The short answer is that we do that because we are sinners.  As the 1982 WELS exposition to the Small catechism says:  ”How does the Eighth Commandment serve as a mirror for us?  The Eighth Commandment shows us our sins because we have not always honored God’s gift of a good name as He wants us to.”  But the fact that we are sinners, and know that we are sinners, should lead us to be more charitable toward others.  We should not be commenting on everybody else’s faults and weaknesses when we have so many of our own.  When people mess up we should be sympathetic and offer to help them clean up, rather than spreading the mess around with our mouths.  When people slip up and fall, we should be eager to help them get up, and not laugh and sneer at them and rush to tell everyone how they can’t stand up on their own two feet.

Elder Tom thinks some people are hyper-critical simply because they do not see how sinful they themselves are.  They seem to be totally ignorant of their failings, or else minimize them, and so they feel free to dump on other people, and to do so constantly and vigorously.  Sometimes this is due to the ignorance and inexperience of youth.  Elder Tom remembers his own younger days with great sorrow:  how quick he was to pass judgment on people, both those of his own age and those who were older and wiser than he.  As Elder Tom got older, he found himself making many mistakes (as well as committing all too many sins), including some of those he had condemned so severely in others.  He learned humility the hard way, especially when some of those he censured turned out to be far better than himself.  But with certain individuals, the older they get , the freer they feel about commenting on the other people’s foibles.  Elder Tom thinks it’s because, as the Good Book says, “They flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin.”  Such people must think that their judgments and their eagerness to communicate them prove how good they are, when what they show is just the opposite.

Elder Tom notes that the opposite attitude can also lead people to look down on their neighbors and move them to share their views with as many people as possible.  Some people are guilt-ridden and they may try to make themselves feel better by looking for people who are worse than they are in some way.  They may try to deflect criticism for their own faults by getting potential critics to fixate on other people’s faults instead.  Closely related to this group are those who envy people they think get away with things and enjoy themselves more because they give free rein  to their sinful desires.  They see themselves and keeping their noses clean and strictly adhering to the straight and narrow, and not having much fun doing so.  They try to make up for the lack of enjoyment in their lives by enjoying themselves as they run people down.  Still others resent the fact that other people have more money, have accomplished more, are more popular, and have greater respect and influence.  (Elder Tom has to admit that he wishes he were in a position to command greater respect and wield more influence than he does.)  Still others like to talk about their neighbor’s faults and sins because it gives them a vicarious thrill.  They enjoy contemplating the alleged wrong-doing and as they repeat – and embellish – what they saw (or more likely, heard about), they get the same satisfaction as if they were indulging in the vice themselves (and indeed, that is exctly what they are doing).

What is the answer?  The answer is, as Elder Tom has said before and will say again, that we apply the God’s word, specifically the law and the gospel, to ourselves.  Are we judgmental because we think we are better than others, that our faults and weaknesses don’t amount to much of anything?  ”If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us… All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness [not our sins, our vices, our faults, our weaknesses, but our righteousness, our good points, what is best about us] are as filthy rags… Whoever keeps the whole law, and yet offends in one point, he is guilty of all.”  We are all sinners, “children of wrath,” and “dead in transgressions and sins.”  Elder Tom might think that some people may have committed one or two more sins than he has, but what is that compared to the holiness that God demands?  What is a drop or two of water compared to Lake Erie?  Elder Tom is in no position to think himself better than anyone else, and he cannot and dare not think that he can arbitrarily judge and condemn anyone, and neither can you.  We must all cry out, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

What if we are motivated by unresolved guilt in our lives?  What if we condemn others to ease our consciences,  or to keep people from criticizing and condemning us?   We have no need to carry guilt or be oppressed by it:  ”There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sins… If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness… If anyone sins, we have one who speaks to the Father on our behalf, Jesus Christ the righteous; he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”  Jesus has answered for all our sins, He has taken them away, He has freed us from sin and guilt, and He has given us His righteousness.  Therefore we can have a clear conscience before God.  People’s criticism cannot condemn us.  And if what people say about us should have the ring of truth, we can see them, not as critics to be abhorred, resented, ignored, or avoided, but as God’s instruments who are helping us improve, so that we may serve Him and our neighbors better.

What if we envy the wicked and the fun they are (supposedly) having being so wicked?  Take a look and Psalm One or Psalm 73.  Remember God’s patience.  He has been patient with us; He has kept us as His children even though we have given Him ample reason to give us a good swift kick and turn His back on us.  He is also patient with others to give them a chance to repent.  Rather than talking about such people and their sins behind their backs, we are to speak to them about the Savior from sin and the forgiveness available to them in His name.  Do we get a vicarious thrill from talking about our neighbor’s vices?  Remember that true love, Christ-like love, does “not rejoice with evil, but rejoices with the truth.”  Rather than dwelling on the seamy side of life, “whatever is true, whatever commands respect, whatever is righteous, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever prompts a good report, it there is anything virtuous or worthy of praise, set your mind on things like that.”

What if we envy people their wealth or status and so are tempted to try to bring them down?  Let us remember that “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment… For He says, never will I leave you, never will I abandon you… Everything good that is given and perfect that has been granted is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.”  Even in earthly terms, God has blessed us abundantly.  On top of that we have the super-abundant riches of His grace now and all the glorious wealth of eternity as members of Christ’s Kingdom.  We have no reason to envy anyone what they have.  Nor do we have any reason to envy anyone’s influence, popularity, or power.  As citizens of God kingdom we are part of a royal priesthood.  We have the right to use the means of grace for ourselves and others, we have a role in the ministry of the gospel, we have the right to pray.  We are the apple of God’s eye.  No matter how insignificant we may appear to the world or to ourselves, we are vitally important to God.  He set His heart on us from all eternity, we have fellowship with Him now, and we will reign in glory with Him forever.  Elder Tom is a member of his Father’s family, he has been purchased by his Savior’s blood, and he is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.  By God’s grace and the operation of the gospel, so are you.

