Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son... When you hear words such as that, about the kingdom of heaven, your thoughts perhaps immediately go to the future. To the second coming of Christ. But that would be a mistake. Because what we need to realize and remember is that the kingdom of heaven is not just a future hope or dream -- the kingdom of heaven is already here and now. For wherever the King is, there is His Kingdom; there He is ruling for the good of His people.

The master of the house, the man who planted the vineyard in today's parable is not God. For the man in the parable is the poster child for what a fool looks like, and the very definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And God is neither insane nor a fool. And yet what the mad did is what God did. For God did sent His servants, the prophets, to His people time and time again. And then God sent His Son. And while the man in the parable thought that perhaps things would be different with his son... here's how God is different than the man in the parable -- God knew the result would be the same.

Angels. Ever since the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi, set down his pen, there has been much fascination and speculation about them. We know what we need to know; what our Lord has told us in Holy Scripture. And that is enough. And what the Lord has told us, is that there are two kinds of angels: the good and the evil. All originally created good, but some now fallen. And they fought. There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels cast them out of heaven and threw them down to the earth. So woe to you, O earth and sea, John said. Woe to you, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath.

Many people these days live paycheck to paycheck. That was the situation even more of many folks in biblical times. There was no middle class as we know it today. There were the laves and the have nots. The rich and the poor. And the distance between them was considerable. It is with that in mind that we need to hear the parable that Jesus tells today. Workers are being hired at all hours of the day. So when it comes time to pay these workers, and each receives a full days wage, it means food on the table. It means life. And that, Jesus says, is what the kingdom of heaven is all about. Life. Life for all. Which is, and always is, a gift.

Peter asked a question. So Jesus told a parable. No surprise there. So what is His answer here? Well, Peter had asked Him: Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? But if you think God is into counting sins, you've got God all wrong. Because your King, your God, is not about counting, but about mercy. That's how He is. And that's how He wants His children to be. Not counters, not demanders, not coercers, not punishers, but joyful forgivers. And by our forgiveness bringing joy to both God and those we forgive.

There's a PSA that I've seen running a lot lately. About wearing masks. Please put others first. Wear a mask. Do it for your neighbor. What I think is interesting is this mindset that is being taught -- to put my neighbor first. It's the mindset of the Christian... or, it's supposed to be. Create Christians in name only -- Christians who say they're Christians, but look and live just like the world. Now certainly, the world is different than the church and ought to be. They are different kingdoms with different ways of doing things. There are different levels of power and status. The problem is when this kind of power and status thinking leeches in the Church, into God's kingdom.

Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you. That's what Peter said. It's our natural reaction. To bad news. But our denials don't change anything. These things do happen. Maybe we just don't want to think about it. So Peter's reaction? Yeah, I get it. So today, in the Holy Gospel. we heard an interesting contrast. Jesus sees death as something He MUST do. Peter sees death as something that should NEVER happen. Both are right. Peter's right -- death should not happen. Death has been imposed on us. The result of sin. Which is why Jesus must die. Because we die. If there is going to be any help for us at all, any hope for us at all, Jesus must die.

Who do you say that I am? Jesus asks that question today. And Simon replies on behalf of all: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. So Simon's confession here isn't something he came up with on his own -- it was a miracle; the work of God in him. And everything rests on this confession; on Jesus' name. How surprised Simon must have been at Jesus' next words -- not the ones commending him, but expressing how powerful this name of Jesus is! That on this confession (not on miracles!) will the church be built, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So what's in a name? A lot! When it's Jesus' name!

Lord, save! That was the cry of Peter last week. And that is really the cry of the Canaanite woman we hear about this week as well, though she does not use those exact words. So, I was thinking... what if this woman and her daughter had been in the boat with the disciples last week? Faith doesn't make demands of God. Faith doesn't think it has rights. Faith doesn't get indignant or offended with God. So it takes a Canaanite woman to be our teacher. To teach us of faith and the language of faith. That faith isn't proud, but humble. Faith simply says: yes, Lord.

Lord, save me! That is the cry of faith. In good times, bad times, all times. If your faith isn't crying that out, the Lord will seek to make it so. First, by coming to you. And second, giving you a reason to cry out to Him. That your faith be in the right place. In Him, and no where and no one, else. Is that mean? To afflict you that you will cry out to Him? No. It is saving. And so it is most loving. So all the trials you're going through in your life... all are strengthening you for the biggest trial of all, when you're sinking into death. And if... when!... you begin to fail, you begin to sink, you know what to say. And He knows what to do.

