Archives

Bible Text: Luke 10:23-37 | Preacher: Rev. Mark Buetow | Series: 2015

You are baptized in the church. You are clothed with Christ. You are given the riches that belong to a child of God. And off you go into the world. And as you go the devil, the world, and your own sinful nature jump you like a band of highway robbers. They beat you up, try to strip Christ’s righteousness off you, take your riches in Christ and leave you for dead. Now what? Maybe the Law will save you? Maybe obeying God and loving your neighbor will get you out of the ditch. The problem is you’re half dead. You’re beat up. You’re a poor, miserable sinner, by nature sinful and unclean. You aren’t going to save yourself. But the Samaritan comes by. That’s Jesus. He sees you there and saves you. He picks you up. Clothes you. Bandages your sin wounds with the waters of your baptism and the wine of His blood in the Supper. He takes you to the inn, His holy church, where He gives your innkeeper pastor charge of you to keep giving you healing medicine. That is, to remind you of your baptism daily, to give you the strengthening food of Jesus’ body and blood. Sin and death put you down. Christ rescues and saves you.

You need to hear when it comes to this story that you are the person in the ditch. Why? Because you want to justify yourself. Oh, sure, the young expert in the Torah, the Law, says, I can love God. But let’s make sure I’ve got loving my neighbor down. So, Jesus, who is my neighbor? Tell me so that I know who I have to be nice to to get eternal life. And everyone thinks Jesus told this story so the guy will think, “Well, I guess next time I see a guy in a ditch who needs help, I’ll help him out.” Then I did good. I lived right. I’ll inherit eternal life! That’s us. Justifying ourselves. Tell me what to do. How to live. How to act. Be a good person. Sure, I can improve, so tell me what I gotta do and I’ll be in, too. You justify yourself. You’re a good person. You go to church. You stayed married. Your kids behaved. You’re not a meanie like the other kids. You waited ’til you’re married. You didn’t steal that thing. You didn’t gossip…too much. You got confirmed. You love God? Of course you do! You love your neighbor? Well, usually. Just remind me who that is again so I can be a nice person and get some eternal life.

And when you think that, when you’re laying in a ditch of sin, wounded and bleeding, because you wanted to do it yourself and the devil carjacked you and left you for dead, the Law won’t save you. It will come up to you. Love God. No, you don’t. Sorry. Pass by on the other side. Love your neighbor? Yeah, right. Look at all the people you don’t love. Pass by on the other side. Jesus shows up. “Law didn’t help did it? It didn’t save you. You couldn’t do it. Couldn’t get up out of the ditch. The commandments didn’t rescue you. They didn’t make you right. They won’t get you eternal life. Here, I’ve got this.” So down he comes into the ditch. Into the flesh. Your flesh. Your sin. Your nakedness. Suffering. Cross. Death. Grave. Resurrection. Jesus has got this. That’s how He saves you. He’ll go with the thieves. Hung between two of them on Calvary. And passed by by the priest and Levite and all the “experts in the Law.” Hung their by those who justify themselves. Scribes. Pharisees. Levites. You. He dies His death to make it your death. Your salvation. Sins paid for. Blood and water from His side. That means oil and wine for your wounds. Baptism. Supper. Word. Inn. Church. Pastor. Healing. That’s what you need. Because every time you want to justify yourself, the devil, the world, and your sinful nature will beat the tar out of you, rob you and leave you laying in the ditch. And every time, Jesus the Samaritan will come along, climb down next to you, and take you out of there and back to the place where you can get better. You want to justify yourself? Jesus knows. That’s why He comes to save you and justify you before God by His rescuing you from sin and death. Jesus, your Good Samaritan. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Bible Text: Luke 18:9-14 | Preacher: Rev. Mark Buetow | Series: 2015

The story of the Pharisee and the tax collector is a great story! We see the Pharisee acting like a Pharisee and think, “Well at least I’m not like that!” And Jesus’ point is proven, isn’t it? The truth is you are both the Pharisee and the tax collector. Your Old Adam, your sinful flesh is a Pharisee. You compare yourself to others and you can always find someone who is more sinful than you are. Someone who always messes up more than you. You can always look around and find someone that you’re doing better than. Your New Man, on the other hand, is the tax collector, living only by God’s mercy in Christ. The New Man knows we have nothing. No claim on God. No good intentions. Nothing but sin and so needs nothing but the Lord’s mercy. And so we come to church and that new man leaves justified, right with God, everything is good.

