Sermon Sunday July 27 2008
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is there a better feeling in the world than those moments that most of us have probably experienced where you are going through your clothes, specifically pockets in your pants or maybe a sport-coat, or maybe for some of you women, your purse, and you find a ten or a twenty dollar bill that you had forgotten about? Or what about finding out that you are going to get a much bigger return on your income-tax than you were anticipating? Or what about the unexpected bonus at work?? It could be a Christmas bonus or something like that?
We love those unexpected surprises or bonuses. But there is a common thread among the three examples that I spoke of that make them maybe a little different, and from our human and somewhat prideful perspective, a little more satisfying than probably most other examples of unexpected benefits.
For you see we all have that desire for unexpected and unearned prosperity. We all have that desire to get something for nothing. We all desire to be included among those luck few for whom good fortune just seems to smile on them; whether it’s winning the lottery, or having you number drawn for the grand-prize in a raffle, we all yearn for that.
But we also have this dream and this desire of earning our way; of attaining the American dream through our own blood, sweat, and tears. It’s the dream of making your own way; the dream of becoming well known and well liked and well respected because of you own hard work and toil.
And so what makes finding that 20 dollar bill that you lost in your sportcoat, or the income tax return that is larger than you were expecting or the bonus at work so enjoyable is that they have elements of both. There is the joy that comes from the receiving of the unexpected benefit and prosperity, but in these cases there is also the personal satisfaction that comes with knowing that, to a certain extent you earned these benefits. Of course you should find your 20 dollar bill, after all you earned it. Of course you should get a Christmas bonus for all the hard work you do. And it’s about time those crooks in the government stop ripping you off and give you what you deserve.
But this morning you are confronted with a Word from your Lord that seems to completely flip upside down this romanticizing of the whole idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, that we just love to embrace. For you see in this morning’s lesson the kingdom of heaven is not presented as some ideal to strive toward, or some impossible dream that we can go after and attain because we really set our minds to it.
No, this morning straight from the mouth of our Lord Jesus, the kingdom of heaven is compared to treasure hidden in a field, which someone found. Again He says that it is like treasure that someone found, not that someone earned, nor a goal that someone attained but a treasure that someone found hidden in a field.
And so on one hand we pay lip-service to understanding this, but do we really understand it? Do we really understand that the Gospel really is like stumbling upon a treasure? Or are we more likely to try to convince ourselves that we can earn our place in the kingdom of heaven?
We want our place in the kingdom of heaven to be like the Christmas bonus. We want to experience the joy that comes from benefiting from something unexpectedly and spontaneously, and indeed our Lord promises that one day we will all be raised again and living in the place that has been prepared for us. And we also know that the date and the time of this glorious event is a mystery. So we are promised that there will be this wonderful, unexpected joy and pleasure, the likes of which we couldn’t even come close to imagining. But we also want that personal satisfaction that comes with the Christmas bonus which says, as nice a surprise as the Christmas bonus is, I must deserve it otherwise why would they be giving it to me?
And so you say? "Well what’s wrong that, we just want to do our part?" The problem with that is it’s not your part to do. The problem with wanting to do your part is that really it is ultimately a return to the sin that got us here; the sin of wanting to be God. The problem with wanting to do your part when it comes to the kingdom of Heaven is that ultimately what it reveals is a desire to control the promise of God, a desire to strategically map out the words of promise that were proclaimed over you in the waters of baptism.
But when we can’t even effectively map out what happens in the temporal world, how arrogant is it of us to even for a second think that we can do our part in regards to our place in the eternal kingdom of heaven. It is so important to our Lord that we understand that our place in His kingdom comes purely as a free gift that He repeatedly drives this point home in various parables throughout this lesson.
After this parable comes the parable comes the merchant in search of fine pearls who finds a pearl of great value. And you think, well there, surely the merchant in his searching, was doing his part. But no because the merchant was searching for many pearls, but the treasure he found consisted of one great pearl. This one single pearl of great value was revealed to the merchant in spite of his endless quest to find value in many pearls.
