 |
      |
|
|
RECENT SERMONS DELIVERED BY VICAR JASON ZIRBEL
NOVEMBER 4, 2007--ALL SAINTS SUNDAY
OCTOBRER 28 - REFORMATION SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 30, 2007 SEPTEMBER 16, 2007
All
Saints’ Sunday—2007
Text: Revelation 7:9-17
Vicar Jason Zirbel
Clad in Christ’s Righteousness
“So-and-so
was a good man. He did this and this for the
community, his nation, his church, his family. He
fought a good fight. He lived a good life, and
I know that so-and-so is in a better place right now, looking down on us and
smiling.” If you’ve ever been to a
funeral, I’m quite sure that you’ve heard statements like these. Funerals aren’t natural to our everyday life. Funerals can be quite awkward, if not downright
tough. In the midst of this awkwardness and
pain, well-intentioned people often resort to making statements like these in an attempt
to bring some sort of comfort and peace to those who are grieving. I’m sorry if this offends you folks, but
understand: There is absolutely no comfort or peace found anywhere within any of these
statements!
Now why
bring this up? What does all this funeral talk
have to do with All Saints’ Day anyway? Everything! My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: as we turn
our attention to this morning’s reading from that mysterious book, Revelation, we
actually get a very clear picture of what true comfort and peace looks like for all those
who are in Christ, both here on earth in faith as well as those home in Heaven in true,
glorified fullness of life. It is not a
comfort and peace that is contingent upon the works and morals of the saints, either
living now or departed in death, but it is a comfort and peace that is grounded solely in
the blood of Christ.
Now it is worth noting that John is describing for us in today’s
selection, as best he can, his vision of the Church of God in Heaven—the Church
Triumphant. This is in contrast to his
vision of seeing the Church here on earth—the Church Militant—which is
noted of consisting of 144,000 people of
The same can be said for the number “144,000.” This is simply a figure of speech; a way of describing something for the listener. It doesn’t mean that 144,000 Jewish people are marked for salvation apart from all the rest of the people who receive salvation by faith, nor does it mean, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe, that Heaven has a max capacity of 144,000 people—period. Like many numbers used in Scripture, this too is a number used in figurative, instructional terms.
The number
“10,” like the numbers “3” and “7,” is a number used to
often denote “perfection.” We still
use this notion today in rating different performances and such. “1000,” for all you math majors out
there, is simply 10 x 10 x 10—a “trinity of perfection.” The number “12” is often used throughout
Scripture to denote “completeness or wholeness.”
This is why
These
144,000 people of God represent the Church Militant on earth; all those who are
sealed by God in His divine protection as they march through life in the midst of great
tribulation and spiritual warfare. These
144,000 people are the “Christian Soldiers” here on earth, doing battle with the
forces of sin, death, and the devil in the name of Christ Jesus. This is a symbolically complete and whole
military unit for God; staffed by God, sustained by God, and, most importantly, lead
by God. Do people die in war? Yes, they do. Nobody
ever said that the Church Militant won’t suffer casualties. However, our comfort this day, and every day, as
saints here on earth is the comfort that God is always protecting, guiding, and leading
His Church on earth. No matter what assails
the Church militant; no matter what losses we suffer here on earth, God is always
protecting us and preserving us, which is why we can rightly understand that God is always
replenishing the ranks of the Church Militant, maintaining her completeness and wholeness
in order to accomplish His Will.
Contrast
this imagery of the Church on earth with what John saw when he looked into Heaven; namely,
the Church Triumphant. He tells us that
he saw a multitude of people so great that no one could ever number them. These were people from every tribe, nation, and
language that ever existed on this earth and believed and trusted in Christ alone for
salvation. John also notes specifically
that these people, each and every one of them, were coming out of the great tribulation
(Church Militant warfare) and were now clad in white robes and were waving palm branches
as they sang a loud and thunderous hymn of praise to God the Father and Christ the Lamb of
God.