So what is it that saves us? What is it that keeps us from being condemned as that old pharisee who loves to condemn others? Nothing but the answer to the tax collector’s prayer. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” The answer to that prayer is Jesus. Jesus who is the highest of all, Son of the Most High, who is humbled, brought low for you. He is brought down to the very depths of hell and death. Crucified for you. Nailed to the cross by those who are convinced they are better than Him. Nailed to the cross FOR those who think they’re better than others and Him. And therein lies the prayer of thanksgiving for our salvation. Lord, I thank you I am not like that guy. Your Son. Suffering and dead for the sins of the world. Punished for my sins! I’m glad I’m not that guy because you HAVE had mercy on me and forgiven me and sent me home justified, right with you. Of course, He comes out of the grave on Easter, justified. Proving He’s right with the Father for having taken away the world’s sins.

Now, just like the Catechism teaches, every day the Old Adam, your pharisee has to drown and die. And every day the New Man, the justified tax collector, the saved sinner, walks away justified, forgiven, righteous, square with the Lord. The problem comes, however, when we really see that Old Pharisee gaining the upper hand. It’s the struggle of our lives as Christians that we are at the same time saint and sinner, forgiven and still sinful, justified tax collector and judgmental pharisee. So when that struggle gets rough, how do we know who wins? That’s where the gifts of Jesus come in. Baptism. Absolution. The Supper. Those are the promises and guarantees that your sins have actually been forgiven. That the old pharisee is done for. That the new man is indeed justified and right with God. So yeah, when we pause and hear ourselves say, “I’m sure glad I’m not like so and so…” well, we know what to do. Beat our breasts and look up to the Lord and cry out for mercy. And here, right here in His church, He answers that prayer with the Good News in Word and Supper: your sins are forgiven. You are justified and right with God. Go in peace. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Bible Text: Luke 19:41-48 | Preacher: Rev. Mark Buetow | Series: 2015

Olly olly oxen free! That’s what the temple had become. Out there, you could do pretty much whatever you wanted. Go to a Baal party! Sleep with whomever you wanted. Steal from people and get away with it. You could walk past people in need and live the good life. And all you had to do was tag the Temple on the Sabbath and cry “The temple! The temple! The temple! I’m safe” Duck in, do your duty, and right back out to doing whatever you feel like. When Jesus says that they’ve made the temple a “den of thieves” He doesn’t mean because they’re buying and selling. He means because they’ve gotten to the point where their religion is nothing other than doing whatever you want and just touching home base to be called safe. It’s a “den of thieves” because that’s where the thieves go to pretend God can’t see their sins. They don’t want forgiveness. They want the OK to believe that God doesn’t care how they live and they don’t need to think of anyone but themselves. If you’ve ever heard the preaching for the forgiveness of sins and thought, “Sweet! Now I can do whatever I want and it will just be forgiven,” then repent! That’s like the kid on the internet. He says, “I prayed for God to give me a new bike, but I know that’s not how it works. So I stole a bike and asked God for forgiveness.” Your Old Adam loves to hear about forgiveness because then he figures he can go and do whatever he wants!

There’s only one consequence for that way of despising God. Destruction! For the people of Jerusalem, who don’t want to actually get rid of their sins, and trust in God, they’ll get the Romans to come and level the city. Not one stone left on another. For sinners who despise God’s Law, do their sins and throw them in His face, there is death and hell. For Jesus, trial and scourge and crucifixion! Wait a minute. For Jesus? But He’s One Guy who truly loved God’s Word and Temple. There is the One Man who truly treasured what you and I despise and ignore. And that’s the whole point. If Jesus doesn’t do what you don’t do, namely, love God’s Word above all things, then you can’t be saved. And if Jesus doesn’t get wiped out for you, you will be the one getting wiped out. Because when it comes to the Temple, the Temple isn’t a building. It’s Jesus. The Temple was where God was. And Jesus is God in the temple of His flesh. On the cross, Jesus, the Temple is the biggest den of thieves. He is the hideout of adulterers. He is the temple of the idol worshippers. He is every sinner and every sin, all caught up together for God to destroy and wipe out. And that means, when He comes out of the grave, alive, on Easter, the pagan, sinner, hideouts have been raided and destroyed. Sin and death and the devil and hell have had the fight brought to them and lost.

