Thursday, September 19, 2024

“Perfection Comes Through Jesus” James 3.1-12 Pent 17B, Sept. ‘24

 


 

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 on this 17th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from James 3:1-12, it’s entitled, “Perfection Comes Through Jesus,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                There once was a man who, while listening to a sermon in church, was convicted of his sin, and he set out to do better. “I’ve sinned against [God] in thought, word, and deed,” he said week after week, but this day he especially sensed it was true. He reasoned that his evil thoughts often caught him off guard and might be difficult to change. His evil actions, he decided, were often a product of his thoughts and words. So he would first focus on his words; his words were more likely something he could change. If he could catch himself before he said something he’d regret, he would also have more control over the things he did and, in time, maybe even over the things he thought.

3.                For a while, the man was very successful. He always took his time. He didn’t speak without considering what he would say. He wasn’t perfect, but then who is? As time went on, though, he found himself back to his old habits. He hurt people with what he said. He created problems for himself with what he said. I’ll try even harder, he thought, and he committed himself to being more diligent. But the harder he tried, the more he failed. Finally, he gave up. The story is the same for every one of us. The only question then is this: What do we mean when we “give up”? Are we simply defeated? Or is there a “giving up” that’s really moving forward?

4.                Today, the Epistle confronts Christians of every age with the inconsistencies between faith and actions. The warning we hear this morning is very clear, and what’s also clear is that no one is immune. “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell” (James 3:5b–6). In the previous chapter, James addressed the issue of favoritism, but many of us might dismiss ourselves from those charges. “Not me; I would never show such favoritism in church!” But now, his charges run deep and should cut deep into the heart of everyone who hears. Your tongue is an agent of harm. It is on fire with the fire of hell. “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:7–8a).

5.                No human, not one, is innocent—not you, not me. And to drive the point home James reminds us of what we are all too capable of doing: we can sit here in the Divine Service, praising our God in heaven, and then leave here cursing his most precious creations, other people. We praise God one moment, and then the next the very same tongue, the one in our mouths, can utter such filth about others and even to others. “Look at what he’s doing. What a hideous man he is! Look at her. How can she do that! Imagine what God must think about her! O God, thank you that I’m not like those people!”

6.                John came home from work from day to find a wonderful dinner his wife Betty had made. John loved to tell jokes, but sometimes his jokes were a bit too sharp, and Mary would remind him about the power of the tongue from James 3. One evening, John came home from work and saw that Mary had made his favorite dinner. He was so excited that he blurted out, “Wow, Mary, this looks amazing! Did you finally follow the recipe correctly?” Mary raised an eyebrow and said, “John, remember what James 3 says about taming the tongue. You might want to try again.” John quickly realized his mistake and said, “I mean, Mary, you always make the best meals. I’m so lucky to have you!” Mary smiled, “That’s better. Now, let’s eat before your tongue gets you into more trouble!” As they sat down to eat, John couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “You know, Mary, if my tongue were a ship, you’d be the captain keeping it on course.” Mary laughed and said, “And if your tongue were a fire, I’d be the firefighter putting it out!” And so, John and Mary enjoyed their dinner, with John learning that sometimes, the best way to keep the peace is to think before you speak.

7.                St. Paul wrote: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). James would agree. His proof is the tongue. Ours are tongues that cannot be tamed. Sure, we try. Just like the man in the opening story, we put our mind to fixing the problem. After all, we are children of God. Such a fiery tongue is not befitting us. Wouldn’t God want us to tame it so that it speaks only words that glorify him? Sure he would. He does. But the harder we try, it seems, the worse we do. “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body” (James 3:2b). But I am not a perfect man. Neither my tongue nor my body is bridled. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24).