Dear friends
in Christ: This is true comfort in every
sense of the word. Our loved ones who have
departed this world in faith are now completely clad in Christ’s white
robes of righteousness. They are
completely and perfectly covered over in robes that have been washed and made perfect in
the all-atoning blood of Jesus. These are not
robes that they brought with them in death that now require their laundering. Just like birth, we enter into Heaven naked, with
nothing of our own. However, Christ is there
to welcome us home and give to us His white and perfect robes of righteousness. This is what God sees when He looks at us. He doesn’t see our works, our frailties, or
our blemishes and sins. All our Heavenly
Father sees is one whom His Son has completely clothed and covered in the victories He won
for all of humanity on His lowly cross. As the
old Lutheran hymn so wonderfully states, “The Strife is O’er, the
This, my
friends in Christ, is also our joy today as saints here on earth, though the fullness of
this reality will not be realized by us until we, too, pass through the gate of death into
our Heavenly home for eternal rest and communion with our Lord and Savior. In our baptisms, we were sealed by God into His
Almighty, Triune Name. We now belong to
Christ. We bear the mark of God Almighty upon
our foreheads and upon our breasts, and this mark makes the devils quake with fear. Now make no mistakes: Throughout our lives here on
earth, there can be no doubt that we will continue to encounter great trial and
tribulation from sin and those who stand against God and His Kingdom. The devil wants nothing more than to tear your
trust and faith away from you. The devil wants
nothing more than for you to doubt and forsake the gift of life and salvation that was
given to by God Himself when He put His Name upon you in baptism. You see, in baptism, God has taken that which
belonged to the devil by conception into sin, and placed His Holy Name upon us, snatching
us away from the devil and declaring us to be His property; His spoil of victory. This victory is Christ’s victory over sin,
death, and the devil for all time; a victory that was accomplished in His perfect life,
death, and resurrection. This victory, by
God’s grace, is given to us as a free gift, and is apprehended by faith alone.
This, my
brothers and sisters in Christ, is the greatest comfort and peace one could ever possibly
know; far better than anything we could ever mutter at a funeral out of awkwardness or the
selfish grief of no longer having our departed loved one here in this spiritual “war
zone” with us. No longer do we have to
worry about whether we or our departed loved ones are “good enough” or have
“done enough” in God’s eyes to be saved.
In fact, no longer do we, as faithful and believing saints on earth, have to worry
about whether or not God chose us or our departed loved ones to be saved at all. Simple, child-like faith in the Gospel promise of
Christ crucified for all your sins—a faith that is confessed, taught, and lived out
in every day life—is all the “proof” you need. Faith and trust in this Gospel promise of God
demonstrates, without a doubt, that one is indeed marked and sealed by God as His own
precious child. As Christ Himself states at
the end of the Gospel lesson for today, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
great in Heaven….” AMEN
Jason Zirbel
Text: Luke 16:19-39
30 Sept. 2007
Throughout the recorded history of warfare, it has
been repeatedly noted that the men who fight and suffer mortal wounds on the field of
battle (and women nowadays) often cry out for their mothers with their last dying breath. When I was in the Marine Corps, I came face to face
with this very fact a couple of times while conducting Medivac missions (Flight-for-life). I can vividly recall one grown Marine; an enormous,
muscle-bound specimen, who had suffered life-threatening injuries when his Humvee was
tossed into a bomb crater by an explosion, crying like a baby for his mother. As callous as it may sound right now, all I could
think of as this guy was screaming over the noise of our helicopter engines and rotors was
the words of my drill instructor upon my platoon’s first full night of boot camp: “You can cry to your mommas all you want! It won’t do you any good. You belong to me!” In reality, these words were true for this poor guy
too. This guy cried “mommy” the
whole flight, yet it didn’t do him any good. I
don’t know whether he lived or died from his injuries, but I do know that all that
crying didn’t stop the bleeding, didn’t stop the tears, and certainly
didn’t stop the pain.
Now why bring this up? Well, as we look
to our Gospel lesson for this morning, we again hear pain-filled outcries aimed at one
specific person that again accomplished nothing. When
the rich man died, who did he call out to for help and deliverance, for both himself as
wells as for his five brothers? Abraham—the
father of Jewish lineage. This man, who was no
doubt one of the elite in his earthly life—everybody knew his name—was now
nameless and completely forsaken in death. You
can almost hear the shock and disbelief in this man’s cry as he calls out to the
father of his bloodline. You see, in calling
to Abraham, he was clearly voicing his idea of salvation.
Eternal life and salvation for him should was a sure thing simply because he had
Abraham as his father, not to mention the fact that he was a good and upstanding person. He was a success story; a pillar of the society.
