Why Seek Lost Sheep – Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter

April 19^th, Year of Our + Lord 2026
Good Shepherd Sunday, Misericordias Domini
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Why Seek Lost Sheep?    
Ezekiel 34:11, John 10:11, 1 Peter 2:24-25

Audio of the Sermon available HERE.

     The Lord God Almighty declares: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will
seek them out.   I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 

     The Hills should green up a little, after the bit of rain and snow we’ve received.  Not enough, yet, certainly not enough to seriously reduce the fire danger.  To our east on the prairie it seems like they’ve been catching up a little, so Lord willing the livestock and wildlife will soon have some green pastures. 

     We would welcome a foot of snow, for the moisture at least.  Spring blizzards do not make it great to be a cow or a sheep, though.  Or worse, a newborn calf or lamb.  Heavy wet snow is miserable if you are a tiny creature without much body fat to keep you warm.  Spring snow makes for tough times for calves and lambs, and so also for the men and women who raise them.  Out in the pastures, early and late, checking on the stock, trying to help them, trying to provide your herds and flocks protection from the cold and wet and wind. 

     Why do they do it?  Why do livestock growers year after year face cold and dark, wind and rough country, to say nothing of dealing with the predicaments livestock are always finding for themselves?  Why search again for that cow who always finds a way through the fence, or who insists on giving birth in the deepest ravine possible?  Why fight off disease, and coyotes?  Why bottle feed bum calves and do the thousand and one hard chores that come with raising livestock? 

     Well, of course, it’s a living.  There is a profit involved, hopefully.  For a handful, it’s a very good living, a way to grow a family fortune.  But for most, the agricultural life is not so rich, the bank account not so fat.  Indeed, smaller operations have very narrow profit margins, and so have more hard work to do.  Because they can’t afford to hire it done, or buy the latest technology and equipment that would make it easier.  The stockgrowers in my extended family mostly had to have a side gig, or two, to make it work.  Haul mail, sell eggs, or run a patrol for the county.  (A patrol is what my Uncle David called his road grader.  I never did understand why.)  There are easier ways to earn a living.  And yet, for many ranchers and sheepherders, including those who are paper rich and dirt poor, they wouldn’t do anything else.  Why?  Why do they do it? 

     I have some thoughts.  Maybe you will correct or add to my ideas after service.  I know many stockgrowers do it because they love the life.  They love the countryside and being out in it.  They love the sense of accomplishment, and the independence, the responsibility.  They love seeing things grow.  And, they love their animals.  This love cannot be for their beauty, at least I do not think so.  A calf is cute, but a cow?  It certainly can’t be for the love the livestock give back.  A dog may be very affectionate and loyal.  Cows love you when you’re spreading cake, and that’s about it.  And yet, those who choose to ranch and raise sheep do love their animals, just the same. 

      Why do they do it?  I think many do it simply because that’s who they are.  Raised into it, or maybe not, still, their identity has become all tied up with livestock.  They may need to have a 40 hour per week job to keep their operation going.  Still, they could hardly be or do anything else. 

      Why raise cows or sheep?  Why seek them out when they’re lost?  Why risk life and limb for animals?  Well, there’s a profit to be had, and a life of loving animals, and for many, their identity is all connected with the “Ag” way of life.  It’s simply who they are.  And so they do the hard work of seeking after and caring for livestock, including during freezing winter nights and sloppy, wet, miserable spring storms. 

      Which brings us to our Good Shepherd.  Why does God do it?  Caring for livestock is one thing.  But caring for people?  Rebellious, stubborn, messed up people; why do that?   Why try to save sinners from themselves?  Why rescue fools from the predicaments we make for ourselves?  Why do it? 

      God has done and continues to do the work of rescuing His sheep from the wolfish schemes of Satan.  The enemy uses God’s good law against us men and women, pointing out our sin and detailing what we deserve.  He does this because he aches to share his eternal misery with God’s people.  The adversary’s hope for our destruction relies on God’s hatred of sin. 

    But God, who is the ultimate punisher of sin, postponed acting on His just anger against our sinful ways.  Starting immediately after the Fall, God began putting up with human sin, overlooking rebellion and withholding full punishment, even rescuing His special people Israel from self-inflicted wounds, again and again, all to get to the real work of salvation.  Which is finished. 

      The rescue work is done, because God did more that just overlook human sin for a time.  In the fullness of time, God took on our flesh, our creatureliness, in order to take our sin upon Himself.  Ranchers and shepherds very often sacrifice greatly to take care of their herds and flocks.  They may even, from time to time, end up smelling like their animals.  But has a rancher ever become a cow, or a shepherd a sheep, in order to save his animals from slaughter?  No. 

