Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity - Lk 16:1-8

 

   Trinity 9

                                                                                                            Lk 16:1-8

                                                                                                            8/2/26

 

            Bernie Ebbers was a great success story. He founded a long distance phone service company in the early 1980’s. By the late 1990’s this had turned into WorldCom, the second largest long distance telecommunications company in the United States. Under his leadership WorldCom aggressively expanded through a series of rapid acquisitions.

            But there was a problem. The rapid expansion put WorldCom in a difficult position as its profits began to decline and this threatened its stock value. So Ebbers cooked the books. He used various false means to improve the company’s profit and loss position by $3.8 billion. In the end, he was caught. WorldCom filed for bankruptcy as 30,000 people lost their jobs and investors lost $180 billion. Ebbers was sentenced to twenty five years in prison.

            Now to hear Jesus tell it this morning, Bernie Ebbers is a man to admire and emulate. At least, that’s what our Lord’s parable seems to say. He tells a parable about a manager who defrauds his employer, and then the employer praises him for his shrewdness. We are left to wonder: Why is Jesus encouraging us to break the Seventh Commandment by stealing?

            In our text, Jesus tells a parable as he says, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.”  The manager was supposed to run the rich man’s business affairs in order to make more money for him. But apparently, the manager was doing a terrible job.  We learn that he was wasting his possessions – the same verb that has just been used in the parable of the Prodigal Son to describe how the son had burned through his inheritance in wild living.

            The rich man found out about this and knew he had to make a change. He called the manager and told him, “Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.”  The manger had been fired, and he faced a moment of crisis.  He said, “What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.” He had lost his job, and he couldn’t see any other possibility by which he would support himself.

            But then, he formed a plan that would secure his future. He said, “I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.” He still had the financial books, and if he moved quickly he could ingratiate himself to those who owed the rich man.

            He summoned his master’s debtors and told each of them to reduce the amount on their bill that they owed. A hundred measures of oil became fifty. A hundred measures of wheat became eighty. It has been estimated that the manger was saving the debtors five hundred denarii – five hundred days wages.  He was giving them a significant benefit … and defrauding the rich man of serious money. 

            At the end of the parable we expect the rich man to be angry. But instead, we learn that the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.  Then Jesus explained, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

            At first glance, this certainly is one of Jesus’ most puzzling parables.  But things begin to make a little more sense when we look at what happens after our text in this chapter. First our Lord says, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

            Then Luke tells us, “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.” In response, Christ said, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”  Then the Lord follows up by telling the parable of the rich man and Lazarus which tells of how the rich man failed to use his wealth in order to help his neighbor.

            It becomes clear that in this section of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is teaching us about how we are to use money – about the place it is to have in our life. And he teaches us how we are to view and use it in light of what has happened in Christ.

            In the parable the manger finds himself at a critical moment. He has lost his job. However, he still has the financial books. And so if he can use his continuing control over these possessions in a shrewd manner he can secure his future. But he must act decisively. Note how he says, “Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.”

            Our Lord is leading us to recognize that we must view and use our money in the understanding of what has happened in him. In Christ the saving reign of God has broken into the world. The critical moment in God’s plan of salvation has arrived. Paul told the Galatians, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

            At the exact right moment in God’s plan, he sent his Son into the world as he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  By his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead Jesus has redeemed you – he has freed you. Earlier in Galatians the apostle described how Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.” 

            Jesus has freed you from sin and the devil. By his resurrection he has delivered you from death, because death cannot hold on to our bodies. To die is to be with Christ, and on the Last Day our bodies will share in the resurrection that began with Jesus on Easter. Christ has given you new life through the work of the Spirit, and it is through the Spirit now in you that God will raise you up. With good reason Paul tells the Corinthians in our epistle lesson today that we are those “on whom the end of the ages has come.”

            This is what God has done in Christ for you. He has called you to be his own, and made you part of the people God. This saving action by God has meaning for all aspects of life. After all, Jesus is your Lord as you are in Christ. And in our text the Lord says that faith in Christ will determine the way we view and use our money and wealth.

