A, Post-Pentecost 11 Proper 14 - Psalm 18:2, Matthew 14:22-33 Ballast For The Boat

Psalm 18:2 (ESV) The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Matthew 14:28–31 (ESV) And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

It seems that regardless of Jesus being in the boat or out of the boat, His disciples—some of whom were fishermen—struggled with the fickle nature of sailing on the Sea of Galilee, especially when the going was rough. 

In Matthew eight, Jesus sleeps on a cushion in the boat as the waters rage and threaten to topple the tiny craft, throwing the disciples into the sea. They wake Jesus, crying out to Him, “‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing.’ And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” (Matthew 8:25–26 ESV)

Now today, we hear the second seafaring trial of the disciples, who struggle against the wind and the waves, having a tough time traversing the sea after Jesus sends them away while He dismisses the five thousand after feeding them with five loaves and two fish. There alone, He goes to a mountain to pray throughout the night.

We are not told what He prays, but His act of prayer is a reliance on the Heavenly Father’s providence and love. It is an act of complete faith as Jesus allows the Holy Spirit to have full control of His humanity to do the deeds of ministry in the desolate places amongst humanity, which would lead Him to the desolation of the cross.

His prayers would have been for His disciples, the crowds He fed, and for the faithfulness of His walk to the cross to fulfil all righteousness for humanity’s desolation. To be the Christ of God, Jesus looked to God the Father as His Rock.

When we consider the Psalms as the heart of Jesus, “the Word made Flesh”, we can trust His prayers are the fulfilment of the Psalms.  Therefore, the Psalm today embodies the faithfulness of Jesus’ relationship with the Father as He moved in His being on the way to the cross.  We hear, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2 ESV)

Within Jesus’ humanity, He bears the ballast of God, the Rock, His refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold.

Having prayed throughout the night, Jesus walks out to the disciples battling in the boat. Last time, the disciples feared the wild sea as Jesus slept in the boat, but now they fear what appears to be a phantom walking on water towards them. But it’s no watery ghost coming to kill them; it’s Jesus, who had sent them across the lake after feeding the five thousand. He immediately calms them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27 ESV)

This is where Peter pipes up, and we hear him question Jesus, “‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:28–31 ESV)

Peter sank like a rock! But at first, he walked with Jesus. Invited by Jesus’ simple command to “come”, he puts all fears aside and follows Jesus onto the water. But once on the water, the eyes took over from the ears, and Peter begins to sink! Human reason, understanding, and ability quickly replace the power of Jesus’ Word to “come”, and Peter sank like a stone!

What was going on here? He walks on water with Jesus. He believes Jesus; then he doesn’t. Peter has little faith. This little faith is like the seed Jesus speaks of in the parable of the sower, cast on the road, amongst rocks, and amongst thorns. One second Peter has faith to get out of the boat, and then the next, this faith is lacking. When the time of testing arrived, Jesus’ command to “come” was stolen away. His faith only has shallow roots and dies under duress when testing comes. Faith to “walk with Jesus” is choked by worry.

Jesus questions Peter’s little faith, asking, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31c ESV) James explains that doubt as being two-faced, saying, “…ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:6–8 ESV)

Peter, in his double-mindedness, saw the waves of the sea. His faith failed as the wind made him freeze with fear. Alas, without faith in the Word from God, Peter saw himself sinking like a stone. In the face of a watery death, Peter cries out to the Rock of his salvation, Jesus Christ, and Jesus saves him, and they get into the boat. The wind stops, and all in the boat who once feared the image walking to them on the water worship Him as truly the Son of God!

This is the second time in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus is named as the Son of God. The first time was when the demons in Legion saw Jesus approaching to cast them out of him and into a herd of pigs, which, incidentally, ran down the hill and drowned themselves in the same sea where the disciples received Jesus into the boat and worshipped Him as the Son of God.

