A, Post-Pentecost 17 Proper 20 - Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30 Acts 16:11-40 "To Live Is Christ"

Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30  (ESV) I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.   …for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul writes to the church in Philippi.  This town was a Roman colony populated by Roman soldiers, and it ranked above all the other towns in the region and was given privileges equal to Rome.  It was a likely place of retired soldiers who had faithfully served Caesar. The area was abundant with wealth due to gold mines located nearby.

Philippi is a town of ruins that today is in modern-day Greece. In Paul’s day it was in Macedonia, so Philippi is the first European location in which Paul preached the gospel.

When Paul first went to Philippi, there was no Jewish synagogue in the town, so he sought out a likely place of prayer outside the town at the local river where Jews might meet. There he met Lydia. She was a trader in purple fabric, which, because of the dye used, was an expensive fabric. Lydia was not a local, but was from a town in Asia Minor, Thyatira. We can assume that she travelled there along the Egnatian Way, the major road that connected the east to the west, Asia to Europe, around the top of the Aegean Sea between Constantinople and Rome.

The Holy Spirit opened the heart of Lydia, a worshipper of God. She was baptised with her family and encouraged Paul and his fellow workers to stay with her and her family.

Each day Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke went to the river, the place of prayer, but Paul and Silas were arrested after Paul became tired of a fortune-teller proclaiming Paul and his companions as servants of the Most High God.

What she proclaimed was true, but this was not of the Holy Spirit, but rather another spirit, which Paul cast out. We might assume that he did this because this fortune-teller was grandstanding and using the truth of what Paul, Silas, and the others were doing for God to make a profit for her owner. Because Paul ended her fortune-telling ability when he cast out the spirit, her owner had him and Silas arrested, and they were subsequently jailed overnight.

It was at midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, that the Holy Spirit shook the place with an earthquake, opening the gates of the prison and releasing their shackles. It is through this event that Paul baptised the jailer and his family after saving him from killing himself, assuming that the prisoners had escaped.

The jailer knew it was his life for the life of any escaped prisoners, but the extraordinary event and the lack of escapees led him to fall at Silas and Paul’s feet and plead, “‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptised at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” (Acts 16:30–34 ESV)

When the magistrates of the town called for their release, they found out that Paul and his companions were Roman citizens. The authorities feared that they had unlawfully held them captive and politely asked Paul and his companions to leave Philippi.

It is folk like the jailer and his family that Paul fondly held dear to his heart and now wrote to in Philippi. His letter to the Philippians was a letter to his fellow Romans, and he addressed suffering, citizenship, imprisonment as an ambassador in chains, and referred to Epaphroditus as a fellow soldier in Christ. Paul, who once was imprisoned in Philippi, wrote from prison in Rome to the church in Philippi. He signed off his letter to the congregation of expat Romans at Philippi, saying, “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:22 ESV)

Paul and Silas’ singing of hymns and seismic release from their chains likely left an indelible mark on the memories of those in Philippi, especially the household of the jailer who became Paul’s first Roman converts after his near-suicidal death. Since Philippi was a Roman town held in high esteem by Rome and a place of privilege for retired soldiers from Caesar’s guard, it’s possible that Roman converts like the jailer had connections with some in the imperial guard or with some who had retired to Philippi. Through the jailer and his contemporaries, it is possible that those of the imperial guard in Rome would have heard favourable news about Paul from those at Philippi.

This is what the greeting from Caesar’s house seems to imply, but more so the sense of duty to which Paul appealed as he suffered for Christ in the advancement of the gospel. This sense of duty was not lost on at least one at Philippi: the jailer, who was within a whisker of taking his own life through his sense of failed duty if prisoners had indeed escaped after the Holy Spirit-induced earthquake.

Paul’s call for the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ is encouragement for these Romans and others, like Lydia from Thyatira in Asia Minor, to focus not so much on whether they have Roman citizenship or not, but on the citizenship they have in heaven through Jesus Christ’s suffering and death, who makes them one to suffer for the gospel, as they saw Paul suffer when jailed in Philippi and are encouraged as he is once again imprisoned in Rome for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel.

