“The King is Coming” Psalm 24.7-10, Sept. ’23 LWML Sunday

 

1.        Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps us in the one true faith, until that glorious reappearing of our great God and coming King, Jesus Christ! Amen! The message from God’s Word for this LWML Sunday is taken from Psalm 24:7-10, it’s entitled, “The King is Coming,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.        God promised to Adam and Eve an heir that would redeem Adam, Eve, and eventually all humanity, from the curse of the sin of disobedience, brought upon humanity in the Garden, plunging all humanity into sin. “Sin is every thought, desire, word, and deed which is contrary to God’s Law” as we have learned in the Word of God and Luther’s Small Catechism. Throughout human history, God pictured the coming King through various images of His promise, providence, provision, and protection for His people. David saw God’s redemptive glory in the return of the Ark of the Covenant from Obed Edom to Jerusalem to the place of worship. God’s sanctuary was now in Zion, the Temple. Meaning the glory of the Lord coming to His people.

3.        This redemption, proclaimed in the name of the Lord for God’s people, crushed the evil head of sin, Satan, and our sinful flesh and returned us to Himself in His reconciling Word, worship and witness of His Son, Jesus, [Savior from sin] Emmanuel [God with us]. King David proclaimed: Psalm 24:7–10, “⁷ Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. ⁸ Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! ⁹ Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. ¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

4.        Jesus, God’s only begotten Son comes to the world in three ways. First, in the promised Son, David’s Lord, the world’s Savior, Mary’s incarnate Son. Secondly, personally in our hearts, by grace through faith, not of ourselves but as the gift of God. Thirdly, in His great Parousia, second coming for the ages, the end time.  It is obvious the world needs to be rescued from itself. The brokenness, destruction, disease, and death are all around us and we make it worse with our selfish ambitions, hatred of others, and self-centered greed. Genesis 6:6 tells us, “And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”

5.        The Apostle Paul spoke of the days of lawlessness [2 Timothy 4]. Through the eyes of sin, we could easily become downcast and heart-broken because of the evil of our world. “Man’s inhumanity to man” refers to human cruelty, barbarity, or lack of compassion toward other humans — essentially, mankind’s ability to see and treat other people as less than human.  We would quickly give up because of the constant bad news. But God’s hope, peace, joy, and love as we proclaim in the coming of our Advent King of glory, is the promise of our God for His people. Good News in a bad news world. Christ is the King of glory! Paul reminds us, that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:19–21).

6.        This LWML Sunday, let’s remember the mission work of God’s people — Christ’s church is to proclaim the Gospel to all. Jesus reminded the Emmaus disciples of this promise, “Then he (Jesus) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,  and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:45–49). Through the ‘Gospel’ (Romans 1:14–17), the people of God have received the power of God’s salvation and are obligated to proclaim the Gospel to all people, to Greeks and to barbarians, to the wise and to the foolish.

7.        The Gospel is our only hope, as the King of glory comes in, with and through the Gospel, as we are buried with Him in Baptism and raised with Him to a new life [Romans 6], and “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5). In this new life creation, God provides us with every means of grace we need to fight off every kind of evil, with His word of “It is written.” and His ultimate word, “It is finished.” Through Word and Sacrament, God provides temporal and eternal means for receiving the King of glory right now and throughout eternity. Because the Gospel is, “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16,17). The Gospel is the life-changing message of God for the world. It changed Martin Luther’s life from one seeking to appease the wrath of God, by doing good works, to one who received the good grace of God in Christ, and who brought the Gospel back to the Church of God.

8.        The world has been in the throes of sinful behavior since the ‘Fall.’ Oftentimes we make believe our times are the worst of times. Surely, we have seen some horrible atrocities in our time: wars, the senseless killings of babies, children and adults; poverty, homelessness, addictions, every kind of evil one can imagine. We would surely give up, but for the grace of God. As Noah found favor in the eyes of God, so we too find favor/grace in our King, Jesus, as we look beyond the brokenness of our humanity to the blessed hope of His coming in His resurrection. 

