Sermon -- Festival of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (September 21, 2025)

MATTHEW 9:9-13

JESUS SINNERS DOES RECEIVE.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Church tradition suggests that St. Matthew served as a pastor in Ethiopia where he was put to death by the king, presumably by a spear.  What was it that moved St. Matthew to preach the word of God so faithfully despite the threat on his life that ended up being fulfilled in his martyrdom?  The short answer is: the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit worked in St. Matthew a firm faith and a courageous confession.  The Holy Spirit also worked through St. Matthew to record the words and works of Jesus Christ.  This makes St. Matthew an evangelist, one of the four Gospel writers.  He was also an apostle, one of twelve called by Jesus.  So, Matthew was an apostle and an evangelist, titles that were only held by him and St. John.

     Matthew’s devotion and courage were produced by the mercy he had been shown by Jesus.  Matthew had been a tax collector.  He had sold himself out to the Roman government to collect taxes and revenue for pagans.  Tax collectors were known for overcharging their fellow Jews to gain wealth for themselves.  It was no secret that they did this, but there was little anyone could do about it.  The Romans did not care, and the people were powerless to prevent it.  Matthew was probably a rich man.  He certainly was despised.  Nevertheless, Jesus did not avoid Matthew as a crook or dismiss him as a lost cause; rather, Jesus called him to a new life.  Jesus saw “Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth.  He said to him, ‘Follow me.’  Matthew got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9).  Matthew was living proof: Jesus sinners does receive.

    In response to God’s mercy, Matthew held a banquet and invited others to hear Jesus.  This resulted in Jesus associating with some unsavory people.  When you hear the reading, you probably find it endearing.  If you had witnessed it, you might have found it repulsive.  Imagine being invited to an LGBTQ luncheon and seeing Jesus there at the head table.  What would you think?  Would you sit down to eat, too?  Would you talk with anyone?  Would you try to keep a low profile and hope that nobody recognized you?  Now, if you felt anything cringe-worthy about those questions, then you agree with the Pharisees who thought it was reprehensible that Jesus would sit with sinners and eat with them.

     Blame Matthew.  Matthew invited Jesus to his house along with his disciples.  He also invited his friends to this banquet so they could meet Jesus and hear him.  Since Matthew had been despised, it is no surprise that his circle of friends was limited to fellow tax collectors and other low-lifes.  Just as Jesus did not steer clear of Matthew, so he did not steer clear of Matthew’s banquet.  “As Jesus was reclining at the table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were actually there too, eating with Jesus and his disciples” (Matthew 9:10).  Why?  Jesus sinners does receive.

     It is interesting that the Pharisees did not talk to Jesus about why he was doing this.  Instead, they approached his disciples.  “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 9:11)?  It seems that the Pharisees were trying to drive a wedge between Jesus and his disciples.  By confronting the disciples, the Pharisees were forcing them to consider if that is what good people would do.  “What kind of rabbi are you following if this is the kind of company he keeps?”  Maybe they could explain it.  Maybe they would apologize for it.  Maybe they would separate themselves from Jesus and learn to keep polite company so that no one would think less of them.  Jesus sinners does receive, but some sinners are just plain gross, right?

     Jesus interrupted the conversation.  Rather than see how his disciples might answer, Jesus spoke for himself.  “Jesus said to them, ‘The healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.  … In fact, I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Matthew 9:12-13).  First, we recognize how Jesus referred to the people who were sitting with him.  They were sinners.  They were sick, corrupted in their minds, hearts, and lives.  Jesus was not there to celebrate their sins.   He was there to rescue from their sins and to tell them that there is hope for sinners.  Jesus proclaimed the same mercy to them as he had to Matthew.  Jesus sinners does receive.

     The Pharisees, on the other hand, would not know such mercy.  Jesus issued a subtle rebuke to the Pharisees.  When he said, “I did not come to call the righteous” (Matthew 9:13), Jesus was referring to the Pharisees.  They were convinced that they were righteous.  They would not sully themselves by mingling with the wrong company.  They kept themselves separate, as if that is what made them pure.  Since they considered themselves righteous, they felt they had the right to look down on others and judge them.  If they were righteous, they would not need mercy from Jesus.  And they would not get it either.  Jesus comes only for sinners.

