The Conclusion: Thine Is The Power
Sermon
What's That Supposed To Mean?
Using The Catechism In The 21st Century
Object:
The Lord's Prayer -- The Conclusion
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. What is meant by the word "Amen"? That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.
God's people all through the ages have ended their prayers with "Amen." We learned in childhood that "Amen, Amen" means, "Yea, yea, it shall be so." From the book of Isaiah: "Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of Amen; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of Amen." Amen is a name for God in the Old Testament. From the book of John's Revelation: "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." Amen is also a name for Jesus Christ, because it is Jesus who speaks in this passage. We end our prayers with "Amen" because we are certain that God wants us to pray -- He's the God of Amen -- and promises to hear us as we are certain about Jesus Christ -- who is also our Amen.
On October 31, 1517, a young Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 statements on the bulletin board of his church. These 95 statements called into question practices and beliefs popular in the church of his day. In short, Luther challenged the claim that popes alone had the power to open heaven or to delegate that authority. He claimed Jesus alone had such power.
Martin Luther was a student of the Bible. His studies led him to notice that the Bible said one thing about how a person gets into heaven -- how a person gets right with God -- while the church headquarters in faraway Rome taught something else. The pope claimed that he had authority from heaven to open or close heaven. He also taught that he could sell that authority. Seems he needed lots of money to hire Michelangelo to oversee the construction of the church in Rome. Now, this was a good fundraising technique, because a lot of people want to have their sins forgiven, and here comes this merchant to town who is selling forgiveness of sins. He bought that authority from the pope in Rome. He then would ask what kind of sins you needed forgiven -- or what kind of sins your relatives needed forgiven (including those who were already dead).
But Luther came across what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." From this and other Scriptures, Luther concluded that any person who believes this thing called the gospel will find that the gospel has all the power it takes to save him -- that he doesn't need popes or priests to clear the way for him.
What is the gospel Saint Paul wrote of, in which Luther also put his faith? The Gospel of Mark begins with these words: "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." The rest of the book tells us about the work of Jesus Christ. But the apostle himself defines what he means by "gospel" earlier in the letter. "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God -- the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." The gospel clearly is that story about Jesus Christ, which we find unfolded for us in the Old Testament, which describes the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The power of salvation is found in a message!
In our day and age, power is measured by how much money one has, how big an army a country has, how much strength a person can show. When a country goes to war, its leaders mass manpower and machines to overwhelm the enemy. When a bank robber holds hostages, police sharpshooters surround the place in a show of force. It would seem logical, then, that if God wanted to save humankind from the devil, God would have to overpower the devil with some show of force.
That's where Jesus Christ fits. Remember what happened when Jesus and the devil first met face to face? Jesus was in the desert for forty days being tempted by the devil. What did Jesus do? How did He turn back the temptations of the devil? He quoted Bible passages! Later, Jesus allowed the forces of evil to do the worst they could to Him, and then undid all the evil, making things better than they were in the first place. Jesus allowed evil people to harass Him, to torture Him, and finally to murder Him. But then Jesus popped the lid off His grave, unharmed, and now rules the universe at the right hand of the Father.
In an unexpected display of power, at least one that is still unexpected in this world, that a person would show his strength by allowing himself to be completely humiliated and defeated -- Jesus showed that God's strength is complete in what some people call weakness. In particular, Jesus showed that God's Word has all the power we need to break the devil's hold over us. All it takes to defeat the devil is God's saying something. So it is the power of God's Word that we focus on. In fact, because Jesus is God's Word, dressed in flesh and blood, Jesus is all we need to rescue us from evil.
All that power for salvation is packed into the stories we tell about Jesus. As we unfold the Scriptures and look to see what the Scriptures have to say about Jesus, there is the power of God for salvation at work. That's what Paul meant when he tells us, "The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." We don't need slick marketing tricks or to turn the church into a variety show to add souls to the kingdom of heaven. It is the gospel alone that makes the church grow. "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed." All we need is the good news that Jesus is Lord and Savior, that He suffered, died, rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father. When I am tempted to trade that gospel for worldly techniques, I remember the words of Paul that it is the gospel that is the power of salvation for those who believe. Our salvation is as sure as Jesus Christ. Is Jesus someone we can trust? Why not! Isn't he Amen? Isn't His power over sin, death, and the power of the devil the Amen we base our prayers on? We can be confident that He answers our prayers for salvation through His gospel. Where do we find this gospel? In His Word and sacraments, into which He puts His promise of salvation.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, in power You brought forth the heavens and the earth. In power You broke the devil's stranglehold on humankind by Your death on the cross. In power, You convert evil into blessing for those whom You have called. Forgive us when we become impressed with the power we see people show, whether it is scientific power or social power or whatever. Help us say Amen to Your power. Help us depend on You for truth and life. Help us believe that You are a mighty fortress and shield against all that is evil. Amen.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. What is meant by the word "Amen"? That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.