And finally by comparing the kingdom of heaven to a net full of different kinds of fish which was pulled ashore, where the good fish were kept in baskets and the bad ones thrown out, our Lord Jesus shows that as wonderful and glorious a surprise the kingdom of heaven is going to be, there will be some who will not enter and they will be thrown into, according to the very words of our Lord, the furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And that is how important it is that you understand and believe that you have no part in attaining your place in the kingdom of heaven; that your place in the kingdom of Heaven is a completely free gift that was attained when your Lord Jesus paid the price for you sin and pride and you self-centered desire to do your part.
St Paul said that if anyone could attain righteousness through good works it would have been him but even all his good works were as dirty rags. And so the question surges up in you "If there is nothing that I can do, then what do I do?" But that is nothing but the devil and the old Adam trying to tempt you to do your part. But you tell them to go away for your part has been done by Another. Simply hear the word proclaimed in the Gospel that through faith in Christ Jesus; the One who laid down His life for you and gave all for you taking on your sin and defeating sin and the devil for you, you are among the righteous who will be separated from the evil.
But for now the evil and pride is still within you tempting you and deluding you into thinking that you can do your part. But you are not left alone, for the Lord promises to send His Spirit who helps you in weakness, and interecedes with sighs to deep for words, praying for you and teaching you how to pray and reminding you that your are His and your place in the Kingdom is secure. This is happening as we speak through the words of my mouth as the Gospel is proclaimed to you. It happens every time you come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper. For that is nothing short of the kingdom of heaven breaking forth in your midst.
So hear the words of St Paul who reminds you today that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus, for He has called you according to His purpose. And so your place in the kingdom has been secured, and so you are now sent forth with this great treasure of God’s promise to your neighbor, to bring this promise to the so that the kingdom of heaven will break forth in their midst and claim them as it has claimed you.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is there a better feeling in the world than those moments that most of us have probably experienced where you are going through your clothes, specifically pockets in your pants or maybe a sport-coat, or maybe for some of you women, your purse, and you find a ten or a twenty dollar bill that you had forgotten about? Or what about finding out that you are going to get a much bigger return on your income-tax than you were anticipating? Or what about the unexpected bonus at work?? It could be a Christmas bonus or something like that?
We love those unexpected surprises or bonuses. But there is a common thread among the three examples that I spoke of that make them maybe a little different, and from our human and somewhat prideful perspective, a little more satisfying than probably most other examples of unexpected benefits.
For you see we all have that desire for unexpected and unearned prosperity. We all have that desire to get something for nothing. We all desire to be included among those luck few for whom good fortune just seems to smile on them; whether it’s winning the lottery, or having you number drawn for the grand-prize in a raffle, we all yearn for that.
But we also have this dream and this desire of earning our way; of attaining the American dream through our own blood, sweat, and tears. It’s the dream of making your own way; the dream of becoming well known and well liked and well respected because of you own hard work and toil.
And so what makes finding that 20 dollar bill that you lost in your sportcoat, or the income tax return that is larger than you were expecting or the bonus at work so enjoyable is that they have elements of both. There is the joy that comes from the receiving of the unexpected benefit and prosperity, but in these cases there is also the personal satisfaction that comes with knowing that, to a certain extent you earned these benefits. Of course you should find your 20 dollar bill, after all you earned it. Of course you should get a Christmas bonus for all the hard work you do. And it’s about time those crooks in the government stop ripping you off and give you what you deserve.
But this morning you are confronted with a Word from your Lord that seems to completely flip upside down this romanticizing of the whole idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, that we just love to embrace. For you see in this morning’s lesson the kingdom of heaven is not presented as some ideal to strive toward, or some impossible dream that we can go after and attain because we really set our minds to it.
No, this morning straight from the mouth of our Lord Jesus, the kingdom of heaven is compared to treasure hidden in a field, which someone found. Again He says that it is like treasure that someone found, not that someone earned, nor a goal that someone attained but a treasure that someone found hidden in a field.
