“Real Service to God” Isaiah 58.5–9a Epiphany 5A Feb. ‘23

 

 

1.                Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. The message from God’s Word on this 5^th Sunday after Epiphany is taken from Isaiah 58:5-9, it’s entitled, “Real Service to God,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                Many words in our daily vocabulary have interesting origins of which we are not always aware. One such word is “breakfast.” Breakfast means literally “to break the fast.” As the first meal of the day, breakfast was the meal at which people who had been fasting would “break the fast.”

3.                In our text God speaks through the prophet Isaiah and tells his people Israel to “break the fast.” Fasting had become an important part of Israel’s religious life. In fact, it had become too important. It had become an end in itself. God tells his people to “break” that kind of fast. He then goes on to tell them what kind of “fasting” is pleasing in his sight: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing shelter for the needy. Such real acts of service to people in need constitute true “fasting.”

4.                Fasting (or any kind of ritual, for that matter) can become an end in itself (Isaiah 58:5). This happened to Israel. It can also happen to us. We can go through the motions of the ritual without realizing the meaning and purpose of the ritual. Such “fasting” can take many forms. “Fasting may be self-indulgence, luxuriating in one’s own feelings, or it may be purely magical in its mentality” (The Interpreter’s Bible [New York: Abingdon, 1952] 680).

5.                We sometimes participate in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as magical rituals without ever realizing their true significance. Also, “luxuriating in one’s own feelings” can become the primary concern in worship—a form of “fasting” that needs to be “broken.” Literal fasting may also be done purely for show, something Jesus condemned in Mt 6:16–18. The Abiding Word Lutheran commentary has written, “It is well to be constantly reminding ourselves that ritualism, at its best, is only a medium through which religious impulses are expressed. . . . Incessant care must be exercised that our people do not mistake a feeling of mysticism artificially created by ritualistic externals for genuine, wholehearted worship” (Abiding Word, vol 1 [St. Louis: Concordia, 1955] 239–40).

6.                In a small chapel in an Austrian valley, visitors were surprised to see worshipers bowing toward a blank gray wall with crumbling plaster. No one knew the reason for this act of reverence until they began a renovation of the chapel. Then they discovered beneath the layers of paint and dirt a fresco of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. The custom of reverence, begun with intelligent motivation, continued on through the years by the sheer momentum of habit, even though it had lost all significance.

7.                Break that kind of “fasting!” This is the implied message throughout Isaiah 58. “You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high” (Isaiah 58:4b). All of our rituals and programs must be tested for their integrity. If they are of questionable value, we must either revise them or abandon them.

8.                Martin Luther wrote: “It would be a good arrangement to observe a general fast for a few days before Easter, before Pentecost, and before Christmas. . . . But on no account dare it be done for the purpose of making it an act of worship or a means of meriting something and reconciling God. But let it be an outward Christian discipline and exercise for the young and simple people, by which they can learn to keep track of the seasons and to make the proper distinctions throughout the year” (Luther’s Works, vol 21 [St. Louis: Concordia, 1956] 159).

9.                For years the army had posted a sentry at a particular public park bench. One day a soldier had the boldness to ask why the bench was being guarded. When the records were searched, it was discovered that some 20 years before, the bench had been painted; and a sentry had been posted to keep people from sitting on the wet paint. But for years the ritual had been maintained without people knowing the reason for it. Still today rituals can be perpetuated without knowing their meaning or significance. They should either be explained or abandoned.

10.             Just as fasting is not an end in itself, so “breaking the fast” is not an end in itself either: It is rather the means to a new end, namely, to serve the neighbor! (Isaiah 58:6–7). This was the message of the prophets in: Hos 6:4–6; Micah 6:1–8; Ezek 18:5–9; Zech 7:8–10), as well as of Jesus in: Mt 25:35–40). So likewise, St. Paul in Rom 14:3–8 and Col 2:16–23 (also Luther: “Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But. . . .”).

11.             We hear a lot today about “fast food.” Some people become fast food “junkies.” “Fast food” for a Christian is doing God’s will by serving God and the neighbor, even as Jesus did. “ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’ ” (Jn 4:34).