This is also encouragement for you, as many of you too have been through suffering, and you have witnessed your pastors go through various trials in recent times, especially those who have taken their stand and have been dishonoured for the sake of the gospel.

Like Paul and the apostles, we do not know if we will be placed in a situation where we will be called to die for the sake of the gospel, or whether we will be called to carry on living as suffering servants, to carry on the duty of, calling some to Christ, or calling some to return to Christ, at the eleventh hour.

What we see is not as God sees.  Where we see suffering, ruins, and an end, through the history of salvation He constantly shows that things are allowed to die beyond human repair so He alone might breathe new life into them, not by the will of man, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rather than seeing the writing on the wall, so to speak, we’re called to hear the Word of God, His writing on the page! We’re called to see His power despite the weakness within in which we live and the power without in which we live.

Rather than focusing on the fracturing of Christianity that seems to be occurring around us today, through the humiliation of the church and the growth of human ideologies and idolatries that are increasingly forced on us and which we’re deceived into accepting, we’re called to a sense of duty that sees our citizenship in heaven and that to live is Christ and to die is gain. This especially means putting to death within us the idolatries and ideologies that make us deaf to what Jesus forewarns about the increased persecution of the true one hidden church, now and continuing till eternity is finally revealed.

We’re called to be emboldened like the apostles who after being flogged and told not to preach in the name of Jesus Christ, left “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name.” (Acts 5:41 ESV)

Today we hear the first of four readings from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It would be fruitful labour for you to read Paul’s brief letter to the Philippians and its context from Acts 16:11-40, and ponder your citizenship in heaven: what you are called to suffer for the sake of the gospel!  Be it what you’re called to endure from others or what you’re called to suffer by sacrificing things within that might be tempting you away from the duty and works that God has set for you in advance.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, renew me with Your Holy Spirit so I believe that I shall look upon Your goodness in the land of the living, to dwell with You, both now and eternally. In my weakness, help me wait on You as Jesus waited on You; to be strong only in Your strength, and to let my heart take courage as I wait for Your kingdom to come, as You dismantle my kingdoms of death. Amen.

Sermon Summary
Paul’s letter to the Philippians speaks from prison into a congregation shaped by suffering, duty, citizenship, and the power of the gospel. Philippi, a proud Roman colony, was also the place where the Holy Spirit opened Lydia’s heart, shook open the prison doors, and brought the jailer and his household to faith in Jesus Christ. These beginnings help us hear Paul’s encouragement: the gospel advances even through suffering, imprisonment, humiliation, and apparent weakness.

Paul calls the Philippians, and us, to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Our highest citizenship is not earthly but heavenly, won through Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. Therefore, Christians are called not to fear opposition or be distracted by the fracturing and humiliation of the church, but to stand firm in one spirit, trusting that God brings life where human eyes see only decline, ruins, and death.

You are invited to take courage in suffering, to put to death the idolatries and ideologies that draw you away from Christ, and to be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to confess the gospel. For to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Reflection Questions

1. Where do I see weakness, ruin, or decline in the church or in my own life, and how might God be calling me to trust His power there?
2. What does it mean for me to live as a citizen of heaven rather than being defined primarily by earthly identity, status, or security?
3. How does Paul’s imprisonment help me understand suffering not as failure, but as a place where the gospel may still advance?
4. What idolatries or ideologies might be making me deaf to the Word of God and hesitant to confess Christ?
5. In what ways am I being called to stand firm with other Christians in one spirit and one mind for the faith of the gospel?
6. How does the witness of Lydia, the jailer, Paul, and Silas encourage me to pray, suffer, serve, and speak without fear? 

A, Post-Pentecost 16 Proper 19 - Matthew 18:21-35 "What Lies Between"

These days we hear a lot about interest rates. There is much interest in them because of the debt a person has to repay. Have you ever wondered why they are called “interest rates”? It is not simply because we are interested in or concerned about the rates and how much one might owe.

