Monthly Archives: November 2021

A King for the Stubborn – Sermon on Matthew 21:1-9 for the First Sunday of Advent

Matthew 21:1-9

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 

5   “Say to the daughter of Zion, 

     ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, 
humble, and mounted on a donkey, 
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” 

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, 

     “Hosanna to the Son of David! 
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Hosanna in the highest!”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Imagine that you are on the gameshow Family Feud. I’ll pretend to be the host, Steve Harvey. “We asked 100 people: What word would you use to describe a donkey?” Yeah, I bet “stubborn” would be worth 97 points. This past week, I did a lot of reading on donkeys and found an article titled, “Fourteen Reasons a Donkey Is an Ideal Hiking Companion.”[1] A few of my favorite sarcastic reasons: They don’t engage in chit-chat but are very good listeners. Big ears. They kick really hard and are, basically, the Chuck Norris of the equine family. They aren’t interested in social media, so you won’t freeze at the summit while you wait for them to try and get the perfect shot to post in Instagram.

But some of the more serious reasons are: They will carry your stuff for you. They have great endurance. They are focused and surefooted in all types of terrain. Donkeys have great memories and can remember areas they have been up to 25 years previously. They are a good judge as to whether or not a path or situation is potentially dangerous, and it’s nearly impossible to persuade a donkey to take a path that it considers sus (sic.). (For you old, out-of-tough folks, that means ‘suspicious.’) And that last reason is why most people consider them to be stubborn. If a donkey senses danger, it won’t budge.

Remember Balaam’s donkey? Balaam was riding his donkey to go curse the people of Israel on behalf of the king of Moab (1 Kgs. 22). God was angry at Balaam for going and sent the angel of the Lord to stand on the road with a drawn sword. The donkey saw the danger, but Balaam didn’t. The donkey went off the road and into a field, so Balaam struck his donkey. Then, the angel stood in a narrow path with a wall on both sides. The donkey moved to the side, right against the wall, which smushed Balaam’s foot, so he struck her again. Then, the angel went to another narrow place. This time donkey lay down, and Balaam struck her again.

So, God opened the donkey’s mouth to speak to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Balaam complains to his donkey that she has made him look like… well, another word for ‘donkey.’ And the donkey responded, “You have ridden me your whole life. Do I normally treat you this way?” Balaam answered, “No.” Finally, God opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel of the Lord with his sword drawn, and Balaam fell on his face.

Balaam’s donkey was being stubborn and refusing to walk near the angel of the Lord because it was good for the donkey, but it was also good for her rider. The stubbornness of donkeys is one of their best qualities. It protects them and their companions.

It’s interesting that the donkey Jesus rode in our text didn’t sense the danger ahead for its Rider and dig in its heels. Maybe, that donkey didn’t realize that sinful man is even more stubborn than a donkey.

Donkeys are supposed to be stubborn, but we aren’t. Quite honestly, when it comes to being stubborn, we sinners are far more guilty than donkeys. The Old Testament prophets – especially Jeremiah – talk about how we stubbornly refuse to listen to God. Our old nature is a wild, unmanageable donkey (Jer. 2:23-24). We have stubborn hearts that turn us aside from God’s way (Jer. 5:23). Too often, we allow our stubborn, sinful hearts to lead us in gratifying our fleshly desires. We are not loving toward God or our neighbor. Instead, we dig our heels into the ground and demand our own way. And when we do run, it is generally toward sin and away from God. Repent.

There’s no way to know if the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem knew about the danger that lay ahead for its Rider, but Christ certainly knew. And that is why He rode forward. Christ came to be the King for stubborn sinners. He knew the suffering He would endure for you, and your stubborn heart is no match for your King’s loving and merciful heart. Today, you hear how He comes to save you, humble and mounted on a donkey.

