Month: July 2025

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

That’s what one of the disciples asks Jesus at the beginning of our Gospel lesson. Each rabbi had personal instructions regarding prayer for his students, so the disciples wanted to hear from their Teacher. In response, Jesus gives them the Lord’s Prayer; as Luke records it, “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” For some reason, Luke doesn’t record the 3rd and 7th petition. Do doubt Jesus publicly spoke this prayer at different times, perhaps changing it slightly on different occasions. You’ll find the complete version in the Gospel of Matthew, but our text gives us enough to think about.

First, Jesus tells His disciples to address God as “Father.” Not “King,” not “Master,” not “Boss,” but “Father.” That tells you an awful lot about prayer right there. When God hears your prayers, He does not view you as a grubby peasant, a slave or a lowly employee. As Luther’s Small Catechism says, “God would by these words tenderly invite us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that we may with all boldness and confidence as Him as dear children ask their dear Father.” You are children of God, speaking to your loving Father!

“Hallowed be Your name” is the first petition, and you’ve heard what that means from the Small Catechism: “God’s name is holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be holy among us also.” How is God’s name kept holy among us? “When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we as the children of God also lead holy lives according to it. This grant us, dear Father in heaven. But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God’s Word teaches profanes the name of God among us. From this preserve us, heavenly Father.” So we pray that God’s Word is taught purely, and that we live according to it.

“Your kingdom come,” is the second petition. The Small Catechism says, “The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.” Please note: we don’t make God’s name holy, nor do we cause His kingdom to come. We pray that the Lord would give these things to us. And how does God’s kingdom come? “When our Father in heaven sends us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life, here in time and hereafter in eternity.” So we pray that our Father would send us the Holy Spirit and keep us in the faith.

Our text moves on to, “Give us each day our daily bread.” Again, the Small Catechism: “God gives daily bread indeed without our prayer, also to all the wicked. But we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” What is meant by daily bread? “Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, fields, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.” So we pray that our Father would provide us with all that we need.

“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us,” goes the fifth petition, and the Small Catechism explains, “We pray in this petition that our heavenly Father would not look upon our sins, nor on their account deny our prayer, for we are worthy of none of the things for which we ask, neither have we deserved them, but that He would grant them all to us by grace. So also will we heartily forgive, and readily do good to, those who sin against us.” We pray that the Lord would forgive our sins; and forgiven for so much, that we would then forgive others.

Finally, in our text, “And lead us not into temptation.” We know, as the Small Catechism says, that “God indeed tempts no one, but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world and our flesh may not deceive us nor seduce us into misbelief, despair and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that at last we may finally overcome and obtain the victory.” There’s a ton of temptation that will deceive or seduce you, to ruin and destroy you: we pray in this prayer for the Lord’s protection and deliverance.

There’s the Lord’s Prayer, at least as much as St. Luke records. You’ve heard it before, and you’ll pray it again before this hour is through. But here is where I’d like to go from here: when you pray, you are looking for an answer. You ask your Father in heaven with the anticipation that He is going to respond; after all, He’s promised to. So when you pray the Lord’s Prayer, you are praying for the Lord to answer; and I would propose to you that the answer to the Lord’s Prayer is Jesus.

Run through the text of that prayer with me one more time, with a slightly different focus. “Father,” began the prayer; and at one time, only One could call God “Father,” and that was Jesus. You couldn’t honestly pray that, because you were sinful—an enemy of God apart from His grace. But Christ became flesh to be your Savior: at His Baptism, the Father said, “This is My beloved Son.” On the cross, the Son prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for you, God said at your Baptism, “You are My beloved child, and I forgive you for the sake of My Son.” Without Jesus, you can’t even start to pray this prayer, because you don’t have a dear Father in heaven. But because Christ dwells in you, you do; and your Father in heaven delights to hear your prayers.

