SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

July 26.2020 

“The Lord’s Sign of Compassion: The Miracle of the Feeding of the Multitude”
Mark 8:1-8 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” 4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?" 5 He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” 6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. NKJV

My friends in Christ: After teaching in the public schools for a little while, I came to the decision to enter seminary in the LCA. This Gospel was the first sermon that my hometown pastor wanted me to preach on; and, after he had reviewed it, he told me that it was very good and decided to launch my career as a preacher prior to my departure for the seminary. It was well received, since it gave people a good feeling about sharing what little they had with others who were less fortunate. In other words, my sermon was pure crappolla and was disgraceful as it denied the words of Christ and the very miracle that was given for a sign to those who believe.

Faith has to be the fundamental, underlining principle in the Gospel and especially in this Gospel. The evangelist Mark records that the multitudes followed Jesus into the wilderness, being taught by Him, having seen miraculous healings. They followed Jesus into the wilderness and only then did they find that they were in great need of temporal sustenance. The truth is that people would rather be satiated with earthly comforts than to be satiated with the Word of the Lord that assures us of everlasting joy and life in heaven. Our minds need not be focused on any particular tribulation that might be at hand; the hardships caused by losing the opportunity to make a living during the present epidemic, and the Marxist revolts in our main cities, and so forth.

Where do you look for help; what is your focal point in the time of need. The multitude in the Gospel looked to Jesus and wished to hear the words that came from His mouth. Do you ever find yourself looking at your watch to see if it’s still sunning during a “Eutychian” sermon of your pastor? Hear my explanation: In Acts 20, Luke records in verses 7-12: “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. In a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, ‘Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.’ Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.”

See what dedication the tired Eutychus had in hearing the apostle preach. But even the most devout Christian can eventually be overcome by sleep. Today, hearing a half hour sermon seems to put the hearers to sleep. But see, again, those in today’s Gospel: They followed Jesus even when they physically hungered and didn’t much realize it since they were in the midst of the Master who was feeding their souls.

Jesus had a way to attract people and make them realize that their souls are indeed more important than their bellies. The feeding of the four thousand differs from the feeding of the five thousand in that Jesus was here concerned about the physical well-being of those that had no more provisions and are now, three days into the wilderness, far from home. The miracle itself was not in His blessing, or giving thanks for the bread (just like we would be accustomed to saying grace before eating), but that the fishes continued to multiply and the loaves of bread that He was distributing kept multiplying according to His divine will so that all had their fill and yet had much more remaining to be taken up.

This miracle was a sign that demonstrated Jesus’ compassion for all that were in need of physical nourishment; and, yet there remained also a sign of Jesus’s compassion in the spiritual eating that fed the soul. This was the where understanding wears thin as was evident in the “Bread of Life” discourse Jesus had in John 6. Here, after Jesus taught the crowds about His being the very, true bread of life, many left Him because it was too hard a teaching.

Jesus had said in John 6:53 58 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven — not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Then when many had left Jesus and no longer followed Him, Jesus asked His disciples if they wanted to leave also. Peter, however, gave his great confession of faith saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Yes, we know that the gift of eternal life far surpasses all the temporal gifts our heavenly Father bestows upon us; and, yes, we know that the blessing of eternal life in heaven, through Jesus Christ, is an immensely more valuable treasure than any treasure of this earth; and, yes, it is exactly because we know these things that we are often negligent of our spiritual lives. And this can have disastrous results. For instance, turn to Deuteronomy 8:11-20, and see how Moses gave a very stern warning to God’s people for whom God had provided not only deliverance out of Egypt but also provided towns, land, and possessions for them. Moses said:
“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest — when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end — then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.”

It should not be surprising then that when God allows poverty or illness to come our way that the Greek proverb is proven that says, “Poverty is the mother of temperance.” By the way, with today’s pandemic our own government should take note of this adage. Yet we often refuse to learn and much too often attribute the riches and good things provided by the mercies of God to other things – even to our own making. So, we often think that God refuses to bless us when He permits conditions to humble us and to trust in Him alone.

Individual congregations, as well as the ecclesiastical forms of human synods and other named denominations, need to learn this lesson. Jesus and His doctrines are sufficient and separations must come in order to follow Him and make the breaks necessary to avoid dying of cancerous false doctrine. How in the world can a pastor complain that his flock does not follow him if he himself doesn’t follow the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of their souls? And how can a pastor lead Christ’s flock if he himself does not have Jesus as his guide?

Shouldn’t the Christian have many opportunities to thank God always in every situation as it is written in Philippians 4:41-13? Shouldn’t the Christian know that Christ permits him to be tested from time to time in order to teach the Christian to acknowledge the urgency to depend upon Him alone for all our needs?

Hold fast, therefore, to the Christian truths as Luther had written for our edification in his explanation of the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe that God has created me and all that exists; that He has given me and still sustains my body and soul, all my limbs and senses, my reason and all the faculties of my mind, together with food and clothing, house and home, family and property; that He provides me daily and abundantly with all the necessities of life, protects me from all danger, and preserves me from all evil. All this He does out of his pure fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness on my part. For all of this I am bound to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.”

