Ash Wednesday, 2013
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #552
Abide with Me 2.11
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 1 p. 123
The Lection Joel
2:12-19
Matthew 6:16-2
The Sermon Hymn # 17 O
Worship the King 2.44
The Sermon – Repentance and Faith
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p.
45
The Hymn # 429 Lord,
Thee I Love 2.54
KJV Joel 2:12 Therefore also
now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with
fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not
your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and
merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind
him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather
the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his
chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of
the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy
people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen
should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their
God? 18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19
Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you
corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no
more make you a reproach among the heathen:
KJV Matthew 6:16 Moreover
when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto
you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head,
and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy
Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward
thee openly. 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.
Collect
Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst manifest Thyself, with
the Holy Ghost, in the fullness of grace at the baptism of Thy dear Son, and
with Thy voice didst direct us to Him who hath borne our sins, that we might
receive grace and the remission of sins: Keep us, we beseech Thee, in the true
faith; and inasmuch as we have been baptized in accordance with Thy command,
and the example of Thy dear Son, we pray Thee to strengthen our faith by Thy
Holy Spirit, and lead us to everlasting life and salvation, 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,
Repentance and Faith
Mankind has done so much to
pay for sins, from endowing masses for eternity to building great cathedrals
and institutions. Pagans have many forms of man-centered repentance, and
Christianity gets corrupted by imitating them. Self-inflicted pain is a
demonstration, not genuine contrition.
Strangely, the rationalism
of man has enabled people to ignore the clear teaching of the Bible and turn to
invented notions, man-made tradition, and novel ideas.
The most novel, coming from
nominal Christians, is that faith does not matter, and yet trust in the Word is
the constant emphasis of the Scriptures.
There is the reality of
God’s wisdom uniquely revealed in the Word of God. That wisdom is so different
from man’s knowledge, that Paul refers to it as the “mysteries of God.” These
are not mystery stories and certainly not anything borrowed from pagans. The
mysteries are those things known to us only through the work of the Holy Spirit
in the Word.
Therefore, faith itself is
not something man can conjure in his own mind, through intense thinking or an
act of the will. God has shown that repeatedly – that faith comes by hearing
the preached Word of God.
In the preaching of the Gospel Word, the Holy
Spirit enters the heart and man begins to trust in this way – “Yes, this is
true. I believe this to be true of me.” As Luther often said, if we only think
it applies to others, there is no faith. It is true for us as individuals. That
happens to newborns, who also trust their parents, their mothers especially.
After months of hearing the
parental voice, the baby sees that one face – or two faces – and smiles very
early. The baby hears the voices and identifies with all those familiar things
once masked by his warm, interior home.
Parents see that with
siblings too. If they want the baby to smile, they have the older brother or
sister do something. Big smiles – a special bond.
So when a baby is baptized and
hears the Gospel Promises, the blessings of God are embraced and believed. That
is why infant faith is the purest, because a baby does not measure and weigh
what the great and wise might say, but has an uncomplicated trust, often
spoken.
We see that in Christmas
pageants and the way in which children understand the story of Christ. I debate
with adults who question whether Jesus could consecrate His Body and His Blood.
Children, when asked how, say, “He is God. God can do anything.”
That is such a simple
confession of faith, yet many learned adults trip over and it becomes the stone
of stumbling, the tripwire of their faith. From one doubt springs another until
all the articles of faith are missing. They are left with “man is good. Man is
ethical. I am good because I am ethical.” And yet the history of man says
otherwise.
Repentance is always
connected with faith, because the believing heart knows that there is a vast
gulf between our pretensions and reality.
The first inkling of
repentance is connected with faith, because someone must realize he cannot make
himself good by his own efforts. Trusting that the God is gracious to us
sinners is that beginning of repentance – not making a show of things, but
realizing what the Gospel means.
