Wielding the Hammer of God

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, July 26^th, A+D 2026
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
Wielding the Hammer of God 
Jeremiah 23:16-29, Acts 20:25-38, Matthew 7:15 – 23

Audio of the Sermon available HERE.

1.  Preach you the Word and plant it home

        To men who like or like it not,

     The Word that shall endure and stand

        When flow'rs and men shall be forgot.

 2.  We know how hard, O Lord, the task

        Your servant bade us undertake:

     To preach Your Word and never ask

        What prideful profit it may make.

   Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. ²⁹ Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

   All of our readings this morning say something about God’s expectation for His preachers, for His prophets and pastors, and God’s expectation of His people, too.  “Beware of false prophets,” warns Jesus, “who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  Paul instructs the Ephesian elders, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”  Near the end of our Jeremiah reading we hear God’s simple instruction: “Let him who has my word speak my word faithfully.” 

   A failure to faithfully teach and maintain what God has said is the original source of evil entering God’s good creation, (Did God really say, hissed the serpent).  All the problems God’s people have suffered down through the millennia can be traced to a failure to receive, believe, proclaim and follow the Word of the LORD.  From Moses, Elijah and Elisha, down to John the Baptist and the Apostles Peter, Paul and John, the LORD’s expectation for His preachers has always been the same: Hear my Word, and speak it, faithfully, to men who, as the second line of our hymn instructs, may like it, or like it not.  You be faithful. 

     Simple enough, this shape of the preaching task.  Simple, but not easy.  Not easy, in large part, because of the very last line we heard from Jeremiah: “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”  Now, I suppose from time to time some men become so enamored of the power implicit in the call to proclaim God’s Word that they embrace the task with a proud and excessive zeal, not concerned with the final result their message might produce, knocking sinners down, with no thought of also raising them up.  Such bold, fire and sledgehammer alone preaching might even prove profitable to the speaker, for a time. 

   But the truth is, as every prophet and preacher, except One, is only human and also a sinner, the hearers’ reaction does matter to most men called to proclaim God’s Word.  This can lead to a number of imperfections in proclamation, not least being the softening of hard edges, the padding of the hammer, the shading of the truth, so as not to offend.  This also is a serious problem, for treading lightly over the uncomfortable words of God can leave sinners comfortable in their sin, not knowing the dangerous risk they are taking.  This is not God’s will.  God’s Word is a burning fire and a rock-breaking hammer for a merciful reason, to break sin’s hold on us, that we might be set free in the love of God.  More on this after our next hymn stanza.

   But first, a bit about “The Hammer of God.”  The primary way that preachers and hearers can learn to recognize and appreciate faithful proclaimers is to read and hear and study the Biblical greats, like Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and the rest.  But it can be helpful to have more recent examples, from contexts closer to ours than the Biblical setting.  And one came to mind as I was preparing this week: the Swedish pastor and theologian Bo Giertz.  I know many of us are of German or Norwegian heritage, but are there any Swedes in the house today?  (Filipinos probably outnumber Swedes here, actually.) 

   Well, regardless, Bo Giertz was a 20^th century Swedish preacher, Church historian, Bishop and author who I believe was very faithful, a great example of how to live out the call for faithfulness which we have heard from Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus this morning. 

   Decades after his death, Bo Giertz continues to serve the cause of faithful Lutheran proclamation, through his many writings, the most famous of which is a novel named “The Hammer of God.”  This one work has had an outsized influence on the Church, motivating and showing the way for countless Christians, clergy and people alike, both Lutheran and from other church bodies. 

   Giertz lived from 1905 to 1998.  He served the Swedish state church, which is historically Lutheran, as is the case in all of Scandinavia.  Giertz’s ministry saw the Great Depression, the second World War, and tremendous social, economic and theological upheaval.  He was an actively serving pastor from 1934 to 1970, the last 21 years serving as the Bishop of the diocese of Gothenburg, Sweden.  In retirement, largely rejected and discredited within his church body, Giertz continued to speak and write, calling the Church and her pastors to faithfulness.   

   In one sense, you could call Giertz a failure.  He was a consistent and tireless advocate for faithfulness to God’s Word, but his Church went hard down the path of unfaithfulness.  Despite Giertz’s efforts, the Swedish state church abandoned Scripture and conformed itself to the world.  As Paul warned the Ephesian pastors, “fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”  The worst threats to the Church always come from within, it seems, when the devil draws preachers away from God’s Word, to spread his cancerous lies throughout the Body. 

   The state church of Sweden is today very much a “LINO” church, that is “Lutheran In Name Only.”  Like happens in all church bodies that abandon God’s true Word, the state church is increasingly irrelevant in Sweden, and Giertz witnessed much of her decline.  Like so many faithful Biblical prophets, Giertz seemed to be fighting a losing battle his whole life.  That is a real downer, and yet, there is a lesson and an encouragement for us in this difficult reality.  But first, we should return to our hymn and be reminded of the Who and the Why behind the call for faithfulness. 

3.  The Sower sows his reckless love

         Scatters abroad the goodly seed,

     Intent alone that all may have

        The wholesome loaves that all men need.

     My Word is like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces, but only because it must be, in order to save sinners like you and me.  God is laser focused on having a huge congregation of souls with Him in paradise, forever.  For this He created us, for this He sustains us, for this purpose, the Father sent the Son to redeem us, and the Holy Spirit works through the Word to create and sustain saving faith in us sinners.  Nothing is more important to God than this task. 

   There is that occasional man who takes delight in burning and breaking souls with God’s Word, not for the sake of saving them, but only to delight in stolen power.  His is the worst sort of demonic voice, masquerading as God’s servant.  It is true, God’s hammer must break us in pieces, like Humpty Dumpty fallen from the wall.  But this is always so that the healing word of God’s grace can build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified, that is, those who are made holy, righteous, beloved in God’s sight, living members of the church of God, which he obtained with His own blood.   

    More common than sadistic preachers are people-pleasers, of course, men who fail to simply state the whole truth of God’s Word.  Through Jeremiah, the LORD accuses them of proclaiming their own dreams, prophets who refuse to say that the sins of God’s people are not acceptable, prophets who proclaim peace, peace on earth and peace with God, when the true state of affairs, because of our sin and our failure to flee to Christ, is that there is no peace, and souls are in danger of receiving God’s rejection.  This also is a demonic message.    

    And so Paul admonishes the Ephesian pastors to mimic him and always proclaim the whole counsel of God, both the rock-breaking hammer and the life-giving comfort.  The Good News of the Cross makes no sense apart from the truth of our sin and our need.  And the condemnation of God’s Law can only destroy sinners, if it is not joined to the forgiving word of the blood-bought salvation earned by Christ Jesus.  And so faithful prophets and preachers listen closely to all that God has said, and then apply all of it to their hearers.  And by this powerful whole counsel, we are saved, and we are made wise for Christian living, and useful for God’s ongoing Mission. 

4.  Though some be snatched and some be scorched, And some be choked and matted flat,

     The Sower sows; his heart cries out, "Oh, what of that, and what of that?"

5.  Of all his scattered plenteousness, One-fourth waves ripe on hill and flat,

     And bears a harvest hundredfold: "Ah, what of that, Lord, what of that!"

     The most shameful defeat, the death of God’s Son on the Cross, is in truth God’s greatest victory, the executioner’s tool becoming the glorious throne of our Savior.  Life comes from death.  An unjust punishment results in eternal justice, peace between God and man, and so wins righteousness for unworthy sinners.  The greatest possible horror for Jesus’ followers becomes the central message of His Church, and the hope of sinners everywhere.  The Gospel is very upside down, inside out and unexpected. 

     So, it should not surprise God’s proclaimers that God’s powerful Word, like Jesus Himself, often seems defeated.  The whole counsel of God is life itself, but so often it is ignored, rejected, or accepted for a moment, then discarded when more entertaining words come along.  And yet, God’s prophets and pastors are not to worry about that, at all.  Do we desire to see all men come to repentance and be saved?  Of course, for this is God’s will. 

   And yet, in a mystery too deep for us to fathom, this blessed result is all too often not achieved.  The Good seed is trampled, the new shoots of faith are choked out.  “Oh, what of that?” the sower cries, because his call is not to success, his call is not to achieve a certain numbers of conversions, a certain grandiosity of ministry.  No.  While we pray for great results, the call is to be faithful, period, and leave the results to the Holy Spirit. 

    So also when the harvest is visibly great.  Are God’s spokesmen or His people to pat themselves on the back when many come to the Church?  Are they to find their self-worth in the numbers, or are they to find their worth in the gift of Christ’s self-sacrifice?  You know the answer.  God forbid that we boast in anything other than Christ Jesus, our crucified and resurrected Lord, in whom alone we have hope. 

     What goes for the preachers goes for the people also.  For God calls some men to public ministry, to be ordained for public proclamation.  But all of God’s children will have calls to proclaim the truth of Christ from time to time.  Most obviously, faithful fathers and mothers are pastors, shepherds and preachers in the home, using God’s Word to raise up their children in the faith.  The world will from time to time ask us the reason for the hope that we have, and then we are called to proclaim.  And the same expectations and promises and pitfalls pertain.  Within our various callings in life, each one of us is called to maintain God’s true Word, simply because God is good, and His Word is His tool to save, when and where He wills. 

6.  Preach you the Word and plant it home, And never faint; the Harvest Lord

     Who gave the Sower seed to sow, Will watch and tend His planted Word.

   I do not know what dark nights of the soul Bo Giertz may have suffered through.  Seeing the church body you served for decades abandon God’s Truth in pursuit of worldly gain had to have been very painful.  But Giertz’s faithful prophecy and proclamation were not in vain.  We know this because God’s Word never goes out in vain, but always achieves the purpose for which the LORD spoke it.  This is God’s promise, even, no, especially when we cannot see the results. 

     And we do see some results, some fruit, from the faithfulness of Bo Giertz.  Today, in every Nordic country, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, there are new fellowships, new faithful Lutheran church bodies and movements, in large part inspired by Bo Giertz’s faithful proclamation of Scriptural truth.  Are they small?  Yes.  But they are also very great, a vibrant part of the innumerable congregation of souls in heaven and all around the earth which makes up the Body of Christ. 

     This is the promise of Jesus: His Church will not, cannot fail, because He, the Resurrected God-Man, the one with forgiveness and eternal life for all people, is her Head.  As Christ goes, and He has gone into heaven to reign at His Father’s right hand, so also will go all who belong to Him, all who trust in Him, because of the working of His faithful Word. 

Let us pray:  Holy Father, we live in an age of unfaithfulness.  It seems that Your Church is beaten back and nearly defeated.  And yet, because of Your faithful Word, because of the work of the Word made flesh, Your Son Jesus Christ, we know that Your Church will endure to all the ages.  Grant to all your Preachers and to all Your people faithful, wise,  and dauntless hearts, that we believe in the fiery, rock-shattering power of Your Word, in good days and bad, so that we, along with all Your faithful saints, may endure unto the end, and rejoice in Your heavenly glory, through the only Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns over all things, with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen. 

The God of Reversals and Investments

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity
Preached at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Custer, South Dakota
Based on Genesis 2:7-17, Romans 6:19-23, Mark 8:1-9

Audio of the sermon can be found HERE.   

  The rivers in Paradise flowed backwards, in the opposite way than normal.  Or at least,  the opposite of what we think is normal. 

   In the world we know, the world after sin shattered God's good creation and began its decay, in our world, small streams and rivers join together in their course to form larger rivers, until they flow into the salty sea, and all the water becomes unfit to drink, until God in His merciful and purifying evaporation brings it back over the land to rain down life again.

   It was not like this in Eden.  As Moses says in Genesis 2: “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.  ¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴  And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”   

   That’s weird.  Eden, the garden God created for the man and the woman, was the source of the water, and the River divided to deliver this life-giving liquid to four more lands.  In the original Creation, before the arrival of sin, water came from a single source and was then distributed, carrying life everywhere.

   This is one of the less appreciated consequences of the Fall into Sin: a reversal in the very nature of rivers.  St. Paul teaches us in Romans 8 that the creation was subjected to futility… and bondage to corruption.”  This side of the Fall, we cannot fully grasp the depth of the destructive changes that human rebellion against God introduced into the good world He had created.  We usually think about the effect sin has had on people and our relationships, and that is the priority, certainly for us, and also for the LORD.  But from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible also explains that there were profound changes in nature, reversals and corruptions of the way things worked when the earth was brand new.

 

   Regarding water, there is a fundamental change.  In the beginning, there was a source, one main river dedicated to irrigating the garden, which then divided into four more rivers to water the surrounding lands.  Rivers existed for the benefit of humankind and all creatures.  

   After the entry of evil in the world, water and rivers were still good, necessary, often beautiful.  But they can also be dangerous, violent, drowning people and flooding crops and cities.  And water is always running away from us, one stream joining another and another to form mighty rivers that empty their precious liquid into the ocean, where it becomes salty brine, unfit to drink and sustain life.  Access to good water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning, and the search for sufficient water for agriculture and industry have been constant challenges for every civilization, ever since Adam’s descendants founded civilization.  The abundance or lack of good water has been a major cause of migrations, and of famines, and of wars.

   Many things were reversed, greatly damaged, when our first parents chose to ignore the only limitation they had: do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Marriage was inverted from perfect companionship to an often bitter competition.  Work, originally just tending a garden, gathering delicious ripe fruit, and watching over the animals, became a struggle, a risky endeavor to scratch a food supply from the dusty soil.  Childbirth is still a wonderful thing, once it’s complete.  But what was to be a moment of pure joy became exceptionally painful, and risky, to mother and child. 

   These reversals, these inversions have greatly impoverished our lives.  Now death, pain, decay, and decline are constant threats, sometimes more pressing, sometimes receding, but never disappearing.  And these reversals impacted not just humankind, but all creatures, even all of creation.  But there is still hope, even in the reversal of the natural order. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  (Romans 8:20-21)  The damage, the reversals that creation suffered do not lead to a negative end.  No, rather, the creation eagerly awaits the freedom of the faithful, the final liberty of the children of God, when all things will be fully restored.

   We see a sign of the beginning of this reversal, from slavery to freedom, from fear to joy, in our reading from St. Mark.  Through the presence and power of God's only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and because of His mercy, the people witnessed and received an unexpected and marvelous reversal, seven loaves and a few small fish multiplied into a banquet for many, with leftovers to spare.  At Jesus’ Word, scarcity was turned into abundance.  For the gathered guests of Jesus, there was a change, from hunger to satisfaction, growling bellies to full stomachs.   

   In Eden, we saw that a river became a blessing for four lands. With Jesus, we see a glimpse of a new Paradise, as the Lord turned the seven loaves into a banquet for four-thousand people.  The consequences of the Fall into Sin were beginning to disappear.  And why?  Because this New Man,  this New and vastly improved Adam, named Jesus of Nazareth, is also the true God, the Creator, with more than enough power to exchange bad things for good.

   Such moments are encouraging.  They give us hope, especially when we in our lives face truly negative things.  When an infection or cancer is destroying our body and threatening our life, we long for reversal, for remission.  And when it comes, what a relief to have that burden lifted.  When war rages, we pray for peace.  When the land is dry, we pray for rain, to stay the fires and allow the plants to grow.  And, as He did in a moment for the 4,000, God often grants us blessed reversals.  But none of these, least of all the feeding of the 4,000, are a permanent solution.  The shortages, deficiencies, and curses of this life are symptoms of the main problem, not its cause.  Returning the world to its original good state would require much more.

   To make this great reversal, this exchange of a fallen world for a restored one, God had to make an investment, like investment bankers and entrepreneurs make when they risk something valuable, for the hope of receiving a greater return.  For God the Father, the investment required to fully restore His good Creation, was to invest, to risk, to sacrifice, the life of His only-begotten Son.  Jesus Christ was given 100% into the project of restoring the creation, and mankind, the crown of that creation.  God gave His Son to fix all the things inverted, turned upside down and broken, by us and by our sin.

   Jesus did a lot of things during the three decades He visibly walked this earth.  He loved His family, His neighbors.  He taught, He healed, He fed, like no one ever had or ever could.  The King of Heaven, with all glory, honor and bounty ever at His beck and call, laid that all aside, and chose to wander around the dusty roads of Israel, sleeping on the ground.  He embodied the truth that it is better to give than to receive, better to serve than be served.  Giving and serving are better, they are Godly, because giving and serving and loving are essential to the LORD’s character, they are of the essence of who He is.  Like the river flowing from Eden spread out into four rivers to bless more and more lands, even more God is the giver of every good thing, and loves doing it.  And so naturally, of His Godly nature, this is how Jesus lived.  Still, none of these things were His Great Reversal. 

   No, the Great Reversal, the mysterious and too-big-to-fathom work of Jesus was when He accepted the consequences of all our wrongdoing, all our sin, and the sin of every person.  Jesus took all sin into His own body, and destroyed it with His own death.  This He did, willingly, in order to restore us to the state we lost in Paradise.  This is the investment, the exchange, of the Cross: the good for the wicked, the living for the dead, the holy for sinners, all given to change our reality, to transform our future—a reversal from condemnation to blessing, from suffering to glory, flowing out from the Roman Empire’s favorite tool of execution.

   And then, the river really started flowing out again.  All sin and all Godly justice and punishment flowed to one point, to Calvary, so that, on the Third Day, all righteousness and mercy and blessing could begin to flow out, to the four corners of the world.  This mercy mission of Christ has extended even to us, here, and God always seeks to see it divide and flow, farther and farther, dividing and growing to bless more lands, carrying blessing and new life to the ends of the earth,

   It is difficult to live in reverse. Even though it is already ours by faith in Christ, it is difficult for us, still sinners, to live in Christ’s reversal, in the new reality of the resurrection.  This is why St. Paul had to write so much about the Christian life, the new life that begins even during this earthly life.  This is why, in today's Epistle, St. Paul teaches us about the transformations we have experienced, and how they should be visible in our lives.  

   Before the living water of Christ poured over us, our members served impurity and wickedness, but now their service is reversed.  Now our members are for sanctification, for a life of increasing holiness.  Justified, declared innocent and right with God by the death and resurrection of Christ, Paul exhorts us: present your members to serve righteousness.  

   Through baptismal regeneration, we have been given faith and forgiveness.  We have received the exchange of life for death.  How, then, can we seek dead things?  No, let us strive to live, in holiness and righteousness, as children of God do.  Let us leave behind the false attractions of this world, and seek the things that are above, the higher things. 

   You see, now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to sanctification in this life, and in the world to come, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   This gift of God is yours in Christ, for in Him, (and only in Him) all your sins are forgiven.  So, stay close to Him.  Without His daily bread, without the bread of heaven that comes only from Him, we too will faint along the way.  But there is no reason for it to be so.  The bounty of the Bread of God is ours.  Christ Jesus is here with us, through His Word and in His mystery meal, our Savior present to nourish us, protect us, and guide us to the very end.  

   The Father’s investment is complete, and His return, the Father’s profit, now rules over all things at His Right Hand on High.  Since Jesus reigns on high, for you, so also every day, and especially when you face struggles and doubts, know that the curse has been reversed, and Paradise is yours, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Books of Hate and Love, and Death and Life

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity
July 12^th, A+D 2026
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
Based Exodus 20:1-17, Romans 6:1-11, Matthew 5:17-26

Audio of the Sermon can be accessed  HERE.

In the Name of Jesus, our Catechist.

   Here is a question for you: Do you hate the Catechism?

   There are always links between the readings for any Sunday in the liturgical calendar and Luther's Catechism.  But today, with the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20, St. Paul's discourse on Baptism in Romans 6, and Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5 on the correct understanding of the Law, the connections to the Catechism are numerous and obvious.

   I spend a lot of time in the Catechism.  In recent months I had the privilege of studying through it with three different households, and we received 5 new members at Our Redeemer through that time spent in the Bible, and with Luther.  I have lots of books, but truth be told, the Bible, the Catechism and the Hymnal occupy a very high percentage of my reading and conversation.  Which is good and right.  The Small Catechism is a basic and primary tool for a Lutheran pastor because the Catechism is drawn from and is faithful to the Scriptures, which are the source of all teaching in the Church.  The Word of God is also the means, or the instrument which the Holy Spirit uses to create and sustain saving faith.  The Catechism's value lies in offering us a faithful summary of Christ's fundamental doctrines, as well as giving us a guide to dig deeper and gain more from the Bible. 

   I love discussing and studying the Word of Christ using the Catechism. Except when I hate it.

   Our relationship with God’s Word and the Catechism is always one of love and hate. And it's not simply because teenagers don’t like memory work, or that sometimes pastors are boring and unengaging in their manner of teaching.  This can happen, and it is a problem. Teachers should do their job well, and students should be patient and look beyond the surface, remembering that studying God’s Word and the Catechism is extremely important.  But even when the Catechism's presentation is phenomenal, pedagogically speaking, we will still have a love-hate relationship with it.  Or rather, by the grace of God, we will have a relationship of hate, and then love.

   The reason for this love-hate reality is given in the text of the Ten Commandments: I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 

   God speaks to us of two options: the path of hatred, and the path of love.  Our days are always a mixture of hatred and love: I hate waking up in the morning and getting out of bed, but I love the cool morning air and my first coffee.  So, I get out of bed.  I hate cooking, except for grilling, but I love eating a good meal, so I accept the bad with the good.

   I think this hate-love dichotomy is how our lives go a lot of the time.  But in relation to Himself, God doesn't want to mix hatred and love. He says, "Either you love me, or you hate me, and I will return the same to you."

   Well, then, let us love God, brothers and sisters, so that we may live!  No problem, right?  Well, there is at least one little challenge: God binds our love for Him to the keeping of His commandments. I show mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.  Now do you see the problem?  

   I can agree that the commandments are valuable and just.  They are good and right, entirely fair.  How great this world would be if we all obeyed them, if no one lied, cheated, stole, or hurt other people!  At my best, I want to follow God’s righteous path, laid out in the commandments.  But I cannot keep the commandments, especially not in the way Jesus Christ demands of us.  For the Son of God, teaching the multitudes in Galilee, explains His standard for obedience.  An outward fulfillment is required, in our visible words and actions, and an inward fulfillment is also required, in our mind and heart.  Do you love this Word?

   Jesus says,“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” 

   Very few people ever end the life of another person.  So far so good.  Maybe I can control my tongue!  O.k.  But if simply becoming angry with my brother breaks the 5^th commandment, I have a problem.  What about you?  Every time we think ill of our spouse, our parents, siblings, or a neighbor, we are, according to Jesus’ interpretation of the Law, guilty of murder.  And, if we continue reading in Matthew 5, we will see that Jesus does the same thing, raising the standard of the law, with all the commandments.

   For example, the Lord says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart…”  It was also said, “Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” ³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery… You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven…

   This Word of Christ is too much for us.  We may appreciate the wisdom, usefulness, and beauty of the Bible and the Catechism.  But we also fear and feel unease about studying them. The law, that is, the commandments, always accuse us because we never keep them perfectly.  Moses gave us a list of laws that we struggle to keep outwardly, and which we certainly cannot truly and fully keep, outwardly and inwardly.   

   Jesus in Matthew 5 elevates the commandments to a level that destroys any hope we might have of being righteous before God through our obedience.  Which, if we take God’s Word seriously, should ruin our day.  These radical requirements may even cause us to hate this Word, and worse, even hate its Author.  The young monk Martin Luther struggled with this. 

   “God, if you're going to punish me, destroy me, how can I not hate you?  I hate my miserable situation, and I fear that my hatred might even be directed at the Lord himself.  I would like to live, but because of my sin, which receives power from the Law, I am destined to die.” 

   God's Law is holy, good and right.  It is also impossibly demanding for us.  As Jesus says, "truly, truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished."  Therefore, because of the Law, and because of our inability to keep it, we must die.  There is no other way.

   But cheer up!  You've already died.  Or “do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” That’s lovely!  And amazing!

   The Law and our sin drive us to despair of saving ourselves, and make us ready to hear a different Word from God, a better Word, a Word we can love.  Which God gives to us in the work of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who lived in perfect obedience to the Law, and then suffered and died.  All this He did, not for Himself, not for any debt He owed, but rather He did these things in our place.  Let me repeat that point:  All that Jesus did, both His life of obedience to the Law and love toward God and neighbor, and also His suffering and death, He did in our stead, to win forgiveness and perfect righteousness, for us, and for all sinners. 

   And then, since He is the Author of Life, He didn’t stay dead.  Jesus rose again, revealing the Good News that He has achieved forgiveness and salvation for the whole world.  Gotta love that! 

   No one likes the despair that comes when God's Law threatens us.  We hate that.  And God is love; certainly; His desire is to bless us, not burden us.  Still, because God is love, your situation is simply unacceptable to Him.  You are His favorite of all creatures, and so, even though your condemnation would be just, the Lord will not accept that you are lost.  This is why He sends His Word of Law, of accusation and threat, so that we would stop clinging to our sins, and be made ready to hear of His grace. 

   Now that Jesus’ has done His great work, in our place, our old nature, that is our sinful nature, which makes us incapable of fulfilling the law, was crucified with Jesus.  Because Jesus became a man, brother to all humanity, and then hung on the Cross, this body of sin has been destroyed, so that we no longer serve sin.  God has saved us, not to live in sin, but to live in Christ, and to live like Christ, as Christians.  We do not do this not by our own strength, but only through an intimate connection to Jesus Christ.  For only Jesus lived a perfect life of keeping God’s Law.  Only Christ died for the sins of the whole world.  Only Jesus has risen from the dead to reveal the righteousness of God, which is His gift to sinners.

   That you have died with Christ is a saving Word, because he who has died has been freed from sin. In Christ, we have been declared innocent by God. If we died with Christ, and we already did in our Baptism, we believe that we will also live with him; knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has dominion over him, nor over us.  Love wins! 

     As things are for Christ, so also they are for those who belong to Him.  For in that Jesus died, he died to sin once for all; but in that he lives, he lives to God.  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  There’s a lot to love here.  Even though once and again we may still feel like we hate God’s Word and Luther’s Catechism, we know that their goal is always forgiveness and new life for us sinners.  And this is literally the best news anyone has ever heard.  This is the Truth that gives us hearts that want to follow in God’s way.       

   To be sure, the challenges of living in God’s love continue.  Because we are bound to Christ, we bear crosses in this life, by the good and gracious will of God.  The first cross of every baptized believer is our own sin, which so clings to us.  The closer we are to Christ, the more we feel our sin.  This is because, in Christ, by faith in Jesus, we have God’s true love working in and through us.  Our love is still imperfect, but it is real.  Love for our neighbors, and also love for God's commandments, which are just and good.

   As long as we live in this broken world, the uncomfortable, maybe even shameful accusations of the Law will tempt us to avoid God’s Word, in the Bible and in the Catechism.  Be aware, this is Satan’s goal.  The world teaches us to avoid anything unpleasant, which also serves Satan's purposes.  The world has long been whispering to God’s people that the Bible gets some things wrong.  Today, the world’s default is that the Bibles is always wrong; often it is called evil.  The world may also tempt us to believe that, if there is a God, surely, He wouldn’t be so demanding.

   Jesus warns us against this nice-sounding but ultimately hate-filled preaching of the world and Satan.  And, He has proved it to be a lie.  In the Savior, we see that God's Law is good, and how it serves our good.  And, we know that it is always worthwhile to hear, study, pray, and meditate on the Word, because, along with the Law that accuses us, Christ himself is present in the Word, ready to rescue us, again and again.  A lovely way to live.  The only way to live! 

   Do you need even more strength for the Christian life?  Jesus already knew that as He foreshadowed His Supper in the feeding of the 5,00 and 4,000.  Because we need strength for the journey, along with His Word, Jesus gave us the Lord's Supper.  Or better said, that's why Christ gives us the Supper, today.  The Lord’s Table far exceeds the miracles of multiplied loaves feeding thousands.  In the Supper, Jesus is the host, and also the Meal, giving His own body and blood, to forgive us, and to give us strength. 

   Hearing the Word and feeding on the Holy Supper, we the Baptized walk with Christ, until that Day when He grants us perfect liberation from sin, eternal peace, and joy that never ends.  This is our goal, and through the eyes of faith, we already see our goal, in Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and ascended into heaven, out of love, for you, and for all people, Amen. 

An Eternal Founding - Celebrating God's Mission and Ministry

Fifth Sunday after Trinity
July 5^th, Year of Our + Lord 2026
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, SD
1 Kings 19:9-21, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 and Luke 5:1-11

Audio of the Sermon can be found HERE.

   Yesterday we observed the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by the United States of America, celebrating our founding principles.  We both pray and commit ourselves to the perennial task of re-establishing and re-invigorating our republic, not to create heaven on earth, but yes, to create a more-perfect union.  We should do this for the good of each other, our posterity, and because America with her freedoms has been a place where the Christian Church could thrive, for which we give thanks. 

   Today, we are blessed to celebrate an even better foundation, the Mission and Ministry of God, by which the Lord builds His Church, in every place and time.  This work too requires constant vigilance and renewal, and the stakes are eternal.

  The LORD God Almighty, YHWH El Shaddai in Hebrew, has always and will always care for His People on earth, His Church militant, as it is called, and He does this in the same way.  The LORD works through His Word, no matter the language, be it Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, Spanish, or English.  God calls all His people to proclaim His Name and His Truth, the Truth that sets sinners free.  At the same time, the LORD especially calls particular men to be His public preachers, servants of the word, ministers who authoritatively deliver the Holy Spirit’s surprising and life-giving message to men, women, and children, sinners who may like it, or like it not.  It’s been this way for a very long time.   

   At the burning bush, the LORD called Moses to go back to Egypt and deliver His people from slavery to Pharaoh.  Little Samuel, given by his mother to serve at the Tabernacle of the LORD God Almighty, was called to be God’s prophet, and Israel’s judge.  Years later, through Samuel, the LORD called young David away from tending his father Jesse’s flocks, in order to eventually shepherd Israel as their king.  Indeed, the LORD promised David that His throne would last forever. 

   The prophet Isaiah was sent to preach centuries later.  At the time, it appeared that, because of Israel’s sin and idolatry, David’s throne would fall.  Isaiah was caught up in a heavenly vision, during which he hears the LORD wonder aloud, “Who will go and speak for us, and whom shall we send?”  The newly forgiven, ready to serve, Isaiah cried out, “Here I am, LORD, send me!”  And the LORD did.   