And now that means the Temple is a house of prayer once again. Jesus, where God is, is the place where the Lord is among us. Where Jesus is, there is God hearing and answering our prayer. Where Jesus is, water flows to wash away your sins. Where Jesus is, forgiveness is declared to sinners. Where Jesus is, a feast of salvation is laid where we have true forgiveness. Where Jesus is, His house is the place where He gathers His church to be present among us. Here He calls us to repentance, that is, teaches us to examine our lives and cast away all things that are against God and no good for others. Here He teaches us that He has made us right with God so that we can serve our neighbor. Here Jesus has taught us that we have a true Safe Place from our sins. Not so we can just do what we want and pretend it’s all allowed. Rather, a place where our troubled consciences can find comfort, knowing the certainty of Christ’ water, Word, body and blood declare our sins forgiven. Dear Christians, in God’s house you have a place where the Old Adam runs to to pretend he can do whatever he wants. There, in God’s house, that Old Adam is ambushed and drowned at the font again. And here, in God’s house, the new man in Christ, gifted by the Holy Spirit, confesses that Jesus is Lord. The Lord who saves sinners. The Lord who welcomes us into His house so that we may be with Him and He with us and we have everlasting life. Here is the place where we may hang on every forgiving, saving, life-giving word of Jesus. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Bible Text: Luke 16:1-13 | Preacher: Rev. Mark Buetow | Series: 2015

When the steward’s life depended on what he was doing, he was in trouble. When he lost everything, then he was free. We don’t have to try to squeeze every detail of this parable into some real life part of our faith. The big lesson is this: Jesus comes and acts as if the Father’s stuff is His to give away. Just think about it. How do the pharisees and scribes and the other religious leaders live? They hoard God’s grace and forgiveness and dribble it out to deserving people. Jesus comes and throws forgiveness around like it’s His to give out. He comes into the world and says, “Whatever you owe God because of your sins? Mark it as paid!” Your debts are cancelled because Jesus comes and tells you that it’s paid. He pays the price, of course. That happens for you because He loses His place, as it were. That is, on Calvary, the Father turns His back. When He hangs on the cross, covered in our sins, it’s as if the Father is telling Him, “You can’t be steward anymore.” But that is precisely the point at which Jesus is free. He has so perfectly and completely obeyed the Father’s will, that He just throws out forgiveness, life and salvation, like it’s his to give! And we, who had debts of sin to God, are off the hook.

And now, the Lord has given His stewards charge over His things. He has given pastors His gifts to give out to the people. And pastors will be bad stewards of the Lord’s gifts if they go around putting conditions and qualifications on that Gospel: You can be forgiven…IF. You will be a child of God…IF. But with a wink, Jesus tells this parable to remind His disciples that wasting the Lord’s gifts as if we own them is precisely what His kingdom is like! Here, we have all of God’s riches and we dish them out as if they’re ours to give. You have sins? Forgiven. You did WHAT? That’s forgiven too! Here, let’s baptize you. Made a mess? Pulled a whopper? Here, come confess it and I’ll forgive you. Goofed up? Fell into sin? Did you act like an Israelite in the Old Testament and run off after some idol or fall into some sexual immorality or grumbling against God? Here, have Jesus’ body and blood! Paul says in our epistle that when we are tempted, God will always give us a way out. But you know what the way out is? Jesus lifted up on the cross to see Him and be saved. Jesus slashing our bills to “zero” and our pastors throwing forgiveness at us like there’s no tomorrow! Lots of Jesus gifts from a Savior who lives like He can do that. Because He can!

This is life in the kingdom of God: forgive like you stole that forgiveness. Like it’s yours to give out. You see, when we think our standing with God depends on us, how we live, what we do, how we act, what we need to accomplish—then we are not free. We hoard what is the Lord’s and are forgiveness penny-pinchers. But when we realize we will never save ourselves, never make a way to God, and that we’re doomed by ourselves, but the Lord has this whole pile of forgiveness to be grabbed and dished out to everyone…well, then we live free. There is the irony of faith. We trust that the Lord will forgive us and love us not when we act like the right kind of people, but when we know we’re not. When we’re forgiven by Christ, we have nothing to lose. That’s because WE have nothing to lose. If God really wants to forgive all those sinners out there, then that’s His problem. We’ll just be a part of that batch of sinners that’s receiving Christ’s forgiveness. Maybe you have some sins you think will keep you out of paradise? Maybe you struggle with some hidden guilt that convinces you that you will have to face the Lord’s wrath on the Last Day? But here comes Jesus telling you, “Slash the bill! Mark it paid! You’re good to go.” Can that be legit? Not your problem! The Steward has said to do it. You Savior has paid it and cancelled it. So if it ever comes time to settle up with the Lord, well, you already know: It’s a done deal. You’re good to go. THAT is the point of this parable. That Jesus takes what is the Father’s and spends it on sinners. And we sinners in turn spend it on others. And in receiving that forgiveness, we have been given a place in an everlasting home with Him. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Bible Text: Luke 5:1-11 | Preacher: Rev. Mark Buetow | Series: 2015

