Category: Sermon Page

Guest: Rev. Matthew Wood

“Remember Your Leaders, Those Who Spoke to You the Word of God” (Hebrews 13:7, from the Epistle for the day, Hebrews 13:1-17).

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 21, 2022

“God’s Open, Narrow Door” (Luke 13:22-30)

In our text today, someone asks Jesus a question: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Well, that seems like a reasonable question, something you might ask a visiting rabbi. An interesting academic question, to be sure: “Are only a few people going to be saved?”

But what was the question behind the question? Why did the guy ask this? Let’s consider the possibilities. Was it just idle curiosity, like, “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” Could be. Or maybe this fellow thinks God is too loose, letting in all the riff-raff he sees hanging around Jesus. A righteous God shouldn’t be that soft in his justice.

On the other hand, perhaps he asks his question in order to put God on trial. Maybe he thinks God is too strict. If God were really a decent God, he would let everybody in. You know, there are lots of people who think that way today. “God wouldn’t dare to send anybody to hell! The God I believe in wouldn’t do that!” That’s how people think today.

Another possibility: Maybe the questioner is trying to trap Jesus with his question. We know elsewhere in the gospels that that sort of thing happened. Jesus’ enemies were out to get him, and they tried to trap him into saying the wrong thing.

But it’s also possible the man’s question was neither purely academic nor a trick to trap Jesus. It could be a sincere question on the personal level for this man. Maybe he was genuinely worried about himself, that he wouldn’t make it. “Lord, will those who are saved be few? Because if that’s the case, then I’m not so sure I’m good enough to qualify.” Despair could be driving his question, and he was looking for the slightest sliver of hope.

On the other hand–now how many hands is this?–on the other hand, it could be pride. Pride, as in: “Hey, look at me! I’m one of the few, the proud, the saved! I’m better than all those lowlifes who aren’t as righteous or holy as I am. God must be pleased with me1”

In any case, we’re not told what the man’s motivation was for asking the question. What we do know is how Jesus answered it. Or didn’t answer it. You see, Jesus doesn’t actually answer the man’s question. The man had asked, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” But Jesus doesn’t directly address that. Instead, he says: “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

Jesus turns the man’s question around. He doesn’t let it stay on the academic or theoretical level. He makes it very personal. “You ask, Will those who are saved be few? Not many or few but you!” It’s as though Jesus tells the fellow: “So you’re concerned about how many people are going to be saved? Well, start by looking in the mirror. Are you going to be saved? True, there’s a danger that many people will not be saved. But don’t let that happen to you. See, here, I’m warning you–yes, you, here today!”

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Now what is this “door” that Jesus is talking about? It is the door to salvation. It’s the door to eternal life. It’s the door to the kingdom of God, the household of God, and the heavenly banquet. And many will not be able to enter, even though they will try. Jesus doesn’t tell us how many, or what the proportions will be, just that many will not make it. The door will be closed to them at that time.

You see, there will come a time when it’s too late. That will happen at the end of time, at the Last Day and the final judgment, when Jesus comes again. And until that time, the end will come for each one of us at our death. After that, it will be too late to repent, too late to enter through the door. So, make sure that you attend to such matters now, before it is too late. Death could come for any one of us at any time.

The Bible says, “Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart.” Any time and every time you hear God’s voice, open your heart and heed what he says. Don’t stop your ears and run the risk that the next time it will be too late. There may not be a next time. And even if there is a next time, by then you may be so used to saying “no” to God that you won’t be able to say “yes.” Listen, God is calling. He’s calling you today to repent and be saved. The door is open now, now while you have ears to hear.

“Strive to enter through the narrow door.” There is a door to go through to enter the kingdom of God, but what kind of door is it? Jesus says it’s a narrow door. It is narrow, and notice, there’s just one such door. There are not many doors. But that’s what many people think, that there are many doors to God. You can pick door #1, door #2, or whichever door you choose. You prefer the door of the Christian religion; someone else picks the Jewish door. The Muslims believe in God, just in their own way. Buddhists, Hindus–many faith traditions, many doors. Or maybe you have no faith at all. You don’t believe in “organized religion.” Well, that’s OK, too. You make your own door, your own “spirituality.” It’s your door, whatever works for you. That’s the prevailing message of our postmodern, hyper-tolerant culture. But that idea is simply dead wrong.

