Epiphany 5A Sermon: Excessive Righteousness

Preached on Matthew 5:13-20
The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany
5 February AD 2017

Title: Click to hear the MP3 of Excessive Righteousness.

Summary: How do you enter the kingdom of heaven? All you need to do is be more righteous than the most righteous people walking the earth. That’s all. Just exceed the holy behavior of the holiest of humankind and you might get close.

Of course, this is impossible. All too often, we are flavorless salt and unlit lamps, vastly removed from the absolute righteousness of thought, word, and deed the Law demands.

Yet because Christ lived the life we couldn’t and died the death we deserve, the Father credits us with His Son’s righteousness. We possess the excessive righteousness of Jesus Himself. Our citizenship in the kingdom is secure because we are, by grace, the sinless sons of God.

Does this mean that we ignore Jesus’ words about righteousness? Are we exempt from being salt and light? Of course not! As God’s redeemed children, we desire to do His will, to glorify Him by our public testimony. And as still fallen creatures, we also need the Law’s demands to chasten, rebuke, and slay our sinful natures. So we are driven back to the Gospel, whence we again receive forgiveness and the freedom to live in faith toward God and fervent love toward one another

Text: [Jesus said,] “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:13-20

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Excessive Righteousness.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 112:1-9; Isaiah 58:3-9a; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Illustration: Christ Crucified by Carne Griffiths

Pentecost 18 Sermon: Deeds Unforgotten

Preached on Amos 8:4-7
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 20C
18 September AD 2016

Title: Click to hear the MP3 of Deeds Unforgotten.

Summary: Amos said, “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: ‘Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.’” Are we such fools as to invite this remembrance? Are we innocent of taking advantage of those less fortunate?

Not likely! In one way or another, each of us shares culpability for the world’s social injustice — injustice that’s certainly sinful of itself but also a symptom of mankind’s fallen nature. The wicked practices that Amos decries testify against a people who judge themselves better than others — a people just like us.

We may not spend the Lord’s Day actively planning to cheat the poor, to achieve wrongful gain at the expense of the needy, or to create and use crooked measures in order to bilk the unwary. However, we often ignore the needs of the less fortunate even as we gather in the Lord’s house. Too often, we give only cursory attention to the preaching of His Word and the reception of the His Supper, preferring to zip in, get pepped up, and dash out in an hour or less.

By accusing us of using unjust measures, the Lord also points out our unbalanced natures, ever inclined toward sin. We are out of balance. And if we approach God’s judgment thinking that we will save ourselves, we’ll find the balance weighted more against us than we would have seen in Israel’s most dishonest scales, for the Lord “will never forget” our deeds.

Yet when Christians hear the Lord swear by “the pride of Jacob” to remember our deeds, we rejoice! Jacob’s ultimate pride resides in his greatest Heir, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Israel’s Pride gives us true forgiveness and credits us with His own deeds. Now our deeds are kind, merciful, and done without counting the cost. Our hearts are holy, our motives pure.

We not only have Christ’s deeds credited to us but Jesus also continues working His deeds through us. He sends the Holy Spirit to move us to lives of mercy, serving our neighbor, loving our enemy, forsaking sinful gain, and seeking justice for all.

Text: Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.” Amos 8:4-7

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Deeds Unforgotten

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-15; Luke 16:1-15

Pentecost 9 Sermon: One Thing Necessary

Preached on Luke 10:38-42
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 11C
17 July AD 2016

Title: One Thing Necessary (MP3 Audio)

Summary: Care, concern, anxiety, worry, trouble — call it what you will, we all find ourselves distracted and sidetracked from the “good portion,” feasting on Christ, the food of everlasting life. Loving our neighbor in response to God’s love for us is never wrong but Jesus reminds us as He did Martha that, finally, only “one thing is necessary.”

Martha wasn’t wrong as she prepared a meal for the Lord and His disciples. Quite likely, she was listening even as she worked to make ready and serve the food. Yet she seemed completely unaware that she was fixing a meal for the Host of the everlasting banquet.

