Matthew 10 34ff
In Dependence Day
July 2, 2006
Matthew 10:34-39
“In Dependence Day”[i]
Matthew 10:34-39 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Introduction: This coming Tuesday we will celebrate the Fourth of July. It is celebrated in all states and territories of the United States of America, is a legal holiday commemorating its birth. On June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, drawn up by Thomas Jefferson, was presented to the representatives of the original 13 colonies. Although adopted on July 4, 1776, not until August 2, 1776, had all 56 signers affixed their names to the document. As a result, this new republic, our United States, has become one of the greatest nations on earth.
Independence is the treasured blessing of our land, but there is a greater independence that the Christian treasures. God in Jesus Christ has freed Christians from the power of sin, death, and hell. Just as U.S. citizens are dependent on our leaders to maintain national independence, Christians are dependent on the Savior for spiritual independence and peace with God. We can properly refer to this day and every day as our spiritual "In Dependence Day." That is that Jesus Christ has given us Independence from sin, death, and the power of the Devil. For this we daily must live in dependence on Him, that He not only grants us faith, but sustains us in faith until we are gloriously reunited with Him in heaven.
National freedom came at a cost. Lives were sacrificed to gain independence from England. Lives continue to be sacrificed to maintain our nation's independence. Right now we are at war. Whether we agree or not about the war, our young men and women are serving us right now in harms way, some times they die. This is the cost of freedom. Last September, a member of mine, Michael Wendling, serving in Iraq for only two short months, was killed in his truck by an IED (improvised explosive device). Immediately the people of our church began to understand the horror of war as we waited for his body to be shipped back to the United States, and as we prepared to bury his body in our cemetery on the hill above our church. The horror of war came home to his family and our small country church. It was during this time that I began to understand the cost of peace and freedom and independence. Peace and freedom come at a high price.
Jesus came to bring peace and freedom for all people, for all of us here today. That peace too is very costly. Our spiritual peace and freedom was taken away from us, first in Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, and now from our willful disobedience to God and His will. Like prisoners, we are unable to fight or gain our own freedom. But we have one who came to fight for us, Jesus our Savior. He came to fight a war for us. As He said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Jesus comes with the sword of his Word to defeat spiritual darkness, and the devil himself. He came to wage war on all those things that oppress us in this life, sin, sickness, disease and death. He came to wage war against those things that break our lives, break our relationships, and break our hearts.
He came to do battle for our spiritual independence and it cost Jesus dearly. It cost him separation from his Father (Mt 27:45-46). It cost him his life. It cost Him death on the cross. It cost him the humiliation of being stripped of his heavenly glory for sinful man. At the cross, Jesus took on himself the curse of Adam’s sin, and the punishment of our disobedience that all people might have peace with God.
He has achieved our independence and freedom. Through Him we have peace with God. Our spiritual independence has been freely offered to us. It comes to us through His Word and in the waters of Holy Baptism where He frees us from all sin (Rom 6:3-6). In Baptism a strange thing happens. We are mystically united with Jesus. In baptism we are connected to His death on the cross, we die with Christ. What is more, in Baptism we are connected to His resurrection. As He was raised from the dead we too are raised to a new spiritual life of peace and freedom.
This is the gift that our Lord and God is giving to Jetta Berlin Dengler on this day, through her holy Baptism. On this day the gift of forgiveness and life that was won for all people, is personally given to Jetta Dengler. One pastor wrote, "The real significance of Christ's death is not just that he died for all men (he did!), but that he died as if there was only one person in the world who needed the atonement his redemption alone would earn.[ii] So great is God’s love that He personally sent Jesus to save Jetta and to give her new and eternal life. He claims her as his own child. Such is His great love for each one of us, that Jesus personally died for you. Through God’s Word and Baptism God makes us His dear children forever.
What God does can never be changed by a persons own decision. Whether Jetta remains faithful all her life, whether she comes to church once in a while, whether she never sets foot in church again, nothing can change her identity as a child of God and dearly loved by Him. He will always continue to call her to faith, to trust in her Savior Jesus Christ for her salvation. Thereby to hold fast to the treasures that are offered in Christ’s death on the cross, forgiveness, life and eternal life. This is God’s promise to all of us here.
I love performing baptisms, Why? Because so many people long to witness a miracle. How many times have we said, I sure would have liked to see Jesus perform a miracle, give sight to the blind, heal the sick, raise the dead. In Baptism we have seen no less than the miracle of the resurrection. Illustration: There is a story about Robert Ingersoll, the famous atheist of some decades ago. At one time he sought to show how the miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus was just a trick to bolster his waning fortunes. To begin his argument he said to the audience, "Can anyone tell me now why Jesus said, 'Lazarus, come forth'?" An old Christian in the back got up and said: "Yes! Because if he had not said 'Lazarus,' he would have had the whole graveyard of Bethany coming out to him." In our Baptism, we spiritual corpses come to life and live in love and freedom. One day Jesus will speak our name again and call us from the grave. Jesus bestows the rewards of his grace as we remain faithful to him (vv 40-42). In God's great love for sinful humankind, Jesus offers us forgiveness and life in his name.
Jesus reminds his disciples, however, that there is a cost to following him. It will cost us our lives as well. Jesus said, “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” As baptized children of God, we no longer belong to ourselves. We were bought with a great price. We are called to serve. This is expressed as we practice our faith, love God and love and serve all people, whether we like them or not, to love as our Savior has loved us.
Sometimes there is another cost to following Jesus. As we practice our faith, as we claim to be Christians and openly share our faith in Jesus with the people around us, it may cost us our relationships to people we love, as Jesus said in the gospel, “For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Families can be torn apart by the Christian faith. Loyalty to Christ can divide marriages and divide families. Usually, but not always, it drives people crazy when they see their loved ones faithfully practice their Christian faith. Why would anyone waste all that time, why would they get up on Sunday morning, why would they spend their money…it all just doesn’t make sense. But it does for those people that know Jesus personally and know what he has done for them and has given them. As we grow in the faith we understand that we are not better than anyone else. We even see ourselves as the Apostle Paul did, “as a chief of sinners.” For this reason we continue to come to our Lord for forgiveness, peace with God and true independence. The more we understand the independence we have in Jesus Christ, the more we are dependent on him.
Conclusion: The new freedoms we have in Christ came at great cost to our Savior. At times, we may face great cost to be a citizen in his kingdom. By the grace of God, we are empowered through Word and Sacraments, which unite us to him. Living a life of loyalty and service to God and all people bestows the joys of his kingdom-a kingdom of great reward. On this Independence Day, we celebrate our true independence from sin and its curse and our dependence on Christ for true peace and freedom. For Jetta, this day is truly Independence Day and the beginning of her dependence on her Savior. We remember our own spiritual independence as baptized children of God. Today what we really celebrate is our dependence on Jesus for this great gift in this life and in the life to come. That is truly an In Dependence Day celebration.
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[i] Rev. Phill E. Andreasen, pastor, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Spirit Lake, Iowa. Concordia Pulpit Resources Volume 9, Part 3 21
[ii] Illustration: Donald Deffner.
