​5th Sunday in Lent – A                                                                      LSB #’s 905, 847 tune 367, 650
Text – Romans 8:10
 
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 
 
DEAD AND ALIVE
 
 
Are you able to remember the first time you visited a funeral home?  I don’t know what age I was.  I don’t remember who had died,  but the mood in the room was unlike anything else I had experienced.  There was something very different  about the way people talked to one another, something unusual about the way people acted – the timid tones & hushed language. 
In our culture, death brings a somber atmosphere.  It’s like a cloud hanging over the entire room, suffocating any sort of lively or high-spirited behavior.  Its power,  its finality,  its merciless advance  into the life of another human being, touches every heart, leaving a trail of sorrow & grief in its wake. 
“But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”   As St. Paul writes to the church at Rome,  he’s telling them  that they can be dead & alive  at the same time.   As children of God,  you & I should be able to describe that experience.  We live it  every day we are here on earth,  because Paul is not writing  to the dead. 
The Holy Spirit was inspiring Paul to write to those who were alive & dead  at the same time.   That is the life  of a child of God in this world.   It may not sound all that appealing,  because we are constantly being pulled in two directions at once.   Yet,  it is better than the alternative.  Those who are not part of God’s kingdom  are just  & only  dead. 
St. Paul wrote about that in his letter to the church at Ephesus: “And you were dead  in the trespasses & sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world,  following the prince of the power of the air,  the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all  once lived in the passions of our flesh,  carrying out the desires of the body & the mind,  & were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.   But God, …because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses,  made us alive together with Christ…”  (2:1-5 ESV) 
As Paul wrote it, that is one long, run on sentence,  but it is clear   that until God made us alive,  we were dead,  & only dead.   As believers here on earth, we are dead & alive.   On the Last Day,  when we are raised from physical death,  then  we will be completely & only   alive.    In saving us,  God moves us from being dead,  to being dead & alive,   to being only alive. 
We don’t think in those terms on a day to day basis,  so why does Paul write about this?  How does it apply to the challenges you deal with  in your life?   We can go back to the opening illustration about funeral homes.  If the person who died is a believer, there’s no need to be sad for them.  Their soul is in paradise with God.   Sin no longer torments them. 
We may be sad because we miss them, but being dead & alive in paradise  is a better deal than being dead & alive here on earth.  Paul writes this to the church at Rome because a lot of the believers there were dying under persecution from the Roman government.  When a believer endures physical death,  Jesus guarantees  that it’s not the end of them. 
For us here on earth,  being dead & alive is a way of describing the struggles we experience because of sin.  There is nothing in all of creation that has been left untouched by the ravages of its corruption.  Sin makes a mess of everything.  In his previous chapter, Paul writes about his experience of that struggle with being dead & alive:
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right,  but not the ability to carry it out.   For I do not do  the good I want,  but the evil I do not want  is what I keep on doing.”  (Romans 7:18-19 ESV)  Concluding, Paul poses a question: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  (Romans 7:24b ESV)     He gives a resounding answer, “Thanks be to God  through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  (Romans 7:25a ESV)  As children of God  that is our answer as well.  We experience that struggle of knowing what to do & just not doing it.  It’s frustrating & discouraging,  but then we see how God works things out  anyway. 
Because of sin  you & I are dead.  The good that we want to do  we don’t.   The evil we do not want to do  is what we keep on doing.   And yet, because of our Lord Jesus Christ,  you & I  are alive.  The heavenly Father has given us credit  for all the good that Jesus has done.   He never once failed to do the good that He wanted to do.   You & I  get the credit for it. 
We are dead & alive because,  after being brought to faith,  we still struggle to believe.   We struggle in believing everything that Jesus taught.  We struggle in believing that God is working out  all things for the good of those who love Him.  We struggle in believing that the blessings given to us by God  will never run out.  We struggle to give  as God gives to us. 
Those struggles are ways in which we experience the death that Adam & Eve brought into God’s creation.  After the Fall into sin   God put into effect His plan to rescue us from that death.   We then experience being alive  when any particular burden of guilt is lifted from our shoulders.  Receiving forgiveness  brings us life & salvation. 
We also experience being alive  as we realize that something good happening to us is too much of a coincidence  to be  just a coincidence.  Every now & then,  God just lines things up & makes it happen.  Each of us  has personal stories to tell  revealing God’s custom designed blessing  even in the brokenness of this world. 
So,  what does God want us to learn from Romans 8 this morning  as He tells us that we are dead & alive?    First, God wants us to know  that He knows  what our struggles, trials & sorrows are like  as we live in a sinful world.  Jesus lived in this world  with far fewer conveniences than we can imagine.  Jesus knows what hopelessness looks like.  It’s a type of death, resulting from sin,  that brings on depression & despair.  St. Paul writes about being dead & alive  so we understand that God knows what that death is like. 
Second, God tells us we are dead & alive  so we realize that He does not leave us in death.  The Creator who brought us into being  out of nothing  has brought us back to life.  He sustains us in that life & one day  He will completely remove death from us.  Jesus was raised from the dead  in order to begin the new creation that will never die. 
Right now, we are simultaneously 100% saint & 100% sinner & we are constantly torn between the two.  Both words,  dead & alive,  are descriptive of believers here on earth.   We experience the limitations of this body & flesh, yet, as such, we still have opportunities to be God’s hands & feet amongst His creation.  We are dead & alive. 
On the Last Day, when our bodies are raised from the dead, they will be raised as part of the new creation that will never die.  Then,  we will be completely & only alive – no more death, no more struggle,  no more sorrow.    Then,  you & I will only do good,  & we will never do evil.  There will be nothing more of this dead & alive,  nothing more of this saint & sinner. 
We could say that, on the cross, Jesus killed death,  & with His resurrection He re-created life.  As we heard Jesus say in the Gospel reading, “I am the resurrection & the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”  (John 11:25 ESV)   And we live because the Holy Spirit is alive within us  to direct & to strengthen our daily walk with God. 
That walk may be one of struggle & sorrow.  It may be a walk of pleasure & joy.   The circumstances change, but Jesus is the same, yesterday, today & forever.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  He knows how desperately we need His help.  Jesus knows that,  as sinners,  we need a new identity.  In baptism Christ gives us that new identity & makes us alive.  When we die,  there will be no more temptation & sin,  no more doubts & struggles,  but until the resurrection,  our body will be suffering the effects of sin,  whether we are buried or cremated, our flesh will still be dead.  At the final resurrection,  no more corruption at all.  No more being dead & alive.  No more timid tones & hushed language of the funeral home. 
“…the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin & death.”  (Romans 8:2 ESV)   Whenever we are struggling in this world, that verse is a good antidote to bring to mind.  Even when, or especially when,  we’re at a funeral home & processing our grief, in Christ we are still & even then free from the law of sin & death. 
In this life, because we are dead & alive, we will never finish learning that lesson, but on the day that Jesus calls us home, we can rest in the fact that Jesus aced the exam for us.  Amen. 
 
