Sermon for Reformation 2007

Reformation Day (Observed) (October 28, 2007)
"Angels of the Reformation" (Revelation 14:6-7)

In the name of Jesus, beloved children of God.
Our text today is this morning's first reading from Revelation 14:6-7, where St. John writes: Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Revelation 14:6-7, ESV)

Last week we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our congregation. For 50 years God's grace has been poured out here every time his Word was preached, every time someone was baptized, every time someone came to this altar and ate and drank the Body and Blood of Jesus. For 50 years God's gifts have been given here. The gifts of life, forgiveness, and salvation were unwrapped here. With lives dedicated to God, people have given thanks to him for his wonderful gifts. For 50 years, God's glory has been present here. You can't see it. There's no burning bush here with a voice telling you take off your shoes. But God's glory has been hidden here under the forms of water, spoken words, bread and wine. Christ is truly present here in the Sacrament of the Altar. So maybe we ought to think about taking our shoes off, because when we are here, we really are standing on holy ground.

Following on the heels of Messiah's 50th anniversary is the remembrance of something that happened nearly 500 years ago. It was an event that started what is known as the Reformation. The false teachings and abuses of the church of that day were publicly addressed and and to some extent corrected. On October 31, 1517, a German monk wrote a document in which he questioned a current practice in the church. He walked to the doors of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany and nailed his document there. He didn't expect to cause a big ruckus. All he wanted was for the topic to be debated. What was that document? It was a series of statements, or theses -- 95 of them, to be exact. What was the topic? Simply put, it was the selling of indulgences.

Let me explain what that was all about. Here's how it worked according to the theology of that time: Christ died for your sins, but there are still earthly punishments for your sins. You can work these off by doing good works. If you have not done enough good deeds before you die, you go to purgatory, the place where you are "purged" of your remaining punishments. However, there are some folks who go right to heaven when they die. They did so many good works in their life that they have extra good works that can be applied to others, either people still alive or those already dead and in purgatory. In order to take advantage of those good works, you had to be granted an "indulgence."

Our monk with hammer in hand was not to the point yet in his understanding of the Bible where he denied that there was such a place as purgatory and such a thing as indulgences. The rejection of that whole system was to come later. He still considered himself to be a faithful son of the Church. What bothered him initially was that it had turned into a money-making scheme to rebuild the church of St. Peter in Rome. And so one of his theses said, “Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the [wealthiest of wealthy men], build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?” (#86) And in another, he writes, “Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a church?" (#82)

With the recent invention of the printing press, the 95 Theses were copied, printed, and distributed all over Germany and the Empire. The author's name -- Martin Luther -- became a household name. He wrote many more books and pamphlets besides that which he nailed to the church doors of Wittenberg. In his writing and in his preaching, he set forth his recovery of what had been covered over due to centuries of church tradition and the teachings of man rather than the doctrine of God. Luther recovered the truth of the central teaching of Holy Scripture. And this is that truth that sets us free: That we are justified by grace through faith in Christ alone apart from works of the Law. In other words, we are declared not guilty because Christ took the punishment for our sins upon himself at the cross. It's all because of God's love and favor towards us sinners. We receive this gift of justification and forgiveness by simply trusting in God's promises in Christ. It has nothing to do with our good works. And it certainly cannot be bought with money. Listen again to St. Paul's words in Romans 3: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." (Romans 3:23-25, ESV) And as Luther wrote in one of his hymns, "Faith clings to Jesus' cross alone And rests in Him unceasing; And by its fruits true faith is known, With love and hope increasing. For faith alone can justify; Works serve our neighbor and supply The proof that faith is living." (LSB 555.9)

Over the years, some have said that the words of Revelation 14:6 about an "angel" with "an eternal gospel to proclaim" are about Luther. That may be true. After all, the word "angel" can also be translated "messenger." On the other hand, to say this is only about Luther may be narrowing things down too much. And many dispute how "angelic" Luther was. At times his language was crude and his tongue sharp. Nevertheless, Luther recognized that he was a sinner daily in need of forgiveness and he trusted in Christ alone for that forgiveness. He is the father of many more "angels" or "messengers" who follow in his footsteps.

And that includes you and me. We are all "angels" of the Reformation. We are all called to proclaim and support the proclamation of that "eternal gospel." It is eternal because it never changes. It is as true today as it was in Luther's day. It is called "gospel" because it is "good news." The word "gospel" comes from the old English "god spell" meaning "good news." The Greek word is "euangellion" from which we get our word "evangelism." It means "good message." You can hear the word "angel" in it ... "evANGELism." And that does not mean going door-to-door ringing doorbells. It simply means talking about Jesus and his cross...wherever, whenever, however, to whomever God gives us the opportunities. If we were to literally translate the words "with an eternal gospel to proclaim" we could put it like this: "with an eternal gospel to gospelize" or "with an eternal good news to be good news-ing." That's what happens here when the message about the death and resurrection of Jesus is preached and when we sing and speak our Christ-centered liturgy ... you are being "gospelized." That's what happens when you forgive each other for the sake of Christ who has forgiven you ... you are being "good-newsed." It's a message that's meant to be shared, proclaimed, sung, talked about. Remember St. Paul's words in Romans 10: "Faith comes from hearing." You've got to speak it in order for it to be heard.