Now to be sure, “many shall come from the east and the west,” that is, there will be many saved from every language, tribe, people, and nation. But all those who are saved will be saved in the same way: They all will have come in through the same narrow door, the one door that God has provided for all men everywhere, namely, God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus says there is only one door, and it is a narrow one at that. Not everything will fit through. This narrow door has no room for your pride or your accomplishments. No room for your money or possessions. No room for anything you think will earn your way in. This narrow door has a “fraud detector,” too. A mere surface association with Jesus will not make it in: “Lord, open to us. We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” But the master of the house will turn them away: “I don’t know you or where you come from. Depart from me!” With this door, there’s no sneaking past security.

Nevertheless, you, today, come in through the narrow door. There’s just room for you and Jesus, with Jesus leading the way. In fact, Jesus is the way. He says: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” Again, Jesus himself is the door: “I am the door for the sheep. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.”

You see, there is just one door, and it is narrow. But that door is open now, and it leads to salvation! Come in through the way that is Jesus, the new and living way that he opened for us, in his flesh. Christ, the only Son of the Father, took upon himself all our sins, which would block us out and exclude us from God’s presence. Christ’s perfect sacrifice now having been made, the way for us sinners no longer is blocked. It is as open as the empty tomb with the stone rolled away. Christ has overcome the sharpness of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The door is open! Jesus is our open door!

Come in through God’s open, narrow door. But why does Jesus say, “Strive to enter”? If there’s no room for our works, our efforts to save ourselves, then isn’t that a contradiction? “Strive to enter”? I thought being saved was giving up on our efforts and instead trusting Jesus to do the work for us? Well, yes, it is. But entering through the door still is an effort, it still is a struggle. For we still strive and struggle against our own sinful flesh. Our Old Adam is at war with the new man. So we struggle every day with sin and temptation. We do battle against the devil, the world, and our flesh. That’s why the way of salvation involves a certain striving. And that’s what Jesus means when he says, “Strive to enter.”

“Strive.” The Greek word here is “agonizomai,” from which we get our word, “agonize.” It was used of athletes in competition. They “agonize” to win the prize. Same with us. We “agonize,” we sweat and strive and struggle. We press on to run the race, keeping our eyes on the prize, the crown of life that God will award us for Christ’s sake. The paradox of the Christian life is that it is both a gift and a struggle at the same time. “Strive to enter through the narrow door.”

We started this message with the question: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” But this is no time for a mere academic exercise. The question is, rather: Will those who are saved include me? And God is not the one who’s on trial here. You are. How are you going to fare in his heavenly court of justice? Will you be able to enter his kingdom?

Yes. Thank God, yes! The door is narrow, but the door is open. And it is open right now, for you. “Behold, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” Right now, as you hear the living voice of the gospel, God is opening his door to you. God is speaking to you, inviting you in, welcoming you home with open arms.

If the question is, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” then Jesus’ answer is, “You who are hearing me today, come in through me and be saved while there is still time.” Yes, come to the feast of salvation, enter the kingdom of God, through God’s open, narrow door.

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 14, 2022

“By Faith Let Us Also Run the Race” (Hebrews 11:1 – 12:3)

Whether you like it or not, you are in a race. It’s a long-distance race, more like a marathon than a sprint. It will not be easy. It will take endurance to complete the course. Do you have what it takes? That’s an important question, because it is imperative, it is absolutely necessary, that you make it to the finish line. If you don’t, if you drop out of the race, you lose everything. But if you do cross the finish line and reach the goal, you will gain a victory that is better than any other. That’s how important this is.

So to find out that there are others who have run the race and reached the finish line, you might want to know what their secret was. And, surprisingly, it’s not because they were all such talented runners. In fact, they were people just like you and me. Which gives us hope that we too can make it to the end. And so our theme this morning: “By Faith Let Us Also Run the Race.”