    But the Good Shepherd did become a sheep.  That is, God became a man, in order to save us men and women from the slaughter of eternal death.  We are in our third week of celebrating the revelation of God’s in-the-flesh victory for us, a victory won in death, a victory revealed with the new life of the Resurrection.  This 3^rd Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday, as well as Misericordia Domini, Mercy of the Lord Sunday.  So this is a good time to ask “Why?”  Why did the Lord show such mercy, why did He become our Good Shepherd, laying down His life, for us? 

   Why did God the Father sacrifice the life of His only-begotten Son to save wandering, thankless sheep?  Why does God continue to work, sending out His Word of forgiveness, supporting His Church, keeping her going in the most unpromising circumstances?  Why? 

     Does God do this to gain a profit?  Well, yes.  That may sound a little strange, but God does all His works of salvation in order to realize a profit, a gain.  It’s just that we don’t understand God’s method of accounting.  Looking at what God gives and receives in this salvation business, it doesn’t seem that God is coming out ahead.  But God gets to determine His own metrics for measuring profit and loss.  And, for God, the profit in salvation is you.  God’s reward for achieving human salvation is to have you with Him, along with countless other saints, holy and righteous in His presence, forever.  Now, given what we know about people in general, and about ourselves in particular, given all the obvious faults and failings of humanity, God’s way of accounting is very strange.  Strange accounting, but very good news. 

     Does God do it for love?  Yes, most definitely.  Because God loves to love.  He created the whole universe, and us, to give Himself more objects on which to pour out His infinite love.  God loves His whole creation, and most especially the crown of His creation, which is you.  You and I might expect God’s love for mankind to have faded, since we humans, once we hear we are second only to God, immediately start thinking about knocking God off His throne.  Following Adam and Eve’s example, we desire to be our own god.  It is not enough for us to be dependent on the true God who blesses us with all we need.  We want to be in charge, to make our own rules, and judge ourselves.  It would be quite right and fair if God, who is holy and righteous and all powerful, were to simply destroy us ungrateful usurpers.  But no.  God does hate sin.  But amazingly, He still loves us, despite our sin.  And this is how God the Father has loved us, by sending the Only Begotten Son to save us, from ourselves. 

     God does what He does for profit and for love.  Despite our nature that seeks independence from Him, God is our Good Shepherd.  But what, in the end, happens to sheep that spurn their shepherd?  What happens to mankind if we insist on our independence from God?  To find the answer, look at the punishment Jesus suffered.  Look at Good Friday, look at the Cross, and shudder. 

   But then, look again.  For in the same frightening Cross of Jesus the Holy Spirit also reveals to us that this is love.  Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His only begotten Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  What we and every other sinner deserves, and also God’s limitless, forgiving love, these are both revealed in Jesus’ death.

     Why does God seek lost sheep?  Why does He save?  Because that’s who God is.  Good News, God is love.  Like the rancher who just doesn’t know anything else to be, even more so, God cannot be anything else than love.  God is the Savior, our Good Shepherd.  God is the One who desires a multitude of people to be in the closest possible communion with Him, in joy and peace and glory, forever.  Think of it.  How sure is your salvation in Christ?  Your salvation is the very identity of God, who is life, and love, and so has done all things necessary to share His life and love with you. 

     So, when wolves are circling, trying to bite your flesh, call on your Good Shepherd.  When enemies, like temptations of the world, or your own sinful desires, or struggles that lead you to doubt God’s promises, when these or any other hound of Satan are pressing you hard, remember: God’s Son is your Good Shepherd.  Call on Him; He loves doing whatever it takes to save you.  In fact, the one thing necessary to save you is His specialty: forgiveness, reconciliation and renewal, delivered to you in His Word, and in Holy Baptism and the Supper.    

   Knowing Jesus is your Good Shepherd also helps you to live rightly as a sheep in God’s flock.  Which of course starts with humility.  For a wise sheep knows that he is not that strong or impressive on his own.  Life under the Good Shepherd includes community.  In the flock, watched over by the shepherd, is where wise sheep want to be.  God goes so far as to even use His sheep in the shepherding process, giving Christians in all kinds of situations the privilege of helping each other: parents and relatives shepherding children, friends reminding friends to come back to the fold, believers encouraging each other by singing the praises of the Good Shepherd.   Does being the Shepherd’s lamb change who you are and how you live?  Does being a Christian, joined to Christ, create differences in your life, blessings for both you and those around you?  Absolutely. 

   Living a life as a faithful, useful sheep is a real thing.  It is an important goal of God for you, and so is worthy of your best efforts.  And it is possible to pursue, precisely because living a faithful life is not our comfort, it is not the basis of our hope.  When our Christian life is less than perfect, we do not lose hope.  Because life in this world will never be the holy perfection we need to belong to the Good Shepherd.  Our holy perfection is Jesus, our Shepherd, on whom we always depend.  He sets us free to live today without fear.    

     The struggle against the devil-wolf goes on.  The final victory for God’s flock is assured, but in this life, the battle continues.  Our Good Shepherd, in His wisdom, leaves His beloved flock in this world for a time, mostly because He has other lambs to add to His flock.  And so, the struggle continues.  But we know how the evil one is defeated.    