“Hallowed be Your name” is next; and remember that this petition is a prayer that God’s Word be taught in its truth and purity, so that we might lead holy lives according to it. Now, look at Jesus’ ministry: in our very text, Jesus is teaching His Word in its truth and purity to His disciples. Not only has He come to teach the Word, but He has come to fulfill it by His death and resurrection. Without His sacrifice, the Word is unfulfilled. Without His sacrifice to set you free from sin, you could never lead a holy life according to His Word. But Christ has died and Christ is risen, and He has joined you to His death and resurrection in your Baptism, where He put His holy name upon you. It is only because Christ is with you that God’s name is hallowed among you.

Next is “Your kingdom come,” where we pray that our Father would send us the Holy Spirit and keep us in the faith. Apart from Jesus, this is impossible, too. Remember why the Holy Spirit comes: speaking of His death at the Last Supper, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” Without Christ and His cross, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t come because He’d have no grace to deliver to you. He wouldn’t keep you alive in the faith because you’d still be dead in sin. But because Christ has made that sacrifice, the Holy Spirit has come to you. Jesus is the answer to this petition too. If you’ve got the King, you’ve got the kingdom.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Remember Jesus feeding the 5000 with five loaves and two fish: at times, He provided literal bread for the day. Remember also His proclamation, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51). It is for the sake of Jesus that you have what you need for today. And tomorrow. And forever. Apart from Him, there is nothing.

“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” The wages of sin is death, a debt you could not pay. Christ has paid it for you, and it’s not that He’s assumed the note so that He can hold it over you and collect. He forgives you freely, and sets you free to forgive others. Apart from Christ, there is certainly no forgiveness and you’re stuck with your sins. But because of Christ, you have God’s promise that He forgives your sins.

“And lead us not into temptation.” Behold Christ in the wilderness for forty days after His baptism, resisting the devil’s temptations at every turn. He already defeats Satan and sends him packing in the desert—and at the cross, He seals the victory over all those enemies that would deceive or seduce you into misbelief, despair and other great shame and vice. They’ll still assail and attack you, and you’ll still daily give in: but though they may win a battle here or there, because of Christ they have already lost the war. Where the devil, the world and your own flesh would lead you into sin and then claim victory, Jesus defeats them again by forgiving your sins and chasing them away.

Do you see? Jesus is the answer to the Lord’s Prayer—every part of it. We pray these petitions and we confidently expect the Lord to answer; and He does. He says, “I have answered already, for I sent My Son to redeem you. I have answered already, because I made you My beloved child in your Baptism for Christ’s sake. I continue to answer as I keep you in the faith and provide you with daily bread. And I will finally answer on the Last Day, when I grant you a blessed end and deliver you from every evil of body and soul, property and honor.”

The Lord bids us to keep praying as He keeps answering. He tells the parable in our text about the persistent neighbor who keeps banging on the door next door until his friend gets out of bed to help him. The lesson is not that the Lord will help you if you bother Him enough; rather, it is that even if you don’t see the Lord answering right away, He’s at work according to His will. For Jesus’ sake, you’re not an presumptuous neighbor, and God is not an irritated friend. If the irritated neighbor is willing to roll out of bed and help, how much more is your Father in heaven, who never sleeps or slumbers but watches over you night and day?

Likewise, Jesus says, if fathers know how to give good gifts to their children (rather than serpents or scorpions), how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

And if the Father gives you the Holy Spirit, He gives you faith in Christ. If He has given you faith in Christ, you are His beloved child. And so you are—all for the sake of Jesus. So pray: and as you pray, rejoice that the Lord has already answered in Christ. And if He has already answered in Christ, then you’re His dear child and He will not cease to hear your prayers and answer them in the way that’s best for you. He has answered in Christ. He will answer in Christ. And He does even now, for He declares that in Christ, you are forgiven for all of your sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Worries and Distractions
In today’s gospel reading we are introduced to Martha, who just might be the patron saint of this 21st century. Martha was “worried and distracted by many things”. That was 2,000 years ago — Before TVs, before cell phones, before social media. Before any of the things that distract us in our day and age, Martha was worried and distracted by many things. I can only imagine what it would be like for Martha today!