            Jesus says, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” Christ is talking about money and wealth, and he says that the sons of this world – literally “the sons of this age” – are more shrewd. That is, they are more consistent in applying their guiding principles.

            If God isn’t in the picture, then a person should act like money is his or her god. Money and wealth should be the center of life. Attention should always be focused on getting more. And the use of money should always be directed in selfish ways. Everything should be about me – clothes, house, cars, electronic gadgets, and travel for me. That is what it should look like if money is your god and lord.

But of course, you have a different Lord – the Lord Jesus. And he warns, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” 

It turns out that money is an inherent temptation because of the old Adam in us.  A god is anything that we value most – anything in which we find our true sense of security and worth. Jesus says later in this chapter, “For where your treasure it, there will your heart be also.” Money stands in competition with God for the rightful place of Lord in our life.

Jesus promises that God will provide us with daily bread – with what we need to support this body and life. He points to how God provides food for the ravens and clothes the lilies in beauty. God will certainly also feed and clothe us. Christ says, “And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

So how do we seek the kingdom of God – the reign of God – as we deal with money? The place to start is to recognize that everything you have comes from God. Everything belongs to him. The Psalmist says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” What we have belongs to God and he has given it to us as a gift to manage – something for which we are a steward.

Christ says that we are to “seek his kingdom.” We do this by focusing our attention on the means by which God’s reign comes to us to forgive sins and strengthen faith.  The Means of Grace need to be at center of our life in our weekly attendance at the Divine Service, and in our daily reading of God’s Word.

And we seek his kingdom using our money as we support the Means of Grace.  Christ has given his Office of the Ministry to the Church to administer the Means of Grace - to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments. His Spirit has worked through the Church to place a pastor in that Office here at Good Shepherd.

The apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” He has commanded his church to give offerings that support a pastor in your midst. And while a pastor may be the most expensive thing needed for the Means of Grace, he is in no way the only thing. There is a building to maintain in which we meet – a building in which you probably want electricity; a building in which you probably want that electricity to provide air conditioning.

God has commanded you to seek his kingdom by supporting the Means of Grace through your offering. He says that your offering should be the willing and cheerful act of faith.  Paul told the Corinthians, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

And in his Word, God has provided direction about how you are to give your offering.  Paul told the Corinthians, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper.”  The apostle teaches us two things here. First, our offering is to be first fruits. We give by starting with what God has given to us, not by giving of what is leftover after we are done with everything else in life.

And second, our offering is to be proportional – it is to reflect how God has prospered us. It is not the size of the offering that matters. Instead, what matters to God is how it stands in relation to the blessings he has given you. As those blessings increase or decrease, so also will your offering.

This proportional nature of our offering is captured in the practice of the tithe. The Church has drawn upon this Old Testament model of giving, and has recognized that 10% is an ideal starting point for the offering given by Christians. When you return a tithe of your income back to God in your offering you are seeking God’s kingdom in the way you are using your money. You are demonstrating that all you have is a blessing from God. You are supporting the administration of the Means of Grace by which Christ’s reign comes to you to give forgiveness and keep you in the faith. 

At first glance, our Gospel lesson this morning seems puzzling. But when we look more closely we find that Jesus is teaching us about how we are to deal with money as those who upon whom the end of the ages has come. The end time salvation of God has arrived in Jesus Christ. By his death and resurrection he has rescued us from sin, death, and the devil.

Because of this, we now use our money guided by faith in the Lord. In particular, we follow our Lord’s command by supporting the Means of Grace that go on in our midst through our offering. We give willingly and cheerfully.  We give a first fruits offering that is proportional – that reflects the way God has blessed us. We do this because of what Jesus has done for us. As Paul said when he was instructing the Corinthians about their offering: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”

 

  

 

 

           

 

 

 

Mark's thoughts: Surburg Catechesis material

 

First a person learns the faith. Then as a pastor you learn how to teach and explain the faith.  This is how I teach the faith in Catechesis: Surburg Catechesis material. Most has been learned from others. Some has come from me. I share it in hopes that it will be helpful for those who learn and those who teach.

