Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

J-901

"But the fanatics soon torment us with works, and profess to have a nobler spirit; they urge and insist upon our doing something first of all, and permit faith and love to be overlooked. This of course is not of the Holy Spirit. Christ first takes possession of the conscience, and when it is right in faith toward God, then He also directs us to do works toward our neighbor. But He first highly extols faith and keeps works in the background. Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 200. Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 9:1-8


The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time

The Hymn #370 – Magdalen
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 2 Corinthians 3:4-11
The Gospel Mark 7:31-37
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 377:7-10 Speratus – Es ist das Heil
Able Ministers of the New Testament

The Hymn #413 Brorson – Der lieben Sonne Licht The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 503 by Pope – Old 124th

Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast created all things: We thank Thee that Thou hast given us sound bodies, and hast graciously preserved our tongues and other members from the power of the adversary: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy grace, that we may rightly use our ears and tongues; help us to hear Thy word diligently and devoutly, and with our tongues so to praise and magnify Thy grace, that no one shall be offended by our words, but that all may be edified thereby, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.


Able Ministers of the New Testament

This passage makes me think of the thousands of unknown ministers to teach the Word patiently and without any recognition. Often their only earthly reward is occasional buffeting, but Paul speaks about glorious effects of this service. In his best passages he is often so sublime that he is almost incomprehensible. And yet, phrase by phrase, what he says in a few words is worth a dozen books by another.

This passage is a comparison of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai to the proclamation of the Gospel. That divine, miraculous event was so glorious that people could not look at the face of Moses. His face had to be veiled. And yet, the Law was a passing event, to be overshadowed by the Gospel.

So, if the giving of the Law was glorious when it was only a ministration of death, then how much more glorious is the giving of the Gospel? The Law cannot save, cannot perfect, cannot even rescue someone from sin. Because the Law demands perfection and always condemns, the Law by itself is a ministry of death.

The best picture of the Law is from Pilgrim’s Progress by Bunyan. One person sweeps the room. The more the room is swept, the dustier and more choking the air gets. The Law can only stir up and show sin. The Law cannot remove sin or give power over sin. And yet the Holy Spirit works through the Law.

The second picture from Pilgrim’s Progress is a woman spreading oil over the room. That settles down the dust and the air clears again. This may not be good housekeeping advice for today, but it illustrates the greater glory of the Gospel.

Can anything compare to the person who hears the pure Word of God, receives forgiveness, and finds strength for the daily battle against sin?

When a pastor baptizes a baby, that is pure Gospel and the greatest possible ministry, the greatest vocation of all. How many people in that baby’s life can say, “I had the honor of administering God’s sacrament, giving this infant faith, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and forgiveness of sin, a lifelong pledge by God”? No one else has that pivotal role in providing a lifetime of divine influence.

The parents could baptize. Any layman can baptize in an emergency, but normally an ordained minister baptizes the child. And this goes on as if it were a mundane occurrence. The granting of God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness is not mundane.

This ministry goes on without much notice, unlike the glamour stars of today. Very few ministers will travel first class to Vail, Colorado for a ski vacation. When Joel Osteen’s wife was sued for her bad behavior on a plane, newspapers pointed out that Joel Osteen could not say on Larry King that Jesus is the only way of salvation. He had a chance to say to a Jew, a former prisoner (King stole $50K), and millions of people, “Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He did not, but fumbled around and dodged the pointed question.

There is that eager to please everyone attitude that goes so well with the media. And there is the ministry of the Word, which displeases to the point of persecution. When my wife substitute taught in Midland, Michigan, she heard teachers openly mocking the students who came from Christian schools. That happened in the teachers’ lounge. One can only wonder how that attitude translated in the classroom.

I hear from those pastors who have spent their lives being faithful. The unbelieving world says, “You did nothing,” and the synods add to the pain. The worst false teachers in all groups have the biggest churches. That only proves that the Pastoral Epistles are correct.

1 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We will never know how much of a positive impact these ministers have had upon people, hence thousands of people yet to come (if God puts up with us a few more generations). My wife said, when the family was together, “Just think. We met in college and now there are seven.” As the Bible says, “He puts the solitary in families.” The minister and the parents get to do the most guiding and see the results from patient application of the Word. Those are also the two roles least admired today.