     If you have enjoyed a place in the Christian Church your whole life long, you are greatly blessed.  You have had the benefit and comfort of knowing that the blood of Jesus purifies you of all unrighteousness, and that the mercy of our Lord endures even through days of pain and sorrow.  Even in the darkest of days, you have basked in the light of God’s love and faithfulness.  Imagine going through life with none of that!  You are truly blessed.  But if there is a danger in it, it is that you may conclude the people who live outside of the Christian Church are to be despised because they should know better, or at least avoided until they clean themselves up.  Repent. 

     We have some friends who went hiking in West Virginia some years ago.  They parked at the trailhead and marched off into the woods.  Suddenly, they were lost.  I mean lost for over 24 hours.  They spent the night in the elements with few supplies and no shelter.  Mercifully, they were found.  They went to a hospital for a wellness check and to have some wounds and scrapes tended to.  Sometime later, the son who lived there wanted to show them where they got lost.  It turns out they were very close to their car.  If they knew the way back, they would not have had such a terrifying experience.  But lost is lost. 

     It is the same for many sinners.  Some make wicked choices on purpose.  Some make foolish choices—a moment of weakness followed by long-term consequences, and they are hurting.  Some are just confused, wandering through life without purpose, without direction, and without hope.  But they are all lost.  They need rescue.  It is our Lord who goes to find them.  And he uses you to do it.  Granted, many will seem repulsive to you because their minds and lives are so opposed to God’s word.  But how can anyone be restored to God unless God summons them?  How can the sick become healthy unless they encounter the healing words of God?  How can sinners become righteous unless they are cleansed by the blood of Jesus?  This is why Matthew invited his friends to the banquet with Jesus.  He wanted them to know the same mercy he had received.  The Pharisees, on the other hand, thought it was good and wise and safe to stay insulated in their little circle.  In doing so, they extended mercy to no one. That’s why Jesus told them, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice’” (Matthew 9:13).

     The Lord calls us to show mercy, but he is the one who made the sacrifice to save people from the judgment they deserve.  Jesus did not treat people as their sins deserve.  Jesus, instead, suffered what sinners deserve.  Jesus received the blows, putting himself between God’s wrath and mankind.  Jesus is our refuge.  He is like a castle against which cannon balls are lobbed.  It is the castle which suffers the blows, but the people who take refuge inside of it are safe.  Outside of the castle is only danger and death.  But there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).  In Christ, there is mercy, pardon, and peace. 

     This is why Matthew invited his friends to feast with Jesus.  The only way for anyone to receive Jesus’ mercy is if they hear about it.  That is why we, like St. Matthew, can be bold in telling others about it.  If anyone is going to be raised up from sinners to saint and from wickedness to righteousness, Jesus must do it.  He does not treat us as our sins deserve, but he does not leave us in our sins, either.  He declares us righteous, and he calls us to be righteous.  He restores the prostitutes to chastity.  He converts the foul-mouthed to those who speak better words.  He instructs the liars to be truthful, the self-centered to be generous, and those who prey on the weak to defend them.  Jesus sinners does receive and restore and rectify.  His mercy changes lives.  Jesus reveals the path of righteousness and guides people to a holy life as we look forward to a heavenly life. 

     You may not realize it, but Jesus still eats with sinners.  Sinners gather at the Lord’s altar to feast on the meal he has prepared for us.  He gives his body, slain for sinners, under the bread.  He gives his blood, shed to atone for sinners, under the wine.  He gives this sacred meal to sinners who long to have their sins forgiven, who are eager to have their faith strengthened, and who strive to amend their sinful lives and to live up to what God has called them to be.  Jesus sinners does receive, and feed, and strengthen.  He sets you apart for a more noble and virtuous life.

