​August 30, 2026
What is a Disciple?
 
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Matthew 16:24-25
 
“Christian” was not the normal name for us in the first century. “Disciples” and “people of the Way” were the common names used. These point to following Jesus and following his way of life to describe us. Jesus certainly speaks this way when he said that those who want to be disciples “must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow (him).”  This kind of language leads us to think of worship life, sacrifice and obedience as the barometers of our “discipleship.” If our being disciples of Jesus (Christians) depends on what we do, we are in BIG trouble.
 
What draws us to Jesus is our brokenness only he can heal, our emptiness only he can fill and our fears that only he can calm. He gives us all of that. In his death and resurrection Jesus redeemed us. He set us free from the power of sin and death. He gives strength and purpose to all who look to him. And yet, we did not choose Jesus—He chose us.  We are followers of Jesus because God “has called us by the gospel and enlightened us with his gifts.” (explanation of 3rd Article of the Apostles’ Creed). We are Christians because God, his in rich mercy, “has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  (I Pet.2:9)
 
Christians follow Jesus—at his invitation, but where will one find Jesus? We still find him standing up to those who seek to change the gospel message, sitting with those who are hurting and embracing those who are rejected by the world. To follow Jesus is to embrace the consequences of doing these same things. Why? Because as Jesus has changed our hearts he has enabled us to love those whom he loves. He moves us to sacrifice for the sake of bringing blessing to another. He empowers us to suffer in the hope that by our actions others might come to know his love as we know it.
 
The disciples were all martyred for the gospel of Jesus except for John. I do not think that any of them looked back with regret at leaving their old lives behind when Jesus called them to follow him. The privilege of having Jesus walk with me, carry me, through life is worth giving up any plans I had for myself. The joy of knowing love as HE pours it out so much greater than anything I might ever give up. I can never brag of my faith life—all I have is a precious gift from HIM. May we thank God for the privilege of carrying his name by virtue of baptism. It is pure joy to follow him wherever he leads.
 
Holy Father, I thank you for calling me to be your child. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit, to fill my heart with your love, that I might joyfully follow Jesus in the way I think and act in love. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus. AMEN.

​12th Sunday after Pentecost – A (Proper 15)                                                 LSB #’s 763, 809, 649
Text – Galatians 6:9 NIV
 
