From the Pulpit

Posted on October 1, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

How do you describe God’s Love

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Pentecost 19 2023 Proper 21
October 1, 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32, Philippians 2:1-18, Matthew 21:23-32

What word would you use to describe the love you have for your mother? Your father? Your husband? Your wife? Your child? Your grandchild? How big is that love? How tall? How wide? How long? Can you find a word to describe that love? Can you even put it into words?

What word would you use to describe Jesus’ love for you? What word is big enough; grand enough; broad enough to describe the overwhelming love that Jesus has for you? Jesus’ love is a love greater than the love you have for the one on earth you love the most. What word or words can fully capture the love that caused Jesus to forsake life in heaven to come to earth and take on human flesh? How can you describe the love that caused Jesus to humble Himself to be obedient even to the point of death on a cross? This love Jesus has for you is beyond understanding. In his letter to the Ephesians St. Paul prays that the people of the church of Ephesus (Ephesians 3:18-19a (ESV)) 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

How do you know Jesus loves you? What are the signs of Jesus’ love? They are all around you. There is the baptismal font reminding you that in the waters of baptism you have a new beginning; a new life in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. There is the altar where you receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. There is lectern and pulpit from which you hear the Word of Life. There are crosses everywhere. Images of the horrible way the Romans executed people. Why the cross? Because it is the greatest symbol Jesus’ love for you.

As you look at the image of Christ on the cross, ponder the indescribable love Jesus has for you. Jesus’ love puts your forgiveness above His own well-being. Jesus’ love puts your salvation ahead of His own life. Jesus’ love makes him submit Himself to fists and spit and whips and thorns and nails. Jesus’ love gives up everything for you.

Jesus loves you. This you know. For the Bible tells you so. St. Paul tells about living in the love of Jesus in our Epistle lesson today from his letter to the church in Philippi.

Philippians 2:1-2 (ESV) 1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Know the love Jesus has for you and live in that love. Know that you are a humble, poor, miserable, natural sinner who has been set free by the blood of Jesus. Know that you are a beggar who has been made a child of God. Know that this is completely a gift of God and none of it comes from you. All from God; all from Jesus, nothing from you. Pure gift. This is a tremendous comfort because if it is all Jesus’ gift to you it is perfect and you cannot mess it up. You just bask in the beauty of the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Live in the love of Jesus. Live your life knowing you have been rescued from sin, death and the devil through the sacrificial love of Jesus and let that love have its way with you. Each day, ponder Jesus’ love for you and let that love flow forth in your dealings with everyone else that you encounter in this journey called life.

Let the love of Jesus shine forth from you to each person that you come across during the day. Let Jesus’ love shine forth to your family, your coworkers, your classmates, the folks at the coffee shop and cafeteria and restaurant and grocery store. For each person that you meet — make this assumption — assume that you are more evil than they are. This goes not only for the nice people you encounter but also the jerks — not only the sweet people that treat you well, but also the sourpuss folks that treat you poorly. Not only the good people who love you, but also the evil people who hate you; even the people who hate you just because you believe Jesus is your savior. When you meet someone, good, bad or indifferent operate under the assumption that this person is a better person than you. Deal with them from a position of humility. Assume they are a person of higher standing in the world and treat them as such. This is what Paul instructs.

Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV) 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Remember – without Jesus…. you are nothing. With Jesus…. you are everything. Rejoice in this great love shown to you. Rejoice that Jesus loves you so much. Rejoice that Jesus died for you.

Because you know the love of Jesus you shine as a light in the world. Because you know the love of Jesus you hold fast to the word of life.

Don’t get distracted from the love of Jesus – and there are lots of distractions. There is so much in the world that wants to get in the way of rejoicing in Jesus as your savior from sin. There is so much that wants to push Jesus out of the way and become front and center in your life. There is so much social media and entertainment that seeks to make itself the center of your life, rather than just an occasional diversion. Money always tries to weasel its way into being the center of your life. Money seeks to be the thing that you fear, love and trust whether from an abundance or a shortage. Sexual immorality uses its many forms to turn your good, natural, God-given desires into something temporary, careless and perverse. Pride can turn you into a monster of self-promotion when your favorite topic becomes me, myself and I. This can affect both children and adults. Beware when you find yourself always trying to let others know how good you are; how smart you are, and how many people like you. Pride pushes Jesus out to make way for you to be central.

Fight against anything that wants to push Jesus from the center of your life and this is what sin always wants to do. So, reject sin; repent of sin, because Jesus is the center. Jesus is your center. Jesus is your source of eternal life. Jesus is your source of love. Stay focused on Jesus because Jesus is the one that makes you blameless and innocent. Jesus’ sacrifice makes you a child of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.

Because you know the love of Jesus you shine as a light in the world. Because you know the love of Jesus you hold fast to the word of life.

Stay devoted and centered on Jesus. Gather each week to hear the Word of Life read and preached as you gather with fellow sinners to receive the forgiveness of your sins in Word, bread and wine. Rejoice in the love of Jesus; that He humbles himself to take on human form to live a perfect life, die as the sacrificial Lamb of God, and rise from the dead to conquer death. Rejoice in the love of Jesus that He humbles Himself to come to you today in His body and blood in the bread and wine of Holy Communion for the forgiveness of your sins.

Rejoice and remain steadfast in the truth — Jesus died for you – Jesus rose for you – Jesus forgives you all your sins. You belong to Jesus. Jesus loves you. This you know. For the Bible tells you so. Live your life in the indescribable love of Jesus. Amen.

Posted on September 24, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Please Don’t Be Fair

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Vicar Kinne: “Who received the larger piece?”
Texts for Pentecost 17: Matthew 20:1-16, Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30, Isaiah 55:6–9
September 24, 2023

Two siblings come home from school one scorching hot day in August before their parents come home from work. It is custom, upon unlocking the doors and throwing their backpacks in the front hallway, for them to raid the kitchen for a snack. When they open the fridge there isn’t much worthy to them to snack on except for one lonely, prepackaged piece of stringed cheese. They both know that fighting would not solve the needs their taste buds so desire. So, what should they do? They at least have the sense to say to each other, “Okay, let’s share”. The next step in their liturgy of keeping the peace is nothing less than what we would expect them to do… they pull out a ruler to make sure that the portions are exactly the same. We know what the outcome is if everything is done right. The snack is cut evenly, and everyone feels like they were dealt with fairly. But golly, if one piece is cut even a millimeter off, there will be squabbling until mom and dad get home. It is incredible that we all know, from a young age, the sense of what being cheated and treated fair feels like.

In Jesus’ teaching today, He speaks a parable that does not mesh well with what we view as fair; what we view as just. Would it not annoy you if you worked for 10 hours and someone else who seemed less qualified and unfit for the job worked for 1 hour yet they got paid the same amount as you did at the end of the day? That doesn’t seem fair. It seems odd. But when we look at this parable, we must look at it in a different light. Some may think Jesus is talking about money, and how a boss should pay his workers an unjust amount, but they are missing the point. They need to revisit what He is actually teaching; or better yet, who he is teaching.

Jesus tells this parable to His close disciples who are battling among themselves, “Who is the greatest in heaven?” Their egos are soaring higher than they can reach, and they can’t seem to get their heads out of the clouds. They are just not getting it. So, when Jesus gives them this parable, they quickly sympathize with the worker who feels cheated. Haven’t they been walking with Jesus His whole ministry? Haven’t they been sent into the vineyard, the world, to plant the seed of the faith in others, so that people may be ready for the day of harvest? Haven’t they been able to heal the sick and to cast out demons? Haven’t they made a name for themselves in all of Israel? Of course, they have. So, should they not receive more in heaven for their pious work than the people they served or even more so the people who reject them? It seems just. It seems fair. It makes sense, even to children, that whoever is in a higher position should receive a higher cut. But Jesus explains that this is not His way. The economy of what Jesus is talking about is not the same economy of the world. God’s ways are not our ways.

