Offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice

Thanksgiving is fundamental to and distinctive of the Christian faith and life.  It is of the first priority, in so far as your words and actions are concerned, as a child of God in Christ.  For it is with thanksgiving to God that you confess the faith, and pray, and live in love for your neighbor.

Such thanksgiving on your part corresponds to the gracious providence and good gifts of God: For what He has already done and given to you; and for what He has promised; and also for His loving discipline, as a father for his son, His call to repentance, and His forgiveness of all your sins.

In mercy and in love for you, He catechizes you to live by faith in His Word: to live by everything that proceeds from His mouth, as the Father speaks to you by His Son, and as the Son breathes His life-giving Holy Spirit upon you by His Gospel.  He teaches you and trains you to recognize and receive His gifts with thanksgiving, and so also to call upon His Name, and to wait upon Him in hope, looking to Him in expectation of good things.  He calls you and guides you to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments, and to give yourself in love to and for your neighbor.  This is how you live and multiply and possess the good land which the Lord has pledged and provided.

At the same time, there is a leprosy (of body and soul) that cuts you off and keeps you out, which reduces you and renders you impotent, and which puts you to death.  It separates you from God and man, from Church and state, from house and home, from family, friends, and neighbors.

It is the leprosy of sin, which not only lacks but actively opposes faith and love and thanksgiving.  It brings about doubt and despair, on the one hand, and yet promotes prideful arrogance on the other hand.  It drives (and is driven by) selfishness, self-reliance, and self-righteousness, which is utterly futile, because all this self-serving ambition achieves nothing but anxiety, anger, and further alienation: not only from those whom you are called to love and serve, but likewise from everyone who would love and care for you.  That is what the leprosy of sin accomplishes.  It does not rise up in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, but it erupts in outbursts of rage, either verbally or bodily violent, and it vents itself in terrible temper tantrums, in cursing, swearing, lying and deceiving.

There is no happiness, peace or rest in this leprous condition, but only desperate want, and deep sorrow, bitter loneliness, and relentless death.  Existing, but as good as dead, and always dying.

Until the Lord Jesus enters in to save you, to rescue and redeem you, to cleanse and sanctify you.

He comes to you, and makes His way to you, and He addresses Himself to your deep and desperate need.  He confronts you with His presence, with His Word, and you are met with His holiness vs. your uncleanness.  And, to be sure, He disciplines you, humbles you, and calls you to repentance; only not to shame you, discourage you, or punish you, but to catechize you, and to bring you from death to life, from the desert wasteland into Paradise, and from the outside into His house.

He draws near, this Lord Jesus, not only to expose and reveal your need, but also to provide all that you need.  He draws near to you, that you might draw near to Him.  He has gone outside the wall and gate, in order to find you, the outcast, and to gather you back into the holy city, to the place where His Name and Glory dwell, and really to enfold you to Himself.  He does not recoil in fear and loathing from your unclean flesh.  He does not retreat and run away from your blemished body of sin and death.  But He lays hold of you and embraces you with His own.

He breaks your heart of stone, yes, but so that you might recognize and receive Him as your God in the flesh.  So does He speak to you in love, and by His Word He opens your lips to call upon His Name and to show forth His praise: to confess what He has spoken, to worship and glorify Him by faith in His Word, and to give Him thanks for all His tender mercies and great salvation.

With all of this, He is even yet far more, and He does far more.  He is your merciful and great High Priest.  Therefore, it is not that He ignores your leprosy; nor does He merely remedy its outward symptoms; but He actually takes your leprosy of heart and mind, of body and soul, upon Himself, into His own skin, into His flesh and blood; and so does He cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

He sacrifices Himself to atone for all your sins, and He reconciles you to His God and Father in Himself.  He establishes the way of real life and true righteousness in Himself, in His own body and life as true Man.  He lives and dies for you in the way of faith and love, which He in turn gives to you, and makes your own, with His Word of the Gospel: His Word of forgiveness and peace.

He gives Himself to you, as He has given Himself for you, and He also brings you out of death into life, and to the Father, in and with His own Body of flesh and blood.  Which is to say that, He is not only the Priest and the Sacrifice, but His Body is the true and eternal Temple of God, whereby God dwells with you, and you abide with God in Him.

So, then, here is what that looks like, and what it means for you: Your worship and prayer, your praise and thanksgiving, are focused and centered in Christ Jesus.  Not abstractly or randomly, but in the hearing of His Word to you, in the receiving of His Body given and His Blood poured out.

He Himself, who is the primary Liturgist, the true Preacher and Celebrant of the Divine Service, He is your prayer, your thanksgiving, your living sacrifice, and your sweet-smelling incense, who offers and gives Himself to God for you, and who is received by the Father on your behalf.

He is your faith and love, your righteousness and holiness, your peace and hope, your joy and happiness, your confidence and courage, your compassion and charity.  Which is both why and how you now live in love for your neighbor; especially for your fellow Christians, your brothers and sisters in Christ, but also for those who are estranged, who are still wandering on the outside.

You are set free from the shackles of your leprosy.  You are no longer shut out and barred from the house, from the city, from the good land of the Lord your God, but you are at home with Him in His Church, within the Body of Christ, your Savior.  You belong to the household and family of God; you are a citizen of His Kingdom; and you are safe and secure in the Mighty Fortress of His beloved Son.  Here you are well-fed and well-provided.  You lack no good thing, nor shall you.  No matter what you suffer in the wilderness, you shall not die, but you will live (forever and ever).

Therefore, as God, your dear Father in Christ Jesus, has given you this body and life on earth, you are free and able to give this body and life to and for others, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection and the life everlasting in body and soul.  For you already know the good land which the Lord has sworn to you, by His own Name, and you know that He will surely bring you into it.

