Sermon for Lent II
March 17, 2019
Whose example are you more inclined to follow, St. Patrick or Lori Loughlin, affectionately known as Aunt Becky from Full House? Loughlin has been named as one of fifty who stand accused of buying her daughter’s way to a leading college through bribery. She paid big bucks to give her daughters the upper hand.
Yep, as some memes have indicated, Aunt Becky is going from Full House to the Big House.
It’s also St. Patrick’s Day. There are many legends about this 3rd century priest. The truth is that he was bold in proclaiming the pure Gospel of Christ in a very hostile environment when it was dangerous to do so. His efforts helped to convert Ireland into a Christian nation from a very secular and even barbarian nation.
Why are we talking about whose example to follow? St. Paul sets the tone for us this morning. He has just boldly professed his desire and encouragement to forget what lies behind and to strain forward to what lies ahead. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. At first glance, St. Paul sounds a bit arrogant when he invites, join in imitating me. What gives you the right to be the example? What makes you special, you who used to kill Christians? Paul has earned the right to invite others to imitate him. By God’s divine call and Christ’s mercy, he has turned from his old life and been determined to live his life as a redeemed child of God and heir of heaven. He is willing to die for the faith and is in prison for proclaiming Christ as Lord at the time that he writes this letter to his beloved Philippians. Paul realizes that it’s not about him. It is the transforming power of God’s Word in action that gives Paul confidence to invite others to follow his lead. Paul’s focus is constantly on Jesus and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection for us sinners.
Paul encourages the Philippians and us, not only to imitate him, but also to keep our eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. We all have role models, those we seek to emulate. They have qualities we appreciate. Who is that person or persons in your life? If you had to name one or two people in your life that have had the greatest influence in your faith life and world view, whom would that be? I dare to say that on most occasions, their words and actions followed their belief system. They cared about you and wanted what was best for you. They were less concerned about themselves and more concerned for those around them. They humbly accepted responsibility when they were wrong. They honestly confessed their sin and looked to Jesus as Lord. In times of trouble, they patiently trusted the Lord to care for them. They sought the wisdom of the Lord in His Word, acknowledging Him as the ultimate giver of gifts as they celebrated His love for them in Christ.
My Grandma Olson always made sure to remind me of Jesus’ love for me. At her 100th birthday party, four months prior to her death, we sang hymns and rejoiced in Jesus’ undying love for her. Daily devotions at the breakfast table and faithful worship at Concordia Lutheran Church, some 30 miles from their farm home near Clearbrook MN. They didn’t make up excuses to not be in worship. They were just there to be fed and gifted with God’s great gifts of forgiveness and life. Tears of joy well up when I think about the wonderful influence that she was for so many people.
Paul didn’t have tears of joy when he penned these words. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Paul’s heart ached for those who had walked away from the Lord. They had been part of the fold. No longer seeking God’s will in the hearing of His Word, they set their minds on earthly things. They listened to the voices of the devil and the world and their own sinful flesh. They no longer had time for the Lord. They worshiped the creation rather than the creator. They became gods unto themselves.
These themes are echoed in the Gospel and Old Testament readings. The priests and the prophets call for the death of Jeremiah because he has prophesied against their city. His response: “14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.” Jeremiah 26:14-15 Look guys, I am here to speak on behalf of the Lord. These words are not mine. Whether you kill me or not, you will still be held accountable to Him. He told them to “mend their ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord, and He will relent of the disaster that He has promised against you.”
St. Luke proclaims how our Lord Jesus sorrows over Jerusalem. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken!” The heart of our Lord breaks over the rejection of Jerusalem. His heart longs for them, and yet they turn away. They have become enemies of the cross. Their end is destruction. Unending torment is the plight of those who reject Christ. They too have set their minds on earthly things.
The Lord wants nothing more than to give His good gifts to His children. That is why we gather in His House on the Lord’s Day. He offers and gives what we need: Forgiveness and the great promise of life with Him. How His heart must ache when we reject His gifts and conclude that we don’t need to receive these gifts on a regular basis. I know that my heart aches over souls who have chosen to absent themselves from being fed on God’s Word and the Sacraments. They make themselves even more vulnerable to listen to the world, to those who are enemies of the cross. My sadness and fear stem from a genuine concern for their soul, their eternal well-being. Will they be drawn so far from Christ as they offer a deaf ear to His Word that they forget all that Christ has done for them? Will they despair of their sin, or pretend that they have what it takes in themselves to appease for their sin and please God. I lie awake at night praying and mulling the names and faces of people whom I know and love that are starving their soul as it appears that they no longer hunger and thirst for the righteousness that is Christ.
In our Men’s Bible study yesterday, Vicar Woodside led us through a Biblical view of worship written by Dr. John Kleing. In his introduction, he equates our worship life to that of a television.
“Imagine a color television set which has never been used. Since it occupies such a prominent place in the living room, it has developed rather inflated notions about its own importance. But it has never been used. It has never let its owners push in its plug and switch on the electricity. And so it has sat there undisturbed and has never functioned as a television set. It has lived all its life in that room and has never discovered what goes on elsewhere.
Well, that’s how people are who never worship God. They do not fulfill the purpose for which they were created. They lead lives that are spiritually frustrated and unfulfilled. There is only one activity which we do here on earth that will also be done in heaven. This activity is worship, which is the beginning of a heavenly life here on earth and a preparation for our life with God in heaven. Our worship here is practice for the real thing, like learning to play a musical instrument. It’s a heavenly activity which is done perfectly only in heaven.
So why do we worship? St. Paul continues. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Our citizenship is in heaven as a result of what Jesus did for us in His life, death, and resurrection. In your baptism, you have been changed from a hell bound sinner to a heaven bound saint. He did everything right. He did it for you, that you might be forgiven and spend eternity with Him. The Savior did come. He came to rescue you from sin and death.
So what’s it going to be? Will you live as a citizen of heaven or a resident of earth? Are you a navel gazer whose god is your belly, ignoring God’s Word, neglecting the needs of others, insensitive those who are hurting, uncaring about those whom you have offended through words and actions? You seek to suck everything out of life in riches and popularity. That’s the old man who daily needs to be drown and die. That happens as we confess our sin and look to Jesus who has made us new. It was His doing that made you His child and an heir of heaven. It is our joy to live our lives in gratitude to Him for all that He has done for us. You are a citizen of heaven. It means that we don’t yawn and make excuses when there is an opportunity to study His Holy Word or to be fed on Him in the Divine Service. We truly need what He has to offer and we can’t get it any place else. Our need is to be restored in our relationship with God. That happens only through the forgiveness of sins won at the cross and empty tomb. Along with the forgiveness of sins is the promise for a new and glorified body. “For He will transform your lowly body so that it will be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.” Today He offers His very body and blood as a foretaste of the feast when you will receive an eternal glorified body. In this meal, He strengthens and forgives, assures and feeds your soul and your body.
So as we imitate Paul and the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us, we also set the example for others who might be watching, that they too might see Jesus in us. Regular worship, faithful study of God’s Word, patience in adversity, forgiving, compassionate service to those in need, diligent in prayer, a life that expresses gratitude for all that our Lord has done for us in Christ. It is our joy to be fed on Christ as we keep our eyes focused upon the ugly cross where the penalty for your sin was paid in full.
Tears of sadness, shame, and regret or tears of laughter and joy. St. Patrick was an example of one who brought the joy of salvation in Christ to many. It is our great privilege to do the same as we rejoice in and celebrate the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus our crucified and risen Lord.