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The sermon for October 7 was based on Matthew 22:34-46.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen.
In confirmation Blake and Jessica are working on the 10 Commandments.
"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not take the name of
the Lord, thy God, in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor thy
father and thy mother . . ." And so forth. What could be simpler and easier
to learn that these commandments? I've heard many children recite them by heart.
And yet what could be harder to keep in all the world? It would be much easier
if God had said, "Wear these clothes, work for Me an hour a day and the
rest is yours," or whatever. But He didn't. He does not want your obedience
to simple, little rules. He wants all of you, all your heart, all your soul, and
all your mind.
So declares the Lord Jesus in today's lesson. Another Pharisee lawyer comes to
Jesus to ask Him the question, "Which is the great commandment in the
law?" In other words, "Which part do I really have to keep?" I
remember when I was in college, the key for studying for an exam was always to
figure out what the professor really cared about. You figured out what the
professor wanted to hear, you learned that and ignored the rest. I figured out
what the least was that I had to study in order to pass.
That's how this lawyer is thinking. He looks at the law as a test to pass.
Where's the study guide? What do I really have to do? Jesus, however, will have
no part of such nonsense. So He answers with the summary of the Law in
Deuteronomy 10, "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
All your heart, soul and mind. Think about that for a minute. The Law demands
that you love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Furthermore, your salvation
depends on it, according to the Law. On these commandments depend all the Law
and the Prophets. Everything, your life, your salvation, everything, depends on
you loving God with all you've got. God demands that your every thought, every
impulse, every talent and ability, that everything that you are and everything
that you have be directed in love toward Him. And furthermore, that the way you
love God in this life is not by outward acts of piety; no, it is by loving your
neighbor as your own flesh and blood.
Sometimes you fail to grasp the gravity of God's demand. Every desire is to be
directed toward God. Saint Augustine, a Pastor of the fourth century, once said
that the heart is restless until it rests in God. Your life, your hope, and your
future are tied up in God and His love for you. You dare not trust in the
government, in your own wealth, in your personality or ability to get out of
trouble. No, you are to fear, love and trust in God above all things.
But that is not all. You also must love God with your whole mind. Your thinking,
your creative genius, and every spark of imagination you have in you is to be
directed toward God in service of your neighbor. Why spend so much money and
time on music and art in the church? Why put so much energy into making God's
house into a beautiful place? Because you must love God with your whole mind.
God has given you so much! If God has given you so very much, and you give Him
anything less than the very best you have, that is the height of arrogance. It
is stealing from God. That is why it is such a tragedy in the church and
elsewhere when you settle for the mediocre. Some people live by the motto of
"close enough." But there is no close enough for God. He demands
absolutely everything you are. On these commandments hang the Law and the
Prophets. Everything, your life, your forgiveness, your eternity hang on you
keeping that Law perfectly.
Of course, you can not do it. You can not love God with your heart, soul and
mind and your neighbor as yourself. God is not satisfied with cheap imitation
worship or false pretenses of perfection. That is why Jesus' words are so hard
to hear. They are hard to hear because you hear them and go "I can't do it!
God will never be satisfied with me!"
That is why Jesus continues with the question posed to the Pharisees. How can
David's son be David's Lord? Of course, Jesus is talking about Himself. He is
both the Son of Man and the Son of God. But why? Why did Jesus have to be both
fully man and fully God?
Jesus had to be fully man and fully God so that He could redeem you from your
sins. The early Christians had a saying that, "What He did not assume, that
He did not redeem." In other words, in order for Jesus to save you, He had
to become like you. He had to become a man, born of the Virgin Mary. And He is
the only one who loves God with His whole heart, soul and mind and His neighbor
as Himself. Only Jesus can fulfill that Law. And He did. He kept the Law
perfectly. Down to the last drop of His blood, He kept the Law for you. He kept
the Law where you fail, again and again. But He did not fail. When He cried out,
"It is finished," from the cross, His work for your salvation was
finished.
So the only way that you receive the blessings of keeping God's Law is through
Jesus, David's Son and David's Lord. You must receive the image of God on your
heart. Thanks be to God, that He did imprint His divine image on your heart in
the waters of Holy Baptism. All of Jesus work, His life, His death, His
resurrection, all of it poured into your soul with those words and water,
"I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit." Jesus life became your life in your baptism.
Although you have received all the righteousness of Christ, you still have the
sinful flesh hanging on your bones. So you still, of yourself, fall short of
loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. But the Holy Ghost has created
in you a new heart, a clean heart that wants to please God and is sorry when you
fall short. The new man in you repents when you sin, rather than looking for
excuses or shortcuts around the Law. And God promises that if you confess your
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from
all unrighteousness. [1Jo 1:9] That is precisely what happens in confession and
absolution. When your Pastor absolves you, God forgives you all your sins, so
that when He sees you, He sees you as perfectly righteous, having fulfilled
every jot and tittle of the Law for the sake of Jesus Christ.
It is not some spirit Christ who has saved you, it is the God-Man, Jesus Christ,
David's Lord and David's Son. He was born of the virgin Mary as a Man of flesh
and blood, born under the Law, so that He could fulfill that Law for you. That
perfect life of Jesus, with all its benefits, is freely given to you, not just
in a spiritual way, but in a physical, tangible way as you partake of that
flesh-and-blood life of Christ. When you receive the Sacrament of the Altar, you
feast on that flesh which was born of Mary; you partake of the Son of David even
as you are a member of His kingdom, worshiping David's Lord, Jesus Christ.
Remember, God wants all of you, body and soul. Therefore, He did not only redeem
your soul, but also redeems your physical body, using physical means like water,
bread, and wine, to fill you completely with His divine life, forgiveness, and
salvation.
By the power of His Gospel and blessed Sacraments, God's divine life is now
yours. So you do work and strive to love God with your whole heart, now that His
life is yours and your life is sanctified by Him. By these same means, He keeps
you, body and soul, safely within His kingdom. And when your last hour comes,
His angels will carry you to Abram's bosom. He will bear you home. You will be
with Jesus, David's Son and Lord. He will hold you in His arms. You will be His
child, and He will be your God forever. Amen.
The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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