WATCH THE SERMON ON VIDEO HERE.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Ame

Yesterday was a very important day in the history of our country. In case you missed it, we celebrated the 250th anniversary of our independence from Great Britain. Now, I have to be honest with you, and tell you upfront that I’m not a real big fan of those patriot services in church. Don’t hear me wrong, I love this country, and I love a good firework’s show, but in the house of God, the focus always needs to be upon the Word of God. Our American identity, as special as that is to us, should never be something that supersedes or overshadows our Baptismal identity. After all, nobody goes to heaven just because they were born in the United States, but we do get to heaven by being born from above through water and the Word. So, that means that there’s never a Sunday where someone should be able to show up to church and leave without actually having heard the Gospel.

I remember one year I had some relatives of mine visit from France, who just so happened to be in town for the 4th of July. They came with us to church on Sunday, and rather than saying the Nicene Creed that day, we spoke the Pledge of Allegiance instead. Now, the pledge of Allegiance isn’t bad, but is that really what we should be asking people to do in worship? Some of those family members of mine weren’t even American citizens. Should we be requiring them to pledge their allegiance to a country they don’t even belong to? And what impression did that give them about the Church? Do you have to be an American to be part of God’s family? No. He builds His Church from every tribe, people, and language. 

And yet, even though the focus of our worship services, even on the 4th of July, should still put the emphasis on God’s Word and Sacraments, that doesn’t mean that we have to ignore or neglect what’s going on around us. Just like we thank God for our daily bread, part of that includes thanking Him for the country that we live in and the unique blessings that we get to have here.

So, in this morning’s sermon, as a sort of reflection on yesterday’s events, and thinking about what God has given us here in this place, I want to answer two questions based off our gospel lesson from Luke 5 and the great catch of fish: First, what is the greatest blessing that we have in this country? And second, what is the greatest threat facing our country?

If you ask almost anyone in the world, they’ll tell you that the greatest blessing that we have in the United States of America is our freedom. But even that little word “freedom,” needs more explanation. What kind of freedom are we talking about? Are we talking about the freedom to own your own home? Well, that’s a good kind of freedom to have, but there’s still something missing there. Are we talking about the freedom of democracy, to vote for and elect our own civil leaders and government officials. Again, that’s a good kind of freedom too, but does that freedom necessarily have any eternal value? This summer the United States has been hosting the World Cup for soccer. I’ve been seeing a lot of videos online of visitors from Europe gushing about what things are like in America. The number one thing that they always seem to comment on is the food, and especially the portion size. But we have something better to offer than just Texas Barbecue. We have the Word of God. And without a doubt, the greatest blessing that we have here in this country, at least for the time being, is access to God’s Word and the freedom to hear it, and proclaim it, without being persecuted for it.

Now, I know that that isn’t always the case. Sometimes Christians suffer even here for refusing to violate their consciences and do something that God’s Word forbids. Just a few years ago a cake baker out on the west coast got sued and lost everything that he had because he wouldn’t make a cake that featured two men getting married. A few years ago, a very close family member of mine got fired from his job, because he wouldn’t give testosterone to a woman who was trying to make herself look more like a man. That sort of stuff does happen. And it’s terrible. But, when you look around at other places in the world, I think it’s easy to see, that it’s not nearly as bad as it could be. What if you lived in China, where its illegal for a foreigner to bring in Bibles and pass them out to people unless it’s for your own personal use. Apparently, the government is so restrictive there that you have to register your congregation with the state so that they can ensure that you never say anything critical about them. Or what if you lived in one of those Muslim countries in the Middle East? You know, the places where women aren’t even allowed to show their faces outside, and its punishable by death to say that Allah is not God and that Muhammed was a false prophet? In Finland, just this last year, a Lutheran lay woman, who was part of the Finnish parliament, was convicted of a hate crime for publishing a book that said that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Yes, there are lots weak spots in our armor here in the United States, and we’ll see how long things will last, but for the time being, we can still come to St John Lutheran Church in Denver, Iowa, read the Bible out loud, listen to a sermon that calls sin what it is, and does not compromise the Scriptures, and no one will get arrested. We can go back to our homes after the service, have Sunday brunch, and enjoy the rest of our day. 

Is that not a profound gift from God? Should we not with all the joy that we can muster, praise the Name of Jesus, and glorify Him for giving us such a gift?

The Word of God is never bound, but here in this place, there seems to be much less obstacles for it to go around. And thanks be to God for that, because look at what the Word of God alone can do? That’s our Scripture lesson today from Luke chapter 5. Saint Peter and the other apostles were fishing all night, and didn’t catch anything. But then then Jesus showed up and told them to try one more time. In the middle of the day, right in deep water, the worst possible time and place to catch any fish, He said, “let down your nets for a catch.” And what did Peter say back, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” Peter subjected his reason and his experience to the clear words of Christ, and then there were so many fish to haul in that the nets were practically breaking. Such is the power of the Word of God. And not just to give us the things that we need for this life, but to give us the gift of eternal life too. God’s Word is the sole tool and instrument of the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to faith in Jesus. It how’s He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, so that, on the last day, there will be a magnificent harvest.  

