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. 

Praying for God's Governance

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity. 
Preached at Our Redeemer and Our Savior's Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
June 28^th, Year of Our + Lord 2026
Based on Genesis 50:15-21, Romans 12:14-21, Luke 6:36-42

The audio of the sermon can be accessed HERE.

Let us pray: O Sovereign and Merciful Lord, grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Your governance that Your Church may joyfully serve You in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.

   That prayer is today’s Collect of the Day.  A Collect is a traditional form of Christian prayer, which collects, or gathers together the prayer of a congregation, presenting it to God as a united request.  A Collect asks the Lord to work in our midst, in keeping with His Word, often focusing on some particular truth from the readings for a given service.  The Collect of the Day for the Sunday Divine Service intends to offer a theme that summarizes a main teaching present in the readings.  It cannot be exhaustive, that would require a very long prayer.  Still, the Collect is often helpful as we seek to understand what the Holy Spirit is telling us in His Word.   

   A Collect follows, more or less closely, a particular form which helps it identify and proclaim a theme.  You have this form before you in the half sheet.  There is even an acronym for it, CARRD.  (Actually, there are many possible acronyms, but this is the one I like, so…)  CARRD stands for Call, Attribute, Request, Result and Doxology. 

Call means to call on the Name of the Lord, to invoke one of His many Biblical Names: Father, God, Lord, Savior, King, etc.

Attribute is to describe God according to one or more of His characteristics, the various things He has done, or traits that God has taught us about Himself, especially in light of the day’s readings and the request of the Collect.

Request is to make the particular petition, or several, the specific things we ask of God.

Result is the blessed state of affairs that God’s action will achieve for us, and/or for others. 

Doxology literally means “words of glory,” a shorter or longer praise of the One to whom we present our requests, which is concluded with an ‘Amen.’ 

So, to break down this morning’s Collect of the Day:

Call: O … Lord,

Attribute: Sovereign and Merciful.  I know, this Collect is a bit out of sequence.  The attributes come in the middle of the Call. I said Collects more or less follow this form, didn’t I? 

Request: grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Your governance

Result: that Your Church may joyfully serve You in all godly quietness;

Doxology:  through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.

 

   Now, why am I regaling you with all this detail about Collects?  Well, I was in my 30s, and had attended thousands of Lutheran services, before I began to understand the form and function of the Divine Service, the liturgy of Word and Sacrament.  And the Collect of the Day serves a central function in this liturgy.  When I learned a bit about what the Church has put together for her liturgy over the last 2,000 years, I began to understand and get more out of worship. 

   (Now, be warned, this learning was an important part of the Lord convincing me to pursue becoming a minister.  You may not think you want to become a Church Worker, but as you understand better all the good that the Lord is doing for you in worship, you never know what the Holy Spirit might work in you.  Maybe within the sound of my voice there is a future missionary, or pastor, or deaconess.) 

   Certainly, helping you understand better and receive more of what God is offering us this morning is a central part of my call to be your pastor.  Drawing on ancient Israel’s synagogue service, as well as the worship of God’s people in the Temple, the Divine Service has been developed in the Church through the centuries as a wonderful and reliable way of delivering God’s gifts, to you and to visitors.  We gather to receive God’s Truth, His Wisdom, His Law and Gospel, strength for Christian living, encouragement, comfort, and, most fundamentally, to be renewed in the forgiveness Christ Jesus won for all people on His Cross.  It is forgiveness which makes us right with God, and remakes our hearts, so that we seek to do His will. 

   The truth of God’s Word, fully revealed in the man Jesus, has always been the heart of Christian worship.  The Collect of the Day, along with being a good prayer, a heartfelt request to our loving God, also helps us grasp and understand what God is teaching us.  More on this in a bit. 

   Knowing the form of a Collect, using the CARRD acronym, can also help us as we pray throughout the week.  Now, Christian prayer can take many forms.  Praying the Psalms for yourself and others is an ancient and godly practice.  And just crying out “Lord, help me!” is also a good prayer.  But sometimes, at least for me, I have felt a need to pray, for specific concerns, for myself or others, but the words do not come.  “Please help us, Lord,” is a fine prayer, but a richer prayer might offer more comfort.  Let me give an example. 