In Latin interest means “what lies between”.  Perhaps we are interested in what lies between us and someone else when we owe a debt or if a debt is owed to us.

Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone. He uses seven times as the lowest common denominator. Was Peter looking for a figure at which the straw might break the camel’s back, allowing him to avenge the debt lying between him and his debtor? It is as if he wants to get forgiveness out of the way quickly: I forgive you, I forgive you, forgive you, forgive you, forgive you, forgive you, forgive you … Now that you haven’t changed, you’re going to get what’s coming!

Payback seems sweet until Jesus turns everything on its head by telling a simple parable about a king who mercifully forgives a debtor. But the debtor, unable to pay forward the mercy shown to him when he was freed from his debt, goes and chokes his fellow servant, demanding that the much smaller debt lying between them be repaid. As Jesus shows in the parable, payback is not so great when we consider our eternal debt towards God, our heavenly Father!

Anyone who hears this parable joins in with the fellow servants at the injustice of the forgiven servant who’s unwilling to do likewise and forgive his fellow servant.  Jesus tells this parable in response to Peter’s query, how many times one should forgive.  It shows Peter and us all, that “what lies between” God and us is far greater than any debt owed to us by our earthly neighbours.

Jesus had just spoken to the disciples about who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3–4 ESV)

Peter’s question, “How often should I forgive?” is a “how long?” question. This is not a question born of humility in Peter’s secret heart. Yet it captures the essence of our deepest human frustration when debt lies between two people and a relationship is put under the strain of an unjust balance, whether the imbalance is perceived or genuine.

However, what lies at the root of Peter’s question and our frustration with other people’s sin is brought to light in the fear within the hearts of Joseph’s brothers when their father, Jacob, dies. They thought Joseph was going to play God in what lay between them, since they had sinned grievously by playing God when they sold Joseph into slavery and pretended to Jacob that a wild beast had killed him.

We learn from the parable that our hearts and the justice we seek are somewhat different from God’s heart and the way He mercifully seeks the justice He deserves. Our justice is governed by what we deem good, but it is usually a good for us that has consequences for others. Jesus understands Peter’s heart and our hearts better than any of us understands ourselves. Just like Peter, we might forgive seven times or for the period we prescribe, then mete out our justice to our fellow human beings, as did the servant in Jesus’ parable.

But Joseph’s actions towards his brothers after the death of his father, Jacob, point forward to the saving acts of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Joseph said to his brothers, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” (Genesis 50:19–21a ESV)

Jesus humbled Himself like a child and is now the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. His terms of forgiveness are God’s terms of forgiveness. He therefore put aside the power of being the Son of God and took on the humility and weakness of humanity to be the Son of Man, bearing the evil of humanity in His death and bringing about the good of God by giving life through His resurrection from the dead.

In our human weakness, we want to forgive on our terms and then, at our appointed time, become gods of the situation and mete out acts of justice. We forget what lies between us and God and make ourselves gods over each other. But this is not godliness like that of God; it is the same “godliness”, or rather “godlessness”, that caused Adam and Eve to be thrown out of the Garden of Eden.

Just as Joseph’s brothers were weak and failed in their responsibility to look after Joseph, we too are weak in our ability to do the good that God requires. We fail to see the big picture as He sees it. We need to recognise our base humanity as inherent ungodliness: if God, in His justice, gave us what we deserved, we would be condemned for not being merciful as God is to us.

Yet we hear, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6 ESV)

Our self-appointed godliness and the timing we assign to it amount to ungodliness, weakness and sinfully bad timing. But at the right time—God’s time—He made atonement for our debt. Like the king in Jesus’ parable, God passes over our debt, and at the right time He had that debt placed on His Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, now is the right time to forgive.  While we live this side of the grave, now is always the right time to forgive. Despite the old Adam within wanting to terminate forgiveness and serve up its sinful impatient justice, now is always the right time to forgive!

