Sermon for Sunday, October 2, 2022 "Don't Lose It!"

 2022-10-2 Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Luke 17:1-10

Don’t Lose It!

In the name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. 

I imagine all of us have seen a movie or read a story where there is a moment when someone gives something mysterious to the main character and says, “Don’t lose it.” Then, disappears, as all manner of mayhem and excitement begins. Many of us have moments where we recall being told not to lose something. I remember when I was a young lad when Dad and Mom gave me the key to the house. Dad was already working. Mom just got a part time job but on certain days, she would be home about an hour or so after I would be home from school. A key was needed to get into the house. Don’t lose it, indeed.  Fine to be locked out of the house on a lovely day, not so much, in the midst of a torrential down pour or the dead of winter.  You also have your stories to tell. 

In all three of the lessons today, I sense that there is a recurring statement of “don’t lose it.” In the lesson from Habakkuk, we first heard about how Judah has indeed lost it.  By “it,” I mean the will and ability to live as God instructs.  Habakkuk is writing in the 7th century to Judah, the southern kingdom. God has already used the Assyrians to punish the northern kingdom of Israel to punish and exile them from the land. The prophets declared that this was God’s judgment upon them because of their hardheartedness and refusal to repent and return to the Lord God. Habakkuk bears witness that God will soon punish Judah, the southern kingdom. But, there is still time to repent!

Habakkuk looks around and sees wickedness run amok. There is no interest or desire on the part of King Jehoiakim to return the people to the Lord.  So, in four brief verses, Habakkuk complains to God about what he sees and hears.  All manner of iniquity and wickedness; the callous disregard for life or the neighbor; utter selfishness and greed is unchecked; violence is everywhere. Law enforcement is corrupt. Justice is perverted. And, the righteous are in fear for their lives.  

The political leadership is oppressive and has no interest in pursing a joyous, abundant life following God’s instructions.  The religious leadership is no help.  Habakkuk warns anyone with ears to hear and eyes to see what the Lord will do in response to this wanton choice of Judah’s. As they wait, how should the few righteous live in the midst of this evil time?  He says, the righteous must hold on to the faith God gave them.  He says, “the righteous shall live by his faith.” Don’t lose it!

As some of you may know, Habakkuk 2:4 is an important part of our Lutheran heritage.  The verse is quoted three times in the New Testament.  One of those places is Romans 1:17.  While reflecting on this passage in Romans, Martin Luther’s evangelical breakthrough occurred.  He finally got it. Through faith he receives God’s righteousness.  He cannot, is not able to become righteous before God.  Jesus has done all of that for Luther on his cross. On account of the cross of Jesus, our heavenly Father confers Jesus’ righteousness unto Luther. Through faith, Martin Luther finally knew peace and forgiveness. Despite all he went through in the years to come, Martin Luther never lost that promise of God. 

In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul encourages Timothy to hold tight to the faith.  In verse 14, you heard “Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” The translation you hear read from the lectern and the gospel book is from the New American Standard Bible.  An esteemed translation. The English Standard Version says this: “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”   The word I want to draw your attention to is treasure and deposit.  This is Paul’s summary word for the priceless gift of the Christian faith.  It is indeed a treasure.  It is also a deposit, a deposit of faith. The greek word here is parathaxa. In my concise lexicon parathaxa is defined as “something entrusted to safekeeping, “deposit, trust,” with implication of security for faithful transmission to others.” Paul also uses the same word in his first letter to Timothy. Chapter 6:20 “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you.” 

Not only is Timothy exhorted to “not lose it” but he is to keep what has been given to him so that he may pass it on to the congregation that he will develop.  The deposit are the essentials of the Christian faith which eventually become the New Testament, the Apostles Creed, the liturgy, hymnody, and the sacraments. This is the basis of our Christian catechesis. Timothy is to guard this catechism so that future generations will have the Gospel taught to them. We are the beneficiaries of the Apostles work of handing down to the leaders and congregations the treasure of the deposit of faith.  We have the Apostles and the faithful church to thank for our Christian faith. 

Jesus finds it necessary to tell his disciples regularly not to lose it.  “It” being everything that he is teaching them.  When Luke uses the word disciples, we should understand that Jesus is not talking just to the twelve Apostles.  He is probably talking to the 72 whom Jesus sent out back in Luke 10. Sadly, the disciples are a forgetful lot.  Jesus finds it necessary to repeat himself regularly. 

He must remind them of the pervasiveness and craftiness of sin.  Left unchecked, they and we can easily become puffed up with pride and self-importance. Don’t lose the gift of confession, repentance, and absolution. No one is perfect and if you think you are, you will be intolerable. An honest assessment using the measurement of God’s Ten Commandments of the day’s thought processes, choices, and behaviors, will bear this out.  And, if you don’t see something, I bet your  neighbor can help fill in the gaps for you.  And, every now and then, you don’t even have to ask. 

The way to be around one another and work together toward God’s purposes and holiness, is through the gift of confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Professor Arthur Just says in his commentary on Luke, “The act of forgiving sins must be a constant in the Christian community because absolution is how creation is released from its bondage through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection.”  We do not want to remain in any kind of bondage a minute longer than necessary, so we seek release through the gift of Christ. 

We hear Jesus’ words to the disciples as if he speaks to us. “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. Easier said than done, we know, but we don’t want to lose that teaching.

Why do the Apostles, the Twelve, request that their faith be increased?  Do they feel like they need to be supercharged to forgive one another? Their request is rather odd, since but 7 chapters before, they were part of the 72 that Jesus sent out to proclaim the coming kingdom of God. In Jesus’ name, they also healed sick and cast out demons.  When they reported back in, they were nearly boasting about all the miraculous things that they did. It’s not them, it is the Lord that works through them. Jesus’ point here is that they already have faith a plenty.  Granted their faith in Jesus is only beginning, it’s really the size of a mustard seed, but it is more than enough to accomplish God’s purposes.  

Just don’t lose the faith you have, so that the Holy Spirit can continue to work on you and grow you into the Christian that God has in mind. 

It appears that the last word from Jesus in the gospel reading may be the most important of all. Be humbled and be faithful.  The Apostles, the disciples, and we, are all servants of the Most High God. We serve because we have been saved by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Holy Baptism, the Holy Spirit is instilled within us. The Holy Spirit creates the faith that we have. We serve because that is our calling.

In our American culture with all its amenities, with the focus on individualism, we are faced with all manner of temptations. If you were snared by one of those temptations, or forgot for a brief time that you belong to God, or perhaps you are even in some kind of a hot mess, please know that our Lord Jesus Christ has died for you so that that sin does not have the last word on your life.  Repent so that the last word is Christ Jesus, his cross, his forgiveness, and the righteousness of our heavenly Father.  Faith is a precious gift. We do not want to lose it!

In the name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.