     Our Gospel reading ends abruptly.  We don’t know what happened to the guests St. Matthew had invited to his house.  Based on the rest of the Gospel, it appears that most Pharisees never did learn the lesson.  But what about the tax collectors and sinners?  It would be nice to think that they all repented and rejoiced in God’s mercy.  But people are people, so their reactions may have varied.  When Jesus noted that he had come for those who were sick, some may have hung their heads in shame and confessed, “Yeah, that’s me.”  Others may have sneered at Jesus and said, “I’m not sick.  My life is fine.”  Who knows?  Maybe Matthew was the only tax collector there who embraced the mercy of our Lord.

     The point is this: We don’t know who will rejoice in Jesus’ mercy, who will prefer to keep their sins, or who will continue to look down on others.  But we do know that all people need to hear about Jesus’ love and mercy.  So, like St. Matthew, we pray that God will give us a firm faith and make us courageous confessors of God’s word.   Like St. Matthew, let’s invite our friends to hear Jesus.  Even if someone’s past is despicable or diabolical, there is good news: Jesus sinners does receive.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Things that make me go HMMMMMMM

I bought this coffee mug just a few weeks ago.  I thought it was high time that I had some Detroit Tigers' paraphernalia in my office.  

Ever since I bought this, the Tigers have gone into free fall.  Did I do that?????  Hmmmmmmm...

Sermon -- Funeral for Cheryl Ann Crenshaw (September 19, 2025)

Christian Funeral for 

+ Cheryl Ann (nee: Edwards) Crenshaw +

November 6, 1948 – September 10, 2025

1 CORINTHIANS 15:54-58

DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY.

In the name + of Jesus.

    I was listening to the radio in my car the other day, and I heard it reported that the first death by West Nile Virus was confirmed in Michigan.  If it was the first such death and it is already September, that’s pretty rare.  The fact that I could say, “I know who that was,” is even more rare.  For over a week, you were hoping for better test results and for a happier outcome.  We said prayers for her recovery.  We asked for healing so that she could return home.  We committed her to the Lord’s care. 

     It may not have looked like it, but Cheryl Crenshaw was in the Lord’s care the whole time.  Psalm 139 says, “In your book all of them were written.  Days were determined, before any of them existed” (Psalm 139:16).  It may have been rare that the Lord used West Nile Virus to mark the end of Cheryl’s time on earth, but the Lord had this date marked out from the very beginning.  The Lord had never lost control.  Although you may not be happy about the outcome of her stay at the hospital, Cheryl Crenshaw is enjoying the most blessed outcome every Christian hopes for—life in everlasting glory.

     From our side of heaven, it does not look glorious.  How could it?  Death seems to have claimed victory because it has claimed a loved one.  In fact, death seems to have taunted Cheryl and boasted of victory for a long time.  Death claimed her beloved, Bob, some 26 years ago.  Death claimed an infant son from her even before that.  And although Cheryl’s various ailments and health concerns did not result in death, they were a continual reminder that bodies fail and death awaits us all.   

     Everyone knows that all people will die.  No one gets out of this world alive.  Cheryl’s death certificate may say something related to West Nile Virus, but the Bible tells us why all people die.  “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  Not everyone gets West Nile Virus, but everyone is a sinner.  Since everyone is a sinner, and since death comes as a result of sin, death claims victory over all of us. 

     Or so it seems.

     “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57)!  God the Father has had mercy upon us in our sinful condition and sent his Son to rescue us from the tyranny of death.  Our joy is not merely that Jesus Christ wins us eternal life, but that he brings to us the resurrection from the dead.

     If Jesus had come just to give us eternal life and we would go on living forever in this world, just imagine the sorrows and pains that we would endure without end!  How many wars, how many natural disasters, how many pandemics, how many injuries, how many doctor’s appointments would we have to live through?  So, Jesus does not just clear out the hospitals from time to time, sending people home only to become more weary and more frustrated over a world that never gets better.  The Lord loves you too much to let you go on and on with life in a sin-corrupted world.