St Paul tells us, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8 ESV)

But how do we love someone with whom we are in conflict when emotions are high and our rights seem to have been violated? Within us, there is a timer ticking down to a point where frustration wants to burst forth and choke the neighbour with whom we are in conflict; such is our weakness!

God calls us to remember our ungodliness and weakness, which have been corrected by the cross. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us see our neighbour as God sees us, so that rather than seeking revenge and retribution, we love them as Christ loved us.

The Holy Spirit helps us to bear our cross for Christ’s sake. He wills you daily to drown the old Adam in your baptism because your old Adam is always working to resurrect himself in you. Otherwise, you seek justice according to your knowledge of good and evil instead of Jesus’ knowledge of good and evil. In his humanity, Jesus always set the will of our heavenly Father first, which led Him to take on our human weakness, live the perfect human life despite bearing human flesh, and then endure the cross and scorn its shame for the joy set before Him, despite being without sin.

Jesus’ exchange of our sin for His perfection at the cross should awaken “a rate of interest” in those who truly understand the depths of their human nature and the sinful deeds that continually ooze from it! If not, perhaps you should revisit the Ten Commandments in the Small Catechism and relearn who you are in God’s eyes.

However, it’s God’s will in heaven to forgive you your sin; it’s also His will for you on earth to forgive each other for the sins you commit against each other.  You and I will have to give an account of ourselves before God on His judgement seat.  It’s in everyone’s best interest for mercy to lie between God and us, and therefore that same mercy to lie between us and our neighbours as we wait for our resurrection into God’s eternal presence. 

Let us pray. Dear heavenly Father, You have forgiven me my sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You have sent the Holy Spirit into my heart through my baptism. Therefore, work Your will in me so that I forgive as You have forgiven and love as You patiently love me. Help me not to seek payback but to pass over the sins of others, so that what they intended for evil against me might be passed onto Jesus’ death and made good in his victory over sin, so we forgive as we are forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Sermon Summary

Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant exposes the sharp contrast between God’s immeasurable mercy and our instinct to limit forgiveness. The debt that lies between us and God is greater than any debt our neighbour could owe us, yet through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has forgiven what we could never repay. Joseph’s mercy towards his brothers points forward to this saving work: rather than take God’s place in judgement, he trusted God to bring good from evil and responded with reassurance and provision. Because Christ died for us while we were weak and ungodly, now is always the right time to forgive. The Holy Spirit turns our hearts away from revenge, renews us in our baptism and enables us to love our neighbours as Christ has loved us. Forgiveness is therefore not a limited transaction but the merciful fruit of living under the grace of God.

Reflection Questions

1. What does Peter’s question about forgiving seven times reveal about the human desire to place limits on mercy?
2. How does the enormous debt forgiven by the king reshape the way you view the wrongs others have committed against you?
3. Where are you tempted to take God’s place by judging, controlling or seeking payback?
4. What can Joseph’s response to his brothers teach you about entrusting justice to God and responding with practical mercy?
5. How does Christ’s death for the weak and ungodly change both your understanding of forgiveness and your willingness to forgive?
6. Is there a relationship in which “now is the right time to forgive”? What faithful first step could you take?
7. How can remembering your baptism and relying on the Holy Spirit help you resist resentment and love your neighbour?
8. What would it look like for God’s mercy to lie between you and another person this week?

A, Post-Pentecost 15 Proper 18 - Matthew 18:15-20 "Binding and Loosing"

When someone sins against you, what do you do? 

Is it difficult being open about how someone’s actions have affected or are affecting you?  Even if they approach you, confess and apologise, it’s usually dismissed embarrassingly with, “Ah, that’s alright!”  When both of you know very well it’s not alright because you’ve been hurt and they’ve seen the need to say sorry!

If your brother, neighbour, spouse, or family wrongs you, sometimes there’s not enough peace within to go and confront them about the offence without it being relived in you.  So how does one even begin the task of putting right the wrong, and the relationship between you and your neighbour?