Therefore we have no reason, no compulsion, and no excuse to “tell lies about our neighbor, betray him or give him a bad name.”  On the contrary, in the name of our Savior, we have every reason, we have the driving force of His love, and we have the internal energy of His truth to “defend him [our neighbor], speak well of him and take his words and actions in the kindest possible way.”

But still, damage has been done.  And sometimes Elder Tom wakes up in the middle of the night, wishing he had the ability to kick himself in the posterior over something he thought or felt, something he said or wrote that was wrong or communicated in the wrong way, some issue he failed to resolve properly, some missed opportunity to apologize and seek a brother’s or sister’s pardon.  There is another thing that can wake Elder Tom in the middle of the night.  That is the memory of things that people have said about him, both to his face and behind his back.  Elder Tom knows how it is to have people bad mouth him, and he knows what it is to have to cope with the damage that results from such activity.  He confesses that he has trouble forgetting and forgiving what was said, not to mention how hard it is for him to love and respect those who did the talking.

Elder Tom needs to watch his mouth, and so do you and all our fellow Christians.  Elder Tom knows how it hurts to be on the receiving end, and many of you, if not all, have the same knowledge.  Elder Tom has also observed the damage that violations of the Eighth Commandment (Lutheran Counting) have done to the church.  Ministries have been destroyed because called workers have been bad mouthed by their members, and – despite how unthinkable it ought to be and is – even by other called workers of the same fellowship.  Called workers and members have had their feelings hurt.  For all too many, the quality of their lives and the sphere of their service to the Savior and his church have been diminished.  Others have found it difficult to worship and to have a receptive attitude towards the means of grace, the gospel in word and sacrament.

We need to watch our mouths, and our hearts.  If we allow ourselves to become judgmental and hyper-critical, we do ourselves and others great damage.  If a Christian gets down on his pastor for some reason, how is he/she going to be able to receive what the pastor says, how is he/ she going to be served with the gospel that comes from his mouth, how can she/ he properly receive the Sacrament from his hands?  If we get down on one of the members of our congregation, how can we work with them, help them, pray for them, love them as our Savior wants us to do?  How can we do outreach to our friends, neighbors, colleagues, or family if they hear us talking about what a loser our pastor is or what hypocrites we have in our congregation?  How can any project succeed if the participants are talking each other down?

We need to watch our mouths, our hearts, and our souls.  We want the gospel to come to one and all, we want everyone we know, everyone in our community, everyone in the whole wide world to know Jesus as his/her Savior and to share all the riches of God’s love and generosity that have been lavished on us.  We don’t want careless, thoughtless words, let alone malicious ones, keep anyone from receiving the gospel.  When our pastor visits a family, we want them to see him as a loving, caring, devout, truthful, authoritative person on whom they can rely to bring them the truth of God and serve them with the gospel of Christ.  We want to see him in the same way for ourselves.  We don’t want anything we feel or say to lead ourselves or others to see him in any other light.  The same is true for all our fellow Christians.  We want them to see us and we want to see them as sincere believers in our Lord Jesus and the truth of his word, penitent sinners who are bound together by our common faith and confession into a dynamic fellowship that is committed to communicating that confession of faith to each other, to our children, and to all the people around us.  We want our community to see us that way as well, and we do not want to have our feelings and/or our words militate against or diminish in any way the clarity and energy of our communication of the Savior’s name.

We do not want to damage others, and we certainly do not wish to damage ourselves.  If we indulge in a judgmental, hyper-critical attitude toward our pastors and fellow Christians, we hinder our ability to receive the gospel.  If we continue down that road, and do not repent, then we will indeed continue down that road, and down, and down, all the way to…all the way to that place that Elder Tom doesn’t like to mention and that he doesn’t even want to contemplate.  If we give voice to that attitude and talk behind people’s backs, we make it more difficult for them to serve the Savior and to get the gospel to those who need to hear it.  We need to cultivate the opposite attitude.  We need to view each other as positively as possible, and to speak that way about each other.  When offenses come, as our Savior assures us they will, we want to be sure that we are not to be counted among those through whom the offenses come.  (Woe to us if we are in that number, as our Savior also asserted.)  When issues arise, we want to resolve them as our Savior directs us.

As our Savior directs us – we claim Jesus as our Savior.  We know that He suffered unspeakably to atone for all the things we should not have spoken about our fellow Christians and our called workers.  We know that He suffered unspeakably for all the things that our fellow Christians might have spoken amiss about us.  Because our Savior answered for all our careless, and even malicious words, those sins, along with all the others, have been forgiven and even, in the mystery of the new covenant, forgotten by God.  From this forgiveness comes the power, as well as the imperative, to forgive others, no matter how hard it may seem or how “good” or memories may be.  From the forgiveness we received comes the imperative and the power to share that forgiveness and its Author with one and all.  From that forgiveness comes the power and imperative to “defend, speak well of, and take the words and actions of others in the kindest possible way,” especially when it comes to our pastor and our fellow Christians.

What was the bad news?  That he died?  No, that would be sad, but at least then we could have the comfort of knowing that he was with his Lord and Savior, and ours.  Sad as it is when a Christian (and a called servant of the word, as Elder Tom’s friend was) dies, that is the moment of triumph, that is the goal to which we all aspire.  No, the bad news was that he had had an aneurism which burst, resulting in a massive stroke, sufficiently massive to land him in the Mayo clinic.  The report that Elder Tom heard was that his old friend had lost 30% of his brain function, including his sight and his ability to speak.