In His economy, everyone outside of Himself is equal. But what does that mean? Well, before Christ called His disciples to follow Him, just like everyone else, they lived in utter darkness. There was no light, no truth, no peace within them. They were all lost. Likewise, before being brought into the family of Christ in your baptism, you lived in darkness, you did not know the truth, and there was no peace within you. We were all equal in partaking in the sinful destruction handed to us through our corrupt parents. We are all equally put to shame. We, along with all the saints who lived in this sinful world, fall into the same category of needing salvation. It is not until Christ poured His blood out for our redemption, that He established a way for us to be put into a new category– Saved.

An equal portion of His atoning sacrifice is given to everyone in the world. Jesus made it possible for His saving Gospel of repentance, forgiveness, and salvation to be delivered to all people. It is His desire to pay everyone the same wage in exchange for their sins, and that wage was His life. There is no bigger price. But some still choose not to receive God’s gift. They choose not to work in God’s vineyard and deny what He has to offer.

But, before we point the finger and measure the shortcoming of the people who reject Christ for not believing, maybe we should examine and measure ourselves too. Have you sinned today? Have you followed every commandment God has given you? How wonderful would it be if everyone here has done nothing wrong today and have given everything they own for the sake of another like Christ did? How tremendous it would be if everyone here always bore the good fruit of the vine at work, at home, and even here at church. Sadly, the ugly truth is that even though we Christians know we have received Christ, we also know that we daily live short of God’s glory and need a constant exchange with Him. We call this living the life of the baptized. We know that we need to repent of our sins and receive His forgiveness through His body and blood.

We are the siblings that want to take the bigger cut. We are the ones who love ourselves more than others. We want comfort, acceptance, fulfillment of all our inmost desires, control, power, and much and much more because of our sin. But God created a way for us to not only have the bigger cut but have the whole thing.

We are forgetful, and maybe it would be better for us to not identify ourselves as the worker who felt cheated, but maybe more so with the workers who refused work until the end of the day. Maybe we sometimes forget God’s promises and reject Him when we do wrong. We can ignore Him and live as though He never came to earth. We can ignore all evidence that points to His perfect existence, His death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension into heaven. We can ignore it. But, fortunately, for our forgetful sake He comes around into our marketplace– our world and sends His workers out to remind us that we ignore our Father in heaven due to our sinfully corrupt natures. We become lazy in seeking God’s truth. Instead of looking to God’s Word for relief from this world and willingly seeking Jesus, we can become comfortable in our beds. We can justify coming to worship as a low priority in our lives and spend Sunday morning somewhere else, rather than here in church where God delivers His gifts to us. Missing church is dangerous because if you keep missing, over and over again, you will eventually not miss it.

We are the siblings that want to take the bigger cut. We are the ones who love ourselves more than others. We want comfort, acceptance, fulfillment of all our inmost desires, control, power, and much and much more because of our sin. But God created a way for us to not only have the bigger cut but have the whole thing. He gives us more than what the world has to offer, and there is nothing we can give worthy of exchange. The only thing we can do is receive His gifts and believe that He has given us eternal life. That is it! And thanks be to God that He does this work! Because without His willingness to give all that He had, there would be no way for us to have our debt paid off. We would crumble on the last day before a righteous and holy God.

And when another person is brought into the church, we should celebrate with the saints in heaven over this one sinner who repented and God saved, rather than compare our loyalty to God in higher regard than that person. It doesn’t matter if they were cruel like St. Paul was before seeing Christ on the road to Emmaus, or if they denied Christ such as St. Peter did before the cross, or if they hurt you directly in some way, shape, or form. Christ still wants them to be saved, just as much as you. We all receive the same wage.

Since we all have the same pay, we also all receive the same Holy Spirit that calls us and guides us to live in Christian love. We can forgive each other when one feels cheated. We are able to share in the same joy, hope, and peace in believing that God will unite all of us with Him from the first in faith to the last. He pays all of us, even though we don’t deserve it. And thanks be to God, that He does this wonderful and gracious work! Amen.

Posted on September 17, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Forgiveness, Why Did It Have to Be Forgiveness?

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Pentecost 16 2023, Proper 19
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
September 17, 2023
Genesis 50:15-21, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35

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The archaeologist/adventurer has just found what he believes to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and after prying open the ancient chamber’s roof he peers down in the darkness and it looks like the floor is moving. He throws a torch down to the floor and finds the source of the movement. The floor is covered with a thick, squirming carpet of snakes. Indiana Jones moans, “Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?” Indy hates snakes. Now, this is a movie I have seen many times over the years, but I should not have checked to see when it came out because it makes me feel old that the film came out 42 years ago when I was a sophomore in high school. Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?

Some Bible lessons are easier to learn than others because some lessons seem like they are more about someone else’s sins and not so much about you. This Gospel reading today hits home for all of us because it is about the necessity of forgiveness. Peter asks about forgiveness thinking he is being generous. Matthew 18:21–22 (ESV) 21 Then Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Just keep on forgiving.

As you peer into this lesson you want to moan, “Forgiveness, why did it have to be forgiveness?” Forgiveness is tough. It is very difficult to forgive someone when they hurt you. As natural sinners, it is not natural to forgive. Revenge is natural. Resentment and bitterness are natural, but forgiveness is supernatural. When someone hurts you it is your right to be angry and wounded and want to get even. It is your right. And as Americans we cherish our rights. We have a whole bill of rights and don’t let anyone try to take those rights away. When you are sinned against you have the right to be mad and get revenge.

The master in the parable in our Gospel reading today has every right to sell his servant and his family and all that he has in order to try to recover a small part of the servant’s ginormous debt. He has the right, and yet, when the servant begs for mercy, the master shows mercy and forgives the entire, unpayable debt.

The servant justly deserves the punishment he is going to receive, but the master has mercy and does not give the servant what he deserves. The servant is released from his debt and is returned to his family. His relief must be overwhelming at being shown such great mercy. What joy must fill his heart?

Soon after, the forgiven servant encounters a fellow servant who owes him money. It is a chunk of money, but nothing at all like the unpayable debt the first servant owed the master. Like his master, the forgiven servant has the right to demand repayment; but he himself has just been shown great mercy. What will the he do? The forgiven servant, who should be full of joy at being shown mercy, grabs his fellow servant by the throat and chokes him, demanding payment. The second servant begs for mercy, but the forgiven servant shows no mercy and has the other servant put in prison until he can pay.

What happened to the joy? What happened to the mercy? This servant had an amazing opportunity to pay it forward with mercy and forgiveness, but instead, asserted his rights. How could he do that after what the master did for him?

The master hears what happened and summons the servant and lays out the truth of the situation. Matthew 18:32–33 (ESV) 32 …, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ Is it not necessary for you to have mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you? Is it not necessary? Yes — it is necessary. It is necessary for you to have mercy on others because Jesus has had mercy on you.

Forgiveness? Why did it have to be forgiveness? Forgiveness is very difficult, it really is impossible for you to do. Overcoming your naturally sinful urge for revenge takes supernatural strength. Thanks be to God that He gives you this supernatural strength. The power to forgive others does not flow from inside of you. The power to forgive flows from Jesus to you. The power to forgive comes from the blood of Jesus shed on the cross at Calvary. The power to forgive flows to the Church from the resurrected Jesus breathing on His disciples John 20:22–23 (ESV) 22 …“Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

The Holy Spirit and the power to forgive others is delivered to you in the waters of Holy Baptism, it is delivered through Christ’s Words spoken by the pastor, “I forgive you all your sins,” it is delivered through the Body and Blood of the crucified and risen Christ, given and shed for you, and given you in the Holy Supper. Jesus is mercy and it is His mercy that you give to others by forgiving those who sin against you over and over and over.

I think forgiveness can be tricky because we misunderstand forgiveness. If I accidently bump into someone in the hall I might say, “Sorry, forgive me, I should have been more careful.” The other person likely will say something like, “It’s okay. No big deal.” And that is fine for a bump in the hall. But there are times where to say, “It’s okay,” would be a lie. It is not okay. It is a big deal. What they did to you is anything but okay. For you to forgive is not to declare that what they did was okay, but to declare you are not going to hold it against them. You are not going to seek revenge. Even if the person does not repent, vengeance is not yours to have. St. Paul writes in Romans 12:19 (ESV) 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

In the Kyrie you sing, “Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us.” And do you know what they Lord does? He has mercy upon you.