   Say you are hiking in the mountains with a group of friends, and you get caught in a strong thunderstorm.  You would prefer to find a sheltered place to wait it out, but one of your friends needs to take medicine, and it is back at your car.  So, you head back through the rain.  Then, just short of your destination, you find that what was a small trickling stream on your way out is now a rushing torrent, 15 feet wide, and you’re not sure how deep.  Because the one friend is becoming increasingly ill, and another in your group has a rope and knows how to use it to help you cross safely, the group reluctantly decides to make the crossing.  After you get set up, someone suggests somebody should say a prayer, and everybody looks at you.  Are you ready to pray?  Would you like to say more than “God, please help us!”? 

   How about something like this: Almighty Father, (Call) you created the wind and the rain, and the stream that now threatens us. (Attribute) As you rescued Your people, Israel, through the Red Sea, (another Attribute), so also send your angels to us now, and grant us a safe crossing of this torrent, (Request), so that our friend can take her medicine. (Result) (Finally, a Doxological conclusion) We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior and Lord, Amen. 

   Do you see how a good Collect connects the needs of our moment to the actions and promises God has made and kept through the centuries?  And, such a prayer can do more than simply offer comfort in the moment.  If any one in your hiking group has drifted from the faith, or perhaps has never trusted in Christ Jesus, such a substantial prayer focused on God’s care and promises might lead to eternally fruitful conversations, on the other side of the stream crossing.  The CARRD form of a Collect is certainly not the only way to pray, but it can be a real blessing.  And you can do it.   

   O.k., enough Catechism instruction on prayer, for now.  Another benefit when a Collect connects well with the Scripture we have heard is that it helps us understand God’s Word and apply it to our daily Christian walk.  Let’s take another look at today’s Collect, in light of the three readings. 

   In today’s Collect, we asked the Sovereign and Merciful Lord to peaceably govern the course of this world so that the Church can serve Him in all godly quietness.  Do you see how this explains the readings?  Let us take a look.    

   From Genesis 50, we heard the made-up story that Joseph’s father Jacob had requested on his deathbed for Joseph to forgive his brothers.  The brothers told this lie because they did not believe Joseph had really forgiven them for selling him into slavery in Egypt.  Their doubts are easy to understand, since true forgiveness from the heart is a rare thing.

   But Joseph, by the Lord’s hand, had risen from slavery and jail to become the Pharoah’s #2 man, ruling over all of Egypt, for the king.  Joseph is immensely powerful, in human terms.  But, he understands that he is not governing the really important things.  That governance of heavenly and eternal things belongs to God.  Joseph knows and trusts in the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord, and from that trust he has peace.  So, he is truly at peace with his brothers.  “What you meant for evil,” he tells them, “God meant for good, so that many people should be kept alive.  So do not fear, I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus [Joseph] comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”   

   Do you suppose Joseph was tempted to take some vengeance on his brothers?  Maybe, maybe not.  The important thing, for the harmony that God wants to see between His people on earth, is that Joseph did not assume the place of God. 

   We could say that Joseph preserved a godly quietness, which I do not think literally means being quiet all the time.  No, godly quietness has more to do with holding our tongues and unclenching our fists when we want to exact revenge, when we want to take control of divine justice.  The prayer of the Christian for every soul is not that they be eternally condemned, but that God would save them, even our worst enemies.  The forgiveness Joseph had declared to his brothers years earlier came from the Lord, not from Joseph on his own.  Forgiveness comes from God, and vengeance is Mine, says the Lord.  And so, faithful Joseph did not presume to deny God’s word or will. 

   Joseph’s forgiving heart and his reconciliation with his brothers is a great example of living out our Christian faith, as Paul exhorts us this morning: Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  

   Jesus continues the theme:  Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.  ³⁷ “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven, ³⁸ give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” 

   The Lord wants Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ, to live in harmony, and there will be great earthly and heavenly joys whenever harmony rules.  God also desires that this love of Christians should spill over to unbelievers.  And so we come to the strangest line in our readings:  Paul warns against Christians taking vengeance for themselves, and then he says.  “To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Maybe this sounds a bit twisted, that sinners like us might take pleasure in driving our enemies crazy.  But even this strange instruction has an evangelical, salvation-for-sinners goal.  For Paul concludes, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Extending the goodness of God’s mercy is the goal. 