Elder Tom has to be honest; his faith was momentarily – very momentarily, mind you – shaken.  It seems  a terrible tragedy and rotten shame that such a highly gifted person should be struck down like that.  True, he had to be getting a little long in the tooth, just as elder Tom is, and he might have been slowing down a might, as Elder Tom has, though to be honest, Elder Tom was never very swift.  It seems that there are so many wonderful things that Elder Tom’s friend could still have done, especially in God’s kingdom.  Why is Elder Tom’s friend incapacitated, when so many – pardon Elder Tom’s French – losers are walking around, flapping their jaws and spreading their nonsense, working mischief and worse?

Although we cannot say why this happened to Elder Tom’s friend, and not to someone else, like Elder Tom himself, there are some answers and some lessons to be learned.  Elder Tom’s friend was highly gifted – where did these gifts come from?  They came from the hand of God, and they were given to Elder Tom’s friend so that he could use them for the glory of God and for the benefit of God’s people.  In addition to the beneficial effect that he had on his family and friends, Elder Tom’s friend got to serve over thirty years in the called ministry, working in a number of parishes and schools here and in Canada.  God gave him his gifts and gave him the time and the opportunity to use those gifts to serve God and His people.  God has chosen to end that time of service.  God has appointed Elder Tom’s friend to a different position, a position in which he needs the service of others.  That is probably not something that any of us would choose for ourselves or for anyone we cared for.  But we don’t call the shots, God does.  We should remember that the person who needs service is just as important and valuable as the person who serves.  Elder Tom’s friend is not useless or without the ability to be a blessing, as some might be tempted to say.  He is a blessing to all who get to serve him, whether he helps provide them with employment or gives them an opportunity to show their love, appreciation, and gratitude to him, as well as their love, appreciation and gratitude to their Savior.

Why are the “losers” still running around, running off at the mouth, doing whatever they please?  They are still doing that because God is patient.  God is still giving them time to become what Elder Tom and his old friend have been ever since their baptisms – children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  Indeed, whenever we see people we think that we and the world would be better off without, let’s remember that apart from the grace of God that the Holy Spirit brought home to us in the gospel, we would be those people, and we might even be worse.  Let us also remember that we are here with those people because God wants us to communicate the gospel to them.

Elder Tom’s friend was very good at communication, excelling in both the spoken and the written word.  Now that ability has been taken from him.  You and Elder Tom may not be as good at communication – though some of you may be better – but we still have some ability to get points across to other people.  God has given us time to communicate the gospel and to serve others in the past as well as in the future – but we do not know how long a future we are going to have nor how long we are going to be able to communicate and be of service.  Our Savior told His disciples, including us, to work while it is day.  Le us use our ability to communicate while we can,  as well as when God gives us the opportunity to do so.

There is something else.  As you probably noticed from the way Elder Tom has been expressing himself, he has lost track of his old friend, or he would have known about this for a long time and had some contact with him and his family.  One of Elder Tom’s weaknesses (if not faults) is that he has a tendency to lose touch with family and friends.  Some of that is inevitable because of time and distance, but with current means of communication people can keep in better touch with one another.  At one time Elder Tom and his old friend could and did talk for hours.  Now they cannot talk at all, and could not, even if they were in the same room.  But Elder Tom can still communicate with the Lord, asking for God’s blessing on his friend, his friend’s family, and on all those who are attending him.  And that other Tom can do something similar – whatever his cognitive ability may be, in his spirit and by the power of the Spirit he is able to communicate with his Savior, thanking and praising the Lord Jesus for all that He did for him, and imploring His aid for his family, so that they can meet the challenge presented by his physical condition, as well as growing and gaining enrichment through it.

Dear Lord, be with Tom and his family.  Keep showing them your love and power.  Let them know, and let all of us know, that You make everything work out for our good.  And thank you for the time and the friendship that I had with him, and forgive me for all the times I took that blessing for granted.  In the mean time, help me value the personal relationships you have given me, and let me be a benefit to the people around me.  Dear Lord, help me and all your people to “redeem the time,” using the opportunities and abilities you have given us to reach out to one and all with the gospel.  In the name of our Best Friend and Elder Brother, as well as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

But Pastor White made an even more important point.  Our testimony about our neighbor affects our ability to bear witness to our Savior and the truth of his word.  If we develop a reputation as people who play fast and loose with the truth, how can we expect people to believe us if we try to communicate the most important truth of all – that Jesus is the one and only Savior from sin?  If we are constantly putting people down, how can we expect people to believe that we have the one and only message that can truly build them up?  If we are constantly dishing out dirt in a loveless and careless manner, how can we expect people to believe us when we come with the message about the blood of Jesus that can truly cleanse us from all our sins?  If we are constantly saying things that do damage to people’s reputations, how can we expect people to believe that we are going to turn around and speak the truth in love to them, the truth that is going to set them free, the truth that is going to bring them great blessings?

The personal dimension is important.  We can’t go around using words to hurt and harm our neighbor and his reputation and expect to be credible and well received when we try to bring them the good news about Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.  There is still another dimension.  If we are constantly putting people down, what does that say about what we really believe?  What does that say about the content of the message we carry and try to communicate?  The average person thinks of church-going Christians as self-righteous people who look down on everybody else.  They think that the message of the church is that people get in good with God by conforming to whatever moral standards that the church propagates.  They think that Christians get together to pat each other on the back and grouse about everybody else.

