Sermon in Phoenix 01.03.2015

In the beginning, I have a wedding announcement to read. Mr. and Mrs. David Coyston request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Sarah Hannah to Jonathan Charles, son of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Hall, on Saturday the 14th of March, 2015 at 7 o'clock in the evening. The Phoenix Lestadian Lutheran Church.

Let us pray. God, thou who hast established marriage, bless this covenant and grant this couple one-mindedness and love to make their home a Christian home. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, let us quieten this morning in opening prayer and thanksgiving. Holy and righteous God, our beloved Heavenly Father, we have awakened to a new day of grace, mindful of the abundant blessings and gifts that you've granted unto us, your children. In so much that you've provided so perfectly for our daily needs and all of those things that pertain to this life. But also, dear Father, all the spiritual blessings and needs that you know we as your children also have need of.

Into our lives, you have blessed us with our loved family members. You have given to us those homes in which we can live. You so perfectly have fed us and clothed us, even more than you've clothed the birds and the flowers of the field. So perfectly that you have called us to be your children. And when we have been called as your children, you have also protected us and granted us grace to believe. Amen.

And into this gift of faith, you've also provided those necessities that we have in this journey. You've given to us a place to live, your kingdom, a kingdom wherein all of your children dwell and travel toward a common and like destination: the glory of God, the glory of heaven. And into this kingdom, you've given and blessed with your spiritual blessings. You've given us those grace gifts of confession. You've given us those tools wherein we can remain traveling as your children. You have granted us forgiveness in the preaching of the gospel. You've given us the strength to be faithful servants. You've also blessed us with those kinds of sacraments. And through your word have promised us to remember us and comfort us and to strengthen us. But most of all, dear Father, you've blessed us with your Son, that Son whom you sent into this sinful world. Amen.

As an innocent child born in that lowly manger of Bethlehem, teaching and living his life according to your holy and righteous will. And then at the end of his life, taking to the middle cross of Golgotha the sins of all of us, so that we, today, are not the sinners of the world, and that we may have hope, one day, there, to dwell in the glory of heaven.

And today, dear Father, as we have gathered in your house, around the hearing of your word, we pray for your blessing. You know the hearts of your children. You know of our needs and our wants, our wishes, our worries, our concerns. And through Your Word, You've promised to be with us. And so today, dear Father, we pray for that kind of blessing, that You would be with us, teaching and guiding, uplifting, caring and forgiving those weak ones that are traveling home.

And today we also remember loved ones not with us, wherever they may be gathered, some into those lonely outposts of life, some of those military boys and girls that are serving us, but also those who are sick and infirm or by circumstances outside of the hearing of Your Word. Would You also, dear Father, comfort them as You know so perfectly to comfort.

And as we gather around Your Word, we pray for Your service blessing, that You would break those crumbs of grace for each of us, that we would be mindful of the love that You've shared so that we, through faith, and through the life of Your Son, might journey homeward.

All of these things we ask and pray in Thy name. And we also pray as Your Son has taught when we say, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I thought I would read today from the seventh chapter of St. Luke, the gospel text that has been assigned for this Sunday. It is the second Sunday in Lent. And the theme of the day speaks of prayer and faith. The words are found in the 7th chapter of Luke, beginning with verse 36 through verse 50. The words are as follows in Jesus' name.

And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him; and he went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to meat. And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment and stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed his feet with ointment.

And when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner.

And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed five hundred pence and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?

Simon answered and said, I suppose he to whom he forgave most.

And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, and thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head was oiled, but thou didst not anoint it. But this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace. Amen.

When we read in the Holy Communion rites, and during that spot in the Communion rites where we have that confession of sins, the rites say this: O thou most merciful, crucified Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me, a wretched sinner, and look upon me with the eyes of thine compassion, as thou looked upon Peter when he had denied thee, and as thou looked upon the sinful woman in the house of the Pharisee.

