Jesus  receive sinners indeed.  The Pharisees scoffed about this, but Jesus instead invites them to rejoice. For he receives only sinners, namely sinners who repent of their sins. So good it is to know this. There is no sin so great, no life so miserable, that Jesus would not receive. Only let us turn from our sins and repent, every one. For such as these Jesus receives and eats with. The very body he gave into death and  the sacred blood he shed are given now to  us, that he may eat with us and bring us to everlasting salvation. Video of the Third Sunday after Trinity.

The invitation to the great supper was made light of by people whose minds were darkened; they were blind. So also  the people who fail to understand why  the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v Wade is a cause for rejoicing. But blindly they rebel, for they fail to see that a life in the womb is a precious person who should be defended. Blindness abounds, both in that case and in the case of the people who made light of God's gracious invitation to receive his mercy, grace, and forgiveness. But lest we boast, let us remember that the only reason we are not blind is the grace of God, and let us pray that he help us in our weakness, and let us ever be humble and never proud. And let us receive the invitation to the Supper gladly, for it is Christ's true Body and Blood given and shed for us. Sermon for the Second Sunday after Trinity. The video is here.

The rich man's riches could not help him, and he had no use for the one thing that could, the word of God. To  this he said No, when Abraham had said his brothers could hear it and be saved. He said No, evidently because he had been saying No to it all his life. But Lazarus desired it as a crumb which fell from the  rich man's table, and Lazarus was a friend of Abraham, the father of the faithful. Sermon for the Octave of Trinity. The video is here.

The majestic, thrice-holy God ought never be questioned as to his wisdom, yet fools always do this, and sometimes we ourselves. Not only did Nicodemus have  the audacity thus to question Jesus, but even the  righteous Job did, and both earned a rebuke. Thus we also need to repent. And especially because in addition to his glory he is also merciful and kind. The Father in sending the Son sent his other self, so fully invested was he in what Jesus did for us; for the two are one God. And the bond and unity between them is an eternal Love, as eternal as they are; it is  the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. And the mercy of God is  this, that we ourselves are now welcomed into this holy unity, and become partakers of the divine nature. Thus we ought ever bend  the knee and learn to rejoice in his eternal mercies. Sermon for Trinity Sunday. The video is here.

Why must one believe in Christ to be saved? Is not his atonement enough? A mischievous question, though not without an answer. No sin can abide in Paradise, no unrighteousness in the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore the word of reconciliation is as important as the reconciliation itself. The Spirit must proclaim Christ, and a new creation is made by the hearing, and the new creation believes in him. So we daily turn from our sinful selves to our new life in Christ, created anew in Baptism and the word. Sermon for Midweek of Pentecost. The video is here.

The opening verse of today's Gospel is heard in many languages,  then  the entire Gospel in English. On Pentecost, God shows his way, of bringing form and beauty out of formlessness and void, as he had done in the beginning. And when man fell, he would not let evil stand, but rebuilt his creation better than before. So in the fulness of time he entered his creation and was made man. Here is the image of God, and in love he bears the sin of man and pays its penalty,  thereupon rising from the dead. And then after a week of weeks, he sends the Spirit into all the world, as a rushing mighty wind that soon turns to languages, to the Gospel in our own tongue; to bring all nations, and even us, out of our darkness and brokenness, back to himself and to Eden. And it begins with the forgiveness of sins, and the Spirit breathed into us so that we believe and anticipate the glorious fulfillment of all his beautiful recreation at the Last  Day. Sermon  for Pentecost Sunday. The video is here.

All the revelation is complete, and included in  the name of God, which we receive in Baptism. Therefore when we pray we shall receive. For the Father loves us as he loves Jesus, that is, with an eternal love shared between  the members of the Trinity. So let us rejoice, and pray with confidence. Sermon for Rogate Sunday. The video is here.

I am the way, said Jesus. For he and  the Father are One, and therefore salvation is only through him, or rather, to him. For he who has come to Jesus need come no further. Sermon for Midweek of Jubilate. The video is here.

Joy follows sorrow for the people of God, as it did countless times in their history. But especially now, when Jesus rises from the dead. And  their joy no man can take from them; it is an eternal joy. Sermon for Jubilate Sunday.  The video is here.