Trinity XVI - 09.20.2026

To What Do You Cling?

All 3 Texts & Hymn #708

We pray Luther's Prayer before the sermon:  Eternal God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, give us Your Holy Spirit who writes the preached Word into our hearts.  May we receive and believe it and be cheered and comforted by it in eternity.  Glorify Your Word in our hearts and make it so bright and warm that we may find pleasure in it, through Your Holy Spirit think what is right, and by Your power, fulfill the Word, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord.  Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

In our Epistle lesson Paul writes, I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you. Why? For it is for their glory.

Paul is suffering persecution for two reasons.

First, He is persecuted by the Jews because He is proclaiming that salvation comes through Christ Jesus. He had been one who was persecuting those who believed that Jesus died and rose again, who trusted that their salvation came in the work of the Word of God made flesh.

He is also being persecuted for claiming that the ceremonial laws are fulfilled in Christ, and that Gentiles are fellow-heirs, equal to those who are by blood, descendants of Abraham.

It is for their glory, for they trust in Christ. Paul’s suffering is because he states that they are equals, for they are also saved by faith in Christ Jesus. Christ is their glory and it is to Christ crucified that Paul directs them to trust.

The son of the widow of Zarephath who was feeding Elijah dies. Sorrow fills her heart. She declares to Elijah, “You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”

Jesus, enters the city of Nain and encounters a widow. She is accompanied by the mourning crowd going out of the city with her to bury her only son.

I can hear people saying, “Nobody should ever have to bury their own children.” Some others might say, “Children should never pre-decease their parents, a loving God would never do that!”

I will admit that I would be deeply grieved were one of my sons to pre-decease me. Even more would Pauline be affected, she carried them both in her own body. There is a bond that comes from that which father’s cannot fathom. Either way, you cannot claim to love and not be deeply moved by the death of one you have loved.

However…please listen very closely to ALL that I am about to say.

However…according to what is revealed about sinfulness in Scripture, that the wages of sin is death, maybe what we should truly ask is this, “which of us deserves to live past childhood?”

At least, that should be the question of all those who truly realize what our sinfulness deserves from the hand of God.

That widow of Zarephath recognized that sin was the cause of her son’s death. In fact, she thought that it was punishment upon her for her own sin.

Do we understand the consequences of sinfulness as do those whose lives Scripture explores? In many of the miracles of Jesus’ healings, the role of sinfulness to bring about the original affliction in the one be healed are mentioned.

Jesus’ disciples asked about the man born blind, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (Jn 9:2)

The disciples understood blindness as a by-product of sinfulness.

When the friends of the paralytic made a hole through the roof to lower him before Jesus on his mat, what happened? Jesus saw their faith and so spoke to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mk 2:5) He took care of the man’s greater concern before healing him of his paralysis.

As we heard the last two weeks, mammon – the things of the world – are an unholy attraction to which we are woefully enamored.

The world does not like Christ! We see that every day with those who belittle Christians, making fun of those who stand firmly upon God’s Word.

What is more, we can see how the love of mammon has affected Christian denominations and individual congregations – in our area and abroad. It is plainly visible in which sinful behaviors and worldly viewpoints are made acceptable and taught in their midst as god-pleasing.

It is into His fallen creation that our Creator Himself stepped in our human flesh. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Having told His disciples about His approaching death at the hands of the chief priests, Peter, on the Mount of Transfiguration suggested they build places to stay up there rather than come down and Jesus be killed.

While His disciples fled when He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus submitted to liars and their infatuation of their place in the world. He permitted an unbeliever, a pagan of the lowest order, to sentence Him to death upon a cross.

In doing this all, He was like a lamb led to the slaughter, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He said it this way, “I am the good shepherd…I lay down my life for the sheep…For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it (My life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (Jn 10:14-18)

Your Shepherd lays down His life for you. He takes up His life again on the third day, the tomb is empty and He comes before His disciples in the upper room. In fear of the things of this world, they are hiding out. Jesus finds them in their fear and says, “Peace be with you.”(Jn. 20:19) Only Jesus can bring calm and strength to failing faith.

It is this same Jesus who confronts death at the gate to the city of Nain. The Lord of Life bestows life because it is He who overcomes death with His own death.

It is this same Lord of Life who visits the upper room and bestows life to the breast of son of the widow of Zarephath.