This text that we read speaks of that time where Jesus looked upon the sinful woman in the house of the Pharisee. It continues and says, And as thou looked upon the thief on the cross, and grant me thy holy grace, that with Peter I would weep over my sins, with the woman which was a sinner I would love thee with all my heart, and together with the thief I could behold thy holy face in heaven forever. Amen.

This occasion in which our text speaks was when Jesus was invited to a home of a Pharisee whose name was Simon. The Pharisees, as we've so often heard, were those kinds of people who knew God's Word. They studied God's Word and the Law. They knew it so well that it became their salvation in this: that they worked and worked to satisfy the deeds of this Law. They would live from sin and sin from sun up to sun down endeavoring to live exactly as the Law had been written.

But it was also so that as they had very zealously tried to follow after the Law, they had zero patience for anybody who they found to be a sinner. They didn't necessarily see themselves to be sinners, but rather living their lives as self-righteous beings and not understanding and realizing that they were living a life of sin.

How many times did Jesus need to openly rebuke those Pharisees? In many different ways, Jesus said, for example, that you are as whited sepulchers, meaning that on the outside, they appeared to be clean and good people, but on the inside, they were dead.

Pharisees were those kinds of people that as Jesus rebuked, would strain at a gnat. They would look so closely into their own lives and also into the lives of others that they became bound in their own self-righteousness. They were very demanding people, exacting. They expected people in order that they might gain salvation to live in the same exacting way that they lived. They traveled under the law. And in them, there was no grace or forgiveness.

So, it's interesting now when Jesus went into this house of this Simon, a Pharisee. Jesus lived his life among sinners. That's where he lived his life. He mingled with those who were needful, those weak and poor, blind, halt, lame. Jesus said this is the reason he came into this world: to help those who are in need. But he said that those who are well are in no need of a physician, speaking again to the Pharisees, who didn't find themselves to be needful of Jesus' help or care.

But yet, Jesus in his love, he loved all men. And he spoke as he spoke. And he taught as he taught. And he reminded and rebuked those Pharisees often of where they were and how their lives were.

And interesting when we read from those experiences that Jesus had with those Pharisees. He patiently taught them and instructed them. If I put myself in the place of Jesus, oh how quickly I would have lost my temper. And how very quickly gone into the flesh. And in many ways would have spoke, I'm sure, word for word, and tit for tat, because they came so often tempting him and trying to trap him in that which Jesus taught. But yet Jesus patiently taught.

It's so much that he even went now, in this text, into the house of this Pharisee. And when he was there, he sat down to eat. And there came a woman in the city. And it says in here that she was a sinner. And when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster box of oil and stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

I think it's quite clear, isn't it, that this woman, which was a sinner, was also a believer. She came into that house. And prior to entering into that house, surely she would have been granted grace to believe. Because when she's here in the house of this Pharisee, she's showing fruits of a believer. She loved Jesus and she wanted to serve him.

And why is it that, or why was it that she wanted to serve him? It doesn't say exactly what this woman was, other than that she was a sinner. But the people in the village knew that she was a sinner. So whatever sin and whatever life she lived was known around that city. Perhaps she was a prostitute. Could have been. A harlot in those days. There could have been many other things that she might have been. But she was recognized and known, even by these Pharisees, that she was a sinner. And these Pharisees did not like to mingle or to mix with sinners but would rather shun them.

And so, she was a sinner. But it would have taken courage for this sinful woman to come into the house of the Pharisee. She would have known how she would have been despised by these men, of these people. She would have known how difficult, she would have experienced firsthand how difficult it was, I suppose, to swallow her pride and to say, it doesn't matter, but I'm going to go to where Jesus is.

In the face of humility and her own flesh suffering, she came to minister unto Jesus.

I think, brothers and sisters, it would speak to us also of our own life and the lives in which we live. How many of you have been so bold in your own admission or your own confession of your faith? How many of you have wanted that your sins that you've committed would be made known to people around?

I think most of us are very sheepish and we feel sorry and we feel sad and also embarrassed when we realize and recognize how sinful we are. And I know for myself it would not be a pleasing picture if all of my sins were well known in the community or in the congregation around us.