Let’s face it. People just aren’t impressed with velociraptors and Tyrannosaurus Rex anymore. We need bigger and scarier dinosaurs, like Indominus Rex! It’s the same with God. People always want more and impressive proofs that God exists or that He is doing things. They want some big show that proves to them that they can believe. Wind that smashes rocks! Now that’s awesome! But the Lord was not in the wind. An earthquake to shake a mountain! But the Lord was not in the earthquake. A roaring, all-consuming fire! But the Lord was not in the fire. Then, a still, small voice. A whisper… And the Lord spoke to Elijah. And He speaks to you. His Word. The Word of God is not impressive in the eyes of the world. “The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Word was a Baby! A baby isn’t scary! A baby doesn’t look like the awesome power of the Almighty! That baby grows up. He preaches. He speaks the Word. “Arise. Be saved. You are forgiven.” That’s not impressive! If God is not gonna look awesome, we’ll show Him! Thorns. Nails. Cross. Blood. Death. And that shook the world. Because the Son of God died. The Word-made-flesh looked about as unimpressive as you could think of. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. He was in the flesh, dead on the tree. For you. For the world.

We aren’t impressed with THAT God. Neither was Peter. “Well, Lord, we—you know, the professional fishermen, DID fish all night and didn’t catch a single thing. But, well, at your Word, I suppose…” And then fish! Lots of fish! Loads of fish! More fish than one boat can handle! More fish than two boats can handle! Sinking boats full of fish! And a fisherman on his knees repenting of his sinfulness. And the Lord’s voice. Not wind. Not thunder. Not fire. A voice. Words. “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” And Peter will do that with the Word. That’s what catches us. That’s what snags us and brings us in. Wind and fire won’t do it. But the Word of God does. Guy in a robe. Speaks words. Pours water. The voice of God: “I baptize you…” Preacher. Opens his mouth. Speaks words. The voice of God: “I forgive you all your sins…” Altar. Bread. Wine. Jesus’ Words. Body. Blood. Forgiveness. The promise you will be raised up on the Last Day. The Wind of God would blow you away. The Fire of God would burn you to a crisp. But the Voice, the Word, saves you. Forgives you. Declares you to be a child of God. It’s the Word that ordains a preacher and through which preacher the Lord speaks His Word and saves sinners. That’s how God operates. But we want a bigger and better and flashier God who is Indominus Rex! Instead we get Rex Iudaeorum. The King of the Jews. Crucified and risen for sinners. The Savior.

You want a mighty, flashy, rock-cracking, windy God? You want a God who will right in front of your very eyes do something awesome to show you He’s real? Repent! That’s not the God you have and it’s not the God you need. You need the God who has a voice. The God who speaks to you. The God whose voice is a voice of promise and comfort. A baptizing, absolving, Body and Blood-delivering voice of forgiveness, life and salvation. And let’s be honest. Such a voice, such words, such A Word, is not impressive like giant dinosaurs or burning mountains. But would you really want a God who can eat you up in one bite or vaporize you with a puff of His breath? That’s the kind of God you can expect apart from Jesus. Without Jesus, God IS in the wind and the earthquake and the fire and He’s blowing things up! But in Christ, the God you have is a talking God, a God who speaks, a God whose voice creates and redeems and makes holy. In Christ, you have the God who is like you, who takes away your sins, who conquers death, who gives you life. In Christ you have the Word of God. In the flesh. Speaking promises to you. In that God, that Jesus, you have a reason for the hope that is in you. And that is a God whose still small voice is enough even to drown out the world and speak peace and life to you. And with that still small voice, the voice of His Word, that God brings all His power and might together to save you forever. In the Name of Jesus.