Zion Lutheran Sioux Falls

In Deuteronomy, God chooses Israel not because of their own greatness, but purely out of His baseline love and faithfulness to His promise. Romans mirrors this comforting truth, assuring us that our salvation rests entirely on God's active purpose—nothing in all creation can separate believers from His love in Christ Jesus. Finally, the Matthew parables illustrate the supreme, hidden value of the Kingdom of Heaven. Together, they comfort the believer… we do not find God; rather, He treasures, chooses, and securely holds us by grace alone.

The Parable of the Weeds makes an obvious point: there is both good and evil in the world, and even in the church.  Sometimes people lament the “hypocrites” and brokenness found in both, but Jesus says don’t be surprised by this.  In this present age there will be both good and bad, wickedness and evil.  The devil works to cause this discord and evil.  While it may be troubling, confusing and frustrating now, just wait.  This will not continue forever.  On the last day God will sort out and root out all sin and evil forever, but until that day continue to trust and find peace in His Wisdom, follow Him, and give thanks for the gentle, loving care God shows for the sake of you, His precious wheat.

Trust, writes the prophet Isaiah, that God’s Word has the power to accomplish His will!  “It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  In the Gospel we see that Word in flesh doing the work of the Father, planting the seeds of the Kingdom liberally in order to produce an abundant crop, not of grain, but sons and daughters who, by faith in Christ, call this mighty and merciful God “Abba, Father.”

A battle has been raging over the centuries between those who ignore the hard truth that we are sinners, hopeless by ourselves, and those who have realized the real good that our Lord has graciously won for us.  At the time of Jeremiah, self-proclaimed prophets such as Hananiah preached a false peace even as Israel was in exile in Babylon.  In Paul’s day, members of the Early Church thought freedom from God’s Law meant they could ignore it.  And when Jesus was calling new disciples, He warned that following Him would mean “a sword” coming between them and even members of their families.  In Christ, the peace only God can bestow has been given to us by grace.  Because of the truly good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can face the hard truth of our sinfulness and then sing with the psalmist the real good, “the steadfast love the Lord, forever.”

Jesus’ followers are “peculiar” people. Following the path that He has blazed for you means your walk will be “out of step” with a sinful world. Jesus shakes you out of the customary ways of thinking, speaking, and “doing,” inviting us to follow Him. A journey that, unsurprisingly, goes through valleys of rejection and suffering, after all “a student is not above his teacher….it’s enough for the student to be like his teacher.” Temporal troubles are certain, but so are eternal blessings for you who are in the care of a Loving Father to whose eye is on the sparrow and to whom “even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”

We are the helpless, harassed sheep who foolishly promise we can keep God's Law perfectly (Exodus). Knowing we can't, Christ dies for us while we are still His broken, weak enemies (Romans). Moved by profound compassion, Jesus sends out His Church into the world to deliver this free gift of life and forgiveness to all who are weary (Matthew). It shifts the focus entirely away from what we do for God, and centers fully on what God has done, and continues to do, for us.

Hosea exposes the emptiness of mere ritual, calling instead for a steadfast love that acknowledges our deep spiritual need. In Romans, Paul highlights Abraham to show that justification never comes through fulfilling the Law, but entirely by faith in God's promises. Finally, Jesus encapsulates this in Matthew, declaring that He came to call sinners, not the self-righteous, offering mercy over sacrifice.

Today the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday. It is a day to bask in the wonder of knowing the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who has been revealed to us in the Scriptures. While we often think about the three persons of the Trinity having their own areas of expertise (the Father creates, the Son redeems, the Spirit sanctifies), the Readings for today focus on how the three persons of the Trinity work together in every task. In the Old Testament Reading from Genesis, we see all three persons are present and active in the creation of the world. In our Reading from Acts, we see all three persons active in the salvation of the world. And in the Holy Gospel from Matthew, we see that all three persons are active in the new life we have as baptized children of God.