Elder Tom is well aware that this attitude is going to exist regardless of what we do.  The early Christians were persecuted for “the hatred of mankind” – for hating people, looking down of them, and trying to deprive them of their pleasure.  Today if you oppose marriage between people of the same gender you can be accused of being hateful.  If you suggest to anyone that what they are doing is wrong, you can be condemned as self-righteous.  We can’t do anything about that. But if we go overboard in criticizing people and harping on their flaws, then we are the ones who are giving the wrong impression.  Our Lord Jesus said that the Father did not send Him into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.  We are not in the world to condemn the world, but to tell the people of our world what the Lord Jesus did to save them.  While we must communicate the law and condemn thoughts, words, and actions that violate God’s law, that is neither our primary purpose nor our main reason to get together as a church.  The primary reason we get together is to help each grow in faith in the Savior by employing the means of grace for ourselves, and to work together to employ them for others; that is, to work hand in hand to communicate the gospel in word and sacrament to one and all.

We need to and want to speak the truth in love to and about people at all times, in all places, under all circumstances.  We do this because our Savior is speaking for us in the presence of the Father, not about our sins – that’s what the devil does – and the judgment we deserve, but He is speaking for us on the basis of the work that He did in our place.  He is speaking of us in a manner better than we deserve by nature.  Our Savior suffered and shed His blood and died to pay for all the times we told lies about or neighbor or gave him a bad name (“belied, betrayed, or defamed” is the way Elder Tom learned it in Catechism Class), along with all our other sins.  He was accused falsely during His life and at His trial, and He was bad mouthed even as He was pouring out His lifeblood for those who were defaming Him.  Our Savior assumed responsibility for our well-deserved reputation as sinners, and gave us the reputation of being righteous by giving us the credit that He deserves.

We treasure the message of all our Savior did for us, and we want to share that message with everybody.  We want everyone to know the Savior’s truth and love.  We want people to know that we do not bring a message that is hyper-censorious, but a message that frees people from all censure, no matter how greatly deserved.  We want people to know that we want the best for them, and that we have the message that will give them what is best for them.  We want to be known as those who speak the truth in love, so that we can speak the Truth of Love, the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  We can speak the truth in love because the Holy Spirit lives in us and helps us, and we do so that He may work though our testimony and create and sustain faith, hope and love in those who hear us.  For the sake of our Savior and His holy gospel, Elder Tom says, to himself first and also to you, “Watch your mouth.”

One insight has to do with the family members who were present at the baptism.  Naturally the grandparents were with us, including the pastor’s father.  He happens to be a lawyer.  In other contexts Elder Tom might be tempted to make a few not-so-smart remarks that might be interpreted as disparaging to the legal profession, but this is for the church and Attorney White is Elder Tom’s pastor’s father.  So Elder Tom will resist speak most respectfully of Counselor White and stoutly resist any temptation to do otherwise.  The fact that Pastor White’s father is a legal eagle has enabled him to have some interesting approaches to certain parts of the Bible and its teachings.

One of them came in connection with this commandment:  ”You  shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  When we are summoned as witnesses in a trial, we are called on to give evidence concerning the actions of one or more of our neighbors.  When we are in court we swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  When we are in court as witnesses, we are not the judge, nor are we members of the jury.  When we testify to the truth it must be the truth in context.  We are not allowed to utter statements that are irrelevant, immaterial or prejudicial to the defendant.  Except in rare instances, we are not permitted to present hearsay evidence.  Unless we are experts in some form of analysis, we are not permitted to give opinions.  When we testify in court, we have to be very careful about what we say.  For one thing we have to respect the oath.  For another, what we say is going to have a significant effect on our neighbor’s life, liberty, and property.  For still another, we have an obligation to see that justice is done, that wrongs done against our neighbors are requited.  We also have an obligation to see that the innocent are vindicated.  Some people – lawyers, clergy, doctors, therapists, and the like – can not testify (except for child abuse, where they are required to offer evidence) concerning things that were told them in their professional capacity.

Pastor White’s point, the point that so impressed Elder Tom, is that we ought always speak with the same care that we would use if we were on the witness stand.  Whenever we talk about our neighbor, we are giving testimony about him.  We are saying things that may affect his reputation, whether for the good or for the bad.  We should of course say nothing that is untrue about our neighbor.  We should also not repeat things we hear which put our neighbor in a bad light (hearsay; or as usually call it, gossip).  We should not speak carelessly about our neighbor, we should not say things about him that might or might not be true, nor dig up things from the past (irrelevant, immaterial, prejudicial – in other words, more gossip).  We should never repeat things that were told us in confidence.  We should remember that our words have power, that they can help and and they can harm.

When we speak about our neighbor, we need to remember that we are witnesses, we are neither the judge nor the jury.  Just as in court, our neighbor is entitled to the presumption of innocence.  That is why we are to “put the best construction on everything,” as Elder Tom learned it in his catechism days.  (Pastor White quoted it as he teaches it currently:  we should take our neighbor’s “words and actions in the kindest possible way.”)  When we talk about our neighbor, we are not to be pass sentence on him.  We are not to express judgments that will hurt his reputation, put him in a bad light, or cause him to be diminished in the eyes of others.  Chance remarks have been known to cause people to lose employment or business, to separate friends and family members and even spouses, to make people sick – emotionally, mentally, and physically – and even to lead people to contemplate and commit suicide.

When we hear things about our neighbor, we are forced into the jury.  Any statements like those that would draw an “Objection,” followed by a “Sustained,” are remarks that we should ignore and not hold against our neighbor.  Indeed, when we hear bad things about our neighbor, we may also be forced into the role of a litigator in his defense.  It may be our task to challenge a claim made against our neighbor, to refute it (if we know for sure that it is untrue), and to urge our partner in conversation to speak with greater charity, and, if necessary, with greater accuracy.

What does this point mean to Elder Tom, and what should it mean for you?  It emphasizes the truth that we are to speak the truth in love at all times and in all places.  If we think about ourselves as serving on the witness stand when we speak, it will help us to realize the power of our words, their possible effect on people, and that we make sure that what we speak is true, wholesome, and beneficial both to those who hear us and to anyone concerning whom we speak.  We are to speak as positively about our neighbor as possible; to paraphrase the Golden Rule, we are to speak about other people in exactly the same way that we want other people to speak about us.