If God is good and all powerful, why is the evil in the world? That is a question asked by many, and asked down through the ages. And for some, the existence of evil is all the proof they need to know that God does not exist. That He is a myth. Wishful thinking. A delusion for weak people. Or if He does exist, that He's not worth the time, for He must be either not good to let evil people go on, or not very powerful if evil remains. Except... Jesus gives another answer today to consider. Jesus is telling us today that there is evil in the world because God is both good and merciful.

The neighbor behind our house has nice flower gardens, full of color. We were envious. Because at our house, we plat flowers like that and the deer come and eat them. So we asked her how she did it. She said she didn't -- she just planted more than they could eat! The parable we heard today is kind of like that. The man in the parable sows enough seed to get a harvest -- because he knows that not all his seed is going to produce. It's a simple story, really. But as often with parables, sometimes the point is still missed. Truth is, the human heart, by nature, by birth, because of sin, is a terribly hostile place for the Word of God. And yet... some of that seed does grow and produce a harvest.

In the verses we heard from Romans today, Paul doesn't just sound like a sinner, but an addict. He knows what he should do. He knows that what he is doing is wrong, BUT. But. Such a little word that is oh, so big. BUT... Paul's story is your story. I don't know what Paul's addiction was. But you do. And I know my own. What you want so much, that it displaces God in your heart and life. And so it's an idel. And it can be exhausting. So, Come to me, Jesus says, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. So when you are baptized, Jesus' story becomes your story -- you become a son of God, receive His Spirit, and die and rise with Him.

You heard it. You heard Jesus Himself say it. Whoever loves father or mother, son or daughter, anything or anyone, really, in this world is not worth of Jesus. And then Jesus added this too: Whoever does not take his cross and follow me -- to death! Whoever does not love me more than their own life -- is not worthy of me. So how can I let Joshua come up here and say these things today? When he is not worthy. So I'm going to call an audible today and not confirm Joshua... not because he is worthy. I'm going to confirm him because of grace. Because what is happening here today is what happens here every week: a gracious God giving gifts to unworthy sinners.

You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Those are significant and important words. God's Word to His people, constituting them as a kingdom, a nation, and what kind of kingdom or nation they would be. And a holy nation. A nation not like the other nations, but set apart for God. That's who you are, too. A nation not with earthly territory or land, but with a heavenly home. The readings that we hear on this first Sunday of the long, green Pentecost season often set the tone for the entire season. And these readings for today, coupled with what is happening in our world, I think do just that.

Today, the Church seems a bit out of step. Having a Sunday to contemplate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. This while our country is still trying to get back on its feet and come out of this time of pandemic. While our country is in the throes of discord, turmoil, rioting, and protest, and the divisions among us seem to widen and deepen with each passing day. Or maybe it's exactly what we need. The world and the culture do not set the agenda for the Church. So, Holy Trinity Sunday. Because our God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and His love, life, and forgiveness, are what we need right now.

It is interesting that on this day when the Apostles receive the Holy Spirit and begin to go OUT into all the world with the Gospel, this is the day when many of you came BACK to the church for the first time in quite some time! And actually, that word back... if you wanted to connect a word with the work of the Holy Spirit, that might just be it. For it didn't take long after the Apostles went out for some to claim that the Holy Spirit wasn't about back at all, but about forward, about new. Except... on that first Christian Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did nothing of the sort.

We're in this together. That's the message in our country and even around the world these days. And the derivations of it, which say that we're stronger together. And that's certainly good, and true, and desirable. As far as it goes. But how far does it go? As soon as the time of crisis or hardship is over, the togetherness seems to vanish as quickly as it came. So when Jesus today talks about being one... well, it sounds familiar. Except... Jesus isn't here issuing a rallying cry to His disciples. He's talking about a oneness achieved on the cross -- all sin united as one on Him.

I was reading the latest Lutheran Witness the other day... there are some articles in it that address the pandemic, and some mention is made of the plagues and pandemics that have afflicted the world in the past, including the early church. How, often, Christians didn't run and hide in fear, but loved and served their neighbors -- even those who weren't Christian. Now, I'm sure not all Christians did that, and I'm sure that there are some Christians doing that today. But, in general, that doesn't seem to be the attitude of most today. Why is there such a difference? What did they have that we don't have?

The Easter season and our celebration of our Lord's resurrection is like a seesaw. Seven weeks of joy divided into two parts with a fulcrum in the middle. The first three weeks we hear of Jesus' appearances to His disciples after He rose from the dead. The final three weeks, which we are now entering, we hear Him teaching His disciples what He is about to do and what it means. And the middle, the fulcrum, is Good Shepherd Sunday, for Jesus is our Good Shepherd through it all.