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity - Rom 6:19-23

 

   Trinity 7

                                                                                                            Rom 6:19-23

                                                                                                            7/19/26

 

 

            The Gospel announces the free gift of forgiveness and life for sinners. We learn that this is a matter of God’s grace – it is completely a gift from God that we could never earn. It takes place on account of Christ. It is possible because of the death and resurrection of Jesus for our sin. It is received by faith. It is received by believing and trusting in Jesus as our crucified and risen Lord. And it is received by faith alone. Faith in Christ receives the gift, and there is nothing that our actions contribute to our status as forgiven sinners – to our status as saints in God’s eyes.

            This is indeed good news! It is Gospel. But as sinners, it is easy to see how we might be inclined warp the Gospel into something that serves sin. It is quite tempting to conclude: “I like to sin. God likes to forgive. This is going to be great.”

            Twice in Romans chapter six Paul addresses this perversion of the Gospel. At the beginning of the chapter he says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Then just before our text he repeats the same idea when he writes, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

            The apostle tells us that no, life in Christ is not a matter of “I like to sin, and God likes to forgive.” Instead, he explains in our text today that we are always going to be slave to something. Either we are going to be a slave to sin which results in death, or we are going to be a slave to righteousness because of what God has done for us in Christ through our baptism.

            In the previous chapter, Paul had been describing how Christ is the second Adam whose death and resurrection frees us from the sin that Adam brought into the world. He writes, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

            The apostle is in the process of describing how the law and sin interact with one another. He has said that through the law there is the knowledge of sin. But the law itself cannot be the answer to sin. Paul will explain in chapter seven how our sinful passions actually work through the law. When the law forbids doing something, sin causes us to desire it all the more.  But the good news is that God’s grace in Christ to provide forgiveness abounds beyond our sin. He says at the end of chapter five, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

             The grace of God’s forgiveness in Christ abounds beyond our sin. So does that mean we should just go on sinning? As I mentioned earlier, Paul writes at the beginning of chapter six, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

            Paul says it can’t work this way because we have died to sin. Then he supports his point with something he knows the Romans already understand. He says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, 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.”

            The apostle says that something happened in baptism. This no mere symbol. It’s not an action you carry out to demonstrate your commitment to Christ. Instead, it is something God does to you. It is the means by which you shared in Christ’s death. It is the way in which you were buried with Christ. Through baptism you have shared in Jesus Christ’s saving death. And therefore, you are now forgiven.

            But Paul’s point here is not simply to say that baptism delivers forgiveness. Instead, he reminds the Romans that baptism is the source of God’s resurrection power in your life. God raised Jesus from the dead. And now the Spirit of the risen Lord is present in you. The Spirit who gave you regeneration in baptism now enables you to walk in newness of life – to live in ways that are true to God’s will.

            Baptized into Christ – living in Christ through the work of the Spirit – means that you will say no to sin. Just before our text Paul says, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”  You have been brought from death to life by Christ’s Spirit. So Paul urges you not to present your bodies to sin as the means for carrying out more sin. Instead, Paul tells you to present your bodies as instruments that do the things that please God – as instruments for righteousness.

            The reality is that you are going to be a slave to something. Paul writes, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” You are going to be controlled by something. If you present yourself to sin then that is the path that leads to death. On the other hand, the obedience of faith leads to salvation and the life that pleases God.

            What Paul then says about the Romans is true of you. He writes, “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” You were once slaves of sin. But you have been called to faith by the Spirit. You have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were handed over.

            The language of “the standard of teaching” describes the apostolic faith that you confess. And notice how the apostle doesn’t say that it was handed on to you.  Instead, he says that that you were handed over to it. Through the work of the Spirit you believe and confess what God has revealed in the Scriptures. Paul says the result is that you have been freed from sin. This means that you are forgiven before God. But more importantly in this context it means that you have been freed from living in sin. Instead, the apostle says that you have become a slave of righteousness.

            In the words of our text, Paul exhorts you to live as what Christ’s Spirit has made you to be. The apostle grants that he is speaking in ways that acknowledge our condition.  He says, “I am speaking in human terms, because of the weakness of your flesh.” 