The disciples witnessed the Son of God coming to them across the chaos of the sea, and it was Jesus who sent them there. We, the church of God, are sailing through turbid times of turmoil. The church is the lifeboat of God, sent by God to sail in good weather and bad. Sometimes it seems that Jesus is not with us in the boat, or that He is asleep and unaware of our plight in the storms of life. Yet He is acutely aware of our situation, having faced death and defeated it.

Jesus is the ballast in our boat of the church; He keeps us sailing upright in the worst storms that come our way in the world. We don’t have to find Him since He sent us out to carry His message to “the other side”. But we’re never alone; He is our ballast in the boat. He abides with us in our tribulation, even when we don’t recognise Him. Sometimes, you and I are called to “come”, to step out of our comfort zone. But we’re called to remember that the church is only where Jesus is; He is our boat and ballast.

Just as God the Father was Jesus’ Rock while He walked to the cross, we too can look to Jesus as our Rock or Ballast of Salvation — our Boat of Salvation. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour; He is our God who saves, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit want you to glorify Them and declare of Them, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Amen.

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Sermon Summary

This sermon reflects on Matthew 14:28–31 through the image of Christ as the ballast, boat, and Rock of salvation. The disciples, battered by wind and waves, encounter Jesus walking across the chaos of the sea. Peter initially trusts Jesus’ command to “come”, but when his attention shifts from Christ’s Word to the surrounding storm, fear overtakes faith and he begins to sink. Yet even in Peter’s little faith and doubt, Jesus immediately reaches out His hand and saves him.

The sermon connects Peter’s struggle with the life of the church today. Like the disciples, believers and congregations are sent by Christ into troubled waters, where fear, uncertainty, and human reason may threaten to overwhelm faith. Nevertheless, Jesus is never absent. He is the One who sends His church, sustains His people, abides with them in tribulation, and saves them from sinking. As God the Father was the Rock and refuge of Jesus on His way to the cross, so Jesus Christ is our Rock, refuge, ballast, and stronghold. Therefore, the church may confess with Psalm 18:2 that the Lord is our rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, salvation, and stronghold.

Reflection Questions

1. Where in your life do you feel as though the wind and waves are against you?
2. What voices, fears, or circumstances most often draw your eyes away from Jesus’ Word?
3. How does Peter’s cry, “Lord, save me”, encourage you when your own faith feels little or weak?
4. What does it mean for you to trust Jesus as your Rock, ballast, refuge, and stronghold?
5. How might your congregation remember that Jesus is present with His church even when He seems hidden or silent?
6. Where might Jesus be calling you to “come” — to step out in faith beyond comfort, control, or human reason?
7. How does the confession of Psalm 18:2 shape the way you pray during testing, fear, or doubt?

A, Post-Pentecost 10 Proper 13 - Psalm 136, Matthew 14:13-21 The Cause and Effect of God's Steadfast Love

God’s love is unrivalled by any other kind of love. It is a love that gives, and continues to give, without exception. Love is the very being of God. In His love, God created all things and continues to sustain all things. Unlike human love, which fluctuates or ceases when situations change, God’s love is steadfast. God’s love is unwavering. It is not dependent on the situation; His love remains the same. It remains loyal, constant, and firm, and in His love, God keeps His promises. Therefore, God’s enduring love is steadfast.

In Psalm one hundred and thirty-six, the phrase “for his steadfast love endures forever” is the response in all twenty-six verses. To our modern ears, it might seem painfully repetitive. But in its repetitiveness, we’re called to ponder why the psalmist would have us repeat it over and over again. What is the cause and effect of repeating the phrase that God’s steadfast love endures forever?

The different types of human love all have their origin in God’s love. Yet our love has become fickle, turned in on the self. Instead of the selfless giving love that God gives, we preface it with the motive, “What’s in it for me?” Our benevolence and charity can run out quickly when we are put under pressure, when we are suffering, and when there is little promise of receiving back even some of the gratitude we have given.

Jesus had just heard about the beheading of John the Baptist. He needed to be alone to absorb John’s senseless death. Herod had ordered John beheaded after making a foolish promise to his niece, and prompted by her mother, she requested John’s head on a platter. Before this, Jesus had been to His hometown, Nazareth, where He was rejected through unbelief.

