Trinity 15 Sermon

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For every man shall bear his own burden. 6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

KJV Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

TLH Hymns
321 O faithful God
436 The Lord’s My Shepherd I’ll Not Want
36 Now thank we all our God
339 All hail the power

To Serve One Master

Anyone can see the wisdom of the opening statement. That is true even when someone is trying to hold two jobs at once. We love one and resent the other. That is why companies do not like to have their employees work a second job.

Jesus uses this common sense wisdom to contrast our attitudes. If we love mammon, we will hate God. If we love God, we will hate mammon. But, people are wondering, what exactly is mammon? The word does not mean the possessions and income we need to sustain life. Mammon refers to the accumulation of wealth beyond anything we might need. As Luther says, If God died tomorrow, we would have a way out of the situation.

There are all kinds of situations among Christians. Some people fall into wealth or earn it through their cleverness. Others are poor, no matter what. In Africa, the Muslims persecute and murder the Christians. There a believer is fortunate to live, let along prosper.

The question is what we worship, what we place first. Coveting is an evil sin because someone can be outwardly righteous and still have an evil desire for what belongs to someone else. We can see that with ministers coveting the call of another pastor, hoping to get rid of him to enjoy the work done by another person. False teachers never break a sweat in labor – they always steal the work of another. Some covet the spouse of another person. Others have plenty but covet the money of others, even of those who cannot afford to lose anything. During the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the powerful stole food from the starving, even though they had enough food for themselves.

If we are anxious about what we will wear, what we will eat, what will house us, then we do not have faith in God, because God provides all those things, to believers and unbelievers alike. God’s will is to have us work for those things and enjoy the result of that work. We can see that the worst kind of life is having no purpose, no work to do. The children of the ultra-rich have to invent causes to pursue because they are born into such wealth. Many do not survive it, as we have already seen with Kennedy kids, born with a trust fund in each hand.

Luther observed that mammon was and will always be a weak god. Riches must be guarded or they will be stolen away. Johnny Cash’s famous home burn down to ashes in one night. Every home in America lost some value in the last year. For people who accumulate the metal gold, to provide for the future, special care must be taken to keep it safe. That is quite a god, that must be guarded with iron bars, locks, and appointed servants or guardians.

And this god mammon is very weak. Mammon cannot even cure a sniffle. When I read about the son of one Mayo brother, I was struck by his early death. He had great wealth and influence, the best doctors in the world to watch over him, but he died early.

The god mammon does not offer peace of mind – just the opposite. The more people have, the more anxious they are to keep what they own, far beyond their needs.

Serving mammon, worshiping mammon, is foolish. We can see that from Jesus’ comparison with clothing and food. Clothing serves us – we do not exist to venerate clothing. Food serves us. God provides both for us. Birds are a constant reminder of how God works. Every day they wake up without knowing where their next meal will come from. Nevertheless, they sing Matins first thing every morning. They go to sleep in the trees and bushes, not knowing how they will be fed the next day. Yet they sing Vespers as well. Their water sources are not dependable. One day a lawn is sprinkled. The next day a waterfall is left on, giving them drink and bathing. In Michigan I heated a birdbath all winter and watched the birds line up for their baths. They usually splashed a gallon of water or more out of the dish each day. They could get moisture from the snow, but they really loved a bath to wash the grit away. Word got out in the bird flocks. One day I arrived home to see birds lined up, two by two, to get into the bath. Two hopped in, splashed around, then two behind them jumped in to chase them off. The new pair splashed around. The line included about 20 birds, all the same species.

Thankfulness comes from our knowledge of God’s care for us. Without us asking, He provides all our needs. When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are praying for thankful hearts to realize His generosity. Thankfulness is often our greatest shortcoming.

The human eye is the greatest thing in all of Creation. The evolutionists cannot explain it. God gives us two eyes. We should be thankful for only one, but we take two for granted. Every child is a gift from God. Here we can see how little people value God’s Creation. God gives them life, and parents take those lives for granted. The recent example is a husband and wife who drugged their children so they could go out alone, without paying a babysitter. The authorities think one child (Maddie) died from the drug, and her death was covered up. The case is not solved, but the callous nature of leaving children alone, medicated, to save a few dimes…we shake our heads in disbelief.

A UOP graduate (MBA), Shaq O’Neil is going through a divorce. At stake is his $500 million fortune. Of course it is a “bitter divorce” with a fight over the mammon, the money. Could they get along on $250 million each? No, it’s the principle that counts, the principle plus interest.