    When Satan, or your own heart, whispers to you that God would never forgive what you have done, your Good Shepherd says “Rest in my peace, you are forgiven.”  When the evil you see in the world makes you doubt that good can conquer, your Good Shepherd, the One with scars in His hands, reaches those hands out to you and reminds you “Fear not!  I have overcome the world!  Enter into my green pastures.”  When you have yet again sinned your way into a real mess, and you think there is no way out, remember, Jesus is still seeking you, even into the valley of the shadow of death.  Jesus is still calling you by name, still preparing a table before you.  Your cup runneth over, because your Good Shepherd is filling it up, today, tomorrow, and forever and ever, Amen. 

A Song for Ezekiel and Thomas - Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Easter

April 12^th, A+D 2026
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Hill City, South Dakota
Ezekiel 37:1-14, 1 John 5:4-12,  John 20:19-31

The audio of this sermon is available HERE.

There is no manuscript to share this week, but the hymn on which the sermon was built is below. 

If this is a blessing to you, consider passing it along to someone you think might also benefit!  

A Song for Ezekiel and Thomas

1) Ezekiel was strengthened, and also Thomas Twin,

By God’s good Word Incarnate, removing doubt and sin.

Though each with doubts did struggle, The LORD had made His choice,

To teach the world His Promise, resounding through their voice.

 

2) God’s messenger to Judah, exiled in Babylon,

Ezekiel saw visions, of better days to come.

Some strange, and others stranger, his prophecies were bold,

They spoke of restoration, and future joys untold.

 

3) A valley filled with dry bones, death far as eyes could see,

And yet the LORD suggested, that from these life could be.

Speak prophet, speak with power, that bone should meet with flesh,

You prophesy the breath now; My Spirit will refresh. 

 

4) Can these bones live? Seems foolish, a miracle too great,

Except the LORD be Sov’reign, o’er life and time and space.

This wonder pointed forward, to Cross and Empty Tomb,

A Sacrifice appointed, to free us from our doom. 

 

5) But Thomas missed the meeting, when Christ came Easter night,

And opened hearts and minds to believe, rejoice, delight.

But Didymus still doubted, this Word could not be true,

Unless I see and touch Him, I’ll not rejoice with you.

 

6) The LORD had plans for Thomas, to send him far and near,

Proclaiming ‘Christ is Risen” to all with ears to hear.

So for the sake of India, our LORD came on day eight, 

To show Himself to Thomas, enlivening his faith.  

 

7) The twin was blessed by Jesus, a vision for his need,

And yet the blessing goes on, the Holy Spirit’s deed,

Creating faith in sinners, the Gospel’s saving might,

Blessed by the Lord, rejoicing, we stay strong in the fight.

 

8) Ezekiel and Thomas have preached to us today,

That we may trust God’s promise, no matter what “they” say.

There are three that bear witness, Spirit, Water, and Blood,

The Father’s means to bless us, in Christ with ev’ry good. 

    David Warner, 2026, Public Domain, Meter 7676D

I Know That My Redeemer Lives! Blessing the Lord with Job.
Sermon for the Resurrection of Our + Lord 
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota, April 5^th, A+D 2026

Audio of the sermon is available HERE.   

“Oh that my words were written!  Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!   For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  My heart faints within me!”

Christ is Risen!

   We don’t know for certain when the Book of Job was written, or who wrote it down.  The events are very ancient, most likely taking place sometime during the 400 years that the sons of Jacob, the budding nation of Israel, was living in the land of Egypt.  If Job himself is the author, then this book is the first book of Scripture ever recorded.  Moses in the book of Genesis would record history back to the Creation, but he did not begin writing his five books until after he led the Exodus of Israel from slavery in Egypt, 1,446 years before the birth of Christ.  Suffice it to say, the Book of Job is very ancient. 

    Considering how old they are, it is remarkable that Church continues to sing these most famous verses from Job, every Easter Day, and anytime that we wish to shout from the rooftops the Good News of God’s victory for us, revealed in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.  Mary’s son, and also God’s Son, Jesus died on a Roman cross and suffered under His Father’s anger against human sin, in order to pay our debt in full, and so free us from slavery to sin, death and the devil.  But now He lives again, my Redeemer lives!  While he does not describe all the details, Job was already celebrating the Resurrection nearly 4,000 years ago.     

   Job’s triumphant declaration shows us that the Gospel, God’s good news of a Savior, first announced to the Serpent who deceived the man and the woman in the Garden, this promise has always been taught and believed. 

   Many more details would be revealed over the next 1,000 years after Job, then the full story in the New Testament.  But in its essence, the Gospel has never changed.  This morning we will walk through Job’s glorious words, and see how well he prophesied the salvation of Christ, even though he had never heard any of the books of Moses or the Prophets.  

