3 September 2023 - Trinity 13 - Matthew 5:14-16

The parable of the Good Samaritan, which we heard in today’s Gospel from St. Luke, applies primarily to Jesus, and to the mercy he shows to us, who have been deeply wounded and left in the gutter by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus is the Samaritan who picks us up in our utter spiritual weakness, and carries us to the inn - that is, to his church - where we will be taken care of and nurtured, and restored to health and strength.

But a secondary application of this parable is the way in which the compassion of the Good Samaritan in the story sets an example for us, in how we should treat people in need whom we encounter in this world.

This is why many medical centers and elder care facilities are named the “Good Samaritan Hospital,” or the “Good Samaritan Home.” These are places where Christians, motivated by their grateful faith, do good for suffering and afflicted people, in the name of the great Good Samaritan who has done good for them in saving them from sin and death.

Another passage of Holy Scripture, in which Jesus speaks more directly about the importance of good works like this in the lives of Christians, is Matthew chapter 5, beginning at verse 14. Here he says to his disciples, and through them to us:

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

The Bible teaches that we are saved from our sins only by the grace of God, and not by our own human effort. Our relationship with God is restored and maintained by the work of God: in his Son’s death and resurrection for us; and in the conversion and regeneration accomplished by his Spirit within us.

Our peace with God, and our right standing before him, are gifts from God, which he offers to us in his Word and Sacraments, and which we receive by faith alone. St. Paul writes, in his Epistle to the Ephesians:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

But while we are saved by faith alone, the faith that saves us is never alone. A true faith, which is attached to the living God, is also by necessity a living faith, which bears fruit in a life of good works.

The salvation does not depend on the good works. But if the salvation is real, and has really been received, the works will inevitably follow, as a testimony to the genuineness of the faith.

The Lutheran ethicist Robert Benne has written: “We do not believe in works-righteousness. But we do believe that righteousness works.”

When we have been given a right standing before God by God, and when the righteousness of Christ has been bestowed upon us in the gospel, that divine righteousness does change us. The righteousness of Christ, which we receive by faith, imprints the character and image of Christ upon us, so that with his help and guidance we will then do as Christ did, and live as Christ lived.

Indeed, as God’s people “we have the mind of Christ,” as St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians teaches. And Paul reminds us in his Epistle to the Colossians:

“You have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”

To be sure, our good works are never as good as they should be. Our imitation of Christ is never as thorough and consistent as it should be.

The old sinful nature is still in us, and works at cross-purposes to the influences of the Holy Spirit. But Christ is also in us, and in spite of our human weaknesses, he does work through us.

By the mercy of God, your standing before him, and his acceptance of you, depend on the righteousness of Christ, with which you were cloaked in your baptism, and which is credited to your faith.

In Christ, God does not evaluate you, and judge you, on the basis of your flawed and imperfect works. If he did, you would always come up short, because your “good works” - which are never perfectly good - always come up short.

But even with their flaws and limitations, the works of love that flow from the Christian do indeed impact the world for good. And the righteousness of Christ, which covers over our personal imperfections in God’s eyes, also covers over the imperfections of our works in God’s eyes.

Therefore God, with a certain feeling of Fatherly pride and joy, approves of these works, and does indeed call them good works. He notices them and is pleased by them - not because of what they are in themselves, but because they are imbued with the righteousness of his only-begotten Son - through whom we have been adopted as his children.

As an aside: In a typical human family, children seek the approval of their father. When such approval was not forthcoming - either because the father was absent, or was unable or unwilling to be the kind of father God called him to be - this can leave deep and enduring wounds.

But God’s approval of us, and of our works - his Fatherly, loving, and accepting approval - can heal those wounds. And God’s forgiveness in Christ, with the effect it has on the heart of a forgiven sinner, allows a wounded child-turned-adult - in turn - to forgive the human failings of a human father, and to be free.

Coming back to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, we read:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Yet God is not the only one who notices the good works of the Christian. They will stand out in the world in which we live, and will be noticed by other people, too. Again, Jesus says:

“You are the light of the world. ... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

As we closely study this phrase, and reflect upon it, there are three points in particular that I want to explore with you, as we unfold the Lord’s words to us.

First, our acts of kindness, and our words of encouragement, will make a positive difference in the lives of our neighbors. Our honesty and generosity will get the attention of the people around us, and have an impact on them.

But Jesus also describes the specific kind of impact that our good works are supposed to have. Ideally, when our works of love are performed in love, they will not be outwardly disfigured and corrupted by human pride - as if we were saying, “Hey, look at me; notice my noble deed.”

Rather, when a “good work” truly is a good work - as God defines it - the attitude that properly accompanies the work is a self-effacing attitude. We don’t seek personal praise and recognition, but we are focused fully on meeting the needs of the person who is being helped.