In truth, in the Body of Christ, you have already entered into that good land, and you live and abide in it, by grace through faith in His Gospel.  For, already, Christ is yours, and He is here with you, with the same crucified and risen Body that makes heaven the Paradise it is.  His Church on earth flows with milk and honey from that Cross (the tree of life in the midst of the garden), and she is wealthy with the jewels and precious gems of His Passion: with the treasures of His Gospel, the water from His side, His Body and His Blood, the outpouring of His Spirit, His Holy Absolution.

The beauty and the glory of it all, for now, is hidden and mysterious, in, with, and under the Cross; and it so often seems so elusive, as though you will never be able to find it or reach it.

    How long must you live in the wilderness?

But now, wait upon the Lord.  He shall open His hand to satisfy all of your needs and desires, and He shall give you true Meat and Drink indeed, in due season.  Even now, He gives to you this sacred Manna and spiritual Drink, which are His own true Body, and His holy and precious Blood.

By this Food, by this Meal, this Feast, you lack nothing at all, but Christ feeds you with Himself — yes, even here and now — that you might also abide with Him, both here in time, and hereafter in eternity.  For as surely as you eat this Body and Blood of the One who sacrificed Himself for you, who died and rose again, who ascended to the Right Hand of the Father and ever lives to pray and intercede for you, so do you dwell in the Lord’s House, in His good land, forever and ever.

    In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The Green Tree of Paradise

When you see these things happening, know that summer is near.  For now the Tree of Life is green, its branches heavy with the Fruits of Christ; its wood is wet with the waters of His Baptism, and with His Blood, poured out for you and for the many.

He brings the whole Tithe of His Body and Life into the Holy Place.  So shall His Father surely open the heavens to pour out a blessing upon His beloved Son, and upon all who belong to Him.

He does not save Himself, but He has numbered Himself with sinners in order to save them.  He has taken His stand with all the sons and daughters of Adam, in order to redeem them from sin and death, and to bring them safely into the peace and rest and everlasting life of His Kingdom.

He does not save Himself, because He trusts in His God and Father to provide for Him, to satisfy Him with all that He needs forever, and to save Him from out of death.  Therefore, Jesus lives by faith, and He prays at all times and in all place, and He proceeds in love — for His Father, for His friends, but also for His foes, and for all His neighbors — even to His death upon the Cross.

It is for this that He was baptized, and for this that He has entered His holy city; that He might be enthroned upon His Cross, and reign in love over all the nations with His Word of the Gospel.  Here, then, He enters into Glory through His suffering on the way of sorrows.

The rulers of this world, and their soldiers of fortune, “just doing their job” in ignorance, and all those who die in their sins — none of them are able to recognize or know what is happening here.  You are in the same boat, and under the same condemnation, until you are brought to the fear of the Lord and to faith in His royal clemency.

You gaze upon the spectacle of the Cross, and perhaps you also bear its weight and violence, but it appears to you a tragedy, a farce, and a lost cause.  You mock and ridicule the Lord, in order to hide and protect yourself in your own miserable self-righteousness.  Or you taunt and heckle and cajole, as though you could spite God Himself with your bravado.  And, still, you die.  Which is what you rightly deserve for your misdeeds, and for all that you have failed to do and accomplish.  It is what you deserve for presuming to be your own god, and for living unto yourself.

What, then?  Is there no hope?  Must you die in your sins and be damned for your transgressions?  No.  It is not too late.  But, do not kid yourself.  It is that serious.  Therefore, even now, repent.  Return to the Lord your God, and find that He has turned toward you in mercy.

Behold the Man: The King of the Jews.  The promised Seed of Abraham.  The serpent-stomping Seed of the Woman.  Great David’s greater Son.  Here is the true Solomon, the Prince of Peace, who shall be seated at the Right Hand of His Father henceforth and forevermore.

He has done nothing wrong.  Nor is He undone by the wrong that others do to Him.  But, why, then, is He there upon the Cross?  He suffers and dies, not for any sins of His own, but for the sins of the world.  In this you know the Lord’s compassion.  By His Cross you are called and brought to repentance, and to the prayer of faith.

The other criminal, crucified with Christ, confesses what is true, for you as for him; and he prays, as you also are taught to pray, that God’s Kingdom would come, and that He would forgive.

In the face of death, it sounds so feeble, so futile.  The criminals still suffer and die, on the right hand and on the left.  There’s no time left for them to mend their ways.  They cannot make up for all of their past mistakes.  Nor can you undo the wrong that you have done.  You cannot take back the harmful words that you have spoken.  You cannot stop or even slow down the ravages of time upon your mortal flesh.

And yet, the Father vindicates the Son who serves Him.  For He is the Chosen, whom He loves, and He is well-pleased with Him.  So shall the Father raise this same Jesus from the dead, and every knee in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, shall bow in reverence before Him.  Even now, by the way of the Cross, He comes into His Kingdom.

Not for nothing does He do this.  Nor for His own advantage and benefit.  But in mercy, and for love’s sake, He suffers, dies, and rises, that He might be the Firstborn of many brethren.  In Him, the Father has been pleased to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through His Blood on the Cross, and raising Him from the dead for the justification of the ungodly.

He has made things right, in order to save you.  Behold, He makes all things new.  His Body is the Firstfruits of the Resurrection, that you might belong to His harvest, to be with Him where He is.

Do not weep for Him, dear child of God, as though He were tragically defeated, done for, and done away with.  Not at all!  But hear and believe His Word, and call upon His Name, and find in Him alone your salvation, both now and forever.  For He and His Sacrifice are your Redemption from sin and death, and His Resurrection is your Righteousness unto the life everlasting.

The Tree of His Cross is green and ripe with His own Body and His Blood, given and shed for you.

Suffering and death do not and cannot destroy Him; rather, from these He brings forth abundant fruit for the life of the world.