And for us stubborn sinners, that is good news. He doesn’t come as a conquering king on a war horse or elephant. He comes humble and mounted on a beast of burden. Jesus comes to carry your burden of sin on His shoulders to the cross where He will be even more humble and lowly and die for your sins.

And now, Christ does for you just what He did for that donkey He rode into Jerusalem. In the Absolution, Jesus has sent His disciple with authority to come and untie you from your sin (Jn. 20:22-23). He has loosed you from your stubbornness in sin and freed you to go with Him bearing your cross as His willing disciple.

As we begin the season of Advent (which means ‘coming’), we want to remember all the comings of Christ, our King and Savior. He came in Bethlehem: born of a woman, born under the Law to redeem you who were under the Law (Gal. 4:4). On the Last Day, He will dome again in glory with all the angels to judge the living and the dead.

But we don’t want to forget that Christ still repeatedly comes now in humility in His Word and Sacraments. He comes to give you what you could never earn or deserve – a place in His eternal kingdom. He washes away your stubborn stains of sin and makes you clean, righteous, and holy. For that, God be praised. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] https://www.thehikinglife.com/2020/02/14-reasons-why-a-donkey-is-the-ideal-hiking-companion/

The Problem – Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13 for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

Matthew 25:1-13

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The five foolish virgins had one problem. They were “morons.” That’s literally the word Jesus uses – μωρός. So that’s how I’ll refer to them; if you have a problem with me calling them morons, you can take it up with Jesus. Being morons was their only problem. The fact that they had lamps but no oil is problematic, but their problem is that they are morons. Having an oil lamp but no oil is silly. Wicks without oil can only burn for a few seconds before disappearing in a choking mess of smoke.

We might think that the wise virgins not sharing their oil with the morons is a problem. It doesn’t seem very charitable. Why don’t the wise just offer to let the morons walk in the light of their lamps? Well, we don’t know enough about the customs of Jesus’ day to know why each girl needed to have her own lamp. And who knows? Maybe that arrangement would have been acceptable. But notice what the morons did. When the call rings out, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him,” they moronically wander away from the banquet hall to try and buy some “midnight oil.” What shop would be open at that hour?

While the morons are gone on their hopeless shopping trip, the bridegroom arrives. The five wise virgins go in to the marriage feast, and the door is shut. When the five morons finally return begging to be allowed in to the feast, they are met with the horrifying reply, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”

Jesus tells this parable as a warning for us to be ready for His return. The moral of the parable is, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. But Jesus didn’t tell us when He would return. So, He commands us to watch and be ready. Wake up from your sleep today. Wake up now. When the feast begins, Jesus wants you there. Have oil. Don’t be left outside.

But now, we have a problem. Jesus doesn’t tell us what the oil is. Is it the Bible, faith, grace, the Holy Spirit, or the Sacraments? Jesus doesn’t say. But the Scriptures would indicate that it can be and is all of those. I’m open to other suggestions that you might have, but my guess is that Jesus doesn’t tell us what the oil is so that we seek after all those things because each of them – Bible, faith, grace, absolution, and the Sacraments – are kingdom of heaven things. And Christ tells us to, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt. 6:33).

That is why you are here today. God has gathered you here around His Word and Sacrament. This is where you need to be and where you belong. In this place, you hear God’s Word, are absolved of your sins, and receive Christ’s risen Body and Blood. In this place, you are supported by your brothers and sisters in Christ, and your presence ministers to them. Here, you unite in prayer making intercessions for yourselves and others, for our nation and this world. This is how faith is given, sustained, and strengthened. The Church is the well-fortified barracks where you are fitted with the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11). And, here, you help others prepare for the battle.

But you don’t get to stay here. You will return to the battlefield of the world. It is necessary, and it is, in fact, what God has called you to do. You are called by God to go into the world and deal with lazy coworkers and incompetent supervisors and bosses. You will have to endure your children’s temper tantrums, your spouse’s failures and shortcomings, the loneliness of a widowed house, and your relatives’ problems. You will go back to school and classes with boring teachers, pointless homework, and bullies. God calls you to face all of that even while you struggle with your own sins of anger, lust, gossip, and envy.