 
 
Hear the word that Christ has spoken,  help the weak,   the hungry feed;  see the powers of darkness broken,  sinners pardoned,  captives freed:   Christ the Savior,  Christ the Servant,  help us meet our neighbor’s need.     Come, O living Christ,  renew us,  as of old in wind & flame;  with the Spirit’s power endue us,  servants of Your saving name:  Christ the Savior,  Christ the Servant,   Christ whose kingdom we proclaim.  Amen.  LSB 847:2, 4. 
 

​4th Sunday in Lent – A                                                                                  LSB #’s 744, 545, 849
Text – John 9:39
 
Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, & those who see may become blind.” 
 
BECOMING BLIND
 
 
One reaction is to take pity.  Another is to wonder whose fault  it is.   That’s how human beings tend to respond  when we see suffering.  Was it a car accident,  or cancer,  or a stroke?  Were they a smoker,  or have they been drinking too much?  In the Gospel reading, Jesus passes by a man who was born blind.  His disciples ask, “Who sinned – this man or his parents?” 
Human beings love to find fault.   Who should we blame?    The Gospel reading highlights a few examples.  The disciples wonder if they should blame the blind man  or his parents.  The Pharisees blame Jesus for violating their law  by healing on the Sabbath.  They blame the man  who was blind  for being born in utter sin. 
The blame game  is an easy trap to fall into.  Adam & Eve had it down pat  the moment they sinned.   Eve blamed the serpent.   Adam blamed Eve  & their Creator.   It’s difficult enough to accept  the blame for our sins.   Jesus does not lower the bar.  He gives an answer that can be even more difficult to accept: 
“It was not that this man sinned,   or his parents,   but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”  (John 9:3 ESV)   That’s not a blanket statement which can be applied in every instance of suffering.  Yet in this particular situation Jesus clearly makes the point that this man’s blindness was for the purpose “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 
As believers,  we are all for the works of God being displayed.   In fact,  a survey would probably show  we’d like to see a lot more of it.  As one Collect says, from the season of Advent, “Stir up Your power, O Lord…”     We’re just not very comfortable  with the thought  that it might be our suffering  that provides God those opportunities.   The man who was healed of his blindness had his time of suffering brought to a close.   In spite of the ruckus caused by the Pharisees,  his healing brought great joy to him.  The Pharisees,  on the other hand,  are the ones who now begin facing the prospect,  in their own eyes,  of suffering. 
This new Rabbi,  who’s appeared on the scene,  is attacking the very foundation of their religion  & their livelihood.  By undermining their laws against working on the Sabbath,  He is destroying their credibility.   Their religion,  & Jesus,  cannot stand side by side.   One,   or the other,   will be destroyed.   The Pharisees  will decide to destroy Jesus. 
They were unwilling to suffer through the wholesale revision of their religion.  They reject the teachings of Jesus at every turn.  They refuse to acknowledge that He is working miracles   which only God Himself could work.  When the man who used to be blind confesses faith in Jesus,  Jesus summarized what happened:
“‘For judgment I came into this world,  that those who do not see may see,  & those who see  may become blind.’   Some of the Pharisees near Him heard these things, & said to Him, ‘Are we also blind?’  Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, “We see,” your guilt remains.’”  (John 9:39-41 ESV) 
One of the works of God  being displayed in this event is obvious.  A blind mind receives his sight  physically & also spiritually.    Another work  is the revelation of what happens when a person refuses to receive the gifts of God.  Even though the Pharisees were leaders in the Jewish faith,  their refusal to accept Jesus  as God  was causing them to become blind spiritually. 