If your tree, then, is dry — and you are “ripe,” not with fruit, but for kindling and fire — by all means, repent, and return to the waters of His Baptism.  Repent, and be baptized, you and your children; or, remember that you are baptized, and what that means.  Be drowned in the death of Christ, that you may rise with Him in His Resurrection, and live with Him in His Kingdom.  Weep and mourn, not for Him, but for your sin; and rejoice in the Gospel, the forgiveness of His Cross.

It is by the Cross that He separates the righteous from the wicked, and spares those who fear the Lord and call upon His Name.  It is by the Cross of Christ that God the Fathers calls you out of darkness into Light, and transfers you through death and the grave into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.  For Christ is the Head of His Body, the Church, and where He is, there His members also shall abide in Peace.

Today, even here and now, and in the neverending Day of His Resurrection, you shall be with Him; for here He is with you.

Beloved, He remembers you: “Take, eat; this is My Body, which is given for you.”  “Drink from this, My Cup, the New Testament in My Blood, which is poured out for you.”  Here is the forgiveness of all your trespasses and transgressions.  And here His Kingdom comes to you, by His Word and Spirit, that you might enter with Him into His Royal Garden.

For here are the branches of His Cross, His Tree of Life, in the very midst of Paradise.  The wood of this Altar is alive with the Gospel of Christ.  It bears for you the life-giving Fruits of His Cross.

Here behold your King, who saves you.  That is true.

The Leaves of His Tree Are for Your Healing

Chin up, beloved.  Do not be downcast or dismayed.  Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid.  By the Cross of Christ Jesus, your Redemption is at hand; and He Himself draws near to you with His own Body of flesh and blood, crucified and risen from the dead.

For you and all the nations, He has suffered and atoned for the curse of sin and death.  Not only that, but, now then, by and with His Word and the preaching of it, He distributes and bestows the life-giving fruits of His Cross: That is to say, by the Gospel of His Cross, He forgives you all your sins; He rescues you from every evil of body and soul; and He redeems you from death and the grave.  By this Word of His, which shall never pass away, you have eternal safety, peace, and rest, in and with the Lord your God; and so do you live forever the divine Life of faith and love in the New Creation of Christ’s own glorious Body.

Receive and trust this Word of Christ and of His Cross, in the sure and certain hope of His Resurrection.  He shall not disappoint you.  As He enters into Glory through His suffering, so shall you also enter into His Glory, with Him, through His Cross and Passion.

In fact, His Cross and Crucifixion are the central fulcrum upon which the whole Creation, the heavens and the earth, and your life, also, all hinge and depend.

The Cross of Christ is the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden, which, even now, bears good fruits after its own kind: both for you, and in you, unto the life everlasting.  Its leaves cover your nakedness and heal your infirmities.  Its fruits feed and nourish you, and quench your thirst, and satisfy the deepest hunger of your body and your soul.

But it is only by the Word of Christ, by the teaching and preaching of His Apostles, that you are able to discern the Truth of His Cross; and only by the Sign of His Cross that you are able to keep your bearings and endure the great tribulation which falls upon the whole earth.

For all of Creation is under the curse of sin and death, on account of man’s rebellion against God.  It has been subjected to futility; not without hope, but its hope is found only in Christ Jesus; in the sacred Sacrifice of His Body and His Blood, crucified and risen again; and in His Word of the Cross.

Every other help and hope to which man clings will pass away, from the heights of the earth and heavens, right down to the nitty-gritty details of your own life on earth.  You must be disabused of all those false hopes and perishing allurements, be they great or small; yet, without giving yourself over to doubt or despair, to disbelief, dissipation, or drunkenness.

No, do not despair, and do not be distracted by the anxieties and worries of this old world.  Neither attempt to forget your troubles nor drown your sorrows in the addictions of this life, no matter what form those cares and occupations may masquerade themselves in.  Rather, being put to death by the Word of the Cross, so shall you be raised up to newness of life.

Ironically, this Cross of Christ is the Springtime of His Love.  His Cross is the sure and certain Sign of His Resurrection, and the drawing near of His endless Summer in the Kingdom of God.  For the Resurrection of your dear Lord Jesus follows more surely upon His Crucifixion, death and burial, than the rising of the sun in the eastern sky.  The day will come when that sun shall not come up tomorrow, because there will no longer be any tomorrow.  But, by the suffering and death of Christ, the Son of God, the Sun of Righteousness now rises upon you; not with scorching heat and the burning fire of destruction, but with healing in His wings.

It does seem odd, though, doesn’t it?  As though the Lord has confused the seasons of His own Creation, or mixed His metaphors like a novice author: For He compares the shaking of the heavens and the sufferings of the whole earth to the rising of the sap, and the budding of new leaves, and the early fruits of spring.

Isn’t that strange?  Should He not, rather, have compared the destruction and death of this world to the falling of the autumn leaves, and to the onset of winter with its waning days, thick darkness, and sometimes deadly cold?  So it would seem to us, if we evaluate our life in this world by our feelings and experience.  Does not the Cross bring suffering and death?

It’s easy to consider and discuss it all dispassionately, if you are simply contemplating the trees and their leaves; especially if you do so from the comfort of your cozy living room.

But Jesus is now speaking of your life and death on earth, and of the cosmic catastrophes that you read about, and hear about, and see depicted on the news, which cause you to gasp and tremble, and, hopefully, to repent of your sins, and to call upon the Name of the Lord.

When people hate you and mistreat you, make fun of you, and take advantage of you.  When you and your loved ones get sick, suffer, and die.  When the whole world is falling apart.  When even churches burn to the ground and crumble into dust.  When towering ocean waves sweep over countries, and strong winds blow them away into the depths of the sea.

Are these not fallen leaves and barren trees, bespeaking nothing else but death and decay?

Except that your dear Lord Jesus says, “No, do not be dismayed.”  Do not lose heart or give up hope.  These tribulations are new green leaves and the budding fruits of spring.  Summer is at hand.

Because everything has been redefined by the Cross of Christ.