   In a nutshell, Paul teaches us that doing good to your enemies will often make them even angrier with you.  But do it anyway, and sometimes, the Word will break through that anger.  Sometimes, the Holy Spirit will work through your kind acts to convert another undeserving sinner, bringing them to repent of their sins, and trust in Christ’s forgiving sacrifice.

   The connection between today’s Collect and Scripture readings is this:  The goal of God’s governance in this fallen world is harmony among His children, and the salvation of more sinners, the growth of the Church.  And so mercy and peace are to define the Church, and individual Christians. 

   We do not live in peaceful times.  Internationally, hot wars abound, and our country is involved in several.  Domestically, the polarization between political extremes seems to become more bitter by the day, and political violence is growing in our land. 

   But do not fear.  In Christ Jesus, crucified for all human sin and resurrected from the dead, perfect peace has been won, for us, and for all, peace with God that is received by faith in Jesus.  And marvel of marvels, we have access to this peace of Christ, in His Word, and in the mystery of His Holy Supper. 

   In the Collect of the Day we asked for the opportunity to joyfully serve the Lord, and we have that opportunity.  So we ask the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with faith, confidence and love, so that we go forth to serve with joy, and humility, today, tomorrow, and every day, until the Lord calls us home.  We pray this in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.   

The Character of God

Third Sunday after Trinity
June 21^st, Year of Our + Lord 2026
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
Based on Luke 15:1-10

Audio of the sermon is available HERE.

The one lost sheep is not innocent.

   A week or so ago I was listening to a podcast while pulling weeds, leafy spurge to be specific, out behind our house.  I came upon an interview of an author, Luke Burgis, who has written a book titled “The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion.”  I thought this might be interesting; certainly in the age of the internet and the so-called “smartphone,” social contagions have become an increasing problem. 

   A social contagion includes when people, very often people who are way too on-line, fall prey to believing fictions about themselves, including that they are victims of a condition or a disease which, prior to 2010, was either unheard of or vanishingly rare.  Bad things can result, including radical interventions that hurt people, mostly young people, for the rest of their lives.  When our kids were in High School in little Sidney, MT, there was a wave of teenagers cutting themselves.  We have all run into, or perhaps we know well, souls who are convinced that they were born the wrong sex.  Or the wrong species.  Believing such a false reality can lead to tragedy, and it seems to be a growing problem.  So, I started to listen to the podcast. 

   I was also curious about the title, and wondered if it might be referring to the lost sheep portion of our Gospel reading for this morning.  And it does. 

   The author seems to have had more than a passing contact with the Christian Church, as he began by saying he had heard the parable of the one lost sheep many times in his life, and it always troubled him.  My interest in the podcast and book was increasing.  The author said the economics of Jesus’ parable never made sense to him, another good observation.  Who would leave 99 sheep unprotected in the wilderness to go find just one?  That’s a good way to go bankrupt.  So, I was thinking, this could be great, and I began listening. 

 

   But then everything went sideways.  I don’t know where the author was hearing the parable, nor what any teacher or pastor might have offered by way of explanation.  But the author decided that the value of the parable was to allow us to consider the dichotomy between being a member of a group, a tribe, but also maintaining one’s individuality.  He wondered if the one lost sheep might have wisely wandered off intentionally, looking for his identity in the wide, wide, world.   

   Oh no, no, no, that is terrible!  This is most certainly not Jesus’ point, which two minutes of reading the surrounding context would make clear very quickly.  We see that Eve’s mistake of contemplating the Serpent’s question, “Did God really say?” (Gen 3), continues to plague humanity.  Instead of looking at the plain language and context of what Luke recorded, this author goes off in a self-chosen and unrelated direction.   I stopped the podcast. 

   I’m not saying that the author’s question is not interesting, or that navigating the tension between individual identity and belonging to a group is not challenging, and worth study and reflection.  It is.  But I simply do not have any patience for those who would take up the living and active Word of God, but ignore its plain sense, thereby dressing up their human speculations in Biblical garb.  No thanks.       