We live in a time of never-ending worries and distractions, don’t we? The distractions are obvious, and include the ones I just mentioned. The worries, though, are equally obvious. And they seem to grow all the time. And trying to distract ourselves from our worries just seems to wear us out all the more. I suppose we can all relate to Martha, who was worried and distracted by many things.

Pulled Apart and Re-Attached
There is a wonderful Greek word that Luke uses in this gospel reading to describe Martha’s distractions. The word is: Perispaoumai. And this word literally means “to be pulled away or to be pulled apart.” That’s what distractions do, don’t they? They pull us apart. And they pull us away from what really matters.

What really mattered for Martha was the presence of Jesus in her home. How many have that privilege? Think about how we would have to prepare for a visit from an important guest or high official. Or how we might prepare for Jesus to come to our home. What an amazing experience that would be. But Martha’s worries and distractions about cleaning the house and preparing the meal pulled her away from that amazing experience of getting to know Jesus. Distractions pull us away from what really matters, from what is truly important. And it happens to us all.

There is another word, on the other hand, that means almost the exact opposite. It means to be re-attached. And that word is: Religion. From the Latin, re-ligare, which literally means to be re-attached. Re-ligare. Re-attached. That is what religion does, at its best. It re-attaches us to what truly matters.

So, while distractions pull us away from the things that matter, religion re-attaches us to what is truly important. And, in particular, it re-attaches us to Jesus.

In Christ All Things Hold Together
Here is another way to think about that, and it is from today’s second reading from Colossians, where Paul tells us that “in Christ Jesus all things hold together.” And isn’t that a wonderful way to think about Jesus? Jesus is the glue, the adhesive that holds all things together.

There is a great illustration of this from the world of science. And it has to do with a protein molecule called laminin. Laminin is a cell adhesion molecule. Now, I am not a molecular biologist, but I am told that what that means is that laminin is like the glue of the human body – it is what holds our body together. But what is so neat about this particular protein molecule is its shape. If you go to Google Images and type in “laminin,” as I did, you get a bunch of drawings and pictures of this cell adhesion molecule. And you know what? They all have the same exact shape – the shape of the cross. (You can see a picture of it on the cover of today’s bulletin.) Diagrams and pictures taken with powerful microscopes all reveal that the molecule that holds our bodies together is in the exact shape of the cross.

Imagine that – The stuff that holds our body together is in the exact shape of the cross of our Lord. I think that is a powerful reminder to us that Christ Jesus is what holds all things together. He is what holds us to what truly matters. He is the glue that we need in times of worry and distractions.

Yes, worries and distractions pull us apart. But Jesus holds us together. His cross. His love. His grace. His mercy. These are the things that hold us together, that keep us close to him.

Sit or Serve?
But let me take the next step with this. Because for Jesus to do this, we need to give him our time and attention. When the distractions of life threaten to pull us apart, we need to re-attach ourselves to Jesus, by spending time with him in daily prayer, in regular Bible study, and weekly worship. We need to re-attach ourselves to Jesus to be re-attached to what truly matters in life.

That’s what Mary was doing in this reading – she was re-attaching herself to Jesus. She was sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning from him. Jesus tells Martha that Mary chose the better part.

But we can’t end there. Because Martha was doing something important, after all. If everyone just sat at Jesus’ feet, everyone would have gone hungry. There is a balance that is important.

Last Sunday we heard a gospel reading that takes place right before today’s story, about the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan who helped a neighbor in need. And in that story, Jesus told the lawyer who initiated the conversation that he should go and do as the Samaritan did, that he should always be ready to help his neighbor in need.

So, think about that: One week, Jesus tells someone to be like the Samaritan and “go and do,” and the next week, he tells Martha to be like Mary and “come and sit.” Sometimes, in other words, Jesus calls us to be like the Samaritan. And sometimes, he calls us to be like Mary.

So which is more important? I like how the renowned preacher Fred Craddock put it. He says:

“There is a time to go and do; there is a time to listen and reflect. Knowing which is a matter of spiritual discernment. If we were to ask Jesus which example applies to us, the Samaritan or Mary, his answer would probably be Yes.”

