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“Jesus and the Canine-ite Woman” (Matthew 15:21-28)How is it with your faith? Do you have a strong faith, strong enough to persevere, in spite of obstacles? Or is it a faith that easily gives up? How is it with your faith? Or to put it another way: How do you view God? Do you see him as holding out on you? As being stingy with his gifts? Unwilling to help? Or do you see him, rather, as rich in mercy, abounding in grace, ready and willing to help? What kind of faith, in what kind of God--that is the question...

“The What and the Why of the Weeds and the Wheat” (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)Last week we heard Jesus tell us the Parable of the Sower, from Matthew 13. Today’s Gospel reading likewise comes from Matthew 13; it’s the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. In fact, Matthew 13 is a whole chapter full of parables, seven of them altogether. Some of these parables are shorter, some are longer. Some are explained by Jesus, some of them are left unexplained. Today’s parable is one of the longer ones in the chapter, and Jesus does explain it. Therefore, what it means...

“The Parable of the Sower” (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)Many of you have gardens. And all of us--whether we’re gardeners with a green thumb, or just simply couch potatoes whose thumb never gets off the remote control--all of us probably know something about planting seeds. We know that not all the seeds which are planted into the ground end up as full-grown plants. Some of the seeds which are planted don’t make it along the way, for a variety of reasons. But even so, we know that the seeds we plant will, in many cases, produce plants and yield a crop of...

“Rest for the Weary” (Matthew 11:25-30; Romans 7:14-25a)“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Jesus here issues a wonderful invitation and makes a wonderful promise. “Come to me” is the invitation, and “I will give you rest” is the promise. And to whom does he address this invitation and this promise? To “all who labor and...

“Two Battles: The Battle from Without” (Matthew 10:34-42)Over today and next Sunday I want to talk to you about “Two Battles.” These are two battles every Christian is called upon to fight, from the time we are baptized till the day we die. There is no opting out. You are engaged in these battles whether you realize it or not. So the thing to do is to fight them well, and that means we need help. For on our own we would not be strong enough to prevail. What are these two battles? Simply put, they are, first, “The Battle...

“Don’t Be Afraid to Confess Christ” (Matthew 10:5a, 21-33)What are you afraid of? I mean, what are you afraid of, as far as being a Christian? Are there things to be afraid of, that might happen to you because you are a Christian? Let’s think about that today. That’s what Jesus talks to his disciples about in the Gospel reading for today. He tells them, yes, there are things that might scare you, there are some bad things that might happen to you, precisely because you are my disciples. But the bigger thing Jesus tells them is what he will...

“The Compassionate Authority of Jesus Extended” (Matthew 9:35 – 10:8)“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” So we read in our text for today from the Gospel of Matthew. That particular verse is Matthew 9:35, but its sounds a lot like a verse we read about five chapters earlier, in Matthew 4:23: “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” The...

Watch this video where Chris Matthews displays his utter lack of class with Keith Olbermann. While almost every other journalist and blogger on both sides of the political spectrum are giving condolences and highlighting Russert’s deserved credit of being one of the most fair and unbiased journalists of today’s media, Chris Matthews used the opportunity to go off on an anti-war rant. He added insult by comparing him to the “American people” in the sense of being fooled by the Bush administration into supporting the war. Besides displaying how opposite he is than Russert on the subject of bias, he...

“Follow Me, the Doctor of Mercy” (Matthew 9:9-13)As many of you know, this is the “Year of St. Matthew” in our lectionary series. Matthew’s Gospel is the one that we’re following this year. But in our text this morning, we see Matthew himself doing the following. St. Matthew hears the call to follow, and we, the people of St. Matthew Lutheran Church--we hear it also, the call of Jesus, “Follow me.” St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, had something in common with quite a few pastors today (including this one): He was a “second-career man” in the ministry. The only thing...

“Location, Location, Location” (Matthew 7:24-27)Real estate agents will tell you there are three things that determine the value of a house: 1) location; 2) location; and 3) location. That old line may be somewhat exaggerated, but the point is clear enough: Location is extremely important in determining value. Where a house is located can make a huge difference in its value. Now if that saying about “location, location, location” is true of the physical houses we build, how much more important is it when we talk about the spiritual “house” that everyone builds for him or herself. Where you build...

