August 23-25, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 13:22-30 “JESUS GIVES AN URGENT WARNING TO WATCH YOUR WAIT!”

 

PENTECOST

August 23-25, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 13:22-30

 

“JESUS GIVES AN URGENT WARNING TO WATCH YOUR WAIT!”

 

          There are many things that people find uncomfortable about an annual visit to the doctor for a check up. Most I would prefer not to mention. There is one that we can that is common for many people. It’s when the nurse asks you to step on the scale. You see the scales don’t lie. And you know how it goes. You step on. You watch the numbers. They go up 80, 85, 86. Hey! I’d doing pretty good. Until the nurse announces 86 kilograms. Would you like to see that in pounds? Nope. I’m going to hear it. A reminder to watch my weight.

          Our Lord Jesus does not care so much how about how many pounds we weigh, or kilograms for that matter. But He does want us to watch our wait, our wait for His return at the end of our earthly lives or at the end of the world. That came out very clearly in the Gospel lesson from Luke chapter 13 that was read a few minutes ago. Jesus was about His work as Savior. At this time that meant teaching as many as he could. Along the way as Jesus traveled to Jerusalem, this happened. “Someone said to him, “Lord, are only a few going to be saved?” As our country has secularized, religious conversations don’t happen organically as often as they used to. When they do, they are normally the same. I call it majoring in the minors. They are discussions about morality. If it gets to the afterlife the discussions often revolve around questions out there. What will heaven be like? What age will we be? What will we look like? Will we recognize everyone? This man who questioned Jesus was no different. He wanted to talk about other people. How many would be in heaven?

          Jesus made it personal. “Strive to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” I had a foreman I worked for who if you asked him what time it was would always answer. “Ten to.” “Ten to what?” someone would normally say. “Tend to your business,” was the put you in your place response. Don’t worry about when the work day ended. Do your work. Jesus answer to the man who asked him is much the same. Don’t concern yourself with how many will be saved, concern yourself over whether you will be saved. And here we need to pause because Jesus’ answer may confuse some. The Bible clearly says that we are saved through faith in Jesus because of God’s grace and it does not have anything to do with our works. Jesus tells us to strive, that is work, to enter the door to heaven. Another translation of this passage says, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.” Sure sounds to me like we are doing the work.

          This is something I can better show you than tell you. (I will pick a child from the congregation. I will give them a $10. I will then ask whether this child earned that money. I will point out that I picked the child and I gave the money. Then I will tell the child to hold on tightly to that money. I will make the comparison that saving faith is the same thing. God chose us. God gave us the gift. Jesus is saying hold on tightly to that gift. That is something we can do.)

          Now it makes sense. Jesus is urgently reminding us to watch our wait. To do what He has given us the power to do and hold on to our faith in Him. Elsewhere Jesus told us He and only He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. He told us He is the gate to heaven. Any who try to enter any other way will find the gates to heaven shut. “Once the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open for us!’ He will tell you in reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷And he will say, ‘I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ ²⁸There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown outside.”

          Many who were in the crowds that Jesus was teaching had the wrong idea about how they were going to get to heaven. Some thought it would be by their race. If they had the blood of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob in them they would go to heaven. In another similar teaching Jesus told the people that they would say, “Lord in your name we prophesied and cast out demons and did miracles.” But to them Jesus would say, “Away from me. I never knew you.” Why? They were trusting what they had done for Jesus rather than what Jesus had done for them.

          What is it that people can trust in today? Similar things to in Jesus’ time. It’s not quite the same as salvation by race but similar. My parents were religious. I belong to a church. I know who Jesus is. Many today think their good deeds will get them to heaven. Good deeds without faith in Jesus are meaningless. Without faith it is impossible to please God. For those who rely on themselves instead of Jesus will hear “I don’t know you or where you come from.”

          But that takes us full circle to Jesus’ answer to the man who wanted to talk about heaven in generalities. He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” Jesus is the narrow door. Faith in Jesus is what matters. God so loved the world that He have is only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. The question needs to be personal. Jesus reminds us to watch our wait for Him to come back and the question that matters is, “Am I striving, am I making every effort to hold on to my God given faith in Jesus?