When you were baptized, when you were confirmed or joined the congregation you declared, “I renounce the devil and all of his works and all of his ways.” We confess this together whenever we baptize a baby. “I renounce the devil and all of his works and all of his ways.” One of the ways of the devil is to tempt you into unforgiveness so that bitterness and anger can eat away at you from the inside like a spiritual cancer — and destroy you. Renounce the ways of the devil by forgiving. When you forgive someone their sins, you renounce your right to revenge because God renounced His right to punish you and instead punished Jesus for you. Because God has forgiven you in Jesus, you have the supernatural power to say, “I forgive you.” You will soon confess in the creed that you believe in the remission of sins. Forgiving others is your confession of faith in action. You forgiving others is your confession that you believe that Jesus forgives you.

The devil wants so much to deceive you. “Did God really say…” that you should forgive others. The devil whispers to you, oh, come on…you do not need to forgive, you have good reasons, you have real hurt, you have a right to be angry. “Did God really say you must forgive?” Yes. Jesus says you must forgive. He even puts it in the Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And immediately after teaching the Lord’s Prayer Jesus says, Matthew 6:14–15 (ESV) 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

God has the right to punish you. You said so yourself. You declared this morning that you justly deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment; His punishment now and forever. And yet, God does not assert His right to punish you; rather He forgives you; He washes away all your sin. In the Kyrie you sing, “Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us.” And do you know what they Lord does? He has mercy upon you. He does not give you what you justly deserve. He gives you His perfection, His righteousness, His innocence, His blessedness. He takes away all your sin and declares you to be a saint of God. This is the power of forgiveness that flows into you.

Forgiveness, why did it have to be forgiveness? Forgiveness is so challenging. If you are struggling with forgiving someone, recognize this struggle for what it is, know that it is a temptation of the evil one, and confess that sin. Know that your sin is forgiven, and then love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. Renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways. Renounce your right to revenge and forgive the one who does not deserve to be forgiven. Forgive them as the Lord Jesus has forgiven you.

Amen.

Posted on September 10, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

The Utterly Helpless is the Greatest

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Pentecost 15 2023 Proper 18
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
September 10, 2023
Ezekiel 33:7-9, Romans 13:1-10, Matthew 18:1-20

If you are driving along late at night and you see a teenager walking alone on the sidewalk you may think, they shouldn’t be out alone so late at night, something could happen — but you are not going to stop. If you are driving along and see a toddler walking alone on a sidewalk even in the middle of the day you are going to stop and figure out what is happening. You are going to move the child away from the road and call the police and stay with that child until help arrives. A toddler is utterly helpless and vulnerable; bad things could happen quickly. This child is a precious treasure and you will make sure the child stays safe.

In our Gospel reading this week we find Jesus’ disciples, after His transfiguration, hearing His second passion and resurrection prediction. Matthew 17:22–23 (ESV) 22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And [the disciples] were greatly distressed.”

Their distress, however, does not last long because soon after this the disciples come to Jesus with what they believe is a very important question. Matthew 18:1 (ESV) 1 … “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Well, really, they want to know which one of them is the greatest. Is it Peter who made the rock-like confession of Jesus’ identity? Is it James who was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration? Is it John, the disciple whom Jesus loves? Who is the greatest?

Those thickheaded disciples. You just want to shake your head at them. They are right there with Jesus and they get caught up in a comparison game. Who is better than whom?

Thank goodness we are not like that. We just humbly love our neighbors without ever comparing ourselves to others. Well, except all the time.

Pastors compare themselves to other pastors based on their congregations. If another pastor has a smaller congregation it must be because they just are not a very good preacher or they are not dedicated enough. If another pastor has a larger congregation it must be because they are selling out to the culture and just preaching what people’s itching ears want to hear.

Sadly, we can all relate to a life of comparison. We play the comparison game at school, at work, at the gym, even with our families. We compare intelligence, abilities, athleticism, wealth, houses, cars, cell phones, video game systems. Who is better and who is worse. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Is it me? Maybe it’s me. Maybe I am the greatest.

Matthew 18:2–4 (ESV) 2 And calling to him a child, [Jesus] put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

The helpless toddler on the side of the road is the greatest. Utter helplessness is the mark of being the greatest in the kingdom. What a crushing blow to your self-esteem. To be the greatest is to know that you are utterly helpless. Salvation is not about you, it is about Jesus for you. Isaiah 64:6 (ESV) 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. …” You cannot save yourself. You need Jesus. You can do nothing on your own. To know you are utterly helpless is to strip away any pretense you have of self-righteousness. Being utterly helpless pops your puffed-up ego that thinks you are good enough, or at least you are better than that other guy. Being utterly helpless is to admit you are a poor miserable sinner who needs Jesus.

The greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one who is utterly helpless. The one who needs the most care is the greatest. Matthew 5:3 (ESV) 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus lifts up the utterly helpless and washes away their sin and gives them forgiveness and eternal life. The utterly helpless are Jesus’ treasure.

It can be a frustrating adventure to have to get treatment at a hospital emergency room. You may have to wait hours to see a doctor and that is frustrating. But it is not a good sign if you arrive at the ER and all the doctors and nurses and techs surround you. If you are the top priority it is because you are in the worst shape. You get the most care because you are the neediest.

Our readings today, teach you all, as God’s Church, how to care for the greatest in the kingdom. How do you, the utterly helpless, care for others who are utterly helpless?

One thing about being utterly helpless is that it makes you vulnerable. When you know it is not about you, that you are not in control, it can make you easy prey for false teachings that promise salvation in another way. There are far too many wolves dressed up in sheep’s clothing teaching whatever they can dream up, not caring what happens to the sheep. Jude warns, Jude 8 (ESV) 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” So many who call themselves Christians; so many who call themselves pastors, do not follow the Word of God, instead they follow their dreams. Stay awake! Be so familiar with the true Word of God that you can easily spot a fake. Always be on guard — child-like faith should not be a childish faith. Knowing you are utterly helpless and you desperately need Jesus exhorts you to learn as much as you can about Jesus.

How are you to live together as a gathering of the utterly helpless? St. Paul teaches in, Romans 13:9–10 (ESV) 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

You love one another. You care for one another as you would care for a toddler walking alone on the side of the road. The one who is in the most need is the greatest.

The utterly helpless are utterly helpless, so you protect each other. You do not lead others into sin. There is a special place in hell for those who lead people away from God’s truth into sin. Matthew 18:5–6 (ESV) 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Jesus cares so much about His utterly helpless followers that He issues this strong, unbending warning.

On this opening day of Sunday school we remember that preachers and teachers are held to a higher standard. James 3:1 (ESV) 1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Preachers and teachers have a great responsibility to preach and teach the truth of God and not mix in your own opinions and your own loopholes to God’s law. You are called to speak the truth in love to one another, warning where God warns, and blessing where God blesses.

You love one another. You care for one another as you would care for a toddler walking alone on the side of the road. The one who is in the most need is the greatest.

God calls on you to fight temptation and cut sin out of your own life so you do not infect others. Cutting away your sinful behaviors can be as painful as cutting off your hand or foot or tearing out your eye. Cut sin out of your life because, out of love for others, it is that important to make sure you are not a source of temptation.

You are warned not to despise one of these little ones. You are to treat each other as the treasures that you are, and care for one another, and protect one another. If someone wanders away you seek after the stray sheep. It is too easy to let sheep wander off and be lost. We lock up the Sunday offerings in the safe, but the true treasures of the church are all of you. We strive in our meeting together to lock up your hearts with God’s truth.

This gathering of ours on Sunday morning is a assembly of the utterly helpless who are treasured by God, redeemed and forgiven by the blood of Jesus and who love and care for one another. Sometimes that care is tough love. What do you do if you find out that one of your fellow Christians has fallen into ongoing, unrepentant sin? What if one of God’s pearls of great price is in danger of being led away by the lies of the evil one? What do you do? Unfortunately, our tendency is to want to gossip about it with others but Jesus gives a better way because that sinner…that fellow sinner…is utterly helpless and needs to hear the truth spoken in love. So if someone sins against you go to them directly; just the two of you. If he won’t listen bring one or two witnesses to bring the loving truth that repentance is needed and forgiveness and redemption is available. When dealing with stubborn sinners, the goal is to protect and preserve them as the greatest in the kingdom of God. If they won’t listen to the two or three of you, bring it to the church so they can call this person to repentance so they are saved from the evil one. If they still won’t listen, you have to put them out of the church so that they understand that their sin is serious and has eternal consequences. You want them to again know that they are utterly helpless and need Jesus.