Besides, it seems naming being wronged as sin is inappropriate these days.  It’s as if everyone has the right to do as they please and say what they want, not being accountable or correctable despite the hurt it might cause.  Nevertheless, living as a community and caring for each other out of love for Christ require us to put aside our rights, silence our voices, and serve each other in submission with our ears and our hearts in the true servanthood mission of Jesus Christ, Who serves us by putting our wrongs right at the cross.

You see, when sin is kept hidden and is not named, it retains its stinging power.  Therefore, many of us don’t even get to first base with this text, going to fellow believers and lovingly telling them of their fault that has caused us pain, let alone working through the steps laid out to mediate a restoration of the relationship through Christ’s forgiveness of us all.

Rather, what happens when a person sins against someone these days?  The one sinned against allows themself to smoulder, to the extent that he or she cannot go to the other person and name the sin.  The sin cannot be buried, and rather than going and seeking others to help with the situation, sin is allowed to ripple out from the original offence, in extreme cases destroying congregational or family unity.  The recipient of sin now becomes the perpetrator in retaliation by bearing false witness, gossiping, and assassinating the character of the original perpetrator.  Thus, sin gives birth to sin.

Our society is overrun by “smiling assassins” who politely smile to one’s face but stab one in the back once the face is turned.  It seems we have got it completely back to front in our individualistic, so-called “politically correct” world today.  The result is that we are all pushed further and further apart, and this seemingly polite interaction is really devilish dishonesty, causing community living to become more and more dysfunctional and fractured.

There’s a way to stop this from happening, however!  Our relationships in the church and in our everyday lives with others are curable.  This way will restore peace and bring a real and true peace back to your relationships – with neighbours, family, your spouse, church members, and even your enemies.  

All believers are given a mighty weapon to combat the assassins “out there” in our relationships as well as the assassin within ourselves, so we might be able to approach others with the love of Christ to restore our relationships.

This weapon is the omnipotent, all-powerful name of Jesus Christ.  This weapon is prayer in Jesus’ name.  Its power is so rich and enormous, yet a small child can wield this weighty weapon.

Jesus tells us, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:18–20 ESV)

It seems we need to know what requires binding and what requires loosing.  In this mixed-up world we get bound up in sinful acts, yet these very sins are allowed to remain unbound and free to continue wreaking havoc, destroying relationships long after they’re committed. 

This is what happens when we do things in our name: praying to ourselves, muttering under our breath and talking to ourselves, as though we were holding a staff meeting within that serves and joins in with the unrepentant, unforgiving ways of the world, in reverence to our rights.  Putting ourselves first, relationships are hindered, and we further serve ourselves as lonely, love-starved individuals in this age of individualism and death.

On the other hand, when we rely on Jesus’ name and not our own, we are loosed; He unties us from our sin and the cross of eternal death and damnation.  Yet our sins are named, exposed, forgiven and bound to the cross!  We’re freed to live with the promise that we’re eternally bound and tied to Jesus’ death and resurrection for an eternity in heaven. 

Despite our constant inner struggle here on earth, between the sinful nature and our new being in Jesus Christ, you and I can be confident the right things are being eternally loosed, and the wrong things are already bound to the cross.

The all-powerful name of Jesus Christ runs contrary to our individualistic thinking, causing a congregation to gather, constantly recreating a community of love, freed to be people of God wielding the weapon of prayer!  Imparting forgiveness, peace, confidence, calmness, faith, hope, and love in a world which dearly needs these things.

Still, there are many in God’s church who don’t have a whole lot of faith in prayer.  Perhaps you struggle to pray because you find it difficult, or you just think it’s a waste of time.  Yet we hear in Scripture of Jesus being alone in prayer for much of His ministry on earth while being prepared for the cross.  One might ponder why He needed to pray, since He is “God the Son”!