     God the Father sent Jesus Christ to swallow up death in victory.  To do that, Jesus had to take away our sin.  He bore our sin in his body when he went to the cross.  There, he absorbed the curse for all of it.  Since Jesus has taken your curse and died for your sin, he has rescued you from its condemnation.  Cheryl Crenshaw stood before God in judgment when she left this world, but the Lord had already told her what her judgment would be: “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).  Having been baptized into Christ, Cheryl already died once.  Sin was put to death in her, and God raised her up a saint.  She was purified and clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.  She may not have known when her last day would be, but she did know what her future was because Jesus secured it for her.  Death has been swallowed up in victory, and life eternal is the prize.

     Although Cheryl’s baptism gave her the status of a saint, her body was not quite there yet.  These bodies of ours are still corrupted.  With Cheryl, that was evidenced by her getting tired, walking with a cane, and contracting a virus.  But the Savior shows us that neither sin nor death has the last word.  Jesus went into death in order to put an end to its rule over us.  Jesus was laid in a grave with a body that was bruised, beaten, flogged, and pierced.  It could not have been pretty.  Jesus let the grave swallow him so that he could destroy it from the inside out.  Jesus burst forth and swallowed death in victory.  When Jesus rose from the dead, he came with a body that was glorified.  His mortal body was raised immortal—forever victorious over death and decay.  Jesus did not merely overcome death; now he owns it.

     This is the victory Jesus won for Cheryl and for all who believe and are baptized.  This body, which has been reduced to dust and ashes, will be restored at the resurrection.  On that day, it will return in glory.  As St. Paul wrote, “Once this perishable body has put on imperishability, and this mortal body has put on immortality, then what is written will be fulfilled: Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).  Cheryl will not only have eternal life, she will have a risen body that will be imperishable.  It will never get sick or grow frail.  She will have a risen body that will be immortal.  She will never die again, for she has a living Savior who promises that she will live with him.  He has swallowed up death in victory.

     Maybe it seems like death mocks us and taunts us, but Jesus has turned the tables on death.  Now we get to mock death and taunt the grave: “Death, where is your sting?  Grave, where is your victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  Grave, do you boast that you hold Cheryl’s ashes?  Go ahead.  We will get them back.  Death, do you think you have won a victory?  You are nothing but the door to heavenly glory.  For all who live in Christ live forever.  Here, we live in weakness; there, we live in glory.  “Death, where is your sting?  Grave, where is your victory” (1 Corinthians 15:55)?  In the end, you get nothing.  The victory belongs to Jesus Christ and all those who are his.

     Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Whatever weaknesses Cheryl had to endure are over.  Whatever sorrows she faced have passed.  Whatever struggles she knew she does not have to deal with anymore.  Her anxieties are done.  Now there is only peace and joy and rest.  And soon comes the resurrection where she will be risen, rejuvenated, and restored, body and soul, to live in the new heavens and the new earth where all things are new.  “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57)! 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Update from Good Shepherd (September 18, 2025)

 Greetings!

REGULAR SCHEDULE
Divine Service is Sundays at 10:00 AM.
Sunday School is Sundays at 9:00 AM.

Adult Bible Class is Sundays at 9:00 AM.  We will study the book of Revelation.  A schedule can be found here.
Bible Matters meets Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.  We will have an overview of the Minor Prophets.  A schedule can be found here.  

CALENDAR: For a calendar of events and meetings, click here.

EVENTS THIS FALL
Octoberfest, a celebration of the Lutheran Reformation, will be on Sunday, September 28.  (Yes, I know, SEPTEMBER. But that’s when they do it in Munich, so there!) The schedule for our Octoberfest is:

               5:00 PM -- Vespers
               5:30 PM – A bratwurst dinner
               6:30 PM – Luther Lecture (Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony, protector of Luther)
In order to make sure we will have enough food on hand for this event, please RSVP to welsnovi@aol.com, indicating your name and how many will be coming to this event. If you would be so willing, please bring a salad, side dish, or dessert to round out the meal.

Trunk or Treat will be Sunday, October 26 (3:00 - 5:00 PM).

6th Grade Bible History will begin on Wednesday, September 24 (5:00-6:00 PM).

ROAD CONSTRUCTION
          9 Mile Road between Haggerty and Meadowbrook is OPEN in both directions.  It is also nice and smooth.  Enjoy the drive! 

