Nota Bene: This sermon is a catechetical sermon on Law-Gospel
preaching. It is a sermon, so it isn't an exhaustive treatment by any
means. It is something that Christians need to hear so they don't
forget. I am continually dumbfounded when I run into people from
churches that have not liturgical and sacramental emphasis. One thing
seems to go hand in hand: churches that dispense of the historic
liturgy, then lose their sacramentology. As a sad result of this,
even the preaching is reduced to stories and pep talks. What I find
is people who frequent those kinds of churches feel so uncomfortable
in the midst of sacramental and liturgical preaching. Unfortunately,
they learn nothing but to pay attention to their "feelings" and, as
they do, they lose sight of who Jesus even is. Those who attend those
kinds of churches may deny this is true but, sadly, it never manifests
itself while people are watching. They are first lulled to sleep, so
they do not even notice what they have lost. +cdk
St. Mark 1:1-8
Dearly beloved,
John the Baptist speaks well of the proper heart that a godly man and
woman must have if they want to enter the kingdom of heaven. We are
brought face to face with biblical preaching. If we think we live
lives that are worthy of God's favor toward us, then we ought to
listen to John the Baptist. We ought to look at his life and how he
lived. It couldn't have been easy.
We listen to the account of John the Baptist and we applaud him. He
was a man who did not waver in his faith. He even lived a disciplined
life so as not to fall prey to the temptations of this world. He
lived in the desert. He ate locusts and honey from the field. He
wore clothing made of camel's hair, not the most comfortable attire.
But, if John the Baptist were to come to us today, we would find him
to be a harsh figure. We would probably be a little irritated at his
frankness of speech, we would be turned off by his appearance, and we
would be disgusted by his diet.
We continue today with some more catechesis. Last week we pondered
the 2nd Article of the creed, about Jesus Christ. Today John the
Baptist gives us occasion to meditate upon preaching. I think it is
fair to say that Lutheran preaching is quite distinct. People who are
not used to Lutheran preaching have a difficult time grasping it. It
takes time, careful attention, and frequent pondering and hearing.
Lutheran preaching is best characterized as "Law-Gospel preaching."
This is foundational for us. This sort of preaching is found to be
the format of the earliest preaching found in the church. We can also
say that Lutheran preaching is very Christological, or,
Christ-centered. Law-Gospel preaching is best described as this: the
law is the preaching of God's word and what is considered holy living
by God. The preaching of the Law is what God expects of us as His
holy children. Preaching the law and telling people what God's
standard is for His people then leads to the exhortation that people
repent.
The reason for such an exhortation is that if we are really honest
with ourselves, then we will admit that we don't live holy lives as we
should. Preaching the Law is meant to lead us to search our hearts
and to be honest with ourselves about our spirituality. The world
despises this sort of preaching because we don't want to look at how
messy our lives really are. We live in a throw away world where if we
don't like something, then we just get rid of it and get a new one.
We do this with goods, homes, spouses, jobs. Why wouldn't we think
this way in terms of spirituality? When we sin, we like to sweep it
under the rug and forget it.
Law-Gospel preaching won't let us do that. Preaching that leads us
to ponder the weight and measure of our sins is meant to lead us to
repent. This is what John the Baptist was doing. I am sure that he
was saying more than "repent, for the kingdom is at hand." I am sure
he was telling people why they needed to repent and what they needed
to repent of. Lutheran preaching is not meant to leave us sorrowing
over our sins, though. This is where the Gospel comes in.
I, as your pastor, am to proclaim to you that in spite of your sins
and spiritual failures, Jesus loves you and He died on the cross
carrying and bearing those very sins of yours. This exchange between
tearing you down and bringing you back up isn't meant to be an act of
spiritual torture. What this preaching is to do, is to continually
tear down the old, sinful Adam. This first must strip the world's
philosophies out of you, and then build you up with what matters most,
learning what spirituality and holiness really is: Jesus loving you
and making you holy with His blood.
This is exactly what John the Baptist was trying to do in his
preaching of repentance. The world was functioning in its usual way,
and John was telling everyone who would listen that a greater One was
coming who would take our sins and shed His blood for them. He called
out from the wilderness a new way and a new road. This kind of
preaching is meant to strengthen your faith in the correct way.
Preaching the Lutheran way is more than an intellectual endeavor.
Preaching is sacramental. "We preach Christ crucified," says St.
Paul. But why did the Biblical, New Testament church do that? Why do
we do it? Because this kind of preaching changes hearts. It changes
souls, but not by my power. I am only the messenger and shepherd. On
the sound waves of the preaching rides Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Trinity enters through your ears and takes root in your heart,
and works there. Lutheran preaching is a spiritual endeavor.
It is meant to lead us to desire to be closer to Christ. We listen
to the preaching in order to know Jesus better and to come into
greater fellowship with Him. This is holy living. Holy living is to
yearn to hear about Jesus–what He did, what He said. He is our life.
We exchange our old lives for the new one that Jesus gives us and,
while this takes place in Holy Baptism, it never really ends. Trading
our sinful lives in for Christ in us is what this kind of preaching
really is.
It is a continual motion of coming into church to tear down what the
devil, the world, and the sinful flesh is trying to do to us, being
built up by Jesus and living in that grace. Because of sin in the
world, we are never to be free from this exercise and existence. This
is what Lutheran preaching is and does. Sacramental preaching doesn't
come easily for the hearer, because trying to undo the way we think as
the world has taught us is difficult and never finished.
Sacramental preaching that is Christ-centered, biblical and
Law-Gospel oriented is a paradigm shift in thinking. Thinking
sacramentally and living in Christ's grace and listening to that sort
of preaching takes time. It's a discipline that we constantly need to
attend to as Christians.
In fact, if we look at the preaching done by the apostles in the book
of Acts, we see that they recount the history of salvation by
continually going back to what happened in the past and then setting
people free from their sins through the preaching of Christ's victory
over death. This is the mark of a faithful preacher. He who preaches
in such a way that you are led to ponder Christ and His mysteries, is
doing the work that he is called to do.
So, as we indeed have our sins which hinder us in so many ways, let
us gather together with one heart, and hear the words of the heavenly
Father which speaks thus of His Son: "This is my Son whom I love.
Listen to Him." For it is in this Son that you have eternal
blessings, and it is by Him that your sins have been removed from you
by His taking them on the cross. In His death is your life, and in
His incarnation and birth is the awe and jubilation of all the
heavenly host. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
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