    Our parables today, about the one lost sheep and the one lost coin, are not essentially about the nature of sheep and coins, or people.  No, instead, with these parables, Jesus seeks to teach us about the character of God, that is, His own character, the character of His Father and the Holy Spirit.  With these parables, Jesus is responding to the accusing grumbles of the Pharisees and Scribes, who were offended that Jesus was associating, and even sitting down to eat with tax collectors and other sinners.  Jesus’ opponents do not believe He is God made man, but they are offended that any Jewish religious teacher would hang out with obvious sinners.  

   Finally, the question Jesus answers is foundational to saving faith: “What kind of God do we find in and through the Son of Mary, who is also the Son of God?”

   While I was irritated by the author’s approach, listening to the first few minutes of that podcast was not a waste of time, far from it.  Because, as I was deleting the podcast and looking for another, the Holy Spirit put a question to me: What other distorted perceptions do we bring, do I bring, to the parable of the lost sheep? 

   How else might I mishandle God’s Word, and so miss out on, or worse, misrepresent to you the message the LORD is communicating? 

   One way to get a sense of how Christians think about a Biblical account is to survey the artwork used to illustrate it.  The Good Shepherd rescuing the one lost sheep has always been very popular throughout Christian history, certainly in Lutheran circles.  We have a wooden carving of just this image set in a niche in the front of the pulpit over at Our Redeemer. 

   Not always, but often, the lost sheep is portrayed as a little lamb, often quite cute and cuddly.  Maybe the lamb has fallen into a ravine and become stuck.  Or, it is all by itself in a dark and threatening world, covered in mud, bleating helplessly.  And, I think all of these portrayals tend to make me think that the poor, lost sheep is innocent, a pitiful victim, without any responsibility for being lost.  Now, to be sure, one sheep by itself out in the wild is pitiful.  If it is not scared, it should be.  It is clearly in need of rescue.  But, is the lost sheep an innocent little lamb? 

   I do not think the text warrants this conclusion.  Jesus does not say the sheep is a lamb, and He does not proclaim its innocence.  He simply describes the one sheep as lost.  And the comparison for the sheep in the parable is not precious little children, but rather it is tax collectors and other sinners.  Finally, I do not think we should try to draw too many conclusions about this sheep, because the parable is not about the sheep.  Rather, it is about the man, the shepherd, who goes to search for it. 

   Remember the grumbles that led Jesus to tell this parable and that of the Lost Coin; the Pharisees were upset that Jesus ate with these unsavory people.  A self-respecting Pharisee would never do this. 

   But God would.  And God did.  And God still does.  This is the heart of the Good News, the Gospel:  Jesus came not for the righteous, but for the unrighteous.  They are why the Father sent His Son to be born of Mary, and be named Jesus, a name which means “the LORD saves.” 

   There are plenty more reasons to not think the lost sheep is innocent.  The rest of Scripture speaks of sheep with passages like, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,” that is, on the Suffering Servant, (Isaiah 63:6). 

   Through the prophet Ezekiel the LORD warns the fat, strong sheep against bullying the weaker sheep and not letting them get food and water, (Ezekiel 34).  And since the sheep represent us people, there are many explicit statements in the Bible about our nature, that all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, that no one is righteous, no, not one, (Romans 3:10 and 23), that the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth (Genesis 6:5 and 8:21).  

   Now, just because we do not believe the sheep is innocent does not mean we should not feel bad for it.  We can still pity the sheep, pray for it, seek its good, even if every lost sheep is responsible for its own predicament.  We should pity the lost sheep, because, after all, God did.  God’s love and concern for sinners is the motivation behind the entire thrust of the Scripture story, and this should shape how we treat other sinners. 

   We should feel bad for the lost sheep.  But, for our own salvation and for the salvation of others, we must make it clear to every lost sheep that we are all accountable for the fact that we are sinners.  Because complaining that we are not responsible, even protesting with the half-truth that the Devil made me do it, only serves to make us miss the Shepherd’s rescue. 