And I think if we had this kind of demand that we had to make these things public and known, I think many of us would have a very difficult time even confessing our faith and also confessing those faults that have come.

For this reason, God has given us a very special and gracious gift and that gift is a gift of confession. Where when we have felt the sorrow of sin and that which we've committed, God has given to us those kinds of loving escorts, believing friends, where we can go and speak of them and even beg for grace and mercy and the gospel then has been granted and given to the stumbling child of God.

There are also, on the other hand, those sins that become more public, even in our day. In a person's life it may be that one has strayed quite deeply. And it's not far from us either when we hear of those kinds of situations. Perhaps there's one who has denied faith. And it is often that we would want to know what was the reason that this individual left. We may hear of specific reasons why they've left.

And it's not far from our flesh then to even boast and to say, oh, that's not me. How could someone live their life in such a sinful way? How could they fall into those kinds of sins that seem to be so deep and so hurtful?

And even this kind of boasting that comes in our flesh, that, oh, that wouldn't be me. I would never do that kind of sin or fall into that kind of sin.

God's word leaves us with those kinds of testimonies, for example, of King David. Have you ever wondered why King David's life has been so painful? And also examined in God's word where David fell both into adultery and into murder.

And it's written in God's word in this way. If I was David, I would shudder at the thought of my life being so openly revealed even in scriptures. But what is the reason? Of course, God knows. But for me, the reasons why David's life has been left for us in such an open way was so this: that we would, one, recognize how gracious and loving God is for sinners.

Who of us can boast of our own goodness? Who of us can say that we would never do this or do that?

And so we can see in the life of David how gracious God was in forgiving him. And David died with this kind of a testimony that he was a man known by God. He died with a testimony that he did endeavor until the end as a believer. He was able to put away those sins when Nathan came and believed them forgiven.

So on one hand, I think his life was left for us that we would know that these kinds of sins even happened around us and in God's kingdom. It teaches us then that we wouldn't have any place to look down our noses at someone who is a sinner. Because the apostle says that we have all fallen short. The psalmist says there is none good, no, not one. So we can't boast, we can't brag of our own goodness.

But maybe it would be better, brothers and sisters, that we would rejoice today that God has forgiven us our great debt of sin.

This woman, despite the knowledge in the community that they knew that she was a sinner, she came into that house of the Pharisee. This Pharisee who would have hated her because she was a sinner. He would have thought less of her.

But yet she had courage to come to the feet of Jesus and there anoint those feet and head with the oil that she had brought and also to kiss Jesus' feet and to wash his feet with the tears that fell.

To act in her eyes as the angel who would have believed from her eyes. It shows us, doesn't it, oh, that kind of a heart, of a child of God who wants to serve that one who was her savior.

It also gives us courage and hope also, today, brothers and sisters, that we can also, knowing that we are sinners, but yet also knowing that Jesus loves His own. And this is the reason why He came into this life, so that we would be able to believe through Him.

Now, when this woman was there, and she was tending to the cares of her own life, and when she was wiping His feet with the hairs of her head, this Pharisee, now when the Pharisee which had bidden Him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner.

Jesus was able to read the mind, the thoughts of this Simon. He was there, and He spake to Himself. And He had these kinds of thoughts, that surely now this isn't a prophet, because if He was a prophet, He would know of whom He was dealing with. That who this, what manner of woman this is that touches Him, for she is a sinner.

Interesting how Jesus, and we hear it in God's Word. We've been taught from a time, we've been taught from the time of a little boy or a little girl, how Jesus even knows our thoughts. As a little boy I wondered that how can He know? On one hand it was comforting, knowing that Jesus knew my life, even knew my thoughts, my concerns, my worries. On the other hand, there was also those times of fear, when I was doing those things that were sin. And I knew also that Jesus knew those times as well. And I worried that, would Jesus still forgive me? Even though I was such a sinner. And sometimes feeling even so, so bold in doing those sins. Time of youth was that kind of time when I wondered, because I felt so often that I was unable to fight strongly enough against those sins of the world, that I would find myself falling. And I wondered, is there any as sinful as I was, or as I am?