In His death is Redemption and newness of life.  He has made Atonement for His whole Creation, and for you, His dearly beloved.  As He is lifted up in death upon the Cross, He raises you up, and He lifts up your head to behold His Resurrection.  His crucified and risen Body is the First Fruits of the New Creation.  In His holy and precious Blood, poured out for you and for the many, is forgiveness of sins, and everlasting Life, and eternal Salvation.

The leaves of His Tree bear the sunshine of His Gospel and the waters of Life for the healing of the nations; and they are for the healing of your heart and mind, your body, soul, and spirit.

The Fruits of His Tree — His Body given, and His Blood poured out for you — these are the Feast of Paradise, with which He feeds you, even now, in the midst of sin and death.  These Fruits of His Tree strengthen you, and keep you steadfast in His Word and faith, unto the Resurrection of your body and the life everlasting of your body and your soul.

You are preserved, and you possess your life, by His Word, by His preaching of the Gospel of His Cross.  He is your Strength and your Song, for He has become your Salvation.  And He is faithful; He is steadfast and true.  He has endured all your suffering and death, and He has persevered in the faith and love of God.

He entrusted Himself, His body and life, into the hands of His own God and Father, and His Father raised this same Jesus from the dead.  So does He raise you up, day by day, with His forgiveness of your sins, and at the last, in Glory, in His own Resurrection from the dead.

So shall it be, that, by His Cross, even though you die, yet shall you live forever; and not even a hair of your head shall ever perish.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

No Surprise, or Surprisingly So

When I view and treat others as though they had nothing to offer, it is no surprise when they offer nothing to me for my efforts or in my need.  Why bother?  If I have no use for them, why would they have any use for me?  Why would they not hide themselves away from me and my contempt?

But, if I value others and regard them as worthwhile, I may be pleasantly surprised to find that they use what they've got, be it little or a lot, to love and serve and care for me.  To be so regarded instills both confidence and a desire to share oneself with others.

What is truly surprising, in this sinful and selfish world, is the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For He has valued us, and we are precious in His sight, in spite of our bad attitudes and behaviors.  He does us good, for the sake of His own love, in the faith of His God and Father; and the cost of His own life is the great price He has paid for us and our salvation.  He was counted as nothing, and made Himself nothing, in order that we might be raised up from death to life and receive everything from Him in the Kingdom of God.

The Rich Man Is Like a Little Child

Being rich is a risky business.  From the beginning of his Gospel, St. Luke has made that clear.  Already in chapter one, St. Mary’s Magnificat declares that, whereas the hungry are filled with good things, the rich are sent away empty-handed.  We’ve been given examples of that very thing, as well.  The rich fool stored up treasures for himself on earth, but then he died, and all his stuff went to someone else.  The rich man who ignored poor Lazarus at his gate, he died, too, and found himself in Hades, in great agony and torment.  He had his good things for a little while, but they couldn’t save him.  Most recently, in the chapter just before this morning’s Holy Gospel, the rich young ruler came looking for eternal life, but he went away sorrowful and disappointed, because he was extremely rich, and he couldn’t bear to give up his many possessions in order to follow Jesus.

“How hard it will be,” Jesus says, “for those who are wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God!  It is easier to thread a camel through a needle than for a rich man to enter God’s Kingdom.”

But Zaccheus is not only a rich man.  He is also a tax collector, and not the first of those that we have heard about in the Gospel According to St. Luke.

Here is one of those many places where cultural and societal expectations, and religious expectations, too, have been turned on their head.  For tax collectors have received the preaching of St. John the Baptist, and have repented and believed the Gospel of the Christ.  And yet, St. John did not tell them to quit their jobs; only to carry out their occupation fairly, honestly, and with integrity.  “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to,” he said.

Among the Holy Apostles, who even now follow Jesus on His Way through Jericho toward Jerusalem, St. Levi (Matthew) was a tax collector when Jesus called him to discipleship.  And far from forsaking his former associates, the first thing that happened after he was called, is that Jesus reclined at table in his home to break bread with a great crowd of tax  collectors.  It is the Pharisees, not Jesus or St. Luke, who describe those men as “sinners.”

In fact, Jesus has gotten quite a reputation for befriending tax collectors, receiving them to Himself, and eating and drinking with them.

Likewise, this past Sunday, in the case of the Pharisee and the tax collector, it was the tax collector who went home justified, in repentant faith, by the mercies of God.

So, maybe this tax collector, Zaccheus, is seeking the mercies of God in Christ Jesus.  Or, maybe, to begin with, he’s simply curious about this Guy from Nazareth, to find out for himself who Jesus is and what He’s like.  Maybe he’s just looking for a friend, having heard that Jesus is a friend of tax collectors.

In any event, whatever his ambition may have been, you find out with Zaccheus that “rich” and “poor” are not such clearly defined categories.  Not so easy, after all, to divide the black hats from the white, the “good guys” from the “bad.”  Turns out that wealth, in itself, is ambiguous and morally neutral; it’s rather how one holds and uses wealth that is decisive.

Now, you might also remember that Father Abraham was a rich man in his day: “Very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold,” with several hundred trained men in his household.

Come to think of it, the Father of the Prodigal Son in Jesus’ Parable is also a rich man.  For so the Lord Himself is rich in mercy toward us, toward all who call upon His Name.  And, as such, by faith in His mercy, both rich and poor alike are given to be rich toward God and rich toward their neighbors in love, in charity and generosity.  It is the attitude of your heart, and the actions that you take, which determine the real wealth or poverty of your life.  That is what the Lord perceives, regardless of the world’s evaluation of you and your holdings.

Here, then, as in the case of St. Matthew and his house guests, it is neither the Lord Jesus nor St. Luke who describe Zaccheus as “a sinner.”  That is the accusation of the crowd, by which they aim to impugn Christ Jesus, who is living up to His reputation, yet again, as a “Friend of tax collectors.”