The Word conveys Christ, so the person teaching Christ or administering the Sacraments is giving Christ to people. Too often we denigrate the ministry by trying to compare it to management, sales, or entertainment. Categories like popularity and good bottom line are meaningless in terms of faithfulness to God’s Word.

"He [Paul] thus extols co-laborers that they [the Corinthians] may not despise the external Word as if they were not in need of it or knew it well enough. For although God might accomplish all things inwardly by the Spirit, without the external Word, He has no intention of doing so. He wants to employ preachers as assistants and co-laborers and to accomplish His purposes through their word when and where it pleases Him. Since, then, preachers have the office, name, and honor of being God's assistants, no man is so learned or holy that he may neglect or despise the poorest preaching; for he does not know when the hour will come in which God will perform His work in him through the preachers."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1959 III, p. 1118.

Giving Christ to people means solving the greatest problem of mankind – redemption from sin. The ancient Greeks had a cycle of plays about the problem of one sin moving from one generation to another. When people finally face their destructiveness, they want to make up for what they have done. They want to redeem themselves. The good news of the Gospel teaches us that Christ has redeemed us, which has two meanings in the New Testament.

Redemption (one verb) means our sins have been paid for, redeemed. That is why there are so many references in Lutheran material to the purchase made by Christ. Purchase is the basic word used in Greek for purchase – from the noun for marketplace. Now the apostate Protestant offer marketing the Gospel instead of the purchase made by Christ. The greatest appeal for the masses is one where they need not change their beliefs, philosophies, and attitudes.

If the complete purchase has been made, the atonement of our sins, then no other payment can be made. The Gospel does not place demands on people but sets them free, the other meaning of redemption in the New Testament.

The second meaning applies to slaves being set free or released. We are in bondage to sin until Christ releases us from that slavery. That is, there is no answer to sin without Christ. Setting us free from bondage to sin is the reason why alteration of the Gospel is so horrible. The best news of all, the turning point of history, is set aside to please the masses.

The antinomians (anti-Law) are mixed up about this redemption. They believe the Creation and the Law have been made obsolete. In more than one case, these people have become shipwrecks. (They give up one aspect of the Faith, then another. Soon they are more befuddled than someone who has never been a believer.) The Law is a tutor leading us to Christ, as Paul wrote, but that does not invalidate what the tutor has taught and still teaches. The difference is that children obey under constraint and conditions. Maturity means gladly and willingly following Christ in a spirit of thankfulness, knowing the Law commands what is good (natural law).

I have college students in two basic categories. One group asks, “What do I have to do? What do you want?” The other group asks, “What is the best way to do this? How can I make this even better?” Flogging the first group is possible, but not effective. The second group does more than expected, even with the top grade secure.

There are people who read about Biblical doctrine all the time. They appreciate what the great theologians of the past have taught them about the treasures of the Gospel. They want to read more, to hear more.
Luther taught the Two Kingdoms (not to be confused with the Two Regiments, the civil realm and the church’s realm). As the Bible teaches throughout, people either belong to one kingdom (God’s) or another (Satan’s). There is no middle ground.

The gracious ministry of the Word moves people from Satan’s kingdom to God’s kingdom and preserves them in God’s kingdom. God has arranged His Kingdom to provide this ministry to all people. The Word is persecuted, but this persecution spreads the Gospel even more. Entire nations neglect and despise the Word, but the Gospel moves to new areas, just as the rain sweeps across the countryside.

Some hymn lyrics. Click to find the melody.

