OCTOBER 19, 2008  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen.

The text for our meditation today is the Gospel Lesson for this 22nd Sunday After Pentecost, Matthew 22:15-22, especially verse 15.

We begin in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN

Dear Christian friends,

The main section of this Gospel Lesson for today speaks about the government God has placed over you, and it also talks about your duty to pay your taxes both faithfully and joyfully, and it urges you to recognize that the government and that duty of paying taxes is God's gift to you.

In other words, it does not matter matter whether you agree with the government or not, that government has been given to you by your God. It is given to you so that you may not only enjoy its protection and other benefits, but so that you may also 'honor [it], serve and obey [it], love and cherish [it]' (Small Catechism, Fourth Commandment) as dearly as you would your own parents. That is why Jesus said, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.'

And you know, dear friends, in addition to our Lord's own words, spoken in this Gospel, it would be good for each of you to go home and read Romans chapter 13, where St. Paul treats the subject in greater detail. You might also read Luther's treatment of the Fourth Commandment in the Large Catechism.

Now, we could deal with all of that this morning at great length, we could take out our bibles and our catechisms and study it thoroughly. But we are just not going to make it that far into today's Gospel. That is why I suggest you do it yourself.

You see dear friends, the first verse of the text before us speaks plenty for us, and we will have our hands full with only that one single phrase.

'The Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap [Jesus] in His Words.'

This, dear friends, is something much more far-reaching than paying taxes. Here we have evil men doing an evil thing, yet in so doing, they have demonstrated for us the way we ought to be living according to the faith of our Baptism. Jesus did not want such treatment from these liars and murderers. In fact, He called them hypocrites. Jesus read their intentions and condemned them by asking, 'Why are you trying to trap me?'

And yet, the very thing that the Lord did not want from these fellows is exactly the thing He wants from you. He wants you to 'trap Him in His Words.'

The Pharisees in today's Gospel intended only the worst whey they 'laid plans to trap [Jesus] in His words.' They were irritated at Jesus' words. They chafed under His calls for their repentance and His condemnations when they refused to believe. When Jesus spoke about people whom God rejected because of their unwillingness to listen (Matthew 2:5), these Pharisees knew He was speaking particularly to them.

Of course, there is more than one way to commit such wickedness. People today do not attempt to trap Jesus in His words with the intent of killing Him, but they most certainly try to trap Him and hold His words against Him.

For example, think about those Christians who fall prey to what is popularly called 'the prosperity Gospel.' They wrongly believe that, because they are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16), sons and daughters of the heavenly King, God therefore wants them to be wealthy in this life. They falsely equate material prosperity with God's blessings, demanding more and more from Him, and experiencing great crisis and doubt when things do not work out according to their own evil desires and plans.

About them St. James says, 'When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people!' (James 4:3-4)

Other times, people attempt to trap God in His words when they reason to themselves, 'God accepts all people. Therefore it does not matter how I shall live, or whether I shall concern myself with the commandments or with hearing His Word. I will just do as I please, no matter what His Word says. Because He accepts everyone, He has to accept me whether I love Him or not, whether I express that love by living decently or not.'

To such people-no matter what masquerade they may claim, no matter how brazenly they demand God's gifts without repentance-to such people Jesus shall at last say, 'Depart from Me, you cursed ones' (Matthew 25:41).

Yet just as surely as there is an impious way of attempting to trap God in His words, evidenced in today's Gospel, so also is there a good and pious way-a God-pleasing way-of trapping Him in His words. That which God abhors from those who hate Him is the same thing He loves from you. He wants you to 'trap Him in His words.'

Consider the example of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was demon-possessed (Matthew 15:21-28). When she begged Jesus to heal her daughter, Jesus acted in a seemingly cold and distant manner. He did not answer her a single word, even though she persistently begged and cried out to Him. When He did respond, His words struck the woman like a slap on the cheek: 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs' (Matthew 15:24, 26).

But this woman trapped Jesus in His words, trapping Him in a way that He loves to be trapped. She had heard the Word of the Lord. She knew that the God of Israel was also the Savior of the Nations. And so she sprang His own words upon Him: 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table' (Matthew 15:27).