The Church is God’s instrument to care for all His little ones who are utterly helpless to save themselves. Little ones like little_______ and little _____ and little pastor and little vicar and little ______ and _____ and _____.

Know you are utterly helpless and treasure Jesus’ gifts to you of forgiveness and eternal life. Love one another. Speak the truth in love to protect the utterly helpless little ones; the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Posted on September 3, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Jesus is not who you think He is

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Pentecost 14 2023 Proper 17
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
September 3, 2023
Jeremiah 15:15-21, Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28

Have you ever have one of those days when it seems like everything is going your way? Peter is having one of those days in our Gospel reading last week, Matthew 16:13–18 (ESV) 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

“Blessed are you!!” Peter must be bursting with joy and pride and high fiving the other disciples or whatever is their equivalent celebration. Peter’s declaration answers an important question, “Who is Jesus?” Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

In the midst of Peter’s joy at His confession of Jesus being the Christ, Jesus then starts to explain what it means to be the Christ. This is a new and just as vital a question. What does it mean to be the Christ?

Matthew 16:21 (ESV) 21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Peter’s joy turns to bewilderment. What is Jesus talking about? Suffering? Death? No, no, no, no, no. Peter loves Jesus. Jesus is the Christ. Peter is Jesus’ unofficial right hand man. Peter is not going to let anyone hurt Jesus. He knows that Jesus is wrong about this and rebukes Him.

But Peter is the one who is wrong. Peter has the wrong answer to the question, “What does it mean to be the Christ.” Out of love and good intentions Peter wants to decide for Jesus what it means. Peter wants to keep Jesus away from the cross and he is not alone. Others want Jesus to skip the cross. At Jesus’ temptation, Satan tries to redefine what it means to be Christ…if you are the Son of God…command these stones to be bread…if you are the Son of God…throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple to see if God will save you…and then the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and says, all this I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. The devil gives Jesus a shortcut to glory bypassing all the messiness of the cross.

When Jesus is on the cross we can hear the devil’s words echoed by those passing by, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The devil wants to redefine what it means to be the Christ and Peter is momentarily allied with the devil and Jesus lets him know. Matthew 16:23 (ESV) 23 [Jesus] turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Out of love, Peter redefines what it means to be the Christ. Peter wants to protect Jesus from suffering and death and he is rebuked for it. Now, trying to keep Jesus from the cross is not much of a temptation for us who are living 2,000 years after Jesus suffered, died and rose from the dead, and yet there is still a great temptation to redefine what it means to be the Christ. It seems that we desperately want a Christ that we can define; a Christ who conforms to the world.

In the western world there has been a tremendous shift from people thinking about what is good for society as a whole to a focus on what is good for me. More and more it seems that people are focused on themselves and not on what is good for others. One indication of this is that more and more young people are choosing not to have children because having children and raising children is difficult and consumes a great deal of time and money. Children complicate life, but without children society cannot survive.

Many people and churches today try to redefine what it means for Jesus to be the Christ. They often are doing it out of love and good intentions. They want a Jesus that does not call out sin and make people feel bad. They want a Jesus in their own image. They want a generic Christ who is an energy of sorts that they can plug into once in a while for a boost. They want a Christ who does what they want Him to do when they want Him to do it. People want a glorious Christ who helps them be successful; a Christ to make them healthy, wealthy and wise. Folks want a Christ who is around to help, support, comfort, protect. But that is not who the Christ is.

Progressive denominations and seminaries are moving beyond gay rights and into a queer theology claiming that “Christian theology is a fundamentally queer enterprise.” And they claim that traditional Christianity has been corrupted into systemic defamation of sensual self-indulgence.[1] They want to redefine Christ so He celebrates their perversion of God’s gift of marriage and sexuality. So many desperately want a gnostic Jesus who does not care what you do with your body as long as you have the right knowledge about God.

There are a number of people who, over the years, have left the fellowship of this congregation because they were looking for a different Christ; a Christ more compatible with the world. It is uncomfortable to be at odds with the world so folks want a Jesus of the world, but St. Paul warns about this in last week’s epistle reading. Romans 12:2 (ESV) 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We want a Christ that is all about me, me, me and the Christ says, “Deny yourself.” Tell yourself “no.” Do not indulge your sinful desires. Reject self-indulgence. Deny yourself.

Jesus is the Christ. To be Christ means to suffer, die and rise from the dead. Then the question is, “What does it mean to follow Jesus?”

John the Baptist found this out the hard way. John is imprisoned for calling out the king’s adultery and Jesus leaves John in prison and John is executed. Jesus did not do what John wanted. Why didn’t Jesus help John? Jesus is often a hidden Christ. The true Christ is a Christ who often hides His greatness, glory, majesty and power. He is a Christ that allows you to suffer and die. His promises remain and you will be raised from the dead and have eternal life, but the suffering here is real. To answer the question, “What does it mean to follow Jesus?” The true Christ says, Matthew 16:24 (ESV) 24 … “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

We want a Christ that is all about me, me, me and the Christ says, “Deny yourself.” Tell yourself “no.” Do not indulge your sinful desires. Reject self-indulgence. Deny yourself.

The world tells you to indulge yourself, be your true you, go all in on your desires and adopt them as your identity. Jesus says, “Deny yourself.”

Jesus teaches you to live out your identity as a baptized child of God. Because you belong to Jesus. God’s name and identity have been put onto you. You are a follower of Jesus. Live out who you are in Christ. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. Be transformed by your identity in Christ and fight the powerful desire to conform to the world. As a follower of Jesus you expect suffering and death knowing you will be raised from the dead. As a follower of Jesus you are on your knees confessing your sins and receiving the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. As a follower of Jesus you gather to hear the Good News of who Jesus is and what He has done.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus three times tells His disciples that He is going to Jerusalem and will suffer and be killed and then rise again. Many people refer to these as passion predictions and that seems to be how Peter also heard it. Jesus will suffer and die. But not just suffer. Not just die. Jesus will also be raised up. These are not just passion predictions but also resurrection predictions. They are predictions of victory over sin, death and the grave. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Christ.

What does it mean to be the Christ? It means to suffer and die and be raised from the dead.

What does it mean to follow the Christ? It means to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Jesus through the difficulties of life, through suffering and death, all the way to eternal life with the Lord in the Heavenly City.

Follow Jesus. Amen.

[1] https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2023/06/13/queering_jesus_how_its_going_mainstream_at_progressive_churches_and_top_divinity_schools_903535.html?mc_cid=11f1150411

Posted on August 27, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

The Perfect Sculpture

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Vicar Matthew Kinne
8/27/23
Romans 11:33-12:8

A stone sculptor has a fascinating challenge; he has to chisel away stone bit by bit until he makes a figure that matches what he saw in his imagination. If he makes one mistake along the way while chiseling he has to make a choice of either making a smaller piece of artwork or he has to scrap the whole project and start over. Carving stone is a difficult and mentally exhausting task and yet renowned artists, such as Michelangelo, were so well trained and gifted in this art, that they were able to carve out things we perceive as soft and cloth-like out of stone. They could carve pillows, drapes, clothing, and even skin out of stone so intricately, it wouldn’t be until you touched the statue that you would realize you were touching a hard stony surface. It was almost as if the figure made from stone was the perfect depiction of the artist’s dream brought into reality. But these amazing sculptures, just like anything else made by man, eventually decay and crumble.

We are always tempted to say something is “perfect” when it is new or has reached its highest potential. But if something was truly perfect, it would be everlasting. When we say God is perfect, this is not an attribute that we have attached to God ourselves. He is the definition of heavenly “perfection”. He is the perfect rock that does not crumble or decay. We heard St. Paul quote the prophet Isaiah saying, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, who has been his counselor?” The Lord is His own counselor, because there is no one else perfect like Him from whom He can seek council. Therefore, God is the standard of perfection, He cannot do or be anything else but perfection.