Granted that all men are sinful and unclean; there is no one who is righteous of himself — no, not one.  Zaccheus is no exception to that rule.  And granted that he acknowledges the possibility that he may have defrauded someone in some way or another.

But, so far as this Holy Gospel is concerned, what it means for Zaccheus to be “lost” and now “saved” by Christ, is not described in terms of sin and forgiveness, but in relation to the household and family of God.

It is true that sin is the problem, and forgiveness is the solution, apart from which there is no life or salvation.  Yet, in the particulars of this case at hand, there is no “confession and absolution,” per se, but a different scenario unfolds and plays itself out.

Zaccheus has a position of power and authority, albeit an unpopular one.  And he has lots of possessions.  He is a rich man.  But, for all of that, look at where he’s at: On the outside, not even able to look in.  He is excluded.  Shut out.  More to the point, he is crowded out.  He wants to see Jesus; he’s trying his level best, but he can’t.  He is unable.  Powerless.

What it means, exactly, that “he was small in stature,” is a matter of conjecture.  No doubt it refers to his height, although the word for “stature” here is more commonly used for age.  Maybe he was simply shorter than average, or perhaps he was actually a “little person.”

But, whatever the case may be, his shortness is part of his inability.  It is why he cannot see.  And it presents an interesting contrast to his wealth and power.  Significantly, it aligns him with the “little children.”  So does his tree-climbing, for that matter, which a businessman in that culture would never do.

Zaccheus really is childlike in many ways; not only in his smallness of stature, but in what he cannot do or achieve for himself — and, then, in what he is given and receives.

His efforts to see Jesus are comical: easily pictured and remembered, and part of what makes this story so endearing.  It’s a bit slapstick, like that Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin.

Well, this wee little man runs ahead and climbs a tree, in the hopes of seeing Jesus.  But, then, suddenly, the initiative has shifted entirely to Jesus, who seeks out Zaccheus.

As silly as it seems, climbing up a tree looks ahead to what is coming.  For the Lord Jesus is about to pass through “that Way,” as He now journeys to Jerusalem in order to be lifted up in death upon the Tree of the Cross, to enter into His Glory through suffering.

It is by the Way of the Cross that He comes, and by that Way of the Cross that you behold Him and receive Him as He is.

But so it is, first of all, that Jesus comes to that place, to that Tree.  And He sees Zaccheus, and calls him down from the tree, and comes to him, to stay at his house on this “Today.”

It is Christ who will climb the Tree and be crucified: for Zaccheus, for you, and for all.  And it is Christ who sees you in mercy, who comes to you in peace and love, and bestows His salvation upon you; so that you, by His poverty, are made wealthy indeed in His Kingdom.

Then it is, by faith in Him, that you are crucified to yourself, to your power and your riches, for the benefit of others: to make amends for whatever hurt you have caused, and to help the poor and needy with whatever means the Lord has provided you.

But, first of all, the Lord comes to abide with you — as He comes to stay with Zaccheus.

Zaccheus is delighted.  He hurries down and receives the Lord Jesus gladly: receives Him like a little child on his birthday, giddy with excitement to be given such a good gift.

And you disciples of Emmaus know how it is when Jesus comes to be your guest and to abide with you, how He becomes the Host, and He reveals Himself and bestows salvation.

So, too, here, in much the same way: Zaccheus does provide hospitality for Jesus, as he also provides for the poor and pays back whatever wrong he may have done.  But consider what Jesus does for this little man:

He takes the public shame and contempt upon Himself, in order to give life, and to honor the one who has been lost: to gather this sheep back into the flock of Israel.  The crowd has called Zaccheus “a sinner,” but Jesus calls him “a son of Abraham,” which is to say, that he, too, is an heir of the promise, a child of God by grace, a member of the household of faith.

This rich man is not condemned to the torment of Hades, but is gathered with poor Lazarus to the comfort of Abraham’s bosom.  And, like that other tax collector, of whom we heard last week, this chief tax collector is brought home justified by the Lord Jesus.  Salvation comes to him, and to his house, in the coming of the Christ.

It is entirely by grace; for this is what the Son of Man has come to do, to seek out the lost and to save them.  He is the Rich Man who empties Himself in order to fill you up with good things.  He is the Big Man who makes Himself small in order to gather the little ones to Himself, to bear them on His shoulders, rejoicing, and to raise them up by His own Tree.

This is how and why it is that Zaccheus is not left on the outside, desperately trying to look inside, but unable to see past the crowds.  Now he is at home, at the Table with Jesus.  Like a little child he has received the Lord gladly.  And as Christ has entered his house, he has entered the Kingdom of God.  He passes through death into life, and he is able to stand tall and serve, to confess with generosity his faith and his gratitude.

Today, that same salvation of Christ Jesus has come to this house, so that you, too, may live as a child of God, at home within His household and family.

Whether you are tall or short, young or old, rich or poor, or whatever your circumstances, by faith in the Gospel you are a member of the Body of Christ.  By your Baptism into Him, you belong to the Holy Communion of all His saints, of all times and places, in His holy Body and precious Blood.  And, as you are lifted up by His Tree of the Cross, so shall you ever live to see the salvation of our God in both body and soul.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Going Home Justified in Christ

Fathers, teach your sons and daughters to pray, to worship the Lord, and to sacrifice themselves in faith toward Him, and in love for each other and for their neighbors in the world.  Do not wait to do it, but teach them to pray already while they are yet little babies, even in the womb and at their mother’s breast, by praying for them and with them.

Teach your children to worship the Lord their God by teaching them His Word: by speaking it to them, and confessing it both for them and with them.  And teach them by the example of your own worship of faith and love.  Go to church, and take your children with you.  Do not hinder or prevent them, but indoctrinate them with God’s Word and the preaching of it.