This is what today’s Gospel is showing – God, through Christ Jesus, shows that He not only takes care of the soul but also care of your temporal, bodily needs. Luther calls the matter of feeding the four thousand, “a purely living sermon, provoking and witnessing that Christ is so earnestly and heartily concerned about us.” To those who had the faith to follow Jesus three days onto the wilderness without food, Jesus had compassion. Jesus said to His disciples, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”

The disciples were shocked by His response knowing that they had so little, that it could not possibly feed so many. But faith was about to see the, what appeared to be, imperceptible.

Luther, the great faith preacher, again says:
“Therefore, beloved friends, let us at once make a beginning to believe; for unbelief is the cause of all sin and vice...How does it come to pass that everywhere there are so many foolish women and rogues, so many rank imposters, thieves, robbers, usurers, murderers and sellers of indulgences? It comes from unbelief. For such men judge alone according to human reason,, and the reason judges only according to what it sees; but what it does not see, it does not wish to lay hold of” – “Therefore”’ Luther concludes, “if it (reason) does not place its confidence in God through faith, then it must despair in itself and develop rogues and rascals.”

This is applicable not just to God’s providential care for you in this life but also for the feeding of your souls in the hearing of God’s Word and by the eating and drinking of His body and blood. As we therefore bless our Lord, who supplies our daily bread and gives us eternal life out of His compassion, may we also bless and show compassion to our fellowman. Amen.

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 2020

"Bringing men into God's boat of salvation" is the theme connecting the little gallery below. Pic #1 tells of the miraculous sign given Peter that foretold the beginning of his ministry; Pic #2 is Moses David Berg's "Flirting Fishing" bevy of whores who caught men for Jesus. The Children of God was a very dangerous cult based on the perversion of Jesus' words in the Gospel for today; Pic #3 is the 1547 Lucas Cranach painting of Phillip Melancthon making a child of God by using the Word of God and water; and, Pic #4 is a reminder from Luther of who alone it is that is able to create children of God.

This brings me to my address:
“Called to Catch Men by the Word of God” Luke 5:1-11 NKJV
1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

My Christian friends: The Apology of the Augsburg Confession of the Lutheran Church states, “It is by faith that God wants to be worshiped, namely, that we receive from Him what He promises and offers” (Apology AC IV:49). In the Old Testament, Yahweh spoke through the prophet Jeremiah expressively saying: “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them.” This is the primary lesson being taught in today’s Gospel.

This lesson came to the people that stood by the Lake of Gennesaret in Galilee. The Incarnate God, Jesus Christ, who had gotten into one of the boats asked Simon Peter to launch out a little from the land. From that boat, the multitude heard Law and Gospel from the very lips of the Master fisherman. It is this very Gospel that is being preached creating faith in the promises of God’s gifts of salvation, in the forgiveness of sins. It was that many people followed Him to the lake who also, after many heard Him preaching in the synagogues of Galilee, wanted to hear the promises of the Gospel message. Yes, many were declared right with God, not by hearing the law but rather the promise of the Gospel; the promises apprehended by faith, of mercy and abundant blessing for the penitent sinner.

Jesus told Simon Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” St. Peter is the recipient of a direct promise of God Himself, that he would receive a large catch of fish when he would let down his nets just this one more time. But it would avail Peter nothing unless he acted by faith to do the thing he was commanded to do. What is the response? The words that came from Peter’s mouth were, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” Peter had faith to do what Jesus asked, not knowing that Jesus was preparing him, by this miraculous sign, for his own preaching ministry of the Word.

So how did the command of Jesus affect Peter? Peter’s response was essentially saying, Master, the truth is that we have been toiling all night and have caught nothing. Our own works were of no benefit. Nevertheless, despite our fruitless works we have Your word and at Your word I will let down my nets. Human reason might ask, “How can casting the nets into ‘the deep waters’ make a difference? How can a carpenter’s son know more about fishing than a man like Simon Peter who was a commercial fisherman by vocation?” But it isn’t the deep water that yields such a great catch but the Word of God that made all the difference. It is the promise of God apprehended by faith that made all the difference.

For instance, it is not the water in baptism that yields the promise of forgiveness of sin, deliverance from death and the devil, and eternal salvation. But it is the promise of the Word of God connected with the water that can do these powerful things.

In the Catechism it is asked, “How are forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, and eternal salvation obtained by baptism”? Answer: “The word of God places these great blessings into Baptism; and through faith, which trusts the word of promise, we accept the forgiveness, life and salvation offered in Baptism and make these blessings our own.” Of course, any Christian should know what Scripture says about faith that receives the promises, namely, that it too is a gift of God. The Holy Spirit works through the means of grace to create the faith that accepts the promise of God. As it is written that faith “is not of ourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). For without the Word of God water is just water, but with the Word of God the promise is sure, whether it be a great catch of fish or forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.

