Sermon for 27 July 2014, Sixth Sunday after Trinity

The Rev. Paul J Cain

Matthew 5: (17-19) 20-26

Murder and Reconciliation

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 27 July 2014

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In Matthew 5:17ff, the Gospel for The Sixth Sunday after Trinity, Jesus is quite clear about the Law: ¹⁷[Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  ²⁰“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Does your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees? No? Then the Law of God says that you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. In Christ Jesus does your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees? Yes. Absolutely, yes, thanks be to God! The Gospel of God says that you will enter the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, you have entered the kingdom of heaven already in Holy Baptism and have passed from death to life. That is what Jesus accomplishes in you by His Word, God the Holy Spirit, and the forgiveness of sins. You are reconciled to God in Christ!

One of the ways we sin against God and our neighbor is by murder. I don’t say this flippantly. I speak as one with a little experience in the matter. Two members of the first congregation I served were murdered, both before I arrived to serve them as pastor, yet the consequences lingered for decades. One had occurred about a year before I was Called to serve them.

I also speak as one with more personal experience. The novels of C. J. Box and Craig Johnson have far more murders than Sheridan and Johnson County actually have. The Longmire TV show apparently needs to have one almost every week. You and I are guilty of sin against the Fifth Commandment when we call someone a name, when we hate, when we know that somebody has something against us and we don’t care enough to deal with the situation. No, we may not be taking another’s life, yet we murder in the eyes of the Lord and His Fifth Commandment when we fail to do the good we should. The Small Catechism says it well:

The Fifth Commandment

[God's Gift of Life]

You shall not murder.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

Jesus says it this way:

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother² will be liable to judgment; whoever insults³ his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell⁴ of fire. ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.⁵

Who is responsible for beginning a process of reconciliation? You are. I am. To put it briefly, the first person who recognizes that there is a need for reconciliation.

If you…remember that your brother has something against you…go. First be reconciled to your brother…

Matthew 18 tells the other side of the story, when you have been sinned against: ¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

If you realize you have sinned, go and be reconciled. If someone has sinned against you, seek reconciliation. The goal is always forgiveness and reconciliation.

Forgiveness and reconciliation is always the goal of Excommunication, when church discipline needs to be exercised. The goal is never “cleaning the rolls.” The goal is repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

There is another issue with regard to the Fifth Commandment that we need to address. When many of us were originally taught the Fifth Commandment, it wasn’t as “You shall not murder,” right? I learned the Fifth Commandment in King James English as “Thou shalt not kill.” There is a difference between murder and killing.  Murder is a kind of killing, but killing is not a kind of murder. Abortion, euthanasia, and suicide are all murder. Self-defense, serving as a soldier in a just war, and capital punishment are killing, but not murder. I first heard the updated translation of this Commandment while preparing to go to seminary. It bothered me. I had to research it for myself.

I could understand that Holy Spirit meant Holy Ghost. I knew that the Holy Ghost spake by the prophets and the Holy Spirit spoke by the prophets without any change in meaning, much like the living and the dead means the same as the quick and the dead. I knew that there was a difference in meaning between “kill” and “murder.”

It took study of both the German of Luther’s Catechism and the Hebrew of the Ten Commandments to discover that “murder” is the more accurate translation. Luther translates the Hebrew word as “kill.” So does the King James Authorized Version. Yet, “Murder” is the original word in Hebrew. Both the Germans and the English did their best to carry forward the connotations of the Hebrew, but it took a long time for the English-speaking church to get the translation to be the most accurate.

Why does this matter? Occasionally, I’m summoned to the VA Hospital. When the veterans make a request to talk to an LCMS pastor, there’s usually another topic that they present first. But most want to talk about this issue. They’ve been carrying around the guilt of killing a man in the course of battle and war and are convinced that they have broken the Fifth Commandment. Shooting back at the enemy shooting at you is self-defense of you and your buddies , much like self-defense of your home as castle. Killing? Yes. Murder? No. Some soldiers cross the line and engage in looting, pillaging, etc. of local populations. That becomes murder.

