The Last Penny

Text: Matthew 5:17-26

"For some reason the grace of God is a stumbling block to the majority of people who hear it and a veritable millstone hanging around the necks of pastors, preachers, and priests who exchange it for a sugar sweetened, or vitamin fortified version of the Law, as if somehow since Christ died for you and you are forgiven you now you can somehow close the deal by living as good and trying as hard you can to help and save others until the day that you die."

To hear the entire sermon preached for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity at Trinity, Layton, "The Last Penny"--beginning with the Old Testament Reading and concluding with the Prayer of the Church, click on the following MP3 audio link. “The Last Penny"

If you would rather just read the sermon, or read along as you listen, the preaching outline/manuscript follows below. However, please understand some transitions are filled in and bullet points fleshed out from the pulpit that are not included in the ms.

Dear Baptized Children of God,

Have you paid the last penny?

Imagine you bought a house with a 40 year mortgage on it. Imagine you had faithfully made every payment for over 39 years of your life, scrimping and saving to do it, going without cable, internet, smart phone, car, even meals at times. Imagine when you came down to the last payment things had gotten so tough that for the first time you were unable to make your house payment on time, you were coming down to the last day to pay before repossession/auction and found yourself a penny short, caught in one of those red tape nightmares wherein for want of a penny you lose the house you have worked so hard to own and keep up for you entire adult life.

What would you do if someone then offered you the penny you lacked?

Are you kidding me Pastor?

No, I’m not kidding you at all.

People do this all the time with God. For some reason the grace of God is a stumbling block to the majority of people who hear it and a veritable millstone hanging around the necks of pastors, preachers, and priests who exchange it for a sugar sweetened, or vitamin fortified version of the Law, as if somehow since Christ died for you and you are forgiven you now you can somehow close the deal by living as good and trying as hard you can to help and save others until the day that you die.

It’s like a little comic I came across on Facebook yesterday. The voice of God comes to a man from above telling him what he is about to get into by bringing the grace of God to the people of a particular congregation. God asks this man who desires to become a servant of the Word, “Are you up for the challenge of bringing grace into the community there?”

The man naively replies, “I think so, after all, how hard can it possibly be to help a church understand and live by Your grace?”

God immediately breaks out in laughter, “Hahahahaha!” but seeing the man is startled, confused, and troubled that God is laughing at his good intentions and best construction on the hearts of men, God stops short and says, “Oh. Sorry, John, I thought that was a joke.”

Now you know that I very rarely use stories, jokes, or internet theological ditties in preaching the Word of God to you. That is because neither preaching nor the Divines Service of Christ’s Church is a game. This is truly a life and death business in which God engages us—a business totally run on His terms and completely carried out in His currency, that is, as we confess in the Small Catechism explanation to the Second Article of the Creed:

[Jesus] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that I may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

How did Christ, the Son of God who took on human flesh and became man, pay for your sins? Please confess it with me by repeating after me:

“He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that I may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.”

And again, according to the Third Article:

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.

How is it you believe in Jesus Christ and come to Him? Please confess it with me by repeating after me:

the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.

Yes, dear baptized, “This is most certainly true.”

And this is what Jesus was telling His disciples, and is telling us today in our Gospel text.

¹⁷[Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:16-26

¹⁶ And behold, a man came up to him, saying,“Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him,“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”²² When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:16-26

The apostle Paul actually tells us how God makes it possible in today’s epistle reading.

⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:1–11

And that brings us back to our little cartoon. “How hard can it possibly be to help a church understand and live by Your grace?”

The rich young man went away sorrowful. The disciples were perplexed. The religious leaders of the Jews, who like the rich young man counted themselves and were seen by their people as having kept all these things, were angry and bitter.

Christ’s merit is obtained not by our works or pennies, but from grace through faith, without money and merit [Ephesians 2:8–9]. It is offered not through [any man’s power, be he clergy, or lay], but through the preaching of God’s Word [1 Corinthians 1:21]. -- Smalcald Part II, ARTICLE II: The Mass

Now that preaching of God’s Word is the delivery of the forgiveness of sins purchased down to the last penny by Christ Jesus on Calvary. The purchase of this forgiveness—your forgiveness and mine--was complete and the mortgage on your life paid in full the moment the Son of God in human flesh declared “It is finished! ” and commended His Spirit into His Father’s hands. And it is received by you only through Christ’s Church by the power of the Holy Spirit working in the preaching of the Word to forgive your sins and deliver you from their evil-- --in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen