Saint Athanasius Lutheran Church

I wonder how far the rich young man had gotten? You know, the one we heard about last week. A couple of paces, a hundred yards? Before Jesus, maybe still looking at him, still gazing at him walking away, maybe still hoping he would turn around. How far had he gotten before Jesus said the words we hear today: How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Then who can be saved? On our own, yes, it is impossible. But not with God.

Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? I wonder what caused this young man to ask this question of Jesus. Maybe something happened, shook him up, that caused him to think about life and what it's really all about. Or maybe, even though he seemed to have it all in this life... still, maybe there was something missing. Jesus says: one thing you lack... you must come and follow me. You see, the wealth, the treasures, they're not the thing. But they were holding him back. It wasn't really about the wealth -- it's about following Jesus.

In this world and life, death usually separates the wife from her husband. But this death, Jesus' death, unites us to Him. For He joined us in our death, to unite us to himself in His resurrection. To leave the ungood from cold, hard hearts in the cold, hard grave, and raise us from our fallness to good again. That we have what is really good, that we have life -- not because of a loophole in the Law, but in the forgiveness of our sins. Or as we sang: His Strong Word bespeaks us righteous.

So we call the church on earth the Church Militant. The Opening Hymn we sang today sounded very militant. A good wedding of text and tune, conveying the focus of this day. For although he lost the battle in heaven and has been cast to the earth, and although Jesus stripped him of his weapons against us, defeating sin and death on the cross for us, still satan isn't going to give up. So how good to know that we fight not alone. That the angels of God are fighting for us. So we have protection. God's own Secret Service.

The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest. When faced with news of Jesus' death, their minds went to who among them would be the greatest. It became all about them. But before you cast aspersions on the disciples, let's know that we do this too. It's part of our sinful human nature. It's just that some of us hide it better than others. For you can't think about the kingdom of God like you think about things in the world. So you want to be great? Remember your baptism. That there in those waters Jesus received you and made you great because He made you a child of God.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! I cannot think of a better description of a Christian and of the Christian life than that. Six little words that encapsulate our lives so perfectly. For as we live simultaneously as saints declared righteous and sinners who fall, it is always as dear children of God in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Our Saviour who came own from heaven to be born in our flesh, who came down from His Transfiguration to die our death, and now resurrected and ascended still comes down to you and me.

Did you ever wonder how Jesus could see and hear so much better than us? And I don't mean just that He didn't need glasses or hearing aids. How could Jesus see the needs of others better than we? How could Jesus hear the cries of the poor and needy better than we? How could Jesus have compassion so much better than we? He is in every way just like us, except without sin. Jesus is perfect man. And that, I think, is the reason why He could see what we cannot see, and hear what we cannot hear, and feel what we cannot feel.

Armor has a long history. To protect us against the enemies trying to hurt us. But what if the enemy isn't outside of you but inside of you? Then what? And so for us, as Christians, the right armor is the armor of God, because the enemy is not one that any armor of this world can defend against. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We all do it. We all think we know better. We know what's right. We know what's good. At least, good for us. We make what we think, what we want, sound good, not rebellious. We call it fairness, freedom, reson, love. And maybe, when it comes to people in the world, maybe sometimes we do know better. But when it comes to God, good and pious sounding names and rationalizations don't change the fact of what we're doing: going our own way, and expecting God to bless us in it.

In the beginning, when there was no death, there was a tree of life. All the other trees -- except for one -- could feed Adam and Eve and the children they would have. But these were not trees of life. There was only one tree that could do that. But instead of eating from the tree of life, Adam and Eve decided instead to eat of that other tree -- the one with death in it. And so now, in Christ Jesus there is again a tree of life. Jesus has restored us. Now, the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Bread of Life.

Of all the saints days we commemorate in the church, Saint Mary Magdalene sounds the most jarring, doesn't it? Seems the most unusual, the most unlikely, the most out of place, the most... well let's just say it: wrong. But that's what makes this day so right. Mary reminds us that we are all unlikely saints. A saint is someone God has taken hold of and says: forgiven, free, mine! And that makes Mary Magdalene the perfect saint.

Hearing God's Word, learning it, applying it, believing it, submitting to it ... it isn't easy. Because it means confessing that I'm not the king. It means confessing that I am a sinner. It means admitting that maybe I don't know all I think I know. That maybe the way I've ordered my life isn't right at all. That I need to hear something to set me free from the palace of my own desires, defenses, and demands that I have built around myself -- that turned out to be not a palace, but a prison.

What is it today that causes some to be offended, scandalized, at the God who only wants to come and give His gifts? Perhaps one reason is our belief in equality -- that everyone should be treated equally. And perhaps at some times and in some ways that is important and true. But not always. Because love doesn't treat everyone the same. Love takes into account who a person is and what a person needs and acts accordingly. Parents know this. Well so, too, with God.

His little girl was dying. He didn't know what to do. He would do anything for her -- anything! So when he hears the news ... that Jesus just got off the boat that just came ashore, he didn't hesitate. For he had heard. How Jesus healed. He would go to Jesus. Well, he did it. He got through. He had gotten to Jesus, and Jesus was coming with him. He was anxious at first, but with each step they took, he had more and more hope.

Sometimes our names tell people what we do. Kids know what Bob the Builder does. Adults know what to call Len the Plumber for. And John the Baptist... yeah, he baptizes. He wasn't always called John the Baptist, though. First he was just John. John would not have the name of his father, for he was not following in the footsteps of his father. He would follow in the footsteps of another from Israel's history -- Elijah. So with the coming of John the Baptist, the page turns from the Old Testament to the New. From prophecy to fulfillment.

We live in the information age. We know stuff. And we know more stuff now than ever before. And what we don't know, we will know, right? We'll research it, investigate it, discover it, uncover it, science it. But not the kingdom of God. Jesus tells us today that we do not know how it sprouts and grows. So we don't know how the kingdom of God sprouts and grows, but we know that it will. Because these words here aren't just a description -- they are a promise. A promise that Jesus has been fulfilling from the beginning of time to the end of time.

There are things in this world that we can see, and things in this world that we cannot see. Things visible and invisible. So now here's the question: How do we understand and interpret this reality? What does it mean? Is it good or bad? Well, only by the word of the One who knows. The One who not only sees the visible and the invisible, but is the maker of all things visible and invisible. It is only by the Word of God that we can interpret -- correctly -- the things of this world and life.

In the Holy Gospel we heard today, we hear Jesus speaking from His heart. He is mere hours from being lifted up on the cross, to lay down His life for His friends, for His enemies, for you and me, for all people. So, Jesus gives us God's Word, God's powerful Word and promise, to do three things, we heard today -- three things that we need. First, Jesus gives us the Word to keep us from the evil one. Second, Jesus gives us the Word to sanctify us. And then third, Jesus gives us the Word to make us one.

Have you ever thought: If only this person would go away, my life would be so much better. And so maybe instead of a gun or a knife, you pulled out your words and stabbed them repeatedly with your criticism, or you threw them under the bus, or you did a little character assassination. But it doesn't work. So how good that we have this Sunday every year - Good Shepherd Sunday - to comfort us and give us hope in the midst of such a world. And to remind us of who we are and what that means.