Our text is from the Book of Hebrews, a combination of last week’s Epistle, the first part of Hebrews 11, along with today’s reading, the rest of chapter 11 and the beginning of chapter 12. It makes for a long reading, but then, this is a long race we have to run.

Hebrews 11 is the famous chapter known as the “Hall of Fame of Faith.” It is a remarkable run-through of the whole of the Old Testament, highlighting the well-known heroes of the faith that you may recall from your Sunday School lessons. Abraham, Moses, David, and many more, are cited as examples of those who accomplished amazing things as they ran the race set before them. But what is it that enabled them to do these amazing things?

Well, look at the refrain that runs throughout this chapter. Do you see it? Take a look: “By faith Abel. . . . By faith Enoch. . . . By faith Noah. . . . By faith Abraham. . . . By faith Sarah. . . . By faith Isaac. . . . By faith Jacob. . . . By faith Joseph. . . . By faith Moses. . . . By faith Rahab. . . .” In all, the phrase, “by faith,” or its equivalent, “through faith,” occurs over twenty times in the forty verses of Hebrews 11. It seems a point is being made.

And the point is not that all these people were superhuman golden saints who had no flaws. No, not by a longshot. You know, sometimes we refer to these folks as “heroes of the faith.” Well, that’s something of a misnomer. These Old Testament characters did not always live such heroic or virtuous lives. One of the distinctive features supporting the authenticity of the Bible, compared to texts from other religions, is that the Bible lets us see these people in their full humanity, warts and all.

For instance, Abraham at one point got impatient waiting for God to deliver on his promise, so he took up with a concubine and had a son by her. Sarah laughed at the idea of her having a child at her age. Jacob was a trickster who cheated his brother out of his birthright and blessing. Moses killed a man in anger. The people who crossed the Red Sea worshiped a golden calf and were always grumbling and complaining. Rahab had been a prostitute. Samson let himself get seduced and lost his strength as a result. Jephthah made a rash and impetuous vow that cost the life of his daughter. David–David, for goodness’ sakes!–King David was an adulterer and a murderer!

So these were not perfect, faultless superheroes. No, in many ways they were people just like you and me. And yet they overcame many obstacles and pressed on and eventually reached the finish line. So there’s hope here for stumbling saints the likes of us. I know I’m no superhero. Oftentimes in my life I have taken a wrong turn before getting back on course. Oftentimes I have tripped and fallen, or just felt like giving up, and then I had to pick myself up and get going again. Maybe you can look at your own life and see the same.

I know I’m no superhero, but I also know I have the same thing that enabled those saints of old to run the race and finish the course. And that’s faith. Now the faith that enabled them and will enable you and me to run the race–this faith is nothing that you have to come up with on our own. Faith is not some magical quality in you that you have to muster up by dint of your determination and firm resolve. If that were the case, you could never be sure that you had faith enough. It would be a rather shaky foundation on which to build.

Rather, the firm foundation for your faith is found in God’s almighty, infallible, and trustworthy Word. God’s word of promise is utterly reliable. You can stake your life on it. You can stake your eternal salvation on it. “How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!”

The saints of Hebrews 11 were not perfect people, and neither are we. But they and we have God’s perfect promises to rely on. That’s what it means to run the race and reach the goal “by faith.” God’s word of promise will sustain you and strengthen you as you look toward the finish line and see the goal that is in store.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” That’s the way it was for those Old Testament saints. They had received God’s promises, but they were still waiting for the arrival of the things promised when they died. “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar.”

God had given the promise of a Savior to come, who would stomp on the serpent’s head and reverse the curse of death–God had given that promise ever since the fall into sin. And that promise was reinforced and refined time and time again over the centuries. To Abraham the promise was that through Abraham’s seed–that is, through Isaac and Jacob and the tribes of Israel–all the families of the earth would be blessed. To King David the promise took further shape that David’s son, one of David’s descendants, would reign as the great messianic king, who would rule over an everlasting kingdom of glory and blessing. These Old Testament saints had the promise of the coming Christ, and by faith they were looking forward to his coming, but they didn’t live long enough to see him arrive.