Sometimes it is important for us to go and do – to serve others, to love others, to share our faith, to do all those things that Jesus instructs us to do. But after we do these things, it is equally important to spend some quality time with Jesus – to come to worship, to spend time in daily prayer, to attend Sunday School or Bible study, to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from him.

The Right Attitude
What Mary is doing is important, but what Martha is doing is also important. There is nothing wrong with what either is doing. But where Martha does go wrong, it would seem, is that she focuses on the doing — so much that she starts having a negative attitude about it. She starts being pulled apart.

We might be called to serve right now, or we might be called to sit at Jesus’ feet in prayer. Both are important. But the motivation is even more important. Serving another will not be helpful at all if we do in a distracted way, or if we are resentful about doing, or feel forced to do it. That is not what God wants.

God wants us to do all things with love. Serving a dinner with love can be an act of worship; it can be a time of prayer. Or, on the other hand, it can lead to distraction and anxiety and worry and resentment. But here’s the thing: Sitting at Jesus’ feet can also be either of those things. It can be a time of prayer. But it can also be an activity that leads to distraction and worry and resentment.

To show you what I mean, let me re-tell the Mary and Martha story, with a reversal of attitudes:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and tried to listen to what he was saying. But Mary was distracted by many things; so she said to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left us to prepare the meal? Tell her to come and sit with us.” But the Lord answered her, “Mary, Mary, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Martha has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

You see? Mary could just as easily have been the one worried and distracted by many things, even while sitting at Jesus’ feet. And Martha could just as easily have chosen the better part, serving Jesus with joy and free from worries and distractions.

It’s not what they did; it’s the attitude that they did it with. So what matters most, then, is not whether we are sitting at Jesus’ feet or serving Jesus’ dinner. What matters is why we are doing what we are doing, and the attitude we have while doing it. Are we doing it free from distractions and anxieties and hidden resentments? Are we doing it out of love?

Closing
We certainly do live in a time when the worries and distractions are all around us. It is all too easy to become bitter and resentful in our world today, and to let fear and worry crowd out love and forgiveness. It is all too easy to find ourselves being dragged down by what is around us, being pulled apart by all of these things.

Today’s gospel reading is a timely reminder to us to take time each day to re-attach ourselves to what truly matters. To spend time with God in prayer, to sit at Jesus’ feet. And take time each week to be re-attached to God through our Sunday worship. These are the things that will keep us from being worried and distracted by so many things.

But then, after we are re-attached to what matters, we are called to go and serve our neighbor in need, to go and show God’s love and mercy and grace and kindness to everyone we encounter. We can help the world stay connected to what truly matters, by bringing Jesus’ love to all those around us. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Last week we learned that Jesus had set his face toward Jerusalem where He had an appointment with the cross. We read that He sent seventy-two disciples out into the countryside to prepare the towns and villages to receive Him as He made His way to that cross. As the disciples returned to Jesus, the Holy Spirit moved many of the people from those places to follow those disciples back to Jesus. Jesus was teaching those people when a lawyer had a question, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

This question tells us something about the lawyer. He believed in the resurrection or he would not ask about eternal life. He believed eternal life was a gift that we inherited. So he was on the right track, but as we often do, he assumed that there was something he could do to get on the right side of the person who made out the will. In effect, he was asking Jesus, “How can I get on God’s good side so that He must put me in his last will and testament?

The only way for anyone to do that is to keep the law perfectly. So, Jesus’ response directed the lawyer to the law. He asked him to remember his training, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” In a way, Jesus was asking this lawyer, “What did you learn in your catechism class?”

The lawyer responded with the standard catechism answer. He quoted Moses and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” These words from Deuteronomy and from our Old Testament reading in Leviticus are the same words Jesus Himself used when people asked Him what the greatest law was. Love God. Love your neighbor.

Jesus commended the lawyer’s answer, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

It is at this point that the lawyer asks for clarification, “And who is my neighbor?” He is really asking, “What is the minimum amount of love that I must dole out in order get on God’s good side?” He didn’t want to put himself out any more than was necessary. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to help his disciples, this lawyer, and us understand God’s standard for loving our neighbor.

