First Sunday In Lent
Matthew 4:1-11
Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Merciful God, we humbly implore you to cast the bright beams of your light upon your Church that we, being instructed by the doctrine of the blessed Apostles, may walk in the light of your truth and finally attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Lord in your mercy... Hear our prayer.
The Word of God which the Holy Spirit has caused to be written by inspiration for you is recorded in the 4th Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Of particular importance are the words,” “” This is the Gospel of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
Beloved Saints in Christ Jesus,
Contrary to what some people might tell you, the devil exists. St. Peter the Holy Apostle teaches us to be of sober spirit and on the alert because our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. You will ignore these words to your great peril.
No where is Sun Tzu’s (Art of War) instruction, “know your enemy” more apropos than it is in the case of the evil one, who with the world and your sinful nature, constantly tempts you and would cause you to make "shipwreck" of your faith.
You only need to think for a moment about how many times in your life this unholy tempter has caused you fall into sin and to do those things that, as a baptized Christ, you have not wanted to do, for you to recognize that, as Martin Luther said, he is a master of many, many, tricks.
This one who pursues you day and night, will do anything to get you to doubt the Word of Christ. He will lie and deceive you to keep you from Divine Service. He will twist things around in such a way that you would think that he is God, and God is the devil. He will lead you into pride, despair and unbelief. He will try to get you to believe in him and to deny Christ your Savior. He will make you think that he is your friend and that Christ is your enemy. He will lead you into and entangle you in sin. And Satan, your adversary, will do these things in such subtle ways that you will hardly notice anything is wrong unless, as St. Peter says, “you are seriously watchful and on the alert.”
A few minutes ago, you heard those who were about to be baptized into Christ say “I renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways.” Renounce means, “I will not follow, obey, listen to, be under the authority or recognize someone or something any longer. I will have nothing to do with the person." The thing to remember, is that we do not just say "re-nuncio" at our baptisms, but we continue to say re-nuncio as we live each day in our baptismal grace and protection. We say re-nuncio each day as we live and die in the name of him who died and rose again and now reigns over us with forgiveness and mercy because we are his own.
So re-nuncio essentially means, “I am not playing any games here. I recognize that Christ is rescuing me from the evil 0ne, the devil and his kingdom. I declare publicly that I no longer want anything to do with the devil and his unholy kingdom. I belong to Christ my Lord and Savior. I live in his kingdom of grace and mercy and I love and serve him alone because as Christ has clearly taught me, “a person cannot have two masters.”
Some people think they can have two masters but Christ teaches us that if we try to do this we will end up hating the one and loving the other otherwise we will be devoted to one and despise the other. We cannot serve God and wealth. We cannot serve Christ and the devil.
Did you know that there are now formal documents written up so that one can renounce Christ, his or her baptism and the Holy Christian Church. People are declaring their re-nuncio of Christ publicaly in ceremonies and on the internet saying that they will not follow, obey, listen to, be under the authority or recognize Christ ever again..
Misty, Christ has recently opened your eyes to see the work of the adversary in your life, to recognize his temptations and to see where he would ultimately lead you.
Christ has also shown you where to come for refuge and safety. You have made it clear to me that you have come here to say “re-nuncio” loud and clear to the devil and to take shelter in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
The Holy Spirit has now brought you and several of your children into the safety and refuge of the ocean of Christ’s mercy and forgiveness. You have come here this morning like a hen with with her chicks under her wings. You have brought you chicks to Christ who will protect them from now on. You have heard that some people do not like the water. Your adversary the devil really does not like the water. Your adversary does not like the water of baptism and now you are covered with it. You are are now a little fish in the school of Christ Jesus the Great Fish swimming in the water of your Holy Baptism.
Now you have been born again. You have been born into Christ and into a new life in Christ. You have been baptized into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Your life is now lived within the hidden life of Christ. Misty, there is no safer place than this for you and your children who have now been baptized into Christ Jesus.
Very soon the Tempter will come again to lie and deceive you. He will say something like: "if your baptism was real and effective, you would not still have problems. You would not sin as much as you are sinning." He will tell you that you were too sinful in the first place to be forgiven or that your faith was not strong enough. He will tempt you believe that you are not really safe in Christ and so might as well do what you want. In all this he will try to cause you to doubt all that God in Christ has done for you.
Misty, I really wish, with St. John (1 John 2:1) that you would never sin again. You may however notice more sin now than you ever have before and so you will constantly need to feed on the Word of the Gospel and the Lord’s Supper to constantly remind you that you have an perfect advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus who is perfectly righteous for you.
Even when you sin be assured that by virtue of your faith and your baptism into Christ, you are still secure in Christ and that he is forgiving all your sins and taking them all away. With his Word and Sacraments, Christ will keep you in forgiveness, in love and from falling away. He will keep you safe from all harm and danger. He will hide you in the shelter of his wings. Christ’s victory in the wilderness of temptation, on the cross, in hades, in front of the empty tomb and in heaven at the right hand of God the Father, is from now on and always, your victory.
Misty, Kevin, Joseph, Elenore, Magdalene, live every moment in this victory of Christ, even and especially when you fall into sin. When the tempter comes to you and whispers all his "sweet nothings" into your ear, saying you have sinned far too much to be forgiven, say the same thing Christ said to him, “be gone!” Say, "I renounce you Devil and I will not listen to your lies because I belong to Christ and to Christ alone. With his Word and with his Supper, he assures me that I am forgiven of all my sins and that I am at peace with God my Heavenly Father and am furthermore filled with the Holy Spirit. So, we have nothing in common, you have nothing to say to me nor I to you except depart from me, in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior!
Beloved Children in Christ, your wrestling with the evil one is not over, not even close. Although the contest between the devil and Christ is now over forever and Christ has overcome him once and for all, the devil tries to make you think that the contest is still on and that there has been no victory.
For this reason be sure to keep the Words of Christ always in your heart and mind, stay in the fellowship / communion of God's people, the holy church, with all of those struggle with temptation and sin in exactly the same ways as you. Keep receiving Christ’s holy Body and Blood so that you will be constantly nourished and strengthened in the fight of faith and so in the end receive from Christ the everlasting crown of victory.
Remember, Christ has already conquered sin and death for you. He fights for you and with you, by your side and so as your remain in him, in the end you are sure to receive the crown of everlasting life. Amen.
Depart in Peace.