If anyone imperfect was to be in the presence of God’s glory, that person would not just crumble, they melt away. That goes for anyone. It doesn’t matter if you went to church your whole life, or only attend on and off; it doesn’t matter if you know you’ve sinned a little, or a lot– anyone who has some form of imperfection is not worthy of being in the presence of God. Think back to some of the Old Testament stories of the Ark of the Covenant. If anyone, it didn’t matter if priest or commoner, ever so much as grazed the mercy seat of the Ark, they would die. This isn’t because the Ark was cursed, but in reality it is the other way around. The person who is imperfect is the cursed one who, by touching the Ark, was touching the definition of perfection. This ultimately leads to the demise of the cursed being, because they cannot live in the perfect presence of God.

The curse of sin you and I carry is what makes Jesus’ work so invaluable for the church. Because of the cross Christ bore, and the curtain split in two on that Good Friday, His perfect body given up to death for us allowed a bridge of righteousness to be carved out for us sinful humanity to cross over and be with our Father in heaven. Without Christ dying and without that robe of righteousness you wear from your baptism, there would be no chance of eternal life for you. Without the righteousness you wear, the perfection of God would scrape against your unholiness and you would die. Thanks be to God that Jesus, the definition of perfection, also became the definition of sin so that we as the church could live. It is not as if God is being mean to us. It’s not as though He wants to take a hammer and smash us into bits and pieces. No, He wants us to be with Him in paradise forever and be shaped in His perfection. But He cannot change. The only way for His church to stand at His throne is if He chisels away all of our impurities and refines us in His son.

Some false teachers, who are also talented at sculpting their craft, piece together a fake truth; one that is not perfect; one that will crumble on the day of judgment. They are the stone builders that reject Christ and teach people that “God would never kill, because He loves us.” Or “There will be people from every religion in heaven, because God would be too mean to establish hell and condemn someone to a life of agony and torment.” These false teachers do not understand what it means to be in the presence of God’s glory. They do not understand that the same God who burned in righteous anger destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. They do not understand what Jesus means by saying, “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”. They do not understand that being conformed to the world is to reject God and to become part of a crumbling statue of the faith in sinful man.

Unlike the false teachers, we know that Jesus, the true teacher, saves us only through His atoning sacrifice, not through some other religion or personal philosophy. There is assurance to His church that this is all true because of His resurrection. If He did not rise from the dead, that would mean that His body was imperfect and not any more powerful than death. On the contrary, His resurrection is foundational in showing us that He has power over death and the grave, promising that we too will also be raised one day with perfect bodies so that we can bask in His glory.

This would be a perfect place for me to leave you today, because it is such a wonderful thought that we all in the church are saved and going to go to heaven one day to be with Christ in the clouds. We are going to have perfect bodies again, just like Adam and Eve before the fall into sin. But we have only scratched the surface. Let us be honest, until we see our Lord in heaven, we, being the church militant, have to deal with our sinful pride, our imperfect bodies, and a world that wants us to break down more than ever. We have to deal with it day in and day out. And even though we deal with this turmoil, we are called to use our bodies as perfect statues or a living sacrifice in the world portraying us as Christ’s disciples.

We sang about it in our sermon hymn today:

yet He who dwells in heav’n above

chooses to live with us in love,

making our body His temple.

(LSB 645 Sanza 3)

St. Paul writes in Romans chapter 12, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Just like the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, God puts tests in your way so that your faith can be proved. He shapes you with His Gospel because He wants you to have the image of Christ who never sinned. But the tests of faith happen so Christ can shine through you, not so your pride can peak out its ugly head. Without Christ inside of us, it’s easy to sin. It is the more common way out of a life with responsibility. Addictions are easy to pick back up. Speeding while driving is almost expected. Ignoring someone who needs help is simple– just put in a pair of headphones, look at your phone, and relax as the rest of the world burns. And while we’re at it, talking about phones- how easy is it to find inappropriate content or send messages talking about someone behind their back. How easy it is to believe that wearing specific brands of clothing and maybe wearing clothes in an immodest way allows the public to view the body in an unholy way. These examples are only but a few things showing that we sinners do not always display our bodies as temples.

It is also a simple trap of pride to think that you are better than everyone in the world because you are doing churchy-looking activities. Teaching Bible Studies, volunteering at church, serving the homeless, visiting the sick, going on Christian retreats, or supplying needs to the needy are not things that gain you salvation. These things can be intended for good, but if you are using your works to justify your salvation and displaying your “good deeds” to the world to gain attention to yourself, you are redefining what is “perfection”. Remember who is the definition of “Perfection”? It is not you. It is Christ, alone.

You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone. It is He who saves you and makes your body His temple; a living sacrifice. But it is only those who believe that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, not they themselves, that hear the sculptor’s voice, and follow in His ways.

many may come to hear God’s Word

where He this promise is bringing:

“I know My own, My own know Me;

you, not the world, My face shall see;

My peace I leave with you. Amen.”

(LSB 645 Stanza 4)

So, if there is one thing I would want you to take away from this sermon it is this:

Those of you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the Rock, Jesus Christ, from which you were hewn; the perfect Rock that the stone builders rejected. It is in Christ Jesus you are saved from the wrath of this world, sin, death, and the devil and also carved into His perfect sculpture through the baptismal life in which the world sees Christ’s work of salvation. Amen.

Posted on August 20, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

You Know Who Jesus is and What He Has Done.

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Pentecost 12 2023, Proper 12A
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
August 20, 2023
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8, Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15, 28-32, Matthew 15:21-28

There is a whole industry built around risk management. A lot of what risk management does is to try to figure out ways to prevent you or your loved ones from ever feeling desperate. For me, between my employee benefits and personal insurance, tens of thousands of dollars are spent each year to manage my risk and try to keep me and my family from ever having to be in a desperate situation. There is health insurance, disability insurance, car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, identity insurance, not to mention social security payments, retirement programs and savings accounts, all trying to prevent times of desperation. Because desperation hurts. It is a terrible feeling to be desperately in need and not be able fix it.

In our Gospel reading today we meet a desperate woman. Even worse than having a personal problem, this is a problem with woman’s daughter — this poor woman’s daughter is severely oppressed by a demon. The devil and his evil angels are attacking this woman’s beloved child and there is nothing she can do. But the woman has hope. She knows of someone who can help. Jesus of Nazareth can drive out demons. He has done so in Capernaum and around the Sea of Galilee. The woman hears that Jesus has come north to the coastal towns of Tyre and Sidon and she goes to Jesus. He is her last hope; the last hope for her daughter.

Matthew 15:22 (ESV) 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

The Canaanite woman knows who Jesus is and Matthew lets us know this by recording her words, “O Lord, Son of David.” In Matthew, only the disciples call Jesus, “Lord”. This woman knows who Jesus is and knows what Jesus can do and so she cries out, “Have mercy on me!”

She is desperate. Jesus can help. She cries out for mercy for her daughter. Jesus is right there — and Jesus ignores her. He does not answer her. The woman could give up right then and slink away, but the woman knows who Jesus is and knows what Jesus can do, so she persists. Apparently she is so persistent as to become annoying to the disciples who beg Jesus to send the woman away. In our lesson a few weeks ago we saw the disciples asking Jesus to send away the crowd of thousands who were getting hungry, now they want Him to send away this annoyingly frantic woman in her moment of desperation. But she persists because she knows who Jesus is and she knows what Jesus can do. The disciples want Jesus to send her away, but instead, Jesus addresses this woman and Jesus seems to reject her. Matthew 15:24 (ESV) 24 He [answers], “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” I came for the children of Israel, you are a Canaanite, an enemy of Israel. Jesus has ignored her and now he seems to reject her. The woman should get the hint and go away, but the woman knows who Jesus is and knows what Jesus can do. And she cries out again, “Lord, help me.” Again, she calls Him “Lord”.