Elder Tom has frequently commended Pastor White for some of the insights that come as a result of the family’s legal background.  Last Sunday, Elder Tom got to express his appreciation for those insights to his father.  The pastor’s father expressed his thanks to Elder Tom.  With all his faults, weaknesses, and sins, Elder Tom is in no position to blow his own horn.  But as an elder, he is to set an example, including in the keeping of the Eighth Commandment.  And one of the ways that we keep this commandment is by commending our fellow Christians for their good qualities and for their use of those qualities in the service of our Savior and His church.  Elder Tom urges himself and everyone who is listening:  ”Watch your mouth; use it to speak as your Savior wants you to speak.”  This is one of the points from Sunday’s sermon that so impressed Elder Tom.  In a day or two he will write about the second feature that left its mark on him.

Still, there are over 900 denominations in this country, along with hundreds, if not thousands, of independent congregations.  All of these different churches are indeed a source of offense to people.  Why is the church so divided?  The true church, the communion of saints, the one holy Christian (or catholic) and apostolic church, the body of Christ, is not divided.  We confess that truth in our services.  But we say that we believe in this one church, we do not claim to be able to see it.  What we see is our congregation, our church body, and many others.  What other people see is professing Christians divided into a lot of different groups, and Elder Tom supposes that a person could, in all innocence, see this and be totally confused by it.  Indeed, the divisions among the churches (as well as those within denominations and congregations) form one of the sharpest tools in the devil’s workshop, a tool used to keep people away from the gospel.  These divisions are also a result of his tireless work among professing Christians, work aimed at keeping them from learning the full truth of the gospel, confessing that truth properly, and working together effectively to communicate that truth to the people of the world.

Why so many churches?  Is it possible to give a short answer to this question?  Elder Tom thinks so, though it also needs some explanation, explanation that takes a little time.  That answer is found in our Lord’s words to some of His enemies:  ”Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?”  Our Lord Jesus asked this question of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection.  The Lord’s point was that they did not realize what the Scripture said, as well as that the Lord could and would  do all that He said.  Even at the burning bush God, the living God, had said that He was (and is) the God “of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  These men had been dead for many years.  But He was (and is) still their God; they still were (and are) His people.  That means that they still had (and have) life.  God has the power to take their spirits and keep them with Him, and God has the power to call them from the grave to live in glory.

The same principle applies to any spiritual truth.  If you want to know what the truth is, go to the source.  Read the Bible.  Read it as it was written.  Don’t try to subject it to your own thoughts, prejudices, and desires.  And don’t let anyone else give you a version that is filtered through their thoughts, prejudices, desires, ideologies, or traditions.  Read the Bible as it is, the book of God’s truth, the book that glorifies Jesus Christ, the book that speaks to you, the book that can and does give you life.  Learn what the Bible says.  That is part of what it means to know the Scriptures.  But it is also important to accept the Bible, to embrace it, to rely on it, to pay attention to it, to join our Lord’s mother in keeping all these things and pondering them in our hearts.

As you rely on the truth of the word, rely on the power of God.  In fact, only by the power of God can we rely on the word.  The God whose power has brought us to faith in our Lord Jesus and in the truth of His word can and will do all that He says in His Word.  His word will keep on giving us life.  His word will be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.  His word will delight us and give us the best advice.  His word will free us from shame and give us salvation.  His word will bless us abundantly and is worth more to us than all the money in the world.  His word will gather all His people into His fellowship.  God has kept all His promises, He is still keeping all His promises, and He most certainly will keep His promises for all eternity.

If all of us knew the Scriptures and the power of God  in our hearts and in our minds, and if we all confessed the same with our mouths and our lives, there would be no divisions of the church.  Sad to say, none of us does this as it should be done.  But even to the extent that we do know the Scriptures and the power of God, we receive the blessings promised.  Our efforts to confess that truth, however feeble and flawed they may be, still have the power of God the Holy Spirit pulsating through them and energizing them.

Each of us has the obligation to keep on growing in knowing the Scriptures and the power of God, as well as growing in confessing our Savior’s truth in everything we think, say, and do.  Elder Tom’s job as an elder of the church is to help the members St. Paul’s do that, as well as to make sure that our church’s practices and proclamation are based on what the Scriptures say.  As Elder Tom likes to say, we need to communicate the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.  Then, as our Savior said, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free.  Then we will have the quality of life that our Savior wants us to have, and we will function together as the kind of church that our Savior wants us to be.  Then we can fulfill our role in bringing the knowledge of our Savior to those who are as yet ignorant of Him.  That knowledge is both bliss now and the guarantee of permanent bliss in the future.

Why?  As Elder Tom has said before, the Bible is a realistic book.  All of the heroes of the Bible – save One – are shown as they really were, warts and all.  (Of course, that One, our Lord Jesus, was also shown as He really was and is; He just happened to be, and still is,  completely without warts.)  Events like this shows how bad sin is, what it can do to the best of people – and David was the best of the best.  This in turn emphasizes how badly a remedy is needed, how badly a Savior is needed.  The Bible was written to tell us of our Savior and all that He did to rescue us from our sins.  The Bible is not a book of the ideals for human virtue, but a book that discloses the reality of the grace of God, grace that delivers people who lack virtue from the consequences of their vices, big or small, obvious or barely noticeable.  Interestingly enough Bathsheba is one of the four women mentioned (though not named, as the other three were) in the ancestral line of our Savior in Matthew I.  Her inclusion, like that of the others, serves to emphasize that Jesus is the Savior of sinners, even of those who sin against their better knowledge, compound their sin with impenitence, and heap up sin after sin in trying to hide what they have done.