Jesus started by describing a robbery. The crowd knew about robbers on the roads between the towns. Perhaps some of the people in the crowd had personal experience. You may know someone who is a victim of violent crime. Everyone feels sorrow for the poor victim in our story. Sin infects all cultures and we all have experiences that help us understand this poor victim.

Then Jesus introduced the priest and Levite. He was very careful to say that they were coming down from Jerusalem. This meant that they were finished with their duties in Jerusalem. If they were heading up to Jerusalem, they might be able to say that they were obeying the Laws of Moses especially the one that says, [Leviticus 21:1] “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die”. Being ceremonially unclean would keep them from performing their duties in the temple. But they were heading away from Jerusalem, away from the temple. Jesus was careful to take away that excuse.

As the people were wondering why neither the priest nor the Levite helped this poor victim, Jesus dropped the hammer. He introduced a Samaritan. Now, when we think of Samaritans, we remember not only this Good Samaritan, but we also remember when Jesus healed ten lepers, the Samaritan was the only one who returned to say thank you. We also remember the Woman at the well in Samaria. Her encounter with Jesus converted her from a sinful woman with a bad reputation into an evangelist to her town. When we read the Bible with twenty-first century eyes, Samaritans seem to be very good people. Our culture honors these Samaritans by naming hospitals and nursing homes after them.

Samaritans had a very different image during Jesus’ day. The Samaritan’s image in Jesus’ day was more like our image of Hamas or Al Qaeda. Samaritans were the mixed descendants of Israelites and gentiles. They represented people who did not keep themselves pure. A Jewish father would rather have his child dead than married to a Samaritan. So you can imagine the shock and offense when Jesus chose a Samaritan to be the hero in this story.

The Samaritan came along and he didn’t just feel sorry for this poor victim as fellow human being who had some bad luck. He felt a deep, courageous, godly compassion for him. The Samaritan showed love to his enemy, to a person who hated him, to a person who considered him less than human. The Samaritan sacrificed his time, his comfort, even his safety to care for this poor victim. He did everything he could to help this poor man.

Then Jesus turned to the lawyer and said, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The lawyer was stuck. He was looking for an excuse to ignore his neighbor. He was looking for an excuse to love the lovable and despise the despicable. Instead, Jesus set a standard that loves the enemy, a standard that does good to those who wish us harm, a standard that is so high that no one can reach it. The lawyer wanted Jesus to change God’s law and make it easier for him to earn his salvation. Our gospel says he was desiring to justify himself. Instead Jesus gave him this impossible standard that showed him he could never earn salvation.

We find ourselves in the same position as the lawyer. We may never see someone dying along the road, but we all meet unlovable people every day. What do we do when we meet these people? Do we honestly ask ourselves, “What would benefit that person the most? How can I help that person?” or do we find ways to avoid them and shun them? Do we pass them on the other side of the road? Do we follow the examples of the priest and the Levite most of the time and the example of the Samaritan only occasionally?

If we examine our souls with honest eyes, we realize that we fail to show love to our neighbor on a daily basis. In fact, if we look at ourselves spiritually, we realize that we are like that poor victim. We are spiritually dead in our sins. We have travelled down that dark road of willful disobedience. We have fallen among the robbers of Satan, the world, and our own sinful nature. We lay, half-dead, along the spiritual road of our lives waiting for a future of eternal damnation. We are without hope and without help in ourselves.

Where can we turn? Can we turn to the law? Can we earn heaven with our own works? That would be like expecting help from the Priest and Levite in the story. The Priest and Levite trusted in the law, but they were no help. Spiritually, they were just as helpless as the victim. No, we are in desperate need of a Good Samaritan to rescue us before we are lost forever.

Who is that Good Samaritan? It is God’s Champion, the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Life. God Himself stepped down from heaven onto this earth. He took on human flesh. He walked the roads of Palestine and taught about the Kingdom of God. The one who told the story of the Good Samaritan is our Good Samaritan, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only one who keeps the law perfectly. When the robbers of Sin, Death, and the devil attacked Him, He defeated them and He defeated them in the most unusual way. He allowed them to torture and crucify Him. Those robbers thought they had another victim, but God used the shame of the cross to defeat them. He rose from the dead and declared his victory over our enemies.