If the Gospel is truly good news, why are we not more happy to hear it? Why do we not receive this word as true good news? Do we get tired of hearing it? Do we think that we know it so well that now we need to move on to other things? And if we believe this good news is for all people, as our text says, why are we so afraid and tentative about sharing our faith? We discussed this last week during our Sunday morning Bible Class. Part of the reason is that we really don't believe the depths of our depravity. We really don't think our sins and the sins of others are all that bad and that we really need saving from eternal death and damnation. Jesus said in today's Gospel, "Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin." (John 8:34) Do you sin? Yes. You are enslaved to sin. You need to be set free.

Thanks be to God that Christ has set you free. The Son of God became the Lamb of God, sacrificed for your sins at the cross. In Baptism, you were made to be sons of God, inheriting all that Christ won for you with his perfect life, death, and resurrection. In Christ, you are now a son who remains in God's house forever. And "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

Therefore "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth the sea and the springs of water." The hour of his judgment has come ... not the final judgment, but the Gospel call that has gone out to all the world. "Behold," writes St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 6, "now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." What response has someone given to the Gospel? Is it received in faith or is it rejected in unbelief? If it is rejected in unbelief by a heart hardened by sin, then God's judgment of condemnation already rests upon that person. If it is received in faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, then God's judgment of justification rests upon that person.

Give thanks to God that you have been "gospel-ized" ... that you have been "good news-ed." You can now "fear God and give him glory" for his judgment over you in Christ. In Christ, you are justified, not guilty, forgiven, redeemed, bought with the price of Christ's blood, reconciled, made friends again with God.

With Luther and all the other "angels" of the Reformation, you can share that message with the world.

Amen.

Relying on Faith or on Christ?

Whenever disaster strikes, such as the recent fires in Southern California, survivors are interviewed by news reporters. The question that is often asked is this: “How are you getting through all this?” Then follows a common answer: “I’m relying on my faith.”

Well-meaning Christians will say this in times of trial: “I’m relying on my faith.” Without questioning the sincerity (not to mention the sad situation) of the interviewees, I submit that this answer falls short. It doesn’t really say all that should be said. Relying on “MY faith” puts the emphasis in the wrong place. Faith itself accomplishes nothing unless it is faith in the proper object.

Back when I taught high school, I remember having this discussion with one of my students. She said, “Mr. Onken, it doesn’t really matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere.”

I replied, “Okay, then. I believe that this chair in front of me is truly God. I worship this chair. I believe that this chair will give me life forever in heaven.”

“Yeah, but that would be stupid,” the student shot back. “It’s just a chair.”

“But what if I was truly sincere about my belief? I would be sincere, but I would be sincerely wrong...possibly even insane.”

“I get your point,” she conceded. I don’t think I convinced her of the truth of Christianity, but hopefully I got her to realize that it’s not one’s sincerity that matters. Your faith has to be in the right object. Christians confess that object is the Triune God.

Also, sometimes our faith is weak and wavering. There are moments when we don’t feel very strong. How can we say, “I’m relying on my faith” in the times when we doubt?

That’s when it’s important to remember that the Bible never uses language such as “relying on your faith.” Instead, there are plenty of statements that teach us to rely or depend on God. For example, just to name a few...

• 2 Chronicles 14:11 – Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you.
• Isaiah 50:10 – Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
• 2 Corinthians 1:9 – But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
• 1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
• Psalm 62:7 – My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Perhaps it may seem as if I’m overstating the case. After all, Jesus more than once commended the faith of various people (e.g. Mt 8:10; Mt 15:28) and criticized the lack of faith in others (e.g. Mt 8:26; Mt 14:31; Mk 16:14). In each of these cases, however, it was all about the object of faith, and that object was Christ.

When trouble or disaster come your way, you may one day be asked “How are you getting through all this?” When you answer, give a clear witness, not to your own faith, but to the God in whom your faith is placed. God the Father created you and still preserves you even in the midst of trouble or disaster. God the Son redeemed you with his precious blood at the cross and no trouble or disaster can take that away from you. God the Holy Spirit through water and the Word enables you to say in the face of trouble or disaster: “I’m relying on CHRIST. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13)

Writing for the Ear

I was asked to write an article for a booklet that will be given to prospective seminary students. My topic was about sermon preparation. If you care to read it and make comments, click below.

Writing for the Ear

I’ve never considered myself to be a writer. Sure, I’ve been writing sermons every week now for over 11 years. But with early training in the performing and visual arts, I’ve always considered myself to be more of a musician and an artist. My tools of the trade were the piano and the violin, reading dots on a staff with little flags attached...or pencils and pen and ink and paint and brushes, making marks and strokes on paper and canvas.