“Oh that my words were written!  Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!   

   God’s people need books.  Well, we need a book.  I like books.  I’m very partial to hymnals and history and good novels.  But the Book we need, truly the Book that inspires every other good and useful book, is the Holy Book, the Bible of the Old and New Testaments, which tells the story of God’s love for mankind.  The Bible tells of the Lord’s goodness, our rebellion, and the great work of God to overcome our rebellion and bring back into His glorious favor, forever, a work accomplished in and through Jesus Christ. 

     We do not know if Job’s parents and grandparents had ever written down the promises God made to Adam and Eve, and to Noah, to Abraham and all his faithful descendants.  But whether these pre-Biblical materials existed or not, Job knows we need the Word written down.  For Job knows better than most how hard it is to continue trusting God when suffering and trouble come.  Future generations he knew, would need the Promises and Wisdom of God recorded, written down, so they could believe, and pass on the faith to their children. 

    The Book of Job and the Books of Moses are the earliest existing books in this salvation literary tradition.  Today, we are remarkably blessed to have plentiful Bibles in faithful translations, which deliver God’s saving Truth to us.  If we today are neglecting the Bible, from which we hear the saving voice of God, then we are greater fools than Job’s three worthless friends.  For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.  God’s Word always achieves the Lord’s goals when it is spoken into this broken world.  The Word of the Lord gives life, and endures forever. 

   So, as we gather to celebrate this Easter, let us also re-commit ourselves to being regular hearers and readers of the Bible, so that through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit can make us both believers and doers of His powerful, saving Word.  If you are not quite sure how to do this, let me know.  It would be my privilege to help you be better connected to the Spirit’s Word of Life.    

   Job continues: For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 

   I know.  Job’s faith is personal, as saving faith must be.  The Church’s opportunity to preach the Gospel is tremendous today, because we 21^st century people are so isolated, so alone.  Our fenced yards, climate-controlled homes, and glittering screens with endless entertainment act as walls, separating us from each other, and from God.  It is not hard to find a family with each member lost in their tablet or cell phone, even when everyone is “all together” in the same room.  The Devil probably never imagined we would, with such intense focus, voluntarily pursue his goal of isolating us.  To be sure, it makes the evil one smile that we are so alone, isolated one from each other, just as we are by nature isolated and estranged from God. 

   Sin separates.  Saving faith, then, has to be personal.  As I am an isolated sinner unto myself, God must set me free, before I can begin to be truly united, to Him, His Church, or to any other person around me.  To reunite a soul with Himself, God must come to each individual with His Word of truth, which corrects, and forgives, and reconciles.  The Holy Spirit seeks to unite the sinner with the Father, through the blood of Jesus.  This is the only way. 

   At the same time, the Lord joins the new believer to His Church, the Body of Christ, made of many human members, the House of God, built of living stones.  Because God never intended man, woman or child to ever be alone.  We were created for community.  And so, individual soul by individual soul, God seeks to save each one of us, and graft us onto the living tree of His family. 

   I know.  Job knew the facts of God’s salvation.  Did he know all the details, almost 4,000 years ago?  I cannot say.  But He knew enough.  He knew that sin separates us from God and brings death.  And Job knew and believed that God had promised to send a Savior, the Seed of the Woman, to reverse the destruction Satan had wrought. 

    Job believed the facts; Job trusted the facts.  Saving faith includes knowledge, assent and trust.  The Devil knows the facts, and even concedes that they are true.  But he gave up trusting in God at the beginning.  He and his fellow fallen angels can only hate the LORD, and try to keep human souls from knowing, from assenting, and most especially from trusting in the Promise of God.  This is the great war that Jesus fought in His life, death and resurrection.  God grant us all true knowledge, assent and trust of the heart in the victory of Jesus. 

   I know that my Redeemer lives.  Saving faith is faith in a person, a particular Man, who is entirely unique.  Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, who has purchased all of humanity, bought all us out of slavery to sin, death and the devil. To be able to do that, Jesus is not just a good man; He is God Himself.  And, despite Satan’s lie, and our fallen expectations, God is always seeking the good of the other.  God is always ready to give of Himself, even make immense sacrifices, for the good of others, of you, and me, and every other man, woman and child.  The Redeemer redeems by self-sacrifice.    

   Self-sacrifice for the good of another is the height of virtue.  The self-sacrifice of mothers is why we celebrate them with their own special day every year.  Now, I hope you celebrate your mother a lot more than that, but at least our nation still sets aside one day to honor moms.  We honor moms, and dads, and firefighters and soldiers, organ donors, and, I hope, trash-collectors, who rise early in the morning to pick up our smelly garbage, allowing us all to keep our homes and neighborhoods clean.  Self-sacrifice for the good of others deserves praise and honor. 