The exhortation to living in righteous ways here and elsewhere in this chapter sets before us a reality of the Christian life. Through the work of the Spirit you are a new creation in Christ. You are new man in Christ. But until you die or Christ returns, that is not all you are. In yourself you are also old Adam. Paul described this to the Galatians when he said, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

The life of a Christian is made possible through the work of the Spirit. But we are not the Spirit’s robots. We are people who are involved in the choices that we make. And so as we live in Christ through the work of the Spirit we need to seek to act in those ways that are righteous – those ways that are good and pleasing to God.

That’s what Paul says in our text, “For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” The apostle urges us to live in Christ by presenting ourselves as slaves of righteousness – as people who seek to live in ways that please God. He says that this orientation results in sanctification – in a life that is holy according to God’s will.

The apostle notes that a person who is a slave to sin is free in regard to righteousness. If you give yourself over to sin, then you don’t have to worry about what God says. You can just do your own thing. However, this comes at a cost. Paul asks, “But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.”

The fruit produced by sin in our lives is strife, anger, pain, and loss. It harms the people in our lives. It harms us. We were created in the image of God. We were created to live perfectly tuned to God’s will – to the ways God ordered his creation to work. When we no longer do this, it throws everything off. It makes everything worse. It’s like replacing one of the tires on your car with another that is the wrong size. Sure the car still runs, but now the ride is terrible and it doesn’t handle correctly.

And Paul tells us that the end of the life of sin is death. Now because of sin, we will all die. But in our text Paul sets death in contrast to eternal life. This is not just physical death. It is eternal separation from God in the judgment of hell.

However, Paul says in our text that for the Christian the outcome is very different. He writes, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Through the Gospel and the work of the Spirit you have been set free from sin. You have become a slave of God – the God who gave his Son into the death of the cross to save you. Now, the fruit of being a slave to God and his righteousness results in sanctification. It results in the life produced by faith. And the end of this life is eternal life.

Slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness? The apostle Paul says in our text today that we do have a choice about the one to which we are going to offer ourselves. That’s why he says, “For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”

Earlier I made the point that we are not the Spirit’s robots. We are in fact people who are involved in the choices that we make and the actions we undertake. But if we cooperate with God in the life produced by faith, we must recognize that he alone is the source of this life and is the One who continues to make it possible.

So if we are to present ourselves as slaves to righteousness we must be focused on the source by which God has caused us to be a new creation in Christ in the first place. We must put Christ’s Means of Grace at the center of our life. This is, of course, true of what we receive in the Divine Service.  Here through Word and Sacrament the Spirit gives us forgiveness and strengthens faith.

But in particular I want to emphasize the importance of reading Scripture during the week in our devotional life. In the Scriptures the Spirit is doing several things at once. The Scriptures are the word through which the Spirit sustains faith and supports the new man in us. But it also the word through which the Spirit sets before us how to live. This word teaches us what righteousness looks like. It encourages us as we see what the life in Christ means, and we know that yes, that is what we want to be. And it is also the word that the Spirit uses to restrain and repress the old man as he helps us to live in Christ.

There is a certain inertia in the Christian life. The more we attend the Divine Service and read Scripture during the week, the easier it becomes to present ourselves as slaves to righteousness.  The less we do so, the easier it becomes to present ourselves as slaves to sin.  Without a doubt, we have a choice. In the habits of our life we are deciding whether we are going to align ourselves with the work of the Spirit by which he empowers and leads us to live as God’s people.

Paul says this morning, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”  In Christ through the work of the Spirit you have been freed from sin. The life of faith now belongs to God as we are slaves to righteousness. This faith produces the fruits of sanctification as we live according to God’s will. And it leads to the end of eternal life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity - Mt 5:20-26

 

   Trinity 6

                                                                                                            Mt 5:20-26

                                                                                                            7/12/26

 

 

The Gospels are theological biographies. They are biographies in that they tell us true and accurate information about the life of Jesus Christ.  However, they do so with a theological purpose. They are teaching us about who Jesus is and what he means for our life.

