Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, the thirteenth chapter:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. …Love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
Anyone know the name of the Church season we’re in? Anyone? It’s not back-to-school time, though for many that’s the cause of much rejoicing. It’s not pre-deer-opener. It’s not pre-winter. Pentecost. Pentecost. And what’s so special about Pentecost? After all, it’s some 23 weeks, this year, about half the year that we’re basically stuck with this green color. Not that that green… or gold… are bad colors. Better than purple and white together, maybe.
Anyway, what’s special about Pentecost is that it’s often referred to as the season of the Church. Think about this for a moment. Through much of the year, our lessons focus solely on Christ’s work for us. In the season of Advent, we look to the fulfillment of the promise of the coming Messiah and wait for His second coming. In the season of Christmas, we celebrate Christ’s taking on of our flesh. In the season of Epiphany, we celebrate Christ’s revealing Himself to all nations. In the season of Lent, we prepare ourselves as we follow Christ’s progression towards the cross. In the short season of Holy Week, we watch as our Lord is crucified in our place, for our sins, taking the punishment we deserve. In the season of Easter, we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, promising us eternal life as well.
But, in the season of Pentecost, a day that we see in Acts where the Church grew because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we now see the work of Christ among us in His gifts. We see Christ all the time, but He has ascended to heaven to sit at the right of His Father, and He has sent His Spirit to come to us, to bring us the gifts of God’s Word, Christ’s Baptism, and Christ’s Supper. But the Spirit also guides us in knowing what to do and how now we should live, how now we should live because we are saved by Christ’s sacrifice for us, we are saved by grace through faith.
The last few months, we’ve spent a lot of time on God’s Word. We’ve spent a lot of time looking at how everything we do is based in our baptisms. And we’ve spent a lot of time looking at how necessary Communion is for the Christian life, and how we need it as often as we can get it. And these ideas are the basis for what Paul even now says today.
For here, then, Paul tells us marvelous things. He shows us how we are to obey those who are in authority over us. Ultimately, this is a fourth commandment issue, right? You shall honor your father and your mother that it may be well with you and you may live long upon the earth. What does this mean? Answer: We should fear and love God so that we may not despise or anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve them, obey them, and hold them in love and esteem.
The fourth commandment isn’t just about our parents, though it certainly is about them, but about all authorities over us. And notice, as Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, the fourth commandment is the one with a promise. If we obey the authorities, why will it go well with us? Because they won’t be coming after us to punish us, to throw us in jail, to execute us. Or at least, they should not.
You see, all authority on earth, Paul tells us, is authority that has been appointed by God. Does that make God the author of evil? After all Hitler must have been appointed by God. Pol Pot must have been appointed by God. ISIS, the group taking over Iraq and Syria, being in authority, must have been appointed by God. Does that mean that God wants people to suffer under these evil regimes?
No, of course not. And yet, God has put these people in a position of power, and these people decide what to do with that power. Putting to death 6 million Jews and millions of others was Hitler’s idea, not God’s. Pol Pot, the Cambodian dictator, killed nearly 2 million people, not God. ISIS, beheading Christians and other things so atrocious they shouldn’t be mentioned in mixed company, that’s their idea, not God’s. These authorities had been placed upon God’s good earth for the care and stewardship of their people. And if they decide to not do that, if they decide to break their own authority, then so be it.
However, our Lord commands us through Paul, we obey the authorities. Even when they are trying to kill us? Yes. Even when they impose things upon us we don’t like? Yes. Even when they are persecuting us? Yes.
Our obedience stops at one point, and one point only, when the government tells us that we must break God’s Word. To deny Christ, to morally compromise ourselves, to accept that which is against God’s Word, this would be sin. And so, the Church, we answer with Peter and the Apostles when told to keep silent by the Temple Council, “We must obey God rather than men.” But only then.