 The religion of the Pharisees was no longer the teaching that God gave to Moses in the first five books of the OT.  Whereas Moses taught trusting in the mercy & grace of God,  by the time Jesus was born, the Pharisees were teaching that they could make up for their defects in fulfilling the law.  They did that, as righteous people, through their sufferings,  & they considered themselves righteous by virtue of the fact that they were biological descendants of Abraham.  For example, blindness was considered to be a disease & all disease was regarded as punishment for some transgression. 
Thus, the disciples’ question, “…who sinned,  this man or his parents,  that he was born blind?”  (John 9:2 ESV)   They believed that all sin incurs earthly & eternal punishment  unless it is made good by atonement.  Atonement was made chiefly by good works & repentance – the main expression of which was fasting  & by suffering. 
Jesus’ disciples had a lot to unlearn.  That unlearning was one of the works of God being displayed  through the man who was born blind  so that he could be healed  by Jesus.  This event confronted the Pharisees & the disciples with an opportunity to learn the truth from God’s Son.  Forgiveness is earned & atonement is made for us,  by Messiah  as He dies on the cross. 
It’s ironic  that the Pharisees believed  suffering would make atonement for their sins.  Yet,  when the opportunity came to suffer – the loss of their power of prestige – they refused  & had Messiah suffer & be crucified instead.   His very suffering & crucifixion made perfect atonement for all of their sins,   but they refused to receive that gift which Jesus offered. 
The man born blind  was gaining sight.  The Pharisees,  born with sight,  were losing it.  They were becoming blind because they refused to see.  Jesus performed a miracle  & they acted like it didn’t happen.  The purpose of Jesus’ appearance was to blind unbelievers  hoping that they would then  recognize their condition  & turn to Him for healing. 
Peter experienced that firsthand after Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.  Still, Peter denied Christ & when the rooster crowed,  & Jesus looked at Peter,   Peter went out & wept bitterly.  Peter recognized his condition & once Jesus was resurrected,  Peter turned to Jesus for healing.   Acknowledging our sin,  & our blindness, allows God to bring sight into our lives.   This morning, the uncomfortable point of the law for you is this, “Are you blind,  or can you see?”  Think carefully about that question & remember these words:
“Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt;  but now that you say, “We see,” your guilt remains.’”    Whenever we begin to believe that we have our religious life all tied up in a neat little box,  it’s wise to keep at least one eye open.   God may be coming for us to prove that we are blind  so that we can return to Him & see. 
That tendency to believe that I can see, is why we speak words like these  here in God’s house, “I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins & iniquities…  But I am heartily sorry for them & sincerely repent of them…”  (LSB p. 213)   When spoken from the heart,  those words express our blindness & our desire  that God, once again, restore our sight. 
As God said in the OT reading from Isaiah, “I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know,  in paths that they have not known  I will guide them.”  (42:16a ESV)    Jesus came to fulfill that prophecy in the events of John 9,  but also in your life & in mine. 
Whatever suffering we endure in this life,  even if it is our fault,  can be used by our merciful Father to display His works.  And His works in this life are not to condemn the world, but to save it.  The blind man was encountered by Jesus that he might be saved.  Jesus is looking to encounter you this morning, not just in your joys, but in your sorrows as well.  Amen. 
 
 
 
Word eternal, throned on high,  Word that brought to life creation,   Word that came from heaven to die,  crucified for our salvation,  saving Word,  the world restoring,  speak to us,  Your love outpouring.     Word that caused blind eyes to see,  speak & heal our mortal blindness;  deaf we are:  our healer be;  loose our tongues to tell Your kindness.   Be our Word in pity spoken,  heal the world,  by sin now broken.  Amen.  LSB 545:2-3.  

