"The Way to Life Is Jesus" Trinity 13 2024

15. October 2022
Trinity 13
Luke 10:23-37

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The way to Jerusalem or the way to Jericho. The way of life and the way of death. The way to heaven or the way to hell. The way to God or the way to the demons and the tombs. The way to forgiveness or the way into sin. Which way, Oh Christian?

Jerusalem, the City of God, Zion, the Holy City — King, Temple, Word, and Gifts. Jericho, the City of Man, Destroyed and rebuilt on the blood of the sons — Power, Wealth, Influence > Sin and death.

The demons leave the priests and Levites alone as long as they go to Jericho. The demons in hell rejoice over one sinner embracing his sin. Christians are tempted to return to the City of Man.

We disguise it with pious platitudes. “That’s just how things are today.” “You know that discipline is hard.” “We live in a debt-based economy, so why should we behave differently.” “I’m going to lose friends, coworkers, or church members if I say that.” “If we don’t do something, we will fail.”

Stop being a priest or Levite on the road to hell. Stop thinking that things of Jericho have any place in your life. Your rejection of Jerusalem, the King and Temple, the Word and the Gifts, as the sole rule and norm for faith and life, leads to sin and death. It’s the wrong way.

You’re so concerned with Jericho's big visions and big budgets that you lose sight of the small voice and the simple gifts of Jerusalem. You waste your time fretting on getting more and more, that you are not content with what you have and are, and you lose it all. But it also takes your eyes off the neighbor along the way.

Along the way, others have already died or are nearly dead from this endless pursuit of significance, scale, and superiority. They walked away from Jerusalem, and robbers and thieves, politicos, and charlatans, stripped them of everything and even life. How did these neighbors end up in the ditch? We know because we are there.

We fall victim to the gray space on the road, neither going on the way to life nor leading down into death. This is how Jesus describes Laodicia to John the Revelator. You are neither hot nor cold but lukewarm. And lukewarm is deadly. Lukewarm lacks the cold apathy of unbelief or the hot flame of faith.

Your pastor shepherd doesn’t know what to do or which Word to say. You reject the Law of God that shows you your sin and condemns you to fire and judgment. “I’m a Christian!” But you reject the sweet Word of the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins. “I’m not that sinner like that.” Which way, Oh Christian?

Are you going to sit alongside the road only to be stripped, beaten, and left for dead? Will you give up and embrace the City of Man, Jericho? That way leads to doom and destruction. Are you going to turn around and go up to Jerusalem to be forgiven and renewed in the gift of the Word and the Spirit’s means?

The good news is that you don’t have to or get to choose. Jesus has chosen you, called you, elected you, redeemed you. He’s not leaving your salvation to your choice. He’s doing everything needed to save you. He binds up your wounds, forgiving you. He pours on oil and wine to heal you. He carries you on His donkey back into the Holy City. He puts you back into the Inn, the Church, the Temple of God. And He takes care of you. And He ensures that everything you need for faith and life is given you there.

It’s not your way. It’s Jesus, who is Your Way, Truth, and Life.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guards your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
St. John Ev. Lutheran Church & School - Sherman Center
Random Lake, Wisconsin