   And no other self-sacrifice can compare to the work of our Redeemer, Jesus.  To redeem us, to undo all that Satan and we sinners have done to destroy our relationship with God and each other, Jesus entered into our broken, messy, smelly world, and lived a life of perfect love and obedience.  Then our Redeemer died, even though He was innocent. 

   Jesus the Righteous One stepped into our unrighteous shoes, volunteering to be called and treated as the sinner.  He gave Himself into the Cross, paying for our sin, dying our death, and thus He robbed Satan of his power to accuse us.  Your sins are forgiven, in Jesus.  This is the self-sacrifice that saves.  This is the Truth that saving faith believes and trusts.   

   At the last he will stand upon the earth.  Is Job here speaking of the Incarnation, the glorious fact that God’s Son became a human being in order to save humanity?  Or is Job speaking of Christ’s glorious return on the Last Day?  How about both?  They go together, to be sure. 

   The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.  God the Father’s eternal Son entered into the Creation that He made, in order to redeem it.  If God only saved from afar, if He only sat in His glory, inaccessible to us sinners, decreeing this or that to be the way of salvation, how would we ever know or believe He is truly our Savior? 

   But this is not the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ.  God’s Son came and lived, breathed, ate, drank, got tired and slept, just like you and me.  He suffered, like us, but infinitely more.  He is the God willing to get down and dirty, to get bloody and beaten, in order to make salvation concrete, approachable, tangible, for us. 

   God did not simply declare victory from afar and call it good.  In His essence, He truly hates sin.  So, to remove sin forever, He took it onto His own shoulders, into His own body, so that we can know and believe that He has truly destroyed the power of sin, for us. 

   Did Job understand that salvation would come through the death of the Redeemer?  That is hard for us to know.  This is just the first book of God’s Word, recorded for us.  There is much more revelation to come.  Suffice it to say, the Redeemer would come and stand upon the earth, a man, come to save.  The Lord’s servant, Jesus, Son of Mary and Son of God. 

   And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  Now Job is certainly talking about the Last Day, the final coming of Christ, riding on the clouds of glory, coming to usher in the new heavens and new earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed.  Job understands sin, and its consequence, which is death.  “In the day that you eat of [the fruit of the forbidden tree], you will surely die.” 

   Adam and Eve’s disobedience brought death.  First, spiritual death, that is, alienation from and enmity toward God, the foolish cutting off of themselves, and us, from the Source of life and every good thing.  Their sin also introduced the death we tend to think about most, physical death.  They did not die right away, but they were on their way to the grave, as we all are from our first breath.  But that is not the worst part, not even close.  Sin also brings eternal death, a wretched existence, forever separated from the LORD of life, eternally dying, unable to escape.   

   To save us sinners, this is the fate, the punishment, this is the horror that Jesus faced on the Cross, for us.   

    To help us bear this terrible truth, before He went to His Cross, Jesus gave us previews of the blessed life, of heavenly life, previews of His victory.  In His ministry, He healed diseases and maladies that had no cure.  He taught with clarity and authority like no prophet ever had.  He fed hungry people, in their bodies and in their souls.  Jesus loved, selflessly, consoling the downtrodden, calling them to find rest in Him.  Everything good, every promise of paradise, is foreshadowed in Jesus’ ministry. 

   In a smaller, but similar way, Job was richly blessed.  At the beginning of his story he seems to be the richest and most faithful man alive.  Then, after a time of trials and doubts, Job comes through God’s correction to be restored.  And then Job was doubly blessed.  His former 7,000 sheep became 14,000, likewise with his donkeys, and camels, and wealth, all doubled. 

   In place of the ten children he lost, Job received ten more children.  Which was still a doubling of Job’s children, for in this we see a sign of the gift Jesus came to give the world.  Yet in my flesh I shall see God.  All who trust in Jesus, in His self-sacrifice, and His glorious resurrection, in His free forgiveness, all with this true faith will also rise again, glorified body and soul reunited, to live in glory forever.  Job would be united with all twenty of his faithful children, and so will you and me, through faith in our Redeemer.   

   This is what we celebrate today.  This is the meaning of the Cross, and of the Resurrection of our Redeemer, Jesus of Nazareth.  In Christ, evil has been defeated.  In Him, free forgiveness for all your sins, and the sins of the whole world, has been earned.  And in the Resurrection, Jesus victory is revealed: Resurrection Joy! My heart faints within me!

   Almost 2,000 years before Christ died and rose, Job saw with the eyes of his heart, and believed.  God grant each of us today faith like Job’s, that we see, and believe, and rejoice,

in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 

Forgiveness - A+D 2026 Good Friday Sermon
Preached at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Custer, South Dakota
Based on Job Job 42:7-9, Ephesians 4:25-32, and Luke 23:32-43      

Audio of the Sermon available HERE.

   I have to confess, the other day as I was planning out sermons, for a minute, I felt a bit tired of preaching forgiveness. 