Consider this: Jesus gave up His godliness, His divinity, and became nothing, relying completely on the Father in all He was called to do.  Jesus displayed the same helplessness as we do.  But rather than fall into sin as we do, He remained sinless, yet bore our sin, helpless on the cross. So now our help is in the name of the Lord, and our helplessness is overcome by God’s powerful hand working when we ask Him to in prayer.

Therefore, the first rule of prayer is having this same “blessed attitude” of helplessness as did Jesus.  In knowing our helplessness, we might see the common helplessness of ourselves and others and freely name sin with the desire to forgive it and receive forgiveness for it. 

Knowing our helplessness also leads us to draw on God’s mercy in restoring the relationship with those who have wronged us and those whom we have wronged.  We can call on Him in our need to open our ears and hearts to each other, so compassion flows again, words are not misheard, and new sins are not committed.

The second rule of prayer is to pray in Jesus’ name or for Jesus’ sake.  As mentioned above, when we do this, we are tapping into an all-powerful source of existence.  Jesus continues His work of praying for us after the resurrection before the Father in heaven, and by allowing the Holy Spirit to connect us to the prayerful work of Jesus in heaven, peace and power will flow through our prayers in Jesus’ name and for Jesus’ sake!

The third rule of prayer is to name our need or the needs of others without believing that we need to help Him answer the prayer.  God doesn’t need us to tell Him how to fix the problem; He just needs us to ask Him for help.  He knows how to fix every problem even before we ask Him.

The fourth and final rule of prayer is that we don’t need to make use of prayer as a means of commanding God to move according to our will and timeframe.  When we do this, we just set ourselves up for a fall.  God knows what we need before we ask for it, whether for ourselves or on behalf of someone else.  We need to leave “the when” and “the how” up to God!  We must remember that we are asking Him because of our helplessness.  How quickly we pray, leave it up to God, but yank it back through unbelief! 

God answers all prayers prayed in Jesus’ name or for Jesus’ sake.  Unfortunately, unbelief causes us to miss seeing them answered. 

Perhaps a starting point for all who struggle with prayer is to ask God in prayer to help us in our unbelief: “I believe, Lord; save me from my unbelief!”  Then we allow God to bind the sin and the unbelieving sinful nature within and to free us so that the Holy Spirit can lead us to pray with deeper and deeper trust in a faithful Saviour with Whom we join when we pray in faith.  It pleases God our Father that our prayers give Him the glory and freedom so He can act as God in our lives, rather than our prayers failing because we seek to stand without the help He wants to provide.

We who pray for others would also do well to pray for our own perseverance and patience, that God might give us enduring peace and confidence in His omnipotence and the power of prayer in Jesus’ name.  In allowing this to occur within, we’re loosed and set free from binding ourselves and committing spiritual suicide.

And rather than assassinating the character of those who have sinned against us, we faithfully ask God to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts to counsel us in Christ, saving both of us from ourselves, assassinating and binding our sin so we can loose each other and our relationships.

When someone sins against you, what do you do?  We can be secret agents wielding a weapon of great power.  We can be assassins binding sin and forgivers loosing sinners.  This is true prayer in Jesus’ name and its use binds us together as one for Jesus’ sake. Amen!

Sermon Summary
When sin wounds a relationship, hiding the offence or retaliating through gossip allows sin to spread and fracture the community. Jesus offers another way: name sin truthfully, seek reconciliation, forgive as we have been forgiven, and pray in His powerful name. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, sin is bound to the cross and sinners are loosed from guilt, condemnation and the desire for revenge. Prayer begins with an honest recognition of our helplessness, trusts Jesus’ intercession, names the need without telling God how to answer, and leaves the timing and outcome in His hands. As the Holy Spirit strengthens faith, God forms His people into a community of forgiveness, peace, patience and restored relationships.