CHRISTIAN FUNERAL

The funeral for Cheryl Crenshaw will be tomorrow (Friday, September 19) at 11:00 AM.  Please keep the Crenshaw family in your prayers.

CHURCH COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS (September)

>  Our projector has not been consistent in projecting.  Since it is better than ten years old, we are considering a replacement.  We are looking into getting a smart TV with interactive capabilities which allows HDMI input as well as ability to draw with a special, electronic pen.  

>  We are hoping to get handicapped accessible entry via push-button installed in the coming weeks.  Currently, the parts are back-ordered.  So, we will wait. 

>  We plan on added to our Servant Keeper office management system to allow for texting to large groups, similar to the email blasts, but with texting.  When it is ready to go, we will do a test run after church some Sunday.  

>  After a number of years of service, Pamela Mattison will no longer be cleaning our facility.  Her health is preventing her from continuing.  We thank her for her service and will be planning on hiring a professional janitorial service soon.

GOOD SHEPHERD ON YOUTUBE

           Services are uploaded to YouTube each week. Feel free to share the videos. Here is the Divine Service from September 14, 2025. (1718) Good Shepherd Novi, Divine Service, September 14, 2025 - YouTube

REGULAR OFFICE HOURS
          For the most part, the pastor will be observing formal office hours (Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – Noon). Occasionally, duties will take him away from the office during these scheduled times, so you will still want to call or text to confirm any meetings with the pastor (248-719-5218).

INTRODUCTION VIDEO FOR GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH
          Here is a video to introduce people to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Novi. Share it as much as you can.

DO YOU LIKE US?

          Look for Good Shepherd on Facebook. Then “LIKE” us for updates and other postings. Be sure to share posts with friends.

SHARE THIS POST!
          We desire as many as possible to rejoice in the Gospel which we proclaim and confess. Share the information from our weekly email blast, links to our web page, and even to the pastor's blog to let others know that we have a space in our congregation for them!

In Christ,
Pastor Schroeder

==================

REGULAR SCHEDULE

Sunday School -- Sundays at 9:00 AM 

Adult Bible Class -- Sundays at 9:00 AM 

DIVINE SERVICES -- Sundays at 10:00 AM.

Bible Matters -- Wednesdays at 6:30 PM 

GOOD SHEPHERD’S WEBSITE
www.GoodShepherdNovi.org

PASTOR SCHROEDER’S BLOG
www.LutheranSubject.blogspot.com 

YouTube -- 14th Sunday after Pentecost (September 14, 2025)

Here is the Divine Service from Sunday, September 14, 2025.

Minor Festival -- The Festival of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

            Lutheran worship is liturgical.  While that often refers to an order of worship, it can also refer to the calendar of the Church Year.  The Church Year includes major festivals, such as Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, etc...  

            On Sunday, September 21, we will recognize a minor festival, the Festival of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.

            Matthew, also called Levi (Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-32), was a tax collector before Jesus called him to be a disciple and later appointed him to be an apostle.  We know little of Matthew other than his seedy background (tax collectors were often thieves).  Yet, the Lord, who redeemed this wretched sinner, had a special purpose for him.  As an apostle, Matthew devoted his life to proclaiming the good news of forgiveness through Jesus to others.  He was also inspired by the Holy Spirit to record the words and works of Jesus in the gospel that bears his name.  Even tradition is vague on Matthew’s ministry and death, except that he was martyred in some way.  Just as the Lord redeemed this sinner and called him to service, so the Lord does for us sinners as well.

Sermon -- 14th Sunday after Pentecost (September 14, 2025)

HOSEA 3:1-5

 A SPURNED LOVER REDEEMS HIS UNFAITHFUL BRIDE.

In the name + of Jesus.

    Even if you are unfamiliar with them, you probably have great respect for the prophets.  There have been many preachers throughout the history of the world.  Very few have had their words inspired by our Lord and preserved for God’s people until Judgment Day.  You may know next to nothing about the prophet Hosea.  Maybe you have never read the book of the Bible which bears his name.  Nevertheless, it is right to have respect for Hosea, but you probably would not envy him. 