   I don’t know how you experience Lent.  It has been two and one-half decades since I passed through Lent in a pew.  This year, as I have been preparing two sermons every week, and then delivering them a total of five times each week, the dominant theme of Lent, which is the blood bought forgiveness of Christ, started to seem a bit repetitive to me.  There are other topics in Christianity, are there not?  Strength, Love, Community, Joy, Wisdom, Sanctification, these are all Biblical topics, aren’t they?  These are all good and right, Godly virtues and fruits of faith, no?   

   Some might say that a hyper-focus on forgiveness is a Lutheran problem, an old-school-conservative-confessional-Lutheran problem, to be specific.  Luther, after all, was the one who said:  

“Everything, therefore, in the Christian Church is ordered toward this goal: that we shall daily receive in the Church nothing but the forgiveness of sin through the Word and signs, to comfort and encourage our consciences as long as we live here.                           

    So, even though we have sins, the grace of the Holy Spirit does not allow them to harm us.  For we are in the Christian Church, where there is nothing but continuous, uninterrupted forgiveness of sin, both in that God forgives us, and in that we forgive, bear with, and help each other.  

See Galatians 6:1-2, also 1^st John 1:1-10.  (Large Catechism, Part Second, Of the Creed, Article III, (Paragraph 55))

     Is it not Martin’s fault, then, that Lutherans are hyper-focused on forgiveness? 

    The intensity of Lent can lead the preacher’s mind to wander, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on what spirit is leading the journey.  So, it is salutary to record, on rock with an iron pen and lead, or maybe just through a keyboard, the stray thoughts that stand out, so they can be dealt with clearly, using the Word of God. 

   As I recorded my dissatisfaction about preaching forgiveness, I found it laid out my Good Friday sermon for me.  And, I was reminded that this is a problem I’m glad to accept.  Because a thorough-going focus on forgiveness is not really a Lutheran problem, it’s a Biblical problem.  It is true, many different themes, many different facets of Wisdom, many virtues and fruits of the Spirit, run through God’s Holy Word.  Still, even when the particular word “forgiveness,” is not used, God’s gracious washing away of our sins to restore a good relationship between mankind and Himself predominates through all 66 books.  Luther is correct and Biblical to say that delivering the forgiveness of Christ is the number-one-main-thing in the Church. 

   At the same time, it is incorrect to say that all those other themes, all those Godly works, all those virtues, all those calls to holy living, do not matter.  It is incorrect to say that we do not need to talk about them, strive for them, and prioritize the Christian life. 

   It is of course true that are capable of worshiping our piety, of trusting in our good works, which is the error Luther most especially fought against.  We must guard against this.  At the same time, we need to be careful to not let forgiveness, the justification of the sinner before God, get set against the Christian life, or sanctification.  This also is a demonic temptation, to suggest that faith in forgiveness and a life of good works are somehow opposed to each other, in tension.  We can fall into this error by over-emphasizing one side, or the other. 

   The truth is that we sinners passively receive forgiveness, or justification by God’s grace, through faith, apart from our works.  But justification is nothing other than the opposite side of the same coin as sanctification, the life of active faith that loves God and neighbor.   This two-sided coin is Christ Himself.  Faith in Christ saves, alone, apart from good works.  But saving faith in Christ is never alone, it is always active in love, in praise and prayer, in good works.  Christ is in us by faith, and it is Christ in us who works in and through us, that we should both will and do, according to His good pleasure. 

   If we unduly separate, or set saving faith and a life of good works in opposition, we begin to destroy both.  Christ has saved us so that we can walk in good works, and, at the same time, apart from Christ we are spiritually dead sinners, who cannot do truly good works. 

     Our meet and right desire to be a strong Christian, a good neighbor, to love others, be pure, gain wisdom, know true joy, all of these Godly, wonderful things wholly depend on true faith, on trusting for salvation in Jesus alone, and not our good works.  This is tricky to keep straight.  We could use an illustration.    

     The penitent thief, who in his dying moments came to believe and trust in Jesus as Christ and Savior, most clearly did not think his own works were winning any part of his salvation.  He could do nothing accept die as a criminal, confessing his sin, and trusting in Jesus.  But to die in this way is everything!  In terms of justification, in terms of salvation, we are all like that thief.  Jesus, hanging on a cross for us, is our only hope.  He is all of our hope.

   Which brings us to the main reason that our sinful nature refuses to accept the truth that nothing we do contributes to our salvation – this message insults our goodness.  Who wants to be equated to a crucified criminal, hangin naked on a Roman cross?  But God in His Word declares that our best efforts are worthless for contributing to our salvation.  The forgiveness of Christ alone is the sole basis of our good relationship with God.  Along with this Good News comes the harsh truth that all our good deeds are like filthy rags, stained and ruined by our sinfulness, not worthy of offering up to God for salvation.  Our sinful nature does not appreciate this truth. 