​3rd Sunday in Lent – A                                                                       LSB #’s 421:1-2, 4; 699, 435
Text – John 4:6a
 
Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as He was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. 
 
SITTING BESIDE THE WELL
 
 
The pastor is going down the line at the communion rail.  He comes to a mother with two children & since this is pre-Covid, he actually puts his hand on the head of each child to give a blessing.  Then, he places his hand on the mother’s stomach & blesses the child in the womb.     Except, the woman was not pregnant. 
I hope that’s an apocryphal story with no basis in fact, but you can understand what an awkward moment that would be.   It’s an awkward moment, in the Gospel of John, when the Samaritan woman arrives at the well.  A Jewish man is sitting there & he speaks to her.  Even worse, he asks her to give him a drink.  He seems oblivious to the cultural & religious taboos. 
The woman tries to alert him to the issues, but he ignores them & pushes forward with the conversation.  You & I have experienced those moments as well.  They are uncomfortable because of the conflicting thoughts going on in our mind.  The cultural or religious norms tell us how things should go, yet the reality we face is entirely different. 
When those awkward moments occur, wanting to just get away is a common feeling.  You may experience that as you’re walking around the downtown area of a city & a panhandler approaches.  I’ve experienced it in nursing homes as dementia patients reach out to me in the hallways.  Politeness says I should respond.  Experience tells me who knows what will happen. 
Where my mom was staying the last few years of her life, I responded to one patient by saying hello & shaking his hand.  He almost broke my thumb.  After those awkward moments occur, we are normally left wondering, “What was I supposed to do?” & “I hope that doesn’t happen again.”  Yet, because Jesus is involved with this awkward incident at the well, the Samaritan woman is left with a feeling of joy & amazement.  The end result of this encounter comes after the Gospel lesson, but the woman returns to her town & said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.  Can this be the Christ?”  Notice that she doesn’t get preachy or tell them what to believe.  She simply asks the question that was left on her mind. 
When we encounter those awkward moments in our lives that is probably a good strategy for us to follow as well.  Invite other people into the conversation that is going on in your mind.  In the case of the Samaritan woman at the well, that’s what she did:
“Many Samaritans from that town believed in [Jesus] because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’     So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, & He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His word.  They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe,   for we have heard for ourselves, & we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.’”  (John 4:39-42 ESV) 
 
Yes, the awkward moments of life make us uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean we should be afraid of them.  They might even be moments that God prepared in advance, for us to walk in them.  Jesus was exhausted from His travels & sat down beside a well to rest.  From that desire to rest, many people came to believe in Jesus as Savior, people we will meet someday. 
The Samaritan woman had been married five times & when she meets Jesus she’s living with another man outside of marriage.  We can imagine that she’s been hurt & hardened by all those failed   relationships.  On top of that, she was trapped spiritually by the false understanding of Messiah, & of worship, which the Samaritans operated with. 
She came to the well with a thirst for literal water, but that was not all.  Like Jesus, she was exhausted from her journey to the well, but her exhaustion involved the entirety of her life apart from God’s Holy Spirit.   She was trudging through this sinful world without the peace of mind & forgiveness that a relationship with the Savior would bring to her. 
All human beings need water, even more than food, in order to have physical life. 
However, without the living water, as Jesus describes, there is not life at all.  That living water is the Holy Spirit that comes to us in our baptism.  In the Gospel reading, Jesus’ life-giving words bring with them the life-giving water & gift of the Holy Spirit to the Samaritan woman.    Upon coming to life spiritually, she immediately begins to overflow that water by telling others. 
That effect is described later in John’s Gospel: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up & cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me & drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”’”  (7:37-38 ESV)   In other words, as God blesses us, those blessings overflow to the people around us. 
When Jesus arrives at the well, He is exhausted, yet He reaches out to this Samaritan woman who needs to be restored to true life in relationship with her Creator.  She listens & she receives the gift that her Savior offers to her.   Maybe without even realizing it, she had been longing for a more hopeful future than she was living.  Jesus gave it to her & she believed. 
All of us, deep down, thirst for things to be made new & right.   Even the unbelieving world is longing for that, but they refuse to receive the solution that Jesus paid for with His life.  They search for their own solutions in all the wrong things & in all the wrong places.  It doesn’t take long & the world’s solutions bring even more weariness & exhaustion. 
When we think of Jesus, & what the Bible tells us about Him, what normally comes to mind are all the things that He was constantly doing – preaching, teaching & healing.  Jesus performed many miracles, so we don’t typically think of Him as a lollygagger, sitting down on the job, doing nothing. 
We also know how Martha was really disappointed in Mary.  Martha was doing all the work & her sister was sitting down on the job – not helping Martha at all.  You know how that went.  Martha ended up being scolded by Jesus & Mary was the one to whom He gave credit for
doing the most important thing, listening to the Words of God’s Son.    Before the gift of the Spirit, the Samaritan woman only sees life in terms of her ancestors’ link to Jacob, Joseph & the blessed well.  After the gift of the Spirit, the Samaritan woman sees her life in terms of a more lasting & even eternal ancestry – her relationship with Yahweh through His Son Jesus. 
Before the gift of living water, she sees devotion to God in terms of a particular holy place (Mount Gerizim).  After, she sees devotion to God in terms of faith in Jesus, God’s “truth,” which amounts to worship “in the Spirit.”  Since Jesus is God’s temple & presence, one looks for God neither on Mt. Gerizim nor in Jerusalem.  Instead, one looks to His Son & Messiah.  
Before, we are invited, along with Jesus’ disciples, to see the Samaritan woman’s life as one of limitations, disappointments, failures, & sins.      After, we are invited to see the work of God in the life of a suffering outsider & to celebrate her new life in Jesus,   as well as the extension of that life through the woman’s bold witness to her countrymen.   
Her soul now thirsts for the living God, & desires to become clean.  When the sinner, in whom the Lord is working, recognizes total personal unworthiness & corruption, the question becomes so much more active; “Where can I find a gracious Lord?”  In the life of the Samaritan woman, Jesus was waiting for her at the well.   Jesus is waiting for you here   today! 
As we prayed earlier, in the collect: “O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways & bring them again with penitent hearts & steadfast faith   to embrace & hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word.” 
The next time an awkward moment arises in your life, at least consider the fact that Jesus might have prepared that moment in advance just for you.  Amen. 
 