Promise and faith make for a sure combination. Be hearers of the Word and consider another example of God’s promise and the necessity of faith. St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:23 25, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”

This is a direct promise and expresses a wonderful miracle ripe with benefits that Jesus earned for us when He suffered and died upon Calvary’s Cross thus atoning and paying for the sins of all people. The promised blessing in the eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper is also for the forgiveness of sin and, as Luther says, where there is forgiveness of sin there is eternal life and salvation. That is God’s own promise. And yet these old certainties show the need for faith to trust such marvelous promises to be your own.

Regarding this promise of life and salvation it is asked, “Who, then, receives the Sacrament worthily?” He is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.” Anyone that doesn’t have faith in these words of Christ is neither worthy nor prepared. If anyone doesn’t believe that there is forgiveness of sins actually bestowed in the Lord’s Supper, then they are denying the forgiveness of sins that God has promised and is calling God a liar!

Faith in the promise of God is essential. As Simon Peter said, “Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Notice what Peter and the others did: They acted upon the word of promise and let down their nets.

It also would have done the Hebrew people no good, for instance, to stand in awe and gaze upon the miraculous parting of the Red Sea. Instead the Hebrews had to actually take the step necessary to walk between the waters to escape to the destruction of the Egyptians. It is faith that acts on the promise of deliverance. “At Your word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.” But this faith is not of the disciples own doing but it is of the Lord. Jeremiah, again, in chapter 16 speaks God’s Word, prophesying: “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD.” Simon Peter’s faith responded to the Word of God and the promised result became his very own possession.

Take for another example that Commander of the armies of Syria, Naaman the leper, and the initially stupid blunder he was about to make. The prophet’s promise of healing Naaman was connected only with the waters of the Jordan, but he thought that the rivers of Damascus had better water. That may very well have been true, but the promise of God was attached to the Jordan River. Only there did God promise to be a cleansing for his leprosy. Naaman could have spent every day for a year soaking in the waters of Damascus and yet he still would have remained a leper.

Likewise, in Christian baptism do we have God’s promise of the healing for our souls. The word “baptize” means the application of water; so why do we baptize with water? Because it is the promise of God that is attached to water sanctified for the forgiveness of sin. It is both the water along with the Word of God. Also, we don’t celebrate the Lord’s Supper with cookies, Ritz crackers and coke, or with donuts and grape juice. Why not? It is because God has not spoken His promise in connection with such things. It is simply with bread and wine...at God’s Word. Christ Himself prepares His own supper table; Christ Himself consecrates the specific elements of bread and wine, making them no longer common food and drink but His essential and true, substantial, physical body and blood along with the elements of bread and wine given to you to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of your faith.

In our text, Simon Peter suddenly realizes that he is in the presence of the Incarnate Lord. Through the spoken Word, it was revealed to Peter that this Jesus is very God of very God. Therefore, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken. Sinful man is now in the presence of the Son of God, Who alone is holy. God Himself had come to Peter and the natural reaction of sinful man is to flee from God and hide from Him, but Simon Peter had nowhere to go so he begged Jesus to depart from him for he is a sinful man. What then is Jesus’ response to Peter’s earnest plea?

Learn to trust in this spoken word of absolution, Peter, “Do not be afraid.” WITH THESE WORDS you have the animal skins given to Adam and Eve; WITH THESE WORDS you see the burning coal that touches Isaiah’s lips for his purification; WITH THESE WORDS Mary found comfort in the presence of the angel Gabriel; and, WITH THESE WORDS the shepherds watching their flocks by night were greeted, and then were given the good news of great joy that were expressed in the words: Peace on earth and goodwill toward men! They first had to have their fear dispelled.

So, it was with Simon Peter that his fear had to be dispelled in order for him to comprehend what Jesus was saying to him: “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” It is as if Jesus said to Simon, I have demonstrated to you the lesser miracle in this catch of fish – you are now going to be My instrument in the greater miracle of taking My Word of promise and casting it into the sea of this world bringing into the boat of My salvation the young and the elderly, the rich and poor alike. Here, Jesus foretells the office of the preaching ministry to the one whom He had just now absolved. Simon Peter is now commissioned into his new vocation to go out and proclaim that word of promise to all who would believe.

The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV, states “The promise is accepted by faith; the fact that it is free excludes our merits and shows that the blessing is offered only by mercy; the merits of Christ are the price because there must be a certain propitiation for our sins...and so at the mention of mercy we must remember that this requires faith, which accepts the promise of mercy. Similarly, at every mention of faith we are also thinking of its object, the promised mercy.”

Again, the promise of eternal life through the forgiveness of sins is accepted by faith. The fact that it is a free gift excludes our works and shows the blessing is offered only by mercy, mercy gained through the merits of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. As it is written in Romans 4:16: “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may be guaranteed.”

Remember Romans 4:16, as Jesus called his first disciples, He was choosing them to not only inherit the promise of salvation but to preach this message of reconciliation to all creation. Are you among that creation which would receive that promise by faith? By faith, take hold of and grasp that which St. Peter said in today’s Epistle: “You have been called to obtain a blessing!”
Amen.