We in the New Testament era have seen him arrive. But even for us, we still need to live by faith. We have not seen with our eyes Jesus performing his miracles of healing. We have not heard with our ears Jesus preaching and teaching. We have not seen Jesus risen from the dead, like his apostles did. But we have their testimony. And their New Testament witness–along with the testimony of that whole cloud of Old Testament witnesses–their witness rings true to ears opened by the Holy Spirit. God creates faith in our hearts through his living. life-giving, and efficacious Word.

“Therefore,” our text says, as we move into chapter 12, “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” This is a spiritual race, so even an old guy with achy knees like me is able to keep going. But it being a spiritual race doesn’t mean it’s any less challenging. In fact, it is more so. You have the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh working against you. They would pull you off course, discourage you, and get you to quit and give up. Don’t listen to them. Keep on running. If you fall, get back up. God will help you. Keep on running, keep on running.

And keep your eyes on the prize. Keep your focus on Jesus. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus came to complete the race set before him, and how blessed we are that he did! Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. He knew the suffering and agony that awaited him there. Still, he went. He was determined to do the will of his Father and to win your salvation. It meant the way of the cross. But this was the only way for him to gain your forgiveness, by shedding his blood on your behalf, as the sacrifice for your sins. This is how Jesus defeated death for you, as his own resurrection shows forth. Knowing what his sacrificial death would accomplish–namely, the salvation of the world and your eternal life–this was the joy set before him that gave Jesus the strength to endure.

Now risen, ascended, and seated at the right hand of God, our Lord Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith. He is the founder. His life, death, and resurrection–this is the sure foundation of our faith. He is the perfecter of our faith. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, keep attentive to his word, as week after week you come here to receive his forgiveness and be strengthened in your faith. Keep looking to Jesus, and you will be amazed at how God is able to keep you–like the saints who have gone before us–how God is able to keep you running the long-distance race set before you with endurance.

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
August 7, 2022

“Do Not Be Anxious about Your Life” (Luke 12:22-34)

In the Holy Gospel for today, Jesus says, “Do not be anxious about your life.” Really, Jesus? Are you kidding me? “Do not be anxious”?? How can you say that? I mean, look at my life. There’s so much to be anxious about! Take my personal finances, for instance. Since January 1, year-to-date, in just seven months my individual retirement accounts are down almost $9,000. And this, for an individual approaching retirement! In these past seven months, I’ve had to buy a new phone and a new used car. During this same time, I’ve had to have a health checkup, dental work, and two eye surgeries, which were not all covered by insurance. Gas, groceries, rent–all up, substantially. Inflation this year has been the highest it’s been in decades. Well, you get the picture. And for many of you, the picture has been equally as bleak.

And what about all the people in our area who have suffered major losses from the torrential downpours and the flash flooding of the last couple of weeks? Are you going to tell them to cheer up and put on a happy face? How in the world could Jesus say, “Do not be anxious about your life”? Was he just being the Pollyanna of Palestine? Out of touch with reality?

No, far from it. In fact, Jesus was and is very much in touch with reality. It’s just that he sees a far greater reality than we often take into account. He sees the bigger picture, both for our present life and for our eternal future. And so now let’s see what Jesus sees and takes into account when he tells us, “Do Not Be Anxious about Your Life.”

Jesus says to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” Well, that’s true, I guess. Think of the rich fool, from last week’s lesson. He had all the wealth anyone could want. His only problem was, “Where am I going to put all my stuff?” So he said to his soul: “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him: “Thou fool! This night thy soul shall be required of thee! Whatcha gonna do with all your stuff then?” Or think of the rich man and poor Lazarus. The rich man wore fine clothing and feasted sumptuously every day. But when he died, he went to hell, while poor Lazarus was escorted into heaven by angels. I guess life really is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

But still, there is this matter of having enough to live on in this life. And even though we complain about losses on our investments and the rising cost of living–even so, we Americans are still better off than 99% of folks throughout human history and even in our world today. That’s part of the bigger picture, too.

And Jesus broadens our view beyond that. He says, “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!” Last week Susan and I got to consider the pelicans. We would see them flying overhead, looking down at the ocean, and then they would circle back and suddenly dive-bomb down into the water to grab their supper. That’s how God provided for them. And God provides for us too. Maybe we can’t dive-bomb into the ocean like the pelicans, but we still eat pretty well. Maybe too well! We get anxious about our waistline!

