The Wednesday of Reminiscere

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today’s Gospel text reveals to us a hard truth—namely that greatness in the kingdom of God comes through suffering. On some level, all humans desire to achieve greatness. To be sure, one person’s concept of greatness likely differs dramatically from another person’s idea. One may desire to be great at sports, another may desire to be great in a certain line of work, another may desire to be great in his or her vocations and relationships. But Christ says that in the kingdom of God, greatness is not achieved through normal human means. One who desires to be great at sports needs, in addition to natural talent, to work hard and be disciplined day in and day out for many years. One who desires to be great in their line of work, again, needs to work hard, be reliable, and grow his skill. One who desires to be great in his or her vocations needs to be humble, generous, kind, honest, hardworking, and the like. Greatness in the kingdom of God bears some similarities to these other forms of greatness. It is similar in that “…whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:26b). Our Lord says this concerning greatness in the kingdom of God, but it could equally be applied to greatness in any other area. Simply put, if more people took the attitude of a servant, the world would be a better place and there would be a lot more greatness.

But when Christ speaks of being a servant, He does not simply mean one who goes the extra mile for another, one who takes on extra responsibilities, or one who makes dinner even when she is tired. No, our Lord goes on to clarify what He means by being a servant:

“And whoever desires to be first among you, let him by your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28).

Service, then, is not merely a minor inconvenience. Service means having the mind of Christ (cf. Philippians 2:5ff). Being a servant means a willingness to lay down your life, to suffer for the sake of the kingdom of God.

Of course, our suffering does not accomplish the same end as Christ’s. As our Lord says in St. Luke’s parallel account of today’s Gospel: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished” (Luke 18:31). In other words, it was foreordained by God that the Christ would die. And in so dying, He would (and has) atoned for the sins of the world, propitiated the wrath of God, and justified all who have faith in Him. Christ’s atoning death is the cup that we are unable to drink. However, as Christ indicates to James and John, it is appointed for all Christians to drink a cup like Christ’s. Which is to say, we will suffer like Him—but not in an atoning way. For our suffering accomplishes something entirely different.

The Epistle for Sexagesima (three-and-a-half weeks ago) offers us important instruction regarding what Christian suffering accomplishes. In that Epistle, St. Paul writes these words about his own suffering in his second letter to the Corinthians:

From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? (2 Corinthians 11:24-29).

And this, of course, is not to mention the “thorn in the flesh” which has been given to him

(2 Corinthians 12:7). The Apostle then concludes his discussion of all of his sufferings and the Lord’s refusal to remove the suffering from him by saying:

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me…For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10b).

And so it is that we come to the third of the Cardinal Virtues in our Lenten journey, namely the virtue of fortitude. Two weeks ago, we considered temperance, or controlling pleasure, and its corresponding discipline of fasting. Last week, we considered justice, or rendering that which is due to another person, and its corresponding discipline of almsgiving. Today we consider the virtue of fortitude and its corresponding discipline of prayer.

In a secular sense, the virtue of fortitude can be defined as “doing the right thing in the face of fear.” This is not being afraid to say what needs to be said, even when it will cost you personally for doing so. Of course, when I use that phrase, “not being afraid…”, I don’t mean that such a person experiences no fear when they say what needs to be said knowing that consequences are coming. What I mean is that such a person sees the consequences and feels some amount of fear of them, but his fear does not prevent him from doing the right thing.

Quite simply put, fortitude must be a part of the Christian life. We live in a world which is increasingly hostile to Christianity. Life will not be handed to us. We will suffer for our faith, whether at the hands of the devil, the world, or even the sinful flesh. The virtue of fortitude teaches the Christian how to do the right thing in the face of fear and suffering. This, of course, does not mean that we will be sinless. Very often, doing the right thing means confessing your own sins and taking ownership of the consequences. This virtue of fortitude can be thought of from a Christian perspective as a fulfillment of the First Commandment—to fear, love, and trust in God above all things, even when it’s not convenient, even when it costs us something.

In the end, the virtue of fortitude is about learning to depend on God for everything—that we would learn to believe and trust that His grace truly is sufficient for us, as the Apostle says. So, how does one learn this virtue of fortitude and total dependence upon God? Our fathers in the faith had a simple answer to that question: Prayer. To be clear, this is not easy to carry out, but it isn’t complicated either. And so, we come to the final Lenten discipline of prayer. Concerning prayer, our Lord says this in the Sermon on the Mount:

“When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:5-8).

Notice the same phrasing as when our Lord spoke of fasting and almsgiving: “When you pray…” But what is prayer? Our Synodical Catechism explanation defines prayer as “Speaking to God in words and thoughts” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 2017, page 231). This answer is true in so far as it goes. But our Lord is clear in Matthew chapter 6 that all speaking to God in words and thoughts is not truly prayer. There is a hypocritical kind of prayer, and there is a vain repetitious kind of prayer, neither of which is truly prayer. True prayer is not either of these things. For the hypocrites pray desiring to draw attention to themselves. And the one praying in vain repetitions seeks to be heard by their sophisticated and flowery language. But our Lord says that true prayer is done in secret, not as a public spectacle. True prayer is not simply about speaking to God in words and thoughts. True prayer is about the orientation of the heart toward God. Therefore, true prayer is not simply speaking to God. True prayer begins, as our Catechism explanation rightly notes, with God first coming and speaking to us through His Word, thus inviting us to respond in prayer (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 2017, page 232).

So it is that the one who would cultivate the virtue of fortitude within himself must be a person who prays—not simply asking God for everything that he wants, but first listening to God through His Word and then responding. This kind of life oriented toward God is how the Christian learns fortitude. Or, more accurately, this kind of life oriented toward God is how the Holy Spirit teaches the Christian the virtue of fortitude and thus strengthens us in our faith and reception of the benefits of Christ’s suffering and death for us.

May God the Holy Spirit make us people of prayer so that by His grace we may be characterized by fortitude—fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things.

God grant it.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.