And so on one hand we pay lip-service to understanding this, but do we really understand it? Do we really understand that the Gospel really is like stumbling upon a treasure? Or are we more likely to try to convince ourselves that we can earn our place in the kingdom of heaven?
We want our place in the kingdom of heaven to be like the Christmas bonus. We want to experience the joy that comes from benefiting from something unexpectedly and spontaneously, and indeed our Lord promises that one day we will all be raised again and living in the place that has been prepared for us. And we also know that the date and the time of this glorious event is a mystery. So we are promised that there will be this wonderful, unexpected joy and pleasure, the likes of which we couldn’t even come close to imagining. But we also want that personal satisfaction that comes with the Christmas bonus which says, as nice a surprise as the Christmas bonus is, I must deserve it otherwise why would they be giving it to me?
And so you say? "Well what’s wrong that, we just want to do our part?" The problem with that is it’s not your part to do. The problem with wanting to do your part is that really it is ultimately a return to the sin that got us here; the sin of wanting to be God. The problem with wanting to do your part when it comes to the kingdom of Heaven is that ultimately what it reveals is a desire to control the promise of God, a desire to strategically map out the words of promise that were proclaimed over you in the waters of baptism.
But when we can’t even effectively map out what happens in the temporal world, how arrogant is it of us to even for a second think that we can do our part in regards to our place in the eternal kingdom of heaven. It is so important to our Lord that we understand that our place in His kingdom comes purely as a free gift that He repeatedly drives this point home in various parables throughout this lesson.
After this parable comes the parable comes the merchant in search of fine pearls who finds a pearl of great value. And you think, well there, surely the merchant in his searching, was doing his part. But no because the merchant was searching for many pearls, but the treasure he found consisted of one great pearl. This one single pearl of great value was revealed to the merchant in spite of his endless quest to find value in many pearls.
And finally by comparing the kingdom of heaven to a net full of different kinds of fish which was pulled ashore, where the good fish were kept in baskets and the bad ones thrown out, our Lord Jesus shows that as wonderful and glorious a surprise the kingdom of heaven is going to be, there will be some who will not enter and they will be thrown into, according to the very words of our Lord, the furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And that is how important it is that you understand and believe that you have no part in attaining your place in the kingdom of heaven; that your place in the kingdom of Heaven is a completely free gift that was attained when your Lord Jesus paid the price for you sin and pride and you self-centered desire to do your part.
St Paul said that if anyone could attain righteousness through good works it would have been him but even all his good works were as dirty rags. And so the question surges up in you "If there is nothing that I can do, then what do I do?" But that is nothing but the devil and the old Adam trying to tempt you to do your part. But you tell them to go away for your part has been done by Another. Simply hear the word proclaimed in the Gospel that through faith in Christ Jesus; the One who laid down His life for you and gave all for you taking on your sin and defeating sin and the devil for you, you are among the righteous who will be separated from the evil.
But for now the evil and pride is still within you tempting you and deluding you into thinking that you can do your part. But you are not left alone, for the Lord promises to send His Spirit who helps you in weakness, and interecedes with sighs to deep for words, praying for you and teaching you how to pray and reminding you that your are His and your place in the Kingdom is secure. This is happening as we speak through the words of my mouth as the Gospel is proclaimed to you. It happens every time you come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper. For that is nothing short of the kingdom of heaven breaking forth in your midst.
So hear the words of St Paul who reminds you today that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus, for He has called you according to His purpose. And so your place in the kingdom has been secured, and so you are now sent forth with this great treasure of God’s promise to your neighbor, to bring this promise to the so that the kingdom of heaven will break forth in their midst and claim them as it has claimed you.
Amen
posted by Steve at 8:29 AM
1 Comments:
Great sermon (hints of Forde perhaps?) I loved what you did with the whole idea of the treasure found and such. You left us with nothing to do but to be caught and tripped up and found once again.
Wonderful-I needed to hear it today.
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