   This is another reason you and I might get tired of hearing and talking about forgiveness:  the centrality of forgiveness, as wonderful as it is, also indicates the centrality of sin, not just in the lives of unbelievers, but also in the lives of Christians.  God in His wisdom has saved us, but has not yet expunged all sin from His children.  That glorious state awaits the End.  Christians need daily forgiveness, just like everyone else.  Indeed, because we know and trust in Jesus Christ and His perfect love, we are also most aware of our own sin.   

    We did not come to faith in the last agonizing hours of our life.  We are more like Job, who lived as a believer a long time, and so had many days to fill with good works.  And so Job is once again our guide, as he lives from the forgiveness of God.    

   The word ‘forgiveness’ is not used in our Job reading, nor anywhere in the whole book.  But, the reality of forgiveness is there.  Job’s error, his particular sin that God needed to correct, is all too common for Christians.  Job always believed God’s promise to send a Savior, first spoken to the Serpent in the Garden.  Very good.  Job’s problem was his belief that all of God’s ways and acts should be intelligible to his fallen mind.  He demanded that God explain everything, most especially his suffering, to his own satisfaction.  There are many mysteries in God’s Word which, if we are not wise, we can obsess over, demanding explanations that God simply does not provide.  The pursuit of truths God has not revealed can be dangerous to faith, which we see in Job’s long struggle.      

    So, the Lord came in a whirlwind and set Job straight: “Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?”  The LORD showed Job a bit of His glory and His wisdom, to help Job understand that, in this life, we fallen creatures will not understand all His ways.  Then, after Job confessed his foolish sin, the Lord forgave him.  He returned Job to the place of His favor, and restored his life.  God’s forgiveness for Job then flowed over to his friends, to his wife, to his neighbors.  Righteous Job, righteous by His faith in God’s promise, again became a blessing to his neighbors, and an icon of faith for us.

    From St. Paul in Ephesians four we hear similar wisdom.  The former persecutor of the Church turned Missionary Apostle gives a long list of instructions for Christian living, commands like “put away falsehood… Be angry and do not sin…  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up… Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you… 

   Seems like Paul believes good works are kind of important.  But, lest we lose our connection to the Source, Paul finishes by bringing it back around to the Center.  [Finally], “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” 

     Paul’s exhortation to Christian living is the reality Jesus lived, for us.  The penalty for our failures to live rightly is the reality suffered by Jesus, for us…

the reality He died, for us.  And right there, in the midst of all His good works, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”  Even for His enemies, nailing Him to a tree, Jesus stays centered on the main thing. 

     And by this Word, salvation was bestowed.  The repentant thief confesses the truth about himself, and Jesus.  He confesses His faith.  “Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your kingdom.”     

     Again, Jesus does not use the Word forgiveness in His reply.  But forgiveness is surely given, as Jesus declares, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”   

   Now, do we see any other virtues, any fruit of the Spirit, in the Cross?  All of them, I think.  Strength.  Commitment.  Holy submission to God’s will.  Love, particular earthly care for Mary His mother, adopted to the Apostle John, and love for the whole of humanity, including for His enemies.  Prayer and worship.  Patience.  Endurance.  Joy.  Hope.  All these, and more, flowing from the Main Thing, that God in Christ has reconciled sinful mankind to Himself.  In Christ crucified there is forgiveness, that God may be feared, and loved, by you. 

   “Father forgive them,” prayed the Son, and He does, in and through Jesus.  Rest in His forgiveness, and come to the celebration of His rising.  For His resurrection is your future, your hope, your promise, today, and forever and ever, Amen. 

Words That Have to Be Spoken
Sermon for Holy Thursday
April 2^nd, A+D 2026
Job 1:13-19 and 32:11-22, Mark 14:12-31    

Audio of Sermon available HERE.  

     There are words that have to be spoken.  Sometimes they are nearly impossible for us to actually say out loud; nevertheless, there are words that have to be spoken.  Our cell phones make it possible to communicate with each other at any time, almost no matter where in the world we are, which means that we do less and less communicating face to face.  But we still know instinctively that some news, big, momentous news, should be communicated in person, face to face.

     On the bright side, the beauty and hope that can still brighten our days are experienced most intensely when we get to deliver wonderful news: “You got the job!”  “Your child has been delivered safely, and your wife is doing fine!”  “Mom, Dad, we are getting married!”  Words lead to hugs and laughter, maybe even tears of joy. 

     On the dark side, the broken-ness of this fallen world rings out most clearly when we have to break tragic news, share heart-breaking information.  “The fire destroyed everything.”  “Dad had a heart attack and he didn’t make it.”  Hugs may still come, and tears.  We don’t like being such a messenger, but sometimes there are words that have to be spoken. 