What earthly provender compares to this “feast of rich food” and “well-aged wine” (Isaiah 25:6) that awaits us when we are raised from the dead? Martha was concerned with her guests’ daily bread. But more essentially, Mary wanted first to partake of the “good portion,” feasting on the Bread of Life (see John 6:48, 51) as He taught in their home.

Text: Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of One Thing Necessary.

Illustration: Tintoretto, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary from the Web Gallery of Art.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 27:(1-6) 7-14; Genesis 18:1-10a (10b-14); Colossians 1:21-29

Pentecost 8 Sermon: Unearned Inheritance

Preached on Luke 10:25-37
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 10C
10 July AD 2016

Title: Unearned Inheritance (MP3 Audio)

Summary: The teacher of the Law tested Jesus with a question that made sense to him but is nonsense to God. He confused Law and Gospel, asking how to earn a gift, specifically, the inheritance of eternal life. Jesus’s story of the Samaritan continued to point the man down the path of works, evidently because He judged the man unready to grasp salvation by grace through faith.

The lawyer couldn’t earn what was already God’s gift through the same Jesus whom he came to challenge. We inherit eternal life because Christ died and left everything to us in His “will” — His testament of body given and blood shed on the cross. We can do nothing to inherit because “it is finished (John 19:30)” and we possess our inheritance through God-given faith.

Text: And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”

He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”

And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Unearned Inheritance.

Illustration: Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890. Good Samaritan (1890), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved July 12, 2016]. Click for original source.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 41; Leviticus 18:1-5, 19:9-18; Colossians 1:1-14

Pentecost 4 Sermon: Cover-Up

Preached on Psalm 32:1-7
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 6C
12 June AD 2016

Title: Cover-Up (MP3 Audio)

Summary: Cover-ups. We see them employed by governments, businesses, and individuals in order to avoid the consequences of actions illegal, immoral, and sinful. They may work for a time but eventually, the truth usually becomes known. Of course, if a cover-up is maintained long enough, statutes of limitations, changes in attitudes, or more pressing matters often diminish or completely eliminate earthly consequences.

However, the same doesn’t hold true for the eternal consequences of sin. As David discovered, we cannot out-wait God’s judgment. Sin doesn’t become less sinful over time and God doesn’t forget or excuse our wrongdoings. Our attempts at cover-ups are no more successful than those of David with Bathsheba, Adam and Eve in the garden, or any others throughout history.

Yet there is one absolutely foolproof and complete cover-up: God covers us in the blood of Jesus, forgiving and forgetting all our sins. Washed in the waters of Baptism and clothed in Christ’s righteousness, He now sees nothing in us but the absolute righteousness of His beloved Son.

With David, we celebrate with “shouts of deliverance.” Along with the forgiven woman in today’s Gospel, we discover that as our sins “which are many, are forgiven” and now we are moved to much love — toward God who forgives and toward other people, as we both forgive and are forgiven by them.

Text: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Psalm 32:1-7

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Cover-Up.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14; Galatians 2:15-21, 3:10-14; Luke 7:36-8:3

Also: Here are related sermons on today’s Old Testament and Gospel readings.

Pentecost 2 Sermon: Absolutely Astonished

Preached on Galatians 1:1-12
The Second Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 4C
29 May AD 2016

Title: Absolutely Astonished (MP3 Audio)

Summary: Astonishing! Someone gives you something beyond value for absolutely no cost — and you’re looking for ways to pay for it! And so, after an introduction filled with sweetness and light, Paul immediately lowers the boom on the Galatians — and on us.

Even secular wisdom tells us, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.” In other words, accept your gift thankfully and use it as intended. If this is true for even second-rate human gifts, how much more should it be for a priceless gift of love from God Himself?