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874
1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
Hymn #370
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: 1 Timothy 1:1
Author: Edward Mote, c. 1834, cento
Composer: John Stainer, 1873, arr.
Tune: "Magdalen"


"I Walk in Danger All the Way" Click here to find the melody.
by Hans A. Brorson, 1694-1764
Translated by Ditlef G. Ristad, 1863-1938

1. I walk in danger all the way.
The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey,
Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If e'er I fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.
2. I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God's own sending.
Oft in adversity
I know not where to flee;
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.
3. Death doth pursue me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely;
He comes by night, he comes by day,
And takes his prey most surely.
A failing breath, and I
In death's strong grasp may lie
To face eternity for aye.
Death dost pursue me all the way.
4. I walk with angels all the way,
They shield me and befriend me;
All Satan's power is held at bay
When heavenly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense,
All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may,
I walk with angels all the way.
5. I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay
When Satan's power assails me;
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
In spite of ills that threaten may,
I walk with Jesus all the way.
6. My walk is heavenward all the way;
Await my soul, the morrow,
When thou shalt find release for aye
From all thy sin and sorrow.
All worldly pomp, begone!
To heaven I now press on.
For all the world I would not stay;
My walk is heavenward all the way.









J-1012
"But the Lord refutes this and says: Go ye there and preach what does it matter if it is against you? You will find there what I say. We should now do likewise. Although the masses storm against the Gospel and there is no hope that they will be better, yet we must preach, there will yet be found those who listen and become converted."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, I, p. 48.

The sermon is God’s chosen means to teach the Law and the Gospel to His flock. The congregation belongs to Christ, the Good Shepherd, not to the minister, members, or synod. Therefore, the sermon must be God’s Word and not the word of man.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

The listeners also need to realize that they must listen attentively and judge according to the work of the Holy Spirit. The congregation should not be ashamed of a sermon from someone who is less than an oratorical star. Many churches have pounded a minister because his voice was weak or his delivery was halting. Accustomed to the cocaine-fueled energy of TV, the congregations demand a star. Luther did not agree.



J-1013
"He who speaks poorly is speaking God's Word just as certainly as he who is able to speak well. A father speaks the Word just as certainly as God does, and your neighbor speaks God's Word just as certainly as the angel Gabriel. It is the same Word that the schoolboy and the angel Gabriel speak; one can merely express it better than another. Let the dishes be unequal. Some are of silver; others are of tin or of glazed clay, earthen vessels. But one and the same food is prepared in silver, tin, etc.; and venison, well seasoned and prepared, tastes as good from a wooden bowl as from one of silver. Think the same of Baptism and absolution. Let this be your comfort. But people do not recognize the person of God; they gape only at the person of the man as when one who is tired and hungry refuses to eat unless the food is set before him in a silver bowl. So people select many ministers nowadays."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1959 III, p. 1119. John 4:9-10.

Preaching belongs to God, so God’s work will be rejected, abused, and scorned by unbelievers.

J-1014
"Were I a preacher, what difference would it make to me if the world called me a devil, since I know that God calls me His angel? Let the world call me a deceiver as long as it pleases. God meanwhile calls me His faithful servant; the angels call me their companion; the saints call me their brother; the believers call me their father; distressed souls call me their savior; the ignorant call me their light. And God says: Yes, it is so. The angels and all creatures agree with Him."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 925.

J-1015
"I certainly hope you will have enough Christian understanding to know that the ministry of the Gospel is neither our property nor the property of any human being, not even of an angel. It belongs to God, our Lord, who has purchased it with His blood, has given and instituted it for our salvation. Therefore He severely condemns those who despise it. He says, 'He that despiseth you despiseth Me' (Luke 10:16)...You are not lords over preachers and the ministry; you have not established the office. God's Son alone has done so. Nor have you contributed anything to it...You should not lord it over the ministry or give it directions. Nor should you keep it from rebuking. For its rebuke is not of men but of God, who does not want the rebuke hindered. He has commanded it.”
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 926.


J-1016
"He [Paul] thus extols co-laborers that they [the Corinthians] may not despise the external Word as if they were not in need of it or knew it well enough. For although God might accomplish all things inwardly by the Spirit, without the external Word, He has no intention of doing so. He wants to employ preachers as assistants and co-laborers and to accomplish His purposes through their word when and where it pleases Him. Since, then, preachers have the office, name, and honor of being God's assistants, no man is so learned or holy that he may neglect or despise the poorest preaching; for he does not know when the hour will come in which God will perform His work in him through the preachers."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1959 III, p. 1118.