12.             Article VI of the Augsburg Confession makes a distinction between “religious acts” that have been invented by human beings and those deeds God has commanded to serve the neighbor. History is full of strange acts that humans have invented to impress God, including fasting. The “new obedience,” which flows from knowing that God loves us and has forgiven our sins, expresses itself in acts of love that help the neighbor.         

13.             Real service to God consists in helping the neighbor in ways large and small. Too often we think of service only in extraordinary terms! Service begins with the little things we do for each other, also in the home. Luther taught us how such common things as scrubbing the floor can be a service to God. He advocated leaving behind the empty rituals of the monastery (including misguided fasting!) for genuine service in the real world. Luther also takes to task those who would say how they would have helped take care of the baby Jesus, washing his linens, etc, had they been present at his birth. Luther tells them they would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem, and that if they really wanted to serve Jesus, “Why don’t you do it now? You have Christ in your neighbor. You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ himself” (The Martin Luther Christmas Book [Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1956] 38).

14.             In Matthew 25 the “righteous” are surprised at the king’s verdict. “They can recall no single episode of showing him such charity. Only at the very last are they told that service rendered the needy is service rendered ultimately yet still personally to God. Absent, then, in the righteous is any selfish motivation, the collecting of stars in the crown or heavenly brownie points. No: they serve the needy for no other reason than that they are in fact in need” (Mark Radecke, In Christ: A New Creation [Lima, Ohio: C. S. S., 1986] 78).

15.             The result of such service is God’s blessing! “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard” (Isaiah 58:8–9). These words speak of the joy and glory of salvation provided by the Lord. They are echoed in Is 60:1: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.” In the final words of our Old Testament reading for today God promises his unfailing presence. “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I” (Isaiah 58:9a).

16.             Just as the darkness of long winter nights is giving way at this time of year to the light of longer days, so the darkness of sin and folly must give way to the light of God’s forgiveness and grace in Jesus Christ.  In our text God calls us to distinguish between ritualistic “fasting” and a “fasting” that is active in love. We are to move beyond “fast talk”—empty words and actions—to “walking the talk!” We are to offer real service to God. This means that we must distinguish between what is important and what is less important, between what is crucial and what is not crucial. The word “crucial” comes from the Latin word crux, which means “cross.” The cross is the crux of the matter. It is the dividing line between mere ritual and genuine service to others. St. Paul made the cross that dividing line in today’s Epistle lesson when he said: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified!” Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

“See What God has Done for Us” Micah 6.1-8 Epiphany 4A Jan. ‘23

 

1.                        Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this 4^th Sunday after Epiphany is taken from Micah 6:1-8. It’s entitled, “See What God Has Done for Us.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                        In the classic comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin gives a card to his mom for Mother’s Day. The card reads: “I was going to buy you a card with hearts of pink and red, | but then I thought I’d rather spend the money on me instead. | It’s awfully hard to buy things when one’s allowance is so small, | so I guess you’re pretty lucky you got anything at all. | Happy Mother’s Day. There, I said it. Now I’m done. | So how about getting out of bed and making breakfast for your son?”

3.                        The oddness of the card’s message with the spirit of Mother’s Day! Calvin’s calloused misunderstanding of the day is on full display in his poem when he says, “There, I said it. Now I’m done.” Calvin falsely believes that doing something for Mom on Mother’s Day is an obligation, a duty he’s stuck with . . . so the quicker, the easier, the cheaper the way to dispense with the duty and move on, the better. His heart certainly isn’t in it. Do it. Get it over with. He’s forgotten all Mom has done for him and missed entirely the delight of thanking her.

4.                        This is a mistake Israel was making with the Lord, and one we might also often make with God. No question, God commands us to do for him. We’re obligated. But in our text, God through the prophet Micah reminds us again what he has done for us. That gives us a whole different perspective on why we are to do for God.