So, you might understand if Jesus had not reacted with joy when He was confronted by the crowds as He got out of the boat, seeking rest and space to grieve John’s death in a desolate place. Yet we hear, “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14 ESV)

Jesus had compassion on them. This was a deep, gut-wrenching feeling toward them and their need. Earlier in Matthew, we hear that when Jesus travelled through the villages and synagogues to teach and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, He healed the people because, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36 ESV)

But on this occasion, knowing Jesus’ situation, you might excuse Him if He said, “Friends, I am not in the mood. My friend has died, and My hometown has rejected Me!” But Jesus does not do that. In the spirit of giving, shepherding the sheep, and sending out labourers into the harvest, He says to the disciples, who want to send everyone home from the desolate location, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16 ESV)

The disciples knew both Jesus’ situation and the desolation of the place where the five thousand had gathered. But in this desolate place, His call for the disciples to give to the crowd, rather than get rid of the crowd, reveals the impossibility of human love. That is, except for Jesus’ love!

Jesus provides out of His compassion. This is the same giving compassion that Psalm one hundred and thirty-six announces twenty-six times: God’s steadfast love endures forever! Where all else fails, Jesus’ love is not turned in on Himself, nor does it seek to make a comfortable situation to accommodate the faithlessness of humanity in its desolation.

So, Jesus commands that the five loaves and two fish be brought to Him. He blesses them and distributes them in what can only be described as miraculous. Yet, surprisingly, there is no marvelling over what Jesus has done. Instead, Jesus makes the disciples get into a boat and leave while He dismisses the crowd.

This is not the first feeding of a great crowd. Later, we hear Jesus feeds the four thousand, and His disciples are still none the wiser about how to feed such a gathering.

The impossibility of this situation, the distribution of food to five thousand men, and more when one counts women and children, points to the steadfast love of God in Jesus Christ, His one and only Son.

Although Jesus is God the Son, and although He displays the miraculous distribution of food in a desolate place where the disciples cannot provide, Jesus does provide. We might think He does this out of His divinity as the Son of God, but no. Otherwise, His call for the disciples to give the crowd something to eat would have only dishearten and discourage them. And that would be out of character for Jesus’ compassion to extend only to the crowd and not also to His disciples.

Jesus’ compassion as the Son of God saw Him act in His humanity, with complete faith in the Father, trusting Him to work His will through the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ compassion and power here come from the purity of His humanity, in that He set aside trusting in His own divinity as the Son of God and trusted the work of the Holy Spirit, sent to rest on Him by God the Father at His baptism by John the Baptist, to fulfil all righteousness—for the crowd, for the disciples, for the apostles, and for you and me.

The problem for us, and for the disciples, is that we have too much faith in ourselves: too much faith in what we can and cannot do, too much faith in our misjudgement and misunderstanding, and too much compassion for our own comfort over against comforting and showing compassion toward others.

The disciples could have fed the five thousand. Jesus knew they could; that is why He asked them to do so. Only after His resurrection and ascension did the apostles perform similar miraculous deeds, once they had lost all faith in themselves and trusted as Jesus trusted—not in Himself, but in the Father who sent Him and in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father to work His will.

This is why the psalmist calls us to look so repetitively to the steadfast love of God. We are no different from the Israelites, who lamented so often despite the steadfast love of God. They were given the psalm to remind them that it is God who provides, spiritually and physically, despite what might seem to be a desolate situation. In the desolateness of human flesh, Jesus looked to the steadfast love of God and shared that love with the crowd, the disciples, and continues to share that love of God amongst us.

When Jesus gave a blessing over the bread and fish, He gave thanks to the Lord, for God is the only true and holy good, because our Father is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. Jesus knew and lived in the twenty-six repetitions of God’s steadfast love. In fact, He is the personification of God’s twenty-sixfold steadfast love, whose cause and effect make the compassion of God’s love work its cause and effect in us.

