Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
September 20, 2009
15th Sunday After Trinity
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be
anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own evil. Matthew
6:34
The world is very evil, and we dare not deny it!
Elijah knew it. If you think things are bad today in America, or in
the LCMS, they were worse in Elijah’s day. King Ahab had ascended to
the throne of Israel and was more evil than all the kings before him.
Not only did he continue in the sins of his father, but he introduced
new ones, darker ones and more rebellious ones, which drew the
judgment of God as sin always does.
He nationalized the worship of the god Baal because he thought it
would be politically expedient for Israel’s relations with her
neighbors. But Jesus says,” no man can serve two masters.” We cannot
serve God and Mammon, Jesus and the many cultural idols of the day.
He married Jezebel who was the daughter of the neighboring king of
Sidon, it was a match made in hell, and Jezebel did all in her power
to destroy true worship, and persecute the LORD’s prophets so that the
true Church had to go into hiding to survive. With Jezebel’s
inspiration Ahab normalized the worship of Asherah, the near eastern
fertility goddess in which Sex was the chief attraction. Under Ahab
and Jezebel Israel became like the modern day Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) which we can no longer call Evangelical,
Lutheran or Church. “Sufficient for the day is it’s own evil.”
But God cannot be mocked. In retribution He stopped up the skies so
that it didn’t rain for three years, which in an agricultural economy
meant death. It would be the equivalent in our day of having no crude
oil for the next three years. Lives were lost and misery was
multiplied.
“Sufficient for the day is it’s own evil.” Elijah knew it, and so did
St. Paul. He wrote a letter to the Galatian church, amazed that she
had so quickly abandoned the Gospel of “salvation by grace” for
“another gospel.” (1:6) One which glorified men instead of Christ.
One which depended on man’s performance for the forgiveness of sins,
instead of Christ crucified. (6:14) One which cut men off from
Christ, and made them fall from grace. (5:4) We have those kinds of
“gospels” today as well. Not only in the ELCA or on television but in
LCMS as well.
“Sufficient for the day is it’s own evil.” Elijah knew it, Paul knew
it Jesus knew it too. He didn’t come into a pretty world to
congratulate it on a job well done. He didn’t, “deliver us from the
present evil age, by the will of God the Father,” (Galatians 1:4) in
order to teach us how to make the world more “just.” These are only
socialist dreams which the church must regularly expose because of
their strong appeal to our ego’s. Ego’s which want to deny the
reality of sin and its consequences, and have heaven on earth instead.
But Jesus says tells us that the days are filled with evil.
Elijah knew it, Paul knew it, Jesus said it and we must learn to
believe it too. We often hear the refrain today that: things are
getting worse. It’s true that technology has increased our
capabilities to do evil. A single internet porn site can destroy a
thousand souls. A single college can poison the minds, and de-rail
the faith of ten-thousand students.
It’s also true that the information super-highway, which delivers a
steady stream of bad news to the smart phone in our pockets, could
make us think that evil is more prevalent today than in former times,
but things are not getting worse. Things are as they’ve always been,
and always will be, until Jesus returns to fully and finally rescue us
from this present evil age. Corrupt political, financial, and yes,
ecclesiastical institutions insure it, and so does our own
never-ending quest to: sow to the flesh.
You can’t fix evil or legislated evil out of existence, those who say
otherwise are con-artists, who in the name of saving us will destroy
us. Don’t believe the lies, Beloved, instead hear the Word of God and
live.
Food, drink and clothing are easier to obtain than the pure Word of
God, but the Gospel of salvation by faith in Christ is far from dead!
Far from lost! Far from finished! Jezebel couldn’t kill it and
neither can the combined forces of evil today. The Cross of Christ
still towers over the wrecks of time, bears the burdens of our sins,
and soothes our troubled hearts.
The good news on this 15th Sunday after Trinity is that the Word of
God is more than adequate to meet our needs; absolve our
transgressions; comfort us in sorrow, strengthen uswhen tested, and
show us the vision of a perfect tomorrow, worth waiting for and living
for today.
We are concerned about many things, but Jesus says to us: don’t be
anxious about tomorrow. Instead seek first the Kingdom of God and His
Righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.
It’s not a command. It’s not a positive suggestion meant to trick us
into tranquility, nor is it a challenge to live a more sanctified
life. Instead it is a mighty promise of God. Whenever we hear the
voice of our Shepherd we receive what can be thought of as a
spiritual vaccination, a spiritual flu shot if you like, against all
that might harm us, trouble us or disturb the Peace that Christ is
within us. The Word enters our ears, from there it goes into our
minds, and lodges in the core of our being to make us “strong, firm
and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10) however evil the days may be.
The Word of reconciliation first came to us in baptism where we are
“born again by water and the Holy Spirit.” (John 3:5) It comes to us
today as modern day Elijah’s proclaim the Good News of sins forgiven
for Christ’s sake. We receive it when, after confessing our wrongs,
the pastor declares: I forgive you all your sins, go in peace. We
receive it in holy communion in the words, “given and shed for you for
the forgiveness of sins.” By those words, and by the Lord’s own body
and blood, we are miraculously sustained the same way that Elijah, the
widow and her son were twenty eight centuries ago. The oil and flour
of God’s Word never runs out. No amount of sin can exhaust it, and no
quantity of evil can equal it. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son,
purifies us from every sin.” (1 John 1:7)
In all these ways God’s Word, Kingdom and Righteousness come to us,
and deliver us from evil, so that we never need to worry or be afraid
of tomorrow. God grant it for Jesus sake, and by His Word. Amen.
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons...@cat41.org
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons-...@cat41.org
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/sermons@cat41.org/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