5.                        We fall into Israel’s sin when we think what we do for the Lord is just something we have to get done. The Lord has an indictment against Israel. Micah 6:1–3 says, “Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!” They have wearied him with scant measures, wicked scales, violence, lies, and idolatries like former kings Omri and Ahab (6:10–12, 16). They begrudgingly offer God sacrifices. Micah 6:6-7 says, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” They might even be willing to give him their firstborn, as pagans did to Baal. But these are worthless to the Lord because Israel sees him as a God who must be appeased. We fall into the same sin: When we treat worship as a box to be checked. When we hang Christian decorations in our house to appear pious. When we make demands of God, rather than humbly following him.

6.                        Brad and Brittney were sending their children to a Lutheran preschool. Near the end of the year, they approached the pastor and asked him if he would be willing to do their wedding. He offered to visit them in their home to talk about God’s design for their relationship, and the forgiveness and grace that is found in Christ. When the pastor arrived at their home, he sat down at their dining room table. Hanging on the wall above their table was a giant wall hanging that said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15).” When the pastor asked them if they had a Bible, they said no.

7.                        The pastor gently said, “I see you have this sign above your table from the Bible. And yet, you don’t have a Bible in your home, and you have three children, and you’re not married. What do you think God would rather have you do? Have a Bible and get married and come to worship, or have a wall hanging in your house with a Bible passage on it?” The couple admitted that the wall hanging was in conflict with their actions. Praise be to God that through gentle and patient instruction, they repented, got married, took membership classes, and now are regular members at the same congregation where they sent their children to preschool. God doesn’t look for token gestures but for lives in accordance with his will, as the prophet Micah says (Micah 6:8).

8.                        The Lord does tell us that we must “do” for him. Micah speaks as the voice of conscience to the Every­man: “[The Lord] has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you?” (Micah 6:8a). Yes, the Lord requires. We must “do” for him. Mother’s Day, Lord’s Day, every day—we must do what is good.

9.                        And what is the good we must do? Not offerings we invent and give grudgingly. “But to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8b). That never comes from checking boxes and doing just to get done. That comes from a heart that loves. Justice, kindness, walking humbly with our God means sincerity of worship and love for our neighbors.

10.                   But what the Lord commands us to do is a delight when we remember what he has done for us. Micah reminds of God’s acts of love and righteous­ness. Micah 6:4–5 says, “For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.” Rescue from Egypt and slavery. Giving faithful leaders: Moses, Aaron, Miriam. Deliverance from Balak’s evil schemes.

11.                   You don’t always need to tell people what they’ve done wrong to make them feel guilty. Oftentimes their conscience will do the heavy lifting, especially if you articulate all the good things you’ve done for them in the past. This is a common argument between spouses. A husband and a wife get into some war of words when suddenly one says to the other, “You know, this past week I’ve made breakfast every morning for the kids. I’ve made most of the dinners too. I also went to parent-teacher conferences by myself, and I cleaned the kitchen after the kids went to bed. I shoveled snow out of the driveway, and I folded all those clothes that were in the dryer.”

12.                   This articulation of good things is designed to make the other spouse feel guilty for not being similarly good. It’s an indictment against his or her inaction. While this type of spousal argument has questionable motives, it is similar to the unblemished words of God—like God through the prophet Micah asking, “O my people, what have I done to you? . . . O my people, remember . . . the righteous acts of the Lord” (Micah 6:3, 5). God is pointing to his own goodness and letting the conscience of this people of Israel do the heavy lifting.

13.                   These are all foreshadowings of what God has done for us and for the whole world: sending Jesus. Jesus came not to compel us to do what we’re required to do. Jesus came to do, get done for us, the justice, the loving kindness, the humble walking with God, the good we couldn’t do. He did it by living and loving, by suffering, dying, rising, ascending. Why articulate what God has done for us? This is how God changes hearts. The Law forces and compels us to do. Righteousness and grace free us to do.

14.                   When you remember what God has done: You delight to do justice to his other children. You love being kind to brothers and sisters in the faith—and to those not yet of faith. You love walking humbly with him!