     Consider what Hosea recorded: “When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go.  Take for yourself an immoral wife and children produced by sexual immorality, because the land has been committing flagrant immorality, turning away from the Lord.’  So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim” (Hosea 1:2-3).  How would you like that?  “Go and find a floozy.  Marry her.  She will continually cheat on you.  She will have children, but they will not be yours.  They will be children of infidelity.  Love her anyway.”  That is what God commanded Hosea to do.

     It is not the only time our Lord gave his prophets bizarre commands.  While the prophets spoke for the Lord, the Lord occasionally had the prophets’ lives be the sermon.  This was the case with Hosea.  He was the faithful and loving husband whose wife was unfaithful to him.  Hosea was an image of the Lord.  Gomer was an image of the northern tribes of Israel who turned away from the Lord, again and again, to chase after other sources of truth and pleasure.  Israel fell in love with whatever promised prosperity, pleasure, and power.  They pursued other lovers and spurned the Lord.

     What should a spurned lover do?  How should a faithful husband respond to a bride who cheats on him repeatedly?  I can’t think of anyone who would argue, “Well, he should put up with that and accept that this is who she is.”  No, we would expect the husband to divorce his wife and to send her away, perhaps with a few choice words.

     At first, the Lord’s words were calls to return.  The Lord sent prophets like Hosea to his beloved again and again.  Again and again, he called them back to him, wooing them and pleading with them to turn away from their false gods and their perverse worship.  Again and again, Israel spurned the Lord’s overtures.  The Lord cannot be faulted for his efforts.  He was, indeed, slow to anger.  He was most patient for a favorable response.  He did not get it; and finally, judgment came upon Israel in harsh and cruel ways. 

     The nation of Assyria came and ravaged God’s people.  Those who survived the sword, starvation, and disease were carried off into captivity where they died.  It happened just as the Lord had warned through Hosea: “The people of Israel will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred memorial stones, and without the special vest or family idols.” (Hosea 3:4).  The kingdom and the worship ceased during years of captivity.  The Lord had warned such judgment would come upon those who spurned him.  Perhaps the people did not think the Lord would follow through.  Many still don’t.  Don’t dismiss God’s warnings, and don’t confuse God’s patience with indifference.  The judgment he had warned about came at last—with crushing violence and banishment.  And it was deserved.

     There are many today who reject the notion that the Lord would send people to hell despite all his warnings.  They argue that a loving God would never do that.  Or if he would, they argue that he is not a loving God.  Perhaps you have kicked around those thoughts yourself.  “What kind of God is this who demands love and obedience under the threat of eternal damnation if he doesn’t get it?”  When the argument is set up that way, it surely makes our Lord look petty.  Do not be deceived by people who present God this way.  It is like the people who ask, “So, have you stopped beating your wife?”  A “Yes” means you admit that you have beaten your wife.  A “No” means you still are beating your wife.  The word of the Lord is most certainly not, “Love me or I’ll damn you.”

     Many people fail to understand this: No one begins his life in the kingdom of God.  No one is even neutral, as if God decides to toss some aside because he can.  All are sinners.  All stand outside of God’s love because of this sinful condition.  The Scriptures testify: “The mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7).  God is regarded as the enemy.  So, if anyone enters in the kingdom of God, it is because the Lord has brought him in.  If anyone loves God, it is God who has produced that love in him.  The Bible teaches, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  He demonstrates a love that is unexpected and unearned.  He woos those who are unfaithful to be his very own.  He shows himself a faithful lover, not plotting to take, but seeking to give.

     If a woman has racked up some significant debt—credit cards, school loans, car payments, what have you—the man who marries her assumes those debts as his own.  Even though he did not accumulate them, he becomes responsible for them.  This is what Jesus has done for his bride, the Church.  In fact, for more than the Church, but for the world.  All people are accountable to God for their lives.  Sins deserve to be judged.  The guilty are held accountable.  They must pay the price.  But Jesus assumed the guilt for all.  He made himself accountable for the sins of the world.  He submitted himself to divine judgment, and he paid the price.  Although perfectly faithful to his heavenly Father, Jesus died as an adulterer, a cheater, a manipulator, and a liar; for the obscene, the impure, and the perverse. 