          The man who asked the question of Jesus had to look Jesus in the eye when he answered. This word of God forces the issue. Can I look Jesus in the eye and honestly say I am striving, I am making every effort to hold on to the faith the Holy Spirit gave me? Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ. My doctor concerned about my weight is going to talk about diet, what I’m eating. As a pastor I am a doctor of souls. To be faithful to my Lord Jesus I have to be concerned about your wait. So let’s talk diet. How often is your faith eating? The bare minimum is weekly worship. Best is weekly worship combined with daily devotion or Bible reading. Let’s talk minimums. I was gone from public worship for vacation 3 times this summer. Had to settle for online. Did some of you really have two and half months of vacation? Are you watching your wait? Can you look Jesus in the eye and say you are striving? When Jesus said,” Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” He was talking about people who received the gift of faith and did not take care of it and so lost it. The first became last. While some who received the gift of faith later but cherished it would die with faith and become first. Now don’t misunderstand me. It’s not the going to church that gets you to heaven. Jesus does. But feeding your faith through word and sacrament keeps your connection to Jesus strong and vibrant, enabling you to endure life’s storms and trials, joys and disappointments with God’s strength. It makes the wait easier, more enjoyable.

          Are you watching your wait? Recently a sister and brother entered through the narrow gate. Helen Tellier. Weekly worship as long as she possibly could for 106 years. She kept coming even when she could not hear, following along with the printed word. That’s striving. That’s making every effort. Ralph Engelhardt. Weekly worship and serving you the people of St. Jacobi as an officer, Sandy faithfully bring him to the Trustees and Council meeting just a week before he entered through that narrow door of Jesus. Those are good examples for the rest of us. And, if we could talk to them right now you know what they would tell us? The wait is worth it. Amen.

 

August 2-4, 2025 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2:18-26 “MONEY: FROM MEANINGLESS TO MEANINGFUL!"

 

PENTECOST 8

August 2-4, 2025

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2:18-26

 

“MONEY: FROM MEANINGLESS TO MEANINGFUL

 

          Money. It certainly has the potential to bring out the worst in people, including people like us. Money issues have been one of the leading causes of divorce in our country for decades. Infidelity does not even come close. Is there a lasting division in a family between siblings? Chances are money, inheritance, who gets the family cabin, probably has something to do with it. I recall the time when the man most Packers fans love to hate, Randy Moon Man Moss, was the first player in the NFL to sign a contract over $100 million. Two weeks later Minnesotans were mad at him. Why? The lottery jackpot had climbed to the hundreds of millions and a gas station owner tattled on poor little Randy for buying $20,000 worth of tickets. Didn’t he have enough? Why was he ruining other people’s chances to get more money? Money issues are a leading cause of stress and unhappiness in our country.

          Now we aren’t stuck with observations of American society to conclude that money can cause a lot of trouble. The Bible which God has provided for all people of all time tell us the same. Jesus spoke a lot about money, warning against greed. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” the Apostle Paul warned in his first letter to Timothy.

          And then there is this Bible Book called Ecclesiastes. Even though the writer of Ecclesiastes never blatantly declares who he is, there is common agreement, and all internal evidence points to Solomon, son of David. He is widely regarded as the wealthiest man that ever lived. His annual gold-based income would be the equivalent of 1.6 billion dollars today. And that was just the gold. Sadly, the Bible tells us that Solomon, who started his reign with humble reliance on God, did not stay that way. He strayed from God, grew proud and indulged every sinful desire he could think of to try to find happiness. Ecclesiastes seems to be his last-ditch effort to come clean. We pray that he died with faith. We don’t know though. But God used Solomon to teach.

          What’s his lesson for us? Meaningless!!!  "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?...22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.” Well, that’s depressing…and true. Solomon lets us have a peek at his life and heart. Just from what the Bible records we know he was shrewd in business and building. Beautiful palaces, gardens and other buildings. He had trading fleets, built up an impressive army. He had accumulated hordes of gold, silver and bronze. Certainly, his mind was not resting, always thinking about what he was going to do next. People back then marveled at him and what he accomplished. I’m guessing most people envied Solomon, wishing they had half of what he had. And yet what was life like on the inside for Solomon? Meaningless. Empty. Hollow.  No matter what he built, accomplished or owned, he felt meaningless. Kids, you know how it is when a new video game comes out and you have to have it? You get it and play it for hours and then, meaningless. It’s not fun anymore. Big kids, also known as adults, same thing with many of the things we buy: new clothes or tech or big people toys. We want. We get. We move on. Meaningless. And then wise Solomon let his restless mind go further. What is my heir going to do with all my stuff? Will he use it wisely or waste it? It will be out of my control! Meaningless!

