Sermon for November 18-19, 2017
Matthew 25:14-30

The Last Judgment as Hope and Terror
Near the end of his earthly ministry, the disciples asked Jesus to tell them when the end of the age would come, and what signs they might observe that would alert them that end was coming. Jesus told them that no one knows the day or the hour when the end will come, and he alerted them to signs that have been observed and noted in every generation since: wars, violence, hatred, divisiveness and oppression.

We note those signs even today, and we wonder if this might be the end, the great unraveling of creation. Deep down, we long for an end to war and violence; oppression and suffering; hunger and thirst and mourning and loss, and we cry out for justice and the start of a new day. And so, we have to recognize that something deep in us longs for the end to come and that longing is a cry for release from the powers that bring pain and suffering and death. We wait and watch for the end.

This is My Story; This is My Song
Psalm 70 and Luke 10:25-37

In St Augustine’s teaching on the spiritual meaning of this parable, we hear how the man who is robbed and beaten and left half dead is the human being. We are that person. In every spiritual sense we have been robbed by sin and left to die apart from God, and religious functionaries of every kind are powerless to help us. Only Christ can save us by taking on our human nature and healing our wounds and dying for our sins. Only Christ by his death and resurrection can give us eternal life. And that is what he gives us. He comes and rescues us. That is the good news of the Gospel.

Can you hear in this parable how we may start to tell our story, but end up telling God’s story of mercy and love for us in Jesus Christ? Our stories have converged in Christ. And in the church ... where we have been placed by Christ for rest and rehabilitation ... to learn again to trust God and love God above all things and to understand that loving our neighbor means getting out of ourselves and being neighbor to all in our lives.

​Na zdravie!

​This means “Good Health” in Slovak, and I remember my grandpa saying it all the time when I was growing up. It’s probably the only Slovak phrase I learned from him, but it’s a good one. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 99. I remember growing up and going to Zion Lutheran Church with him and my mom every Sunday. His father, my great-grandfather, was one of the founders of that church. Why am I telling you all of this information about my grandfather when the topic for this week is “My Story”?

​Pastor Krombholz's Sermon. Saturday, October 30, 2017
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Luke 10:25-37
Leviticus 19:1-4, 9-18, 33-37

In his explanation to the First Article of the Creed, Martin Luther confesses, “I believe that God created me together with all creatures.” In his book, Martin Luther's Theology, A Contemporary Interpretation, Luther scholar and theological Oswald Bayer notices that this confession of faith is both personal … God created me … and at the same time communal and relational … together with all creatures. From the beginning, God’s gift of life is a gift that is sustained by within a family and a community. Is it any wonder then, that the Ten Commandments begin with faith in God and work out in love toward neighbor.