Jesus’ compassion finds its fulfilment in His passion, in the giving of Himself for us, having been given to us by God the Father, whose love for humanity is jealous and just. We can say this repetitive psalm with joy, knowing that its repetition works the cause of God within us, as the Holy Spirit causes God’s Word within us to have its effect. The compassion of Christ is carried by all who remain in the passion of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which is the unwavering, faithful, enduring love of God that keeps us from the desolation of death and the devil.

Let the effects of God the Father’s steadfast love in Jesus Christ cause you to give Him thanks. Let your being be moved and motivated by the Holy Spirit in God’s compassion, God’s power, and God’s mercy, to know God’s steadfast love, share it, and endure in it unto eternity. Amen.

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Sermon Summary - The Cause and Effect of God's Steadfast Love 

The sermon centres on the unchanging, steadfast love of God, revealed most fully in Jesus Christ. Unlike human love, which often depends on circumstances, emotions, or personal benefit, God's love is constant, faithful, and enduring. It is God's very nature to love, to give, and to sustain His creation.

Psalm 136 repeatedly declares, "His steadfast love endures forever," reminding God's people that His faithfulness never changes despite changing circumstances. This repetition is intentional, teaching us to remember God's faithfulness when we are tempted to rely on ourselves or despair in difficult situations.

This truth is vividly demonstrated in Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. Although Jesus had just experienced profound grief following the death of John the Baptist and rejection in His hometown, He did not withdraw into Himself. Instead, He was moved with deep compassion for the crowds, healing the sick and providing food for them in a desolate place.

When Jesus told His disciples, "You give them something to eat," He exposed the limits of human thinking. The disciples saw only scarcity and impossibility, while Jesus trusted completely in the Father's provision through the work of the Holy Spirit. His compassion was not merely an emotional response but active, self-giving love that reflected the steadfast love of God.

The sermon challenges us to recognise that our greatest obstacle is often our confidence in ourselves. Like the disciples, we measure our resources and conclude that God's calling is impossible. Jesus instead calls His followers to trust God's provision rather than their own abilities.

Ultimately, Jesus' compassion reaches its fulfilment in His Passion. His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection are the supreme demonstration of God's steadfast love, rescuing humanity from sin, death, and the devil. As we receive this enduring love, the Holy Spirit transforms us to reflect Christ's compassion, trusting God in every circumstance and sharing His steadfast love with others.

Reflection

God's steadfast love is not simply an attribute of God; it is the foundation of the Christian life. In a world where love is often conditional and temporary, God remains faithful even when we are weak, fearful, or uncertain.

Jesus' response to the crowds is particularly challenging. At a time when He had every reason to seek solitude and comfort, He chose compassion. His example reminds us that genuine Christian love is not determined by convenience but by God's grace working within us.

The disciples' struggle also reflects our own. We often focus on what we lack instead of trusting the God who provides abundantly. We calculate our limitations, while God invites us to participate in His work through faith. The miracle of the feeding teaches us that God's provision begins when we place what little we have into Christ's hands.

The repeated refrain of Psalm 136—"His steadfast love endures forever"—calls us to continually remember God's faithfulness. As we remember His love shown most perfectly in Jesus' death and resurrection, we are strengthened to trust Him in our own "desolate places" and to extend His compassion to those around us.

Questions for Personal Reflection

Where am I relying on my own strength rather than trusting God's provision?

How has God shown His steadfast love to me during difficult seasons?

Who is God calling me to serve with Christ-like compassion, even when it is inconvenient?

How can I intentionally remind myself each day that God's steadfast love endures forever?

A, Post Pentecost 9 Proper 12 - Romans 8:37, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 Treasured Conquerors

Romans 8:37 (ESV) “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Your kingdom come”. What hinders God’s kingdom from coming? The answer is also in the Lord’s Prayer. We ask God to “lead us not into temptation”. In other words, we pray for ourselves and for one another. We ask God to protect us from being led into temptation — by ourselves, by someone else, or by something else — to seek other kingdoms.

