Sermon Sunday September 7 2008
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This morning in our Gospel lesson our Lord tells us of the greatest gift that we as disciples of Christ have for the world, for our community, for our neighbor. And what I am referring to is nothing short of the opportunity and the privilege that we, as forgiven sinners have to literally share Jesus with those around us; to share the Gospel, or specifically in the case of this week’s Gospel lesson, the opportunity and privilege, and obligation to declare the forgiveness of sin.
And indeed this is a great gift and privilege and obligation, for it speaks to the very heart of what the Gospel is all about; the forgiveness of our sin; the great promise that on the cross, Christ Jesus bore the burden of our sin, death and punishment. And we have the privilege of being able to share this with our neighbor. And at the end of the day, that a gift far more precious and valuable than anything else that we could give to our neighbor, for as Luther reminds us in the catechism, we are saved not by gold and silver but by the holy and precious blood of our Lord Jesus, and He calls us and frees us to share this precious gift of forgiveness with our neighbor.
So why do we resist this call? Why do we resist this call to share the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus with our neighbor, when it is such a wonderful gift? In the catechism this is called the Office of the Keys and is described as the authority which Christ gave to His church to forgive the sins of those who repent and to declare to those who do not repent that their sins are not forgiven. He didn’t just give it to the apostles, He didn’t just give it to bishops, He didn’t just give it to pastors. Our Lord Jesus gave the authority to declare the forgiveness of sins in His name to His church. Why do we resist this calling.
We get a clue as to why we reject this as much as we do from three words contained in the description from the Office of the Keys. The three words??? "Those who repent." We are called and sent to declare the forgiveness of sin in Christ’s name to those who repent, those who acknowledge their sin and turn from it. You see, in order to declare someone forgiven of sin, they have to be aware that they are a sinner, and that is a difficult thing to tell someone. It is difficult to point out somebody’s sin to them.
But we are called to do just that. Our Lord gives us the Office of the Keys for a reason. He wants us to use it, and so in today’s Gospel lesson, He helps us out. He shows us how it is that we, the church can live out or calling to declare the forgiveness of sin to our neighbor.
He tells you first that if someone sins against you, you are to show that person their fault when you are alone, just one on one. If you listen you have regained them. But if they don’t listen then you take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen then you tell the church and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, then you are to let such a one be to you as a tax-collector and a Gentile. In other words, at that point, if the offender refuses to listen to you, then to a few of you, then to the church, then you are to reject them, or excommunicate them. In other words, this would be an example of when we withhold forgiveness.
And that is why we resist and run from our calling to utilize the Office of the Keys. We are afraid that it will get to that point. We are afraid to hold people accountable for their own sin because we fear that they will reject us or take it personal. We are afraid that it will get messy. And it can, and does.
But we don’t do anybody any favors by trying to save them from being offended. In fact, often trying to save someone from being offended may mean allowing them to mire in their sin, and there is not greater disservice that we could do to anyone. We need to remember, when we run from this calling, we are denying someone the gift of the Gospel.
Luther wrote of the Gospel and how it relates to God’s calling to the church…
We shall now return to the Gospel, which offers council and help against sin in more than one way, for God is surpassingly rich in his grace: First, through the spoken word, by which the forgiveness of sin (the peculiar function of the Gospel) is preached to the whole world; second,5 through Baptism; third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar; fourth, through the power of the keys; and finally, through the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren. Matt. 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered," etc.6
For the most part, we are ok with the first three; preaching, baptism, and Holy Communion, but it’s those last two; the Office of the Keys and bringing the Gospel to our neighbor through mutual conversation and consolation, that we have trouble with. It’s those last two that we tend to run from, and we do so because they are messy.
Oh we may try to convince ourselves that we are acting out of love by saying things like "Who am I to judge?" or "I am no better than them." or "I’ll just make them upset or offend them." But the truth is, it’s not out of love that we avoid holding each other accountable for our sin. It’s out of fear; fear of the unknown; fear of how the person might react; fear of putting yourself in a situation you can’t control.
There is a television show that I sometimes watch called Intervention. It is a reality-based show where in each episode you see a family planning to stage an intervention for one of their own who is struggling with addiction or alcoholism. At the end of the episode you see the intervention which is where they will unsuspectingly bring the person who is struggling with addiction or alcoholism to a place where there will be a group of their closest family and friends. One by one the family and friends will tell the addict or alcoholic how their actions, their mistakes, their sin has affected them.