Oh the joy this brings to you in your life. You know that you have the life of Christ in you, for you are baptized into Christ – His death and resurrection are yours.

He feeds you Himself in the meal of His own flesh and blood set before you today.

All your cares and concerns, your doubts and fears, He has vanquished in His triumph over sin and death.

Today, that faith is expressed so beautifully in the hymn we sang before our service began.

It’s author, Pastor Martin Schalling underwent persecution because he tenaciously held fast to Christ. When mammon tempted the church of his day to abandon truth, he stood firm. He would not go along with the Calvinists, regarding their false teaching on the Lord’s Supper. His ruler, Elector Fredrich III, declared the Calvinist falsehood would be taught in all the congregations of his area. Pr. Schalling refused to comply.

Because of this, Pr. Schalling was forced to leave his home, wife, and children under threat of death for his unwillingness to succumb to such false teachings. He was bereft of family, livelihood, and hope for the future because of his faithful adherence to the teaching the truth. His faith was bound to Christ, trusting that He would sustain Him.

His text that we sang is an incredibly wonderful example of confessing what is most true about our Christian faith.

It begins by stating the deepest desires of faith. Lord, Thee I love with all my heart; I pray Thee, ne'er from me depart, With tender mercy cheer me. We want God to be with us and to cheer our hearts in the face of all things.

In fact, mammon has not place in this confession. Earth has no pleasure I would share, Yea, heav'n itself were void and bare If Thou, Lord, wert not near me. Yes, let all the things of this world – indeed all the things I expect in heaven – be gone if You, Lord, were not near me.

Willing to give up steelhead fishing here – and a perfect knees and shoulders in heaven.

Willing to give up wife and children here – and all the perfection of the resurrection.

If Christ were not with me. God’s presence, His blessings, is more important than ANYTHING I have known in this life, even if it were prefect in eternity – if God were not with me.

And should my heart for sorrow break, My trust in Thee can nothing shake. Thou art the portion I have sought; Thy precious blood my soul has bought. Lord Jesus Christ, My God and Lord, my God and Lord, Forsake me not! I trust Thy Word.

This is the trust of God in true faith. It is a faith we do not attain to on our own. It is faith that is wrought only by the Holy Spirit. Faith that trusts God at His Word NO  MATTER  WHAT happens in this world!!!

Yea, Lord, 'twas Thy rich bounty gave My body, soul, and all I have In this poor life of labor. All I have is a rich bounty from God, no matter how poor I may think it to be in regard to anything I see around me, for I know the even greater and richer bounty that awaits me.

Lord, grant that I in ev'ry place May glorify Thy lavish grace And help and serve my neighbor. We glorify God, giving praise to His lavish grace by how we use all that He grants us in regard to mammon to serve our neighbor. Faith comprehends that we cannot outgive what the Lord graciously gives to us.

Let no false doctrine me beguile; And Satan not my soul defile. Give strength and patience unto me To bear my cross and follow Thee. Lord Jesus Christ, My God and Lord, my God and Lord, In death Thy comfort still afford.

I know the temptation of false doctrine. It sounds nice. It appeals to my human nature! It is extremely seductive! It is only by the grace of God in Christ Jesus that we endure faithful. It is only by His merciful goodness to us that we bear the crosses which comes into our lives when we stand firm in His Word – for God’s Word of truth is constantly assailed in this fallen world.

Lord, let at last Thine angels come, To Abram's bosom bear me home, That I may die unfearing; We do pray, “Thy Kingdom Come!” We mean it sincerely! We want to depart this life and be with Him in His kingdom for eternity. Knowing Christ died and rose from the dead, and that His resurrection is our future joy, we have no fear of what will come upon us at our last breath.

And in its narrow chamber keep My body safe in peaceful sleep Until Thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me, That these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face, My Savior and my fount of grace.

Your body and mine are God’s gracious gift to us. When embraced by the casket and tomb our bodies will rest, just as the dead are declared throughout Scripture to rest – in peaceful  sleep. God keeps this flesh. It will be awakened on the last day and perfected. On that day, with Job – and Pastor Schalling – we will rejoice to see our Savior, the Son of God, the pure fountain of all God’s grace to us, with our very own fleshly eyes.

This is the prayer of faith. It is what Christ has promised and delivers to us now and forever…

Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend, And I will praise Thee without end. Amen.