"For the Word of God is the sanctuary above all
sanctuaries, yea, the only one which we Christians know and have. For though we
had the bones of all the saints or all holy and consecrated garments upon a
heap, still that would help us nothing; for all that is a dead thing which can
sanctify nobody. But God's Word is the treasure which sanctifies everything,
and by which even all the saints themselves were sanctified. At whatever hour,
then, God's Word is taught, preached, heard, read or meditated upon, there the
person, day, and work are sanctified thereby, not because of the external work,
but because of the Word, which makes saints of us all. Therefore I constantly
say that all our life and work must be ordered according to God's Word, if it
is to be God-pleasing or holy. Where this is done, this commandment is in force
and being fulfilled."
Large
Catechism, Preface, #91, Third Commandment, Concordia Triglotta, 1921,
p. 607. Tappert, p. 377.
God’s
Word makes us into saints, because His Word alone makes us holy. Luther liked
to say this because he grew up among people made holy by their robes, haircuts,
vows, and solemn masses. His visit to Rome showed him how all the holiness was
just a farce. The city of saints was especially corrupt and immoral, not a center
of holiness.
The
problem comes from making man’s institutions the heart of all holiness, when it
is the Word of God that makes us holy. The Gospel moves the heart to believe
anew and to realize the depth of forgiveness offered to each and every one of
us.
So
the center of repentance is faith in these Promises rather than in emotions,
sorrows, and outward expressions.
And
where is our treasure? We laugh about this among our friends and church
members. Early in life we think about things we want to have, to acquire. Soon
we learn that whatever we own, owns us. And later in life we think of presents
as someone stopping by and taking something away.
When
earthly treasures become more transitory to us, we see the value of the Gospel
Treasure – a common term in the Book of Concord and in Luther. The treasure is
forgiveness. This treasure is distributed to people by Holy Spirit, using the
Means of Grace.
Isn’t
that simple? The cross – or the atonement – is the treasure. God’s beloved Son
has died for all of your sins. This forgiveness, called justification by faith,
is the distribution of the treasure through Holy Baptism and Holy Communion,
through teaching and preaching, through absolution and the “mutual consolation
of the brothers.”
The
last should be our common language. “I am sorry,” which leads to “That’s OK.
Forget it. I have forgotten.” Mutual forgiveness is the necessary companion of
love and friendship.
Those
who believe the Gospel pass along the treasure each and every day. It begins
with a forgiven and forgiving heart. That makes us patient with the errors and
shortcomings of others, because we realize our own in the light of God’s grace.
We are easily moved to be forgiving as life’s conflicts move through our lives
from day to day, from the annoying customer service person to big crisis
looming at the moment.
So
that Gospel treasure makes everything better in two ways. It takes the away the
burden from our hearts and also from others. It constantly moves back and forth
between people, a blessing for all parties concerned.
Today
someone mentioned the Hatfields and McCoys – their long-running warfare in West
Virginia. I know one of them. She said the dispute went on so long and cost so
many lives that they stopped counting who was wrong and had a peace meeting. Now
they have joint reunions because the families are inter-married anyway.
Man
could not settle the problem with guns, so forgiveness ended the warfare.
Quotations
"For the Word of God
is the sanctuary above all sanctuaries, yea, the only one which we Christians
know and have. For though we had the bones of all the saints or all holy and
consecrated garments upon a heap, still that would help us nothing; for all
that is a dead thing which can sanctify nobody. But God's Word is the treasure
which sanctifies everything, and by which even all the saints themselves were
sanctified. At whatever hour, then, God's Word is taught, preached, heard, read
or meditated upon, there the person, day, and work are sanctified thereby, not
because of the external work, but because of the Word, which makes saints of us
all. Therefore I constantly say that all our life and work must be ordered
according to God's Word, if it is to be God-pleasing or holy. Where this is
done, this commandment is in force and being fulfilled."
Large Catechism, Preface, #91, Third Commandment, Concordia Triglotta,
1921, p. 607. Tappert, p. 377.
