Let us pray! O Lord, we beseech Thee, let Thy continual pity cleanse and defend Thy Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without Thy succor, preserve it evermore by Thy help and goodness, through Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost world without end. AMEN.
If
someone were to ask you, what are you doing on Sunday morning at 9AM? You easily and rightly would say, since you
are here this morning, I am attending church.
Another way to say the same thing, but with a whole different meaning is
that “I am attending church services”.
This one word, ‘service’ has a most profound meaning. Used in both the Old Testament and New Testament
as a verb, a noun and a participle it takes on many different meanings. From action, to descriptive to station, each
use of ‘service’ is unique in its own way in the Old and New Testament, but has
application for us today.
This
morning, in our Gospel, Jesus is very clear.
“No one can serve two masters”.
Clearly, Jesus is trying to get his disciples and us to look at ‘service’
differently and in essence ask, “Who do you serve?” In speaking to the disciples, Jesus knows
what is in the heart of man when he says, “for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” Since man is conceived in sin, is sinful in
thought word and deed, cannot by our own reason or effort do good, since we
‘all fall short of the glory of God’, we are sinful creatures that look only
for what is in and to our own benefit, even if it means someone else may
potentially be hurt by our sinful greed.
Realize, this is not slamming good business practices, but acting with
our desire and greed for more or the ‘best’ at the expense of what is fair and
not exercising our muscle of faith.
Whether it be buying a new tractor for the farm, a new truck, or even
negotiating a contract with our landlords.
We want the best deal and to get the most out for our input, without
sacrificing or being fair to the other. This
is the sinner part of what Martin Luther called our simul ustis et pecator, simultaneously sinner and saint all at the
same time. Hence we cannot divide our
loyalties. We cannot serve two
masters. As Jesus said, “You
cannot serve God and wealth.” We
cannot and are unable to be fair.
That is
the sickness, the sin in our lives that pervades us and surrounds us. This is the wretchedness that we each have
and live in daily. It is the sinfulness
that connects us to Adam and Eve. It is
the sinfulness that the law shows us on a daily basis. In the Bible and the Catechism, it is clear,
if we break one law, we are guilty of all.
We cannot piece meal or pick and choose which laws apply to us and which
do not. We are guilty of all sins and
all laws.
So what
can we do? Nothing. We are incapable of saving ourselves. Martin Luther in writing the 95 Theses and
nailing them on the door at Wittenberg saw our lost nature and how no matter
the service we offer to God, whether penance, ushering, reading, acolyting,
serving on council or even as a pastor, nothing can or could save us.
How then
can we be saved? The question comes back
to ‘who do you serve?’ If no physical
labor can save us, why is this question of, ‘who do you serve’ important? Simply it flows from Jesus continued
words. “For this reason I say to you, do
not be worried about your life”.
In essence, do not worry. “Is
not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Your worry will not add a single day to your
life. Your clothing your car, your
house, your farm, your harvest and your church will pass away, but your soul
and your spirit is what you need to be more concerned about.
Jesus
rightly said, “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” These animals that God created while trying
to find a help mate for Adam and that Adam named, God provides for their every
need. This was clearly seen this week
when I was visiting one of the residents at Good Samaritan, the sparrows and
the finches were in the tree’s chattering away and fluttered to the ground and
partook of the feast God had provided for them.
God out of His divine generosity fed them. So to, God out of His divine mercy gave the
rain that fell on Wednesday as well as the sunshine that we enjoyed most of
this summer.
And
Jesus nails the point clearly upon the disciples and us today when He says. “Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a
single hour to his life?” We
cannot even through our service, merit or earn by our worry a single second,
minute, hour or day to our life. For the
crops that we have had to plow under this summer because of the lack of rain,
to the lack of money that comes in the offering every Sunday, to the worry over
our children who stay out late. No
matter the circumstance we cannot change the amount of time we will be on this
earth. All of this is in God’s plan.
Jesus
continued, “Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they
spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself
like one of these. But if God so clothes
the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the
furnace, will He not much more clothe you?” God will provide what we need. If we doubt God, then Jesus statement is very
true. “You of little faith!” We should not be worried. God will provide for us, we need to be more
mindful of our souls. For Jesus
continued, “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’
or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’”
God wants us to concentrate on what is important, our souls and answer
the question, ‘who do you serve?’ very simply.
God doesn’t want us to be like the unbelievers, for He says, “For
the Gentiles [in essence unbelievers] eagerly seek all these things; for your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ” God wants us to solely rely and believe upon
Him.
God
wants us to answer the question, ‘who do you serve?’ with this in mind. Jesus says, “But seek first His [that is
God’s] kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you.” Choose to serve God, not
because you have to, but because you want to.
Just as we have the clip boards here and ask for your service, we ask
for your help and service, not for glory, honor or praise, but as a
proclamation of what God has done, will do and continues to do for each of us
through Jesus Christ. For there is a
blessing with the words, “and all these things will be added to you.” God will richly bless us beyond our wildest
dreams when we serve Him, in innocence, humility and humble obedience, knowing
we serve not because it is in a covenant, but because we want to honor God’s
gift first given to us.
For the
gift first given to us, was His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ and the free
grace offered to us by His innocent death on the Cross of Calvary. We furthermore are today offered His precious
Body and Blood around the altar when we partake of His Holy Supper. We receive life and salvation and can clearly
hear Jesus words, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” By receiving His gifts of grace in, through
and by the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament, we are empowered to
answer the question, ‘who do you serve’?
We serve Jesus Christ who came to serve us and died for all of mankind,
especially all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel who gather around the
table of the Lord eating the great mystery of His Body and Blood for the
forgiveness of sins for all of us saints here at Emmanuel. So, ‘who do you serve?’ AMEN.
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