The Samaritan in our Gospel today had deep, godly, sacrificial love for his enemy. The Bible says, [Romans 5:8] “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Through his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus Christ traded places with us. He gave us his righteous life and He took our sin on Himself.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus carries us to safety. Not to an Inn, but to the Community of Saints, the Holy Christian Church. It is here, among other victims that our Good Samaritan has rescued, that we continue to recover. Just as the Good Samaritan told the innkeeper, “Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back”, so also Jesus Christ tells us, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus Christ has given us a blank check signed in His blood. It is here among the saints that the Holy Spirit applies the comforting message of the Gospel. We can read God’s Word again and again and always learn something new. It is here that we watch our Good Samaritan rescue another victim through the Holy Water of baptism. It is here that we confess our sins and receive His never-ending forgiveness. It is here that we receive the food of Christ’s body and blood – a body and blood that we can never exhaust. We can never participate in the things of God too often. It is here that we receive the blessed assurance that we are truly the heirs of eternal life. It is here that we wait for our blessed Good Samaritan to return and take us to live with Him forever.

While we wait for our Good Samaritan to return, we meet other victims of sin, death, and the devil every day. We have the blessed opportunity to tell others how He rescued us. God works through our message to rescue these fellow victims. It is only after Jesus Christ, our Good Samaritan, rescues us that we can fulfill the Law of Christ and become Good Samaritans to others. We can’t be Good Samaritans in ourselves, but Christ, our Good Samaritan can work through us. As God said through St. Paul, the apostle: [Philippians 4:13] I can do all things through him who strengthens me. God strengthens you too, as you hear the most wonderful news that you are forgiven all your sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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I.
This past week saw the observance and celebration of two festive national holidays: Dominion Day in Canada, and Independence Day in the United States. One celebrates a peaceful transition from being British colonies to becoming a Canadian dominion. The other celebrates a violent rebellion against a tyrannical oppressor. Over the years, people of both countries have served with courage, selflessness and sacrifice so that we might enjoy all sorts of freedoms, not the least of which is the freedom to gather here openly in worship of the one true God.

Sometimes, we hear the stories of courage and heroism in service to our country. Often we don’t. Sometimes, it’s because the heroes are quiet, humble individuals. Sometimes, it’s because the security around the events is so tight that the heroes are never made public, their medals locked in a safe and never to see the light of day. Sometimes, it’s because it’s a matter of standing guard so that the enemy has no easy route of attack. But freedom requires ongoing vigilance; and when we forget the ongoing strength and stamina needed to maintain our freedom and safety, we’re likely to start to take that freedom for granted, to consider it no big thing.

Given today’s Gospel lesson, we might say the same about the work of the Church. Strengthened and protected by her Lord, it’s the Church that stands guard and fends off sin, death and devil. It’s the work of the Lord through His Church which ultimately rescues from hell, from eternal chains and the loss of freedom forever. In a world beset by darkness and evil, Christ gives to one institution power over the devil himself. You guessed it: the Church. That’s you and me.

And that’s huge. It is a privilege in which we ought to rejoice and a responsibility which we ought to take seriously. However, the devil, world and sinful flesh all work hard to infiltrate, to lull, and to make us think that nothing special is going on. Don’t listen to them, though: listen to Christ in our Gospel lesson.

As we saw last Sunday, Jesus has set His face toward Jerusalem: He is on His way to the cross. As He makes His way there, He sends out 72 of His followers in pairs to every town along the way, and He gives them their marching orders. They’re to pack light, with no moneybag, knapsack or extra sandals. They’re to move quickly to their destinations, devoting no time to idle conversation on the road. When they arrive at a house, they are to greet it with peace; and if they are welcomed, they are to stay. They’re to speak the message that Jesus gives them. They are to heal the sick. If they are not welcome in a town, they are to leave, but not before declaring once again the message Jesus gives them.

The message is simple enough: “The kingdom of God has come near.”