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 
 
AT THE PROPER TIME
 
 
I’d like you to picture in your mind   making your way home on a quiet wintry night, in the year 1922.    Snow is lightly falling.   You’re tired, but you’re not driving a car.   The days have been long because you’re on a journey from several states away.   Then, you stop   to the bewilderment of your horse. 
You are gripped by an enchanted woods beckoning you to rest, to ponder, & to be lost in the beauty of a silent night where all is still.   Though the pull of scene is strong,   & you are longing to rest, you cannot.   Your journey is not finished with miles to go before you sleep, miles to go before you sleep, & there are promises to those awaiting   that you must keep. 
If you put your talents & abilities in service to the Lord, you know about longing, though not for beautiful scenery in nature or for rest in this world.   You are longing for heaven because of the weariness of being a Christian.   It is exhausting.   Jesus knows it first-hand.   The Great Deceiver is constantly attacking   in order to wear you out. 
Our Creator calls us to refuse the allurements of the world, & to beat down our ever-tempting flesh.  In addition, we have the call of Jesus to labor for bringing home His people, to make a difference on our way to heaven.    For us to do so, you & I need the resolve of the character in Robert Frost’s poem.   You are not home yet.   Neither am I. 
We have miles to go before we rest, miles to go before we sleep, so let us not grow weary in what our Lord & Savior calls us to.   It will be worth the toil when our journey is over.  As the Apostle wrote, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  (Galatians 6:9 ESV)   We’re tempted to give up because we’re blind to the real issue behind the everyday struggles of life.  Those challenges are constantly in front of us, so they become an invisible part of the fabric of our lives.   That is what sin is like for sinners.   It has been such an integral part of our lives that we are blind to it. 
Where do you find rest in this broken world if you don’t even realize you need it?  Does that seem a strange question?   “Pastor,   we all know we need rest, & we long for it,” you say.   But I’m not talking about time off or taking a nap.   Do you see now how sin has been so ingrained in your lives you don’t even notice it?    Sin is what you need rest from. 
Sin is the real issue underneath all the everyday struggles of life.  Taking a nap will not cure it.   Sin will never go away here on earth, & the struggles it hides behind change as years go by.   When we’re young, we struggle to be older.   Once we’re old, we wish we were younger.   When we’re poor we struggle to get money.  When wealthy we strive to keep money. 
In the reading from Galatians, St. Paul urges us not to become weary in doing good.  He knew that struggle!  Paul described it well in his letter to the church at Rome, “…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 7:18b-19 ESV) 
Beginning tomorrow, there are many things that will change at St. Matthew Lutheran Church.  Some of those haven’t changed in over 22 years.  Your struggle to do good will take on dimensions you have not had to confront in a long time.  Those new challenges will bring on weariness in ways you no longer remember.  The devil will be tempting you to give up. 
That’s why St. Paul wrote the words of the sermon text, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  (Galatians 6:9 ESV)  He knew that the proper time was on its way.  He wanted the people in Galatia to know that the proper time was on its way.  The Holy Spirit wanted future Christians, like yourselves, to know that the proper time is on its way.  You will see the glory of that day with your own eyes.  That is when everything good that has been accomplished will be revealed.   If we surrender to weariness & give up, the good we could have done will leave nothing to be revealed. 
I believe that the proper time for me to retire has come, yet that is not the Proper Time St. Paul was writing of.  My retirement will provide little in the way of encouragement for you to not give up when you grow weary.  Paul writes to encourage us by referring to the Last Day of time.  That is when God’s children will see the entire harvest of our labors in the Lord. 
After all the struggles we endured,  whether raising children,  dealing with co-workers, fighting about the color of the church carpeting,  or simply giving heartbroken friends & family a shoulder to lean on,  when the trumpet sounds & Christ returns,  every life that was touched by the love of Jesus  will be revealed.   What a celebration to look forward to. 
A countless number of men, women & children have passed through this building over the years.  You’ve probably encountered a few thousand people yourself in your lifetime.  The Holy Spirit was working salvation through you, & through this congregation, whether anyone knew it or not.  He did that in many ways that were never noticed. 
Satan comes to steal, to kill & to destroy.  Human beings end up wounded, even broken, by the devil’s work.  Jesus became a human being all for the purpose of bringing life & healing into the lives of wounded people.   My retirement is wounding some of you.  There’s no getting around that.  It’s okay to feel hurt.  It’s okay to grieve because Jesus came to bring healing. 
Conflicting emotions are normal in a sin-broken world.  God does not expect us to deny them, or to suppress them.  Just like when a loved one dies, it is healthy to express our feelings.  Keeping them pent up inside allows Satan to work his destruction.  If you encounter people who are happy that I’m retiring, you don’t need to defend my name or reputation.   I have been guilty of sin during my entire 27 years of being a pastor.  It is Jesus Christ who defends sinners through His crucifixion & death on account of our sins.   Jesus defends sinners by rising from the dead so that you can be raised at the proper time to a life in heaven with no more sin. 
The amazing celebration that awaits God’s children on that Last Day is a free gift from the Creator of heaven & earth.  He wants you to be there.  Satan wants to draw you away from the people of God, & he’s often most successful when circumstances change & your church is no longer the way it used to be.  Jesus died to cover those times that we surrender to weariness. 
Rather than longing for the past, St. Paul encourages us to long for the future; to think of that Proper Time, that most amazing gift, as motivation to keep going, & to not give up.   Yes, we will be weary in this life, we will long to rest   especially from doing good.   Jesus earned heaven for us because He knew we would give up if we had to earn it for ourselves. 
Isaiah encouraged us in the OT lesson: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Keep justice, & do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, & my righteousness be revealed.’”  (56:1 ESV)   This morning, the Holy Spirit is giving you another chance to re-center your hope in the resurrection of the dead to life eternal.  Heaven will make all our struggles here worthwhile. 
The next time you’re gripped by something like an enchanted woods,  beckoning you to rest instead of doing good,  lean upon Jesus as you remember these words, “The woods are lovely, dark & deep,  But  we have promises to keep,    And miles to go before we sleep,  And miles to go  before we sleep.”[1]  Amen. 
 
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; there is no shadow of turning with Thee.  Thou changest not:  Thy compassions, they fail not;     as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.  Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!  Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!  LSB 809:1.


[1] Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, Robert Frost, 1922.