Sermon: Salt and Light

5th Sunday after the Epiphany, 2011
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier

St. Matthew 5:13-16

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In today’s gospel text from Matthew chapter five, Jesus says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works…” (Matthew 5:16, ESV) In chapter six Jesus says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them…” (Matthew 6:1, ESV) In addition to these two passages, Jesus ends today’s gospel text with these words, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20, ESV)

In one passage we are told to do good so that others can see and in the next passage we are warned about doing righteousness so that others can see. At the same time, Jesus requires that our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees who devoted themselves to being righteous. How are we to take these words of Jesus? Should we be diligent about making our righteousness known? Should we stop doing good works so that nobody can see them?

As those who belong to Christ, we are to shine so that others may see His light. Jesus says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, ESV) We don’t let our light shine so that God can see it; rather, we let our light shine so that others, who dwell in darkness, can see it. The whole purpose behind others seeing our light is so that they give praise to God.

To reemphasize this truth Jesus goes on to say in Matthew chapter six, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1, ESV) The purpose of making our light shine is not to be seen in and of itself. Our goal is not to be praised. Rather, it is a means to the end. The goal is that God is praised.

At the end of today’s Super Bowl, there will be one man on the winning team that will be awarded the Most Valuable Player award. Now he won’t say that he out performed his teammates so that he could be the MVP. See even the losing team will have a player who out shines the rest of the team, but he cannot be the Super Bowl MVP. The MVP will not play his best so that others will tell him how good he is; instead, he will play his best so that his team can win. Football is not an individual sport.

In a similar way, we do not let our light shines so that at the end of the year we can win the MVL award, that is, the most valuable light. The goal and motivation of our shining like stars is so that others will praise God from whom all blessings flow. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights.

We do not do good things to be praised by others; rather, we do good things so that God would be praised by others. We do not pray so that others can call upon us as a prayer warrior. We do not give alms so that others would be impressed with our generosity. We do not fast so that others can admire our zeal. We do not love others so that others will love us.

Because we still dwell on the earth which is darkened by sin, the LORD warns us about doing good. It is so easy to start off on the right foot doing our good works so that others will see them with the purpose of God being praised and then later slip into doing our righteousness so that others praise us. Just think about that last time that you did something that went unrecognized. Oh, how quick the human ego wonders why nobody noticed.

In our heart of hearts we like to be praised. We like to be told how good we are. Jesus warns us so that we keep our motives in check. We are to beware of falling into pride and arrogance. We are to assess our actions. Are we doing this for our own glory or for God’s glory? Are we bringing dishonor to the name of our Redeemer? We do not do good so that God can see how good we are. We do not do good so that others can see how good we are. We do good so that others can see the goodness of God.

The LORD our God requires us to be good, holy, and righteous. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” It is common practice to have a salt shaker in the kitchen and or on the dinning room table. It is used for bland food. Now if the salt lost its saltiness, what good would it do to pour on table spoon after table spoon onto your plate? It would do no good at all. There would be no point in using that salt on your food or keeping it in your kitchen. It would be thrown out.

In the same way, what good would a church be on earth if it has lost its saltiness? What good would it be for us to build a new building in this community if we do not salt the community? What good would it do this community if we built this new building and never opened the doors or even bothered to turn on the lights? Even worse what good would it be for this community if other saw our bad works? Would this result in giving glory to God?

Keep in mind that our new building is in plain sight on Diamond drive. Jesus says, “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15, ESV) If you have ever driven home from Santa Fe at night, no doubt you have noticed the lights of Los Alamos a city on the hill. On the higher ground, Los Alamos can be seen from the valley. It shines bright in the darkness. If you have ever experienced a power outage, no doubt you scoured around the house looking for a flashlight or a candle. Once you found the emergency source of light, I would image that you set it out in the open to light up the darkness. No one would light a flashlight and put it under a basket. Our works will be seen by others.

Jesus teaches us, His disciples, that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. When we are honest with ourselves, we realize that we are not the brightest bulbs in the box and we are not the tastiest salt. The law of God shows us how bad we are. The problem is that by nature we are unrighteous, unholy, and evil. It is impossible for our own righteousness to exceed the scribes and Pharisees and to gain us access into the kingdom of heaven. The Law of God teaches us this reality.

Then Jesus teaches us, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5, ESV) Through holy baptism, we are united with Christ and are blessed in Him. We have an alien righteousness. We have Christ’s righteousness which exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees. It comes from Christ works and not our own. In Christ, we are holy and good. The gospel tells us how good we are in God’s sight for the sake of Christ’s goodness. As Paul says, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6, ESV)

Today’s gospel text flows right out of the beatitudes in which we are taught that in Christ we are blessed. Thus, Jesus says,“You are the salt of the earth” and again“You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:13-14, ESV) Now of course these words were originally spoken to the twelve disciples. They were the salt of the earth and the light of the world. If they had not salted the earth and lit up the world, there would be no disciples in our day. They were sent out to all nations to make disciples by baptizing and teaching. We continue as disciples in our day. In our day we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The LORD sent His Apostles out to bring the light to those who dwelt in darkness. The church remains the city on a hill as a beacon in the night.