Imagine the relief of someone who carried around the grief of killing enemy soldiers to discover that such self-defense in war is not murder. All loss of life is tragic. Our goal is the preservation of life in this world and preaching the message of the forgiveness of sins and the life everlasting in Jesus. One of my great joys as a pastor is pronouncing absolution, the forgiveness of sins. It is similarly joyful to pronounce the truth about what this commandment says, correcting decades and centuries-long of confused catechesis.  “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.”

Christ came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets and did so perfectly on our behalf.

Jesus gives clear teaching on the Fifth Commandment. We serve our neighbor by clearly sharing such teaching.

In Christ Jesus, you have forgiveness, reconciliation, life, and salvation. Amen.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Wedding Sermon for Nicholas John Taylor and Brittany Eileen Camp

The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.

Matthew 19:6

God Has Joined

Saturday of Trinity V, 26 July 2014

Wedding of Nicholas John Taylor and Brittany Eileen Camp

Kendrick Mansion

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

 ^“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” This is our text, requested by the Bride and Groom.

What. We are here for a wedding, a marriage, a holy matrimony. A couple in love, married in the eyes of the Lord and of Caesar needs more than their feelings for one another for their relationship to survive. They need a marriage. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote in a wedding sermon, “It is not your love which sustains the marriage, but from now on the marriage that sustains your love.” That is why holy matrimony, the lifelong union of one man and one woman wed only to each other, is still a viable institution in 21^st Century America. Things can work out well—even if you break the rules on eHarmony. A marriage is built on commitment love.

Commitment love is what gets couples through the tough times. After all, forgiving each other will make your life together a lot more bearable, and a lot more enjoyable. You need to be regularly reminded of Christ’s love for you and shown His love. That is why being united in attending the Sunday Divine Service, actively engaging in Bible study together, and being committed to family devotions are all so important, even if you temporarily relocate to  Gillette.

God. This word tells us much. In your promises to one another, you promise to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it. We are speaking about a divine institution, holy matrimony, not merely “marriage” as redefined by a government or a politically-correct human. You received instruction in what the Bible says about Holy Matrimony, especially Matthew 19, Ephesians 5, and Genesis 2. We aim here in this service to lay a foundation for your life together for 1000 years, as the saying goes, or more accurately, so long as you both shall live in the name of the only God, the Triune Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Marriage is a model of the Christian life. (TLSB) “God’s people are to live in faith according to His love and will. We spurn that love and will when we disregard the order that pleases God.”

Has Joined Together. The two will become one, even more so than in welding two pieces of metal. The Word the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures use for the unity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is shared with married couples in the verses that inform Jesus’ words here. The Lord is One. That Oneness is also a gift from the Lord to you as husband and wife.

This unity, this oneness, has consequences on your spiritual life and family life. Your sons are now brothers. A mom is a stepmother and a father is also a stepfather. Boys, honor your father and your mother. And honor your stepfather and stepmother as you would your father and your mother. You are blessed with additional parents, not replacement parents. You are why we included those verses from Ephesians 6. Care for the boys and any other children your Lord blesses you with food, shelter, clothing, and education, yet above all, bring them up in the discipline and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let Not Man Separate. Marriage takes work. The devil, the influence of worldly culture, and your own sinful flesh are fighting against the success of your marriage. You can't do this one your own. Christ who joins you is the one who will sustain you. Marriage is not a Sacrament. Lutherans have two: Baptism and Communion, plus Confession & Absolution. Marriage does not meet the definition of a Lutheran sacrament because it does not deliver the forgiveness of sins. Yet, marriage is like absolution in that it is a fresh start. Cherish that as you cherish one another. Keep working on your relationship. Still date one another. Make your time together special. Love one another as Christ loved you first. Receive His gifts for the benefit of your own body and soul, marriage and family.

God has joined you together. Never let anyone or anything come between the two of you. Never let anyone or anything come between you and Christ. Amen.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Wedding Sermon for Mark Bradley Strauch and Keshia Lynn Kjorstad

The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.

Song of Solomon 3:1-5

The One Whom My Soul Loves

Saturday of Trinity III, 12 July 2014

Wedding of Mark Bradley Strauch and Keshia Lynn Kjorstad

Meadowlark Ski Resort

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

“I have found the one my soul loves.” That’s part of what the two of you are declaring today, Mark and Keshia. It is amazing where a Mad Gab game night can lead two people.