   The Pharisee Saul, on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus to seek out Jews who had become Christians and throw them in jail, was confronted by the risen Christ on the road.  “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”  In a flash, the Lord converted Saul, who was also called Paul, and then sent him as His preacher to the Gentiles, to the nations, for the salvation of many.  Paul would go, and preach, and also learn how much he would be privileged to suffer for God’s Name.  This same Paul would later instruct his pupil Titus, Bishop of Crete, to appoint elders, we would call them pastors, in every city, reliable men who will preach Christ and His truth faithfully. 

   And of course, from our Gospel this morning, we enjoyed Peter’s call into the ministry.  The
miraculous catch of fish made Peter realize that this wandering preacher Jesus was from heaven.  Our rough and ready fisherman cried out: “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Which was just the honesty Jesus wanted to hear: “Fear not, Peter, from now on, you will be fishing for men!”  So, Peter, along with his brother Andrew and his partners James and John, left their nets and boats and followed Jesus into Gospel ministry.  God always cares for His Church in this way, calling fallible men into His special public office of the ministry, sending them to preach and teach and care for the Lord’s flock. 

   Time fails us to name any but a few of the faithful preachers the Lord appointed through the centuries: Polycarp, Irenaeus, Cyprian, and Athanasius we know; hundreds of their faithful contemporaries we know not.  Ambrose and Augustine were favorites of a German priest and monk named Martin, who was just trying to clear up the preaching of God’s Law and Gospel, but ended up turning the world inside out.  Martin Chemnitz, the 2^nd Martin, tightened up some of the unfinished details in Luther’s teaching, and on it went.  Thankfully for yours truly, when he came to America, C.F.W. Walther, the primary founding father of the Missouri Synod, proved that a pleasing outward appearance is not a requirement in a faithful preacher.

   The line goes on through the decades, including R.J. Uecker, and Bob Anderson, and, least and last of all so far, down to me.  We are nothing but tiny men, standing on the shoulders of giants, to be sure.  But, and this is the important part, we are all involved in the same saving and preserving work of God, who has never swerved from His Mission once.  God has always been working to save you, and all sinners, ever since that dark day in the Garden, when our sin made His rescue necessary.

   We recited from the Augsburg Confession earlier, the AC, for short, presented in 1530 to the Emperor Charles as the confession of faith of the German princes and magistrates who believed Luther had rediscovered the Truth.  The AC holds primacy of place as a statement of Biblical teaching, because it succinctly and clearly declares the teaching of Christ, in general, and also in the light of the particular questions that were roiling the Church in the 16^th Century.  We read articles IV, V and XIV, which specifically treat God’s Mission and Ministry.  Before we talk about those, I should say that Article I speaks of the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Article II describes the problem that God must overcome, which is our human original sin.  And Article III then speaks of the solution, of Christ, who He is, and what He has done to achieve the forgiveness of sinners for the salvation of the world.  After Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension to God the Father’s right hand, the key question is this: How is the salvation which Jesus achieved on Golgotha now delivered to and preserved for sinners in this world? 

   Article IV, on justification, lays out the central reality of salvation: that God in His grace freely, as a gift, counts sinners as forgiven and righteous in His sight, when they believe in the work of Christ on the Cross to win the forgiveness of their sins.  Salvation by faith, given by God’s grace, for the sake of Christ, this is the main thing, the thing God seeks to do in and through His Church. 

   Article V then describes the means, or the instruments, the process through which God justifies, that is forgives and saves sinners.  “That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted.”  Through the Gospel in Word and Sacraments, (that is, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), “the Holy Ghost is given,” who alone works saving faith.  God does this not because of our merit, not because of our good works and holiness, but rather solely for the sake of Christ and His self-sacrifice on the Cross. 

   Finally, Article XIV gives some guidelines for this ministry, namely that God has limited the Public Ministry of Word and Sacraments to men who have been rightly called, that is identified, taught, called and ordained, by the Church, to serve in Christ’s public ministry.    

   The public preaching office, which is foreshadowed in the Old Testament, was established by Jesus through His Apostles.  Of course, every baptized believer in Christ has a call to speak the truth of Christ and to proclaim His Name in their daily lives. 

   Privately, individual Christians are often called to preach, to children, family, friends, neighbors.  But to preach publicly, to be an official spokesman for God and His Church, is not something one takes up to do by oneself.  For a man to be a public deliverer of the teaching of God and the forgiveness of Christ, he must be called into this office, either directly by God, or indirectly by His Church.  

   Now, the value of the Augsburg Confession depends on its faithfulness to God’s Word, which the Holy Spirit has preserved for us in the Bible.  A quick tour of Scripture will help us see how articles IV, V and XIV are drawn from Scripture.  Moses, for example, was called directly by God to go with a specific Word, to go proclaim God’s Law and Gospel, to captive Israel, and to Pharaoh, so that God’s people would be freed.  Through Moses’ ministry, His service with the Word of God, the nation of Israel was given birth, set free from slavery and rescued from destruction through the water of the Red Sea.  God through Moses fed His People bread from heaven, and taught them all that the LORD would have them do, and not do. 