Take note that Jesus declared them to be the salt and the light. This was not achieved, merited, or earned. They did not make themselves salt and light. As salt they salted the earth. As light they lit up the world. As we have been baptized and connected to Christ we continue to shine as lights in the midst of the darkness of the world. We have been made good in Christ and therefore we do good things. These good things will be seen by others. We may not be flood lights. We are small dim night lights. We may not be large pieces of rock salt. We are a pinch of table salt. But in Christ we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

On this day, we gather around Christ who is the source of all light. He is the Light. The light of Christ shines in our darkened hearts and glows in our lives. We gather around the Lord’s Table to be salted by Him. We eat at His table for the forgiveness of our sins. We have the righteousness of Christ by faith. In Christ we are salt and light. Amen.

President Harrison on Life Ministry

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Adding Color to the Stucco

The LEGO Mosaic of Luther's Seal

Sermon: Behold the Lamb of God

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier

John 1:29-42a

 

In the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Amen.

 

Back in the season of Advent, we heard about John the Baptizer preparing the way for the Lord. Now in the season of Epiphany, John reveals to us Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In our Gospel text we hear John tell us, “I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” (John 1:31 ESV)  John’s purpose was to reveal Jesus to the people of Israel.   God had given John the sign that the Spirit would descend upon Jesus as a dove. The dove would visibly mark Jesus as the long awaited Messiah. John was an eye witness of this event. He prepares the way and then he reveals Jesus as the only way to the Father. John reveals that Jesus not only takes away the sin of Israel, He takes away the sin of the world. Thus, the Lord sent the church out into the world to make this promise known.

 

In this season of the church year, we focus our attention on what God reveals, makes known, manifests, and brings to light about Jesus. It is revealed that Jesus was born for the Jews and the Gentiles. It is made manifest that He is the Son of God. It was made known that He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The Holy Spirit enlightens us, opening our eyes to rightly see Jesus. It is not a secret that we are to keep from others. No, the Gospel is meant to be shared and made known with others. We are not supposed to hide the Gospel light under a bushel. No, we are to let it shine. The Gospel is a revealed message, not one we should conceal and keep to ourselves. As God has revealed our Savior to us, we then reveal Jesus to others. First we make known the need for a Savior, because of our sin. Then we make known the Savior who takes our sin away.

 

In our text, we hear John speaking to us from the office that God gave him. He was the key figure whom God used to prepare the way and then to make known the Way. John pointed out sin, in order to point out the Savior. John was a Law/Gospel preacher. He comes down hard with the Law in order to bring the full comfort of the Gospel. The Law reveals sin. It is as if John were to preach, “Behold, your sin.” He brings it to light and puts it in front of the peoples’ eyes. But his purpose is not to leave them dead in their sins. Rather, like all Law/Gospel preachers, his purpose is to restore the hearers to life in Jesus. After delivering the bad news, he follows up with the Good News. He reveals the Savior of the World. He says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) He sets Jesus before the eyes of the people. 

 

The image of the lamb should bring to mind the sacrificial lamb of the Old Testament. Specifically, we should recall the Passover Lamb. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, they ate the paschal lamb the night of the Passover. On that night, they took the blood from the lamb and put it on their doorposts and lintels to mark them as believers and they took and ate the lamb. Then the LORD passed over them and their first born sons were spared. After leaving Egypt, they continued to celebrate the Passover meal to remind them of the deliverance that the LORD had brought that night. Then later in the days of the Tabernacle and then the Temple, a lamb was offered on the altar in the morning and a lamb was offered in the evening. Thus, the people of God would begin the day with the morning sacrifice and close the day with the evening sacrifice. The death and blood of these lambs pointed to the True Lamb whose blood would be shed to make us people of God. 

 

Jesus is the True Lamb. He gave up His life as an atoning sacrifice to appease God’s wrath over our sin. Jesus was not just any lamb. Rather, He is the Lamb of God. In particular, He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He takes upon Himself all the sin of the entire world. Only He could bear this much weight.

 

Isaiah 53:6 words it this way, “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (ESV) The second letter to the saints in Corinth puts it this way, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV) In His body, Jesus took upon our sin, so that in our bodies we would be covered by his purity. Jesus is the one who bears the weight of all sin. It is as if sin was piled and piled and piled and piled upon the shoulders of Jesus. Sometimes you’ll see this depicted in a picture or statue in which Jesus hangs on a cross that bows down. It’s as if the weight of the world’s sin bears down upon Him bowing the wood of the cross.