In each of those places, each of those callings and vocations, the devil has laid all sorts of traps and snares for you; he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour you (1 Pet. 5:8). Satan attacks you in those arenas because everywhere you go, you carry God’s light to a darkened world. Christian, every relationship you have is a holy, divine calling. And because you are God’s child, everything you do has spiritual value. How you handle work, school, chores, laundry, dishes, and whatever else has both temporal and eternal consequences. That is why you come to church and get what is necessary for your salvation. But what happens here must extend to the rest of your week.

Don’t be a moron thinking that a couple hours at church each week (or two to three times each month) is enough to prepare you for what you will face out there. You need more. And parents, listen up. Your children can’t share your oil and can’t walk in the light of your lamp. Each one needs his or her own lit lamp. So, if it hasn’t been your family’s practice in the past, start today. Make the reading of Scripture, prayer, and fellowship around God’s Word together as a family your top priority each day. Fathers, God calls you to take the lead on this. Wives, if he doesn’t do it on his own, pester and nag him until he does.

Family time in the Bible doesn’t need to be complicated or fancy. Start simple. Start with the Gospel of John and read one paragraph each day. After you read, pray for your friends and family. It can be as simple as, “Bless grandma and help Phil. Amen.” Then, pray the Lord’s Prayer. That will take five minutes. You can do that. You have the time to do that. And if you don’t have enough time, rip something out of your schedule. If your job makes it impossible, quit. Find a new one – even if it means a pay cut and you have to buy a smaller, cheaper house. This is eternally serious. Your salvation and the salvation of your children depends on it. If you miss a day, don’t give up. Start again the next. Make it a habit for you and your kids to pray together on the way to school or practice or wherever. All of this will help to begin to make God’s Word part of your regular conversations as you watch and remain ready for His return.

Ok. That was the Law part of the sermon. And, I hope was a bucket of ice water to awaken you from slumber. Now, we need the Gospel. And there is one more problem to address: Now, be honest. Does this parable strike fear into you?

Honestly, if you summarize the parable, it is a story of ten silly girls who fall asleep waiting for a party. Five are able to light a lamp and get to go into the party. Five can’t, so they have to go away. And if your high school experience was like mine, if you aren’t at the party, you just end up at home sulking and feeling a bit lonely and sorry for yourself.

So, when Jesus tells us that the purpose of this parable is to get us to watch for the day of His return, why did He use this analogy of a wedding party and ten silly, sleepy girls? If being ready for His return is so important, why not tell a parable with more urgency and more horrific consequences? Why not a parable of ten fishermen – five who wear life jackets and five morons who don’t and drown when the storm comes and the boat sinks? How about ten soldiers – five who carry their sword at all times and five morons who leave their swords lying around and get slaughtered when the enemy ambushes them?

Well, that is precisely why Jesus’ parable is different. In either of the parables I just suggested, the return of Jesus is depicted as a terrible, tragic event – a storm at sea, or a sudden attack by an enemy army. But in Jesus’ parable, the thing we need to be ready for, well, it’s the greatest day ever – the day of the arrival of Jesus, the Bridegroom and Savior of all mankind. A day of feasting, joy, laughter, and blessedness for those who are ready to enter with Him. It is the very thing we are looking forward to and longing for.

Once we have worked ourselves into a tizzy about the dire urgency of Christ’s return, we need to step back, take a deep breath, and remember: Christ’s return is not something horrific that you need to be scared of. Jesus’ return means that you will be in eternal bliss, happiness, contentment, and joy. There will be no more pain, tears, or sorrow. Christ’s return is something to anticipate – more than a child anticipates the arrival of her favorite aunt and cousins. That excited expectation is what Jesus is highlighting with this parable.