Bring your children to the Lord Jesus, that He may touch them, heal them, and save them: in the waters of Holy Baptism, and with His own Body and Blood in the Holy Communion.  Then also teach them to pray in the remembrance of their Baptism, and in the confession of Christ the Crucified, by teaching them to make the sign of the Cross, especially when they are afraid, but also when they rejoice in His rescue and give thanks for His great salvation.

Teach your sons and daughters to sacrifice themselves in the faith and confidence of Christ, and in love for their neighbors, by the example of your own self-sacrifice.  Set aside your own wants, desires and pleasures, in order to meet their needs and care for them.  Love their mother and lay down your life for her, day by day, as Christ Jesus loves His Bride and gives Himself freely for her.  So may your sons and daughters learn from you, not only what it means to be a godly husband or wife, a godly man or woman, but what it is to be a Christian, a member of Christ’s Church and a child of His God and Father.

Teach your children humility by humbling yourself.  Teach them to master their sin by your own self-discipline and daily repentance.  Teach them to fall upon the mercies of God in Christ by confessing your own sins and availing yourself of the Gospel, the means of grace and forgiveness, including Holy Absolution.  Let such confession and absolution shape and define your Christian faith and life, your piety and practice, not only in church but also in your home and in all of your relationships.

Where you have done wrong, acknowledge your fault, apologize, and make amends as you are able.  And where others have sinned against you, be ready and willing, eager and quick to forgive them — and gladly do good to them.

Where you have sinned against your children — by harshness or neglect, by impatience or inattentiveness, by unreasonable demands or unfair punishments, or by whatever fault of temper, words, or actions — humble yourself under the Lord your God, apologize to your children, who are also His dear children, and seek their forgiveness.

Do not seek to justify or excuse yourself, but let Christ alone by your Savior and Redeemer; and so love all your neighbors, big and small, both young and old, family, friends, and foes, the brilliant and the daft, the successful and pathetic, all for Jesus’ sake.  For they, too, shall be saved, not by any righteousness, merit, or worthiness of their own, but solely by the righteousness and mercy of Christ Jesus — the very same righteousness and mercy, of the same Lord Jesus Christ, by which alone you are justified and saved from sin, death, the devil and hell.  That fact is, or it ought to be, your humility and confidence of repentant faith.

If you exalt yourself — if you trust in yourself and your own righteousness, as though you were a god — you will be humbled.  Pray that you are so humbled before the Day of Judgment, when the time of repentance shall have passed.  Pray that the Lord in His mercy would humble you now, and each and every day of your life on earth, by His preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of your sins, and that He would then exalt you in His peace.

When you understand that your life is from God, that it depends entirely upon Him, that He gives you life by His divine grace, and that He preserves your life, not only here in time but unto all eternity — by that same divine grace in Christ Jesus — then you know the meaning of life, and you are able to live before God in peace and hope, in faith and love, in graceful confidence and joyful satisfaction.

When you don’t get it — when you have not been humbled unto repentance and faith in the mercies of God — when you exalt yourself and attempt to justify yourself — then you are hounded and driven by fear.  You have no peace or joy, no confidence or satisfaction.  Not really.  You strive to keep the Law, according to its letter, or to avoid it as much as possible, while you tend to yourself and your own personal ambitions.  But the Lord has no regard for your self-righteousness.  He takes no pleasure in your selfish works, and He has no delight in your sacrifice when it is offered as a bribe or as a buyout for your sin.

The harder you try to appease the Lord God or to pay Him off, in an effort to get Him off your back, the worse and worse your situation becomes. Your self-righteous pride, indignation, laziness, and greed continue to grow, more and more, until they threaten to swallow you up and consume you altogether.  Such things are the heart and soul of sin, which entices and allures you, and yet, all the while, it is really killing and destroying you.

In the futile agitation of your own self-defeating efforts, you grow more and more restless and angry with God.  He’s so unfair, you suppose.  He just doesn’t like you, or so it seems.  It’s not your fault.  Right?  You’re doing your bit.  But, since you can’t get even with God, and you cannot possibly compete with Him, you turn your anger and enmity, your hatred and vengeance against your neighbor.  You give yourself over to envy and jealousy and bitter resentment, to the point that you lash out at your neighbor, perhaps even your nearest and dearest kin, with hurtful words, or schemes to rob and steal, or outright bodily injury.

Make no mistake, as a child of Adam, such sin is always crouching at your door, and its desire is for you.  Resist it, and master it, by contrition, repentance and self-discipline.  Hear and heed the Word of the Lord, and honor His commandments.  Love your neighbor by helping him, and by doing him no harm in word or deed.  Examine yourself honestly, and confess your sins, so that you might hear and receive the blessed Gospel of forgiveness.

Pray that God, the Lord, would have mercy upon you, so that you might live by His grace and rest in His peace.  Trust Him to provide you with all that you need, for both body and soul, for this life and the life everlasting.  And so understand that your possessions, your abilities, your time and energy, your treasures and talents and your whole life on earth are a sacred trust, a stewardship, which you have been given for the sake of likewise loving and serving your neighbor in the name of the Lord.

That is how you sacrifice your crops and herds, your goods and services, your body and life: In faith toward God, you love your neighbor with all that you are and have; because your life is entirely from the Lord, in Him and with Him, and it is lived unto Him at all times.

You are your brother’s keeper, beloved, as the Lord is your Keeper, your Maker and Redeemer.  If you are poured out as a drink offering for your neighbor, therefore, keep the faith and finish the course in peace, as the Lord Jesus pours out His life-blood for you.  Give your body as a living sacrifice, and feed and clothe, shelter and protect your neighbor’s body, as the Lord Jesus feeds you with His own Body and Blood, clothes you with His righteousness, and shelters and protects you by His grace within His holy Christian Church.