If we truly believe in a mighty and all-loving God, then we also realize that the difficulties that come our way are part of His wisdom. We are not always thankful for those trials, though we may be more thoughtful later. Our Old Adam screams against the trials we face, but the afflictions are good for us. Our Old Adam in turmoil is reason enough to think about our need for a Savior, the only Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

If I had not been in a personality cult church (First Christian, Disciples of Christ, Moline) I would not have crossed the street and joined Salem Lutheran. I probably would have attended Augustana Lutheran College anyway, because the college was nearby. But had I attended as a Disciples member, I would have made a bad impression on my future bride, Christina. I read Luther’s sermon on this text to her tonight before she fell asleep. We look back on 41 years of knowing each other, 38 years of marriage, 3 children, one wonderful daughter-in-law, 3 fabulous grandchildren. These memories mean so much, and they are all intertwined with each other. Luther’s doctrine means everything to us. All his sermons ring so true, so harmonious with the Gospel and the ancient testimonies.

Jesus says, “Do not be anxious” about daily needs, then shows us how God takes care of the most ordinary creatures. We should look at the astonishing harmony of Creation and see how God has provided for every kind of life form, all living together and balancing each other, mutual dependencies beyond human imagination. One sunflower is a center of life by itself. The roots reach down into the soil to bring up minerals, sending out chemicals to thwart plant competition. These roots serve as elevators for earthworms, drains to let rainwater down. The earthworms till the soil, add calcium to the soil, digest rougher parts of soil (grinding them down), and turn their food into worm-manure to fertilize the plant. Various insects feast upon the leaves, but they cannot chew a sunflower down to nothing. A grasshopper may make a feast, then serve as a feast for a bird who spots him. Ants and aphids may travel up and down. Bees pollinate the flower. Squirrels eat the sweet flowers. If they are patient, they can let the flowers turn into a Feeding of the Five Thousand banquet of sunflower seeds, loved by humans, squirrels, and 40 species of birds. The sunflower is the weediest of weeds, but the finest producer of protein and minerals in the garden, except for the uncommon amaranth and the unpopular broccoli. I used to leave my sunflower stalks up all winter, to give birds a roost. The description above does not touch on soil chemistry or soil creatures. One would need a book to describe all that goes on in an ordinary back yard. All of this works in an orderly fashion and quickly adjusts when man steps in to change it.

Given all that, which is just a hint of what God does daily in the world around us, how can we question God ordering the world for those in His Kingdom? He plans for the least important things (daily living) and in great abundance for the most important (the Means of Grace).

God has provided for our daily lives and our salvation so we can provide for others. We are not to be anxious about what God does, but we should be anxious about the needs of others. We do not worship mammon when we use our wealth to care for others. My neighbor has bought any number of new cars since we have known him. He has a California pension plan and Arizona taxes, an ideal life. When he wanted to employ a yard worker, he want to give the least amount possible. There is someone who would bend over in 110 degree heat (with humidity) and pull witch-grass, and this man would pay him a dog’s wages, taking advantage.

Everyone is helped by someone else in some way. We can seldom help out the giver in the same way we are helped, but we can help others, showing our thankfulness to God. This is how God multiplies the blessings of the Gospel, blessing us in return. The best giving is one-way. Knowing the Gospel means putting it into action as well. Luther’s term was “faith active in love.” He often expressed the teaching of the Bible as two-fold: faith toward God (no anxiety) and love toward our neighbor (anxious about his needs). If mammon is our servant instead of our master, we order mammon to go help our neighbor. The more we take charge of mammon, the less mammon can command us and make us hate God. Instead of selling old furniture, we can give it to those who need it. We could not give away a dishwasher or a gas dryer in Phoenix, but we found people who needed furniture and chairs. It is very satisfying to have someone say, “We could not all sit at family gatherings. Now everyone can sit down.” And our furniture becomes a part of their lives, too.

Books are fun to give away. Because people have donated to print the books, I freely give away hundreds of Martin Chemnitz Press books. They have been sent to people all over the US this way, but especially in Phoenix, Yuma, and Tucson. I also give away all my light reading books, so our house does not fill up completely with books. The light reading books are not religious, but they encourage reading and additional study.

The Christian faith does not teach that deeds merit salvation. The Gospel does not demand works added (fides formata, the Catholic formula). The Gospel energizes and motivates all kinds of giving. The time we give other is the most precious, since people can afford most of their necessities today. What we give to others will reflect what we think about God giving us His Son.