Yes, this parable is a warning. Our lamps can run dry. Faith must be continually fed by God’s Word and the Sacraments. Repent. Believe. Have faith in Christ.

And yes, Jesus teaches that as the end draws near the signs of His return are alarming: wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation, earthquakes, persecution, hatred, false teaching, and love growing cold (Mt. 24:4-12). But, when you see those things, remember what that means for you. Christ says it means your redemption is drawing near (Lk. 21:28). The bridegroom is coming, and you are His bride without spot, wrinkle, or blemish (Eph. 5:27).

Dear saints, this world is ending. Good riddance. You have Christ. Your redemption is secure and your eternity certain. So, look forward to that day. Stay awake. Keep eagerly anticipating and looking for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sorrow & Sighing Will Flee – Sermon on Matthew 9:18-26 for the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 9:18-26

18 While [Jesus] was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 

20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 

23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This text begins with, “While [Jesus] was saying these things….” which means it is plopping us into the middle of a conversation. Matthew could have just told this as a stand-alone story by starting with, “One time a ruler came to Jesus….” Both Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels do that when they record the story (Mk 5:22-43; Lk. 8:41-56), but Matthew was inspired by the Holy Spirit to include more context. He connects these two miracles with the discussion Jesus is currently having. So, please, grab your Bible, so you can see what Jesus is saying. Open, turn, tap, or whatever you do in your Bible to Mt. 9:14-17.

Some of John the Baptizer’s disciples come to ask Jesus a question, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” Notice what their question assumes. “We’re pious, religious people, and we fast. The Pharisees are pious, religious people, and they fast. Why aren’t Your disciples religious and pious like us? Why don’t they fast?” These disciples of John figure that Jesus’ disciples should be practicing their religion like they and others do. In other words, at the root of their question is the idea that Jesus is just a regular teacher and nothing new or special. They must have missed the fact that John had been pointing and pushing them toward Jesus (Jn. 3:25-30).

Jesus answers the question from John’s disciples by saying (Mt. 9:15-17), “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Then, Jesus goes on to talk about old cloths and new patches and new wine and old wineskins. But the point of interest here is this talk about the Bridegroom being present – something that John the Baptizer had taught.

In Jesus’ day, wedding feasts were an even bigger ordeal than they are today. A wedding feast would last several days – sometimes even a week (Gen. 29:27) or two.[1] Refusing to eat at a wedding feast would be at least inappropriate if not offensive. Imagine if you invited someone to come to your house for dinner in two weeks. You carefully prepare the menu making sure it will be tasty and nourishing. You go out shopping picking the best produce and meat. You spend hours preparing the food. Your guest arrives, sits down for the meal, and announces he won’t be eating because he is fasting. It’s rude and wrong.

When Jesus says that His disciples don’t fast because the bridegroom is present, He is saying that the Old Testament promises about God’s people being married to God (Is. 54:5-6; 62:4-5; Hos. 2:14-20) are coming true in His ministry. The day of deliverance that God had been promising since the Fall has come. The Messiah is here, and the wedding feast has begun!

But now, while Jesus is saying these things, a ruler comes and tells Jesus that his daughter has died. Mark’s Gospel tells us that his name is Jairus (Mk. 5:22), so I’m going to refer to him by his name. Jairus has a legitimate reason to be mourning, but the Groom is present. And the wedding feast that is Jesus’ ministry will not be disturbed by death of anyone except the Groom. (But even His death ends up being only a brief interruption of the feast.) Jairus knows that Jesus, the Groom, won’t let his daughter’s death stand, so he says to Jesus, “Come lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” So, what does Jesus do? Look carefully at v. 19, “Jesus rose and followed him.”