8.                So, is there nothing we can do? Are we doomed to live this life in a never-ending battle against a tongue that would just as soon destroy us as it would honor the God of our salvation? Well, in a way, yes, and in another, no. The battle will go on for each of us. But the very same words of the Epistle point us toward the victory that is ours in the battle. The battles rage on, but the war is already over. Listen again: “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body” (James 3:2b). And here is the good news of God’s grace toward imperfect men and women such as you and me: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Is 53:2–7)

9.                “And like a sheep that before its shearers is silent.” All is not lost, and our tongues, though they rage with the fire of hell, will not condemn us. “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body” (James 3:2b). There is no man who is perfect, then, except one. There is one who is a perfect man. There is one who bridled his tongue and bridled his whole body. There is one who lived the perfect life you and I cannot live. There is one who deserved none of what he received at the hands of those who hung him on the cross, but suffered every moment as he bore the burden of our sinful tongues.

10.             That perfect one, our Savior Jesus Christ, lived and died and rose exactly because our tongues are “a fire, a world of unrighteousness” (James 3:6). He bridled his tongue even in the face of death so that we might receive his righteousness as he now lives in us. So we need not “give up,” not in the sense of living in despair or guilt. Instead, we live as children of our heavenly Father. We live as those given the inheritance of the only Son of God, who was silent on our behalf. We live by giving in.

11.             In the waters of Holy Baptism, that fire that burns from your tongue was extinguished. The Word of God that you hear fills your mind and your heart with the pure truth from God. That Word replaces all of the “other words” and gives your tongue something righteous to speak. As you receive the body and blood of Christ under the bread and the wine, the wounds inflicted on you by the things you say are healed. God’s grace is a saving flood that not even the fires of hell can stand against. And what you are helpless against on your own, you conquer in Jesus Christ.

12.             There is no one perfect except Jesus. You will try to bridle your tongue and your body and your mind, but they will fail you. And though we will never stop trying, our trying must now be in Christ—giving up on ourselves and giving in to him. In him we receive the forgiveness of sins that goes way beyond giving up. For, “all things are possible for one who believes” (Mk 9:23b). What’s impossible for us, perfection, is ours in Christ. In the forgiveness of our sins, God makes us perfect—and thus renews us, strengthens us, and guides us according to his will. Perfection Comes Only through the One Perfect Man, Christ. In Christ, the story does not end for that man we heard of at the beginning of the sermon, nor does it end for us, in despair and uncertainty. In Christ, it ends in victory. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:24–25a). Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

“All Is Vanity Apart from Christ” Eccl 1, Luke 19 Christian Ed Sept. ‘24

 


 

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 Christian Education Sunday is taken from Ecclesiastes 1:1-14, it’s entitled, “All is Vanity, Apart from Christ,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                He had it all! He ruled over Israel when she was at the top of her wealth and worldly prestige. Neighboring countries paid him tribute. There was peace within his borders. His citizens lacked nothing. “And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon” (1 Ki 4:25 NKJV). He had it all! His name was King Solomon.

3.                Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen. According to the Scriptures: Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men. . . . He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. (1 Ki 4:30–34 NKJV)

4.                Solomon had it all. He was an educated man—a botanist, zoologist, astronomer, philosopher, and politician. His wisdom and knowledge were coveted by everyone. I wish that I had the wisdom of Solomon at times. But, his education, wealth, honor, prestige, and wisdom were all gifts from God. Yet, with all that Solomon had been given, he penned some of the darkest words in all of Scripture: “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” (Eccl 1:2–3 NKJV).

5.                For all his toils under the sun, man has nothing. It is all meaningless, empty, vain, and full of frustration. What a strange way to begin a school year or talk about Christian education! “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” All of your work is useless. Your pursuit of knowledge, of excellence—it is all a chasing after the wind. That’s what Solomon was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write: “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind . . . I communed with my heart, saying ‘Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.’ And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Eccl 1:14, 16–18 NKJV). “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

6.                Why should we go to school at all? Listening to Solomon, we may be tempted to conclude, “What’s the point of anything that we do?” What’s the point of all the long hours you teachers will be preparing lessons in history, science, geography, and mathematics if it is all vanity—meaningless. What’s the point of teaching self-discipline and demanding excellence if it’s all meaningless? For that matter, what’s the point of education at all?

