Oops. Got a call from one of our faithful blog readers and it appears that the sermon for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost for September 20, 2007 did not appear on the blog. I did have a sore throat and was off the air for a few days but it did not effect my fingers to type up the blog. So here goes. The three readings were Amos 6:1-7 (Woe to Zion); 1 Timothy 3:1-13 (Bishop must be blameless) and Luke 16:19-31 (Lazarus the beggar). The chosen text to analyze is Luke 16:31, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

There is much confusion today in regard as to what and where is the Church. Some contend that the Church is wherever Christians gather and if that includes a Christian group building homes for the homeless, that is the Church at work. Others suggest that the Church is whenever a worship service takes place regardless of the form of the liturgy or the content of the sermon.

However, while it is true that Christians may be involved in good works or a form of worship, the Church is not really in play unless the Head is present. And what makes for the Head of the body, Jesus Christ, to be present. The Reformation rediscovered the biblical revelation that Christ is present only when His means of grace are present.

The means of grace refer to that through which the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection are bestowed upon the hearers. Thus, the means of grace refer to a proper teaching of the Word of God and a proper administration of the Sacraments. It is simply untrue that anyone came to faith by seeing a miracle. Miracles, of course, were important for Jesus to accomplish. But they were the evidence of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises to those who already had faith in the coming of the Messiah to assure them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

Though many sermons on the basis of Lazarus and the rich man will speak of the dangers of wealth, that is not the point of this parable. A proper understanding of wealth keeps a balance between the two ditches of love of money and cash is trash. But that really belongs to another sermon or Bible study.

The law/gospel application of this parable is that the Word of God (Moses and the prophets) is that which creates a proper repentance and faith. Even if someone were to rise from the dead, that would not be effective in creating true faith. In fact, is that not what actually happened? For when Jesus rose from the dead, and the Pharisees knew it, they paid the soldiers to lie about it with a story that the disciples had stolen the body!

The Church exists where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments administered properly. Thus, not only the sermon but also the liturgy, hymns and prayers need to be focused on the only means of grace that comforts and saves; namely, the gracious promises of God related to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.