Luther tells us in his explanation to the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer that, “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy word and live a godly life on earth now and in heaven for ever.”  (Luther’s Small Catechism: Lord’s Prayer, 2^nd Petition)

Luther also demonstrates in his explanation of the sixth petition that temptations shut out God’s kingdom from coming, saying, “God tempts no one to sin, but we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins. And we pray that even though we are so tempted we may still win the final victory.” (Luther’s Small Catechism: Lord’s Prayer, 6^th Petition)

The kingdom of heaven comes when God gives us His Holy Spirit.  So that the devil, the world, and our sinful selves, do not lead us to faith in ourselves. Faith in the self ends in death. It ends in vanity — in vainglory or vain despair! Those who live without the Holy Spirit, for whatever reason, are not led to Jesus Christ. They live without peace with God the Father. And that can only end in despair and eternal death.

The devil is the master of this deception. He deceives people into believing they are either too good to need help, or too bad to deserve help. The devil, the world, and the sinful self, tempt people into isolation from God and into opposition against God.

Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, the parables of the kingdom of heaven call for careful listening. They call us to listen in the light of all God’s Word. Jesus’ parables of the kingdom lead you to pray and ponder what He is saying about eternal life!

The parables call you to take time in the Word of God!

In Romans chapter ten we are told, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17 ESV) So, to those who have ears to hear, let the Holy Spirit enlighten them within. Let Jesus’ teaching in the parables give faith.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have heard parables about sowing seed from Matthew chapter thirteen. Today we hear the last five shorter parables from that chapter. In the first, the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus paints an exaggerated picture. He does this to get the hearers’ attention.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”  (Matthew 13:31–32 ESV)

Jesus uses exaggeration to shake the hearer’s expectation. These seeds are tiny. They come from the same family as canola or broccoli. We do not expect them to grow into trees, nor do we expect birds to live in them. In the same way, the kingdom of heaven seems small, even hidden. But once the cross is planted and Jesus is lifted up, what seems likely to fizzle out after His death does not die. It is raised. And it continues to grow greater than anyone would expect. Even today, the kingdom of heaven is still the same!

Soon after hearing this parable, the disciples saw Jesus feed the five thousand, leaving twelve baskets of leftovers. They collected more after everyone had eaten than they had found at the start. We believe because the Holy Spirit works faith within us. And, like birds in the branches of the mustard tree, we trust that we will be nested and rest in the kingdom of heaven eternally — with God, in peace — even though we see neither Him nor His kingdom!

The parable of the leaven is next.  “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”  (Matthew 13:33 ESV)

Leaven is what we would call yeast. It is the raising agent in bread! Once, people kept back some leavened dough to put into the bread mixture the next day. Here we get a picture of succession. Every loaf of bread is born from the dough from the day before.

Elsewhere, leaven is used negatively, but not here! The leaven is added to three dry measures of flour. That is three measures of thirteen litres — thirty-nine litres of flour — made into dough, yet to rise! That much bread dough overwhelms the mind. It also helps the hearer realise Jesus is not just talking about making bread. He is raising an eternal point.

Like the mustard seed that grows into a tree, the leaven also points to something greater. Elsewhere it may be bad, but here it’s good leaven. It points to Jesus’ resurrection and the growth of God’s church into eternity.

The mustard seed and the leaven seem insignificant and hidden. Yet both become something great. One is not expected to grow into a tree. The other is expected to rise out of the kneading bowl and overwhelm everything!

Such is the kingdom of heaven! What we would expect to end in death after the crucifixion flowers and flourishes into eternal fruit. And it raises up those who believe.

This leads us to the next two parables.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  (Matthew 13:44-46 ESV)

Many times, we have probably been told these parables are about what we should “do as disciples”. But the cost of discipleship is not our cost. We cannot buy the kingdom of heaven. Rather, these two parables are about being discipled by Jesus.