I don’t know why it took me so long to realize it, but it finally dawned on me that as a pastor, I really am a writer. Pastors have to be wordsmiths. They deal with words and their meanings as they seek to proclaim the timeless truth of the Gospel.

Now, this doesn’t mean that all pastors are going to be producing theological tomes, journal articles, or novels and screenplays. Sermons may be all they will consistently write throughout their ministry (not counting the occasional church newsletter article). Nevertheless, pastors are still writers.

Lately, I’ve also been more conscious of writing for the ear rather than the eye. In other words, writing something that will be spoken and heard is different than writing something that will be read and processed in the head. When you read, you may be able to mentally process a very long sentence similar to some of St. Paul’s lengthy passages in his epistles, where he goes on and on to make a theological point, his thoughts separated in the text by conjunctions and commas and semi-colons and parentheses (although none of those are present in the original Greek; they are placed there by translators for ease of reading and comprehension). In case you didn’t notice, that last sentence was a very long one. I imagine you handled it very well as you read along. Listening to that long sentence in a Sunday sermon, however, could be problematic. It would be very easy to drift off in the middle and start thinking about what you are going to have for lunch after the service is over. Therefore, one key to writing for the ear is use shorter sentences.

Also, it’s important to have a clear theme with an outline that makes sense. One thought should logically follow upon another. When the sermon goes off on tangent after tangent, the hearers will leave wondering, “What in the world was that preacher trying to say?”

Another key to writing for the ear is use simple words. Don’t try to impress everyone with your extensive vocabulary. You’ll just sound pretentious and you will only confuse your hearers. Certainly, words like “justification” must be used. But it’s important to unpack theological terms for the listeners. Otherwise, they will start to tune out.

There are other literary devices that can be used when writing for the ear. You may be familiar with them if you’ve ever studied poetry. Repetition is the repeating of a word or a phrase. Alliteration is the repetition of a sound, in particular the first consonant of a word. Rhyming can also be used, but sparingly. After all, you’re not Dr. Seuss and you’re not preaching about green eggs and ham or a cat in a hat.

Writing is a craft. Writing sermons is, too. Pastors ought to take steps to periodically evaluate their skills and improve their craft. But a well-crafted sermon is not going to improve the power of the Word of God. The Word of God is what works. Read Isaiah 55:10-11. On the other hand, it’s important for the preacher to not get in the way of the Gospel by preparing sermons that are hard to listen to.

October 18, 2007
Kurt Onken
Messiah Lutheran Church
Marysville, WA

Messiah Lutheran Church's 50th Anniversary

This Sunday, Messiah Lutheran Church will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary. We will have two special services that day, a Divine Service at 10:30 am and a Vespers service at 2:00 pm. There will be no 8:00 am service, but note that we will be having Sunday School and Bible Class at 9:15. Between the two services there will be a potluck, and after the afternoon service cake will be servied.

To read my newsletter article introducing the theme of our celebration, click below.

“God’s Grace...God’s Gifts...God’s Glory”

“God’s Grace...God’s Gifts...God’s Glory.” That’s the theme for the celebration of Messiah’s 50th Anniversary as a congregation this October in the year of our Lord 2007. Our theme verse is that familiar passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, one that every Lutheran—not to mention every Christian—should know by heart: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

This is such a precious portion of Scripture. It teaches us that we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith apart from the works of the Law. Now we can respond with truly good works done for the sake of our neighbor and to the glory of God, without thinking that we are somehow earning our salvation. That truth was recovered for the Church at the time of the Reformation, which we will also be celebrating at the end of this month.

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, a new pictorial directory is being prepared. It’s a real hoot to look at picture directories from the past. Over a period of 50 years, congregational pictorial directories see a lot of changes. Faces come and go. Children grow. Hairstyles and fashions evolve...for better or for worse. We laugh at what others looked like “back then.” But watch out! Someone’s going to be laughing at your picture when 2007 becomes “back then.”

Yes, Messiah Lutheran Church in Marysville has gone through a lot of changes in 50 years. Through all this, however, three things have remained constant: “God’s Grace...God’s Gifts...God’s Glory.” For 50 years, God’s grace in Christ Jesus has been proclaimed through Law and Gospel preaching and the mutual conversation and consolation of Christian brothers and sisters. For 50 years, God’s gifts of love and forgiveness have been poured out upon his people at the corner of State and 92nd through means such as water, spoken words, bread and wine. For 50 years, God’s glory has been manifested in his hidden presence in Word and Sacrament and reflected in the loving service which his people offer to each other and to their neighbors.

In another 50 years...that is, if our Lord Jesus delays his return...there will be another picture directory with more changes. Until that time, may our Merciful Lord bless us with many more years of living in his grace, receiving his gifts, and reflecting his glory.

In Christ’s service and yours,
Pastor Onken

Reformation Resources

Check out this nice little site at reformation.cph.org. It has a beautiful collection of pictures from the "Luther Lands" in Germany, along with books and gifts available from Concordia Publishing House relating to Luther and the Reformation.