August 28, 2016

FIRST LESSON: Jeremiah 9:22-23 23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, 　that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

SECOND LESSON: Hebrews 13:1-8 Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 14:7-14 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Part of our church’s important activities apart from worship and prayer, is fellowship. And so we always have coffee or tea time after church. At our church we even have pot luck every month. The purpose of fellowship is not only to have a good time, but it is to be with other Christians who have the same joys and hardships that we do. And we see their faith and trust in God and so our own faith and trust in God become stronger. We see Christ working in their lives, and so our eyes are opened to see Christ in our own lives, too. We see how other Christians live, and we know that we do not have to act like other people. We do not have to be rude or obscene, we do not have to use curse words, and we do not have to bully others. In other words, in Christian fellowship we have proof that Christian love can be a successful way of life.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus gives some advice on social manners both when we are invited to a feast and also when we invite people to our banquet. He encourages humility, both when we are the guest and when we are the host.

Also in today’s Second reading from Hebrews 13, we get advice on how to live in society. We will talk about that in a moment.

The Old Testament reading from Jeremiah 9 is advice from the Lord on how to survive the judgment of the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah had been condemning Israel for its many sins. But the greatest sin of all was the sin of idolatry, the sin of forgetting the Lord God of Israel. This idolatry is the cause of all the misery and problems of Israel. And therefore the Lord is going to punish the people by bringing the armies of the enemies from the north who will destroy Judah and its cities and carry the people into exile. And yet Jeremiah proclaims the Word of the Lord which can give hope.

The people of Judah had forgotten the Lord God. They had forgotten his saving love of old. They boasted in their own strength, they had pride in their riches. They boasted in their idols made of wood, silver and gold. Those idols are worthless and powerless, they are just things made by people (10:3-5). “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation” (10:10).

There is salvation only in knowing the true God. This is the God that gives true wisdom, true strength, and things that truly valuable. True salvation is to know the Lord. It is to understand the Lord. When we get to know the Lord we understand what pleases him the most. We see what he most greatly delight in doing. Jeremiah 9:23 reads, “‘but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.”

The word “kindness” is a special Hebrew word. It is God’s “lovingkindness,” his “steadfast love.” It is a love that is eternal and keeps promises. It is full of mercy and grace and special kindness. It is the love shown to Israel from the days of Abraham and Moses and David. We see this lovingkindness especially in the work of Jesus. And when we see that great love and mercy of Jesus, we know that any and all idols are worthless. Idols never die for us, they never help us. Only the Lord God in Jesus Christ can do that. In Jesus we see a special type of justice and righteousness. It is justice with mercy and forgiveness. It is righteousness that puts us in the right connection with God our Savior.

When we know the Lord, we know his love. This eternal love is expressed at Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” We come to know the Lord in his Word and in the life of other Christians. That is why Hebrews 13:7 gives this advice. “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” The marks of a Christian life are listed in Hebrews 13 as: friendship, hospitality, helping victims, marriage fidelity, contentment, and confident trust. We could, and maybe should, speak a sermon on each one of these topics. Or maybe the best sermon is to see the Lord working in the lives of the Christians around us. I know that I have learned how to live by seeing the examples of those around me: starting with my Christian parents, teachers, friends, a number of pastors, and the many wonderful laymen in our congregations. And we have all learned to live by knowing the example of Christ. We see his steadfast love and lovingkindness in his death and resurrection. It is this forgiveness that gives us new life and a new way of life.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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