8 August 2021
Text: Luke 19:41-48 (Jer 8:4-12,
Rom 9:30-10:4)
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and He prophesied what would happen: the city would be conquered, and the temple flattened. This happened forty years after Jesus said that it would. It was a terrible time of bloodshed and destruction. Our Lord said that it happened because they “did not know the time of [their] visitation,” that is, they did not realize that God has visited them. Instead of focusing on God in the Temple, they turned it into a “den of robbers.”
And so what happens next is commonly called our Lord’s “cleansing of the temple.” Jesus drove out the merchants and moneychangers. He said, “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of robbers.” Their minds were set on the wrong things. Our Lord reminded them of what was important.
And this defiling of God’s house continues to happen, dear friends. There are “Lutherans” in the world because the Church was running a money-racket in the sixteenth century by selling “indulgences.” This was a scandal. It came about because the Vatican was overextended to the bankers in borrowing vast sums of money to build St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. So the pope needed money, and fast. He turned churches into dens of robbers, convincing people to pay money for the forgiveness of sins – when all the while, God’s grace is free, having been purchased by Christ’s blood. The moneymaking scheme of indulgences was a scam. And it confused people about how salvation happens, as though it is by works, or that it can be bought with money – instead of being pursued by faith.
There are still such money scams: TV preachers and celebrity wannabe “pastors” who bilk gullible people out of millions of dollars with false doctrine and carnival-like shows featuring fake healings. Some indeed continue to turn His house into a den of robbers, as well as a den of crooks and swindlers.
But we turn God’s house into other things as well. As Christianity becomes less popular, especially among young people, some pastors and congregations resort to entertainment. They turn divine worship into a show: rock music and dancing girls, flashing screens and preachers walking around cracking jokes. They use gimmicks and turn the Divine Service into a parody of worship. They turn His house into a house of entertainment.
Others want to soften the hard edges of Christianity and reduce it to being nice, getting along, and conforming to the world’s ways and ideas. They push the world’s politically-correct ideas of society, selling it as Christianity. They turn His house into a house of conformity.
Still others focus only on cultural issues and politics, ignoring the central theme of the Lord’s cross, that is, the Good News of the forgiveness of sin and the promise of everlasting life. They trade this away for rules and regulations and looking holier than thou. They turn His house into a house of legalism.
And all of these examples are based on what St. Paul criticized the Israelites for, as they “pursued a law that would lead to righteousness” and “they did not succeed.” Why? “Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.”
Our Lord’s house is a house of prayer, for we pray for this saving faith, and here in the church, in our prayers, we remind God of His promises. And these promises, dear friends, are made and delivered in His house – especially when we keep it as a house of prayer and not defile it for some worldly purpose.
What happens in the sanctuary of the church? We are baptized here, as Jesus comes to us in this house of cleansing and salvation. We are confirmed here, as Jesus comes to us in this house of learning His Word. We are married here, as Jesus comes to us in this house of His will, “what He has put together let no one put asunder.” We hear the proclamation of the Gospel here, as Jesus comes to us in this house of Good News. We receive Holy Communion here, as Jesus comes to us in this house of His sacrificial body and blood. We are consecrated and installed to various offices here, as Jesus comes to us in this house of service and worship. And when we die, our bodies are brought here, as Jesus joins us in this house of the resurrection!
Of course, this is what it means to be a “house of prayer.” It is God’s house, a place for Jesus to come to us again and again.
Forty years ago today, our deacon Richard and his wife Lisa, came to this house of prayer to have their marriage blessed and consecrated by Pastor Friedrich, to stand before this holy altar, to make their vows to each other, before God and before the congregation. Holy Matrimony is a sacred rite, and it is fitting that it happens in the sacred space of this holy house. For the pastor and the people offered prayers for them in this very house of prayer.
And Deacon Richard pointed out that he was baptized here, confirmed here, married here, and was consecrated as a deacon here. This is a house of prayer, dear friends. This is God’s house!
And it is fitting that we “know the time of [our] visitation.” Jesus comes to us in Word and Sacrament. It is not symbolic. It is not merely spiritual. Jesus says, “This is My body” and “This is My blood.” And He also says, “For you, for the forgiveness of sins.” For this is the house of the Gospel.
But St. Paul warns us, dear friends, not to base our faith on our works, on pursuing a law. For if you think that you have earned your salvation or God’s favor because of your works: whether because you are a pastor or a pastor’s wife, a deacon, or a deacon’s wife, because you serve on a board or committee or do work in the church, or because you attend every Sunday or give money to the church – you have missed the point. You are saved by grace, through faith. Your good works come after the fact, and flow from love. You cannot earn God’s favor, because it is His favor. And this is why Jesus is such a scandal. You cannot earn your salvation, and if you try to, Jesus will drive you out. Instead, we come here empty handed and we pray for His grace by faith, “and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”
For this is a house of prayer. And it is our prayer that we be forgiven, that we be given the grace to repent, that we come here week after week not because we are righteous, but because we are not. We need forgiveness, and we need it every week. We need God’s love as if our lives depend on it – because they do, dear friends. It is a matter of life and death, of eternity, that we come to this house of prayer for the strengthening of our faith through miraculous contact with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us not fall into the trap of the children of Israel who said, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Let us confess that our peace is in Christ alone, and that peace comes through faith alone, and that faith comes by hearing the Word alone proclaimed and preached, by means of preaching, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion. Let us pray for the grace to make the church central in our lives, hanging on His every word week in and week out, being strengthened for life in the increasingly hostile world.
This house of prayer is a place of rest and refreshment, where we are fed and nourished and strengthened and renewed. Let us see how important it is to gather in this house of prayer, to make it a priority, and to submit all things to our Lord and to His gracious visitation here, where He has promised to be with us, even to the end of the age.
And let us rejoice with Deacon Richard and Lisa in this house of prayer, praying for them, for many more years of happy and holy matrimony, and let us pray for all married couples to remain faithful unto death – even as our Lord is faithful unto death and unto the resurrection.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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