By means of such tenacious faith, our Lord was taken captive and held to His promise. The woman trapped Jesus in His words, with the blessed result that her Lord said to her, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted' (Matthew 15:28).

So it is with you, dear saints. God in Christ has spoken the same eternal promises to you as He spoke to the Canaanite woman. When you suffer loneliness and doubt, trap Jesus in His words! You heard me right. Trap Jesus in His Words!

Insist to Him, 'Lord, You have promised me that You will never leave me or forsake me. You swore to me on the day of my Baptism that You have made me Your beloved child. Be with me in this hour of darkness, according to Your Word and promise. Do for me that which You have promised: comfort me, sustain me, guard me, preserve the gift of faith you have given to me.'

When you feel yourself tempted and nearly overcome, trap Jesus in His words! Hold His words before His own face, persistently crying out to Him as the Canaanite woman cried out to Him. 'Lord, You have made Yourself my Shepherd and Keeper. Guard me, now, against the temptations that assail me. Strengthen me against the deceptive voices that tempt me and taunt me. Make my heart a stone wall against such things, for You have called Yourself my Refuge and Strength, my ever-present hole in trouble.'

When you doubt whether such a sinner as you can actually be forgiven by God, again trap Jesus in His words! Point to Baptism, point to Holy Communion, point to the Word that has been preached to you. Grasp therein the forgiveness that Jesus has provided for you by His suffering and death. Make good and frequent use of these things, continually reminding your God that once He speaks His promises, His faithfulness prevents Him ever from retracting them again.

When your last hour comes, and when doubt of your heavenly future rises in your throat, most earnestly trap Jesus in His words! 'I do not belong to myself, O Lord! I do not belong to sin, to death, or to the devil! I belong to you! You purchased me with the blood of Christ. You made me your own precious possession. You spoke to me. Now fulfill that which You said You would do.'

With such entrapments as these, dear friends, your God is most pleased! 'In this manner God is conquered, with faith that does not leave off, is not wearied, and does not cease but presses and urges on' (Luther, AE 6, p. 139). By such tenacity and faith your Lord is taken captive and conquered and pressed into His answer. Thus it shall be granted to you, even as you believe.

'The Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap [Jesus] in His words.' There is another good and healthy thing you must learn from this wicked example in today's Gospel. The Pharisees not only wanted to trap Jesus in His words, but they gathered together and took counsel with one another as to how best they may trap Him.

So it must be with you. This is how the Church on earth must live. This is how all her members therein must live. You must resolve together, deliberate together, consider together how you may piously and faithfully trap your God in His words. As you know, Luther called this 'the consolation of the brethren' (Smalcald Articles).

The Scriptures call upon you to 'encourage one another and build each other up' (1 Thessalonians 5:11), to 'spur one another on toward love and good deeds' (Hebrews 10:24), to 'comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God'

Take counsel together, dear friends, as to how you may trap God in His Words. You don't do this by telling your neighbor to 'dig deep' or to 'pull himself up by his bootstraps.'

You don't do this by patting him on the head and telling him 'You're okay and I'm okay.'

You don't do this by ignoring your neighbor and his need, or by hiding your need from your neighbor.

You do this by sticking your neighbor's face into the Word and promise of God.

You do this by insisting to each other that your God may indeed be trusted.

You do this by requiring one another to trap Jesus in His words.

After a long day of work, a father wants very much to lean back into his chair and put his feet up for a while. His child may come to him and say, 'Daddy, let's go play ball.' The father will wave the child off, telling him to wait for another time. But the child insists, 'Daddy, you promised.' And on the value of the promise he had spoken to his child, the father pulls himself to his feet, takes up his baseball glove, and goes outside with his child.

Your Father in heaven is by no means weary and self-centered, as we human fathers are. How much more will He allow Himself to be held to His promises, for your sake and because He loves you! This is a good thing, that you 'trap Him in His words.'

It is good, because Christ Is Risen. AMEN