So we knew, and we know that Jesus knows our thoughts. And God's Word, it says, even knows the thoughts and intents of our heart. And so, in this example here, Jesus did know the thoughts of this Pharisee. When this Pharisee thought that, oh, if Jesus knew what this woman was, surely He would let her touch Him.

But then Jesus, without anything being said by this Simon, it says, Jesus answered, said unto him, and He's answering, even though this Simon had said to himself, and pondered these things in his own mind. But now Jesus says, and Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.

And so this Simon said, Master, say on.

Then Jesus uses this parable, if you will, where He says there was a certain creditor which had two debtors. A creditor is, for your children, someone that is borrowing somebody money. We could say it's a banker, or maybe even your mother or father. If you've gone to them and said, you know, Mom or Dad, can I borrow $10? They would be the creditor.

And this creditor had two debtors. The one that owed 500 pence, and the other 50. Now both of these sums were substantial. 500 pence would have been worth 500 days' wages. In those days, many of the common laborers' wage was a pence a day. So this one creditor, this one debtor, owed 500 pence. And so I suppose almost two years of labor, five days a week.

And then there was this other debtor that owed 50. And if you children have gone and asked to borrow money from your mom and dad, probably most of them say, yeah, I'll borrow that, but when can you pay me back? And you make those kinds of promises that I'll pay you back when I get paid, or maybe you're expecting some money to come for some reason, and you promised that you would make payment when you receive that money.

But in this case, the creditor forgave both of them their debt. So if you had been forgiven a debt of 500 pence, and someone said, oh, forget it, don't worry about it, it's on me. Surely that person would have a heart of thanks for that forgiving heart of the creditor, even more than that one who had been forgiven 50 pence. Both of them were substantial.

And so Jesus uses this kind of a parable, a teaching for this Simon, where he says there was a certain creditor which had two debtors, the one owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.

And then he asks this Simon, tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

And of course he used this in the natural sense that we can understand, because we do know those things that are monetary in nature. We know dollars and cents, it's how we live our life, and it's what we survive on. And so in some ways we can attach this very easily in our own thought process.

But even more than this, Jesus is speaking about the debt of sin. We go back now to this lady who was a sinner. And her sin was very evident and known, even in the community. She was known as a sinner.

How much do you think, if you were in her shoes, you would love that creditor who had forgiven you your debt? Much more than one who had been forgiven less.

If you brothers and sisters find yourselves to be the greatest of sinners in God's kingdom, you have reason today to be thankful that God has forgiven you so great a sin, so great a debt.

Think today that through believing, there's not one sin that remains remembered by God. When all of your sins have been forgiven, in the name and precious blood of Jesus, God doesn't remember them. The Psalmist says, those sins that have been forgiven have been removed, as far as the east is from the west.

On the other hand, there are times that we do remember them. Especially the enemy wants to drag up those sins that have been forgiven, and to even poke and jab at them and say, oh you are such a sinner. Then how can you live your life and even call yourself a believer, or a child of God when you're such a sinner? Like look at this and this and all of these things that you've committed in your life.

There's no other as poor and sinful as you are. This is a sermon of the devil. Brothers and sisters don't listen to that sermon.

It is true that you're a sinner. There's no doubt about it. There's no doubt about that. We're all sinners before God. But neither are those sins remembered when you've put them away. And we can rejoice even today, when that great sin debt of our own has been paid.

And then when we realize how great a sin debt has been paid for us, who are we to hold anything away or from our fellow travelers? As parents and your children come to you to speak of those sins that they've committed, how could we as parents withhold forgiveness from them when we realize how sinful we've been? How could we as husbands not forgive our wives when they have so readily and often forgiven us our sins?

And so this, brothers and sisters, is the main essence of this text of how gracious and loving God is towards His own.

And so when Jesus asked this question of Simon, that tell me therefore which of them will love Him most, Simon answered and he said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most.

And Jesus said to him, Thou hast rightly judged.