The same Lord Jesus stands with you in all hardship and adversity, in all your trials and temptations.  He forgives you all your sins and failings, strengthens your faith and love, guards and keeps your body and soul, and He will deliver you from every evil and bring you safely into His heavenly kingdom.  Surely He will do so, and crown you with His own righteousness, because He has humbled Himself unto death and given Himself for you; wherefore His own God and Father has highly exalted Him, and has given Him the Name above every name.  In Him, you also are exalted, and are so named by God.

As Christ has died for you, and risen from the dead for you, and as He ever lives to intercede for you before the Throne of God — as He, your merciful and great High Priest, has entered the Holy of Holies made without hands, on your behalf, with His most holy and precious blood — so does He bring you home, justified by His grace, through faith in His Gospel.

The Body of this dear Lord, Jesus Christ, is the Altar upon which you offer your sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.  Not that you should thereby atone for your sins, but you give Him thanks and praise because He has atoned for all your sins, once and for all.

It is in Him, and through Him, and with Him, and by Him, that you and your children, and your children’s children, pray and worship and sacrifice.  So are you and yours received as a pleasing sacrifice and sweet-smelling incense by your dear God and Father in heaven.  He has regard for you, for your prayer and sacrifice, for Jesus’ sake.  He lifts you up in mercy and sustains you by His grace, even through death and the grave, unto the life everlasting.

In order that you be kept safe in this life and salvation forever, the Lord has set His mark upon you, His sign of the Cross upon your forehead and your heart, on your body and your soul.  Though you are a sinner, deserving of nothing but the punishment of death and eternal damnation, yet, by this sign of the Cross, the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh are served notice that you belong to Christ the Crucified, your Savior and Redeemer.  He shall not only avenge whatever wrong is done to you, but He forgives whatever wrong that you have done; and at the last He shall vindicate you forever in the resurrection of your body.

Even though you die, yet shall you live forever and always.  Indeed, the Kingdom of God belongs to such as you, for you are His own beloved son or daughter in Christ Jesus.

Come up here, then, to this Temple of Christ Jesus; receive the holy Body with which He feeds you and the drink-offering of His own precious Blood; and pray in the peace and confidence of His sure mercies and forgiveness.  Offer here your sacrifice of thanksgiving, take up the Cup of Salvation, and call on the Name of the Lord.  He hears and answers your prayers, dear little child of God, for you are justified by the Lord, the righteous Judge.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

For You He Strives and Wrestles

When the Son of Man comes, He will find faith on earth.  For those whom He has chosen, He has also called to Himself by the preaching of the Gospel.  And those whom He has called, He justifies by grace through faith in His forgiveness of sins; and that, not of yourself, it is the gift of God.

In calling you to this faith, He teaches you to pray, not in doubt or desperation, but in confidence.  Therefore, do not grow weary or lose heart; for the Lord your God is faithful.  He hears your cry, and He will answer your prayer.  He will vindicate you in due season, and give you His justice.

You do not have to wear Him down or twist His arm to help you.  Nor could you ever do so!  You could not prevail over the Lord, except that He persists in patience and prevails over you.

Nor does He give you the justice that you deserve, which would be death and damnation.  But He justifies you with the Righteousness of Christ, and so delivers you from your adversary, the devil.

In the case of Jacob, who has been a deceiver like the devil (when he lied to his father, Isaac, and stole his brother Esau’s blessing), the Lord now humbles him and teaches him to pray: To cling to the Lord Himself, to call upon His Name, and to seek the blessing of His Word and promise.

And in this same Jacob, the Lord points to the Christ who will come from his loins, that is, to the promised Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the Incarnate Lord, who is both God and Man — who will strive and wrestle on behalf of all men, and will prevail by faith in His God and Father.

His hip, and all of His bones, will be put out of joint in His Crucifixion, when the hands of sinful men will cruelly nail His hands and feet to the hard wood of the Cross; whereby, no one takes His life from Him, but He lays it down willingly, and He entrusts Himself entirely to God, and offers up Himself for you and for all the nations, even to the ends of the earth.

Not that it is easy for Him.  Not at all.  But in the agony of His Passion — from the Upper Room to the Garden, to the Sanhedrin and the Praetorium, and finally from Gabbatha to Golgotha — He prays in steadfast faith, with loud crying and tears, to the One who is able to save Him out of death.  And He is heard because of His piety.

So surely has God the Father vindicated His beloved Son, and has raised this same Jesus from the dead, in order to justify you and all the world, and so to draw you to Himself in perfect peace.

Even now, as He has risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, this Lord Jesus Christ ever lives to make intercession for you at the Right Hand of the Father in heaven.  Think of that:  The Son of God is always praying for you!  Not only that, but He is your Prayer — in His own Person, in His own flesh and blood — as He is your merciful and great High Priest forevermore.

Therefore, the Son of Man “finds faith on earth,” first of all by establishing it in Himself, in His own human flesh, by His perfect obedience, even unto death; so that His own faith and faithfulness as the Son of God, your Savior — His prayer and His sacrifice, His Cross and Resurrection — all of these avail for you: In heaven, yes, before His God and Father, but also here on earth through His preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of all your sins.

In this faith of His, and by this preaching, He teaches you to pray: What to pray, and How to pray, and also, That you should so pray, at all times and in all place, in the confidence and certainty of His own crucified and risen flesh.  Indeed, His Resurrection is already God’s “Amen!” to your prayer.

He teaches you to pray, therefore, by His Word of the Cross, and by your bearing of His Cross after Him, as a Christian disciple; so that you are crucified, dead, and buried to yourself, and so that you learn to look to Him, instead of yourself, and to cling to Him, and to call upon His holy Name.

He puts your hip out of joint, as it were.  He knocks all your props out from under you, and He deprives you of all other help and comfort, in order that you would rely on Him alone, and fear, love, and trust in Him above everything else.  Because, in truth, there is no other god to save you.

That is why the poor widow keeps coming to that unrighteous judge and asking him to give her justice, to vindicate her, and to protect her and deliver her from her opponent.  It’s certainly not because that guy is such a gem!  Hardly!  But simply because of her great need, and because she has no other help and nowhere else to turn.  She really has no choice but to keep bothering him.

