Who is our God?

Jody Winston

September 16, 2001

1 Sermon

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”1
The prophet’s words of destruction pierce through the almost one million yes-
terdays and they sound like Jeremiah wrote them only five days ago.2 On Tuesday,
September 11, 2001, a commercial passenger plane collided with one tower of the
World Trade Center in New York. The world watched, shocked, as one tower
burned. Astonishment turned to horror, as a second plane crashed into the second
tower of the World Trade Center, which caused the second tower to catch on fire.
A short while later, a third commercial plane dove, Kamikaze style, into the Pen-
tagon, located in Washington, D.C., which also began to burn. Later that morning,
1
Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians
1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 1:3.
2
The prophet Jeremiah spoke the words contained in Jeremiah starting around the time of the
first siege of Jerusalem by Babylon on March 16, 597 B.C.E. and ending around the complete
destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the subsequent exile of the citizens of Judah in July
587 B.C.E. Thomas W. Overholt; James L. Mays, editor, Chap. Jeremiah In ‘Harper’s Bible Com-
mentary’, (Harper San Francisco, 1988), p. p. 604.

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a fourth plane crashed in a strip mine located in a rural section of Pennsylvania;
the crash killed all the people aboard the plane.
The world learned very quickly “the word” that America was under attack,
but this was a new form of attack. Terrorists,“skilled in doing evil,” had hijacked
commercial passenger planes and had flown these planes, loaded with people and
with fuel for a transcontinental flight, into their targets; killing everyone on the
plane and causing massive damage to their targets.3 We watched in terror, as the
World Trade Center Towers collapsed down like a house of cards, killing and
trapping not only those who remained in the towers, but also the rescue crews
that had been sent to save the victims of the attack. We saw firefights fight at the
Pentagon for almost twenty-four hours before they had the fire under control. Two
of America’s most visible symbols of economic and military might now now lie
in ruins.4
The economic impact of these attacks remains to be counted and we still do
not know the number of people who died because of these attacks. We should
remember in prayer not only today, but also during the upcoming days, weeks,
and months, the friends and the families of these people and the rest of the world.
We should ask God to look upon us with the eyes of mercy; to give us the love
of peace; to grant us comfort and sure confidence in God; to defend us from the
danger of Satan and to keep us in union with those who died as a result of the
attacks here through faith and love toward God, that hereafter we may enter into
3
Jeremiah 4:22
4
Jeremiah 4:23, 26

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God’s presence and be numbered with those who serve God and look upon God’s
face in everlasting glory.
These attacks on America’s economic and government institutions have evoked
a wide range of emotions. In this mixture of emotions, we heard many different
voices telling us many different things. Listen to what some of these voices are
telling us. “Who can we trust?” “They attacked my faith in the government.” “I
can’t believe that this has happened to us!”
However in all of the news that I have seen and I have heard, I have not heard
the question asked, “Why do we feel these emotions?”
The obvious answer to this question is that terrorists who have caused death in
unknown numbers and destruction in uncalculated values have attacked America.
Death and destruction were carried in planes that should have carried people and
their luggage. But that answer, no matter how valid the answer is and it is valid, is
not the complete answer since it only answers a portion of the question. This an-
swer only tells us that we are “concerned” about death and destruction. However,
if we really were concerned about the death and the destruction that occurs by
terrorism, we should have been concerned with the death and the destruction that
occur anywhere in the world through any acts of violence. The sad reality is that
most of us are not concerned about the horrors that occur elsewhere in the world
whether they are caused by man or by nature. We therefore need to look deeper
at the previous answer to the question, “Why do we feel these emotions?” to find
out why we are experiencing all of these different emotions.
Another valid answer is we know and feel these attacks are not right. The