What do I mean by this? Jesus pays the cost. He does so because you and I are the treasure and the pearl. We cost Jesus His Sonship, so that He might make us sons of heaven, sons of God. It cost Him His human life. In complete selflessness He served, suffered, and died to save you from everything sinful in yourself. You are so treasured by Him. You are the pinnacle of God’s creation! He became weak so that, despite your weakness, you would become more than conquerors.

To that end, God treasures us so much that He sends the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness and in our discipleship. Even today, the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that straighten out our prayers. And our prayers are presented to Jesus, “who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:34b ESV)

Jesus Christ treasures you so much that, through Him, with Him, and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, our prayers are joined with all His treasured people, in every time and every place. They are united with the eternal petitions of Jesus, our great high priest. He intercedes for us at the right hand of God, until He comes as the victorious merchantman to unveil you and me, His treasured possessions!

The parable of the dragnet is possibly the easiest of these parables to understand. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:47-50 ESV)

This parallels the parable of the weeds that come up among the wheat. They too will be burned in the eternal furnace. It paints a picture of suffering, mentally and physically, in hell without God. This simple parable warns that the unbelieving hearer will be removed and will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Finally, Jesus asked the disciples if they understood what He was saying. They said, “Yes”. But their desertion at the cross shows they still had much to learn.

Yet they were Jesus’ Apostles — His twelve baskets of treasured leftovers! Even Judas was treasured, though in unbelief he would turn and betray Him. Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (Matthew 13:52 ESV)

God trained His Apostles to be the scribes of the kingdom of heaven. They were sent so that you might believe the old and new treasures of His Word, to be his treasured ones in heaven.

Having received these treasures of the kingdom of heaven, we who are treasured are given the Holy Spirit. He gives us relief as He leads us to repent. And He gives us faith to know we are loved by God.

The kingdom of heaven is Jesus’ victory for you. He treasures you so much that He makes you more than conquerors! Those who have ears, let them hear! Amen.

Sermon Summary

This sermon proclaims that the kingdom of heaven comes not by human strength, achievement, or self-confidence, but through the gracious work of God. As we pray, “Your kingdom come” and “lead us not into temptation”, we ask the Father to give us His Holy Spirit, guard us from the devil, the world, and our sinful selves, and keep us in true faith in Jesus Christ.

Through the parables in Matthew chapter thirteen, Jesus shows that the kingdom often appears small, hidden, and unexpected. Like the mustard seed and the leaven, it begins in what seems insignificant, yet it grows and fills all things according to God’s promise. The cross itself appears weak and defeated, yet through Christ’s death and resurrection the kingdom flowers and flourishes into eternal life.

The hidden treasure and the pearl of great value are heard not first as a demand that we purchase the kingdom, but as good news that Christ has purchased us. Jesus treasures sinners so deeply that He gives His own life to make us sons of God. In Him, the weak become more than conquerors, not through their own power, but through Him who loved them.

The parable of the dragnet brings a sober warning. The kingdom will be revealed fully at the end of the age, when evil is separated from righteousness. Yet the sermon ends in comfort: those who are treasured by Christ are given the Holy Spirit, led to repentance, strengthened in faith, and assured that they are loved by God.

Reflection

This sermon invites hearers to listen carefully to Jesus’ parables and to receive the kingdom as gift. It challenges the temptation to trust in the self, whether through pride or despair, and turns the hearer instead to Christ, who has borne the cost of salvation.

The sermon helps the hearer move from fear of judgement to confidence in the One who intercedes for us. From Jesus’ prayer petition on the coming kingdom, and temptation to build our own kingdoms, to the hidden growth of the kingdom, to Christ’s costly love, and finally to judgement and comfort. The repeated language of being “treasured” calls us to hear and believe the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

A helpful point for personal reflection is this: where am I tempted to seek another kingdom? The sermon answers by directing us back to the Lord’s Prayer, the Word of Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Luther’s Small Catechism teaches us that God’s kingdom comes to us through Christ’s victory as the Holy Spirit keeps us in repentance, faith, and the peace of Christ.