15.                   Here’s an illustration of remember what God has done for us. Three friends spent a year planning the vacation of a lifetime: ten days in the remote wilderness of northern Minnesota called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Wilderness. Two days into the trip, one of the friends had a severe anxiety attack. He insisted that he needed to go home. Right now. He offered to pay each of his friends a thousand dollars if they took him out and got him home. They were miles and miles from roads. There were no phones. No electricity. No running water. No heat. The friends had to get him out. To make the anxiety worse, this friend was aware of the fact that he was ruining their long-planned, once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Shortly before they left camp to take this friend home, he asked his buddies, “Name anything you want. What can I do for you to make this up to you?” The friends replied, “We’ve forgiven you. We’d be much obliged if you believe us.” Just as the friends abandoned their vacation and got their friend out not for his offers of money or anything else, God isn’t a God to Israel—and us—for the sacrifices we might offer to Him, but for what He has already done for us through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord (Micah 6:6–8).

16.                   There! Jesus did it! It’s done! And so it’s done for me too. Just as Calvin’s mom loved him not for the card, just as God loved Israel not for the sacrifices of calves or oil, God has done it and loved us not for anything we do, but so that we can do with love and delight in what is good for him and for neighbor . . . and that we can walk with him. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

“The Great Assignment” Matt 28.18–20 Jan. ’23 Lutheran Schools Week

 

1.                Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word as we celebrate National Lutheran School’s week comes from Matthew 28:18-20. This Scripture is the theme for our school year at Grace, “Making Disciples for Life.” The message today is entitled, “The Great Assignment.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                 Teachers give assignments. The type and complexity of the assignments vary with the age of the student and the content of the subject matter. The early childhood instructor says, “Take this worksheet home with you.” The first-grade teacher assigns students to practice reading with a parent. The fifth-graders may have math problems assigned as homework. High school students get more sophisticated projects assigned.

3.                Teachers (rabbis) in Jesus’ day gave assignments, too. Seeking human knowledge and favor, they taught what Timothy later described as “different doctrine,” “myths” and “endless genealogies.” They were “teachers of the law” (1 Tim. 1:3–7). Their “assignments” led disciples to the philosophies and ways of the world and away from the truth. The lessons taught a life of guilt and, ultimately, eternal condemnation.

4.                Jesus was “a teacher come from God” (John 3:2). Jesus, the Son of God, was given an “assignment” from His heavenly Father. The assignment was to enter the “classroom” of the fallen creation. Jesus, the holy, all-powerful Son of God, was to take on human flesh so that He might not only teach the lesson of the kingdom of God but complete the greatest assignment ever given: the saving of sinners.

5.                Jesus humbly took on the Father’s assignment. As the 12-year-old temple “student,” Jesus is already the teacher: “All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47). Jesus clarifies His immediate assignment, “I must be in my Father’s house” (Luke 2:49). All that Jesus does is in keeping with God’s divine curriculum. Jesus’ ministry begins with His Baptism, “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). The Father affirms His Son’s obedient and perfect response as His journey to the cross begins: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). As Jesus is about to enter the “final” stage, the Father again affirms, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt. 17:5). The Master Teacher was the perfect student.

6.                Classroom students of all ages may have incomplete assignments. Students often have less-than-perfect scores on their assignments. It is impossible for us to meet God’s demand to be perfect students. God’s test of the Ten Commandments gives our grade: “Failed!”

7.                By His sacrificial death, Jesus completes all that is required for our salvation. From the cross, Jesus announces, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The sacrifice is completed and accepted. Jesus’ completion was affirmed and announced to the disciples, “He has risen from the dead” (Matt. 28:7). Jesus’ resurrection affirmed that His completion was for the disciples and for the world.

8.                Jesus’ completion was witnessed by the disciples. Jesus’ resurrection was the message of the Pentecost appearance of the Spirit and was the proclamation of those whom the Spirit had visited. The blessings of Jesus’ completion were not received by intellectual assent or completing human assignments, but by faith alone. The salvation “assignment” is completed and is ours by grace through faith (Rom. 3:22–28).

9.                Lutheran schools operate under a necessity and sequence of assignments: Congregations give “assignments” to boards; boards give “assignments” to administrators; administrators give “assignments” to staff; staff give “assignments” to students. But, the mission and ministry of a Lutheran school is to celebrate and share that the Father assigned salvation to the Son. The Son perfectly completed the assignment; the Spirit, through the Means of Grace, brings the message and blessings of the completed assignment to the church, children, staff, parents, friends, neighbors and the world.