Matthew doesn’t just say that Jesus follows Jairus to his home. Christ “rose.” That word that gets translated ‘rose’ a word for resurrection. In fact, Matthew uses that same word again in v. 25 when the little girl will arise from her sleep of death. The word can mean “stand up,” but most literally it is what we do in the morning when we get out of bed. And it is what we Christians will do on the Last Day when we rise up from our graves. But Matthew is giving a nice little foreshadowing of what Jesus is going to do when He gets to Jairus’ house. The little girl’s rising from death only happens because Jesus rises first. Dear saints, the same is true for you. You will rise again because Jesus is risen – no question about that. [Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!]

On the way to Jairus’ house, we get a little interruption in the story. A woman who has been suffering from a discharge of blood for twelve years hears about this wedding feast and decides that all she needs to do is touch the fringe of Jesus’ garment and she will be ‘saved.’ The word there doesn’t just mean ‘made well,’ it means ‘saved’ from her disease. She does. She is. And Jesus proves that her idea of touching His garment isn’t just a superstition about Jesus’ clothes. Her faith saves her.

For twelve years, she had been ceremonially unclean from this menstrual bleeding. This meant for twelve years she couldn’t go to the Temple, couldn’t get married, couldn’t even attend some family gatherings. But Christ brings her into the celebration of the joy of the Messiah’s wedding feast. She gets even better than what Isaiah got when the burning coal touched his lips (Is. 6:7), and she ascends the ladder to heaven that Jacob saw in his dream (Gen. 28:12).

After all this, Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house. He dismisses the people who are there making a commotion and mourning. By the way, these were professional, paid mourners, so they knew who was dead and who wasn’t. But Jesus dismisses them saying, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping,” which says a lot about what your Savior thinks about your death. The mourners laugh at Christ, but Jesus simply takes this little girl by the hand and lifts her up from the nap of death. Her spirit returns (Lk. 8:55), and she lives.

Dear Natalie, that brings me to you. Natalie, today you are Baptized. Today, Jesus has joined you to Himself by placing His name upon you (Mt. 28:19) and clothed you with Himself (Gal. 3:27). In your Baptism, Jesus joined you to His death so that you have a Jesus-kind of death – in other words, a death that doesn’t last long and ends in resurrection (Ro. 6:3-11).

Natalie, no one here knows what God has in store for your life in this world. But, dear Natalie, we do know this because Scripture promises: You heard it in our Epistle lesson (Col. 1:9-14), God has delivered you from the domain of darkness and transferred you to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom you have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Natalie, and all you saints, God promises in our Old Testament lesson (Is. 51:9-16), “I, I am He who comforts you.” You are the redeemed of the Lord. You shall come to the eternal Zion with singing. Everlasting joy will be on your head. You will, without a doubt, obtain gladness and joy. Whatever sorrow and sighing you endure in this fallen world, whether it is caused by others or by your own sins and failures, that sorrow and sighing will flee away because they are utterly defeated by Christ’s death and resurrection.

Jesus, your Savior and Groom, has borne your griefs and carried your sorrows. Your sorrow and sighing cannot and will not stay with you. They will flee because Jesus lives. And because He lives, so will you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] The apocryphal book of Tobit (8:20) speaks of a two-week wedding feast for a particularly important wedding.

The Most Blessed Story Is True – Sermon on Matthew 5:1-12 observing All Saints’ Day

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Blessed.” Nine times, Jesus proclaims a blessing in this text. Each of these blessings that Jesus speaks is the kind of story that we like – a rags to riches story. The poor, the down and out, the little, and the weak rise from their pitiful condition and get something good.

Other than the Bible, the book my nose has spent the most time in is Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. And, I have to say the obvious, don’t just watch the movies, read the books – they’re infinitely better. The little hobbits “rise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great,” and topple the dark lord, Sauron. We love that kind of story. We love how Cinderella ascends from mopping the floors of her wicked stepmother and waiting on her cruel stepsisters to live in the palace married to Prince Charming.