For your sermon text on your special day, I have chosen a portion of Song of Solomon, Chapter 3, verses 1-5. This is the text of The Bride’s Dream. She says: 3 On my bed by night sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not.

At first hearing, it sounds like the frustration we all may have felt searching for the one we would one day marry. That’s not what this text is about. This is a memory from the days when they were dating. She already knows him. They’re “together,” we would say. And he just won’t answer his phone, email, or the texts she’s been sending him. So, she starts actively looking for him: 2 I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.

Round two also ends in frustration. The city guards make an appearance in her search for Solomon: 3 The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” 4 Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go…

Do you know the feeling? Just after you ask for help in finding the thing or the person you can’t find, you find it almost right away by yourself.

Do you know the other feeling? Based on our experiences, we can also identify with this woman’s care and concern and deep feeling of love. It’s a new love, fresh and strong and passionate. She was active in her search. Her love story predates the unfortunate “unrequited love” tradition of Western Civilization where somebody pines for somebody else for a distance, never or rarely saying a word to the other person. How is that love? There is no action for the benefit of the other person. It’s just selfish, unfulfilled emotion.

Please notice the most important thing about her search: she went out and did something to show her love for her man. Holy Scripture uses the word love in a very active sense. Yes, it is an emotion, yet is always in action, just like faith in Christ.

A couple in love, married in the eyes of the Lord and of Caesar needs more than their feelings for one another for their relationship to survive. They need a marriage. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote in a wedding sermon, “It is not your love which sustains the marriage, but from now on the marriage that sustains your love.” That is why holy matrimony, the lifelong union of one man and one woman wed only to each other, is still a viable institution in 21^st Century America. A marriage is built on commitment love.

Commitment love is what gets couples through the tough times. After all, forgiving each other will make your life together a lot more bearable, and a lot more enjoyable. You need to be regularly reminded of Christ’s love for you and shown His love. That is why being united in attending the Sunday Divine Service, actively engaging in Bible study together, and being committed to family devotions are all so important.

Let’s return to the bride remembering her courtship in anticipation of her wedding day: “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” 4 Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.

The families of both the bride and groom (TLSB) both “play a supportive role in their marriage (cf 3:6–11; 8:1–2, 5).” And you are given to be blessings to one another. Verse five concludes our text: .5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.

Thanks be to God the time of waiting is over! You are given to delight in one another. That is why you and your family and friends will hear “You may kiss the bride” at the end of this service.

Verse five puts people under a vow, an oath. In holy matrimony, a husband and wife promise to actively love one another in all aspects of life. They are true partners, helpmeets, with roles that complement one another.

All of this happens before Solomon says a word in chapter three, a flashback to their time of courtship, a (TSLB) “longing for their wedding and its consummation. The Church father Bede compared the searching of the Shulammite [woman, Solomon’s bride,] with Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb while it was still dark, searching for the Christ (Jn 20:1, 11–18)”. So too with us.

Marriage is a model of the Christian life. (TLSB) “God’s people are to live in faith according to His love and will. We spurn that love and will when we disregard the order that pleases God.”

When you find the one your soul loves, you never want to let her go. Right, Mark? That phrase is an expression of deep communion, intimate fellowship, lifelong dedication.

And that is what Christ has given to you. You love one another because He loved you first. Mark, you will be a good example to your wife as a Christian, a Christian man, Christian husband, and Christian head of household. Keshia, you truly hunger and thirst for God’s truth and righteousness. I very much look forward to your Baptism day and welcoming you both to your Church home together.

You have each found the one whom your soul loves. You have found that in one another in this life, till death you do part.

More importantly, You have found Him whom your soul loves for time and eternity. To be more precise, He has found you, even Jesus Christ our Lord, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, the heavenly Bridegroom of His Bride the Holy Christian Church, of which you both are part. His love for you, like His holy Word, is living and active. He was born for you, lived for you, taught, preached, and healed for you, was crucified, died, and was raised for your and your salvation, forgiveness and life now, and to dwell with Him forever in the mansions of heaven.