9.        Like King David, we look to a heavenly King. King David knew a thing or two about a dark, inhospitable world, even in his own life and family. But David, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), found hope from the darkness in the light of God’s grace. “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!”  Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, reminds us that the mission of the church, not just the LWML, is to “Pray for All People.”

10.     1 Timothy 1:1–7 says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,  who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

11.     A little fearful child, sleeping alone in the darkness of her room, cried out to mom and dad as a storm rolled across her Midwest-town. “Mom, dad, come in here,” she cried in the dark of night, as the storm rolled and roared as if it was in the room with her. Mom and dad consoled her and reminded her that they were in the next room and God is in the room with her, so she need not fear. They encouraged her to go back to sleep. Awakened again and again by the rolling and roaring storm, she said to her parents the last time they entered her room, “I know you said God is in here with me, but I need someone in here with skin on them.”

12.     As we look through the heavenly eyes of the King of glory, in the darkness of our sinful world, then, we see clearly the promise, providence, provision, and protection of God for His people in Christ. A God with skin on Him. A God, who took on flesh and blood and the sin of humanity in His body, made His way down the road of agony, pain, and suffering, nailed to a tree, and died for the sins of the world. May this LWML Sunday remind us to be missionaries and share the Gospel throughout the world so that all will know of Christ, God's coming King of glory who provides redemption to all who believe in Him, everlasting life, now and in eternity. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Forgiveness in the Christian Life” Gen. 50.15-21 Pent16A, Sept. ‘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. Amen. The message from God’s Word for this 16^th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Genesis 50:15-21, it’s entitled, “Forgiveness in the Christian Life,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.      Sometimes, it’s very difficult to forgive someone who’s hurt you badly. We’re tempted to respond with avoidance, hate, or revenge. A co-worker takes credit for your work and puts you in a bad light with your boss. Later, that same co-worker struggles hopelessly with a project due tomorrow. What do you do? A fellow student bullies you mercilessly. Later, he’s accused of cheating on a test, but you know he’s completely innocent. What do you do? Your sister talks your aging mother into giving her a precious family heirloom that she promised you many years ago, and then she sells it. Now your sister needs help with groceries for her family. What do you do? Forgiving others who’ve hurt you is often difficult. The world tells us, “Don’t get mad; get even!” But, the Genesis narrative of Joseph and his brothers helps us understand why and how we can forgive those who have hurt us.

3.      Our text today is the end of a long story. As the eleventh of twelve brothers, Joseph was given a colorful coat by his father Jacob and told dreams that made his brothers hate him. Joseph’s brothers conspired to kill him and throw him down a pit. Instead, Joseph was sold as a slave and taken to Egypt, where he was sold to Potiphar. The ten brothers of Joseph covered up their evil act by dipping Joseph’s coat in goat’s blood and bringing it to Jacob to identify. Jacob imagined that Joseph had been eaten by wild beasts, and he grieved for his son.

4.      Meanwhile in Egypt, God was with Joseph as he served Potiphar, but Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph and often tried to seduce him. Once, while alone with her, he rejected her advances. Spurned by Joseph’s rejection, she lied about Joseph to her husband, telling him that Joseph had attempted to take advantage of her. Enraged, Potiphar had Joseph thrown into prison.

5.      But, even in prison God enabled Joseph to interpret dreams for Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. The cupbearer forgot to tell Pharaoh about Joseph. Finally, one night, Pharaoh had troubling dreams that he couldn’t understand, and the cupbearer remembered Joseph. He recommended that Pharaoh ask Joseph to interpret his dreams. God gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams: seven coming years of good crops to be followed by seven years of famine. Naturally, Pharaoh chose Joseph to oversee the 14 year plan to collect, save, and sell the grain.

6.      Back in Canaan, also lacking food, Jacob sent 10 of his sons to Egypt to buy grain. They found Joseph, who recognized them, but they didn’t recognize him. After two trips, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. So they went back and brought Jacob and all 70 members of his family to Egypt. Jacob was reunited with Joseph, and all of them lived 17 years in Egypt before Jacob died.