But now Jesus really gets mean and nasty with the woman. Matthew 15:26 (ESV) 26 And he [answers], “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” This does not seem like the kind, loving, caring Jesus we learn about in Sunday school. Who is this Jesus and what is He doing? He calls this desperate woman a dog. Now, it was common for the Jews to refer to Canaanites as dogs. It is an ethnic slur. The desperate woman is seeking help from Jesus and He ignores her, tells her she does not deserve help, and then calls her a dog. And yet the woman does not give up and go away because she knows who Jesus is and knows what He can do. Matthew 15:27 (ESV) 27 She [says], “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Now Jesus responds to the woman in a way He does not respond to anyone else in the Gospel of Mattew, Matthew 15:28 (ESV) 28 Then Jesus [answers] her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.” “O woman, great is your faith!” Earlier, in the boat on the water, Jesus tells the disciples that they have “little faith” but this woman is said to have “great faith”.

The woman knows that she does not deserve God’s mercy. She knows she cannot earn God’s mercy. She knows she is nothing compared to God and yet — she knows who Jesus is and she knows what Jesus can do and in her desperation she knows Jesus is the answer. By responding to her the way He does, Jesus demonstrates this to everyone.

When it comes to the sin in your life it is quite natural for you to always be looking for risk management. You look for ways to mitigate the risk of the consequence of sin by finding something that you can do to take away the punishment of sin. You desperately want to be able to do something, or pay something, so you can rely on your actions and not be left desperate in your search for forgiveness. “If only I prayed enough. If only I read the Bible enough. If only I volunteered enough. If only I gave enough. If only I could take some control over my problem with sin.” Then I would not feel so vulnerable – so desperate. Martin Luther got himself excommunicated and sentenced to death because he opposed the sale of indulgences which, for a price, removed the penalty for sin. What a wonderfully easy way to deal with sin – just buy a certificate signed by the archbishop. Indulgences are a pretty straightforward risk management tool for sin — too bad they are a fraudulent invention.

You are vulnerable to the penalty for sin. There is no managing the risk of sin. There is nothing you can do to help take care of your sin issue. Your problem with sin is a problem to the core. You are, by nature, sinful and unclean. You can, and should, battle sin and temptation. You can, and should, strive to minimize sins of thought, word and deed, but you cannot eliminate sin. You cannot do it. You are a sinner and the wages of sin are eternal death and hell. This leaves you in a place of desperation. You desperately need someone else to cure your sin problem. You are desperate and you have only one hope. You need Jesus.

Jesus is God in flesh and He sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay the price for your sin. He accomplishes what you cannot accomplish. Jesus sheds His blood for you and declares, “It is finished.”

The good news is that you know who Jesus is, and you know what Jesus will do for you. You cry out, “Lord, have mercy!” knowing that Jesus is Lord, and the Lord forgives you your sins. You know Jesus and you know what Jesus has done for you.

Now it can seem, at times, that Jesus is ignoring you. You pray, “Lord, take away this sinful desire,” and it seems that nothing happens. It can seem as if Jesus is there for others, but not for you. It can seem that Jesus goes out of His way to leave you in desperation over past sins, but none of these perceptions matter. You know who Jesus is. You know what Jesus has done for you.

Jesus is God in flesh and He sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay the price for your sin. He accomplishes what you cannot accomplish. Jesus sheds His blood for you and declares, “It is finished.”

In a world that is all about me, me, me, Jesus teaches that it is not about you. It is about Jesus for you. Jesus declares, “I forgive you all your sins.” And “this is my body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins.”

When you find yourself caught in a desperate situation, when you feel like God is ignoring you and not giving you what you need, when you question whether you are even a Christian, do not give up hope. You are a beloved, baptized child of God. You have eternal life. You know who Jesus is. You know what Jesus has done for you. Amen.

Posted on August 6, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Two Kings’ Dinners

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Pentecost 10 2023, Proper 13
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
August 6, 2023
Isaiah 55:-, Romans 9:1-13, Matthew 14:13-21

Two kings throw dinner parties. One is smaller, one is larger. One is fancy with all the trimmings; one is simple, more of an improvised picnic. One is at a palace and has expensive appetizers and main dishes and desserts and abundant wine. One is outside and has only fish and bread and not even any lemons or tartar sauce from Frisch’s. One party has lots of trained servants scurrying around to serve the guests. One has 12 reluctant men distributing food to an overwhelming crowd. One is the birthday party for a king; one is done in the wake of a tragic death. Which king’s dinner would you rather be a part of; the fancy dinner at the palace, or the impromptu picnic outside?

Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, is throwing a birthday party for himself at the frontier fortress/palace Macaerus overlooking the Dead Sea from the west. It is likely a raucous event with lots of important people gathered to eat the king’s food and drink the king’s wine. The king is likely having a very good time and getting a little drunk himself when his step-daughter/niece Salome comes out to dance. Her provocative dance so delights her tipsy step-father/uncle that he foolishly promises to give her whatever she might ask.

Salome does not ask for a pony, or a party, or a palace. Salome is shrewd, the daughter of politicians. She is not going to waste her step-father’s overly generous promise so she consults with her mother, Herodias, and… Matthew 14:8 (ESV) 8 Prompted by her mother, she [says], “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”

Herodias sees an opportunity with Salome and she takes it. She hates John the Baptist. Who does that weird, desert prophet think he is to try to tell the queen what she can do with her life? John is offensive. John has the audacity to tell Herod that it is not right for him to be married to his brother’s wife. Who does this religious fanatic John think he is? Doesn’t he know who Herodias is? She is rich and powerful. Doesn’t John know that the rules for the little people do not apply to the rich and powerful? Herodias has had John arrested and now she has a chance to be done with him for good.

The dinner, a birthday celebration of Herod’s life, takes a dark, dreadful turn with Salome’s request — the king is faced with a life or death decision. The boisterous, fun-filled party atmosphere evaporates and now it is deathly silent as all eyes are on Herod. Will he honor his oath and have a man killed, or will he break his promise and find a way to wiggle his way out of a bad situation?

Herod knows it is wrong to kill John, but he made an oath to Salome. The man who is sleeping with his brother’s wife, who is aroused by his step-daughter’s dancing, who generally does not care what others thinks, now chooses to stand on principal so the birthday party crowd will not think less of him. Herod orders John to be beheaded.

Now the somber mood really takes a dark, grisly turn as John the Baptist is killed and his head is brought to the king’s birthday party on a platter. At the palace fortress, Machaerus, the voice of one calling in the wilderness is silenced. Oddly, Machaerus means sword. Jesus warned, Matthew 10:34 (ESV) 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Dinner at sword palace seemed to have the most promise to be a great time, but it ends with death brought to the party on a platter. Herodias scores a victory. Her enemy is dead and John’s blood is on her husband Herod who is now haunted by the killing. Herod believes the teacher Jesus is John risen from the dead.

The other King’s dinner begins in the shadow of John’s death. Jesus hears about John being killed and He retreats by boat to the wilderness to have some time alone to grieve. Jesus retreats from the people but the people do not retreat from Jesus. They see Him leave in the boat and follow on shore and are waiting for Him when He lands. It is a huge crowd of people needing healing. Jesus has compassion on them. His gut aches for them and He heals the sick and lame. It is a huge crowd and it takes a long time to heal everyone and now the sun is setting and bellies are growling with hunger. The disciples have a practical solution. Matthew 14:15 (ESV) 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to [Jesus] and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

I sympathize with the disciples. I like to be practical. When I travel with a group I want to know where we are going to eat every meal. The disciples have a good, common sense solution to a problem.

But Jesus is not all about common sense. Jesus is king of creation as He just demonstrated by healing the huge crowd. Matthew 14:16 (ESV) 16 …Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” The disciples look at each other hoping one of them knows something that the others do not. Apparently Jesus wants to have a giant dinner here in this desolate place — a sort of big pot luck except only one person brought any food and it is only five loaves of bread and two fish. That is not enough to feed even Jesus and the 12 disciples let alone the thousands of people gathered. Jesus does not have common sense.

Jesus asks for the food to be brought to Him. He gives thanks, breaks the bread and gives it to the disciples who give it to the crowds. Five loaves and two fish are now enough to feed 5,000 men plus women and children with abundant leftovers. This is a miraculous, impromptu dinner party outdoors in the wilderness with the 12 reluctant disciples as the servers.

It is an amazing event, but over this miraculous meal hangs the darkness of the news about John’s gruesome execution for speaking the truth. Jesus provides in abundance, but He does not come to bring peace, but a sword. Jesus’ ways are not our ways.

