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Grace, mercy, and peace be with God our Father and with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ, the text for this morning’s sermon comes from the Gospel reading. You may be seated.
Little did Martin Luther know that when he nailed onto the chapel door in Wittenberg, Germany, a sheet of paper with 95 statements or theses, in order to be debated and discussed among clergy and among the laity, that it would unleash a firestorm of such enormous trials and tribulations for him both physically and, more importantly, spiritually. For it unleashed the wrath of the devil in a very personal manner to Luther. He struggled with the very spiritual things of how do I stand free and forgiven in God’s sight as a condemned sinner. But also outwardly did Satan work with the pride of man. For the Roman church condemned Luther as a heretic, hunted him down in order to kill him, which, by the way, prior to him, every other man or woman who tried to bring forth the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the church was met with death. He was the first that was not.
It was with great anguish that he diligently searched Christ’s word, that he, that is Christ, was sacrificed for him, that by believing in what blood of Christ was shed for him, would bring him peace with the Father, wiping away sin, so that he was innocent because of Christ. But he was sorely disappointed. Because the Roman church had allowed man’s truth to supplant God’s truth. And it’s still a struggle with all churches today. The temptation to let man’s truth supplant God’s truth. And in the pride of man, rather than confessing that it is wrong, digs their heels in. And that’s what Luther came across in the Roman church. Digging their heels in, they would never deny. Why? And to this day, they still do not deny the very things that Luther brought forth.
This unholy trinity of the devil, who constantly accused him, this world which worked its ways of suffering upon him, and his own flesh through doubt and pride besieged him night and day. But we don’t have to look to him for that kind of an experience, do we? Little did you know that when you were baptized, God set you on a path of conflict head-on with this world, with your own sinful flesh, and with Satan. And this conflict that you are very familiar with, this struggle, is because from the moment of your baptism, you were freed from the tyranny of Satan. No longer possessed by him, but possessed by Christ, who lives in you and through you by his Holy Spirit.
You have been set apart as different, and you’ve had to live with that difference. Not always having it respected among your peers, your colleagues. There are many within our own church here at St. Paul who have had to walk away from their families in order to hold fast to this truth. This parish has been blessed, but it’s been blessed by the sacrifices of many who came before you and me. Your life has been blessed by many who sacrificed for you to give you this gospel today. To ensure you had this truth that brings freedom from oppression and accusation by Satan and freedom to stand before God as a free and forgiven person. Sins are not counted against you.
Your parents had to forego sleeping in on Sunday morning so that they could bring you to church. Sunday school teachers had to wonder at times whether I or you were too wiggly and squirmy in the Sunday school classroom to get anything about Jesus. But as one who wiggled and squirmed in the Sunday school classroom, I tell you, it worked. I thank those Sunday school teachers for their sacrifices. If you were blessed with parochial school, many parochial school teachers sacrificed a salary far greater in the public school realm so that they could bring you Jesus here. And many pastors, whom you can see in your mind’s eye, who spoke words of encouragement and who taught you about this Jesus, whose perfect sacrifice on the perfect altar, the cross, perfectly paid everything for your imperfect sin and life.
But there’s one other group of people that you don’t realize. This other group of people, their faces have faded from your memory. Because this other group of people, who are really the majority of people, who sacrificed much so that you would have this gospel, are those parishioners with whom you sat and you really never knew as you grew up. They’re the parishioners in this church whose faithful presence, and more importantly, whose faithful contributions and tithes allow this church to gather. Their sacrifices have blessed you with this gospel. And we give thanks and praise for them as well.
But such a truth that you and I have been given demands more than a simple and initial acceptance and praise. For Jesus himself says that such a truth, which brings true freedom, demands you to remain steadfast, demands you to be persevering, demands you to be enduring. You know that. You’ve had an experience of that. You’ve been confronted by someone about your faith being at odds with what the world espouses. You’ve dealt with relationships that have been impinged on because you hold to the Word of God and its promises, unlike so many in the world who use the Word of God but not in a holy manner. And God will continue to allow you to find out what it means to continue in His Word, so that you rely upon that word as your only source and norm of truth.
For Christ Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is truth incarnate. And your struggle and your suffering in this world because of your faith, just as Luther put up with it in a far more dramatic way, so you have to live with the same things. And God allows you to live with that and struggle with that so that you find freedom in Him and Him alone. Not in compromise, for it haunts you, doesn’t it? Not in bending the truth, for that never brings truth, freedom. But in relying upon His Holy Word that the sacrifice of Christ paid for you.
This learning to abide is difficult because you and I live in a society and struggle with a society that says every bit of truth is relative. It’s whatever you determine as being true for you. That kind of destruction of truth leaves no truth left, does it? For it means that you and I have to say that we don’t have the truth. And all of this is a big sham and a great show of piety. I’m going to die in this faith, and so will you. It is not a sham, and it is not a show. You and I live in a society that loves to laud and reward those who do not take confidence in absolute truth, who continue to encourage you to bend and break that truth of God’s holy word. It doesn’t want you to condemn falsehood or even acknowledge it, but accept it with the mantra of tolerance. Tolerance. Tolerance. And that will lead you and me to hell, brothers and sisters, because it is not tolerance that crucified Christ, but justice that crucified Christ, so that a payment was rendered, satisfaction was given, that you never have to fear or worry.
God is appeased because of Jesus, because we call sin a sin, and we call a sinner forgiven as a sinner forgiven. Say with confidence, “I know that my doctrine and faith are Christ’s doctrine and faith and none other.” Oh, we can’t do that, pastor. That’s godly pride. No, it’s not. Say with confidence that my words and works are Jesus’ words and works. And I don’t care who is angry with me. More importantly, who is angry with my confession of faith? No. Even if they look at me cross-eyed in the skanks because we do not hold to what the world teaches. But isn’t that sinful pride, pastor? It is not. It is godly confidence, dear brothers and sisters. Godly confidence.
Though Luther suffered far more than we, I think it’s safe to say that we live in a society as decrepit as that of Luther’s time. Oh, the church was there, absolutely. But there was still rampant sin because mankind, you know in your own bosom, sin is always there. So what then do we find hope in? In the absolute truth that this living bread from heaven, Jesus, gives to you to eat. That you may abide in him and him in you and that you may live forever. He will raise you from the dead. That’s his promise. And no matter how the world thinks of you or us, and no matter how the world views this message of freedom from sin’s oppression, you and I can be certain that the bread from heaven that was given for the life of the world is His flesh, scarred and wounded for you to eat and drink and be refreshed in your wilderness journeyings in this world.
For our struggle is with flesh and blood, but also more importantly, our struggle is with the spirits of this world, who seek to pull us away from Jesus. Who seek to pull our children away from Jesus. And who seek to pull away our grandchildren away from Jesus. So then what’s going to become of the church? Christ’s holy bride in this world. The same thing that God did to the church in Luther’s time. God raised up faithful people like you and me. Sinners though we may be. Faithful people who imperfectly proclaim it and imperfectly cling to this truth so that as a beacon we bring the light of Christ to a world that’s swimming in darkness. And we do so lovingly. And we do so winsomely. But we do so unashamedly. And we do so confidently because God has blessed you with this truth by the sacrifice of His Son and the sacrifice of many others in your life, as well as those whom you and I never will remember, but who faithfully put their offerings in that plate and faithfully supported you by being present with you in God’s house.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
