Sermon – Pastor Rick Marrs, June 30, 2002, 6th Sunday after Pentecost 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 Gospel lesson (Matthew 10: 34-42) read earlier. A man in another congregation attended worship services regularly, but hadn't come to the Lord's Supper for months, a bit of a puzzlement to the new pastor. Finally he surprised the pastor by coming forward to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.   After the service the pastor asked the man what had moved him to the Lord's Supper this particular Sunday.   "Well, Pastor", he said, "every week I try to live my life as best I can. I kept trying for a perfect week so that I can be worth to go to the Lord's Table. But something always happens – I do something wrong or say something I shouldn't have said. But this week I didn't do anything wrong. This week I was worthy to go the Lord's Supper." (from Rev. Steven Bielenberg in Concordia Pulpit Resource, June 2002) What a sad, disappointing and wrong answer! This man who had struggled so hard to be sinless did not understand that Christ had come not to be our model of perfection, but to be perfect in our stead. Christ had not come for us to earn our worthiness. He came to make us worthy through his sacrifice at the cross and grave. This man who had struggled so hard to be perfect and worthy didn't realize that on his own he would never be worthy to receive Christ's body and blood, never on even his best week. What he didn't realize was that Christ's body and blood was not a reward for his earthly worthiness, but a medication for his sin. What he didn't realize was that what he truly needed all those past months was repentance for the sins he had committed, a repentance that would bring him to the Lord's table begging for – and receiving – his Lord's forgiveness. The only thing that can make us worthy is trusting in Jesus Christ. Unworthy as we are, his death and resurrection ransom us and make us worthy of his love. A school teacher asked her class to finish the sentence "Cleanliness is next to …" One young boy in the class raised his hand and said 'impossible!' When it comes to making ourselves clean and worthy so that we can take communion or enter heaven, this little boy's assertion is more than true. It is impossible to live 'clean enough' to enter the presence of God. That is why Jesus shed his blood – to cleanse us from all sin and make us worthy of the Father's presence (from www.net153.com/salvation.htm.) But knowing and trusting this to be true, how do we make sense of Christ's words in our Gospel lesson? Christ, the Prince of Peace says He has not come to bring peace to this earth, but a sword? He has come to turn family member against family member? Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Jesus is not worthy of him? Our Lord knows that his message of love and free grace will not be accepted by everyone. The world is full of people who want to either ignore God or find a way to make themselves worthy of him on their own. His message of eternal peace between God and man will bring temporary division here on earth. He is going to Jerusalem to complete that division on the cross. Sinful men will reject his message and crucify him, some because they want to ignore God, some because they think they can find a way to make themselves worthy of God on their own. But Jesus knows that only his message of the cross, of sacrifice will reach into the hearts of sinners, to show them of his love. He later teaches his disciples more about how to tell others about his message, of how to be worthy, effective followers. Matthew 25: 37 (On the last day) Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' A Civil War Chaplain approached a wounded soldier on the battlefield and asked if he would like to hear a few verses from the Bible. The wounded soldier said, "No, I'm thirsty. I'd rather have some water." The chaplain gave him a drink and repeated his question. "No sir, not now – but could you put something under my head?" The chaplain did so and again repeated the question "Would you like to hear a few verses from the Bible?" "No, I'm cold" was the reply. The chaplain took off his inside coat and wrapped it around the soldier, but this time he did not repeat the question.   He was starting to leave when the soldier called him back. "Look, Chaplain," he said, "if there's anything in that book of yours that makes a person do for another what you've done for me, then I want to hear it." (from Carlos Wilson, via PresbyNet Sermonshop, April 1994). Our Lord makes us worthy of Him and his forgiveness, then teaches us in this lesson how to share his message to others. Sometimes we will not even realize what we done to share that message nor how it might influence others to follow Jesus too. During the Second World War Dr. Ernest Gordon, later Chaplain of Princeton University, was a prisoner of war in Thailand. In his book, Through the Valley of the Kwai he reflects on the difference between two Christmas seasons he spent in prison. He says that in Christmas 1942 there were thousands of American soldiers in that prison who robbed the sick among them, mistreated one another, and did not care whether the other prisoners lived or died. During the following year, a healthy American soldier began giving his food to a sick buddy to help him get well. In time the sick prisoner recovered, but the buddy who had given him food died of malnutrition. The story of the man who sacrificed his life to save a buddy made the rounds of the camp. Some of the prisoners remarked that he was a lot like Christ. Some of the soldiers began to recall passages from the Bible they had learned years earlier under far different circumstances. One of the passages stated, "This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15: 13) Some who were Christians took heart and began to witness to other men. The prisoners began to ask about Christ and to meet for Bible study. When they began to know Christ as Lord the entire atmosphere in the camp changed from despair and desperation to hope and compassion. When Christmas of 1943 arrived, Dr. Gordon said, 2000 prisoners assembled for worship. They sang carols and someone read the story of the birth of Jesus from a Gospel account. Much more was different. In spite of their hunger, prisoners who were healthier shared food with the sick to help them gain strength faster. They cared for one another. They agreed that the difference came about because of faith in Christ and people who lived his love in the midst of unloving circumstances. The sacrifice of one man led to an opening for the Gospel to be heard by thousands, and they responded. (From Dr. Wayne Peterson, Critical Choices as taken from esermons.com) I pray that none of us are ever to work for the Lord in a prison camp. I pray that none of you are ever rejected by family and friends because you trust and follow Christ. But to show his grace to the world God has prepared good works in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2: 10), to be faithful in dispensing the blessings God has given us. If God has given us cool water, he will give us opportunities to dispense it to others. God has given us many opportunities to serve his little ones and tell them of Jesus love through our Sunday School, our Vacation Bible School, our Early Childhood Center. He gives us other opportunities with adults as well, to visit the sick and prisoners, to provide clothing and food to the needy in his name. A church sign said "Come, work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low, but the retirement benefits are out of this world." (from an internet list of church signs). Let us never shy away from following the Lord who loved us so much that he gave up his life for us. Amen.