The impromptu picnic dinner of fish and bread is a miraculous meal and along with the afternoon of healing it shows who King Jesus really is. Jesus is not just another prophet, Jesus is God in flesh come to earth to serve His people and give Himself for them.

Jesus does not act as one would expect. This king does not have a fancy palace fortress. This king is not waited on by a stable of servants. This king has the power of life and death, but uses the power not to kill, but to heal and raise people from the dead. This king does not surround Himself with the rich and powerful, but rather with broken sinners who know that they need help; who know they need forgiveness. This king speaks the truth in love and calls the powerful to repentance. But the rich and powerful do not believe the rules apply to them, and just as King Herod kills John the Baptist, Herod’s counterpart in Jerusalem, Governor Pontius Pilate, permits Jesus to be crucified for all to see.

Who is Jesus and what did He come to do? After this massive feeding of the people some look to Jesus as some kind of bread king who will provide them with endless food, but Jesus does not come to simply meet practical wants and desires. Jesus is not the bread king, or the healing king. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This lesson is a good reminder that God’s ways are not the world’s ways. What the world thinks is important is not what God values.

In our day there is a lot of push to want to learn about how to be successful in life. For many churches, if that is what people want, that is what people get. So, instead of hearing sermons about sin and forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus, people at these churches learn about how to do better in order to be prosperous and effective in this life.

It is so easy in this life to become enchanted with the ways of the rich and powerful. We see their lives and think how amazing it would be to a part of their world. But then, far too often, when we get a glimpse behind the veneer of wealth we discover that many of the rich and powerful are evil, greedy, sexually immoral, hateful and selfish. Like Herodias having John’s head brought to the party, the rich and powerful show how emptiness and evil go along with money and power.

This lesson is a good reminder that God’s ways are not the world’s ways. What the world thinks is important is not what God values. The fancy things of this world are not what life is all about. The fancy party at the palace is dinner of death. A simple picnic in the wilderness with Jesus is a meal of healing and life and abundance hosted by the Lamb of God who is offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.

It is an easy temptation to expect something extraordinary and miraculous from God to prove who He is, but that is not God’s promise. The promise is that your sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus. The promise in the waters of baptism is that you are a beloved child of God. Jesus is not impressed by the rich and powerful; Jesus comes for sinners who need forgiveness. You have come here this morning to hear Jesus’ words of forgiveness. You have come to receive once again the gift of eternal life. You have come to be refreshed knowing that you are one with the creator of the universe through Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit. And you have come to be fed. It is not fancy, but Jesus has commanded the church, “You give them something to eat,” and so we will. We will have a meal together. We will eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. Nothing fancy, but it is a meal of abundant blessing forever hosted by the King Himself. It is Jesus miraculous meal for you. Amen.

Posted on July 30, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

You are God’s Treasure

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Pentecost 7 2014, Proper 12
July 27, 2014
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
Deuteronomy 7:6-9, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 13:44-52

Jesus is staying at a house in Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. He goes outside and down to the lake where such great crowds gather that He gets into a boat to teach them the parable of the sower which He explains, and then the parable of the weeds and the mustard seed and the leaven. Then Jesus and His disciples go back into the house and the disciples ask Jesus to explain the meaning of the Parable of the Weeds. As we heard in Vicar’s sermon last week, Jesus explains: The Son of Man sows good seed and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sows them is the devil. We so often want to ask, “Why does God allow evil to exist.” Jesus teaches here that He will let the weeds grow for a time, Matthew 13:29 (ESV) 29 … lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.”

For now the weeds are allowed to grow, but at the close of the age the angels will gather the weeds — all causes of sin and all law-breakers – and they will be thrown into the fiery furnace. The sons of the evil one will be burned and the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. This separation will happen on the last day, but until then, Jesus instructs that both good seed and weeds be allowed to grow together — and it is a weedy world.

You are a baptized child of God living in a world of weeds. As a follower of Jesus in a world of weeds it can feel like you are getting choked out and have to fight for light as the weeds grow tall and unchecked around you. You can get frustrated and discouraged. Living in this weedy world there is great temptation. You are influenced by the weeds and their weedy ways. Their sin tempts you to sin. Their sin makes sin seem normal. In this weed-filled life you can feel like you have disappeared into a world of sin. You can start to believe there is no hope for a follower of Jesus among the weeds of the world.

Jesus allows the weeds to grow and He knows this will be difficult for the wheat, so, after telling His disciples that the good seed and weeds will grow together until the last day, Jesus then tells two more parables.

Matthew 13:44-46 (ESV) 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Traditionally these parables are interpreted to mean that the treasure; the pearl, is salvation in Jesus and you are the man who finds the treasure — you are the merchant who finds the pearl — and you are to give up everything to attain the treasure — to possess the pearl. You give up all that you have to get salvation in Jesus. You give up everything to obtain the treasure that is Jesus. This is how these parables have been interpreted.

But let’s see if this fits with the rest of the Gospel of Matthew. If we flip forward a few pages to Matthew 18 we find the story of the unforgiving servant who is having himself and all that he has sold to pay his unpayable debt. This selling of all that you have is a shown to be a great tragedy; a great punishment.

Flip forward another page to Matthew 19 we find the rich young man who believes he has done all the good deeds he must do to have eternal life and Jesus tells him to sell all that he has and give it to the poor and have treasure in heaven. The rich young man is unable to do this. Jesus then says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. The disciples are concerned, “Who then can be saved.” Jesus tells them, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

If the treasure is Jesus and you are the man who must give up everything to obtain the treasure, then — you are lost, because you cannot give up everything — with man this is impossible. As hard as you try, you cannot give up all your sin. You cannot give up all your possessions. You cannot do it because you are tainted with the sin you inherited from your first parents, Adam and Eve.

If the treasure is Jesus; if the pearl is Jesus, and it is up to you to give up everything, then you are lost. But that is not the message Jesus is giving to His disciples who are struggling with being His followers in a world full of weeds.

Jesus is not the treasure here. You are the treasure. You are the pearl of great price. Jesus is the man who finds the treasure and gives up everything in order to possess you.

You, a lowly sinner hidden in the weedy fields of this world of immorality and evil; you are God’s great treasure. You, the one that struggles with secret desires and actions; with hidden guilt and shame; you are the pearl of great value. You are the reason that Jesus Christ gives up heavenly glory, humbles Himself and takes on human flesh as a helpless infant. You are the reason that Jesus lives a life of poverty as a travelling preacher. You are the reason that Jesus, God in flesh, gives Himself up to be arrested and tried in the middle of the night. You are the reason Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, gives Himself up to be spit upon, mocked, beaten, stripped, and brutally flogged. You are the reason that Jesus, the Word made flesh, gives up everything–allowing Himself in humiliation to be nailed to the cross at Calvary — in order to redeem you from sin, death and the devil. You are the reason Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death.

You are the great treasure. Jesus gives up all that He has in order to have you. You were sealed as His treasured possession in your baptism as the name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, was watered onto your head. You are God’s great treasure. You belong to God. Not from anything you have done, but because Jesus gave up everything to have you. Blessed are the poor in spirit for yours is the kingdom of heaven. You, who know the depth of your own sin and depravity; you who knows that from yourself there is no hope of being good enough; you are saved by the blood of Jesus shed for you on the cross.

Jesus is not the treasure here. You are the treasure. You are the pearl of great price. Jesus is the man who finds the treasure and gives up everything in order to possess you.

Into your life in the weeds comes this amazing good news. You, who were lost in this sinful world, have been rescued; redeemed. Not from anything within yourself but through Jesus giving up everything for you. You do not need to doubt because it is not from yourself. You are Jesus’ treasure. God is for you.

If God is for you, who can be against you?

The devil likes to hang around accusing you of being an irredeemable sinner who might as well go on sinning. The devil wants to guide you, but you do not belong to the devil. You are not a seed of the evil one; you are good seed, you are a son of the Kingdom because of what Jesus has done for you.

Romans 8:32 (ESV) 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

The devil wants to accuse. But his accusations are powerless.