The final word is gospel comfort: Jesus Christ treasures His people. He has bought them not with silver or gold, but with His holy and precious life. Therefore, even in weakness, temptation, and suffering, believers may hear again the promise of Romans 8:37: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

A, Post Pentecost 8 Proper 11 - Romans 8:22-27, Psalm 119:57-64 The Battle of the Heart: Our Weedy Addiction

Today we hear Jesus speak another parable about sowing seed.  Last week the seed was sown in four places: on a path, on rocky ground, amongst thorns, and in good soil.  Jesus is the Good Seed sown in Good Soil!  

Mysteriously, He is not only the Word or the Seed; He was also made Flesh, the Soil. The Son of God was sown into the flesh of humanity, the dirt—or Adamah—of Adam. Jesus is the Son of God, the Word made flesh, and the Seed sown in soil to be the Son of Man. Jesus is also the Good Soil who removes the hardness of humanity’s paths, the rockiness that causes us to stumble, and the thorniness that gives rise to our doubts and desires.

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.” (Matthew 13:24–26 ESV)

In the parable the man’s servants want to pull the weeds from the crop but the owner stops them from doing so.

Last week we heard Jesus explain the parable to his disciples and He does the same again here with this parable.  Jesus works to till the hearts of His hearers with His Word to make good seed of them as He does us now.

Like the disciples in Jesus’ day, we are in a battle—a battle of the heart. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to continue that battle after His ascension. We now have One who battles for us within the earthly temple of our human body, and One in heaven who intercedes for us before our Heavenly Father.

This battle is one in which the devil, the world, and our sinful self allow all sorts of weeds to grow amongst the crop of good seed sown within us. Left unattended, this weediness will see us thrown into the fires of hell. Therefore, the battle continues within each of us individually, and it also occurs corporately in the church as a whole, making us sons of righteousness through God the Son, who fulfilled all righteousness.

It might surprise us that God allows weediness to continue within us and within the church, just as He allowed Paul’s thorn in the flesh. He does not pull the weeds now because the good crop, grown from the good seed, might also be uprooted in its immaturity. Any gardener knows how hard it is to tell what is a weed and what is not. Even when the weeds can be identified, pulling them out from amongst the crop can easily bring the good plants out too.

Similarly, God does not pull the weeds from within us or from within His church. If He commanded the weeds to be pulled now, we, in our spiritual immaturity and with weeds still growing within us, might find ourselves pulled from the Kingdom of God. Instead, God allows the struggle and battle to continue within us and within His church so that the Holy Spirit might bring us out of ourselves and into the glorious forgiveness given by God’s grace at the cross through the repentance He works in each of us and in His church.

As this occurs, we groan—but not only us; the whole creation groans. Saint Paul says this in Romans chapter eight, the Holy Spirit chapter of Romans. Here, Paul reports on the victory of the Holy Spirit over the desires of our fleshy dirtiness.

In our patient suffering he says, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  (Romans 8:22–27 ESV)

Just as the disciples struggled and Jesus battled the evil within each of them, overcoming their deeds, understanding, and feelings, He continues that battle within us and within His church. Having sent the Holy Spirit, He wrestles the human spirit of our Old Adam into daily repentance by daily drowning our sinful nature in our Holy Baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Jesus, as the New Adam, restores the flesh of the Old Adam. He rips up the hardened paths of our works, removes the rocks that trip up true understanding of God, and revokes the feelings and desires that take the place of true faith and trust in Him.

When we deeply ponder our deeds, our understanding, and our feelings in the light of God’s Word, our weedy groan comes to the fore. This is especially true in the case of the Psalm we heard and spoke responsively today, Psalm 119:57–64.

Seriously pondering ourselves against what this Psalm says is a good example of the groaning Paul describes. As the weeds within us are exposed by the Psalm’s own words, we hear what its verses say you and I do—or, perhaps more honestly, what we always should do but rarely ever do.

When we see Jesus as the speaker of Psalm 119, we can all breathe a sigh of eternal relief knowing that it’s not about what we do but that God’s own Son has done it for us and the Holy Spirit now calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes us holy in what Jesus has done.