If you ask me, it doesn’t look all that spectacular, this scene of two guys without any luggage doing a little talking and a little sick-care. Their speech isn’t even original: they’re repeating the words of another. Does what they do really matter?

Absolutely.

Listen to the consequences for those who reject the message: Jesus says, “I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.” And if Capernaum rejects them, Jesus says that the town “shall be brought town to Hades.” But it’s not just the dire warnings: there’s also the positive results. The 72 return to Jesus and say, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Jesus confirms, saying “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” They’ve spoken His Word, and the sick have been healed. They’ve even made demons flee. Furthermore, Jesus tells them, “I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”

Really? This is about the eternal destiny of towns-full of people? It looks so simple. It looks like pairs of guys walking from town to town, traveling light and talking a little, repeating what Jesus told them to say. It’s not exactly the sort of drama that makes for a Hollywood blockbuster.

It may look pretty tame, but it’s not about the look. People are healed and demons are sent packing. This is stuff that only God can do, which is exactly what’s going on. The key to what’s going on is this: “The one who hears you hears Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me, and the one who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

It’s the Lord who works these miracles, and He does so by His Word. And in His wisdom, according to His plan, He deploys these 72 to speak His Word. Sent by Him and speaking His Word, they’re speaking on His authority. They speak His Word of grace, and His grace gets rid of sin and its wages. They speak that Word to those who are sick, and they’re healed. They speak it to those who are possessed by demons, and the demons flee away. These 72 wield extraordinary power as they speak God’s Word as He intended. But it is His Word and it is His power: they’re simply the messengers, and the power doesn’t belong to them. Thus Jesus tells them, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” The best news for them is not that Christ has used them to deliver that grace to others: the messenger can himself be an unbeliever and lost, even if he’s teaching the Word correctly to others. No, the best news for them is that Christ has used His Word to deliver His grace to them.

So, 72 guys in 36 pairs, walking from town to town and talking. But their talk is the Word of God, and by it even the devil is sent packing.

II.
The Lord entrusts that Word to His Church. He entrusts His Word to His Church here in Edmonton. The Lord has not changed, and His Word has not lost its power. So here, when the Word is preached and the Sacraments administered according to that Word, when the Word is sung and spoken and confessed and shared, the Lord is still working those same miracles here as He did through the 72 in our text: sins are forgiven, disease defeated and even the devil is chased away.

Sins are forgiven. That’s the key to the other miracles. Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, dwelt among us and went to the cross to die for our sins. Risen again, He alone has the power to forgive, and His Word is the means by which He does the work. Only forgiveness delivers from sin. Therapy can teach you to live with it, time can get you to forget it and the right company will help you deny it’s wrong, but only forgiveness can take the sin away. That’s the forgiveness given by Christ in His Word—the Word that He gives to you to speak.

Therefore, only that forgiveness can deliver from hell. Armies can stop invasions and organizations can provide relief from all sorts of hellish, disastrous situations on this planet, but man is powerless against hell. It’s inexorable, far too powerful. But the Word of Christ looses sins and sets you free; and if you are free of sin, the gates of hell are closed and the gates of heaven are opened. Only God’s Word can do that—the Word that He entrusts to His Church. Here.

That Word heals, too. It delivers from disease. Medicine can help with this life: often when a disease strikes, doctors can put a stop to it—and for the work of medical professionals we give great thanks, because they are God’s gifts for the preservation of health and life in this world. But where medicine puts a stop to one disease, another will eventually come; and if it is stopped, another will follow. That’s the ongoing battle of preserving health in this world, and eventually one disease or other injury wins and brings death. But the Word of Christ delivers from disease—not always immediately, but ultimately. When the 72 in our text spoke, people were healed on the spot. This was not to teach you that God will always heal immediately whenever His Word is spoken, but that His Word has the power to deliver you ultimately from all disease, according to His will. This is finally done on the Last Day, when the Lord raises you from the dead. No matter how hard man tries, he can’t beat death—the best he can do is postpone it as the Lord allows. But the Word of Christ we speak here gives eternal healing and everlasting life. That’s the Word that Jesus entrusts to His Church.