Never let one another go. And never let go of Christ, for He loves you. Amen.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Funeral Sermon for Charles Barker

The Rev. Paul J Cain

Trespasses

Psalm 23; Ezekiel 36:25; Ephesians 2:8-10; Mark 10:14

Memorial Sermon for Charles Barker

Thursday of Trinity III, 10 July 2014

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Trespasses. Jesus Christ dealt with our trespasses. He dealt with Charles Barker’s trespasses by forgiving them. We pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus taught us this prayer. And Charles prayed the Lord’s Prayer aloud with his family and his pastors over the years. When he did, he often repeated the word “trespasses.” His are forgiven in Christ.

Charles was baptized on February 10, 1952. It was Septuagesima Sunday, one of the Sundays of pre-lent before Lent and Easter. Charles had limitations in his life, but they did not define him. The family shared with me a letter about Charles from a medical professional. I quote part of it here:

“To describe such a likeable individual as Charles Barker by only [his] symptoms is a disservice, because he is delightful. [He] has never been a violent man, and typically resists potentially hurting anyone’s feelings. He is people-pleasing, kind, supportive, honest, and seeks relationships… He has a family support network that is unparalleled in their love and dedication to his care and treatment. He is a kind-hearted and generous person who desires to live with dignity and composure, cares about his appearance, and tries to make a good impression. His wishes and dreams regularly include having a girlfriend, visiting his sisters, and riding a horse. It has been my pleasure to work with him…” End quote.  I agree. Those of us who knew him for any significant length of time will resonate with that heart-felt assessment.

Charles was and is a wonderful example of the grace of God in Christ. If salvation were up to our thoughts, words, and deeds being enough to earn God’s favor or forgiveness, not one of us would be saved. Yet, our salvation is not based upon the trespasses we have committed and the good we have not done being outweighed by the good we have done added to the evil we have refrained from. It was accomplished by Christ alone. He said, “It is finished.” How could we argue with that? “Jesus loves me,” Charles could sing. And then he’d ask if you’d take him for a burger and a Diet Coke.

Charles is a dear child of our heavenly Father, and a co-heir with us of His heavenly kingdom because of our common baptism into Christ in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That’s why the Paschal candle is lit today. The Lord keeps His promises to us in Christ Jesus: the forgiveness of sins, life, eternal salvation, and the gift to dwell in the Lord’s own shelter. Our Good Shepherd gently guides us as He guided Charles, knowing well our need and provides us all we need to support this body and life.

The work of salvation was accomplished by Jesus Christ. And the delivery of salvation to Charles and to us was also accomplished by God in Christ.

Ever wonder about how to better understand Scripture? Seek to understand all the words of a passage the way Scripture uses them. Find the law and the Gospel promises in the text. And then look at the verbs. Who is doing the action each verb? In the readings chosen for this memorial service, the good Lord is very active. We did not and could not accomplish our own salvation.

God says: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. Ezekiel 36 gets us Christians thinking about Holy Baptism, and well we should. Charles Barker was washed in the blood of the Lamb, the Lamb of God who takes the trespasses of the world away.

St. Paul goes out of his way to convince his readers that salvation is not by works we have done: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. That’s Ephesians 2:8-9. Verse ten shows the proper place for good works: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Good works are necessary, because God asks us to do them. Yet Scripture never says they are necessary for our salvation. God doesn’t need our good works, but our neighbor in need does. And according to our vocations, our specific, God-given relationships with Charles, we served him. And we were blessed in our service. Charles was just such a neighbor in need, a baptized child of God, a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, a dear son and brother, grandson and cousin, a resident of RENEW and Sheridan Manor, and much more.

It was a great privilege to visit him for the last five years, whether at the Manor or in the hospital. There were times before when we thought we would soon lose him, but he pulled through. He recovered just enough. He was comforted just enough by loving family, soothing hymns of Gospel promises, prayers for health, healing, and comfort, and God’s Word read to him.

Today’s service is filled with hymns that Charles knew or heard and hymns that have given comfort in Christ to his family since his passing, his heavenly birthday.

The Lord God, our shepherd, gathers the lambs of His flock into the arms of His mercy and brings them to Himself. There, with Him, we will await the Resurrection and the new heaven and new earth. Charles received the kingdom of God like a child. He was given the gift of faith by God the Holy Spirit. And in the Resurrection, we Christians shall see him again. Amen.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.