And quite often, through the whole episode the addict or alcoholic will be in denial, but when they start hearing how their actions and decisions have hurt and offended their family, how the burden of alcoholism or addiction has become a burden on their family and friends also, that is when the breakthrough finally comes. That is when the walls finally come down and the person finally admits that they need help, and quite often it’s a very powerful and moving moment. But it would not have happened if the people who loved and cared for this person had not loved and cared for them enough to be open and honest with them about their sin, and be willing to risk getting messy.
The final authority in this process of repentance and forgiveness that our Lord lays out for us is the congregation. What this tells us is that, when it comes to the Christian witness, there is no higher authority in the land than the individual Christian congregation. But when we refuse to live out our calling to bind and loose sins then we essentially relinquish that authority, for when we do that we relinquish our ability to address the greatest need there is; and that is the world’s need of the Gospel.
Confronting people with their sin is challenging and messy and it does involve giving up control. And because of that, our Lord has attached a wonderful promise to this that where two three are gathered in His name He is there among them. He has freed us from having to worry about the messiness.
Our Lord Jesus bound our sin to Himself when He went to the cross and loosed it in the grave where it remains. And when He walked out of the tomb three days later His disciples saw that He was who He said He was; the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and this glorious Gospel message of forgiveness and new life was proclaimed and passed on to the generations and it wouldn’t have happened if our Lord Jesus were not there among those gathered in His name. And so here we are, baptized in His name and gathered in His name in Word and sacrament and He is among us, and He will come to us in His bodily presence again in a few minutes in the Lord’s Supper, and so we have three of those five elements of the church that Luther spoke of. And when you leave here those last two of binding and loosing sin and consolation of the brethren go with you. But our Lord is there among you at all times, perhaps especially when it gets messy.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This morning in our Gospel lesson our Lord tells us of the greatest gift that we as disciples of Christ have for the world, for our community, for our neighbor. And what I am referring to is nothing short of the opportunity and the privilege that we, as forgiven sinners have to literally share Jesus with those around us; to share the Gospel, or specifically in the case of this week’s Gospel lesson, the opportunity and privilege, and obligation to declare the forgiveness of sin.
And indeed this is a great gift and privilege and obligation, for it speaks to the very heart of what the Gospel is all about; the forgiveness of our sin; the great promise that on the cross, Christ Jesus bore the burden of our sin, death and punishment. And we have the privilege of being able to share this with our neighbor. And at the end of the day, that a gift far more precious and valuable than anything else that we could give to our neighbor, for as Luther reminds us in the catechism, we are saved not by gold and silver but by the holy and precious blood of our Lord Jesus, and He calls us and frees us to share this precious gift of forgiveness with our neighbor.
So why do we resist this call? Why do we resist this call to share the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus with our neighbor, when it is such a wonderful gift? In the catechism this is called the Office of the Keys and is described as the authority which Christ gave to His church to forgive the sins of those who repent and to declare to those who do not repent that their sins are not forgiven. He didn’t just give it to the apostles, He didn’t just give it to bishops, He didn’t just give it to pastors. Our Lord Jesus gave the authority to declare the forgiveness of sins in His name to His church. Why do we resist this calling.
We get a clue as to why we reject this as much as we do from three words contained in the description from the Office of the Keys. The three words??? "Those who repent." We are called and sent to declare the forgiveness of sin in Christ’s name to those who repent, those who acknowledge their sin and turn from it. You see, in order to declare someone forgiven of sin, they have to be aware that they are a sinner, and that is a difficult thing to tell someone. It is difficult to point out somebody’s sin to them.
But we are called to do just that. Our Lord gives us the Office of the Keys for a reason. He wants us to use it, and so in today’s Gospel lesson, He helps us out. He shows us how it is that we, the church can live out or calling to declare the forgiveness of sin to our neighbor.
He tells you first that if someone sins against you, you are to show that person their fault when you are alone, just one on one. If you listen you have regained them. But if they don’t listen then you take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen then you tell the church and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, then you are to let such a one be to you as a tax-collector and a Gentile. In other words, at that point, if the offender refuses to listen to you, then to a few of you, then to the church, then you are to reject them, or excommunicate them. In other words, this would be an example of when we withhold forgiveness.