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me & rest; lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon My breast.”   I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn & sad; I found in Him a resting place, & He has made me glad.        I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give the living water; thirsty one, stoop down & drink & live.”  I came to Jesus, & I drank of that life-giving stream; my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, & now I live in Him.  Amen.  LSB 699:1-2.  

​2nd Sunday in Lent – A                                                                       LSB #’s 422, 918, 447:16-21
Text – Genesis 12:3
 
I will bless those who bless you, & him who dishonors you I will curse, & in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
 
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING
 
 
Going on vacation can be quite an undertaking if you leave for any length of time, or with an entire family.  Moving to a different city or state is a larger task.    Moving to a completely different country is a complicated operation.  How many of you, right now, are actively planning to leave the United States? 
In spite of all our problems, it is still a fairly good place to live.    In the reading from Genesis, Abram is called by God to leave – his country, his kindred, his father’s house.   It is a massive undertaking, & God is not telling him to which country He wants him to move: “Just go!   Somewhere along the way I will show you.” 
You may be thinking that is drastically different from the life you are living.  You have your routine, when you set your alarm, what time you get up each day, when you drink your coffee, what time you leave for work or the doctor, when do the children have to be at school, how often you do laundry, when you need to go grocery shopping or order your food online. 
There are an endless number of tasks to each & every day, & yet,   you have no idea what is going to happen even three minutes from now.   But, when something changes our plans, we are often not very pleased with it.  Imagine God showing up this afternoon & calling you to move, maybe to Ukraine, maybe to South Africa   or to Argentina.     Would you go? 
In the Gospel reading, “…there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus…”  (John 3:1 ESV)  He was on a journey & he began his next move at night.  He was going to see this new teacher named Jesus.  Now, Nicodemus wasn’t moving physically so much as he was moving mentally from a place where he was very comfortable.  This new teacher was stirring the pot with all kinds of new-fangled teaching that was awkward & confusing.  It was riling up the people & creating a lot of confusion.  Against his will, Nicodemus found himself on a journey to someplace new, & he was trying to make sense of it. 
Abraham & Nicodemus   & you.   You had to suspect that this sermon might be leading to that point.   Whether you are aware of it or not, the season of Lent is often thought of as a journey.  It is an expedition to the cross of Jesus Christ.  It’s a journey meant to open our eyes to God’s active rule in the daily affairs of our lives, & the lives of all people in this world. 
Whether people follow Yahweh or not, whether they believe He exists, or deny it,   He created all of us & has a defined plan for each of us.  It is not simply Abram that has been called to be a blessing to the world.  So have you,  been called,  by the almighty God, to follow Him,  to serve & obey Him, & most of all  to receive His blessings, as He makes something from nothing. 
The Creator of the entire universe wants to work with you to make something from nothing.  So Yahweh has placed you on a journey.   Like Abraham, you may have no idea to where our Lord is calling you.  On the other hand, you may know exactly what journey you are on.  If you are a father or mother, God has called you to be so. 
You don’t become a parent by accident & you don’t become a parent solely by your own will.  Yahweh creates that life in the womb with its own unique DNA.  Without the Creator there is no life.  Without Him there is nothing.   With Yahweh?    You’ve already heard Jesus tell you what life is like with God:
“And [Jesus] said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me (& where does Jesus say they will be?)   in paradise.’”  And to whom does Jesus say that?     He says it to a criminal being crucified on a cross.   How much worse can your life be?  The first 11 chapters of Genesis contain a terrifying record of how the sinful will of man repeatedly blocks his own way to God.  Adam & Eve fall into sin bringing the entire universe with them.  Cain kills his brother Abel.  Lamech brags of the vengeance he will bring upon anyone who dares to defy him.  Human beings end up so corrupt that God destroys the world in a flood.  Then – the tower of Babel. 
On their own, mankind can do nothing but wrong.  The human race can only run away from its Creator.  Genesis 12 begins with the absolute miracle of the grace of God creating a way, a journey, that no man can find – or even desires to find:
“Go from your country & your kindred & your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation, & I will bless you & make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, & him who dishonors you I will curse, & in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 
Abram is given but one command “Go!”  The Lord’s much greater part is expressed four times with the phrase, “I will.”  And what God’s “I will” means is that He will create something from nothing.  Abram was not a nation, yet God would create one.  Abram’s name was unknown yet God would make it great.  You & I were not born, yet Abram would be a blessing to us. 
Still, God’s “I will” speaks of the future, which emphasizes the need for faith on the part of Abram.  He must exchange the known for the unknown, & find his reward in what he could not live to see during his life on earth.   Abram will fully see & know that reward at the resurrection from the dead in life everlasting. 
The same is true for you & me.  We long to live by sight in this journey of life.   We’d love to see all of God’s blessing unfold right before our eyes.  We certainly see all the trials & challenges of life unfold in our face.  Abram did as well.  Some of them were of his own doing, just like some of the trials that we endure.  Some time after the call of Abram, Yahweh promises him a son, but after years of waiting, Abram & Sarai devise their own way, their own plan, & it leads to nothing but misery, right in their face.  You see, even before they were called by God, Abram & Sarai were unable to have children.  As God’s Word puts it, Sarai was barren.  In their culture effectively it meant that she was nothing. 
Yahweh promised Abram & Sarai that He would make something from nothing, but the tantalizing delay, 25 years worth, then dominates chapters 12-20 of Genesis.  In the OT, Rebekah, Rachel & Hannah also experienced the same nothingness in order that God might demonstrate His power in bringing forth something from nothing. 
These trials & tribulations were right in their face while the promise of God was for a time only by faith.  Yet, when the fullness of time had come God overcame the barrenness of human will.  He worked His saving will among those who had no hope. 
Genesis 12:1-4 are a paradigm for the resurrection of Jesus.  Where there was nothing, God brought forth something, where there was death God brought forth life.  St. Paul highlights that when he writes to the church at Rome: “…in the presence of the God …who gives life to the dead & calls into existence the things that do not exist.”  (4:17 ESV) 
In this sinful & broken world, there is no such thing as luck.  Good things do not arrive by accident or by human will.  Blessings come only at the will, & from the hand, of God.    If you struggle to accept that, look at the world before the flood.  Look at the Tower of Babel.  Look at the world around you today.  Think of how hard you work to accomplish things. 
Yahweh called the entire universe into being out of nothing, & it was good.  After the fall into sin, He took the initiative & put mankind on a journey back home to paradise.   It is a long & difficult journey with many forks in the road placed there by Satan to deceive us, & to mislead us.  Yet, Jesus did not just promise, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  He actually was born in human flesh & joined us on that journey.  He traveled it – all the way – even to death on a cross.  Never once did He take a detour or bypass the temptations, trials & sorrows.   He made the entire journey in perfection & through our baptism He gives us the credit.   He made something beautiful & perfect from the nothingness of this corrupt & evil world. 
Jesus has re-created the perfect & holy human flesh that Adam was originally created with.  At the resurrection from the dead all who believe in Jesus as their Savior will be raised with that perfect & holy human flesh.  And they will live in a perfect & holy world.  The journey there is the one Abram & Sarai were on.  It’s the one Nicodemus was on.  
Are you on that journey?  At the beginning of this sermon I asked, “How many of you, right now, are actively planning to leave the United States?”  You may not have realized it at the time, but if you are following Jesus, your answer should be “Yes.” 
The Holy Spirit is calling you today, to leave this country, your earthly kindred & father’s house.  He’s calling you to a better country, to your spiritual kindred & to your heavenly Father’s house.  Though you & I are nothing, from us God is making something – something eternal & holy & beautiful. 
O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength.  By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body & from all evil thoughts that may assault & hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives & reigns with You & the Holy Spirit, one God, now & forever.  Amen.
 