Reflection Questions

1. When someone sins against you, what is your usual response: silence, retaliation, avoidance, honest conversation, or prayer?
2. Is there a hurt you have kept hidden that now needs to be named truthfully and lovingly?
3. How might gossip, resentment or self-protection be allowing sin to spread beyond the original offence?
4. What does it mean for you that Jesus has bound your sin to the cross and loosed you from guilt and condemnation?
5. Which of the sermon’s four principles of prayer do you find most difficult: admitting helplessness, praying in Jesus’ name, naming the need without prescribing the answer, or trusting God’s timing?
6. Where are you tempted to take a prayer back into your own hands rather than leave “the when” and “the how” with God?
7. How could the Holy Spirit help you listen with greater compassion to someone who has hurt you?
8. Is there someone from whom you need to seek forgiveness or to whom you need to offer forgiveness?
9. What practical step can you take this week towards reconciliation, peace or patient prayer?
10. How can your congregation become a community where sin is named with love, confesses with faithfulness, and forgiveness is freely given for Jesus’ sake?

A, Post-Pentecost 13 Proper 16 - Matthew 16:13-20 "Son of the Living God"

Living post-resurrection, we lose the enormity of Peter’s confession that Jesus of Nazareth is both the Son of God and the Christ.  In our ears we hear Jesus, Christ, and Son of God as a synonymous confession of the same man, and rightly so!

But to understand the magnitude of what Peter confesses we need to realise in that in his day Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, and Son of God were not perceived as one and the same person.  In fact, one claiming someone as the Son of God was considered as blasphemy!  It is only after the resurrection that confession of Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of God became one in the Early Church.  Judaism still considers this to be blasphemy.

In Matthew’s Gospel it is the devil who’s recorded as first addressing Jesus as the Son of God.   Twice he temps Jesus, saying, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (Matthew 4:3 ESV) 

And second, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”(Matthew 4:6 ESV)

If the devil, who succeeded in tempting the first man, Adam, into sin, can succeed in tempting the Son of God, born as the Son of Man, to put right the sin of the first man, then he would have been able to stop God’s plan of salvation for humanity.

But Jesus who his both Son of Man and Son of God, is not tempted into sin despite being hungry and humiliated by the devil.  “If” Jesus is the Son of God, is not even a matter for question.  Not, “if” He is the Son of God, rather, Jesus “is” the Son of God, born to be the Son of Man.

Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man.  It’s only recorded in John’s Gospel that Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of God.  The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) very deliberately record others as confessing him as Son of God.

The title Son of Man is a term from the Old Testament, first used by Balaam when God gave him his word to respond to Balak.  God says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.” (Numbers 23:19–20 ESV)

Job is told by Bildad the Shuhite, “Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven.  Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes;  how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm!”  (Job 25: 2,5–6 ESV)

In Psalm eight which is taken up in Hebrews chapter two we hear, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?  You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honour,  putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”  (Hebrews 2:6–8 ESV)

In addition to this, Ezekiel is named “son of man” as he is called to serve both the Israelites and gentiles with prophecy.  God says to Ezekiel, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”  And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.  And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.” (Ezekiel 2:1–3 ESV)

If we ponder the first son of man, we think of Cain.  Adam and Eve expected Cain to be the great successor who would crush the serpent under his heel, but he wasn’t!  Instead like Adam, Cain was driven out by God after he killed Abel. 

Interestingly, Cain and Abel are not named as sons, even though they were sons of Adam and Eve.  But it is only Seth who is named son.  We hear, “Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”  (Genesis 4:25 ESV)

And again, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.”  (Genesis 5:3 ESV)

Seth was the substitute for Cain and Abel, and it is through him that God would substitute the sin of Adam with the righteousness of the Son of Man, Jesus of Nazareth, for us all.

Jesus is the Son of Man as the fulfilment of what Daniel saw in a vision, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13–14 ESV)

Jesus came as the Son of Man, to serve man as a son serves his father and family.   For Jesus to do this he had to put his divinity aside to serve as we are told in Philippians two, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  (Philippians 2:6–8 ESV)

Jesus’ servanthood is one of peacemaking.  At the Sermon on the Mount he says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”  (Matthew 5:9 ESV)

As with all the beatitudes they are fulfilled in the servanthood of Jesus, the Son of Man, who became poor in spirit and was persecuted for righteousness’ sake so we could have the kingdom of heaven.  Who mourned over sin that we could be comforted, who became meek in order that we inherit a new earth, who hungered and thirsted for our righteousness, to satisfy God’s requirement of righteousness.  And who made peace being the servant Son of Man, so we can be called sons of God.