"For neither you nor I could ever know anything
of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were
offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching
of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and
gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if
the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain
and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be
appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be
proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this treasure home and
appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to
Christ to receive this good, to which could not attain ourselves."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta,
1921, p. 689. Tappert, p. 415.
Luther: "True, the enthusiasts confess that
Christ died on the cross and saved us; but they repudiate that by which we
obtain Him; that is, the means, the way, the bridge, the approach to Him they
destroy...They lock up the treasure which they should place before us and lead
me a fool's chase; they refuse to admit me to it; they refuse to transmit it;
they deny me its possession and use." (III, 1692)
The. Engelder, et al., Popular Symbolics, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1934, p.
5.
"These
treasures are offered us by the Holy Ghost in the promise of the holy Gospel;
and faith alone is the only means by which we lay hold upon, accept, and apply,
and appropriate them to ourselves. This faith is a gift of God, by which we
truly learn to know Christ, our Redeemer, in the Word of the Gospel, and trust
in Him, that for the sake of His obedience alone we have the forgiveness of
sins by grace, are regarded as godly and righteous by God the Father, and are
eternally saved." Formula of Concord, Thorough
Declaration, III 10 Righteousness, Concordia Triglotta, 1921, p.
919.
"Early
in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned,
while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to
where to get its breakfast. Later, when it is hungry, it flies away and seeks a
grain of corn, where God stored one away for it, of which it never thought
while singing, when it had cause enough to be anxious about its food. Ay, shame
on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they
are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to
eat."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 114.
"These
means are the true treasure of the church through which salvation in Christ is
offered. They are the objective proclamation of faith which alone makes man's
subjective faith possible (Augsburg Confession, Article V). The Formula of
Concord (Solid Declaration, Article XI, 76) states expressly that God alone
draws man to Christ and that he does this only through the means of
grace."
Walter G. Tillmanns, "Means of Grace: Use of," The
Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church, 3 vols., Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1965, II, p.
1505.
"It
is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin
and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things. But
the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested.
Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our
hearts to believe and say: I, too, am one of those who are to have this
treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to
us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart
rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying: Dear Father, if it is Thy will to
show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom,
then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do
what pleases Thee. Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes,
does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the HS
came...."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 279.
"Thus
we see what a very splendid thing Baptism is. It snatches us from the jaws of
the devil, makes us God's own, restrains and removes sin, and then daily
strengthens the new man within us. It is and remains ever efficacious until we
pass from this state of misery to eternal glory. For this reason everyone
should consider his Baptism as his daily dress, to be worn constantly. Every
day he should be found in the faith and its fruits, suppressing the old man,
and growing up in the new; for if we want to be Christians, we must practice
the work whereby we are Christians. But if anyone falls from baptismal grace,
let him return to it. For as Christ, the Mercy Seat, does not withdraw from us
or forbid us to come to Him again even though we sin, so all His treasures and
gifts also remain with us."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p.
61.
"(3)
Hollazius (ib.): 'The Word of God, as such, cannot be conceived of without the
divine virtue, or the Holy Spirit, who is inseparable from His Word. For if the
Holy Spirit could be separated from the Word of God, it would not be the Word
of God or of the Spirit, but a word of man. Nor is there any other Word of God,
which is in God, or with which the men of God have been inspired, than that
which is given in the Scriptures or is preached or is treasured up in the human
mind. But, as it cannot be denied that that is the divine will, counsel, mind,
and the wisdom of God, so it cannot be destitute of the divine virtue or
efficacy.'"
Heinrich Schmid, Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church, trans., Charles A. Hay and Henry E. Jacobs, Philadelphia:
United Lutheran Publication House, 1899, p. 505.
Roman Catholic Indulgences
"Indulgences
are, in the Church, a true spiritual treasure laid open to all the faithful;
all are permitted to draw therefrom, to pay their own debts and those of
others."
Rev. F. X. Schouppe, S.J., Purgatory, Illustrated by the Lives and Legends
of the Saints, Rockford: Tan Books and Publishers, 1973 (1893), p. 195.