Now before we get too comfortable in pointing out this guy’s
ungodliness—his focus on all the wrong things—it would do us well to see this
guy through his eyes for a moment; walk a mile in his shoes.
While we may not readily admit it, we too often cry out to and place our trust in
the fleeting and temporary things of this earth, looking to them for peace and deliverance
from our trials and tribulations. What happens
when these things fail us? We get distressed. We get angry.
We may even lose faith. “How could
God allow this to happen to me? Doesn’t
He know that I’m a good and loyal church-going Christian?” Sound familiar?
It should. I can’t tell you how
many times I have heard statements like these when hardship hits. I can’t tell you how many times I have made
statements like these when my own hardships have hit.
I’ve been laid-off before, with a wife and kids at home to support. I’ve lost loved ones. I’ve been socked with unexpected bills and
repairs. Like the rich man, when these speed
bumps hit, I too in my weakness cry out to Heaven and ask, “Don’t you know who I
am? I think you got the wrong guy. I’m a Lutheran.
I’m a seminary student.” Where
is my faith? Where is the focus of my faith? Is it in Christ, or is it centered on the things of
this earth, and I simply look to Heaven to blame Christ?
Notice that
Abraham points out to the man that he had received all his good things in life. Another way of wording this is to say, “My
child, you are now receiving everything that the stuff you trusted in was capable of
providing in terms of salvation. You placed
your trust in your family tree, your goods, and your wealth, and not in God, and now you
are reaping the fruits of your unfaithfulness towards God.” Did he go to Hell BECAUSE he was rich? No—he went to Hell because he trusted in his
riches over God. As pastor had said last week
in his sermon, “There’s nothing wrong with having riches, provided your riches
don’t have you.” This guy had been
blessed by God with an abundance of everything, and failed to use it properly in service
to Him by serving his neighbor, choosing instead to serve, honor, and exalt himself before
God and his neighbor.
Contrast this image with that of Lazarus. Here
is a man, completely broken and destitute in life, so broken in fact that someone else had
to deposit him at the gate of the rich man. He’s
covered with sores, and probably smells ungodly bad on top of that. Perhaps the closest we can come to imagining this
guy’s plight is looking to that stereotypical image of the shaggy, unkempt homeless
man who haunts the subways and back alleys of the big cities. Lazarus has nothing in life. In fact, he probably didn’t even have a name
as far as the people of the community were concerned.
He was just “that bum” or “that piece of street trash” that
spent all day begging for money and food. Even
the dogs of the rich man are eating better than Lazarus, as they at least get to eat the
scraps that fell from his table. All Lazarus
got in life was the compassion of dogs as they came and licked his wounds. However, Lazarus never failed to take his focus off
of God as his true source of deliverance and mercy. Despite
all his hardships, he continued to call upon God as his life and salvation.
Through it
all, God recognized Lazarus as his blessed and faithful child, even if the rest of the
world did not. In fact, Jesus makes a point of
calling Lazarus by name (the name which meant “the one whom God helps; a name which
all of us in Christ bear) and noting that God sent His angels to personally escort Lazarus
to the eternal feast with God that is Heaven. This
is what it means to be taken to Abraham’s side, or Abraham’s bosom, as other
translations call it. The banquet tables in
Jesus’ day were horseshoe shaped, with the guest of honor reclined at the center of
the horseshoe, in the center of a large cushion or mat, a lot like
a futon mattress, that fit three people per mattress.
All the guests would gather around the horseshoe and lay down on their left
sides, heads pointed in and feet facing out, and they would eat with their right hands. If you were the esteemed guest of the man reclined
at the center of his mat, you would find yourself reclining right next to him on that mat,
in front, at his breast. The next lowest guy
was reclined on the backside of the esteemed center man on the mat, and this was played
out on every mat at the table. To be taken to
Abraham’s bosom simply means to be taken to the place of honor on Abraham’s mat
at the eternal heavenly feast of the Lord’s Supper, and this is important to note: it is Christ’s Supper. He is the focus.
Notice in our
lesson that our Lord Jesus Christ is the focus for Abraham in speaking to the rich man. He tells the rich man that his 5 brothers already
have Moses and the Prophets, which is another way of saying that they have the whole of
Scripture; God’s Word that points to Christ alone as the Way, the Truth, and the
Life. The Word of God is
fully sufficient for creating and sustaining the true saving faith that leads to eternal
life with Christ. Why? Because it is God’s Word and promise, and not
ours. It is God telling us about Himself and
what He has done for us in Christ Jesus.