 
Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer, pilgrim through this barren land.   I am weak, but Thou art mighty; hold me with Thy powerful hand.  Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more; feed me till I want no more.     Open now the crystal fountain whence the healing stream doth flow;   let the fiery, cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through.   Strong deliverer, strong deliverer, be Thou still my strength & shield; be Thou still my strength & shield.  Amen.  LSB 918:1-2.  

​WHERE DOES LIFE COME FROM?
 
 
In the United States, we have our Thanksgiving feasts,  along with traditional Christmas & Easter dinners,  but those invitations go out mainly  to family & friends.  In Middle Eastern & African cultures,  food is often used as a symbol of hospitality  & for the welcome of a stranger.  For them,  what the devil is doing in this text from Matthew  is so  very  wrong. 
Instead of providing hospitality,  Satan uses food to begin his attack on Jesus.  Instead of welcoming a stranger to his home, the Devil brings temptation   deception.  Even our cat,  when he catches a mouse,  brings it to us  & offers to share.    Satan,  as he did in the Garden of Eden,  uses food  to destroy, “...command these stones to become loaves of bread.”  (Matthew 4:3 ESV) 
In spite of having fasted for 40 days & nights,  recognizing the deadly intentions,  Jesus answered Satan, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,   but by every word  that comes from the mouth of God.’”      So,  where does your life  come from?   
During this season of the church year,  it’s a tradition to give up something for Lent.  A purpose in that  is for helping us realize  that our life does not come from whatever earthly thing it is  that we value so highly.   If we give up chocolate for 40 days & 40 nights,  hopefully we realize  that we do not live by chocolate alone.   Chocolate is not  where our life comes from. 
Evolutionists believe that life evolved out of a random combination of chemicals & mutations.  The current consensus  is that the earth is around 4.5 billion years old.   However, some evolutionists are now admitting  that’s nowhere near long enough  for all the living creatures we see today  to have evolved into being.  So, a theory gaining traction lately is that alien civilizations came to earth & planted life here.  In their mind  that’s where life comes from.  In asking us to trust their theory,  essentially,  the evolutionists are asking us to “...command these stones  to become loaves of bread.”  (Matthew 4:3 ESV)  They are literally tempting us to find the source of our life  in something other than  “every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 
We don’t actually need any help in doing that, because, as sinners,  it comes to us naturally.  Sin, & doubting God’s Word,  is what sinners do.  Apple trees bear apples.  Sinners bear sin,  corruption,  bitterness  & self-righteousness.  Satan is only too happy  to prod us along. 
After a long hard day of work,  or school,  or raising children,  where do you find life again?  Where do you turn for renewal  & rest  & re-creation? 
As a child,  growing up where auto factories dominated the employment landscape,  it always struck me how many bars & liquor joints there were around every plant.  My parents had to explain that a lot of men spent time there to unwind  after each day’s shift at the factory.  In a way, for those workers,  it’s where they found life again. 
Samson was searching for life in his relationship with Delilah.  King David sought life in his affair with Bathsheba.  King Solomon sought life in the 700 wives & 300 concubines that he kept.  Plantation owners used to seek life in the number of the people they enslaved.   It’s estimated that over a million people in the US are seeking life in using methamphetamines. 
You name it, human beings are searching for life in it – sports & exercise,  sexual identity,  whom to affiliate with in politics.  Sinners are very adept at separating themselves into differing tribes,  as the saying goes, ‘There is strength in numbers.’  We attempt to find security by joining with others who share our beliefs, democrat or republican, UM or MSU,  & so it goes. 
We believe  that in strength  we will find life.  You may never have thought those exact words,  but you have  lived them.  We all do, especially when we are forgetting  that life actually comes from our heavenly Creator.  It is sin that brings weakness & death.  Trying to find strength in numbers is folly  when everyone you are joining with  is also a sinner.   It is God’s presence, here & now,  that gives us life,  strength  & peace. 
Life always comes from God  wherever we may be.   So, God’s children pray before their meals,  because we recognize that our heavenly Father is blessing us, & sustaining our very lives, through the food that He provides.  Even unbelievers recognize that they need to eat, & eat in a healthy manner in order to survive, but they refuse to recognize where that life comes from. 
In the sermon text, when Satan focuses Jesus’ attention on how hungry He is,  & Jesus’ human body is no doubt ‘screaming’ for food,  even then,  Jesus focuses on the Word of God.  Praying before you eat certainly won’t make you holy like Jesus was,  but it will help you to retain your appreciation for the true source of life. 
Jesus elaborates on this truth a bit later in Matthew, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things,  & your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God & His righteousness,  & all these things will be added to you.”  (6:31-33 ESV) 
That text really gets us to the point of “What do we do with this?”  Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  (Matthew 4:4 ESV)   So how do we put that into action?   How do we live  that way?   What does it mean for our day-to-day decisions, hopes & dreams? 