Romans 8:33-34 (ESV) 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

Jesus is for you. The one who died and rose and ascended gave up everything to possess you. There is no one who can trump Jesus. There is no one who can charge you. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ.

Life in this world is troubled. You live among the sons of the evil one. There are many who reject Jesus’ lordship; many who reject Jesus’ sacrifice for them; many who reject Jesus altogether. You live among the weeds of the world, but the weeds cannot separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. You live with tribulation. You live with distress. There is great persecution against Christians in this world and it seems to be getting worse. There is famine in this world where there is enough food, but not in the right places. There are those who do not have adequate clothing. There is danger everywhere. There is warfare around the world with no end in sight. It can seem like everything is out of control and there is no hope. But nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. You are Jesus’ treasured possession. You are His pearl of great value. Nothing can separate you from His love.

Neither death, nor life.

Nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come

Nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.

Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus your Lord.

The weeds cannot separate you from God’s love.

Jesus gave everything to have you. You are God’s treasured possession. You are the pearl of great value. You belong to Jesus. Amen.

Posted on July 23, 2023 by pastorkevinjud

Dandelions of the World

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Pentecost 8
Propers 11A
Gospel Text: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Vicar Matthew Kinne

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Focus Text: V41-43 “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom
all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

I absolutely despise dandelions. They are a nuisance to a lawn, and hard to prevent from growing
just about anywhere, including on concrete. They are stubborn and annoying. I’ve even trained my
two-year-old daughter to pull these pesky-yellow-fiends as a game so that they can be eradicated faster.
But no matter how hard I try to use chemical sprays, gasoline, or even letting the sun bake the flowers in
the middle of a tan crispy field, somehow they have just become the most resilient weed out there. In
fact, if you just type into Google “the Resiliency of Dandelions” many searches come up of different and
various organizations that use the dandelion as their mascot or symbol, because they want their group to
sound everlasting and unstoppable.

Needless to say, dandelions, among many other pesky weeds, are able to be trampled on. Weeds
really only get their power of annoyance because of the large number they grow in within a short period
of time. Other than that, they don’t have deep roots. They don’t have strong stems. They are rather weak
and frail alone. But so many people have just given up on trying to treat their lawns, to the point that
their neighbor’s lawn gets infested too. It is pointlessly annoying.

It may seem, from our Gospel reading today, that the Master of the field also gave up on treating
His field for weeds as He told His servants not to separate the weeds from the wheat. But as the parable
continues on, we are taught that in fact the Master of the field has a long term plan for His harvest. That
plan, of course, is for His servants to bind up all of the weeds and throw them into the fire. On the other
hand, the wheat is gathered to Himself, into His barns. Of course, Jesus through this parable is not
talking about dandelions or actual weeds, specifically. But His explanation allows us rather
simple-minded people to understand what God intends to do with both His church, and those who deny
salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In some ways, discussing this subject in a parable form, makes this conversation easier to talk
about. We are talking about the subject of living eternally with God in paradise, or being bound up into a
fiery torment of death. That is not a fun subject to have with people who uprightly deny Christ,
especially with people whom you love and care about. It’s uncomfortable.

You and I both live in a world where the wiles and tears of sinfulness and evil overgrows and
sometimes even chokes out people within the Church. Maybe you have been snagged on occasion into
the snares of weeds, planted by the devil, which caused you to ignore God’s promise of salvation or
simply the Holy life of the Christian living. Or maybe you know someone close who has been dragged
down and drowned out by the evil dandelions of this world.

But within the Church, the comfort of Christ’s Gospel, given to you in your baptismal life, where
He places His perfect righteous life on you, gives you peace and faith. That is very important to
understand. No matter how badly Satan’s weeds grow over you, God gives you absolution when you
confess your sins to Him. We give Him nothing but our weeds– our sinful, unlovable, disrespectful
selves, in exchange for Him to turn us into the wheat of His field- His church, His sheep, His people
made holy and righteous in the sight of our heavenly Father. He doesn’t just “claim” you to be clean and
saved figuratively either. He assures you that you are cleaned and saved by putting His perfect body to
death and spilling His righteous blood into your unholy, weed infested soul. He gives you everything
you need to be wheat.

So, when we confess the Nicene Creed here in a moment that “He will come again with glory to
judge the both living and the dead” or “the weeds and the wheat”, do not leave it in your conscience of
which life you had, but more so which life you have been made into through the atonement of Jesus
Christ. We are all sinners. We were all once weeds, and still carry out the side effects of being such. We
still have the temptation to carry out our pet sins. But, as our Epistle reading from last week showed us,
in Romans 8: 1-2, we are no longer bound to carry out what our sinful flesh wants us to do. Instead, as
we heard today’s Epistle, the Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). When the Lord shows us
our sin, He turns us away from the shadow of weeds and turns our petals towards the Son. Pun intended.
When the Lord causes us to face Him, we are to repent and be reminded that because of the
blood poured out, because of the perfect body given, because of the washing in Baptism, Christ makes
you His wheat. And if you are still in the paradox of doubting, the notion that you are concerned about
which one you are, a “Weed” or “Wheat”, shows that God’s law is evident in you. You are a wheat if
you hear the voice of our Shepherd calling and asking you to follow Him into understanding of where
salvation comes from. Just like the disciples who followed Jesus into the house to hear Him teach about
the heavenly promises He supplies, believing that Jesus will do these things and listening to His teaching
is reassurance that you are in fact His and He is yours.

From here, I have one lingering question: Why does Christ wait to harvest His field, instead of
just taking us right now? Well, there are a couple of things to consider here. First- no one knows the time
or place Christ is making His return except for the Father (Matthew 24:36). So, the day of harvest, or
judgment day, is not even known to the Son who is the Judge Himself. In the New Testament there are
three references that He will come back like a “Thief in the Night” ( Revelation 16:15, Matthew 24:43,
1 Thessalonians 5:2). And Jesus gives many other parables to show us that He will come back,
unexpectedly, to judge the living and the dead. But even then, He expects His wheat to wait in
anticipation for His second coming. It’s not as if He made us a promise, left, and then allowed us to
become weeds again. No, He continues to give us strength through His Holy Spirit to lead faithful and

Godly lives among weeds until He returns. And He promises to be with us always, even until the end of
the age (Matthew 28:20).

Secondly, we just talked about our loved ones, and neighbors who uprightly deny Christ. If
Christ came right now, would they not be bound up and thrown into the fire for unbelieve? After all, we
know that Jesus says in Mark 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever
does not believe will be condemned.“ God waits as a form of grace for the unrepentant. We see this
“grace period” throughout the Old Testament including in the example of Cain- God put a mark on Cain
after he murdered his brother. This sign kept anyone from then murdering him. God waited to harvest
Cain for 730 years so that there could be a place in time for him to repent and be absolved. We are
unsure about whether Cain did or did not repent. But we know that all of his descendants were not
preserved in the flood as Noah’s was family (Genesis 4-5). It is a sad and unfortunate example for us to
listen to as we also are given the time in this life to ask for God’s mercy on us.

Yes, God wants us to repent of all our sin. We even say in our Small Catechism regarding our
baptismal life that baptizing with water indicates “that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition
and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily
emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever (Luther’s Small Catechism
2017 pg.24)”. Therefore, every day we should heed the Word of God and ask for forgiveness, and be
reminded that we are saved through Christ.

So, when you are out in the world (the field), and the deceiving flowers of Satan’s weeds take
advantage of you, remember, the Lord’s salvation given to you cannot be trampled upon. Unlike the frail
stems of Satan’s followers, God’s truth and the faith He has given to you is held up not by a frail stem,
but by a thick trunk. A trunk so strong that it held up all the sins of the world. A trunk that bore the body
of our Lord, Jesus Christ, which from His side spilled water and blood onto the church and continues to
pour it out on to us here in the service. Just as a plant needs water to grow, the body and blood given to
you for the forgiveness of sins continues to nourish you, assuring you of your salvation and spiritual
growth. This is why having the Lord’s Supper regularly is so important. The water poured on us in
baptism is the strongest weed killer ever. And this water, not only is the strongest, but is everlasting.
Jesus is the everlasting water that cleans us and gathers us to our Father in heaven. And it is there where
we will be stored forever and ever into our Father’s barns. Amen.