That Word delivers from the devil, too. It sends Satan fleeing away. We’ve recently heard a Gospel lesson about demon possession, and how those possessed were terrifying to those around them—remember, for instance, the possessed man who lived among the tombs. What can man do to defeat Satan? Usually, all man can do is deny Satan as an old fable, which suits the devil just fine. There are some religions that are all about appeasing the devil: if you can’t beat him, the best you can do is try to strike up a good relationship. But man can’t defeat Satan. Christ can, and has: He defeated him at the cross when He died for the sins of the world. See, when Jesus took away all of your sin, He robbed the devil of everything he could use against you. Satan is called “the Accuser” for good reason, because Scripture records him going before God and accusing, saying, “So-and-so is sinful and unholy. He can’t be with you because of his sin, so he’s got to be mine instead.” But Christ died for all of those sins, took them all away. Satan has nothing left to accuse with—he’s got no evidence because Jesus took it all away. Thus the Gospel makes the devil fall from heaven, because he’s got no accusations to bring against the people of God anymore. The Word of Christ defeats the devil and sends Him packing. That’s the Word that Jesus entrusts to His Church.

This Divine Service may look no more remarkable than 36 pairs of men walking from village to village in our Gospel lesson. The view from the pulpit is that it’s about 10:30 on a Sunday morning with a blend of relatively harmless looking people. But the Lord is present here with His Word. And as long as He is present with His Word, sin, disease, death, hell and Satan are all vanquished. They don’t stand a chance, because Christ has defeated them all.

Name any other institution on earth where sin, disease, death, hell and Satan are all beaten. There isn’t one. The Church is the Lord’s outpost and fortress against all of His enemies on earth. Many would look at this service with contempt, but don’t be deceived: the proclamation of the Gospel and the singing of Christ’s praises are what hold back sin and devil, because the Lord restrains such evil by His Word. The prayers prayed by the people of God in Jesus’ name are powerful acts because they entrust all our cares to God and call upon Him to act according to His Word.

But all of that said, here is something better: “Do not rejoice in this, but rejoice that your names are written in the book of life.”

When troops stand guard against invading forces, they know that they may have to sacrifice their lives as part of their service. It is not so for you: you do not fight sin, death and hell with the understanding that you may have to sacrifice yourself to God’s wrath to save others. That was for Christ to do on the cross, and He has sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world. As you are one entrusted with His Word, you wield that weapon against evil with the knowledge that you do not have to die to save others. No, as you rejoice in the power of the Word, you know that it is for you, too. By His Word, Christ declares that He has written your name in the Book of Life. Salvation is yours.

The devil hates the Church, but he knows that the Church will never perish. Since he can’t destroy either Christ or the Church, that leaves you. He’s fallen from heaven and can’t accuse you before God, so he’ll whisper accusations in your ear. He’ll keep reminding you of past sins, haunting you with past guilt, attempting to persuade you that there’s no forgiveness for you, that you’re lost. But you’re not lost because Christ has won. So against the devil’s temptations, you hold up Christ and His Word, remind the devil that he’s the loser and say, “Jesus’ Word of grace has sent you fleeing often before, and He has given that grace to me. I am not yours, Satan, because I am His. He’s written my name in the Book of Life.”

It is the same when the devil tries to overwhelm you with grief or fear of sickness or death or hell. All of these are enemies far too great for you and me, but it is not left to you and me to fight them. Christ is the One who has fought these foes, and He has defeated them. He tells you so in His Word. So instead of trying to defend yourself, you speak His victorious, grace-giving Word. Sickness, death and hell will not get the best of you. Sickness and death will plague for a while, but they’re already beaten, too. Christ will raise you up to everlasting life, because your name is written in the book of life.

The devil will keep on attacking, along with his allies of sin, death and hell, until the Last Day. Although the war is won, the battle rages—and it often seems like evil has the upper hand. But here, and now, by the power of God’s Word, evil is beaten back once again. It cannot overcome you, because Christ does more than entrust the Church with His Word for others. He speaks it to also to you. He tells you that your name is written in the Book of Life, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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