Emmanuel Lutheran Church

"The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:1-

11). The arrival of the bridegroom will be sudden and unexpected.

Therefore you are to be watchful and ready like the five wise virgins.

"For you know neither the day nor the hour" when the Son of Man is to return. (Matt. 25:1-13). The lamps are the Word of Christ. The oil in the lamps is the Holy Spirit, who works through the Word to create and sustain the flame of faith in Christ. The foolish are those who do not give proper attention to the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism, preaching, and the supper, and so their faith does not endure. The wise. however, are those who diligently attend to these gifts of the Spirit, and who therefore have an abundance of oil. The flame of faith endures to the end. By God's grace they are received into the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth created by the Lord for the joy of His people (Is. 65:17-25).

A shroud of darkness engulfs us. Sin, death, and disease threaten to sever us from life's fullest measure. Without new life in Christ Jesus, there would be no light to dissipate, dispel, or curb grief and sadness.

But Jesus has qualified us "to share in the inheritance of the saints of light" delivering us from the dark domain (Col. 1:9-14). "I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand,.. You are my people" (Is. 51:9-16). The presence of Christ, in word, wine, bread, and water, confronts our sinful nature with forgiveness. In the sacraments, God claims us to be His very own children, creating, and sustaining our faith. So in Christ, we humbly receive the words, "your faith has made you well" (Matt. 9:18-26).

On the last day God will surely awaken us also from slumber in resurrection glory.

Guest Pastor, Rev Emmett Bartens is with us today. When confronted with the civic duty of paying taxes, our Lord Jesus, Wisdom incarnate, walked "in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice" (Prov. 8:20) and discerned that wisdom "is better than jewels" and "better than gold, even fine gold' (Prov. 8:11, 19). When we set our minds on earthly things, such as wealth and passing glory, our "end is destruction" (Phil. 3:19). However, our humble and prudent Lord has rendered "to God the things that are God's "

(Matt5:1-12).

A great multitude from all tribes and peoples and languages,

cry out "salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne" (Rev. 7:9-

17). Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify th589 Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we too, "shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:1-3). Joined with the throng of angels and a myriad of saints, we shall "serve him day and night in his temple" (Rev. 7:9-17). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits, and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ propels us forward, fortifying us in Word and Sacrament, to our eternal home. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we need to be blessed. And so we are. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure, and the persecuted are all blessed and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:1-12).

"Wisdom is justified by her deeds" (Matt. 11:19), and the true Wisdom of God, Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son, has justified us by His deeds. He prepares His way by the preaching of repentance, but He has suffered the violence of the Law and voluntarily handed Himself over to violent men, that we might eat and drink with Him in His kingdom and "remain in the house forever" (John 8:35). He is "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matt. 11:18-19), and He has rescued us by His grace from the slavery of sin and death. By the proclamation of His eternal Gospel "to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people" (Rev.

14:6), "the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law" (Rom. 3:21), "that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26). And by the hearing of that Gospel of Christ Jesus, "whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith" (Rom. 3:25), "you will know the truth, and the truth will set vou free" (John 8:31-32).

The Holy Spirit sounds forth the Gospel call: "See, I have prepared my dinner ... Come to the wedding feast" (Matt. 22:1-14). But many reject this invitation in favor of worldly pursuits. And so the call goes out to others, both the good and the bad. For the wedding invitation is not based on the qualifications of those invited but on the basis of the merits and work of Christ. The feast is free: "He who has no money, come, buy and eat ... delight yourselves in rich food. " (Is. 55:1-9).

Those rejecting the Spirit's work shall experience God's wrath and judgment. Those who are not clothed in Christ's righteousness shall be cast into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Let us therefore seek the Lord while He may be found, for He Will have mercy upon us. Let us redeem the time, being filled with the Spirit, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 5:15-21).

The Lord does not require us to ascend to Him; in mercy He descends to us (Gen. 28:10-17). The ladder in Jacob's dream was not for climbing; it was the means by which the Lord came to bless Jacob.

This event finds its fulfillment in Christ who descended from His throne to save and bless us. By His incarnation He is the eternal bridge between heaven and earth. "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:1-8). The Lord was present in the flesh to absolve the paralytic. Jesus also healed and restored this man's body.

"For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation" (Small Catechism). The Lord still has power on earth to forgive sins. In holy absolution He raises up the new man (Eph. 4:22-

28) and bestows the healing medicine which will bring about our resurrection on the Last Day. Thus we say with Jacob, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" (Gen.28:17)

The Pharisees ask a Law question. Jesus asks a Gospel question. The Pharisees seek to test Jesus in His own words. Jesus seeks to "test" them in the saving reality of who He is as the Messiah (Matt. 22:34-

46). The Law requires you to "fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all vour soul" and to "love the sojouner" (Deut. 10:12-21).

Failure to keep the Law perfectly brings judgment. On the other hand, the Gospel brings the grace of God given by Jesus Christ, that you may be blameless in the day of His return (1 Cor. 1:1-9). Jesus is David's Son yet David's Lord, true God and true man. He is Love incarnate who fulfilled all the demands of God's Law on our behalf, that we might be saved from the Law's condemnation and sanctified in the Gospel's forgiveness. Thereby we see that "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord"

(1 Cor. 1:9).

"Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence" (Prov. 25:6-14).

Rather, take the lowest position at the table. Humble yourself before Him. For your place is not for you to take but for Him to give. Conduct yourself with all lowliness and gentleness, bearing with one another in love (Eph. 4:1-6), that the King may give you glory in the presence of those at the table with you. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:1-

11). Is this not the way of Christ? He is the one who took the lowest place, who humbled Himself even to the point of death for us. He is now exalted to the highest place at the right hand of the Father that penitent believers may be exalted together with Him in the resurrection. To the humble at His Supper He says, "Friend, move up higher, " giving you His very body and blood for your forgiveness that you may ascend to take part in the great wedding feast which has no end.

A large funeral procession carrying the only son of a widow is confronted by another large procession, Jesus and His followers. Death and Life meet face to face at the gate of the city (Luke 7:11-17). Filled with compassion, Jesus comes into direct contact with our mortality in order to overcome it.