Sadly,
proclaiming this message of God’s Word, pointing to Christ alone, does not exactly
win us friends or make us the most popular, does it? In
fact, rightly proclaiming God’s Word in a world that stands against Him by nature;
that is, proclaiming full Law and full Gospel, and not a watered-down version that’s
simply aimed at giving people what they want to hear, is an almost sure-fire guarantee of
earning you the same respect and accolades shown to Lazarus in his earthly life.
Now before I
wrap-up, I do want you to know that I have heard and read a number of different sermons on
this very text, written and given by a number of different ministers and preachers from a
variety of denominations. I mention this
because in these different sermons, the focus is almost always taken off of Christ and
placed on us and what we need to do in order to either avoid the fires of Hell or insure
that we get a spot at the Heavenly banquet table. Dear
friends: this is the wrong focus. Because of
Christ, we already do partake of this feast, though we only see a veiled glimpse of the
heavenly reality; a “foretaste” of the feast to come, as some communion
liturgies put it. Through the simple elements
of bread and wine, our Lord and Savior brings the feast of His body and blood to us, right
here at this communion rail. Dear brothers and
sisters in Christ, as you come to the communion rail this morning, rejoice and give thanks
that you are indeed partaking in the same life-giving feast as Abraham, Lazarus, and all
those who have departed this earth in faith—including our departed loved ones. Trust with your God-given gift of faith that when
we laud and magnify Christ’s glorious name with the angels, archangels, and all the
company of Heaven, singing the Sanctus (“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of
Sabaoth…Hosanna in the Highest…Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord”) we are joining our voices with all of Heaven—faithfully departed
loved-ones included—in praising and worshipping Christ as He calls us by name and
gathers us around His banquet table to feed us and nourish us with His own body and blood. At that moment, the Church Triumphant in Heaven and
the Church Militant here on earth are joined together as the full and blessed communion of
saints. When viewed in this wonderful light,
how can we not help but praise and thank God for all His wonderful blessings upon us and
upon our fellow man? Here is Jesus Christ,
holding out His blessed gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation to us, in His Word and
in His Sacraments.
To Him alone
be all glory, praise, and honor. AMEN
Jason Zirbel—Vicar
Text: Luke 15:1-10
16 September 2007
Lost & Found
in Christ
I’d like to think that I do a pretty good job of keeping up on current events. I read multiple newspapers, watch a wide variety
of different “news” channels (sports, political/economic, entertainment etc.),
listen to the various talking heads on the talk-radio programs, and so on. I even have an up-to-the-minute news source as my
Internet homepage. I can log-on to check my
e-mail, and instantly know everything that has transpired in our area at a glance. The only reason I mention this is because I think
I must have missed something. I must have
missed an Amber Alert—the nation-wide “all-points bulletin” that goes out
when somebody goes missing—which really surprises me, given the fact that almost
everyone of these news agencies I’ve mentioned broadcasts Amber Alerts. Apparently Jesus went missing, and I missed the
Amber Alert. Don’t worry though, because
I heard someone proclaim that they had recently found Him.
In fact, the more I settle into my vocation as vicar and “church worker,”
the more I am beginning to think that Jesus must be a pretty forgetful and wayward savior,
because I am constantly coming into contact with people who feel the need to tell me when
they too “found” Jesus. I guess
Jesus likes to wander like a naughty little two-year old.
He must, given all the people who claim to have found Him.
“Now hold up Vicar! That’s
not what the text says!” You’re
absolutely right! That’s not what the
text says. That’s not at all what Jesus
was getting at here in this conversation, was it? As
God repeatedly tells us throughout Scripture—He is the good shepherd and we are his
sheep. We are the ones who become lost, and He
is the one who ventures into the wilderness to find us and restore us to His love and
safety. How can the words of Psalm
23—“The Lord is my shepherd…”—not ring loud and clear in your
minds when you hear this parable?
But what about this second parable? What
about the woman who finds the coin after diligently seeking for her treasure? What happens when you separate the two parables,
which were spoken as one, cohesive unit, into two entirely different readings? Now it’s not so easy to see Christ here, is
it? Perhaps it’s not that we can’t
see Christ in this parable so much as it is that we don’t want to see Christ here in
this parable. I can’t tell you how often
I have heard people, on the various religious shows as well as in person, cite this very
parable when speaking of their “seeking out and finding” Jesus. And why not go with this interpretation? After all, this understanding squares well with the
belief that we must do our part in order for God to be able to do His.