The stories where the small, weak, despised, and ostracized overcome all the obstacles and live happily ever after capture our attention. They are often a nice escape from reality because we know that not everything works out so perfectly. And even though we like to hear, “and they all lived happily ever after,” we know that real stories don’t end up that way. Cinderella grows old, wrinkly, and dies. The Ugly Duckling turns into a swan, but eventually gets entangled in a windmill. And Bambi either gets chronic wasting disease or shot during hunting season.

So, back to Lord of the Rings for just a moment: Old Bilbo was the one who found the ring of power which gave him an unnaturally long life. He has passed the ring on to his nephew, Frodo, and retired from adventuring at the elven house of Rivendell so he could settle down and write a book about his adventures. But when Bilbo finds out the ring must be taken on a perilous journey to Mount Doom to be destroyed, he figures it’s his job. He mourns for a bit saying, “I was just writing an ending for [my book]…. I had thought of putting: and he lived happily ever afterwards to the end of his days.” That last phrase, “to the end of his days,” is more realistic. Happily ever after can only last so long in this fallen world. Psalm 90:9 says, “we bring our years to an end like a sigh.” Deep down, we know that happily ever after doesn’t come in this world. Rags-to-riches stories rarely happen, and even when they do, those riches don’t last.

So, when Jesus sits down on the top of the mountain and teaches us the Beatitudes, we know our Lord doesn’t lie. We want our own happily ever after, so think we need to try to be what Jesus describes in order to be eternally blessed. But, when we hear who Jesus says is blessed, we take a step back. Who wants to be poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry, thirsty, and persecuted? We spend so much time and energy trying to avoid being those things. We want to be spiritually strong, not poor in spirit. We want to be happy and joyful, not mourning. We want to be powerful, not meek. And we typically avoid persecution at all costs.

Today, as we observe All Saints’ Day, it is important to remember that the Beatitudes are not attitudes that Jesus commands us to have. They are not Jesus’ advice on how we must arrange our lives to attain our own rags-to-riches, happily ever after ending. That approach turns the blessings Jesus gives here into be-curse-itudes. Instead, the Beatitudes are a description first of Jesus and then of who you are, dear saints, because you are in Jesus.

And we can say that because of what Christ has done. Christ’s story is a better but different kind of story than rags-to-riches. In fact, Christ’s is the only story that even makes rages-to-riches possible. It is the story, the true story, of Jesus who went from riches to rags to save us ragged sinners.

The eternal Son of God left His dwelling in heaven. He humbled Himself to be born in a manger and entered this sin-sick world. Christ endured every temptation, disappointment, and sorrow you have ever and will ever face. He was poor in spirit (Mk. 14:34). He mourned death (Jn. 11:35). He was meek (same Gk. word in Mt. 11:29 and Mt. 21:5). He became hungry (Mt. 4:2) and thirsty (Jn. 19:28). He was merciful, pure in heart, and a peacemaker. And persecuted? Yes, He was persecuted. Abandoned by even His closest friends, betrayed into the hands of evil men, beaten, mocked, scorned. Crucified, forsaken by God the Father, died, and buried. It doesn’t get any lower than that.

Jesus didn’t have to do or experience any of this, but out of His great love for you – He did. “He left His Father’s throne above, so free so infinite His grace. Emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam’s helpless race.” Jesus left the riches of heaven to descend to you and me in the filthy rags (Is. 64:6) of our sin. He came to you to raise you from your rages to His riches. He did that to make you His saints, His holy ones, His beloved, His blessed.

Dear saints, you don’t ever have to wonder if the blessings Jesus proclaims in the Beatitudes are for you. If v. 3-10 were all we had, then, sure, maybe there would be doubt. But Jesus closes the Beatitudes by saying, “Blessed are you.” You are blessed now even when you are reviled, persecuted, and slandered for your faith in Jesus. Rejoice and be glad, your reward is great in heaven.

“Beloved, [you] are God’s children now, and what [you] will be has not yet appeared; but know that when He appears [you] shall be like him, because [you] shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn. 3:2). Blessed Jesus, may that day come soon. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.