So then we get anxious about our clothing! Should I buy new clothes now or wait until I can lose some weight? Of course, I’ve been asking that question for three years now! Or the wife asks, “Do these pants make my butt look big?” Husbands, do not answer that question! It’s a trap!

Man, we do get worried about the picayunest of things, don’t we? We’ve got it so well, and still we’ve got things to kvetch about. But even if our situation was more serious–and for many people it is–Jesus would direct us away from anxiety and toward faith in our Father to take care of us: “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!”

“Little-faith ones”: That’s who we are, and that’s our big problem. We don’t trust God to take care of us. That’s been man’s problem from the beginning. God gives us a whole garden to live in, with plenty to eat, and yet we think that God is holding out on us. The Lord provides food and drink in the wilderness, and yet we grumble. This lack of trust in God and his goodness is our basic problem.

But Jesus would instill faith in us. He directs our attention to God and his care for us. If God provides for the birds and the lilies, how much more will he care for you! God created man in his own image, in own likeness–not the ravens. God made man as the apex of his creation–not the lilies of the field! Your heavenly Father cares for you! That’s the bigger picture. That’s the reality that Jesus sees–and he shows us!

“And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” The people of this world are obsessed with material possessions and having enough stuff. That’s all they can see. But we who are followers of Christ–we have had our eyes opened to see a bigger reality. We know a heavenly Father who loves us and takes care of us. We don’t have to guess at that or grope around in the dark. We have had our eyes opened. We have seen the light, the light of Christ our Savior. In him we know a gracious God.

And so we have a higher priority than just food in our bellies and clothes on our back. Those are important, and our Father knows that we need them. And he will provide, sometimes in ways we don’t know at the moment. We have our daily bread, and even if we don’t know where next week’s bread will come from, it will be there when we need it. Trust in God to provide. He will.

But the higher priority is to seek God’s kingdom. How does God bring us into his kingdom? Through Christ. In him. As sinners, we were outside of God’s kingdom. We were lost and didn’t know the way in. We were under the sway of Satan, stuck in his domain of darkness. But God loved us so much that he sent his own Son to rescue us, to redeem us, to liberate us from death and hell and the devil. Jesus came in the flesh to do the job. Which he did, by living the holy life that God requires. By dying the sinner’s death that we deserve. His blood, shed on the cross, cleanses us from all sin and wins our forgiveness. Heaven is now open. Baptized into Christ, we have changed kingdoms. We have entered a new and much greater reality.

“Seek his kingdom”: This is our new priority in life. And we seek God’s kingdom by seeking out where he is giving out his gifts on a regular basis. We find these kingdom gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation–we seek them and we find them here at church, in and through the means of grace, Word and Sacrament. Seek, and ye shall find.

What’s more, the big picture gets even bigger: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” It’s a gift! We didn’t do anything to merit this new kingdom. It’s all by grace. The kingdom is ours, and it’s purely out of God’s good pleasure in Christ. When Jesus was born, the angels sang, “Peace to men out of God’s good pleasure.” When Jesus was baptized, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The source of our salvation is God’s good pleasure, not our good works. And this makes it something we can rely on, because the promise depends on God, not us. Jesus moves us from fear to faith.

From fear to faith, and thus to freedom. Knowing that God will take care of our needs in this present life, and knowing that our Father has gifted us with his eternal kingdom, now we are free to live life in faith and hope and love. As Jesus says: “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a treasure the world does not know. We have a life that consists in far more than food and clothing and the things the world worries about. We have been given life in God’s kingdom. We have been given the life of Christ: forgiveness life, resurrection life, new and eternal life. That changes things. That changes us. We have a new outlook. God has opened our eyes to see what Jesus sees. And so it is not crazy talk when Jesus tells us, “Do not be anxious about your life.” No, because Jesus moves us from anxiety and fear to faith and hope and love.

Guest preacher: Rev. Kevin Robson, LCMS Chief Mission Officer

Old Testament Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26

Epistle: Colossians 3:1-11

Holy Gospel: Luke 12:13-21