The Tenth Sunday After Pentecost Follow the River Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In today’s Epistle, wants you to think of your Baptism, not as a momentary drop of water, but as an ever-flowing river, deep and wide. God is speaking about your Baptism when He says to you, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Walk in the water! Follow the river! Dear Christian friends, A little more than a hundred years ago, President Thomas Jefferson sent two men, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to explore the vast Louisiana Purchase. The Purchase was a rough piece of ground, full of grave and deadly dangers, so Lewis and Clark did the wise thing: they followed the river. The Missouri River guided Lewis and Clark into the wilderness, and the Missouri River delivered them safely back out of the wilderness again. Hymn writers like to describe daily life in this world as travel through a dangerous wilderness. You have probably memorized the line from Amazing Grace, “through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come” (LSB 744.3). When we sing Lord Dismiss Us With Your Blessing, we pray that God would “refresh us, trav’ling through this wilderness” (LSB 924.1). Then there is “Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer, pilgrim in this barren land” (LSB 918.1) and in yet another hymn, “I walk in danger all the way, the tho’t shall never leave me” (LSB 716.1). Dangerous wilderness travel is a very good way for you to think about your life in this world. When think of yourself as making your way through the wilderness, like Lewis and Clark through the Louisiana Purchase, you will gain the blessing of perpetual discomfort. That is to say, you will never get too comfortable and you will never let your guard down. By thinking of yourself as a wilderness traveler, you will never lose sight of the facts that you are indeed a stranger here (Leviticus 25:23, 1 Peter 2:11), and that this world is neither your friend (John 15:15) nor your home (2 Peter 3:11-13). You have already learned from your Small Catechism that the devil, the world, and your own sinful nature are relentless enemies. These three enemies love the wilderness. These three enemies comprise the wilderness. These three enemies continually lay pitfalls and traps for you, hoping to deceive you and mislead you “into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice” (Sixth Petition). God speaks in a similar manner here in today’s Epistle. In this Epistle, God warns you that the real threats to your life in this wilderness are NOT the things that can happen to your body. The real threats and dangers are the things that can happen to your mind. This is why God declares today with such emphasis, “See to it!” See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. With these Words, God wants you to know that your mind can be taken captive and your thinking can be held in bondage, just as Lewis and Clark risked captivity by unfriendly natives as they traveled through their wilderness. You probably know more than one person whose mind has already been taken prisoner by powerful ideas that DO NOT come from the Lord your God. Perhaps some part of your own mind is already in chains. Evolution, abortion, and same-sex unions are just the loudest examples. Many other examples could be given: · What about the way so many Christians steadfastly insist that you do not need to go to church to be a Christian? They did not get this idea from God’s Bible. They have been “taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit.” · What about this world’s unending desire to gain more, to keep up with the neighbors, and to make sure every penny of your income gets quickly spent? When you think this way, you become enslaved by the idea that you might need something more than daily bread that God promises to give you. · For that matter, what about the local Christian radio station, which constantly seeks to imprison you by telling you what more you should be doing to improve your relationship with God? They speak “according to human tradition… and not according to Christ.” These are the sorts of ideas—and countless other ideas like them—these are the sorts of ideas lurk in the wilderness in which you live. These are the sorts of ideas that stand in the shadows with flaming arrows notched in the bow. These are the sorts of ideas God thunders about in today’s Epistle, when He roars, “See to it! See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. With these Words, God is telling you that you must be on your guard—both for yourselves and for your loved ones. With these Words, God wants you to know that your life in this world is serious business, requiring both your vigilance and your constant defense. But God does more for you in today’s Epistle than merely warn you about the dangers of your earthly life. In today’s Epistle, God also speaks about the powerful weapon and the trustworthy guide He has given to you for your travel through the wilderness. Here God says to you, to me, and to all His Christians, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Stated another way, Follow the River! In the same way that Lewis and Clark followed the Missouri River into their wilderness and safely out again, so God has also given to you a living river, the river named Holy Baptism, which will guide you safely through your wilderness and back out again! We know that God is talking about Baptism in today’s Epistle because it begins with the Words, “as you received Christ.” Whenever God speaks in His Bible about you receiving Christ, you should think in terms of Baptism (e.g., John 1:12-13, Galatians 4:4). Whenever God speaks about receiving Christ, you should think of yourself as an empty glass, into which God has filled to overflowing by pouring out upon you all the riches of His grace, filling with you with His mercy, His love, His strength, His forgiveness, His Son, His Spirit, and even His own self. When you “received Christ” you received every good thing from God, and these things shall abide and remain with you through all eternity. But God does not speak only about receiving Christ, as if the first part of your journey into the wilderness is the only part that matters. Here in today’s Epistle, God also speaks about walking in Christ—and notice what God says: “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” With these Words, God ties the moment of your Baptism to every day of the rest of your life! God does not want you to think of your Baptism as a drop of water in a bowl, but He wants you to think of your Baptism as an ever-flowing river, a River of Life, perpetually flowing out from Him and guiding you through your wilderness. Think of your Baptism as being like: · the Jordan River where John the Baptist stood. The Jordan courses its way through a dry and barren wilderness, giving life to the land even when its flow seems to be little more than a trickle. So, too, your Baptism: a small stream of a few drops of water, yet more than sufficient for your life and salvation. · the Nile River in Egypt, which spreads wide and fertilizes a vast territory for miles around, even nourishing and sustaining the people of Israel while they were not yet in their Promised Land. So, too, your Baptism: Baptism not only gives you God’s rich forgiveness of your sins, but also now produces within you good works and abiding fruit, producing many happy results both for you and for your neighbor. Baptism also promises to nourish and sustain you as you likewise await your Exodus, and your entry into the homeland God has promised you. · the Missouri River, which not only guided Lewis and Clark into the Louisiana Purchase, but also safely home again. So too, your Baptism: in the Baptismal font, God sent you on your journey, in the same way that Christ our Lord, as soon as He was baptized, entered into the wilderness. But God wants you to know that your Baptism will bring you safely home again. Just as Lewis and Clark returned in safety to St. Louis, following the Missouri River, you likewise shall return safely to your eternal rest by the power of your Baptism into Christ. This is why God says to you so plainly and simply in today’s Epistle, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Stated another way, follow the River, dear saints of God! Walk in the water! Use your Baptism as a way of avoiding and protecting against the captivity of this wilderness in which you live. · “See to it that no one takes you captive.” Do this by continually measuring and comparing the things you hear in the world with things God has written in His Living Word. · “See to it” that the hearts and minds of your family members find continual rest and peace in God’s Word. Do this, both by speaking forgiveness to them on a daily basis, and also by regularly talking with them about the Christian faith in everyday life. · “See to it” that your family traditions never be allowed to interfere or replace the Word of God in your midst. Do this by keeping the Word of God—its hearing, its communion, and its fellowship—the first priority of your family life. “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” In other Words, walk in the water and follow the river! The River will provide you with rich nourishment and refreshment, every day of your life. The River will protect you from captivity and harm. The River cleanses you on a daily basis, delivering to you again and again the pure and spotless blood of Jesus, your crucified God. The River is your Baptism, and by this River you shall arrive safely to your eternal home. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