Some people take offense at this point.  One of Elder Tom’s very dear friends was upset because of the way many of her friends and family reacted to this incident, especially as presented in a motion picture (to which Pastor White also referred in his sermon.)  The impression these that people got was that it was wonderful to be able to do what David and Bathsheba did and get away with it.  As Elder Tom pointed out, they did not get away with it.  The Bible not only gives attention to this incident but also to the aftermath – to the damage that David did to himself and Bathsheba, to Uriah (one of David’s top men), to their first child (who died), to his family, and to his people and his kingdom.  But David was told “The Lord has put away your sin.”  A later son of David and Bathsheba, Solomon by name, became king and an ancestor of the Savior.  As the Bible says in another place, where sin abounded grace did much more abound.

Some people do use the demonstrations of God’s grace, here and elsewhere in Scripture, as excuses to sin, thinking they can do so with impunity.  Some actually think they can sin as much as they want, and wait to repent when they get to be Elder Tom’s age or even older.  (An old adage says  ”Those who plan on repenting at the eleventh hour may well die at 10:30.”)  Still others turn up their noses and look for spiritual direction elsewhere than in the Bible.  Elder Tom has some sympathy with them.  He was never bothered by this episode, but he was upset by the story of Samson.  It was not just Samson and Delilah, but the whole account of his dealings with women, the wrong women.  And it was not just his womanizing, but his lapses of judgment.  (Elder Tom is ashamed to admit it, but in his younger days he tended to overrate his own intelligence and give other people less credit for theirs; he also had the bad habit of minimizing his own lapses of knowledge and judgment while failing to exercise the proper degree of charity and balance toward similar lapses he observed in others.  Elder Tom daily repents of this attitude in sackcloth and ashes.)  Elder Tom thought that Samson was as dumb as a box of rocks.  But the Lord did not let Elder Tom go on like that for long.  The account of Samson emphasizes the grace of God in many ways.  First, in the fact that God forgave Samson and led him to repentance.  Elder Tom needs to repent daily and daily he lives by the Lord’s forgiveness.  Secondly, Elder Tom, although somewhat precocious in his youth, has huge areas of ignorance (for example, Pastor White had to give him detailed instructions so that he could write this blog) and has made many, many mistakes in judgment, including in and especially in his efforts to serve his Savior and his church.  God not only used Samson in his strength, He used his very mistakes to execute judgment on the Philistines and bring about deliverance for His people.  God can still use Elder Tom in spite of his mistakes and can even use those mistakes to accomplish his purpose.

What applies to Elder Tom applies to one and all.  God has forgiven all your sins because of what Jesus did for you.  Like Elder Tom and like all the heroes of the Bible, you need God’s grace and forgiveness every day.  That God showed grace to them assures you and me that He has shown, is showing, and will continue to show the same grace to us.  God has led us to repent.  God loves us and wants us to be his own, whoever we may be and whatever we may have done.  God can use us in His service, no matter how weak and flawed we are.  God can and does use those very flaws and weaknesses to accomplish his purpose.  He can and does do that in Jesus Christ.

Does this mean that we cultivate our flows, our weaknesses, our faults, our sins?  Indeed we do not have to cultivate them, they keep coming up no matter how hare we work at trying to uproot them and throw them away.  But we who have repented certainly will never take our sins lightly, nor will we despise or take the Lord’s generosity for granted.  We know what our Savior did for us and how much it cost Him to procure our salvation.  Because He did that for us, we will spare no efforts to remove all those things from our hearts and minds and lives.  Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we want to live as our Father wants us to live.  We want to serve Him, to thank Him, to honor Him, to do as David did when His sin was brought home to him.  For David was not a man of God’s own heart because of any inherent virtue, but because he was a sinner repented and trusted in his Savior and a man who valued God’s forgiveness, forbearance, and munificence.  Elder Tom has spoken of the aftermath of David’s sin.  He once heard a wonderful sermon about the aftermath of David’s repentance.  That sermon was based on Psalm 51.  Elder Tom is going to pray that Psalm as soon as he is done with this blog; he respectfully suggests that you do the same.  Then we can learn together the true lesson to be learned from the story of David and Bathsheba.

Elder Tom is happy to relate that he has not seen either of these shows for a long time.  So why is he mentioning them here and now?  If you were in church last Sunday (July 18th) or if you have checked out the sermon on this web site, you know what prompted him to do so.  Pastor White referred to them in his sermon.  His text was the account of how Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery.  Pastor said that this account, and the family history that went with it, seemed like it would be more likely to be found on the shows mentioned above that in the Holy Scriptures.  The text was chosen to illustrate the Fifth Commandment.  There were multiple violations of that commandment in the text – hatred, jealousy and envy, conspiracy to commit murder, assault, kidnapping, the sale into slavery, and last but not least. making both Joseph’s and their father’s life miserable.  If that weren’t enough, what was behind this was also from the seamy side of life.  A dysfunctional family extraordinare – a man with two wives who happened to sisters, one of which he loved and one of which he endured – two concubines (slaves who were also mistresses) – at least 13 children from these four women – sibling rivalry – blatant favoritism on the part of the father toward one of the sons.  And all of this is about the patriarchs, the fathers of God’s chosen people!

Because it occurs in Sunday School lessons (and for us Lutherans, in catechism class) this account is a little more familiar than other similar parts of the Bible, if not with all the sordid details.  People who are unacquainted with the Bible might be very surprised to know that an account like this is in the Scriptures at all.  Even Christians whose biblical background may be weak might be shocked to know that there are even more sensationalistic accounts than these, and that they involve not just fringe characters, but many of the heroes of the Bible.  In fact, people might be amazed that stories like these would be in any kind of religious book, let alone the Holy Scriptures.