 

Thus in life here on earth, there are only two possible places that your sins can be located. Either you carry the weight of your own sins or Jesus bears the weight for you. Either you try to make up for all your wrong by doing good things as if to tip the scale in your favor or you trust in the work of Jesus who alone appeases the Father’s wrath in your place on the cross. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He takes the weight away. So the question we must ask ourselves once again is this, “Where are your sins?” The promise of the Gospel is that your sins are on Jesus. He is the sin bearer. He bears the sin of the world, meaning that all the sins of all people of all time. Faith clings to this promise. Unbelief rejects this promise and retains the sin and the punishment for sin which is death and separation from God.

 

We gather again today to be reminded that our sins are located on Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We come to have our need revealed to us once again and also to have our Savior made known to us once again. Because of our depraved hearts we continue to pile the weight of our sins upon us and forget that our sin is on Him. The Gospel promise locates your sin on Jesus.

 

I don’t know about you, but in our house we continue to have a problem locating the phone. I pick up the phone, talk to someone, then set it down. Then later I can’t recall where that phone got placed. Is it in the living room, in the kitchen, or somewhere else? This was never a problem back in the days before the cordless phone. The phone was always connected to the cord. I must not be the only one who misplaces the phone. The reason I say this is that on the base of the phone there is a location button with the word “Find” imprinted on it. With one simple touch, I can page my own phone. Once it starts beeping, I can track that phone down in no time. That beeper, sends out a message into my ears, declaring, “Behold, your phone! Behold, your phone is over there!”

 

In like manner, today, as your pastor, I sound off the beeper and help you realize where your sins are located. I stand before this altar to declare to you, “Behold, your sin.” And then I point to you to Jesus and say, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29 ESV)   “Behold, your sin is on Jesus. It’s over there.”

 

We continuously need to be reminded of this precious Gospel message. Thus, in the liturgy we declare the praise of the Lamb of God in two places. We first reveal our sin to God acknowledging that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed. Then I declare to you, “Behold, God has had mercy on you and has given His only Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all of your sin.” I reveal to you that your sin has been concealed in Christ. We approach God knowing this and we sing “This is the Feast” in which we rejoiced by saying, “Worthy is Christ the Lamb who was slain”  

 

Then after the words of Institution, we sing, the Agnus Dei which is Latin for Lamb of God. We sing, “O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.” Then from this altar I give to you bread and declare, “Behold, the body of Christ given for you.” Then from this altar I give to you wine and declare, “Behold, the blood of Christ shed for you for the forgiveness of your sin.”

 

This message is the chief article of the Christian Faith. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus takes the sin of the world away. He bears the sin of the world. Your sin belongs to Jesus. In the place of sin, He gives you His own righteousness. He covers you in His holiness. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29 ESV) Imprint these words upon your hearts and feast on them. Amen.

Adding Color to the New Sanctuary

The Father's Voice           

During the season of Epiphany, we celebrate the Good News that Jesus of Nazareth is not only the Savior of the Jews (the message of the angel to the shepherds at Christmas), but He is also the Savior of the Nations. This season begins on January 6, the Day of Epiphany. On this day we rejoice that the Gentile magi from the east came to see the Infant King. In Epiphany, we hear the words from the Holy Bible that proclaim to us how God was made manifest in Jesus Christ. Jesus is both truly man born of the Virgin Mary and also at the same time truly God begotten of the Father from all eternity. He has been sent from the Father. Throughout the Sundays after the Epiphany, our Gospel Readings focus on the revelation that Jesus is the Son of God. 

                       

The theme for the First Sunday after the Epiphany is the Baptism of our Lord Jesus in the Jordan River. The appointed Gospel text for this First Sunday speaks to us with the voice from the Father declaring to Jesus, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mark 1:11 NKJV) With these words we are assured that Jesus truly is the unique Son of God in whom there is neither sin nor any displeasure. This event in the incarnate life of Jesus marks the beginning of the His public ministry in which He proclaims the Kingdom of God with His words and with His miraculous actions verifying that He has been sent by the Father to win for us the Kingdom.     

                                                                    

On the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, the theme of the day is tied to the transfiguration in which the Apostles Peter, James, and John saw the revealed glory of Jesus as He talks with Elijah and Moses. Again the Father's voice is spoken to us when He declares, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Mark 9:7 NKJV).                  

As the voice of the Father directs us to Jesus, we as sheep listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd who declares to us, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24 NKJV).

Stucco Scratch Coat

Epiphany Blessings from LCMS President Matthew Harrison

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Altar at Christmas