St. Paul speaks to the attitude that a Christian is to have as he helps and serves, in his Epistle to the Philippians:

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

And Jesus did not say, “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify you.” He said: “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

We are most pleased when our way of life draws the attention of people to the God whom we serve, and not to us. We don’t want people to say, “What a great person he is, for doing that.” Instead, we want them to say, “What a great God he has, who inspired him to do that.”

But even that is not the full extent of what we should be concerned about, in regard to the impact that our works have on people. We are not satisfied - and Jesus is not satisfied - merely with a recognition from others that there is a religious motive behind our actions.

There are other, non-Christian religions in the world, that also teach the existence of a God in heaven who expects his followers on earth to behave in certain noticeable ways. We’ve all heard of “Sharia Law,” haven’t we?

And so, as our second point, that’s why it’s important to pay attention to the specific and uniquely Christian term Jesus uses, in describing the God who is to be glorified in our good works.

He does not simply say, “so that they may glorify God who is in heaven.” He says, “so that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

When you live in this world in a way that pleases God, it is not an oppressive and demanding God whom you are thereby introducing to the people who notice how you live. When people see your good works, and when they sense the attitude and motivation that accompany those works, they should not get the impression that you are slavishly “following orders” from a cruel and heartless taskmaster.

They should, rather, be able to see that you are joyfully following the lead of a loving and protective God, who is not remote and distant from this world, but who sent his Son into the world, to save it from the misery of sin, and from the fear of death.

They should be able to sense that you are cheerfully following the lead of a compassionate God, who has filled you with strength and wisdom, and with an inner peace that the world cannot give.

The impression that Jesus wants people to get from your good works - and from your demeanor as you perform them - is that your relationship with God is the relationship of a beloved child to his gracious heavenly Father. And he wants people to sense that you take great pleasure in doing what pleases your Father.

In the context of what the Lord teaches us today, our works are not to draw the thoughts of others down, to spiritual discouragement and fear of divine anger. Our works are to draw the thoughts of others up, in the hope that the marvelous salvation that we so obviously enjoy, may be available to them, too!

And it is available to them, and to everyone. When we have people’s attention in this way, we can then share with them the message of Christ - so that they can know that God does indeed want to be their Father, to forgive their sins, and to include them also in the family of faith.

The good works that God has prepared for us to do, are welcomed opportunities to show our love for our neighbor - and to show God’s love for our neighbor. They are not matters of drudgery and joyless obligation, to be avoided whenever possible.

If that is the way we think about the good works that God wants us to do, and if our works are not impelled by love as they should be, people will notice that, too. And they will then not be prompted to give glory to our Father in heaven, if they see us cheerlessly “going through the motions” of outward works that we are inwardly reluctant to be doing.

And if that’s the way you think about the good works that God wants you to do, it indicates that you have a spiritual problem. It indicates that you do not actually know God as your own Father.

This leads us, then, to consider the third important point that Jesus is making. He does not speak only of the Father who is in heaven. He says that people will give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

That’s a personal and intimate kind of relationship. The relationship of a child to his own father is - or is supposed to be - a relationship of humble trust and warm confidence.

If you don’t know God in this way, as your own heavenly Father; or if you’re not sure that this is the kind of relationship you have with God, it’s not time yet for you to be thinking about the good works that Jesus wants his disciples to do for others.

You need to be thinking about the good works that Jesus did for you: the supremely good work of living a perfect life in your place; the wonderfully good work of offering his life as a perfect sacrifice for your sin; and the gloriously good work of rising from the dead, whereby he defeated Satan, and broke the chains of Satan’s power over you.

When Jesus forgives you, he fills you with his Spirit; he joins himself to you and begins to live in you; and he brings you into a mystical union with his Father, so that, in him, God the Father becomes God your Father.

As a child of God, the love of Christ abides with you, and will naturally and inevitably spill over from you, into the lives of others. God invites you to know all of this, and to receive all of this, by faith.

All of us, whether our faith is weak or strong, and whether our love toward others is weak or strong, can and should always be thinking about the good works that Jesus did for us; and that Jesus still does for us.

Jesus continues to come to us, to do the “good work” of forgiving our many failures to do the good works that we are called to do; and to reconcile us to the God from whom we have distanced ourselves through our disobedience. Jesus continues to speak to us his words of pardon for our many sins, as he says, “I forgive you all your sins.”

And he works also to renew us in our love for him - and for others - by bestowing on us the most profound pledges of his love for us: his own body and blood. On the altar of his cross, Jesus gave his body and blood into death for us. And at the altar of his church, Jesus now gives his body and blood to us, for our life and salvation.

What a spectacular “good work” this is! And when Jesus performs it for us in his Holy Supper, we do indeed give glory to his Father who is in heaven: who sent his Son into the world to be our Savior. In thanksgiving we give glory to the One who is now also our Father who is in heaven.