The late Henri Nouwen described Lent as a time to re-focus & to re-enter  a place of truth.   Here in the house of our heavenly Father is where we find our true identity.   Until we know that,  we cannot know  how to live,  how to hope  or how to dream.   That’s why Jesus taught us not to be anxious about what we eat or drink or wear.  And when we feel anxious, what did He say we should do?   “Seek first the kingdom of God  & His righteousness,  & all these things will be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:33 ESV)   If you’re feeling anxious  it’s because you are drifting away from the presence of your heavenly Father.  So turn back to Him.   If you’re afraid, it’s because you’re drifting away from your heavenly Father, so turn back to Him. 
In all the things of life   we should first seek the kingdom of God.  In His righteousness we will not be anxious, not be afraid.  In God’s righteousness we are holy & without sin.  In God’s righteousness, we do “…not live by bread alone,  but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  (Matthew 4:4 ESV)   That is our saintly nature, given to us by our Creator. 
It’s just that,  for now,  you & I  also have a sinful nature  & much of our time here on earth is spent feeding that nature.  Lent is about recognizing & confessing  that.   Lent is about acknowledging that in feeding our sinful nature we are simply feeding dust  & to dust  we shall return.   Feeding our sinful nature truly is a dead end. 
But Lent is also about realizing that our saintly nature needs to be fed as well.   After baptism, our saintly nature is our true & eternal identity,  & it lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God.   But that is not easy to see with our physical sight,  so Lent is a season that is meant to refocus our mind & heart  upon our spiritual sight & our saintly nature. 
In Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, Satan is trying to get Jesus to make His own path through life.  The devil wants God’s Son to become independent of the Father.  Effectively, Satan tells Jesus, “Your father sent you here into this wilderness to die.  He has abandoned you.  Just look around & see where following him has gotten you?  Turn these stones to bread & live.” 
All of us have faced similar temptations & rejected our heavenly Father’s plan.  Jesus knew that we would so He defeated Satan’s temptations for us.  Jesus kept the heavenly Father’s plan.  Now, Jesus offers the credit for that to you, & He does so through every Word that comes from the mouth of God.  This reading from Matthew is not about teaching us how to defeat the Devil.  God already knows that you & I cannot defeat the great deceiver.  This reading about the temptation of Jesus  is about reminding us that God’s Holy Son has taken our place here on earth in every way, in every temptation,  & He remained Holy on our behalf. 
When our courts allow a violent & unrepentant murderer off the hook,  how is that justice for the victim & his family?  Because Jesus was tempted & did not fail, His crucifixion in our place allows the Holy & Almighty God to give us eternal life without violating perfect justice.  That justice was paid for by the death of the innocent Son. 
The nation of Israel, in their travels through the wilderness, & later in the Promised Land, often failed to trust their heavenly Father to provide for them.  They sought to serve their own needs rather than wait for the Lord.  This was exemplified by the Golden Calf incident, where they thought Moses would never return from Mt. Sinai, so they made a new god to worship. 
Life in this sinful world is frustrating.  We too become impatient with God.  Then we forget that we are His children,  & we forget how to live like His children.  It doesn’t take long & all we know  is forgetfulness.  Being a sinner is basically spiritual Alzheimer’s.  No matter how often we are told that God’s loving plan is best,  we instantly forget  & try to make our own way. 
At Jesus’ baptism, which occurred right before His temptation, the heavenly Father spoke, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”  In the wilderness temptation, Jesus obeyed His Father perfectly.  Then, at our baptism, the heavenly Father said to you, “This is my beloved daughter or son, & because of Jesus,  in you I am well-pleased.” 
Thus, St. Paul wrote, “…by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”  (Romans 5:19 ESV)   Though many things cause us to be anxious, we have no godly reason to be.    Yet, Jesus knows that we still suffer from it, in spite of all that He has done.  And our anxiety is just another reason for Jesus to take our place & pay for our sins.  As the angels came & ministered to Jesus once His temptation was complete, so will they come to us.  Remembering that we are dust & to dust we shall return helps us to realize that we need God’s angels to minister to us, especially when we have sinned. 
All of God’s children have all of God’s promises & Yahweh, the Lord of heaven & earth will keep them.  No one, not even Satan, can snatch us out of the Father’s hand.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.
 
 
O Christ,  You walked the road our wandering feet must go.   You faced with us temptation’s power & fought our ancient foe.    No bread of earth can fill our hungering hearts.   Lord, help us seek Your living Word,  the food Your grace imparts.   When lures of easy gain  with promise brightly shine,  Lord, help us seek Your kingdom first;  our wills with Yours align.  O Christ, You walked the road  our wandering feet must go.   Stay with us through temptation’s hour  to fight our ancient foe.  Amen.  LSB 424:12, 4-5.