Seventh Sunday of Easter (2025)

1 Peter 4:7-14

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, in our Epistle lesson today, St. Peter speaks to the Church at large and reminds us that the end continues to draw near, that great and glorious day that the Peter and all the Apostles waited to see, the return of Christ just as he had departed on Ascension day. With that in mind he encourages us to make good use of what God has given us in the days that we have. Not for our own benefit, but rather in light of the end of all things. This is a common theme throughout the Scriptures for it addresses the question of why are you here?

The Parables

Christ warned of the master’s return.

He speaks of the servant who is left in charge and misuses his possessions and mistreats his other servants and then the master returns in fury, or you have the parable of the talents where a master entrusts to several of his servants great amounts of wealth for them to make use of to benefit their master, but in each parable

In each parable, we’re to be good stewards.

To be wise in our dealings and make good use of what belongs to our master not for our own benefit but for his benefit and to accomplish his purposes in this world. But

What is a steward?

It comes from the greek word meaning one who governs or sets up rules for the house, a servant who is a manager of His master’s things, they don’t belong to him, but belong to His master and he makes sure they are made use in the ways his master desires. That’s why the hymn rightly says,

We Give Thee but ...

God has given us grace.

Now we miss this detail in the english, but in the greek, grace is charis, it is associated with joy and rejoicing, and also the word gift, charisma, this the grace, the gifts that God has given and we ought to rejoice in them. They aren’t just given for our own glory,

They come with duties.

With responsibilities and plans and an intent that God has for us to make use of them, and it is in these that we find our meaning, our role, our purpose here on earth. That’s why in the Small Catechism, there is a table of duties to remind us that while God gives to us different gifts that God has an intent and a guide for how we are to live.

It’s freedom with limits.

We tend to want absolute freedom that no one will tell me what to do or how to live, but when we do that we find ourselves wandering without much purpose or reason for existence, for sin corrupts us to use these gifts that God has given only for our own benefit.

When we Fall Short

Sin is failing in our duties.

Each gift that God has given was not intended just for our sake, but rather that we might be united with another. The connection between child and parent, teaches and demands much from both parties. Parent learn to show love to those who don’t always love you back. By so doing we learn to appreciate God’s love for us wayward children. Children learn the importance of honoring their parents instead of living with spirits of ingratitude and entitlement and realize that they need to learn to rely on others in this life and ought to be thankful. It is no mistake that God identifies himself as our heavenly Father. But in both of these positions we see what love is all about.

Love seeks another’s good.

It is to be taught first within the family, and then it extends out to the world, love that we show to our neighbors and our friends, and those around us, and especially love is to tie us together with spouse as we learn the challenges of love that is focused upon someone else. Love points us outward, and we see that most clearly at the Cross.

Jesus’ love saved us.

Jesus didn’t go to Calvary to save himself. The Son of God showed us what true love looks like as He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. For we needed this desperately. For it is easy to consider our sins and to minimize them, when we don’t think about the ones who are outside of us that they affect. We are upset when someone else negatively affects our family, but when we neglect our role, its ok for us to fail in our love, but not ok for strangers? This is why we are all called to repent, for we have fallen short, and why we are all in need of Jesus. For

Your Sins have Been Covered

Love covers our sins.

It washes them away by the blood that Christ shed for us on Calvary, He made covered over all our failings, and this is the love that grants to us hope and courage as we approach the Father this day at the altar. For this love and grace that has been poured into our hearts.

How are we stewards of grace?

For this is the greatest grace and gift that God has given us, that our sins are not counted against us and remembered no more for they are covered up by the love of Jesus. Well just as Jesus has covered up our sins, we too seek to forgive our neighbors. Instead of holding on to grudges and bitter disputes for what we desire is reconciliation for that is what Jesus has done for us, and in fact we

We ask for this in the Lord’s Prayer.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. For if Jesus has covered over our failings and our worst offenses that we may have peace with God, then how can we not do the same for our neighbor? For we are warned about this multiple times, for to refuse to forgive your neighbor and hold on to bitterness in your heart is to throw away the grace that God has showed you. Don’t fall victim to that, for that is not what Christ did for you while He suffered for your sins. He pleaded for your forgiveness with the Father in heaven. This Stewardship is in regards to eternal matters, what about life right now?

Temporal Stewardship

We look within family.

This is the place that God first places us. We see that parents were given means to provide and help their children, and children are to honor their parents with their words, their actions, and their thoughts. It continues past that as well, for one day parents must rely upon their children, and children are to help and provide for their parents for they loved and cared for you while you were helpless. It is also shown between husband and wife, as they work together for each other’s good. Not seeking their own benefits, but using what God has given each other to establish and create a home that is a bastion of peace in a world of chaos, but this can only truly be accomplished when Christ is at the center.

Next we look to our neighbors.

Now this happens not just in the conversations, we have while on the lawn or visiting together down by the lake, but also in our work. We use the gifts that God has given us to help our neighbors. Quite often sin creeps in here and corrupts what we are called to do. Be it the employer looking to provide for employees and looking to cut costs for their own bottom, or the employee who shows up late to work, or just phones in their job and spends it goofing off. The same with kids, at school student or teacher, the same principle applies, and also at a larger model between citizen and nation. Is it any wonder in a land that no longer looks to God, who gives us our vocations, that we are searching for meaning and not finding it within ourselves, when it was given us by our creator. Finally,

We also look at church.

As you know I’ve been looking at call documents, and so this has been before my eyes, that churches request and Pastors promise to fulfill 11 duties for the Congregation where the serve, I will not list all 11 right now, but just 3 for the sake of our sanity. To preach and teach the Word of God in its full truth and purity from the Old and New Testament, and that my teachings are also in line with the Book of Concord. To administer the Sacraments according to God’s Commands, and to demonstrate the mind and spirit of Christ as I serve and equip the congregation for Christ’s mission to seek and save the lost.

So what about the congregation? The congregations promise to do 5 things, To honor their pastor as a servant of Christ, To make faithful and regular use of the means of grace, to work with the pastor to equip God’s people to glorify God and extend the kingdom, to provide for continuing ed, and to provide salary, housing, benefits, and etc.

Both sides have responsibilities towards each other, but in those responsibilities it is with a purpose, that the people of God might be united with Christ, and that the blessings Christ secured on Calvary might be provided not just to us here in these walls, but be brought out into the world. This is why Pastor and Congregation come alongside of each other, the Pastor is not over the Congregation, nor is the Congregation over the pastor, we are working together in the mission that Christ has given His disciples.

Now my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I know that was a bit longer! But I hope you understand the importance of these matters, for we do not wish to neglect the grace that God has shown us through Christ, or the gifts He has given us to help our neighbors. We are richly blessed in this life by our creator, so let us not fall victim to grumbling, but continuing entrusting ourselves to God our Father who out of love for us sent His Son to atone for our sins, that we may have the hope over everlasting life. In Jesus name. Amen.