It’s as if Jesus replaces our addictions of the flesh with His addiction to follow our Heavenly Father in the weakness of our human flesh! 

And in His addiction to please the Father, He has sent the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness or addiction, to weed out the addictive weeds and throw them into the fiery furnace through repentance.  So, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father, right now!  Yes!  Right now!  Despite the groaning, caused by our addiction to work our way into God’s good books, despite our addiction to hang onto human understanding that trips us up, and despite our addictions to our desires and feelings that feed on the worries and riches of this world!

Jesus understands your weedy addiction!  In your flesh he remains addicted to the ways, the truth, and the life of God the Father.

Psalm 119 is a one hundred and seventy-six verse Psalm glorifying God’s Word.  Jesus bears the flesh that fulfilled this Psalm and all of God’s Word. 

The Lord is Jesus’ portion; through Jesus’ promise we are kept in God’s Word!  (Ps 119:57)

Jesus entreated God’s favour with all of His heart, so God is gracious to you according to His promise.  (Ps 119:58)

When Jesus thought of His way to the cross, death, and descent into hell, He turned and remained faithful to God’s testimonies. (Ps 119:59)

Jesus hastened and did not delay in keeping God’s commandments for you and me! (Ps 119:60)

When Jesus was ensnared by the cords and weeds of worldly wickedness, He did not forget God’s Laws. (Ps 119:61)

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, in God’s creation, Jesus upheld God’s righteous rule and was the first to be raised into the new week without the weeds of our addiction, sin and death!  (Ps 119:62)

Jesus is the companion of those who hang their weedy addictions on His cross and allow the Holy Spirit to produce the petitions and precepts of our Father, dispelling the darkness of our hearts and the world. (Ps 119:63)

Because Jesus hung on the cross, O Lord, the earth is full of Your steadfast love, therefore teach and till us with Your Word and keep us holy in it. (Ps 119:64)

Send us your Holy Spirit! Amen.  

Dear Heavenly Father, as we groan inwardly because of our weedy hearts, send Your Holy Spirit to defeat all our deadly addictions. Place in us the enduring devotion that Jesus had towards Your will and work, our God and Father. Amen.

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Sermon Summary and Reflection

Today we’re led to reflect on Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds, showing that the battle of faith takes place within the human heart and within the church. Jesus, the Good Seed and the Good Soil, enters the flesh of humanity to overcome the hardness, stumbling, and thorniness caused by sin. Rather than immediately tearing out the weeds, God patiently allows the struggle to continue so that the good crop is not uprooted in its immaturity. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ continues to work repentance, forgiveness, and growth in His people.

The sermon connects this struggle with Saint Paul’s words in Romans 8, where both creation and believers groan as they wait for redemption. This groaning is not hopeless despair but the sound of faith longing for fulfilment. In weakness, the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints and brings them again and again to the cross of Christ. Jesus, the New Adam, restores what the Old Adam corrupted and gives His people true faith, trust, and hope in God’s promises.

The reflection from Psalm 119 deepens this comfort by inviting us to hear Jesus as the faithful speaker of the Psalm. What we fail to do perfectly, Christ has fulfilled for us. He kept God’s Word, sought the Father’s favour, remained faithful through suffering, and bore our sin on the cross. Therefore, Christian repentance is not a work by which we make ourselves acceptable to God; it is the Spirit’s work of exposing our weeds and returning us to the forgiveness already won by Jesus.

In reflection you’re called to consider where and how the weeds still grow in your heart: in your works, your understanding, your desires, and your feelings.  You’re also called to trust God’s patience. The Lord does not abandon His crop; He tends it. He sends the Holy Spirit to battle within you, drown the Old Adam through daily repentance, and keep you holy in Christ. Even while you groan, you do so as a child who belong to the Father’s kingdom and who will shine like the sun through the righteousness of His Son.  You are a son of God’s kingdom through Jesus’ Sonship!