And that is why we resist and run from our calling to utilize the Office of the Keys. We are afraid that it will get to that point. We are afraid to hold people accountable for their own sin because we fear that they will reject us or take it personal. We are afraid that it will get messy. And it can, and does.
But we don’t do anybody any favors by trying to save them from being offended. In fact, often trying to save someone from being offended may mean allowing them to mire in their sin, and there is not greater disservice that we could do to anyone. We need to remember, when we run from this calling, we are denying someone the gift of the Gospel.
Luther wrote of the Gospel and how it relates to God’s calling to the church…
We shall now return to the Gospel, which offers council and help against sin in more than one way, for God is surpassingly rich in his grace: First, through the spoken word, by which the forgiveness of sin (the peculiar function of the Gospel) is preached to the whole world; second,5 through Baptism; third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar; fourth, through the power of the keys; and finally, through the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren. Matt. 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered," etc.6
For the most part, we are ok with the first three; preaching, baptism, and Holy Communion, but it’s those last two; the Office of the Keys and bringing the Gospel to our neighbor through mutual conversation and consolation, that we have trouble with. It’s those last two that we tend to run from, and we do so because they are messy.
Oh we may try to convince ourselves that we are acting out of love by saying things like "Who am I to judge?" or "I am no better than them." or "I’ll just make them upset or offend them." But the truth is, it’s not out of love that we avoid holding each other accountable for our sin. It’s out of fear; fear of the unknown; fear of how the person might react; fear of putting yourself in a situation you can’t control.
There is a television show that I sometimes watch called Intervention. It is a reality-based show where in each episode you see a family planning to stage an intervention for one of their own who is struggling with addiction or alcoholism. At the end of the episode you see the intervention which is where they will unsuspectingly bring the person who is struggling with addiction or alcoholism to a place where there will be a group of their closest family and friends. One by one the family and friends will tell the addict or alcoholic how their actions, their mistakes, their sin has affected them.
And quite often, through the whole episode the addict or alcoholic will be in denial, but when they start hearing how their actions and decisions have hurt and offended their family, how the burden of alcoholism or addiction has become a burden on their family and friends also, that is when the breakthrough finally comes. That is when the walls finally come down and the person finally admits that they need help, and quite often it’s a very powerful and moving moment. But it would not have happened if the people who loved and cared for this person had not loved and cared for them enough to be open and honest with them about their sin, and be willing to risk getting messy.
The final authority in this process of repentance and forgiveness that our Lord lays out for us is the congregation. What this tells us is that, when it comes to the Christian witness, there is no higher authority in the land than the individual Christian congregation. But when we refuse to live out our calling to bind and loose sins then we essentially relinquish that authority, for when we do that we relinquish our ability to address the greatest need there is; and that is the world’s need of the Gospel.
Confronting people with their sin is challenging and messy and it does involve giving up control. And because of that, our Lord has attached a wonderful promise to this that where two three are gathered in His name He is there among them. He has freed us from having to worry about the messiness.
Our Lord Jesus bound our sin to Himself when He went to the cross and loosed it in the grave where it remains. And when He walked out of the tomb three days later His disciples saw that He was who He said He was; the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and this glorious Gospel message of forgiveness and new life was proclaimed and passed on to the generations and it wouldn’t have happened if our Lord Jesus were not there among those gathered in His name. And so here we are, baptized in His name and gathered in His name in Word and sacrament and He is among us, and He will come to us in His bodily presence again in a few minutes in the Lord’s Supper, and so we have three of those five elements of the church that Luther spoke of. And when you leave here those last two of binding and loosing sin and consolation of the brethren go with you. But our Lord is there among you at all times, perhaps especially when it gets messy.
Amen
posted by Steve at 10:12 PM
1 Comments:
What a wonderful catecheical sermon on the Office of the Keys. This was a great sermon, esp. b/c you hit us where we do it the least-with holding forgiveness when they are unrepentant. You stated that well when you said,
"And that is why we resist and run from our calling to utilize the Office of the Keys. We are afraid that it will get to that point. We are afraid to hold people accountable for their own sin because we fear that they will reject us or take it personal. We are afraid that it will get messy. And it can, and does."
You called us not to be afraid to confront sin, even when it is really close to us. And I loved the way you ended the sermon-giving us the final and only reason we are to be so bold-that this is what Christ did.
Wonderful!
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