Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text on which this morning's message is based comes from our Epistle lesson (1 Peter 3: 15ff) read earlier.
I like watching the game show Jeopardy. I don't get to watch it often, but if I am home before 5:00 or 5: 30, it is sometimes on in our home. I'm glad my kids like to watch such a show. It helps to teach them a variety of trivia, some important, some unimportant, but information that Laura and I can sometimes use to stimulate other discussions with them. I like watching Jeopardy, but to be honest, I would never try out to be a Jeopardy contestant. On many topics they use, I could do well, especially when they have a Bible or religion category. But I would never try out to be a Jeopardy contestant because I don't think and give answers that quickly. I read the statements on the board, and in the first seconds I get a vague impression that I know the answer (actually in Jeopardy you have to phrase it in the form of a question). But its not until a few seconds later does my vague impression actually form into a clear answer/question, and by that time somebody else would have rung in ahead of me. If I ever did get on Jeopardy, I could probably set some kind of record for know the most answers but having the least amount of money at the end of the game. My brain works pretty well, but not that quickly.
From our text Peter writes: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." I am so glad that Peter did NOT write "Always be prepared to give an answer about your faith in Jesus quickly, within 2 seconds after someone asks you. If Peter had written this way, I would be a failure at witnessing my Christian faith, I would never have considered being a professional worker in the church, especially a pastor. But, to my joy, Peter didn't write "give an answer quickly." He instructed his readers to be "prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Do this with gentleness and respect." I might not be able to give an answer quick enough to win $15,000 on Jeopardy, but I can give an answer with gentleness and respect. I can tell them that Jesus Christ, the one unique Son of God came from heaven to suffer, die and rise again for their hope and reconnection with God. If they have more specific questions, I might not be able to tell someone exactly what chapter and verse an answer comes from. But I can generally say, "Oh yeah, Paul addresses that issue in the last chapters of his letter to the Romans (or Corinthians or wherever it might be)." Then I can look up and read God's Word on that issue with them.
I think we Christians too often fear giving others a wrong answer that we neglect giving any answers to their faith questions at all. But we live in a world that is struggling to find Jesus Christ, and he has left us here to do his work with His Word, giving those answers, not necessarily quickly, but with gentleness and respect.
((Coming out of the pulpit)) I'd like you to take out the "Sermon Notes Form" that is inserted in your bulletin. This form is what I use with my catechumens (the 6-8th graders who are learning the core teachings of the Bible and our church through Luther's Small Catechism). This form is designed to help them learn how to listen to a sermon, what to listen for. The young catechumens are to complete 30 of these before their confirmation service. Notice some of the 1st details: Name, date, type of liturgy, sermon text, even church attended. They can do a handful of these through visiting other churches as well.
Our sermon text for today is 1 Peter 3: 15ff and the first "illustration I've used is the game show Jeopardy. I'm hoping, praying that this illustration will help you understand and remember that when you have an opportunity to share your faith in Jesus Christ with someone who asks about him, you won't think you have to give your answer quickly, like in a game show. But I do hope that this illustration will help you remember to give your answers, prepared as best you can through constantly reading God's Word, to give your answers with gentleness and respect, with a clear conscience, to strengthen the reputation of Christ in our world (see Luther on the First Petition of the Lord's Prayer, Small Catechism). I will use various illustrations in sermons, always trying to find something that will help most or all of you to understand and remember the text. Last week I told the story of Rev. Nadasdy being hopelessly lost in the winter woods to illustrate Jesus as the one Way, Truth, and Life. I will sometimes choose illustrations more fitting for those over 50, like old movies or historical events. I will sometimes use illustrations geared more for you under 25, like sports or school events. But always I pray that these illustrations, be they stories or visuals or personal vignettes or whatever, I hope that they will help to make these words, written 2000-3000 years ago become more meaningful for your life today. I'm going back to the pulpit now.
Why do we want to be prepared to give these gentle and respectful answers to faith questions? Because our Lord, who loves us so much, instructs us to. Peter says: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord." Jesus said in the words we heard last week at Lindsey Ascher's baptism "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to protect/treasure everything I have commanded you." Humanity, since Adam and Eve first sinned, has fallen far short of God's righteous expectation of perfection. Christ died for sins once for all. Our God is a saving God. He saved his faithful people, Noah and his family, from the destruction of the flood through the ark. He has saved us by uniting us in baptism into Christ's death and resurrection.
((Coming out of the pulpit again)) Back to the Sermon Notes form. In a sermon I and most preachers will include other Bible verses, to show and support the consistency of scripture with the reading. Scripture interprets Scripture, and we use the interconnections between verses to help us understand those verses that are more difficult. Here I quoted Matthew 28, the Great Commission.
Sin must also be addressed in a sermon. Without acknowledgement of our sin, our disobedience to God and His Word, the story of Christ and the Gospel make no sense. We are helpless sinners before our righteous God, guilty in his heavenly hall of justice.
Our text today is not overly explicit about any particular sins. Not being prepared to give answers to our faith and not setting apart Christ as Lord in our hearts would be implicit sin. Not being gentle and respectful to others would be implicit as well. But other texts will be explicit. Luther writes in the Small Catechism "Consider your place in life according to the 10 Commandments." I'll go backwards.
Do you covet, pursue strongly other things or people more than you do God? Do you talk about others in negative, even untruthful light? Do you take property from others? Do you dishonor your wife or husband in any way? Do you hurt other people physically in any way? Do you anger or disobey your parents or other authorities? Do you ignore God's sacred word on a regular basis? Do you curse or swear by God's name? Do you fear, love and trust other things above your God?
We are infected with this predisposition to sin and go against God's Word. But yet he calls us to repent and turn to him for forgiveness. His grace, shown to us in his Son Jesus Christ covers over our sins. That grace comes to us in a variety of ways. The most common answer to this item on the Form is "Christ die on the cross for me." That would be a correct answer for this sermon. But that is not the only answer in each sermon or text, including this one. From verse 21: "baptism that now saves you also." God brings us his grace in a variety of forms: Baptism that unites us to him, Confession and Absolution that makes explicit our sin and our forgiveness, the Lord's Supper which we will celebrate in a few minutes, which also gives us life, forgiveness, and salvation by individually connecting us with Christ's heavenly body.
What should you remember from this sermon? I have to leave that to you. But if you ever want to give me feedback about what was meaningful, or not, to you, feel free to fill out one of these forms. They are always available in the Atrium, the lower right hand corner of the mailboxes. That is where the confirmands pick them up and return them. If you want to fill them out to, either with your name on it or anonymous, I'd appreciate the feedback. At the bottom there are additional items about the other readings and hymns, rounding out the service experience. In these services our God comes to us with the most precious commodity in the world, His Word. Our Lord speaks his words of Law and Gospel to us. We listen and respond.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us forever. Amen.