Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
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Romans 10:9-17
Romans 10:9-17
Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
My Brothers and sisters in Christ, you may notice as we go through this Meditation on the Liturgy that how our Liturgy is comes and is based on the Word of God. It cites the Word of God from beginning to end. That is because it is the Word that creates faith inside of us, sustains faith inside of us and it is the Word that saves us. That is why we have up there on Luther’s Seal Sola Scriptura, by Scripture Alone, it is the Word that saves.
We hear the importance of that Word in our Epistle Lesson today as Paul speaks about how faith is created inside of us through the Word. For what does the Bible say? Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. That is why here on a Sunday Morning the Order of Service that we follow is built on the Word. We want to make sure that everyone who comes to Church hears the Word that creates faith inside that all of us might be saved. For without the Word of God we cannot saved. Now this may sound extreme, but bear with me for a moment to understand the importance of the Word and why you are blessed to have this Order of Service.
For there are many out there who look at the Church service that we follow and think that it would become boring, or uninteresting to the people, and that we need to enliven it to keep folks interested and engaged. Typically they mean well, but their idea is built on some bad assumptions. Namely that faith comes through feelings, and that to be a believer, or to convert someone you to put you in the right mood, and invoke the right feelings. This is not what the Scriptures say at all. Faith does not come by feeling, but by hearing. This is what the worship wars are really all about as long as the Word of God is present, then faith will be created.
That is why our Church throughout history has crafted these Orders of Service around the Word and not around our feelings, because it is the Word which creates faith not feelings. If you have a Service that is focused on the Word then it is is focused on Christ regardless of how you feel on a Sunday morning. You can walk away from this church service thoroughly depressed, but your sins are forgiven. Whereas if you have a Service that is focused on feelings you might walk away feeling spectacular, but if the Word of God was not there, your faith was not strengthened nor were you forgiven.
So why do people flock to churches that focus on feelings instead of the Word? It is because there are churches that focus more on feeling good, than being forgiven. They focus on feelings as the primary goal. They make sure that above all else that Church is fun for everyone. I’m not against fun, but that’s not the purpose of Church. Rather Church is to bring the people of God together to be strengthened by the Word. That’s why if someone says the Liturgy is boring, what they typically mean is that they didn’t feel a certain way.
Now often people will try to dress it up and call it God’s presence, they weren’t moved by the Spirit, or they just didn’t connect, etc. They will list a number of things about how Church made them feel. The Holy Spirit is not found in our feelings, but in the Word of God. Wherever the Word of God is preached, the sinners should be forgiven, the children of God who have been catechized receive the meal that God has prepared for them, then God is with us that day.
God comes to you through the Word. For the Word of God is the way that God has interacted with the World from the very beginning. In beginning God brought all of Creation into existence by speaking. He said let there be light and there was light. When God speaks His Words they changes not only the World but even you. God’s Word is something that is different from our Words, when He speaks they have affect us. That is why faith comes through hearing because apart from the Word that changes the sinful hearts of men, we cannot be saved.
That is why in John 1 it says But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. It is God who creates Christians and He does so through His Word and wherever that Word is it has the power to create faith and bring people to life. That is why with Baptism it doesn’t depend upon the person, their state of mind or their will, but on the Word of God. It isn’t the water, but the Word at work there. It is the same with the Lord’s Supper, it is the Word that makes it so we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, and even the Absolution, does not depend upon the power of the pastor, but the Word of God that promised, whatever sins you forgive on earth are forgiven in heaven.
The reason that the Word is able to do all of these amazing things is because of what and who the Word of God is. This is one of the mysteries of the faith, and what it means is that this morning Christ is here with us. For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, the Word is Jesus. That is why our Liturgy is rich in the Word of God, for wherever the Word is, Christ is with you.
So if Christ is here then why doesn’t everyone believe? If the Word creates and sustains faith, if it brings people to life, why do you so many walk away? In our text, Paul quotes Isaiah who laments this very thing that the Israelites are not believing what they have heard, and Paul knows this anguish as well for he is a jew, and yet many of his own people rejected Christ. Jesus himself saw this that he brought to the people the Words of Eternal life, and yet they walked away from him.
Indeed how many of us know that same heartache that there are those that we love and care about, and yet they no longer walk in the faith. While the Word does bring us to life, the one freedom that God grants to us is the ability to walk away. We do not have the power to create faith inside of us, but we do have the ability to wipe it out either through neglect or to actively oppose it.
It is heartbreaking when those we care about wander away from the faith, but remember the Word is powerful. For the same Word that created faith in them to begin with will create it again and again just as God has done for you every time you fall into sin and as has already happened again this morning. Invite them to church, drag them if you have to, kicking and screaming as our parents did to us.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope that you see the wonderful gift we have in the Liturgy that is rich in the Word of God is which creates and sustains faith, and saves us. For that Word is Christ, and it is how God gives his gifts to you. So cherish this Word, Love this Word, and should you ever be tempted to skip church because it is boring, remember Church isn’t about fun, it is about the fact that here Jesus is here to forgive you. In Jesus name. Amen.