We need to recognize that since this is their goal, they do not always narrate what Jesus said and did in a chronological order.  Instead, they sometimes group material in order to convey a truth about Jesus.  It is easy to see this in Matthew’s Gospel. In chapters eight and nine, Matthew narrates ten miracles performed by Jesus. There is no other kind of material in this section. We see that Jesus is powerful in deed.

Our text this morning is found in a preceding grouping of material. In chapters five through seven we find only the teaching of Jesus. So in chapters five to seven we find Jesus powerful in word. And in chapters eight and none we find Jesus powerful in deed.

Our Lord taught constantly during the course of almost three years.  Any good teacher finds wording and explanations that work well and then keeps using them. Surely Jesus was no different. As he was teaching in different places it’s very unlikely that he said something completely new every time. No doubt there was a repetition of material with slight variations.

Chapter five begins with the words, “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.” These words give us the familiar name for the material in these three chapters: the Sermon on the Mount. On the other hand, in Luke’s Gospel we find very similar material as Jesus came down and talked to a crowd in a level place. This is to be expected – Jesus shared the same basic content many times in different places.

Our text today is at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount has always occupied a significant place in Chistian thought. We have here three chapters of powerful teaching as Jesus describes the life of those who believe in him.

So what is Jesus doing here? Is he telling us what we must do in order to have salvation? After all, the first verse of our text says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is Jesus describing what we can never possibly do in order to reveal our sin? The answer to both of these is no – though we will see this his words certainly may confront the continuing presence of sin in our life.

Instead, Jesus is describing what the kingdom of God – the reign of God that arrived in our Lord – means for your life. The kingdom of God – or kingdom of heaven as it is expressed in a more Jewish version in Matthew’s Gospel – was the central feature of Jesus’ ministry. Matthew tells us about the beginning of his ministry, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Jesus declared that in his person the reign of God was present that was overcoming the forces of Satan, sin, and death. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by being in league with the devil, our Lord replied, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Jesus was the presence of the kingdom of God – the reign of God for us. He spoke with the authority of God. Matthew tells us at the end of the Sermon on the Mount: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

He had authority over demons as he cast them out. They knew who he was, even if they were confused about why he was present and yet it was not the Last Day. They cried out to him, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” He had the power and authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, and even control creation itself as he stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

But the surprising thing is that his great action to bring God’s reign by freeing us from sin did not look mighty and victorious. After Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Matthew tells us, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Jesus declared, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He offered himself as the sacrifice on the cross by which we now have forgiveness before God. But death was not the end. As he had predicted on the third day God raised him from the dead. On Easter the tomb was empty and the angel told the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.”

            This is what Jesus did for you. And then he brought his saving reign to you through the work of his Spirit. He called you to faith in his death and resurrection through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. He made you a new creation in Christ through the water of Holy Baptism.

            Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. In the first of these he says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Who are the poor in spirit? You are. You are because you know that you don’t love God above all things. You are because you know that you don’t love your neighbor as yourself. You know that you are sinful. Then, at the same time, you believe in Jesus. And so in Christ, the kingdom of heaven – the reign of God – is yours. You have received the forgiveness won by Christ – you are a saint. You have been born of again of water and the Spirit. You are in Christ, because the Spirit of God is present and at work in you.

            And so the Sermon on the Mount describes how you now live because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not describing what you must do in order to receive salvation. You already have it! He is not describing what you can never possibly do in order to reveal your sin. Instead, he is describing how you now live because of what he has made you to be.  You have received the reign of God in Christ.

            Just before our text Jesus said, “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.”  You have received God’s saving reign in Christ. And so your life now shows forth was God has done for you – what God has made you to be.

            Our text begins as Jesus is concluding his introductory comments about how we are to view the law of Moses. He says, “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.”

            Jesus came to fulfill the law.  Now, in his death and resurrection, all has been accomplished. And so the law of Moses is no longer the law that directs God’s people. Instead, we learn in the Sermon on the Mount that it is Jesus’ teaching that directs our life. There is, of course, continuity between this teaching and what we find in the Old Testament law. God’s moral ordering of creation has not changed. That is why Paul could say of the Gentiles, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts.” But you never find Jesus teaching anything about keeping food laws, or being circumcised, or any other parts of what we call the ceremonial law. These are things that are no longer binding for Christians.