7.      Our text today begins, “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him’ ” (Gen 50:15). For over 20 years, those 10 brothers had lived in guilt about what they’d done to Joseph and their father, Jacob. Now Jacob and all 12 of his sons had lived together in Egypt for 17 years. But somehow in that time, there had been no real reconciliation between Joseph and the 10 brothers who’d sold him into slavery. While their father was alive, the brothers felt secure that Joseph wouldn’t harm them. But now that Jacob was dead, they thought their brother Joseph would take revenge on them.

8.      Sometimes, instead of talking in our families and relationships, we have the idea that past hurts and sins will just go away. They’re never actually confessed and forgiven, just forgotten . . . for a while. But if the topic ever comes up later, it tears off an unhealed scab, and the bleeding starts again as badly as it did before. Nothing was healed. Instead of forgiving others, we sometimes just say, “That’s okay,” or “Don’t worry about it,” but that doesn’t actually heal the hurt or the relationship. Real confession and forgiveness need to take place.

9.      To save their own skin, the ten brothers of Joseph make up a story. “So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father gave this command before he died: “Say to Joseph, ‘Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ ” And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father’ ” (Gen. 50:16–17). Did Jacob actually make this request of Joseph? Probably not. Joseph was at Jacob’s deathbed and heard his final words, another wonderful opportunity for Jacob to speak to Joseph about this matter. Knowing the history of the brothers’ deceit, this is probably just a desperate attempt to save their own lives.

10.   When we confess our sins to God and to one another and hear the words “I forgive you,” we know the sins are truly gone! We can’t make up for some sin by doing something nice in return, either to God or to a person we’ve wronged. Hearing the words of absolution from the pastor in church, as well as remembering our Baptism and receiving Christ’s body and blood “for the forgiveness of sins,” is hearing the voice of God loud and clear that we’ve been forgiven by God, through the sacrifice, the cross, of our Savior Jesus.

11.   After the brothers sent the request that Joseph forgive them, “Joseph wept when they spoke to him” (Gen. 50:17). Joseph had forgiven his brothers long ago and wasn’t under a burden of hate or revenge. Although his brothers didn’t sound too repentant, Joseph forgave them anyway.

12.   After the message was brought to Joseph, our text from Genesis 50 says, “His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, ‘Behold, we are your servants’ ” (Gen. 50:18). Did any of them have a sudden case of déjà vu? Many years ago, God had given Joseph two dreams about his brothers bowing down before him, and now it’s happening, just as it had when the brothers first stood before Joseph, the ruler. But Joseph didn’t want servants who would fear him; he wanted brothers who would love him.

13.   “Joseph said to them, ‘Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?’ ” (Gen. 50:19). By now, Joseph had had years of watching the plans of God unfold into a great blessing, and who was he to question God’s methods? “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Rom 12:19). As our Lord’s parable in today’s Gospel tells us, we can and must forgive the debt of anyone who hurts us, because we are the servants who have had many great debts forgiven us by our Master.

14.   Joseph explains to his brothers that God had a purpose in allowing evil things to happen to him. He says, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20). Joseph repeats what he told his brothers when he first revealed himself to them 17 years ago, but they either had forgotten or doubted him. Earlier he had said to them, “Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. . . . So it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Gen. 45:5, 8).

15.   Joseph saw God’s hand for good in the many years of hurt that he endured. God turns evil around to make good come from it, always for God’s divine purposes. Paul echoes this in Rom 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Those who killed Jesus meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, the saving of many souls! All the evil that was done to Jesus—persecution, unjust treatment, thrown into a pit of humanity, having his clothes taken away, left in the prison of the grave for two days and emerging alive on the third day—it was all a part of God’s greater plan of ultimate good for you and me! Our sins are no more!

16.   As Joseph speaks tenderly to his brothers, so does Jesus speak to us today: “ ‘So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them” (Gen. 50:21). As Jesus’ brothers, we can forgive too. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.