I don't think I've ever relied on an illustration so much, but I think it's in
line with Malachi 4:2, so I'm not too penitent for it.
Rev. Charles Lehmann + Matthew 11:25-30 + Pentecost 7
In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.
Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you
have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little
children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”
Our Lord delights in children. He welcomes them into His arms. He places
His hands on them and blesses them. When little newborn sinners are brought to
the waters of Holy Baptism, our God and Father washes them clean, forgives them
all their sins, and makes them His own children.
Christ even goes so far as to say, “If you do not receive the kingdom of
God as a little child, you will never enter it.” These are hard words. They
seem to suggest that we should never grow in our faith. We should never study
God's Word and learn more and more what God wants to reveal to us through it.
We should stay child-like and innocent. We should let our knowledge of God
remain at a bare minimum level and never work toward coming to a fuller
knowledge of our Savior.
But that's not what child-like faith is at all. Children are eager and
hungry to learn everything about the world around them. Children who are
raised in a loving family believe that their parents can give them all good
things. Many little girls think that Superman would be pretty cool if he had
all the powers that she is absolutely sure her dad has.
Child-like faith looks toward God the way that this past Tuesday a little
goat looked toward me. I was walking out of Cherry Hill when I saw a young
goat standing in the flowerbed munching on some tasty red and white flowers.
He was black and white and about two feet tall. His horns were just starting
to grow. I don't know much about goats, but I suspect he was only a few months
old.
As soon as this goat saw me, he jumped down from the flowerbed and came to
me. He naaa-ed a bit and put his head under my hand. I petted him and talked
to him for awhile. He kept looking up toward me and opening his mouth. This
goat was absolutely certain that he could expect good and yummy things from me.
I didn't have anything for him to eat, either in my pockets or in my car, but
despite what the reality was, this goat was persistent. He was sure that if he
waited, I would feed him.
Unfortunately for my little friend, I didn't have anything to give him.
All I could do was pet him for awhile, talk to him, and walk to my car. But he
followed me. When I opened the door he lay down just behind the front tire. I
hadn't fed him yet, and I couldn't shake the goat's faith that if he persisted,
I would give him something good.
It took several minutes for me to guide him back to the flowers so I could
leave. The goat's faith in me, though strong, didn't help him in the end. I
am not God. Though I really liked the little guy, I couldn't feed him with
what I didn't have.
Child-like faith in God, however, is much much better than the faith the
goat had in me. God is every bit as good as the goat thought I was. If I had
been God, I would have been able to provide all the good things the goat could
ever expect or even desire. If I had been God, the goat would not have been
disappointed. His faith in me would have been completely justified.
But there's another way we can learn from the goat. Though I didn't feed
him on Tuesday, I am sure that if I see the little guy next time I go to Cherry
Hill, he will still expect good things from me. That I didn't give the goat
what he expected or desired won't shake his faith in me. He will still
persist. He will still believe that I've got something good and yummy in my
pockets.
Unfortunately, we're usually not like little goats at nursing homes. We
lack the child-like faith that our Lord commends. We do not look to God for
every good in life. When we have food to eat, a house to live in, and clothes
to wear, we credit our own hard work that earned the money that paid for them.
We don't usually consider that no seed can sprout, no calf can be born, and no
house can be built unless the Lord does it. He provides the sun to warm the
ground. He creates life in the cow's womb. He grows the trees and makes the
iron. He gives daily breath to us, our families, and our neighbors. Without
the Lord's gracious provision, we would not even have life, let alone all the
good things that He gives to our bodies.
We lack the wisdom of a little goat. He knows that he cannot make the
flower grow. He knows that he cannot make the sun shine or the rain fall. He
knows that all that he has is a gift from His loving creator. There is no
pride in the little goat. He is not ashamed to ask for all good things. And
when the little goat looked at me, I don't think he thought that what I gave
him would be coming from me.
He saw me for what I am. The Lord's instrument. The little goat knows
that all good things come from God, even if it is from my hand that he receives
it.
We don't just lack the wisdom of a little goat. We also lack his
eagerness. Though we have the benefit of knowledge, we act as if we know
nothing of the gifts of God. Our Lord has told us that His very word gives
life, salvation, and the forgiveness of sins. But too often the study of God's
Word wearies us. Another hour at church is just too much. Though the Lord
tells us that He has the words of eternal life, we've got better things to do
with our time.
But the child is always going to want more good things from their Father.
Whether it's the child of God, the little goat, or the little girl who thinks
her father can do anything, a little child will not stop in their persistent
asking for every good thing.
The Christian with child-like faith will earnestly hunger for God's Word.
The Christian with child-like faith will thank God for every good thing they
receive in life. The Christian with child-like faith will face every calamity
in peace, knowing that the Lord will use even the most evil circumstance to
work good for them.
When our Lord asks us to have child-like faith, He is not asking for
unthinking immature faith. He is asking for the faith that will hold Him to
His promises. He is asking for faith that expects Him to give every good
thing. He is asking for faith that will lead us to never tire of hearing what
our Lord wishes to say to us.
The faith which our Lord demands and which in today's text Jesus thanks the
Father for giving to children is the faith that all of you received in your
baptism. In your baptism you were given life and salvation. Your sins were
forgiven. God made you His very own child.
Unless you have faith like a little child you will never enter the kingdom
of heaven. True enough. But you, people loved by God, have the faith of a
little child. God is your father, and you are His dear children. And even
though you were born in sin and in iniquity your heavenly Father has sent His
own Son into your flesh. Jesus has borne your sin in His body. He, God's only
begotten Son, has died for the sins of the whole world. You are forgiven. You
are free. Since all your Father's wrath has been poured out onto His Son, you
can know with the certainty of a little goat that everything that you receive
from God is good. It is out of His great love for you that He gives it. It is
because He has loved you from the very creation of the world that He has made
you His child.
You have the faith of a little child because you are a little child. You
are a little child whom the Lord has tenderly invited to regard Him as your
loving Father. You may go to him with all of your requests, all of your
troubles, and all of your worries. You may believe and know that your loving
heavenly Father will always give you every good thing.
The Lord's yoke is easy, and His burden is light. It is easy because your
salvation comes to you as a gift. It is light because Jesus has already borne
the sins of the world to the cross and died there to forgive them all.
Rejoice, dear Christians. God is your Father. You are His children. He
can give you a pony, life, salvation, and every good thing.
In the Name of the + Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and
your minds in faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Charles R. Lehmann
Pastor, Saint John's Lutheran Church, Accident, MD
http://chaz-lehmann.livejournal.com
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