     Jesus covers sinners with his own innocence.  He opens the kingdom of heaven to those who were destined for hell.  If people go to hell, it is not because God failed them.  God has loved them with a selfless love.  The Lord does not thunder, “Love me or go to hell.”  He pleads, “To escape hell, come to me.  Don’t love the things that result in death.  Love me, for I will give you life and peace and hope.”  The spurned lover continues to reach out to those who have been unfaithful to him.

     Sadly, Israel did not listen or care.  They spurned the Lord for other gods.  They devoted their love to others.  Like Gomer, Hosea’s wife, they prostituted themselves to whoever made promises, even though those promises were empty.  They were willingly deceived, to their own destruction.

     Now, this is where God’s instructions to Hosea are incredible.  This is where Hosea’s life became the second part of the sermon he was preaching.  “The LORD said to me, ‘Go again.  Show love to a woman who is loved by another man, a woman who keeps committing adultery.  Show love just as the LORD loves the people of Israel, even though they keep turning to other gods and loving the raisin cakes.’ (Note: used in pagan worship.)  So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and nine bushels of barley.  I said to her, ‘You will stay with me for many days.  You must not be promiscuous.  You must not be with any other man, and I will also be for you’” (Hosea 3:1-3).  The Lord sent the spurned lover to redeem his unfaithful bride. 

     Hosea is an image of Jesus Christ.  He is the Groom, and the Church is his Bride.  Even though each of us has been unfaithful and have sinned against him, the spurned lover redeemed his unfaithful bride.  St. Paul wrote, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, by cleansing her with the washing of water in connection with the Word.  He did this so that he could present her to himself as a glorious church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but so that she would be holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27).  The price Jesus paid to redeem us was himself.  He spared nothing, but gave himself completely into a cursed death to rescue us from dying the death we have earned.  In love for us, Jesus cleansed us of every blemish and stain from sin. 

     A bride on her wedding day wants to be as beautiful as possible.  But if a bride wakes up on her wedding day to discover a blemish on her face, she panics.  She fears that her groom will focus on her blemish rather than her beauty.  (News flash, ladies: He won’t.)  The Lord Jesus, however, removes every blemish from us.  Rather than leaving us in rags, he has clothed us with garments of salvation.  He presents us to himself in radiance and beauty and purity.  How great is his forgiveness!  He does not scowl at us, reminding us again and again of how we turned our wandering eyes to sin.  He does not threaten or manipulate us.  Rather, he speaks tenderly to his Bride, continually professing his faithful love to his Church.

     This is one reason why our Lord calls for chastity among people and why he holds up marriage in such high regard.  Those who are single are to reserve themselves for the one person to whom he or she will be united in marriage.  Marital relations are to be reserved for married couples.  And married couples are to be exclusive to one another.  Each is to be devoted to the other, love each other, and exalt each other.  For every marriage is the image of Jesus Christ to his Church.  Everything outside of the union of one man and one woman in a life-long union perverts the image of Christ and his Church.  The Lord calls the perversion of his image an abomination.  On the other hand, the union of Christ and his Church is glorious.  That is why God’s establishment of the union between one man and one woman in marriage is glorious as well.

     Even though Israel was unfaithful to the Lord, the Lord remained faithful to his bride.  The Lord would not forget or forsake his covenant promise.  The spurned lover redeemed his unfaithful bride.  The unfaithful bride repented and was restored to him again.  Hosea had foretold it: “Afterward the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king.  They will come trembling to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days” (Hosea 3:5). 

     We come trembling before our God, not because he will damn us if we don’t.  Rather, it is because we know that we are not worthy of his love.  And yet, we marvel.  For, the Son of David loves us faithfully and fervently.  Therefore, we pledge ourselves to be his exclusively.  For, he is the only one whose love is truly pure and selfless, and he is the only one who saves.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.