God's people all through the ages have ended their prayers with "Amen." We learned in childhood that "Amen, Amen" means, "Yea, yea, it shall be so." From the book of Isaiah: "Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of Amen; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of Amen." Amen is a name for God in the Old Testament. From the book of John's Revelation: "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." Amen is also a name for Jesus Christ, because it is Jesus who speaks in this passage. We end our prayers with "Amen" because we are certain that God wants us to pray -- He's the God of Amen -- and promises to hear us as we are certain about Jesus Christ -- who is also our Amen.
On October 31, 1517, a young Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 statements on the bulletin board of his church. These 95 statements called into question practices and beliefs popular in the church of his day. In short, Luther challenged the claim that popes alone had the power to open heaven or to delegate that authority. He claimed Jesus alone had such power.
Martin Luther was a student of the Bible. His studies led him to notice that the Bible said one thing about how a person gets into heaven -- how a person gets right with God -- while the church headquarters in faraway Rome taught something else. The pope claimed that he had authority from heaven to open or close heaven. He also taught that he could sell that authority. Seems he needed lots of money to hire Michelangelo to oversee the construction of the church in Rome. Now, this was a good fundraising technique, because a lot of people want to have their sins forgiven, and here comes this merchant to town who is selling forgiveness of sins. He bought that authority from the pope in Rome. He then would ask what kind of sins you needed forgiven -- or what kind of sins your relatives needed forgiven (including those who were already dead).
But Luther came across what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." From this and other Scriptures, Luther concluded that any person who believes this thing called the gospel will find that the gospel has all the power it takes to save him -- that he doesn't need popes or priests to clear the way for him.
What is the gospel Saint Paul wrote of, in which Luther also put his faith? The Gospel of Mark begins with these words: "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." The rest of the book tells us about the work of Jesus Christ. But the apostle himself defines what he means by "gospel" earlier in the letter. "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God -- the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." The gospel clearly is that story about Jesus Christ, which we find unfolded for us in the Old Testament, which describes the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The power of salvation is found in a message!
In our day and age, power is measured by how much money one has, how big an army a country has, how much strength a person can show. When a country goes to war, its leaders mass manpower and machines to overwhelm the enemy. When a bank robber holds hostages, police sharpshooters surround the place in a show of force. It would seem logical, then, that if God wanted to save humankind from the devil, God would have to overpower the devil with some show of force.
That's where Jesus Christ fits. Remember what happened when Jesus and the devil first met face to face? Jesus was in the desert for forty days being tempted by the devil. What did Jesus do? How did He turn back the temptations of the devil? He quoted Bible passages! Later, Jesus allowed the forces of evil to do the worst they could to Him, and then undid all the evil, making things better than they were in the first place. Jesus allowed evil people to harass Him, to torture Him, and finally to murder Him. But then Jesus popped the lid off His grave, unharmed, and now rules the universe at the right hand of the Father.
In an unexpected display of power, at least one that is still unexpected in this world, that a person would show his strength by allowing himself to be completely humiliated and defeated -- Jesus showed that God's strength is complete in what some people call weakness. In particular, Jesus showed that God's Word has all the power we need to break the devil's hold over us. All it takes to defeat the devil is God's saying something. So it is the power of God's Word that we focus on. In fact, because Jesus is God's Word, dressed in flesh and blood, Jesus is all we need to rescue us from evil.
All that power for salvation is packed into the stories we tell about Jesus. As we unfold the Scriptures and look to see what the Scriptures have to say about Jesus, there is the power of God for salvation at work. That's what Paul meant when he tells us, "The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." We don't need slick marketing tricks or to turn the church into a variety show to add souls to the kingdom of heaven. It is the gospel alone that makes the church grow. "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed." All we need is the good news that Jesus is Lord and Savior, that He suffered, died, rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father. When I am tempted to trade that gospel for worldly techniques, I remember the words of Paul that it is the gospel that is the power of salvation for those who believe. Our salvation is as sure as Jesus Christ. Is Jesus someone we can trust? Why not! Isn't he Amen? Isn't His power over sin, death, and the power of the devil the Amen we base our prayers on? We can be confident that He answers our prayers for salvation through His gospel. Where do we find this gospel? In His Word and sacraments, into which He puts His promise of salvation.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, in power You brought forth the heavens and the earth. In power You broke the devil's stranglehold on humankind by Your death on the cross. In power, You convert evil into blessing for those whom You have called. Forgive us when we become impressed with the power we see people show, whether it is scientific power or social power or whatever. Help us say Amen to Your power. Help us depend on You for truth and life. Help us believe that You are a mighty fortress and shield against all that is evil. Amen.