Even in this day and age, to go from being a wife to being a widow is difficult and disorienting.  Whatever your husband used to do and take care of for you, now you’re either going to do without, or do it yourself.  You learn how to manage, in order to survive.  But it isn’t easy, and it isn’t fun.  The fact remains that you have lost your head, and there is no other man on earth to take his place.

Practically speaking, in first century Palestine, a widow was in a precarious situation, especially if she had no father, brother, or son to advocate for her, to represent her interests and defend her.  Evidently, that’s the case for this poor widow in the Parable that Jesus tells you here: She has no other man to help her, except this unrighteous judge, who has no reverence for God nor any respect for people.  He does not want to help her.  And she probably doesn’t want to keep coming to him and asking for his help.  You can imagine how that makes her feel!  But she has no other choice.

And the whole point is, that, neither do you!  Not really.  What you do have is an adversary who is always accusing you, both day and night; actively assaulting your conscience; allowing you to have no rest, within or without; but doggedly attacking you, and constantly threatening to rob you of everything you have, to deprive you of your health and strength, and of your very life itself.

And there is only One Judge who has the authority to acquit you, who is able to preserve your life, and who can set you free, forevermore, from sin and death and every evil of body and soul.  He is, to be sure, not unrighteous, inhumane, or ungodly.  By no means!  But the bottom line remains, in any event, that there is no one else who can save you from your dire straits and vindicate you against your adversary.  Which is why His elect cry out to Him day and night; even as Christ and His Spirit are always interceding for you, and crying to the Father on your behalf.  It is necessary.

But consider how easy it is for you to forget all that, to let go of God altogether, to be slack in your worship and prayers, and to put your trust and confidence in all kinds of others things: To pursue other possibilities; to fear and love other gods; and to hope in yourself and your own ingenuity.

Left to your own devices, you do not wrestle like Jacob; nor do you persist like that poor widow.

Yet, the good news is, that you are not left to yourself.  No, the Lord’s elect cry out to Him both day and night — not because they have mustered the energy and wherewithal, the nerve, and the faith to raise themselves up by their own devices — but precisely because the Lord has chosen them in mercy, and has chased them down and found them for Himself.  He has called them, by His Word, to repent and believe the Gospel, and He has put His own Word and Spirit in them by that same Gospel; that they might cling to Him and call on Him in hope, and be saved by Him.

So has He done for you.  Before you ever knew Him, or thought to call on Him, He has known you and loved you.  He has called you by name — and has revealed and given His own Name to you.

He has also laid the Cross upon you.  Not to crush you and destroy you forever, but to break you of your idolatry, and to teach you to know Him rightly, the true and only God, who has Himself been crucified for your transgressions, and has been raised again for your justification.

Christ gathers you up in Himself, in His crucified and risen Body, in His flesh and blood (which are given and poured out for you), in order to bear you to the Father as a beloved son or daughter.

It is this relationship of Father and child, of faith and love, of blessed peace and Sabbath rest in the household and family of God, that He is always aiming at in all of His dealings with you.

When He lays the Cross upon you — when He exposes your sin and accuses you with His Law; and when He allows and uses even the devil to assault you (though Satan seeks only to harm you) — the Lord is actually at work to bring you back to life, to drive you from your sin and death, and to bring you safely to Himself, that is, to your own dear God and Father in Christ Jesus.

The Cross removes all self-reliance and self-sufficiency, and leaves you with no other recourse, no other help or hope, but to call on the Name of the Lord, and to prevail upon His promises; so that, according to His Word, you refuse to let go of Him, because you dare not, lest you perish!

Even though it seems for awhile that He Himself is your Adversary and Opponent — and the fact of that matter is, that, for a time, He is! — nevertheless, you are made bold by your great need, to demand of Him the blessing that He has sworn to you by His own Name (in your Holy Baptism):

For He has given you His oath, that He will be with you always; that He will never abandon you.

Therefore, instead of becoming discouraged or giving up, you persist in coming back, and calling on the Lord your God both day and night; because He is your God, your Savior, who declares you to be righteous for the sake of His beloved Son, and who will thus raise even you from the dead.

His own Word of the Law does put you to death: to your family and friends, and even to yourself.  Thus are you an orphan and a widow of that old man, Adam, who is mortal and subject to death because of his sin (his unbelief).  But that is not the end of the story.  That is only the beginning.

For, now, this New and Perfect Man, Christ Jesus, the Second Adam, has come down from heaven to earth, and has become your Advocate and Defender, your Defense Attorney, who pleads for you with His own Body and Life.  He will not be denied, and you will not be thrown out or cast off.

As you pray in His Name, by faith, you are in Him; for you are baptized into Him, into both His Cross and His Resurrection.  In Him you have a new Husband and Head.  Which means that you are no longer widowed and bereft of any man to help you.  Nor are you orphaned and left alone; because God Himself has become your true Father in Christ Jesus, and you are truly His own child.

It is “in His Name” that you pray; and for Jesus’ sake you are heard, and your prayer is answered.

This Righteous Judge to whom you make your appeal is not deaf to your plea.  He does not despise you, and He will not cast you away from His presence.  He actually desires to help you.  It is His good and gracious will to save you, in body and soul, for the life everlasting.

The very fact that you come to Him and call on Him is indicative of His grace and mercy toward you.  For He has called you by His Word and Spirit through the Gospel, enlightened you with His good gifts, and sanctified you in the waters of your Baptism.  And He still keeps you in that faith.

It is a trustworthy saying: His Kingdom comes, and so does He, even without your prayer.  But He has taught you to pray in this way — at all times, and not to lose heart — as He Himself always prays for you — that He and His Kingdom should come to you also; and that you should thereby live with Him in His Kingdom, in His righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, forever and ever.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.