But all this was yet to happen at the cross.  Peter and all the other disciples had witnessed the demons in Legion cry out to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God?  Have you come here to torment us before the time?”  (Matthew 8:29 ESV)

It took two turbulent trips across the Sea of Galilee, feeding the five thousand, healings, and being sent out as apostles, for the disciples to see the unhidden truth and confess Jesus as the Son of God.

But now, in the text for today, Jesus askes the disciples who the Son of Man is?   Peter confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  (Matthew 16:16 ESV)  He says this after the other disciples tell Jesus who others think he is. 

But Peter has not learnt this from others, nor from within himself, but from God.  Jesus says to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17 ESV)

It is God the Father himself who has led Peter to confess Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, as the Christ, and as the Son of the living God.  The Living Father brings about a living confession from Peter, that hidden within Jesus of Nazareth, is the living Christ and Son of God.

In next week’s Gospel reading we hear how Peter’s confession from God the Father is replaced by his rebuke when the Son of the Living God tells the disciples he will be made21` Christ through his death and resurrection.

Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ anointed to serve humanity as the Son of Man, humiliated as if he was a maggot or the worm of humanity.  In this three-fold role he is our living sacrifice, resurrected from the dead.  He did not lie; he did not change his mind; he fulfilled what he was sent to do on the cross!  Now raised in victory over his sinless death, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.”  (Philippians 2:9 ESV)

Paul says we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, not to be conformed to the world.  How do we do this?

Just as Peter’s confession was not of his own, our service as living sacrifices is not of our own.  Our work of living as a sacrifice is anchored in Jesus Christ, our Living Sacrifice.  He put his divinity aside and was carried along by the Holy Spirit who rested on him in his baptism.  For us to be living sacrifices for him, we too need the Holy Spirit, so we can have our sinful nature put aside and substituted for a new spirit, a spirit that trusts in Jesus despite the cost.

We now live and move and have our being because Jesus of Nazareth is the resurrected Christ, the living Son of God.  Now that we are sons of God through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have freedom to be servants of humanity, serving others with forgiveness and confession of, how and what God has forgiven us.  Amen.

Sermon Summary
This sermon reflects on Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” and shows how remarkable that confession was before the resurrection. It traces the titles “Son of Man” and “Son of God” through Scripture, showing that Jesus is both truly human and truly divine: the promised Son of Man who serves, suffers, and fulfils God’s saving purposes, and the Son of God who overcomes temptation, sin, death, and the devil.

Peter’s confession is not produced by human insight but revealed by the Father. In the same way, Christian faith and service do not arise from our own strength. Because Jesus humbled himself as the servant Son of Man and was raised as the living Son of God, believers are made sons of God through him and are freed to live as servants of others, offering themselves as living sacrifices through the work of the Holy Spirit.

1.   Reflection Questions

1. Why is Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” so significant in its original context?
2. How does understanding Jesus as both Son of Man and Son of God deepen your understanding of his saving work?
3. What does Jesus’ resistance to the devil’s temptations reveal about his identity and mission?
4. In what ways does Jesus fulfil the Old Testament hopes connected with the “son of man”?
5. How does Jesus’ humility and servanthood in Philippians 2 shape the way we understand Christian service?
6. Peter’s confession was revealed by the Father rather than discovered by human wisdom. How does this encourage humility in faith?
7. What does it mean for you to present your body as a living sacrifice, anchored in Christ’s living sacrifice?
8. Where might the Holy Spirit be calling you to put aside your sinful nature and trust Jesus despite the cost?
9. How can being made a son or daughter of God through Christ free you to serve others with forgiveness?
10. What confession of Christ do your words and actions make before others?

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.

****

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.

*****

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?