   It is never pleasant to confess our own sinfulness.  It should never be pleasant to point out the sin of others. (To enjoy accusing others of sin either flows from self-righteousness, like the Pharisees, or it is demonic, learned from the accuser, Satan.  Lord protect us from falling into either of these categories!)  

   Returning to the parable, we should rejoice that it is not about sheep, but rather about the character of God, who seeks to save, despite how we sheep behave, which gets remarkably bad.  As we will sing in one of our communion hymns, “as wayward sheep their Shepherd kill.” 

   And, that was God’s plan!  That the Lamb of God would be slain by sinners, in order to save sinners has been God’s plan since before He created us.

   We rightly marvel at the shocking, radical, amazing nature of the Gospel, that God’s Son suffered and died, not for good people, but for sinners.  Maybe we can get numb to this stupendous fact, (Jesus died for our sins, blah, blah, blah).  But God forbid it, we should not. 

   Lord willing, we will never cease to be amazed that Holy Jesus came into this world to die, for sinners, for His enemies, for us.  Lord willing, we will daily remember that this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and gave His Son as the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice, for our sins. 

   And then, on the third day, He rose from the dead, revealing the new, indestructible life He will share with all His flock.  This is the character of the Good Shepherd.  This is the character of God. 

   God’s desire is to save sinners.  And, there is going to be a party.  The man carrying home the lost sheep calls his friends and neighbors to come rejoice with him.  The woman who dropped everything to sweep the house and find her lost coin then turns around and spends money to throw a party to celebrate.  The economics do not add up in either parable.  By hosting a celebration after finding your lost treasure, you could easily spend more on the party than the value of that recovered treasure.  And that is fine, because these parables are not about earthly, human economics.  No, Jesus is teaching us about the economy of God. 

   Now, I do not mean to say that God acts like an accountant or a businessman, carefully evaluating profit and loss.  But the word economy literally means “the Household Law.”  And in God’s house, the economy works this way: everything is oriented toward salvation, toward rescuing sinners, so they can live in God’s house, forever.  Despite what our sins and sinfulness deserve, the great prize that God is pursuing is you, and you, and me, all of us sinners. 

    And oh what a party it will be when we all get there.  Just as God’s economy works totally differently than our earthly economies, so also, the heavenly celebration will be better than we can imagine.  Think of the best party, the most joyful get-together you have ever experienced, but with no downside:  no upset stomach, no hangover, no regrets from letting your celebration slip into sin.  Think of the very best party.  God is going to give you more.  Heaven will be better.  The Bible speaks of streets of gold and doors of precious gems, a never-ending banquet, and fruit from the Tree of Life that brings healing to the nations.  And that is just the start.

   Pondering our future celebration in heaven can help us recognize and avoid earthly celebrations that are not worthy of Christians.  In ancient Corinth, some Christians were getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper, while others had nothing.  God protect us!  Because we attend earthly parties while still being sinners, we Christians today need to be wise, and careful.  Satan tries to trip us up with earthly joys, tempting us to pursue sinful pleasures, and so turn our backs on the One who is preparing heaven for us.   God help us resist such temptation. 

    We need to be careful.  But, we should also celebrate.  Christians should not be dour and gloomy, trudging our way towards the end.  Sing for joy, you have been rescued!  You were lost, you deserved it, and you had no way of getting back to God’s House.  But Jesus has come after you, and has brought you home. 

   We will not rejoice at everything in this broken world.  There are real problems, real suffering in all our lives.  The contrast between the life we live now and the life we look forward to in heaven will at times bring us to tears.  But we can and we should also rejoice, by enjoying the wonders of God’s creation, and by digging more deeply into the treasures Jesus has given us in His Word, by singing our thanks for His mercy, and by celebrating as the family of God. 

   Such Godly rejoicing is good, right and salutary.  And it also makes us more attractive to souls outside the Body of Christ.  When men and women who are beat down by life see joy in the life of Christians, this can draw them in to hear the Good News.  God grant that the holy joy of being a rescued sheep of God shines through in our lives, and that through our joy, the Spirit will find others to rescue, until all God’s flock is gathered, and our Good Shepherd returns visibly to lead us home, forever and ever, Amen.