“Don’t Worry, Be Trusting” (Matthew 6:24-34)Welcome to the Non-Worriers Hall of Fame. In our exhibits you will meet some of the most famous non-worriers in history. These are the champions of carefree living, down through the centuries. Stress was a stranger to these advocates of the anxiety-free life. Here in our first display we meet Alfred E. Newman, the goofy-looking cover boy of Mad Magazine. Alfred’s motto is as famous as his gap-toothed grin. It’s the simple question, “What, me worry?” Next in our Hall of Non-Worriers we come to the well-known singer Bobby McFerrin. Bobby captured the airwaves in...

“In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb” (Matthew 21:1-11; 26:1 – 27:66)“In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb.” Have you heard that saying before? It’s used in reference to the month of March. The idea is that usually March comes in “like a lion”--the weather to begin the month is harsh and cold--and then at the other end, March goes out “like a lamb”--the weather is fair and mild. This year March started out with a few days of lamb-like weather, then the lion roared into our area, and now we’re sort of in-between. What’s in between a...

“Renewed in Practicing Your Righteousness” (Matt. 6:1-6, 16-21)Every year the church has a season of renewal, and it’s called Lent. Today, Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent, the first of forty days. During this time of year, the sun is getting stronger, the days are getting longer. That’s how Lent got its name, by the way. This is when the days “lengthen,” and so it’s called the “Lenten” season. And just as Lent begins in the dead of winter and presses forward into spring, so the Lord will bring his people from deadness to life, from coldness to...

“Every Picture Tells a Story” (Matthew 17:1-9)Today is the Transfiguration of Our Lord. “Trans-fig-uration?” you say. “What’s that?” That’s a word you don’t use every day. And that’s OK. Because this was an event you don’t see every day, either. And one, if you did see it, you would never forget. That’s why Peter, writing many years later, remembered it so vividly. He says of Christ: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with...

“See the Light, Be the Light” (Matt. 4:12-25; 5:14-16)This year, because Easter will be falling on March 23, the earliest date in any of our lifetimes, we are having the shortest possible Epiphany season we can have. As a result, some of the Gospel readings we would normally hear on the Sundays after the Epiphany are being cut out. One of those readings would be from Matthew 5, and I’ve printed a few verses of it in your bulletin for today. Matthew 5:14-16, where Jesus tells his disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a...

“Baptized with Sinners, Anointed for Service, Manifested as God’s Son” (Matthew 3:13-17)On this first Sunday after the Epiphany, the Gospel reading every year is the account of the Baptism of Our Lord, that great event when our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Heaven was opened. The Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. And the Father’s voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Today I want to say three things about this baptism, three things on which your very salvation depends:...

“The One That Got Away” (Matthew 2:13-23)Christmas is a joyous, happy holiday. At this time of year we celebrate the “good news of great joy,” that to us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. With the angels who give glory to God in the highest, with the shepherds who return glorifying and praising God, with the wise men who rejoice exceedingly with great joy, we too join in the joy of Christmas. Yes, Christmas is a joyous, happy holiday. That is true within the church. But perhaps even more so, it’s true in the culture around us....

“You Shall Call His Name Jesus” (Matthew 1:18-25)“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”The ancient Romans had a saying, Nomen est omen. Nomen est omen, which means, “The name,” nomen, “is a sign,” an omen. In other words, a person’s name sometimes, mysteriously, is a sign or omen of what is to come for that person. For example, if a little...

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From the Deportation to the Christ” (Matthew 1:1, 12-17)During this Advent season, we are preparing to meet and greet our coming king. The King is coming--to us, for us--coming at Christmas, coming at the end of time, coming now into our midst through Word and Sacrament. So we prepare to meet him--in repentance, in faith, in holy joy. That’s what Advent is all about. But this king we are preparing to meet--this king who comes to us--this is a lowly king. Lowly, not high. Lowly, humble, coming in a way you might not expect. Our...

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From David to the Deportation” (Matthew 1:1, 6b-11)Last week we began looking at how Matthew begins his gospel--for that matter, the whole New Testament. He begins with a genealogy, a genealogy that takes in much of Old Testament history. It is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. But Jesus was, first of all, the Savior of Israel, the promised Messiah, the one who fulfilled the promises given to Israel’s forefathers. It was as the fulfillment of those promises that Jesus came into the world--as the culmination, the climax, of Israel’s history....