          Boy, with all this depressing meaninglessness maybe the solution to happiness is to give away everything and just become a hermit. Actually, no. Hermits can be just as unhappy as billionaires. What’s the solution? There is something Solomon wrote that gives us some hope for his eternity and some help in avoiding a life where money is meaningless.  “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?”  Did you catch it? Did you see the key to going from meaningless to meaningful? “Without him, without God, who can eat or find enjoyment?” Solomon’s life and wealth had not always been meaningless. At one time it was very meaningful. He used the wealth his father David amassed to build the great Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple, when used as God said, helped the people see the need for a Savior and kept their hearts humbly waiting for Him to come. It taught the seriousness of sin and only the Lamb of God who could take them away. That was meaningful, affecting the eternity of millions of people. He also used his wealth to set up orderly government and a justice system to benefit His people. That was meaningful. People marveled at the wise ways Solomon did things and owned things. At one time he had a meaningful life. Now it was meaningless. What happened?

          Without God. Once Solomon sacrificed his faith in the Savior God everything became meaningless. Without God everything was meaningless. But that points us to some Good News. With God our life is meaningful. Every part of it. Whether we eat, drink or whatever we do we can do it for the glory of God and be meaningful, even money. So that money for us can be meaningful instead of meaningless, we need to remember a few things. We are all already rich. Jesus has taken care of that. We are heirs of heaven. Heaven is so wonderful that what we consider wealth here on earth will be, well, meaningless in heaven.  The fact that God gave Jesus for us gives us confidence for our earthly needs too. He who did not spare his only Son but gave Him up for us all, how will he not also along with him, graciously give us all things! Secondly we are stewards, caretakers, managers of the wealth that God places into our hands. I really don’t have anything. It’s all God’s. But I am in charge of handling some of God’s things. What an honor and what a privilege that the almighty, holy and wise God trusts me with some of His things!

          Money is one of God’s things. And with God, money goes from meaningless to meaningful. There is nothing bad about money itself. It is a thing. A tool. It helps us get things done. Money is a gift from God. When we view it that way there is great meaning. Every bit of money you are in charge of and I am in charge of is a gift, a blessing. Whether that comes from a job where an employer pays me, a social security check or retirement savings or inheritance, God is the one who gave it to us. Meaningful when you look at it that way. Fills your heart with thanksgiving and gives you purpose. I want God to be proud of the way I handle His money. Like any other tool God has given as a blessing, Satan will try to get us to use money as a curse. But he doesn’t get to win. God does. Use God’s money in ways God’s wants, and you will feel that sense of satisfaction, the conscience’s pat on the back. Meaningful! Use some of God’s money to provide a place to live. Buy food that not just nourishes but tastes good. Enjoy it with an attitude of gratitude! Meaningful. Pay the taxes God wants us to in order to have a government that takes care of its people. Meaningful. If they waste it, that’s on them, not you. You want to experience money in a super meaningful way? Ask God for the gift of generosity. Anyone can give money to a charity or to support the spread of the Gospel. Only a generous person has fun doing it. So if your giving to church or charity is fun for you, thank God for his gift of generosity. If not, something to pray for. If God made you good at making money, make lots of it, and have fun doing with it what God wants you to do. You will find that to be very meaningful. If you are struggling, ask what God wants you to learn. That too is meaningful.

          For without God who can eat and find enjoyment? Meaningless! But with God... Brothers and sisters you go with God, or more accurately, God goes with you. He loves you. He has chosen you to be His own. He gave His one and only Son for you. He adopted you into His family at your Baptism. He feeds your faith through word and sacrament. And He blesses you with a thing called money. While it has the potential to bring about the worst in people, with God it can be used for the best. Meaningless becomes meaningful! Amen.