Sermon 10.23.22 – About Loss and Grief

St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 20^th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 

Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

⁹[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

NRSV

…

About Loss and Grief

Grace and peace, beloved of God, from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

The sermon today is about loss and grief. 

It is about loss and grief because we live in a merit-based society, and the church does its ministry in a culture of perfection. 

There are those among us who grieve because they are deemed not perfect and unsuccessful when this culture wins, 

Others grieve when such a culture loses for the contrition and humility by which Jesus declares others righteous or justified.

The sermon today is about loss and grief.

The sermon today is about loss and grief because we feel lost and hopeless under the impression that God may have forsaken us. 

Maybe these are the moments when we realize that we have pursued the idols of self-interest, peer approval, riches, power, influence, etc.,

Or maybe it is when we learn that God does not always do what we want or approve of what we do.

Maybe yet when we question why they receive, and we did not. 

The sermon today is about loss and grief.

The sermon today is about loss and grief because we wonder if we have fought the good fight.

It is about loss and grief because the balance sheet does not add up. 

We thought that we were gaining, but in fact, we were losing.

Now comes the realization that the fog of rage, vindication, unrepentance, unforgiveness, and ungraciousness, prevented us from seeing it clearly. 

The sermon today is about loss and grief.

The sermon today is about loss and grief because we wonder if we have what it takes to finish the race. 

It is about loss and grief because some of us have signed up confident about our chances of winning but have run into life, and life hit like a ton of bricks.

It was never about winning.

It was about developing the strength to carry those who would never be able to finish by themselves. 

This sermon is about loss and grief.

This sermon today is about loss and grief because we wonder if we have kept the faith. 

It is about loss and grief when we break the promises made at the font and at the feet of the cross,

When we did not live among God’s faithful people,

When we did not receive the word of God and the holy supper,

When the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, were not taught

When we did not place in each other hands the holy scriptures,

and not nurture one another in faith and prayer,

so our children may learn to trust God,

proclaim Christ through word and deed,

care for others and the world God made,

and work for justice and peace.

This sermon is about loss and grief.

This sermon is about loss and grief because seems to always take from us the ones who showed us the way. 

This sermon is about loss and grief, but perhaps it should not be.

Perhaps the sermon today should be about hope and joy.

This sermon should be about hope and joy because through our ministry and dedication to Christ, we warm others with the fruit of our hands.

This sermon should be about hope and joy because the way was shown, because we celebrate those who have been on the journey with us for so many years.

This sermon should be about hope and joy because the way was shown and the way was written.

This sermon should be about hope and joy because those humbled by loss and grief are promised to be made righteous, justified, rejoicing at the throne of Christ.

Thanks be to God. Amen.