Whenever Jesus comforts us and teaches us; whenever Jesus fills us again with his Spirit and his peace; and whenever he renews our faith and enlivens our love - for him and for others - we are reminded of what marvelous good works our Savior has done for us, and is continuing to do in us.

And then, as we remember, we once again gratefully hear, and joyfully embrace, what Jesus says to us today:

“You are the light of the world. ... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Amen.

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10 September 2023 - Trinity 14 - Galatians 5:16-24

The primary thrust of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians is summarized in this passage from chapter 2 of that letter, where the apostle writes:

“We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

Being right with God - in time and in eternity - does not come from any righteousness that we might produce through obeying the law of God. Indeed, because of the sinful corruption of our human nature, we cannot obey the law of God as God would demand that it be obeyed - fully and from the heart.

Instead, we become acceptable to God through the righteousness of Christ, who obeyed the law perfectly for us; and who offered himself as an atoning sacrifice for us - and for all our failures to obey the law.

This perfect righteousness - the only righteousness that counts before God - is given and bestowed in the promises of the gospel; and is received, and credited to us, when those promises are believed.

Building on this central truth of God’s grace toward fallen man, in chapter 3 of the epistle, Paul also explains that it is the Holy Spirit, working through the gospel, who creates saving faith in us. And Paul comforts us in the knowledge that we who believe in God’s only-begotten Son, are embraced by God in love, are adopted into his family, and become heirs of his kingdom. Paul writes:

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

All of this changes our standing with God, and our relationship with God. In Christ God is not angry at us because of our sins, as our guilty consciences would expect; but he is reconciled to us, is gracious toward us, and accepts us in his Son. By faith we are in Christ, and are clothed with his righteousness.

But not only is our standing with God changed through faith in the gospel. We are changed - on the inside.

We are in Christ, and are accounted righteous before God on the basis of the righteousness of Christ. But also, Christ, and the Spirit of Christ, are in us. This is an important part of what Paul is talking about in today’s reading, from Galatians chapter 5.

The sinful nature with which we came into this world - which we share with all members of the human race - remains within us, for as long as we remain in this world. To be sure, conversion to Christ does bring with it a new nature. But it does not expel or obliterate the old nature.

Within each Christian the old nature and the new nature are, as it were, in a fight to the death with each other. Inside each Christian, the old nature, with destructive temptations and selfish impulses - what St. Paul often refers to as “the flesh” - is in a constant struggle for dominance and influence with the Holy Spirit, who has planted the new Christlike nature within us through the gospel, and who inhabits that new nature within us.

God’s Spirit energizes and enlivens that new nature with new instincts and new impulses that are in harmony with God’s goodness and purity. God’s Spirit liberates our will, so that we desire good and pure things. God’s Spirit enlightens our mind, so that we think about good and pure things.

St. Paul accordingly appeals to the Galatians - and through them to all Christians - to be who we are in Christ. You have been reconciled to God by faith. You have been graciously endowed with the life of God.

Therefore be what you are. Live according to the new reality that now defines your existence as children and heirs of God. Do not live as enemies of God, so as to separate yourself from him: forsaking everything he has done for you, given to you, and promised you.

St. Paul admonishes us not to run away from this ongoing struggle, and not to surrender to the forces of the sinful flesh that are attacking us from within. He writes:

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

And then Paul lists and describes some key and common examples of the “lust of the flesh,” which, if indulged in, will ruin your relationships, leave you bereft of all joy and contentment, and ultimately destroy your soul. He says:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Some of these things are self-evident in their meaning for us. Others might not be.

“Fornication” is a translation of the Greek term “porneia.” It includes everything that the English language describes with any term that has the root word “porn” in it, as well as the behaviors and attitudes that the term “fornication” usually calls to mind.

The Greek word translated as “lasciviousness” in our Bible version has a range of meanings and applications. None of them are good.

In other translations this term is rendered as sensuality, debauchery, licentiousness, promiscuity, shameful deeds, depravity, and lustfulness. It means living for the fulfillment of your base and animalistic cravings, with no human respect for yourself or others, no discipline or self-control, and no standards of decency.

The word “sorcery” is a translation of the Greek term “pharmakeia.” The most literal English equivalent would be pharmacology, but in the first century this term did not usually refer to something so innocuous as running a drug store. It was the term used to describe the dark deeds of those who performed chemical abortions on pregnant women.

But notice that some of the things on this list are not what might be thought of as “really bad” vices or wicked behaviors: contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, envy. Still, they flow out of the sinful nature. And these vices and behaviors are not innocent or harmless.

They offend and anger God. They poison your mind and twist your will. They also damage relationships, and hurt other people. None of them gets you closer to God. All of them lead you away from God.

