Sermon and Video of Divine Liturgy for 11th Sunday after Pentecost

Video of Divine Liturgy at St. Luke, Rensselaer

11^th Sunday after Pentecost  

Isaiah 66:18-23 

Hebrews 12:4-24 

Luke 13:22-30

O Lord, your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.  

I suspect that many of us have a fixed idea or image of Jesus in our heads. I know that I have been affected by pictures of Jesus carrying a sheep on his shoulders and Jesus sitting with children. These images come right out of the Gospels. They are an accurate portrayal of scenes and words of Jesus. As a young boy when I saw the picture of Jesus carrying the sheep on his shoulders, I knew that Jesus would pick me up and carry me to safety. Likewise, as a little boy, when I saw the picture of Jesus sitting with the little children and talking with them, I knew that while other adults may shush or ignore me, Jesus would always want to hear what I have to say, no matter what it is. The impressions that these paintings give are certainly biblical teachings. Yes, Jesus is our rock. He is our helper. He is the one who carries us to safety. Yes, Jesus welcomes the little children into his midst. He definitely wants to hear from us. We are safe with him. He takes us seriously when others don’t. From these images and the biblical truth that they convey, I, at least, am left with a feeling of peace and being loved.

But Jesus does say some other things that don’t leave us with a warm fuzzy feeling. These words, these Biblical teachings, are also important for us to hear and take to heart. In the previous two Sunday gospel readings, both from Luke 12, we have received words from Jesus that encourage rigorous self-examination, a disposal of our worldly goods so that we can live unencumbered by possessions, and the potential for profound family rupture. The heading I have in my Bible that began last Sunday’s gospel reads, “Not Peace, but Division.” This is where Jesus asks the rhetorical question, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?” He does not wait for a response from the crowd, but barrels forth. “No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two, and two against three.” He goes on to explain that reception of the Gospel of Jesus Christ may very well lead to a family that is torn apart. 

For those of us who treasure the closeness of our families, words like this are puzzling at best, threatening and downright frightening at worst. We do not walk away with warm fuzzy feelings when we hear Jesus talking like he does in Luke 12. Yet, regardless of what our hearts may feel, we must understand that Jesus is warning us of the challenges of placing him as THE LORD GOD that directs and shapes every aspect of our lives. Not everyone, even within our families, want to have Jesus governing our thoughts, decisions, words, values and the general direction of our lives. Everyone wants the free gift of salvation. Someone may say to themselves, “What’s this about eternal life in heaven? Hey! I’m in! I’ve got faith. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.” But, not everyone is equally thrilled to hear Jesus say, “come follow me.” Because where he leads looks like it might contradict with their own plans. Martin Luther explained the meaning of the first commandment in the Small Catechism. “We are to fear, love, and trust God, above all things.” This means God first, we follow. God first means that we may have to say “no” to some things we would like to do. God firstmeans we may not be able to go along with the crowd. This demand of the Lord’s can be a problem.

All of this leads us into the difficult words that Jesus speaks to us today. 

We recall that Jesus is responding to what we might hear as a lofty theological question to lob out there to help pass the time as they are walking between villages. “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” This actually is a serious question that comes up. The question is really, “Who is going to be saved?” Not everyone likes God’s response. Ask Jesus’ contemporaries, the scribes and the pharisees, about whether the Samaritans or the full-blooded Gentiles can be saved, many will voice the opinion, “heavens no!” Go back a few centuries to say, the prophet Jonah. Jonah really did not want the city of Ninevah to be spared of God’s wrath. They are gentiles, pagans, heathens, and not worthy of God’s mercy. You can capture the contempt of Jonah’s attitude in chapter 4. We fast forward into the 16^th century, in the newly formed Lutheran spiritual community in Europe, there we find the issue alive and well. In the Formula of Concord, written in 1577, you will find Article 11. That article addresses the issue of election. Who is saved and who isn’t. Martin Chemnitz and the others had to put this in because the question of who is saved was causing conflict. Article 11contains everything that Scripture says about who God elects to be saved. But that didn’t completely settle it either. In the late 19^th and early 20^thcenturies certain segments of the Lutheran Church within the United States were fighting amongst themselves about the correct answer to the question. 

I have a Lutheran pastor friend that is about 15 years older than I am. He tells the family story of how his grandfather, from the pulpit, provided his community’s answer to the question, but chose not to outright condemn the other side’s answer, and thus lost his congregation. He was no longer a pastor. The stakes can be high when we begin to talk about who can be saved and who won’t be.

I am pretty sure that whoever lobbed his question before Jesus and the crowd did not anticipate Jesus’ answer. I suspect that a number of people began to feel a bit uncomfortable with the personal nature of Jesus’ response. Jesus essentially took the question “Will those who are saved be few?” and turned it around and responded with the question, “Will the saved be you?” 

Jesus is well aware that there are plenty around him at any given time who are there for a variety of reasons that include entertainment, defeating the Roman Empire and other enemies, and being an important person in Jesus’ kingdom. He knows that there are plenty that want to benefit from some kind of association with him. For example, he attended my son’s bar mitzvah, he gave the blessing at my cousin’s wedding, I was there when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, I saw a healing, etc. He also knows that many have already tried and will try to benefit in some selfish way by using Jesus name through either religion or through business. He also knows that there are plenty that will, as an intellectual exercise, talk about Jesus and will even recite his words from memory in front of others. 

That is not what Jesus is looking for. Those things do not lead to salvation and a place in His Kingdom. 

Jesus dies on the cross for every single person: past, present, and future. Jesus takes up the cross for everyone. There are no barriers to hold back God’s grace. No human made bias or distinction stand in the way of God’s salvation. Jesus himself says that His heavenly Father desires that all people be saved. (John 3:16) We receive the gift of Jesus’ redemption and his declaration that we are forgiven on account of his shed blood placed upon us through faith and only faith. When we receive through faith Christ’s gift to us, we allow the Holy Spirit to take Christ’s cross deep within us so that he can address our corrupt nature. In gratitude for his kindness to us, we honestly confess that we are by nature sinners. We are only made right and righteous before our heavenly Father because of what Jesus has done for us. 

We are saved not by associations with Jesus. We are not saved because we can parrot what Jesus said. We are not saved because we think we can use Jesus to our advantage. 

We are promised eternal life in his kingdom because we have faith in Jesus. In response, we want to follow Him no matter where He leads us. Our lives are his always. Our possessions are his always. Our future is his always.  That is the narrow door of which Jesus speaks. And we want to enter it. Through that narrow door is joy and an abundant life. Through that narrow door is the Good Shepherd who carries us on His shoulders. Through that narrow door are the green pastures and still waters. Through that narrow door is the Savior who always has time for us, young or old. 

Jesus asks us “Will the saved be you?” Through faith, we will find out.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.