When our Lord gives to us government, it is for our care. We should obey them. See what Paul says here, God has put them in place, if you resist the government, you resist God’s appointment of them, the government bears the sword, do good and the government will approve of you, do evil and fear much, be subject to the government. We should obey the government, from the greatest of its commands, do not murder, to the least, obey the speed limit, to the mundane, vote for candidates, to the despised, pay your taxes. We should obey, for the government is good and God has put it in place for our benefit.
And the way that we best obey the government, Paul tells us, is summed up in one word. The way to obey the speed limit, the way to vote the best, the way to pay taxes the best, the way to not murder, is to love. Love your neighbor. Think, how may I serve them best? What do they need? What can I do? How do I keep them safe? How do I keep them whole? How do I protect them?
Of course, we Lutherans know that these things are spelled out so easily for us in Luther’s Small Catechism, right? We should fear and love God so that we may not despise or anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve them, obey them, and hold them in love and esteem. We should fear and love God so that we may not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need. We should fear and love God so that we may lead a pure and decent life in words and deeds, and each love and honor his spouse. We should fear and love God so that we may not take our neighbor’s money or property, nor get them with bad products or deals, but help him to improve and protect his property and business. We should fear and love God so that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, think and speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything. We should fear and love God so that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, or obtain it by a show of justice and right, or any other means, but help and be of service to him in keeping it. We should fear and love God so that we may not turn, force, or entice away our neighbor’s wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and carefully do their duty.
This all is love. So, Church, this time, shall we talk about you? How are you doing with these things? How are you keeping the commandments? How, being strengthened in the love of Christ, His Word, His Sacraments, are you eating and drinking and sinning no more? Of course, not. Me either. I fail in every way of loving and serving my neighbor. Every single way you can imagine, I’ve let someone down, I’ve failed in thought, word, and deed. I’m miserable when it comes to obeying the government, I’m worse when it comes to loving and serving my neighbor. And I think you are, too. If you’re honest with yourself, we’re all full of it. We’re all full of self-righteousness, and we think we’re doing better than we are, but we’ve all failed. We’re all sinners.
Thank God for Jesus Christ, though. For in Him, we live and move and have our being. For in Christ, in Him alone, we find one who obeyed the government, submitting to all authorities. When the government decided to crucify Him, He went as silent as a sheep before its shearer. When the government decided to plot against Him, He gave them fodder. When the government decided to beat Him, He put up no cry but a cry of pain. When the government demanded taxes, He paid. Christ fully obeyed the government, even to the point of death. And He did it for you, because He knew you could not. Christ even goes and ascribes to you the record of obedience. He takes none for Himself, submitting Himself in love for you to the agony and misery of the cross.
Jesus obeyed for you. Jesus submitted for you. Jesus loved for you. And He continues to love you, He continues to obey the commands of God for you, and He gives to you all things needful, namely, He gives to you His Word and He gives to you His Sacraments. For in His Word we find the words of eternal life, so we are loved by Christ. And in His Baptism, our sins are washed away from us. And in His Supper, we find forgiveness and strengthening of faith in a way that we can see, taste, and touch, where we eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Lamb Who Was Slain.
His blood has set us free to be people of God, following His desires for us, His commands, and listening to the Shepherd’s voice. We follow Him, we do as He asks, not because we will be saved by them; we love and serve our neighbor because we are saved people of Christ. And when we fail, each and every time we sin, we have a Savior to whom we may return and find that He is the full sacrifice for all that we have left undone and all that we do sinfully.
His blood is what gives us strength, and it comes to us in Word and Sacrament. You don’t deserve it, and there’s nothing you can do to earn it. It’s free, it’s a gift. And it’s all for you, so that you may be strengthened in these works toward your neighbor, and it’s all because of Christ. He loves you, sinner, submitter, lover of neighbor or not. And He never shall stop, even when we can’t obey, even when we don’t obey, for He was perfectly obedient for you. He loves you and, thus, has fulfilled all the Law for you. All of it, for all time. Believe in Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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