Indeed, St. Paul urgently warns us against provoking one another and envying one another, rather than serving one another in love. He’s not just talking about sexual sins. He’s talking about being uncaring and unkind.

In your own life, as you continually take account of yourself - and of your thoughts, words and deeds - never surrender to these “works of the flesh”: both the big ones, and the small ones. Repent of them.

Repent of them every day - if need be, every moment of every day. Live in repentance. Daily drown the old nature with this repentance.

And repentance means actually turning away from these sinful attitudes and actions, hating them, and really and truly not wanting them to be a part of your life any more.

And then, every day - and every moment of every day - believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Daily rise in him, to the new life he gives.

St. Peter told Cornelius and his household: “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

St. John writes in his First Epistle: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And elsewhere in the Epistle to the Galatians, the apostle Paul comforts us with these words:

“The Lord Jesus Christ...gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever.”

God, in his holiness, threatens damnation, and exclusion from his kingdom, for those who love their sin, and who hate him and his goodness. But God, in his love for sinners like us, would rather not have to follow through on this threat.

The Book of Ezekiel quotes God saying this: “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.”

Turning from wickedness and living, in this context, means living within the forgiving grace of God: which covers over all our sins with the righteousness of Christ; and which soothes and comforts our troubled consciences.

And in this context, turning from wickedness and living, also means living out a life that is marked by the fruit of the Spirit, who dwells within us. St. Paul goes on to tell us in today’s text that

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

The “fruit of the Spirit” is not a matter of superficial modifications in outward behavior, while the inner thoughts and attitudes of the heart are just as wicked as ever. The fruit of the Spirit also does not involve virtues that we cultivate within ourselves, or good works that we perform, so as to earn God’s favor, or God’s approval.

We already have God’s favor and approval for the sake of Christ, on the basis of his obedience to God’s will for us.

But as we in this way have God’s favor and approval, so too do we have God’s Spirit. And God’s Spirit is never dead and inactive. If he is within you, he is alive within you. And if he is alive, he is bearing fruit, just as a living and healthy tree naturally and necessarily bears fruit.

The fruit of the Spirit that Paul lists here do indeed cause us to be ever more like Christ: in our own personal temperament; and in how we think about and treat other people.

There’s something in the conscience of every normal person that wants to have these character traits, and to grow in them. But remember that these character traits are the fruit of the Spirit.

They are not manufactured by human discipline and manipulations, and then externally pasted onto our lives. Rather, the fruit of the Spirit flow naturally from the Holy Spirit who indwells us.

The way to grow in these things, then, is to grow in our union with the Holy Spirit; and through him, in our union with the entire Holy Trinity. We recall an interesting thing that Jesus said in St. Luke’s Gospel:

“I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

This passage is not providing us with a magic formula for compelling God to give us earthly riches or physical health. It is describing the humble prayer that a Christian prays, asking God the Father, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, to give us his Holy Spirit: to send his Spirit to us continually; to renew his presence in our hearts, and to strengthen his influence in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

God will always hear such a godly prayer of faith. God will always grant such a request.

We are, in effect, asking for the Holy Spirit to be given to us whenever we ask God to forgive our sins: in Holy Baptism, in Holy Absolution, in his Holy Supper, or in our meditation on Holy Scripture. It is the Holy Spirit who delivers this great blessing to us from the throne of God, and from the cross of Christ, through the means of grace.

Jesus said, in St. John’s Gospel: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

And we are, in effect, asking for the Holy Spirit to be given to us, whenever we ask God to give us a forgiving heart toward those who have hurt or offended us; or whenever we ask God to strength us in our weakness, to increase our wisdom and understanding, or to renew our trust in him and our reliance upon him.

It is the Holy Spirit who works these things within us. St. Paul writes in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians: “The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

And, we are quite literally asking for the Holy Spirit to be given to us - so that he can cleanse us, teach us, lead us, and guide us - when we sing hymns, and chant prayers, like this:

O Spirit blest, we Thee entreat: O grant us that we ever
With heart and soul, as it is meet, May serve our Lord and Savior,
And Him confess till our last breath, As Lord of life and Lord of death
And give Him praise and honor.

Our hearts let new-created be, Our walk make pure and holy.
Help us offense and sin to flee, And ever serve God solely,
So that our faith in Christ, our Lord, May prove itself in deed and word
Before the world about us.

What we ask for, God gives. His Spirit, with all his gifts and graces, comes to us, and stays with us.

And in a deeper sense, God gives even before we ask, which is what enables us to call out to him in the first place.

He gives to us his Spirit and all other blessings, because of his own mercy, because of the merits of his Son’s saving work for us, and because of the great love that he bears toward us and all men, even before we love him. Amen.