     Four un-named servants of Job were selected by survival to speak necessary words to their master.  Bitter news of enemy attacks, deadly fire from the sky, lost servants, lost flocks and herds.  The fourth messenger starts out with hopeful words, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house…” 

     Let’s pause there for a moment.  What a wonderful thing.  From earlier in chapter one we know that Papa Job worried about his children’s gatherings, offering sacrifices for them, for sins they might have committed.  But still, how great would it be to have ten adult children who get along so well that they regularly host each other for meals?  We are all still sinners, even sitting around Grandma’s table.  But time spent breaking bread and sharing wine together can forge bonds and deepen affection like nothing else. 

     Alas, the fourth messenger has more words that have to be spoken:  “and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 

     So begins Job’s trial by unexplained suffering.  And soon enough, after more suffering and a seven day silence, thousands of words that do not need to be spoken pour forth.  Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, Job’s wordy friends, make speeches, responding to Job’s complaint.  You see, Job demands an explanation, a hearing with the LORD, to be told why he suffers.  His three friends reply with false accusation after false accusation, certain that Job is hiding the truth.  They are sure there is some deep, dark sin that Job refuses to speak out loud, a hidden fault that is the true cause of his tribulations.  These words did not need to be spoken. 

     Finally, after thirty chapters of fruitless argument, a fourth friend speaks up, a younger man who was keeping quiet in the presence of his elders.  Finally, Elihu has some words that have to be spoken. 

     To the three friends he says, “Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your wise sayings, while you searched out what to say..  ² I gave you my attention, and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job or who answered his words…   ¹⁷[Now],  I also will answer with my share; I also will declare my opinion.  ¹⁸ For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me.  ¹⁹ Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins ready to burst.  ²⁰ I must speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.

     You are all wrong.  This is Elihu’s message in a nutshell.  Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar make false accusations against Job, and cannot rightly respond to him.  Job for his part is presumptuous toward God, demanding that all things be explained to his satisfaction.  “Job opens his mouth in empty talk;" proclaims Elihu, "he multiplies words without knowledge.”  Elihu suggests all four of them would do better to keep silent. 

      And God agrees.  The LORD’s first words to Job from the whirlwind even quote Elihu: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”  True words need to be spoken, reality must be dealt with.  The LORD has 70 questions for Job, each one making the point that God is God and Job is not, and there is no way for Job to understand all that the LORD does in His wisdom.  Words of correction first.  Then comes the time for restoration. 

     Bad news tends to take away our appetite. We forget or we refuse to eat.  But eventually, the way the LORD has created us means that we will need to eat.  Tragic news knocks us sideways, we weep and console one another.  But eventually someone digs in the fridge to make sandwiches, or orders pizza.  Neighbors hear the bad news and bring meals.  Friends and family come from long distances to sing final farewells at a funeral, and the congregation provides a luncheon, a time to refresh the body, and also the soul, as good times with the dearly departed are remembered over the meal. 

     Jesus knows our frame.  He knows what it is to hear bad news and shed tears.  He also knows that we have to eat.  And so, as He drew near to His own Cross, where He would accomplish the final solution to the problem of suffering, He also shared a meal with His disciples.  He instituted the Meal that ties together our need and His solution. 

     But first, there are more words that have to be spoken, some harsh, but true and necessary.  Others mysterious, and full of blessing.  “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”  Jesus reveals the doubt and confusion in the hearts of all His disciples, as one after another they replied, “Is it I?”  Don’t you think you’d know if you were the one?  And yet, they all ask. 

     Jesus also rejects Peter’s confidence and high opinion of himself.  Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter, offended at this word, missed the promise of the resurrection.  Instead of asking about that, Peter proudly protests, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”   

     Like Job and his three friends, the disciples’ words are not getting them anywhere.  Indeed, for three days they would be lost in confusion, fear and sadness.  But, in the midst of all His damning words, Jesus has more words that have to be said, words which, in the light of the Resurrection, would become central to the life of the Church His disciples would build.  For, as they were eating, [Jesus] took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.  And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”  

     Matthew, Luke and St. Paul, in their respective tellings of the same moment, add wonderful specifics, like, “This is my body, which is given for you.”  “This cup is the New Testament in my Blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”  “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  And, “When you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death, until He comes.” 

     These promise-filled words had to be spoken, for the disciples’ sake, for our sake, for the life of the world.  These prophecy-fulfilling words had to be spoken, because the LORD had promised to send a Savior, a Champion who would undo the destructive work of Satan.  Many times the LORD repeated His promise to send a Savior, Who would redeem a people for God’s own eternal pleasure.  Now that this salvation was at hand, the comforting words instituting the Holy Supper had to be spoken, so they could be repeated, again and again.  By these words, there is restoration and joy.  Because, until Jesus returns visibly on the Last Day, all who suffer can find strength to endure, and hope for eternity, at the family dinner table of God. 

     Jesus has spoken these words, for us and for our salvation.  Let us draw near then, confessing our sins, our need, our suffering, and let us receive the Word, the Promise, the sufficiency of Christ, which is Himself and His forgiving love, in with and under the bread and the wine, Amen.