People frequently associate religion with idealism and “piety,” and they expect the Bible to be filled with ideals and pious platitudes.  But the Bible is a very realistic book.  It deals with real life people in real life situations.  The heroes of the Bible are presented as they actually were, warts and all.  In fact, if some people realized the titillating nature of many incidents in the Bible, they might be more likely to read it.  But other people could easily become offended by the character (and characters) of these stories and the amount of space devoted to them.  An individual might think that this stuff disqualifies the Bible as a book of religion, let alone the one and only absolute authority and infallible guide on all matters of faith and life, of God and man, of time and eternity.  Elder Tom feels differently. The realistic, down to earth, no holds barred portrayal of life and people in the Scriptures has always been a source of assurance to him of the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible.

Why are there so many incidents of this nature reported in the Scripture?  Are they there to pique our interest?  Are they there to keep us reading through all the important but – to all too many people, including, sad to say, Elder Tom in his less sanctified moments – boring stuff about the grace of God, the way of salvation, the life we are to lead?  (Incidentally, although much of the sermon dealt with sins against the Fifth Commandment, Pastor White did a very good job of bringing out the positive aim of the ordinance – that Christ-like love permeate and shape our lives.)  No.  They are there because they show us what sin is like, what it does to people, even to the noblest of people trying to operate with the best of intentions.  Sin is ugly, sin is destructive, sin makes us “lost and condemned creatures.”  Sin puts us in terrible shape, and in desperate need of a remedy.

And this brings us to the main reason why these accounts are in the Bible.  They show us how much we need a Savior.  And why was the Bible written?  Elder Tom defers to two of His favorite apostles, St. John and St. Paul:  ”…These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”; “…The sacred writings…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”  When the Bible shows how really bad sin is and what appalling things it does to people, along with the enormity of the acts that people do because they are sinners, it shows how great our Savior is.  For our dear Lord Jesus has done all that it took to save us from our sins, to provide healing for all the effects of our transgression, and to make us the people of God.  All the fetid aspects of our sinful human nature are in the Bible, starkly portrayed with no air brushing or photo shopping.  They are in the Bible to glorify the name of Jesus, whose blood cleanses us from all our sins, and renders us ‘holy and without blemish.”

The Bible contains many things that people may find startling and even shocking.  Elder Tom submits that they pale besides what he thinks is really amazing – that Jesus loves us so much, that He accepted responsibility for our sins as if they were his, that He took all the blame for what we did in our lives and gives us credit for all the good He did in His life, that in place of the stench of sin is the sweet smelling savor of His sacrifice – WHAT?  That’s in the Bible!  You betcha.  As a matter fact Elder Tom does just that – he bets his life on it, bets his life on it  for time and eternity.  Elder Tom respectfully suggests, as well as hopes and prays, that you do the same.

Elder Tom has always felt an affinity for the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, as well as with other historical figures who share his first name.  One of the rituals that Elder Tom observed yesterday was a reading of the Declaration.  Indeed, at this time in Elder Tom’s life, the other rituals associated with the day – fireworks displays, band concerts, picnics, barbecues, parades, ball games – are not available to him.  But as much as he misses some of them, Elder Tom still cherishes the day, the Declaration, and all that it entails.

Another ritual Elder Tom and his wife observed was attendance at the Divine Service at St. Paul’s.  Pastor White had a great sermon, powerfully delivered in his usual style.  (Should you happen to be reading this and were not there with us, it is accessible elsewhere on this web site.)  As it was the Fourth of July, few of us were there.  For many people, even for many Christians, the other activities associated with the day, including trips to the beach, cottages and campgrounds up north, fishing and even excursions to historical locales, are more enjoyable that the simple act of going to church.  Elder Tom and his wife feel differently.  Though many people might view them, their lives, and their celebration of the Fourth as very dull indeed, Elder Tom and his wife consider going to church, singing the Lord’s praises, hearing the gospel, and receiving the Sacrament not only more important and more fulfilling than all those other things, but also more enjoyable, interesting, and even exciting.

After all, as our founders recognized, and the Declaration itself declares, all the rights that we have are gifts of God.  The Declaration also ascribed the colonies’ right to be independent to the “laws of…God.”  They appealed to “the Supreme Judge of the world” to attest to the integrity of their purposes and they expressed “a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence” to support their cause.  In declaring their independence, and ours, the founders recognized that they and all they stood for, as well as all they hoped to bring to fruition, were dependent on God.

So on Independence Day it is only fitting that we also celebrate a Dependence Day.  We are dependent on our founders, and the generations that followed, for the definition and defense of the rights we have received from God.  We are dependent on our fellow citizens, and they on us, to continue to properly define and defend those rights.  We are dependent on both our men and our women at arms and those among our first responders for their intense efforts and willingness to face dangers on our behalf.  Elder Tom is dependent on his wife, to the extent that he does not think he could live without her.  Elder Tom and his wife are dependent on the gospel for creating, nurturing, and preserving their faith in the Savior.  They are dependent on their fellow Christians, and especially the members of St. Paul’s, for both the support Elder Tom and his wife receive from them and the support the members are willing to receive from them.  They are dependent on Pastor White, their God-appointed shepherd, for the spiritual leadership he provides.  (Elder Tom is also dependent on him for this blog.  Pastor White encouraged him to write and also showed him how to access the site.)  Above all, Elder Tom and Mary are dependent on the Savior, whose blood and righteousness has earned them a good conscience, granted them a place in the family of God, and secured reservations for them in His glorious Kingdom.  Elder Tom and Mary hope that you join them in treasuring and celebrating the same dependence, even as they join you and all our fellow citizens in treasuring and celebrating Independence Day and all the elements that merge together to form American exceptionalness.