And that’s what we have access to here in this country. We have access to God’s Word. We can read it. We can preach it. We can live it. We can pass it on to children and their children’s children too. And yes, we could do that anywhere in the world, as many Christians throughout history have, but we can do it here with relative ease. God has answered our prayers of “lead me not into temptation,” by sparing us the kind of intense testing and suffering that maybe some of us, or most of us, would not be able to handle. In His divine mercy and forbearance, He has allowed us to live peacefully here as Christians, even though that is not always the norm for the people of God.

So, yes, the greatest blessing that we have here in this country is freedom. But it’s not just any freedom, it’s the freedom to listen to God’s Word and have access to it all of the time. It’s the freedom to worship Jesus, by receiving His gifts of Word and Sacrament without having to go through hardly any trouble to get it. That is a treasure beyond compare.

And that also shows us, then, what the greatest threat to our country is too. The greatest threat that we face as American citizens is not what you hear about on the news. It’s not foreign invasion, high interest rates, leaders that you do or don’t like, or global warming. It’s apathy towards God’s Word. It’s neglecting the one thing needful, and not appreciating what we have.  

Martin Luther used to compare the Gospel to a rain cloud in the sky. He warned the people in Germany in his time that if they did not cling to God’s Word, and receive it with joy, it would go on to another place for lack of thankfulness. Just like a storm moves from one location to another, if they would not receive the blessings of God’s Word, which had been given to them, the Holy Spirit would take that blessing to someplace else. And sadly, it seems like that’s exactly what happened. Germany was the place of the Reformation. It was the spot where the Holy Spirit once again uncovered the fullness of the pure gospel, and brought it to light in a very public way. And yet, if you know anything about Germany today, how many faithful Christian churches are still there? Practically none. It’s almost completely secular. This was the center of confessional Lutheranism in the world, but guess how many confessional Lutheran congregations still exist? We in the Missouri Synod have only been able to stay in fellowship with one single church body, because of compromises to God’s Word, and even that church body is struggling right now with whether or not they are going to accept women’s ordination. 

The point I’m trying to make is that it can happen anywhere. And we should not be so naive as to think that it could not happen to us. God has given us an immense treasure and privilege in being able to have access to His Holy Word and the freedom to hear it and proclaim without the kind of persecution that we see elsewhere, but how have we used it?

I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in the fear that going to church might get you arrested. We can go to church whenever we want, but look at the church attendance numbers in our country? People skip worship for sports, and sleeping in, and who knows what, acting as if there will always be more time to go. What if there isn’t? How long do you think God will allow those sorts of things to continue, before He brings down His swift and righteous judgment upon us.

Or what about our country’s national sin? In the last 50 years, over 70 million children have been lost their lives to the heinous act of abortion. Rather than bring these precious gifts of God to term, and giving them the chance to be brought to the waters of Holy Baptism, instead their own mothers have decided to let them be murdered in the womb. And it’s not just overt examples like that. The overall attitude towards children and being fruitful in marriage is looked down upon and held in disdain by many, even in the church. God’s Word says that children are a heritage from the Lord, and blessed is the one who fills his quiver with them, and yet, how often do things like money, career, free time, and pleasure cause couples to prevent themselves from having more kids despite God’s clear Word of blessing? Did you know that at the beginning of the 1900’s we in the Lutheran church had the highest birthrate, even among the Catholics? Now, we have one of the lowest birthrates, even among all the other Protestants.  Will we listen to the Word of God, or not?

And we could go on and on. Sexual deviancy is celebrated in our streets. People refuse to tithe, but then they gamble away their money betting on games. Taking drugs that cloud the mind and impede our prayers is as common as drinking a glass of water before bed. Even so-called conservative politicians want to legalize pot in our state just so they can tax it. Lord, have mercy on us all. It is our society and our culture too. Even if we are opposed to these kinds of things with our words, we know, that all too often we not stood far away enough from them with our actions. 

When Saint Peter realized that the boat that he was standing in was sinking, and that the Son of God was right there next to him, what did he do? He cried out to Jesus for help. He confessed his sinfulness and looked to the Lord for forgiveness. We should do the same thing too. So, that we don’t sink down along with the unbelieving world, we should wrap our arms around the legs of Christ and cling to Him and His Word without letting go.

We don’t have the promise that our country will be around forever. In fact, we know for certain that no nation of this earth will last for eternity. But there is still hope for the people of every nation through faith in the Word of God. As Saint Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 3, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

This land that we live in now is not our true home. Our true home is in heaven. It is the place that Christ has prepared for us through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the tomb. And the way that we come to that blessed place is through faith in the promises of our Savior. It’s through repenting of our sins and trusting in Christ for forgivness. When the people of Nineveh repented, God spared the whole city. Even before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He was willing to spare it for the sake of five faithful people. And when God wiped out the whole population of earth in the time of the flood, still He protected Noah and His family, who didn’t despise His Word, and kept them sake in the ark. That’s God’s promise to all believers. It’s His assurance for all those who trust in His Word.

What did the disciples do after Jesus let them catch all of those fish and spared their lives? And the end of our text, it tells us that they left everything and followed Him. That doesn’t mean, as some wrongly teach, that we need to take a vow of total poverty and sell everything that we have. But it does mean that the Word of God needs to come first. What Jesus tells us in the Bible, both His law and His gospel, always has to go before everything else. That is our greatest gift, because that is the tool that Jesus uses to bring us to heaven. It is the way that the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to the gift of salvation, and causes us to receive it.

So, thank the Lord for the access that we still have to His Word in this country. May we not take it for granted, but cling to it always, even if no one else does. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.