Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti Amen. +
Text: Luke 10:9
Theme: The Kingdom of God has Come Near

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Welcome! Welcome to the place where the kingdom of God has come near. The Holy Spirit gathers the faithful into the presence of Christ. The setting is unique. It is unmatched by anything the world has on offer. Here you participate in the holy things of God which define and sustain the mysterious reality of the body of Christ. Here you have a preview of things to come. God dwells already now in the midst of His people.

This profound truth is not something to take lightly. That we have these blessings is not the result of coincidence or happenstance. It is due only to Jesus’ sacrifice and determination to redeem a humanity separated from Him. Today Jesus prepares the towns and villages to which He will go by sending out missionaries in advance. Their task was to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. He sent them out with the directive, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves!”1 It was a daunting task that recognized the powerful opposition of an ungodly world.
The same truths must be recognized and assessed by the church today. It seems increasingly necessary to assert with clarity the nature and consequences of evil. In broadest terms anything and everything that is opposed to the good and gracious will of God is evil. Evil is not measured by differences in human opinion. Of course secular teaching would define evil more in terms of anything that causes harm or distress to others, limits personal choice and freedoms and generally impedes the quest for equality and prosperity in the world. But the objective reality is that evil entails everything that offends God’s holiness and alienates people from Him.
The problem of sin is not solved by human ingenuity. Underpinning the optimism for a humanity that can advance is the belief that people have the natural ability to desire, understand, and chose what is right. The philosophy of humanism puts confidence in an individual’s ability to “make the right choice.” But this is exactly the root of the problem. Because of the nature of original sin people are unable to even desire what’s right. Actually striving to do what’s right is another matter altogether. The desire to do God’s will- which always relates to the benefit of the neighbour- is a work of the Holy Spirit.

The real crises people face are profoundly spiritual. God’s law bring this to light. Nothing weighs heavier on the heart than unresolved sin. You know the sins that burden your conscience and the failures that haunt your memories. What can you do about the guilt that bothers you? You cannot excuse it. You cannot avoid it or go on like it is of no consequence. You cannot simply erase your sin. Least of all should you try to justify it.

So what do people do? Some stay away from the church because they feel guilty. Others avoid all things sacred and holy because they’ve attained no measurable results from such associations. God’s promises are brushed off as irrelevant; His forgiveness as unnecessary. People begin to believe they have matured past the need for such things. Religion is demoted to the realm of harmless activity for Sunday School children and a last resort for the elderly. Everyone else has serious living to do- so they think.

But “serious” living begins at God’s initiative. Starting first at baptism it continues with the ever-deepening practice of repentance and forgiveness that defines our life under the cross as God’s holy people. Today Chloe begins the life that really matters, the life of a child claimed and blessed by God. Baptism is not a decision she makes but something she suffers: The grace of God receiving her into His kingdom. Though she can only remain in it through faith, this too is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Luther clarifies, “We carry the child to the font with the purpose and hope that he may believe, and we pray that God would give him faith; but it is not on the strength of that purpose, that hope, or that expected creation of faith in the child that we baptize the child, but simply because God has commanded it.”2 It all depends on God’s word and promise. He is serious in His declaration, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”3

The Church then remains the believer’s spiritual home, inn, and hospital through the entire journey of this life. Our time here always centres on those things which draw us near to God and enable us to be in His presence. Christians come labouring under the great weight of their sin and they unload a mighty millstone unto the shoulders of God. It is a weight that is transferred straight to the cross. Here Christ lifts the burden of sin from your soul and in so doing brings near the kingdom of God. In His declaration of forgiveness reconciliation takes place. The gap between sinful humans and a holy God is bridged. Jesus Christ opens the way to heaven through His death and resurrection. Assured of God’s acceptance in Christ our lives take on completely different meaning.

Christ, our suffering, but victorious Servant frees us to serve others. This then becomes the basis of your reconciliation with others. It is important to note that even those in today’s account that rejected the message still experienced the nearness of the kingdom. People can turn away from it, push it away or slowly drift away. God captures no heart by force. Rather, He draws with His profound and mysterious love.

Dear friends, you might be as close as some people have ever come to the kingdom of God. Don’t misinterpret that by flattering yourself. You’re just as fallen as anyone else. But in Christ you are also redeemed and you carry in your life and on your lips His Word and hope. Your witness to the truth might be the only one they ever hear or see. Without even saying a word, people who know you will know by your actions whether or not you are focused on building your own kingdom or the kingdom of God.

When those early missionaries came back they were filled with excitement. As bearers of God’s Word they witnessed the powers of sin and Satan being overthrown and people restored. Jesus even said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”4 Think of this incredible power that was granted to them: In Christ’s name even demons submitted. And yet so they don’t lose focus Jesus makes this remarkable statement “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”5

More significant than these impressive displays of miraculous power was their assurance of eternal security. Perhaps too Jesus was preparing them for the time after the apostles when miracles would fade in frequency and importance. The greatest ongoing miracle is always the Holy Spirit’s work of creating and sustaining spiritual life through the Gospel.

The kingdom of God is not an idealistic, but remote and inaccessible dreamland. It is not merely spoken of theoretically or described as a mysterious, remote locality. It is not something that exists only in the mind of God. The kingdom of God involves the presence of God breaking into our world through the person and activity of Jesus Christ. It denotes the advancement of the saving work of the gospel, the dispensing of forgiveness, and the manifestation of the Spirit. It is largely hidden to unbelieving eyes to be sure. Though the miracles that accompanied it early on were undeniable even by the harshest critics. It is an expression of the salvation Christ secured in the past , the blessings of word and sacrament we receive now, and the promise of what’s to come. Amen.
+ in nomine Jesu +
Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
4 July, 2010
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Luke 10:3 2 Large Catechism, 106
3 Matthew 28:19 4 Luke 10:18 5 Luke 10:20