Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – Feb 18 (St. Martin Luther)

18 February 2020

Text: John 6:22-40

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Today we honor St. Martin Luther – priest, doctor, confessor, theologian, preacher, and reformer.  Luther’s life was centered on feeding the hungry – not those who hungered for worldly meat and drink, but those who hungered for the Bread of Life at a time when the Church was not carrying out its Petrine charge to “feed My lambs.”  Instead of feeding the faithful with the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Church hierarchy of Luther’s day was fleecing the flock, lying, and engaging in corruption, sexual immorality, and false doctrine.

And some jurisdictions within the church are still more focused on money and sex and power than the Bread of Life.

We whom history has misnamed as “Lutherans” must heed the preaching of Dr. Luther, for he preached Christ crucified.  He preached the Gospel.  He preached us right to the communion rail to receive the Blessed Sacrament of our Lord Jesus Christ: that is, the very Bread of Life!

Our Lord Jesus often cautioned His hearers about seeking after signs.  This remains a problem for all Christians.  Many times as a pastor I have heard survivors claim that pennies on the ground (or other such things) were signs from their departed loved ones.  And we are not wrong to desire signs, dear friends.  St. John refers to our Lord’s miracles as signs.  But we need to look in the right place for signs.  We need to look to Christ alone.

If you visit New Orleans, you will see an impressive basilica cathedral in the heart of the city.  And just outside the doors, lined up like an opposing army, you will see tables of fortune tellers with tarot cards.  You will see both tourists and locals seeking after signs.  Many of these people are Christians.  Some claim it is just for fun.  But people indeed spend a lot of money seeking after signs to tell them what to do.  All the while, dear friends, our Lord tells us what we need to know – in the Scriptures, in the preaching of the Gospel, in Holy Absolution, and in the Sacrament of the Altar, where we literally eat the bread of Life, and we drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament.  

The Lord Jesus Christ gives Himself on the cross as a sign – a sign of the forgiveness of sins.  He gives you Holy Baptism as a sign – a sign that the promise is for you!  He gives you the Holy Eucharist as a sign – a sign that your body and your soul are nourished by the Bread of Life, by the Lord’s command and gracious invitation!  And the Lord Jesus tells us what these signs point to: “Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.”

Dr. Luther received what the Lord taught him.  And he preached and taught and confessed and stood for the truth in the face of malicious and evil people who sought his death.  Luther exposed the sham of the cult of the saints, the perverted clergy, the lies, the shameful appropriation of the blessed mother of God as a goddess, and worst of all, the superstition that your salvation is earned by your good works instead of by the grace of feeding on the Bread of Life that the Lord provides His Church today even as He provided for His Church of old in the form of manna from heaven.

Grace is free.  It is not for sale.  It isn’t found in worthless indulgences or stupid tarot cards.  Luther preached the Word of God and reminded the Church of the sign of the cross: our Lord’s atoning grace, and our dependence upon the Word of God, that is, the “true bread from heaven.”  For all of this, we confess with St. Martin, “It is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.  This is most certainly true.”  Amen.

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