SECOND LESSON: Romans 4:13?25 [Abraham justified by faith.]
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring?not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, �gI have made you the father of many nations�h?in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, �gSo shall your offspring be.�h He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah�fs womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was �gcounted to him as righteousness.�h But the words �git was counted to him�h were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 9:9?13 [The calling of Matthew the tax collector]
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, �gFollow me.�h And he rose and followed him.
And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, �gWhy does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?�h But when he heard it, he said, �gThose who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, �eI desire mercy, and not sacrifice.�f For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.�h

About 200 years ago, my ancestors on my Mother�fs side moved from Southern Germany to Southern Russia, to the Crimea region of the Black Sea. The German farmers were called or invited by Czar Katherina to develop the area. Then about 100 years ago they moved from Russia to South Dakota. They came for cheap land where they could raise their families. On my Father�fs side, they came from German, through England and Scotland and Ireland and then to Indiana and finally to South Dakota. They were following hopes and dreams. Maybe they were called by God, just as Abraham was. God told Abraham to go from the City of Ur, to Haran, and then to Canaan. God called Abraham to settle in that area. God promised Abraham two things: descendents numbering like the stars in the night sky or the grains of sand on the beach, and he promised a place for the descendents to live, namely the area of Palestine which is therefore known as the �gPromised Land.�h

Abraham did indeed have many descendents and became the �gfather of many nations.�h He became the father of the nation of Israel through his son Isaac, and the father of some Arab nations through his son Ishmael. The promise of the land was given to his descendents, although the size of the land and the control over it has varied greatly over the last 4000 years. We see that God has kept his promise to Abraham. And the Bible tells us that Abraham always believed the promise. He believed the promise even though he and his wife had no son in their advanced years. He believed the promise even when told to sacrifice his son that God had given him. He believed that God could do and would do as he had promised. This belief in the promise is called �gfaith.�h Because of that faith, God �gcounted to him as righteousness.�h Being righteous meant that he was in a right relationship with God which meant salvation and eternal life.

The point that St. Paul wants to make in this Letter to the Romans is that God considered Abraham as righteous and saved only because of his faith and not because he kept the letter of the Law. The Law of Moses came about 500 years later, so Abraham could not have been judged on the basis of the Law of Moses. He was judged solely on the basis of his faith toward God.

Paul says that we are like Abraham. We are not judged on the basis of the Law of Moses, but rather we are judged solely on the basis of our faith toward God. Paul says, �gThat is why his faith was �gcounted to him as righteousness.�h But the words �git was counted to him�h were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.�h In other words, God has not given us the promise of descendents and property, but he has promised us resurrection and eternal life through Jesus Christ. This promise was made to us not because we have kept the Law, but because we have broken it. We have broken the Law of God, the Law of Moses, the Law of Love, the Laws of Humanity, you name it. We do not have to break the formal Law of Moses to sin. But because we have sinned, because we are not perfect in the sight of God, we are made righteous in a different way. Jesus died for our sin and he was �graised for our justification.�h Jesus rose from the dead so that we can have a good relationship with God. This relationship is called �gfaith,�h �gtrust,�h �gbelief in the promises of God.�h

What does this mean? It means that we are like Abraham. God calls us and we trust him. We might not understand God�fs plan. We might ask �gwhy�h and �ghow.�h We might not know the answer right away, so we just have to trust God, that is, we have to have faith. Maybe we will have a call like Abraham to start a new life. Maybe we have a call like Matthew to leave the old work behind and become a full time worker for Christ. Maybe we are now where God wants us to be, and so we just have to keep trusting him always.

Our whole life is a Faith Journey. Our destination is heaven. But when on a journey, the road is part of the experience. We enjoy the ride, we enjoy the scenery, we thank God for the friends and family we have right now. We walk by faith. That means that we trust in God the Father at all times. Because Jesus is with us we do not worry. Because the Holy Spirit is with us we do not worry about being lost in sin or despair. Hymns and prayers are the voices of our faith.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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