Yet the Galatians were starting to listen to those who were telling them that Christ alone wasn’t enough. They were being told that to be “good Christians,” they needed to become good Jews. Freed by the Gospel, the Galatians were beginning to subject themselves to the Law.

Enemies of the Gospel were using it as a gateway, making Christ’s sacrifice a step on the way to holiness rather than the source and the completion of our righteousness. The freedom from sin’s bondage that these Judaizers” proclaimed was illusory — they were only “freeing” their listeners to step into a new bondage.

While the details change to fit times and circumstances, Satan and fallen human nature remain the same. We still face those who would turn us away from the full liberation of the Gospel and direct us back to works of the Law.

Listen to Christ. When He says, “It it finished,” He means that He has completed everything necessary for salvation. Our debt is paid, we are reconciled with the Father, and we can do nothing to add to God’s infinite love. What is more astonishing than our efforts to add human works to the Gospel? God continuing to love us, forgive us, and receive us into His presence.

Text: Paul, an apostle — not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead — and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. John 8:48-59

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Absolutely Astonished.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 96:1-9; 1 Kings 8:22-24, 27-29, 41-43; Luke 7:1-10

New Year’s Eve Sermon: Self-Made Sinners, God-Made Saints

Preached on Isaiah 30:15-17
The Eve of Jesus’ Name
31 December AD 2015 / The Seventh Day of Christmas

Title: Self-Made Sinners, God-Made Saints (MP3 Audio)

Summary: When we take stock of our thoughts, words, and deeds throughout the waning year, we may see some change, perhaps even a bit of “improvement.” Yet there is nothing we can do to improve our standing with God, our righteousness in His sight.

When the Lord makes us holy, we are completely holy. To attempt to do better than His best is to flee the gift of salvation in Christ Jesus every bit as much as are any crass sins against God or man.

Therefore, we continue returning to the rest found in His presence, pardon, and peace. In Word and Sacrament, our spirits are quieted, our faith sustained and upbuilt, and our lives remade. And receiving this blessing, we respond in faith toward Him and in fervent love toward one another.

Text: For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift.

A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. Isaiah 30:15-17

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of the New Year’s Eve sermon Self-Made Sinners, God-Made Saints

NB: For some reason, a few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio if Windows Media is their default MP3 player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 90:1-12; Romans 8b:31-39; Luke 12:35-40

Trinity 6 Sermon: Exceeding Righteousness

Preached on Matthew 5:17-26
The Sixth Sunday after Trinity
12 July AD 2015

Title: Exceeding Righteousness (MP3 Audio)

Summary: While Jesus often sharply criticized the scribes and the Pharisees, people of His time normally looked up to them as exemplars of virtue. They fasted, tithed, and kept the Sabbath in ways that few matched. In outward behavior, these men were Israel’s spiritual elite.

Yet Christ told those listening to His Sermon on the Mount that no one could enter the kingdom of heaven without possessing and displaying superior righteousness. Yet how could this be? None of His hearers could keep even the Ten Commandments, today’s appointed Old Testament reading. How could they ever hope to excel when they couldn’t even keep up?

The answer, of course, is the righteousness that belongs to believers in Jesus Christ. Those who participate in His death and resurrection through Holy Baptism (today’s Epistle) are clothed in the immaculate righteousness of the Son of God.

We baptized Christians — who hear and believe the Gospel, who trust Christ’s Absolution, who eat and drink His body and blood — exceed all earthly righteousness. The Father declares us holy and views us as being as completely sinless as Jesus Himself.

Christ’s righteousness, poured over us and wrapped around us, also takes root within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. And though our thoughts, words, and deeds never match the Law’s demands, the Father still considers us to be His sinless children and accepts our works as “good” for the sake of His Son.

Text: [Jesus said,] “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

“Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:20-26

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of the Trinity 6 sermon Exceeding Righteousness

NB: For some reason, a few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio if Windows Media is their default MP3 player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 19; Exodus 20:1-17; Romans 6:1-11