As always, the pastor spoke with great fervor and energy, even though he was personally tired from a very busy and trying week.  But as good and interesting and invigorating as the sermon was, Elder Tom and his wife noticed that there some things that he did not cover.  Mary noted right away that the pastor did not mention the ring on his finger.  The ring meant that the prodigal son was fully restored to the family with authority over the servants, rather than becoming one of them as the son was ready to do.  Elder Tom, among others, noted that nothing was said about the older brother.

You know about the older brother.  He was the good son.  He stayed with his father and did everything his father told him.  He was out in the field working when the Prodigal returned and was welcomed.  When the older brother came in, tired and aching from the day’s  labor, hungry and thirsty, ready to have his feet washed by one of the servants and receive a smile of approval from his father, he found that there was a party going on.  This was a surprise.  The thrifty household did not usually spend money on frivolities or luxuries.  The puzzled surprise turned to shock and anger, and indeed, disgust, when he heard that his good-for-nothing brother’s return was the cause for the festivities.  Why, if a reception was held in anyone’s honor, it should have been done for him, not for the black sheep of the family.  If his brother was let in at all, he should have come in by the back door, and the only food the prodigal should have gotten was the crumbs and scraps that fell from the master’s table, just like the dog he was.

The older brother refused to come in.  Even when his father came out to urge him to attend the soiree, he still refused.  As as the older brother did so, he showed that he was every bit the “Lost Son” that his prodigal brother was.  Oh yes, he was hard working and thrifty, disciplined and consistent.  The older brother certainly looked like he was obedient to and supportive of his father in every way.  Everyone who looked at him would have said that he was really his father’s son, unlike that wastrel who ran away from home and came crawling back in smelly rags.

But the older brother was not really his father’s son.  If  he had really been his father’s son, he would have run into the party and given his brother a big bear hug as well as – in their culture – covering him with kisses.  Tired as he was, the older brother would have jumped up and down and danced and sang and feasted and drank and had a real good time.  But he did not welcome his brother.  The older brother was harsh and judgmental instead of loving and forgiving, welcoming and accepting.  Then listen to what the older son said to his father:  ”All these years I’ve been slaving for you…”  With these words he showed how he really felt about working for and with his father.  The elder brother didn’t see his work as a source of enjoyment and satisfaction, nor did he view his duties and responsibilities as an honor and a privilege.  He saw them like the toil of a slave.  He didn’t really want to accomplish great things for and with his father, he did what he had to do, what he was compelled to do.  He resented the life he lived and the work he did.  The elder brother really thought that his prodigal brother was the one who had all the good times. as despicable as his activities were.  Instead of cherishing and relishing the life he led, the older son resented it and and thought that he was stuck with the short end of the stick.

How did the father react?  Did he give him one up the side of the head, as Elder Tom would have been tempted to do?  He treated this lost son the same way as he treated his brother – with love, forgiveness and acceptance.  What did the father say:  ”You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”  He reminds the older brother that he always lived in the father’s love and walked in the father’s steps.  In a very nice way, he tries to show him how much better off he was than his brother, no matter how many kicks the prodigal had gotten our of his debauchery.  He reminds his older son that he was not a slave but a partner in running the estate, and someday that estate would be his and his alone.  His father showed him that he had status and security, and indeed, wealth and honor.  Then the father urges his older son to see his brother as one who was lost to them and was now back with them; one who was dead to them, and now was alive and part of their family again.

What did the older brother do?  We don’t know, because that is where the story ends.  We hope he went into the reception arm in arm with his father. But we don’t know.  But we do know that just as, to quote Pastor White, “We are all the lost son,” so, as Elder Tom says, we are all the older brother.  This is especially true of those of us who have been with the Lord and His church all our lives.  Elder Tom is, well, an elder of the church.  Elder Tom’s wife, Mary, has been a Sunday School and VBS teacher for – perhaps it might be better for Elder Tom if he didn’t say exactly how long, but it’s been a while.  They were in church for the sermon on the Prodigal Son; they are in church for almost every sermon.  They have not done anything wild and crazy.  Though elder Tom is more than a little prodigal, Mary is very thrifty and prudent.  Their idea of a high old time is to go to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth and buy ornaments to help commemorate the Savior’s Birth.

There are many people like us.  Elder Tom is fairly sure if you are reading this, your story is much the same as his and Mary’s, and your service to the Savior and His church may well be far greater than theirs.  People like us may be tempted to think that we missed out on things, that we haven’t indulged in all the vices and pleasures and entertainments that world has to offer.  We may see our lives as dull and insipid, not really filled with excitement and enjoyment.  We may envy the people of the world and all the good times they are having, or look like they’re having anyway.  We may not be quite so eager to have them hear the gospel and join with us in all the rights and privileges that are ours in Christ.  We may think that these people should get what’s coming to them, rather than what’s coming to Jesus and to us.  We may think God is too generous and loving to them.

We may think that, and if we embrace that line of thought and persevere in it, then we are and will be truly lost.  But God still loves us, and He keeps speaking to us in His loving voice, in the gospel of Christ.  He reminds us that we are with Him always.  We were with Him in His heart before He made the world; we joined His family when we were baptized; we have been getting all the good things of God by Word and Sacrament for over half a century (in Elder Tom’s case).  We have had the honor and privilege of serving our Father in the Kingdom of His Son.  We have the honor and privilege of reaching out to the lost in this world, urging them to come and share the Feast of the Gospel with us.  As we have been welcomed by our Father, with open arms, so we are eager to welcome others and celebrate their entry into our Father’s house.  For like us, they were lost and they have been found; like us, they were dead in in and unbelief, and now they live by faith in the Savior.  In spirit and in the Spirit, let us hug each other, even as we nestle in the Father’s perpetual embrace.  And let us never forget that we who live in and with our Savior are the ones with the great life, who enjoy the good times, who live in genuine enjoyment and satisfaction.