Sermon summaries and audio files
The invited guests made light of the invitation, which was foolish, because the first said he had bought a piece of land, not realizing that even the Promised Land itself was but a shadow of the greater reality, the new heavens and new earth of the Kingdom of Heaven; and the second said he had bought five yoke of oxen, not realizing that all things were now ready and no plowing of fields was needed, for Christ Himself is our holy Ox whose yoke is easy and His burden is light; and the third had married a wife, not realizing that even marriage is a shadow of Christ the Heavenly Bridegroom and His Bride the Church. So the invitation went to those who had no means to pay, the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind; and when there was still room the invitation went out to the highways and hedges, into all the world of Gentiles, even to those who have come today to this place at this hour. Audio for the sermon.
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6/6/2024 0 Comments Midweek of Trinity IThe rich man who determined to build bigger barns was not content, for although he had plenty, he was troubled: What shall I do? So it is with dedication to wealth; it never satisfies. And he spoke sweetly to his soul, which one never ought to do, for when God spoke to him he said he was a fool whose soul was being required of him this night. Let us, therefore, to the contrary, speak to our soul as a sinful one in need of daily repentance; for then we will find through no merit on our part that God will speak sweetly to us the words of Christ's mercy and atonement. Audio: Sermon for Midweek of Trinity I.
5/30/2024 0 Comments Midweek of the Trinity OctaveJesus' last words in St Matthew's Gospel represent the first time we heard the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; and this came when the revelation of God was at last complete. In the beginning God gave man dominion and Lordship over His creation, but that was lost when man fell. But now that Jesus has paid that penalty for man and has risen from the dead, that dominion is restored: "All power is given unto me" He says, and He who is Man as well as God restores this to man; and this complete revelation and Gospel sounds forth to all the world to be believed, and all is given to man in the blessed waters of Baptism which contain this trinitarian Name of God. As the Spirit moved over the waters in the beginning, so now the Spirit of God moves over the waters of Baptism and impels us to believe, to come to worship, to receive the Sacrament, and to live Christian lives. Audio for the sermon for Midweek in the Trinity Octave.
5/27/2024 0 Comments The Feast of the Holy TrinityThe stamp of the Trinity has been on Creation since the beginning, but we did not know the full name of God until the revelation was complete in the day of Jesus Christ. Yet in creation, the Spirit moved over the waters, and the creation of man was in the image of God, thereby showing that God has an image. An image is a reflection, like a son is of a father, and so the eternal Son of God is the reflection and image of the Father, as the Spirit moves between them and over the creation. So also we saw God revealing his name to Moses at the bush, and revealing himself as three Men to Abraham and Sarah; and in Isaiah's vision we see he is thrice holy. How unsearchable are his ways! Yet Nicodemus scoffs and cannot receive it because he is indeed old, as he says. The Old Adam must be drowned and die in Baptism and a New Man must be born and arise to live before God forever. What is needed to approach God is humility. So let us, unlike Nicodemus humbly approach Him, especially at the altar, and receive Him there. Our Baptism requires this, and requires that we daily repent, that the old man in us die again, and we daily turn back to God as our Source, our Maker and Redeemer. Audio of the Sermon here.
5/23/2024 0 Comments Midweek of Whitsun OctaveJesus had said that no one lights a lamp and hides it under a bushel, but puts it on a stand and it gives light to all the house. And so his saying is fulfilled when first he died and his disciples hid their light in the upper room for fear of the Jews, until he rose from the dead, appeared to them all, and breathed upon them to give them the Spirit of courage and Apostleship, whereupon they set the light on a stand to lighten the house, that is, the world. So the light shines to day into the darkness as this Gospel of Christ and God's love for the world in him sounds forth even here and now. Sermon for Midweek of the Pentecost Octave, audio.
5/19/2024 0 Comments PentecostThe events that happened on Pentecost were unassailably from God; no one could doubt that who was there. And there was a strong ring of judgment to it, for the tongues that appeared were divided (a reference to judging) and were of fire (another judgment reference). And some mocked, to whom Peter then preached. These were some of the very men who had crucified Jesus, as he makes clear in his sermon; and henceforth all judgment will be done on the basis of whether you are with Jesus or against him; and so they were without excuse: they had crucified the Lord of Glory. So they were cut to the heart, and likely thought they were about to be consigned to hell. How sweet then, must Peter's words to them been, when he said, Repent, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Even for this, for what they did to Jesus, there was forgiveness; for in fact his death was to make atonement even for them, as he had said, "Father, forgive them." Such a brilliant display of divine mercy! And so also for you, O poor miserable sinners, there is divine mercy. For this is the meaning of Pentecost: the spreading of the Gospel of forgiveness and life for Jesus' sake. Sermon for Pentecost, audio (including bits of several languages)
5/16/2024 0 Comments Midweek of ExaudiJesus' high priestly prayer asks that the unity of love he shares with his Father may also be the unity of his own, for in the eternal love of the Godhead the world was created in God's image; yet the world fell, but God's eternal love could not let it fall into perdition, but he came in the flesh to rescue it and to repair the breach by his own sacrifice and resurrection. And the resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate indication of the Father's love for him; yet his resurrection in the flesh is also the ultimate divine indication of the Father's love also for man, now brought into this divine eternal love through Christ. Sermon for Midweek of Exaudi, audio.
The devil has been deceiving the world since the beginning, and our only antidote to his deception is the Apostolic Word of God, the testimony of the Holy Apostles. We see the deception of the devil on Mother's Day in many ways, for the devil deceived the whole world into disparaging or belittling motherhood, first, in teaching men to limit the number of children they have, though Scripture tells us to be fruitful, and speaks of the happiness of a quiver full of children, ever one of which is a blessing. And the demonic and horrendous opposite of motherhood is abortion, we dare not forget. And mothers are also deceived into thinking they must gain their importance from something in the world other than their motherhood. So the devil deceives, and also teaches men to deny that they have sinned or have been deceived, or even to deny God altogether. But still Christ came to redeem this world and to bring us back to himself. And he gave us eyewitnesses to verify his coming, his miracles, his atoning death, and his resurrection. But still the devil deceives people into thinking that we ourselves are his witnesses, when all we can witness to is what is in us. We were not there; we did not see what the witnesses saw, and we cannot testify as they did; so we must heed their testimony, which is also the testimony of the Spirit, the echo of theirs, in the preaching of this Gospel. And when this Gospel is preached, it is by the power and authority of the ascended Christ who sits at God's right hand. And each time it is proclaimed, Satan again falls from heaven, and is crushed and conquered; for he cannot deceive those who instead hear and believe the truth. Sermon for Exaudi, audio.
5/10/2024 0 Comments The Ascension of Our LordLift up your heads, O ye gates, that the King of Glory may come in! - so cried the angels escorting the ascending Lord to the other angels at heaven's doors. But the others replied, confused: who is this king of Glory? to which the first answered, The Lord Strong and Mighty! and a second time they called for the opening, and a second time the others asked, who is he? And the reply came again: The Lord of Hosts! For it was a shocking thing to see: the Lord of Hosts is a Man! See, our Creator and God is Man, and has gained for us the Victory. So let us in heart and mind ascend to this glorious place and know that our Savior has accomplished all to gain for us entry into glory. Sermon for the Ascension, audio.
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