25 May 2008 St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
Pentecost 2
“”Whose Really
Serving Who?
Text: Matthew
6:24-34 (Isaiah 49:8-16a; Romans 1:8-17)
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God
our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
“You cannot serve God and money,” Jesus told us
today. The old (and better) translations
for the word money in that verse was mammon
– meaning all the things and possessions of this world and life. Food,
drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods. (Small
Catechism, Explanation to the Fourth Petition)
Only one thing can have first place in your life – God, or something
else. And so with these words, Jesus
issues a challenge to you today, and asks: which will it be? Whom will you serve: God, or mammon?
It may seem odd asking that question in
a church where most of you are here every Sunday, and where you give very
generously to the work of this church, and to many other special causes! Of course (you have shown), the answer is
God! That’s
why you’re here. . . . But oh, that it were that easy! For while we know what the answer should be, is that always the case with
us? Or do our thoughts, words, deeds,
and desires betray something else lurking within us? For consider: what informs your thoughts and
opinions and fills your mind more: the Word or the world? Where do you look for the answers to your
problems, or to satisfy your desires: to prayer or to power and possessions? What do you most often crave and covet: God,
or gold? When push comes to shove, who or
what most often gets pushed and shoved out of the way: God or mammon?
If you’re like me, you don’t like the
answers to those questions that came up in your mind! And put in those ways, the challenge becomes
a bit more difficult, does it not? The saint in you, born of water and the
Spirit in Holy Baptism, knows the answer and wants to live in righteousness and
faith, and do the right things . . . while the
sinner in you fights against that faith and those holy desires, and makes
you doubt and worry and fear and chase after the things of this world for your
satisfaction and security. And so Jesus’
challenge today is issued not just so that we know the right answer, but to reveal
to us the battle that rages inside each and every one of us. The battle that is fought not just on
Sundays, but each and every day of our lives.
The battle where ground zero in this spiritual war is not out there, but
in here – in your heart.
And if you doubt the seriousness or
importance of this battle, just look at the carnage that lies all around
us. Children who grow up without fathers
who are working all the time. Mothers
who abort their babies to pursue their careers.
Lawsuits between family and friends, and fighting over
inheritances. Coveting that has led to
unmanageable debt and now housing foreclosures.
Jealousy and rivalry has led to increasing isolation and competition. Teenagers have been killed for brand name
jackets and shoes. Investment schemes
think nothing of putting the retirement funds of many in jeopardy to serve the
desires of a few. And if you’re thinking
to yourself “I’m not that bad” (and maybe you’re not), the
warning to us today is that it is the same
sin that is in your heart; the same
bowing down to the false gods of this world; the same struggle that divides you, that left to grow and flower
produces these things. A heart deadened
in sin. A heart turned in on
itself. A heart that thinks not: if I do this what will happen to my neighbor,
but that thinks: if I don’t do this, what
will happen to me?
Mammon is a ruthless and insatiable god.
So what is the answer? How do we answer the challenge? How do we win the battle raging within each
of us? Do we try harder? Become more dedicated? Resolve to do better? No, none of these. Because as I have said from this pulpit
before, most of you, if not all of you, have tried that already – and it hasn’t
worked. Maybe for a little while it did,
but then the cares and concerns and challenges of this life overwhelmed, and
the attacks of satan increased, and the demands and desires welled up . . . and
all your strength and all your sincerity, could not do it. Or as Jesus put it: “Which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his span of life?”
There is only one solution: to die.
For you cannot give yourself life, and the rebellious, self-centered sinner
in us cannot be changed or improved or reformed – it must die a death that
leads to a new life. And so in this
battle between God and mammon, we win the fight not by relying on our own
strength, but falling on our knees in repentance, and relying on the strength
and power of the death and resurrection of Christ. For as we heard from
For life isn’t just about getting what
we need in this world, or using God
to get what we want in this world –
is that really all there is? Or is Jesus
today focusing our eyes on a bigger picture?
Beyond the near-sightedness of this world, to a life which doesn’t
mean rejecting the things of this world, but having them and using them and
enjoying them in a good way. A life
where they serve us, not where we serve them!
A life that transcends what I own, or what I can control. A life that I live now, but which will not
end in 70, 80, or 100 years.
That is the life that Jesus has come to
restore to us. To set us free from our
slavery to and idolatry of the things of this world, to set us free from our
lusts and desires, and give us something greater. A life that is full and joyful with much or
with little; in good times or in bad; when the road is smooth or when it is
rocky. And yes, life that not even death
can end.
That is the life of Christ, here for
you. The life and resurrection given to
you each time your sins are forgiven.
The life and resurrection given to you each time you eat the body and
drink the blood of Jesus here in His Supper.
The life and resurrection given to you as Christ Himself comes here to
serve you, to take you, and to raise you.
To raise you to a life in this world but not of this
world. To give you that life that so
many seek, but cannot find, because they are looking in the wrong places. For there is only one place where that life
can be found – in the One who created us, who has come to redeem us, and now
still comes to sanctify us. Only the One
who is life can give life, and that is the very thing He has come to do! Taking our death in His death, and restoring
our life in His life. Not the same old
life, but a new life.
And how appropriate that we think on
such things on this Memorial Day weekend – the day our nation has set aside to
remember those who have served our country and given their lives that we may
live in freedom and peace. Today we remember
the One whose death won freedom for us from sin, death, and the devil. The One who established peace not just
between nations, but between God and man.
The One who came onto the battlefield we created, to end the war, once
and for all. And for all this He won no
medals or special honors – He won you.
And you He remembers not one day a year, but each and every day and
moment of your life! For as He said
through the prophet Isaiah today: “I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of
my hands.” And you can be sure that
those hands with memorial holes, that came to serve, serve you still.
So whom will you serve: God or mammon? We started with that question, but look where
we ended – with God serving us, in Christ Jesus. And that is how it should be. For only when He serves us, can we then serve
Him.
In the name of the Father and of the +
Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our
Lord. Amen.