10.             Matthew 28, commonly called the Great Commission, is also Jesus’ Great Assignment. Jesus demonstrates His completion through the 40 days of His resurrection appearances. Shortly before His ascension, Jesus “assigns,” “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (v. 19). The apostles’ Spirit-led response to the assignment is shared in the Book of Acts. Peter and John witness boldly on the streets of Jerusalem. Saul, a persecutor of Christians, becomes a missionary to Gentiles. Deacons serve widows and the needy. Martyrs give their lives to defend the Gospel (Stephen). Others share their witness with travelers (Philip) who take the message to another area of the world.

11.             Student responses to assignments are often less than energetic: “Do we have to do the assignment?” “How long is this going to take?” “When do I have to have it done?” But, the response of Jesus’ disciples was always the work of the Holy Spirit. They went boldly and with great joy.

12.             In the centuries since the call of the first disciples, Jesus, through His church, has continued to call and equip His disciples to “make disciples.” Pastors begin their service to the congregation promising to nurture disciples as they “faithfully instruct both young and old in the chief articles of Christian doctrine” (Lutheran Service Book: Agenda, p. 179). Our Lutheran school teachers are privileged to “make disciples,” “trusting in God’s care, [seeking] to grow in love for those you serve, [striving] for excellence in your skills, and [adorning] the Gospel of Christ with a godly life” (LSB Agenda, p. 216).

13.             Consider this, Grace Lutheran School & Early Childhood Center has been blessed to see God at work through the service of our teachers and staff. Through their hard work and dedication, we now have 98 students at our school and 83 students in our Early Childhood Center. We have also had new families join our church and had their children baptized through the school and ECC in the past few years. Lutheran schools continue to make disciples “of all nations.” Right now, our Lutheran School is supporting the Nelson family, who are training Pastors to lead churches in Indonesia and our South Wisconsin District’s Hearts for Jesus program that is supporting Eastern Europeans who are recovering from communism and the refugees from Ukraine.

14.             The devil may tempt us to sometime question the “business” of a Lutheran school ministry. Additional personnel and facilities sometimes put a strain on budgets. It may be difficult to find qualified Christian teachers. Sometimes state and other worldly standards of accreditation challenge boards and

administrators. The time and energy demands for the pastoral ministry and other staff may increase. At

times, we may question the “assignment” of Lutheran education. Why is this so hard? Couldn’t we use our resources in better ways? How do we assemble a strong ministry team?

15.             The answer is, “We have been given the assignment to make disciples.” We have heard Jesus say, “Let the little children come to me,” and we are humbled to make disciples of little children. We have had the joy of unchurched parents asking to have their children baptized because a teacher or another parent has taken Jesus’ assignment personally and witnessed to another family. Our church & school family has demonstrated deeds of discipleship in caring for another child and family who has faced illness or experienced grief.

16.             Lutheran schools make disciples for life and for eternal life. In her book Go and Make Disciples (Concordia Publishing House, 1992), author Jane Fryar tells the story of 7-year-old Jon. Jon’s single mother brought her struggling son to the principal’s office at the neighborhood Lutheran school to enroll him. Throughout the school year, Jon grew academically, socially and spiritually in his new school.

17.             Late one Friday afternoon in early spring, the telephone rang in the principal’s office. Jon’s mom called to share that Jon would not be coming back to school. A drunk driver had hit Jon as he was riding his bicycle, and Jon had not survived the accident. At the funeral home, Mom let the principal hold her close as the two cried together. “I’m so, so very sorry,” choked the principal. “I wish I could have …” “No, don’t … don’t apologize,” the grieving woman whispered through her tears. “I asked you to tell Jon about Jesus, and you did. Jon is with Jesus now, and we will be, too, someday. Thank you. Thank you for what you gave him, and for what you gave me.”

18.             The Lutheran school had been God’s instrument of sharing the Means of Grace with Jon and his family. God’s servants in the Lutheran school had been called to “make a disciple” of Jon, and they had done so for his life in the school and for life eternal. May God continue to direct and bless us as we “make disciples for life” in Jesus’ name. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.