7.                There is no point to anything that we do apart from Jesus. Every gift of God can be transformed into an idol. Our Lutheran day school, our approach to education, our curriculum, our desire to build a school of academic excellence—all of these things become idols apart from Christ. Every good thing becomes an idol where faith in Christ is not above everything else. In another place, Solomon wrote, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 111:10 NKJV). The Lord of whom he spoke is the Lord Jesus. To fear the Lord is to know him, to trust him, to look to him for everything, to believe in him as the “one thing needful.” This is the beginning of wisdom.

8.                None of us would admit to having idols, but we are all threatened by them. You can judge what the idols are that threaten your life by considering all those things that you would never give up. What do you insist on having? “A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need,” wrote Luther in the Large Catechism. If it is not an idol that threatens you, why are you so miserable when it is taken away? The problem is not with the “good thing” that we value, but how much value we place upon it.

9.                There was nothing more precious to the Jews of Jesus’ day than their interpretation of God’s Mosaic Law. They valued their service to the Law (as they understood it) above all things. That’s what Jesus addressed in the Gospel reading for today. They were zealous. They added their own rules to God’s Word and insisted upon strict observance. But Jesus called their belief in their interpretation of God’s Law blasphemy and an abomination to the Lord.

10.             Why? Because all their sincerely held passionate beliefs concerning their law and their own obedience to it did not have Christ at its center. Their law became an idol because Christ was missing. They did not see their sin or self-righteousness. So, they did not see their need for him who alone could make for their peace by the blood of his cross. The same could be said of us whenever any “good thing” in our lives takes possession of us. We are blinded and do not know the things that make for our peace.

11.             Think about the idolatrous faith of the Jews of Jesus’ time. What could be greater than God’s own Law? What could be greater than marshaling all our powers to try to obey the Law? But, no sinful person can truly obey the law and win God’s favor. Christ is greater than the Law! He is the Law’s fulfillment! To be a Christian is to believe in him alone. The Law was fulfilled in his death when he took the punishment for our sin. His death alone made peace between the sinner and God. Most of the Jews in Jesus’ day didn’t believe this. They believed they were serving God by their attempts to keep their law, but they were really serving the devil. This is why Jesus wept over Jerusalem when he drew near her, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Lk 19:42 NKJV).

12.             Jesus stood before them—the One who alone could make for their peace—but they rejected him. As a result, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the city was nearly leveled to the ground 40 years after Jesus spoke his warning. What about us? As the hymn writer put it, “Earth has no pleasure I would share, Yea, heaven itself were void and bare If Thou, Lord, were not near me” (TLH 429:1). All is vanity apart from Christ.

13.             Jesus stands before us each day in this place, not only on Sunday morning, but each day in the life of our school and congregation through Bible class, catechism, and worship. He is the one thing needful. We know of no Jesus except that Jesus who comes to us through his Word to give life and salvation in the forgiveness of sins. Apart from him all that we do is vanity, no matter how noble the pursuit. The Lutheran understanding of the Gospel is what, more than anything else, sets apart a Lutheran school from all others. We sinners are justified by faith in Christ alone. The catechism explains the Gospel from Scripture and teaches us to know ourselves and to know our Savior correctly. Through worship and hymnody we learn to approach Christ in every time of need. The mercy of God in Christ teaches us to love one another and to dwell together with one another in forgiveness, bearing one another’s weaknesses. These teachings come from Christ and make for our peace.

14.             The idolatry that resided in the hearts of the Jews of which Jesus spoke in today’s Gospel is deep within our hearts as well. It threatens us as much as it threatened them. But this is the Good News: Jesus wept over Jerusalem in love for all her lost sinners. He desired only one thing—to draw her to himself, to call her to repentance, to forgive her sins, to cover her with the robe of his righteousness. He wants to do the same for us. He doesn’t force himself upon us. He loves, gently and tenderly, like a faithful husband who gives his very life for his bride. Faith alone receives him! By faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ, all is vanity! But with Christ—his Word, his Baptism, his Absolution, his Supper—we have all we need. As we consider all that we do in this place, all that we desire for our school, our children, and our lives, fix your ears upon this promise: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32 NKJV). The peace of God that passes all understanding, guard you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.