What’s
wrong with this picture? The
“seeker” has become us! Worse yet,
the lost treasure has become Jesus! Dear
friends, this flies in the face of what God clearly teaches us throughout Scripture. The lost coin, the lost sheep: these are both
representative of each and every one of us. The
coin, when it is lost, doesn’t “choose” or decide to up-end itself and
start rolling around on the floor, bumping into the woman’s foot until she takes
notice. The sheep, when it is lost, (and this
is true of all sheep when they are separated from the flock) will simply lay down on the
ground and not move. They don’t get up
and try to seek out the path they came from or search out a familiar scent or landmark to
find their way back. They simply stop in their
tracks and lay down, whether it’s in the safety of a secluded meadow or in the midst
of ravenous wolves that have scattered the flock. This
is why the shepherd has to go out and physically pick-up the sheep in His arms and
carry it home to safety and security. Both the
coin and the sheep are stuck where they’re at, and there is no chance of them
restoring themselves.
Perhaps it is best to examine what it means to be “found.” To be found, from a Scriptural perspective, means
to be confronted by God and His Word. Being
found has everything to do with confession and true, saving faith in the fact that Jesus
Christ has made complete atonement for each and every one of our sins. “Found” in this Scriptural understanding
is completely passive in nature; which is exactly what takes place when we are confronted
by Him with His perfect Word and Will. We are
exposed; we are “found” in the spotlight of His Law to be fallen and miserable
sinners.
It is also
important to note what it means to be truly “lost.” After all, one cannot be found if they are not
first lost. When I hear this word, I often
think in terms of car keys or children in a crowd. I
can set my keys down somewhere when I get to thinking about something, and five minutes
later they’re “lost” only to be found a few minutes later in the exact spot
I had left them. Anyone who has ever had to
chaperone little kids knows how easy it is to “lose” a child. But this understanding of “lost” is not
what Christ is getting at here. The word that
is used in the original Greek language that this text was written in is “Apo-lumai” which carries with it a
strong meaning of death, destruction, utter devastation.
To be “lost” in God’s eyes and understanding is to be truly
dead and separated from His love.
However,
within that single spotlight of God’s Word that exposes our death is also the
wonderful life-giving, life-saving message of Christ crucified and risen for me, for you,
and for the entire world. God comes to us and
freely holds out His unmerited gifts of life and salvation to us in Word and Sacrament. The only “choice” we have at this point
is to simply deny the gift being given to us. We
don’t choose
to have God search us out, and we certainly don’t go and find salvation using
our own abilities. We can, however, turn and
bite the hand that is reaching out to free us and save us.
Herein lays the key to our salvation. It
is Almighty God who is the active agent in seeking out, finding, and restoring the lost. “So you’re saying that Jesus is the woman
in the parable?” No I am not. Is this interpretation necessarily wrong? No. I
wouldn’t reprimand anyone for seeing it this way.
It certainly beats the “me-centered” interpretation. I did say that Christ is the active agent in the
seeking and finding in both parables, but I never said that Jesus is the woman in this
parable. Consider how the coin was found by
the woman—with the light of the lamp. Consider,
for a moment, how the true Church on earth is often portrayed and described in
Scripture—as a bride; the bride of Christ. Within
the context of this simple story of a woman, we hear Christ giving explicit instructions
to His Church on how to deal with those who have fallen away and become lost. Use the light of the Gospel and diligently seek
them out. Don’t wait for them to come
seeking you; it won’t happen.
Before I
wrap-up, I do want you to also take notice that the woman also uses a broom to sweep and
find the coin. We too, as the Church, need to
use the resources we have been blessed with in searching out and seeking out the lost. Evangelism and Stewardship do go together. They are two sides of the same Gospel coin. However, understand as well that without the light
of the Gospel, the resources are useless. How
effective would your housework be if you cleaned, dusted, and mopped in complete darkness? For it is only within the life-giving light of the
Gospel; the “little Gospel light of mine” that proclaims Christ’s
all-redemptive sacrifice in our place, that the lost will be truly found by their loving
shepherd and restored to the true joy, peace, and salvation that is Christ Jesus. AMEN