To see the kingdom of God you must die to this life, to reason and experience, to logic and common sense, and to your own ideas of what God should be like. This life is marred and corrupted by the fall into sin, and so it must pass away. We must receive a new and holy life that is acceptable to stand in God’s presence and to enter His kingdom. And that life is given to us by Christ. For He lived a sinless and holy life for us. He fulfilled the commandments entirely and completely kept the Law of love, even to the point of laying down His life. Now He is risen from the dead in the flesh to pour out His life by the Holy Spirit on all who believe. Jesus said, “Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
When you come to the Light with penitent faith in Jesus, just as Nicodemus came through the darkness to Him who is the Light of the world, Christ will not rebuke and reject you. “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” What good news that is! Jesus did not come to damn you but to rescue you. He did not come to lay new rules and requirements on you, but to take your burdens and sins on Himself and put them to death in His body on the cross that you may have life and have it abundantly.
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” There is no one to whom that verse does not apply. God so loved you that He gave His only begotten Son for you, that believing in Him you shall not perish but have everlasting life.
This is why we hold steadfastly to Scriptural confessions of faith like the Athanasian Creed and reject anything that is contrary to it. It’s not out of an arrogant “We’re right, everyone else is wrong” kind of attitude. Rather, we know that this is the only true God who is love; this Jesus is the only one who is the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except through Him. Here’s the only medicine that can heal you. All the others are just quacks. Ultimately it is out of love for our neighbor that we reject all false religion, so that they may know and believe the saving truth of the Holy Trinity-the Father who created us and who loves even us fallen creatures, the Son who demonstrates that love by taking on our flesh and redeeming us with His precious blood, and the Holy Spirit who pours out that love upon us by means of His words and sacraments. This is our God. This is our Lord. We are not ashamed to confess Him but are glad to say:
Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the Undivided Unity: let us give glory to Him because he has shown mercy to us! For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Him be glory forever. Amen.
Pentecost Sunday Numbers 21:10–35; Luke 21:20–38 May 24 Numbers 22:1–20; Luke 22:1–23 May 25 Numbers 22:21—23:3; Luke 22:24–46 May 26 Numbers 23:4–28; Luke 22:47–71 May 27 Numbers 24:1–25; Luke 23:1–25 May 28 Numbers 27:12–23; Luke 23:26–56 May 29 Numbers 32:1–6, 16–27; Luke 24:1–27
Looking Ahead: Trinity Sunday
the feast of the holy trinity
When Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, he cried out “Woe is me!” For the sinner cannot stand in the presence of a holy God and live (Is 6:1–7). But God the Father lifted up His Son Jesus for us on the cross, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:1–15). This eternal life of Christ is given us according to the Holy Spirit’s good pleasure in Baptism. “Unless one is born (again) of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” To sinners in fear of death, the messengers of God place on our lips the living body and blood of Christ and speak His words of absolution, “Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” Having received forgiveness and life from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit, we join with the angels in praising the blessed Trinity, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:33–36).
Introit
Antiphon:
Blessed the Holy / Trinity*
and the Undivided / Unity:
Let us give glo- / ry to Him*
For He has shown mercy / unto us. (Liturgical Text)
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who has given to us, Your servants, grace, by the confession of a truth faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity, we implore You that You would keep us steadfast in this faith and evermore defend us from all adversities; who lives and reigns, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.n
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Flesh and blood do not, cannot, reveal this, but the Father in heaven can, and does. Every time men make confession, proclaim that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, they do so by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaking in a tongue alien to fallen flesh, which they did not learn. So the Holy Apostles on Pentecost, amidst the blood and fire and vapor of smoke, spoke in tongues that they did not know, with Spirit-given utterance. The vision of tongues of fire upon their heads was not the miracle. But the Spirit at work through His Word, burning in the hearts of men, so that they asked, “What shall we do?” that is the miracle. That is the intervention of the Almighty in the course of human affairs, the setting aside of the laws of nature. For we cannot, by our own reason or strength, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, or come to Him. But God does what man cannot. He converts and gives new birth from above. He changes the hearts of men.
That isn’t some far away, long ago act. But this is who He is and what He does still today. He calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps us in the true faith. All this He does by His Word. Men seek signs and get none but the quiet sign of Jonah, the resurrection of Jesus Christ out of the tomb. If you will not accept His Word and live by faith, then no moving of mountains will change your heart. Repent.
The Holy Spirit is not interested in special effects, but in character and plot development. Nor does He seek to draw attention to Himself or to entertain us with sci-fi fantasies and speculation about the future. Instead He ever draws attention to the salvation He has procured for us with the Father by the perfect, atoning Sacrifice of the Son. The Holy Spirit teaches the Doctrine of Justification, that is, that God has reconciled mankind to Himself through the death of Jesus Christ. He does not look upon sinful men with wrath, but forgives them. He does not hold their sins against them. He has satisfied the Law, fulfilled Justice’s stern demands, for them, that He might again love men, free and full, complete and perfect. Death is dead. But this Jesus, whom you crucified, He lives. He is Lord and Christ, the Victor who divides the spoils with His unworthy children by grace. Mankind is exalted for God has become one of us. As a Man, as one of us, He has conquered Satan and Hell and as a Man, as one of us, He has ascended to the right hand of His Father from where He sends His Holy Spirit. He makes us partakers of His Divine nature. That forgiveness and acceptance, that Divine declaration of innocence, that peace, is the “all things” that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to teach. There is nothing else.
What, should we then do?“Repent. And let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. Everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This is the God of the Holy Scriptures, the God of Jonah who brought the unbelieving Ninevites to repentance and faith. He forgives, justifies, renews, restores, encourages, feeds, nurtures, heals, and loves. He does this not in some abstract, philosophical way, but in the real, solid things He has given: in His Word, in the cleansing waters of rebirth infused with His Name, in the Body and Blood of Jesus given and shed for you. All by grace for mercy’s sake, all by the death and resurrection of Jesus, sent by the Father, proclaimed by the Spirit.
There is nothing more comforting in all the world than this. And nothing can be allowed to corrupt or water down this saving message. For there is nothing more expedient, practical, generous, or charitable than to speak what the Spirit has given us to speak. Nor is there anything else that lasts. The fads of religion come and go but the Word of Our Lord shall endure forever. Here is your hope, your present and your future wrapped up into one: the God of all grace and mercy, makes His home with you! You have nothing to fear. There is no one to accuse you. Go in peace. In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
