I.N.I.

a sermon to be preached at True Light Lutheran Church, Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York on the Second Sunday after Pentecost (a.k.a. 18 June) 1995, and based on the Gospel for the Day, St. Luke 7: 1-10

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

By my count, I have preached here 12 Sundays since Pastor Yang retired. Today is number 13. Other pastors and lay preachers from Concordia College have helped out more than I have. Yet other pastors from the area, including Pastors Hamit, Mau and Benke, have served you, too. You have heard lots of sermons from a lot of different preachers.

One thing unites all of the preaching you hear in this church. One thing makes all the sermons the same. That one thing is the message. We use different texts from the Bible, but the message is the same. We use different words, but the message is the same. We speak with different styles, but the message is still the same.

The message we all preach here is simple. It has two plain parts. First part: you are not saved by anything that you do. Second part: you are saved by the grace of God. The simple message is that we are saved through faith in Jesus.

Listen to the story from St. Luke’s Gospel which is our text today. Listen to the way it teaches again this same simple message: [read St. Luke 7: 1-10]

In this little story, there are three things that get said. The first thing is that people tell Jesus that the centurion, this army officer, is worthy to have Jesus heal his slave. They say he has earned the miracle. He has done wonderful things, they tell Jesus.

This centurion must have been a special man. He owns slaves, but he cares very much for this one sick slave. He wants Jesus to come and heal the man. The centurion sends some Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come to his house. The centurion knows that Jesus will respect a request from the elders. They are leaders. They are honored by the people. But they get the message wrong.

The elders tell Jesus that the centurion has earned a visit. They say that he has earned a miracle. They say he works hard among God’s people. They say that he does many things for the nation and for their religion. He is a model citizen. Jesus ought to come. He must come heal the sick man. They speak strong words.

But the elders get the message wrong. Nobody can earn the miracles of Jesus. Nobody can do enough fine things for the community to deserve things from Jesus. Nobody can be a good enough citizen of the nation to force Jesus to come. Nobody can build enough churches to make Jesus perform a miracle. We can’t do it.

Something always hold us back. That is sin. Every one of our acts is made dirty by sin. Every wish we have is marked by sinful desires. Whenever we try to do something to make God happy with us, we make Him angry instead.

Before Jesus gets to the centurion’s house, the second message comes. I think that perhaps the centurion heard what the elders said about him and became embarrassed. The elders tell Jesus “He is worthy of having you do this for him. ” (Luke 7:4) And the centurion know that he is not really worthy. He sends his friends to stop Jesus. The centurion’s friends carry the message “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.” (Luke 7:6)

The centurion knows that he is a sinful man. He knows that the good things he does for the nation and for the synagogue do not make him a good person. The centurion knows that God is happy about these nice things. But he also knows that God does not forgive sin because of a person’s charitable acts.

The centurion also knows that Jesus does not have to come into his house to heal the slave. The centurion knows that all it takes is a word from Jesus. He knows that an army officer simply commands men to come or go, and they come or go. He knows that Jesus can simply command the disease to come or go. The centurion has faith.

This is the heart of the second message in this text. I am not worthy that God should come into my house. You are not worthy that He should come into your house. Our faith in Jesus opens the door.

The third message in today’s text is a word from Jesus. Jesus declares that this centurion has more faith in God than any person in the nation of Israel. Faith is what counts.

God says we are forgiven because of our faith in Jesus’s death. God says that all good things that come to us come because of our faith. God says that our eternal happiness depends on our faith relationship with Him. We are sinful people, but we are forgiven, sinful people. That makes all the difference.

What difference does this make in Chinatown? For one thing, all of us pastors who have been helping you over many months might be tempted to think that we are good men for coming here to preach. We write sermons to preach here. We drive almost one hour. We spend a long day here. We drive all the way home. Maybe we are something special because of the time we devote to True Light Lutheran Church.

We are not special because of the work we do. We are only God’s servants. We speak His word to you. We do God’s work, not our own work.

What difference does this make in Chinatown? Next Sunday Pastor Tich Luu will be installed as your pastor. A very happy day for True Light. God will bless Pastor Luu’s ministry here. He will preach in this pulpit. He will visit you in your homes. He will call on you in the hospital. He will become involved in the community. Pastor Luu will work hard. God will not bless his ministry because he works hard. God will bless his ministry because it is based on God’s Word and because his ministry shows his faith in Jesus.

What difference does this make in Chinatown? This congregation has some strong leaders. I see a small bit of their work on the Sundays I am here with you. They arrange for pastors to be with you on Sundays. They prepare the church budgets. They plan and follow through on many details. God does not bless their service because they work hard. God blesses their work because it is done for His church. Work by the congregation’s leaders is based on God’s Word. It shows their faith in Jesus. Their work is blessed because God honors service done out of a love for our holy Savior.

What difference does this make in Chinatown? All the members of this church support its work. Some give their time to help out with special projects or events. Some are able to give money to support the work of the church. Some take care of parts of the building. Some provide music for the services. Some translate our sermons. There are many more ways you support God’s work in Chinatown through this congregation. There are many ways I do not know and have not mentioned.

God does not bless us and this work because it is hard work. He does not think that we earn His love. He does not think that any of us are worthy to have Him with us now because we spend our time or money on the church.

God blesses us and thinks us worthy only because He sees Jesus when He looks at us. He hears our confession. He hears us ask for forgiveness. He sees our faith in Jesus. That is why He gives us the things we need.

Americans value hard work. It is difficult to understand that hard work is important at our jobs, but not important with God. Our hard work and effort does not make us worthy before God. It does not earn us a place in Heaven. It does not release us from the punishment for our sins. These things come through our faith in Jesus.

This is the simple message that I try to preach to you. It is the simple message that the other pastors from Concordia and the Atlantic District have preached to you. It is the simple message that Pastor Luu will preach. I pray that God will bless his work among you. And I pray that God will bless each of you as you continue to realize your own unworthiness and rely on Jesus to save you. AMEN

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. AMEN

S.D.G.