(God's blessed book of Titus will be the basis for our Lenten repentance at Grace, Versailles).
Ash Wednesday For Faith andKnowledge Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In the reading from Titus, Paul describes his office this way: “a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” Then Paul explains why his office was given: “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth.” Each of us has been given an office or two. It would be good for each and every one of us to think of our offices as given “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth.” Dear Christian friends, Luther emphatically stated, “You must not confuse your person and your office” (AE 21, 83). Again Luther said, “It is necessary to distinguish between the two things, the person and the office” (Ibid., 278). · Person refers to the individual, be it Sinful You or Despicable Me. · Office refers to the position or the responsibility that God has given. God has given Sinful You the high and holy office—the divine office—of parent or spouse or employee or sibling or, if all else fails, the office of neighbor. God has given Despicable Me many of the same offices, but to these others God has also given Despicable Me the office of the Holy Ministry. You must not confuse your person and your office—my person and my office. It is necessary to distinguish between the person and the office. Why? · Because it is easy for the sinful person to abuse and misrepresent the office. A sinful pastor might give the impression that is his office places him above the congregation, rather than below. A sinful father might teach his children that fatherhood consists of a quick temper and a heavy hand, rather than forbearance and patient repetition. Sinful teachers might lead people to believe that teaching is more about a paycheck than an education. Sinful police officers might teach the public to run away from law enforcement, rather than to seek its help. · Because our American culture teaches us to despise the very idea of office. We take pride in our persons, often at the expense of other people. The idolatry of personal freedom fools us into thinking that our person is much more important than our office. We tend to fancy ourselves as rugged Marlboro men, ultimately beholden to no one. Songs on the radio tell us that it is my life, I can do with it what I want—and such a philosophy destroys all forms of office in our midst. You already know how fashionable it is to speak evil of those who hold office in our land. We allow our disagreement with the person to throw contempt upon his or her office. If you need an example, think of the old bumper sticker that smugly declared, “He’s not my president. I voted for Charlton Heston.” In summary, we each sin much, every day, both by the way we neglect our own offices and by the way we dishonor or disregard the offices God has given to others. That makes the distinction of office and person a good theme for Lenten. When it comes to office, we need repentance. Tonight’s reading from Titus also allows us to think that, because of the ways we habitually fail to distinguish person and office—that is, because of the ways we fail to honor and hold sacred the offices God has established (John 19:11)—we might be missing out on some great opportunities. Why? Because Paul believes that his office was given “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth”—and because we can say the same thing about the offices we have received. What does that mean, that an office is given “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth”? · It means that the people around us are somehow better off when we remain faithful to our duties, even if it means staying on our feet too long or losing a little sleep once in a while or incurring other losses to our person. Faithfulness to office is “for the sake of the faith” because it allows others around us to know how seriously we believe the Words and promises of God. Office likewise teaches others to love and trust “God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.” · It means that sons and daughters have a better chance of becoming better fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, when their parents devote themselves to being parents. It means that, when pastors remain faithful to their office, the faith of the congregation is somehow improved upon and built up. It means that, when teachers and government leaders and business people fulfill their office well, God’s Christians gain greater access to His Word. God says tonight that our offices are “for the sake of … their knowledge in the truth.” Simply stated, by remaining faithful to our offices, we avoid placing roadblocks between our fellow Christians and God’s Word. Just after Paul stated in tonight’s reading that his office is “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth,” Paul went on to explain the power and the strength that God generously gives us in order to carry out our offices. What is that power and strength? “Hope of eternal life.” Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, IN HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began. These Words DO NOT indicate that we carry our offices merely because it is our duty. These Words DO NOT indicate that, if we should indeed be faithful to our tasks, God will reward us. These Words DO indicate that we carry out our offices as a result of the gift that God has given to us through His Son. We carry out our offices “in hope of eternal life,” that is, because Christ Jesus faithfully executed His office for our sake and for our salvation. We have a long Lenten season ahead of us. On each of the coming Wednesdays, God’s Book of Titus will bring us a different aspect of office. Sometimes God will speak mainly to pastors; sometimes to older men and women; sometimes to employees. At all times, God will be speaking to all of us. He will be speaking for our repentance. He will be speaking “in hope of eternal life” through His Son Jesus. He will be speaking “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth.” God grant us the blessing upon our hearing and our believing. Amen. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
