The sermon for July 9 was based on Luke 6:36-42.

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

You live in a fallen world. The evidence that you live in a fallen world confronts you every day. Aches and pains and illnesses and accidents and disasters and death serve as constant reminders of the fallenness of the world. Yet, too many people seem to be in denial about this. They act surprised, shocked, at the brokenness of creation. They imagine that things should be getting better, as man progresses in science and society. They complain that there is some great injustice about the struggles of life in a world that is out to get them. In today's epistle, St. Paul gives you a clear view of the world in which you live. You live in a fallen world, a world eagerly waiting for something better, a world hanging its hopes on what God will do in you.

In His infinite wisdom, God has chosen to connect the condition of creation to the condition of man. When God created this universe, everything was "very good." [Gen 1:31] When Adam rebelled against God and fell into sin, however, God pronounced a curse against creation, "Cursed is the ground for your sake." [Gen 3:17] Man, created in the image of God, had been appointed lord over creation [Gen 1:26], and when its appointed lord fell into sin, creation itself was shattered. How could it be otherwise? Would it be just and right for rebellious, sinful man to live in a perfect paradise of a world? Of course not. And so this creation suffers on account of man's sin, and thus serves as a constant reminder of man's own fallenness before God.

St. Paul uses strong words to describe the fallenness of this creation. He says that creation was subjected to futility [20], that it is in bondage, slavery to corruption and decay [21], that all creation groans and labors with birth pangs. You mothers know the intensity of birth pangs; that is your part of the curse. Creation shares in that intense, wracking pain. Every hollow log and every rotting corpse is a testimony to creation's slavery to corruption. And the futility, the emptiness and vanity to which this creation is subjected is evident in every destructive calamity, in every dashed hope, in every crippled child and youthful death you see.

I know that you suffer in this fallen world. You have the symptoms of this fallenness in your own life. You get sick. You have aches and pains. Every day you struggle against the fallenness of your own life. Every day you are reminded that you live in this fallen world. From the stiffness of your body when you awake from sleep, to the stubbing of your toe or the paper cut on your finger, or even to the constant creeping of old age and death into your body, you experience first-hand the curse against creation. Indeed, you live in a fallen world.

You might have reason to complain about this, if you were sinless. But you are not sinless. In fact, you are sinful. For this reason you deserve every ache, every pain, every cut, and every sign of death in your body. More than this, you deserve eternal punishment because of your own sins. When you complain about the brokenness of your life, as if God is being unfair with you, then you show that you do not think your own sins deserve temporal and eternal punishment. Oh, but they do; and so do you. This curse of the Law is clearly displayed before your eyes in every ache and pain, in every moan and groan, in every sickness and death you experience in yourself or in others. If you insist on complaining about this, then complain that you are sinful, and thank God that your heavenly Father is merciful and does not punish you as you deserve.

It is true. Your heavenly Father is merciful, but not because He lets sin go unpunished. Instead, God has punished His own Son in your place. Jesus Christ took upon Himself all of your sin, all of your rebellion against the good order of God. He took your brokenness into His own Body. He suffered the fallenness of this creation, the sickness, the pain, the suffering, and even the death, in His own flesh. Moreover, He suffered the wrath and punishment of God against sin, as His Father forsook Him to die on the cross. In this way, Jesus absorbed into Himself all of the brokenness of this creation. He paid the penalty for your sin, so that you are free, you are released from the impending sentence of doom that was against you. Instead of punishment, God has freely given you glorious freedom and made you His adopted son.

Alas! You still suffer. God in Christ has set you free from eternal suffering and death, but He has not taken you out of this fallen world. In spite of what the glory preachers peddle to you from the television set, the life of a Christian includes suffering. Having faith in Jesus does not exempt you from pain. Putting money in the offering plate will not buy you an easy life. And, believe it or not, Christians die. Surrounded by this fallen world and encased in this corrupted flesh, it is easy to lose sight of the reality that awaits you. But once your corruptible flesh has put on incorruption, once your body is planted into the ground in dishonor and weakness has been raised up in glory and power [1Co 15:53, 43], then death will be swallowed up in victory [15:54] and the full and glorious liberty of the sons of God will be revealed.

In Christ, the nature of the suffering of this fallen world has radically changed. Instead of suffering under the despair of a punishment, creation is now subjected in hope [20]. The mother in labor suffers indeed, but she suffers with an eye toward the beautiful child soon to be revealed. In her expectant hope, she pushes through the pain. St. Paul describes the groans and labors of redeemed creation in the same way. Creation groans indeed, but it groans with an eye toward the beautiful sons of God to be revealed. With every quaking of the earth, every burning fire, every thunderous storm, there is the hope and reminder of that great and glorious day when the sons of God shall be revealed.

Until that day, you will have suffering. But, in Christ, the nature of YOUR suffering has radically changed as well. In your suffering you have fellowship with Christ's suffering [Phi 3:10], and you "Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." [1Pe 4:13] You "know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation." as God promises through St. Paul in another place [2Co 1:7]. With every ache and pain, with every moan and groan, with every sickness and death you experience in yourself or in others, you look forward in expectant hope for the fulfillment of the promise of God to reveal you as His own son.

That is the difference, you see, between life in this fallen world and eternal life in the new creation. Now God's power is hidden, then it shall be fully revealed. Now God's forgiveness is hidden, hidden behind the absolution pronounced by this fallen man, yet received by you through faith. Now God's presence is hidden, hidden behind bread and wine, yet distributed to you at this altar. Now God's adoption of you as His son is hidden, hidden behind the water poured on your head when you were baptized, yet there God made you His son and bestowed upon you His own Name. Likewise your true identity as the son of God is hidden, hidden behind the fallenness and sinfulness of your powerless flesh, yet inwardly groaning for that day when your body will be redeemed incorruptible, and your divine sonship will be made manifest to all creation.

In the meantime, yes, you suffer. But you suffer as one connected to Christ. You cannot be connected to Christ without also being connected to His suffering. And thanks be to God for that! For through your baptism you are connected to Christ in all His works. Through baptism, you are connected to Christ in His suffering and death, which paid the penalty for your sins. Through baptism you are connected to Christ in His burial and resurrection, so that you, too, can expect to be buried AND resurrected. And, as one connected to Christ in everything, you are also connected to Christ in His Sonship and in His glory, which shall soon be revealed, even in you. As St. Paul says immediately before the lesson, "We are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." [16-7].

Of course, "no [suffering] seems to be joyful for the present, but painful." [Heb 12:11] Shall this pain separate you from the love of Christ? "Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" No! For, "In all these things [you] are more than conquerors through Him who loved [you]." [Rom 8:35, 37] St. Paul draws your attention away from your present pain and points you toward your future glory: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in [you]." [18] Do you suffer? It is not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in you. Do you have pains? They are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in you. Do you have troubles and worries and fears and problems and deaths? They are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in you. For in Christ you suffer. In Christ you die. In Christ you are raised up. In Christ you are glorified. Nothing in this fallen world can compare to the glory which shall be revealed in you. For in Christ you are the son of God. Amen.

The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Last Updated: 5/27/2009