And then he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, And now the lesson for this Simon, this Pharisee, this Pharisee who had looked down on this sinner, who had thought of her to be this woman from the village who had lived in such open and ungodliness, now Jesus taught her, taught him.

And oh it must have struck right close to the heart of this Simon, when he said, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, and thou gavest me no water for my feet.

It was one of the first big offenses. It was a sign of hospitality and hosting. When you went to someone's house, the host would bring a basin of water and wash the traveler's feet. It was a dusty area just like it is here in Arizona. And when they went to that home, this basin of water was brought there. Often it was the servant of that house that was afforded this task.

But whatever the case was in this situation, Jesus told him, I entered into thy house, and thou gavest me no water for my feet. How aloof was he, that he found no reason to serve Jesus as a guest.

But she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

And thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came, hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

This was so uncommon. The kiss that would be given would have been a kiss on the cheek. But here, this sinful woman kissed Jesus' feet.

And my head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much.

Have you also, brothers and sisters, experienced this? That all you've loved, both loved God, and loved His Son, for providing a way of salvation for you, so that you don't need to worry as to how perfectly or how corruptly your life has gone.

But rather that you can simply today believe that Jesus has paved the way of salvation for you and also for me.

We needn't worry of how sinful we are or how weak we are. But what is required of us is that we would only believe.

We cannot merit salvation. Nor could this Simon merit salvation.

Jesus told him this very matter when He said unto him, But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Is it a wonder when Paul writes of the fruits of faith, that the first fruit of faith is love.

When we've been granted grace to believe, then we love one another.

And this love isn't an earthly kind of love. But this love is as God's Word is. It says in God's Word that God's Word is both grace and truth. Both of these are love. Grace which forgives us and carries us, carries our sin debt. But also truth. In that we love each other in truth. We would remind each other and rebuke one another as we journey homeward.

Now we wouldn't love in this way that is a shallow, only fleshly type of love. But that we would love as the Spirit has revealed. That we would rebuke, that we would chasten as God has also chastened us.

But this Simon, he couldn't and didn't love much because little was forgiven. He didn't recognize his sinfulness. He didn't realize that he was just as sinful as this woman that was in his house.

And then as they sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

And Jesus then said to the woman, Thy faith has saved thee. Go in peace.

This sinful woman trusted and believed in that which Jesus had done for her.

Today we also, brothers and sisters, can also so simply believe.

We find ourselves at times, don't we, just as this sinful woman wanting with the tears of our eyes to anoint and to wash the feet of Jesus and also our fellow travelers.

Remember, even of this washing of feet, when Jesus was nearing his departure, he took a basin of water after that meal of remembrance. He took a towel and girded himself. And he knelt there before the disciples and he began to wash their feet.

And John records for us that Jesus told them, What I do now, you don't so clearly understand. But you will know.

And that is today. We do know, don't we, of the importance of that washing of our feet. They get soiled. They become dirty. The journey that we're on is a long, arduous trek. It is a journey that will lead towards heaven.

But we also, along this journey, need that kind of care that comes from the hand of our Heavenly Father. We need to hear, as we heard through the services this last weekend, of how we are traveling on a journey, and we have these watering stations where we can be refreshed around God's word. We need those moments where we can be reminded and refreshed.

And so it is even today, dear brothers and sisters, that you can uplift your hearts of belief just as you find yourself. Surely, as I do, feeling the sins both of the right and of the left, feeling those kinds of thoughts of Simon, the Pharisee of self-righteousness, of our own goodness, but then on the other hand, also feeling and experiencing the sins that come from our own corrupt flesh that draw us away from God's kingdom and our minds become entrapped with the cares and worries of this life.

But God knows these things. And so this day, He also, through His word, wants to assure you that you are in a good place. You are in God's kingdom. You are traveling with faith in your heart toward your final destination, the glory of heaven.

Remain today believing your own sins and doubts forgiven in Jesus' name and precious atoning blood.

I also today have felt my own sinfulness and my own many doubts and shortcomings. Can I also hear that same gospel? I want to believe with each of you, brothers and sisters, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Let us quieten in closing benediction. The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make His face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.