            Instead, our Lord says, “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.” Jesus says that we are to teach and do what he is teaching, and nothing less.

            Then in our text he adds, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is not a description about how to be saved. You have already received the kingdom of God. Instead, it means that only by being in Christ as those have received God’s reign can your righteousness have any standing before God. The scribes and Pharisees rejected Christ. Their keeping of the law that followed their own interpretation of it meant nothing before God.

You on the other hand have received the kingdom of God through faith in Christ. You have been baptized into Christ and his Spirit has given you new life. It is Christ through his Spirit who now causes you to walk in his ways. This is the life produced by faith and so it is pleasing to God in a way that the Pharisees and scribes never could.

Jesus is the Son of God who has brought the kingdom of God. And so he teaches with authority. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus addresses understandings of the law that were present in his day and corrects them. He gives a full and deeper understanding of the law as he describes how we will live because of him.

He says in our text, “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.”

Our Lord teaches us that the Fifth Commandment does not simply prevent murder of another person. I does not even just prevent physical harm. It means that we do not nurse anger in our heart and we do not speak in ways that disparage our neighbor. We do not allow anger and hate to direct our actions.

Jesus makes this point clear as he applies what he has just said to our lives. He says, “Therefore 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.”

Our Lord describes the setting of first century Jerusalem. The life of a faithful Jew involved making offerings in the sacrifices at the temple. But Jesus says that if a person remembers that there is some division or animosity with another individual he is to leave his gift at the altar. He is not to follow through in making the sacrifice to God. First, he is to go and be reconciled to the brother.

Your life in Christ is not ruled by anger. It is not one of seeking payback. It does not speak ill of others. Instead it is directed by the love and forgiveness you have received in Christ. So forgive those who have wronged you. Where possible, seek to be reconciled. As Paul told the Romans, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

This is true as you interact with everyone. But it becomes true in an even deeper way when you come here to the Divine Serivice. The high point of the Divine Service is the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar. Paul told the Corinthians, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

In the Sacrament you receive the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. But it is not you alone who does this.  So also do all those who are receiving the Sacrament at the altar. The apostle tells us that the body and blood of Christ join us together as the Body of Christ. The Sacrament is Christ coming to you.  It is vertical and individual. But it is also Christ joining you together with those who commune. It is horizontal and corporate.

The Sacrament of the Altar is the sacrament of unity. It is the place where Christ joins us together as the Body of Christ. Divisions are contrary to the very nature of the Sacrament. And so we don’t bring our divisions there.

This means that before we come to this altar we forgive and reconcile with one another. The Pax Domini – the “Peace of the Lord in the liturgy - is a verbal and visual announcement of this fact. The pastor chants, “The peace of the Lord be with you always” as he holds up the host over the chalice – as he holds before you the body and blood of Christ. This is a declaration of the peace Jesus is giving you in the Sacrament. But it is also a reminder that we need to be at peace with one another if we are to come and receive the body and blood of Christ. When we have not forgiven one another and are not reconciled, then that is the time not to commune.  And this fact makes all the more clear what we need to do as we live in Christ. We need to forgive and be reconciled.

Though Jesus does not speak the Sermon on the Mount for the purpose of showing us our sin, it is law and so it will also reveal the ways that the old Adam is still resisting the work of the Spirit in our life. They are words that will demonstrate where sin is present.

Our response then is twofold. In that baptismal life of daily contrition and repentance we confess it as sin and hold on to the forgiveness we have received in our baptism. And then recognizing sin for what it is we arise to live in newness life made possible by the Spirit of Christ.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is not telling us what we must do in order to have salvation. He’s not describing what we can never possibly do in order to reveal our sin. Instead he begins by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven – the reign of God entered into our world as Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead. You have received that saving reign through the Gospel as the Spirit has worked through Word and Sacrament. The Sermon on the Mount describes how we now live our lives through the power of the Spirit as we are in Christ.