   Our Old Testament reading today is set about 600 years after the Exodus.  Serving as the LORD’s minister has proven to be a tough gig for Elijah.  The prophet is distressed, under threat of death, and no longer wants to continue in the service of the LORD.  But God finds His prophet, hiding in a cave, and lifts him up.  God reveals that His way is not like we expect, that He does not usually work through the spectacular, through earthquakes or fires or great winds.  No, rather, the LORD is present to work and to save in a still, small voice, including the voice of truth that Elijah preached. 

   Then the LORD set up Elijah’s relief.  New kings are anointed by Elijah, to defeat the kings that seek to kill him, and a new prophet is appointed, Elisha, who is called to follow, and then replace Elijah, when the Almighty should call him home to heaven.  As Joshua for Moses, now Elisha for Elijah: a succession of servants, ministers, this is part of God’s plan. 

   Preachers come and go.  By the Holy Spirit’s grace, they are faithful in their calling.  They may see better days, or worse, but in time, their service will end.  But, the Word of the LORD endures forever.  God’s Word endures because the Holy Spirit is the power behind it, and He will always guarantee there is someone to speak the message of life.  This is why say we extend a “Divine Call” to a pastor – not because the man called nor the Church calling is perfectly holy and divine, but rather because God the Holy Spirit is in the midst of the process, including the very earthly and imperfect parts, like making hundreds of copies, pouring over information sheets for prospective pastors, and participating in congregational call meetings.

   Because the call process is divine, or Godly, it is a blessing for those involved, because God always blesses His Church.  The Circuit Visitor who guides the process may think he has better things to do.  The District President who pulls together names of candidates to consider may get weary, because he has so many congregations who need a pastor.  And the Call Committee may not have done this much reading in a long time.  I rejoice that Divine Shepherd in Black Hawk now has a new Senior Pastor on the way, and I pray that Peace in Rapid City, along with First in Wall and Emmanuel in Creighton, will find their new shepherds soon.  But I also thank God for including all of us in His work of establishing and sustaining His ministry.  Because it is good. 

   We need a Biblically faithful system to administer the office of the ministry, (and we have one).  Then, we need to understand and work that system, because the sad truth is that we sinners have always and will always tend to buck God’s system.  The two-year-old’s attitude “You’re not the boss of me!” is still present in us sinners. 

   But of course, God is the Boss of us, the eternal Father who loves us and knows what is best for us.  God is in charge, He is sovereign, and He gets to set the pattern for His Mission and His Church.  But who is willing to accept it? 

   People, inside and outside the Church, have always tried to pervert God’s plan for providing faithful preachers.  The problem of self-appointed prophets and preachers is ancient.  God’s way is to place a call upon a man, very often against his desire.  But for unbelievers and even for some believers who lack sufficient Biblical understanding, the authority and central role that a pastor plays in a given church can be a tempting way to seek power, or popularity, or wealth.  False prophets typically abuse whatever power they acquire, and people Christ died for get hurt.  Such abuse leads some to reject the idea of a public ministry, to reject the Biblical teaching that particular men be given authority to lead and teach and preach. 

   This is understandable, but not o.k.   We must not throw the baby out with the bathwater.  That is, while illegitimate and abusive ministers should be removed, and will be held accountable by God, this is no reason for the Church to deny or ignore the correct way that the Lord has established for the ministry.    

   The authority of the public ministry is to serve God’s truth, and to serve God’s people with that truth, for God’s glory and the people’s blessing.  The New Testament established that a congregation is, in its essence, pastor and people together, the shepherd and the flock of God in that place.  The minister’s charge is simple, and is well described in our Epistle: Preach the Word of the Cross. 

   This Word of the Cross is of course another reason some resist God’s way of caring for His Church.  The central act of salvation, the deathly work of Christ for sinners, is offensive to anyone who thinks they can be right with God on their own.  The death of the sinless Son of God on the Cross destroys the notion that men can save themselves.  The Word of the Cross is an insult to the self-righteous, and so they may reject it, to their own destruction.  This is a tendency we must all watch out for, in ourselves, and in our churches.  For the self-righteous tendency remains within all of us, the pride of the sinful nature that we still bear. 

   Likewise, the Cross is ridiculous to men blinded by human wisdom, who will not believe in a God who would give life through His own sacrificial death.  We humans like to think we have discovered how just about everything works, without reference to God.  So, a faith which shatters our assumptions is easier to mock than to consider.  Because to consider God’s Truth is to risk shattering our impressive self-image. 

    But we preach Christ crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God, and the only way of salvation.  This biblical truth, declared in Articles II, III an IV of the Augsburg Confession, is the content and reason for the public ministry.  We preach the Word of the Cross, because by it, sinners like you and me have hope, hope and a future, won by the suffering of Jesus.  This hope is revealed and guaranteed by His victorious Resurrection, and by His Ascension to reign over all things, for us.   

   The Word of the Cross is the Truth of God’s love, hidden under opposites, hidden under shame and suffering and death.  But it is this hidden truth, it is the victory of Jesus’ death, that lifts us from guilt, shame, defeat and death, and enables us to live humble lives of peace, integrity and joy, today in the Church on earth, and one day soon, with all the saints, gathered around God and the Lamb, forever and ever, Amen.