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senseless waste of property and the meaningless deaths turn our stomachs. Again,
this answer is only a portion of the answer since there must be a way for us to tell
right from wrong. Where do we get this knowledge or feeling that there are rights
and wrongs? Are these laws only “on the books?” Or were these laws placed in
our hearts?5 I would argue that if these laws are only human laws, these attacks
would not turn our stomachs; they would not make us ill. Once more, we need to
look deeper to understand our emotions.
The reality is we are having these emotions because of misplaced trust, faith,
and belief. Listen to what the voices were telling us. What have we been trust-
ing in? What have we had faith in? What have we believed in? The voices were
telling us that our trust, our faith, our belief were placed in the government and
the economy.
Look at what we have done. We have put our trust in the government to provide
us with security and to provide us with what we need. The government cannot
save us from “the time of trial” nor can the government “deliver us from evil.”6
We have also put our faith in the economy. We all want good jobs. We all want
nice houses, cars, and clothes. We think that all of these things come from the
“global economy.” The economy cannot be always good. For example, it is failing
now and it will not be able to provide these things indefinatly.
Go back to what the voices were telling us. They said that our faith in our false
gods of the government and the economy was shaken since these false gods have
5
Psalm 37:21, 40:8; Romans 2:15; Hebrews 8:10.
6
Matthew 6:13.

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failed us. This is why we have had the wide range of emotions. What we thought
was a real god proved to be a forgery. We placed our trust, our faith, and our belief
in that which cannot not save. We trusted in that which cannot give life. We have
broken the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.”7
Our God is not the false gods of the government and the economy. Then who
is this God of ours? Who is our God? Our God is the creator of the world, the
freer of slaves, the champion of the oppressed, and the Savior of the world. What
do the parables found in today’s tell us today about God?
Our Gospel reading tells us five facts about God. First, Jesus likes to be with
“tax-collectors and sinners.”8 I am thankful that He wants to be here with us sin-
ners. But can you imagine the uproar that happened since the “religious manage-
ment” of that time did not feel that the true God should hang out with the common
people. Our God wants and enjoys being with us.
Secondly, these parables show Jesus in a radical new light: God as a shepherd
and God as a woman.9 The Greeks, the Romans, the scribes, and the Pharisees
could not imagine a god that worked the despised trade of shepherd. Before we
pass judgment on these groups, we need to ask if we are any different. Can we
imagine a God that would work as a manager? Likewise, the male power struc-
ture could not envision a god that was female. Our God is willing to break our
preconceived notions of how a god should act.
7
Deuteronomy 5:7.
8
Luke 15:1.
9
Arland J. Hultgren, Chap. Parables of the Revelation of God In ‘The Parables of Jesus: A
Commentary’, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), p. p. 58 and ibid., p. p. 64.

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 Thirdly, our God finds the lost. In the first parable from today’s Gospel read-
ing, the shepherd does not need to find the missing sheep since the lost of one
sheep is not a devastating loss.10 It’s only one sheep. However, in non-typical
fashion, the shepherd leaves the flock to find the one that is missing.11 The shep-
herd is willing to risk all for the one that is lost.12 In the second parable, the one
about the lost coin, the woman diligently searches for her one lost coin. Our God
is both a man of “daring and energy” who finds the lost sheep and a woman who
will be “meticulous” in finding the lost coin.13
Fourthly, our God throws a party for the entire neighborhood when the lost
are found. (Pause.) That’s really what the original language says.14 Everyone, all
of the men and all of the women, are invited to come to this banquet without any
cost.15 Our God is extravagant.
Finally, all of heaven rejoices when we accept the gift of repentance16 and we
change our lives.17 Our God wants to save the lost from their sins and to give them
eternal life.
The Word is that our God is not the god of the government nor is our God
the god of the economy. The true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
our God, wants to be with us. Jesus wants to be accessible to everyone, male and
10
Hultgren, ‘The Parables of Jesus’, p. p. 53.
11
Ibid., p. p. 54.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid., p. p. 68.
14
Ibid., p. p. 59.
15
Ibid., pp. pp. 59, 67.
16
Ibid., p. p. 60.
17
Walter Bauer et al., editors, A Greek–English Lexicon Of The New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature, (The University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. p. 512.

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female, rich and poor, Finn and Swede. Jesus accepts us as we are. Jesus will find
us when we are lost. We do not have to look for Jesus; we do not have to find
Jesus; He finds us. Jesus freely invites all to the party; we are all accepted at this
party; we need nothing special to come. Jesus desires to save the lost and to give
them eternal life. This gift of salvation and eternal life is free to all; no strings are
attached.
The words of grace spoken by Jesus also pierce through the ages and these
words are also as fresh as when He spoke them, not because He is closer to us than
Jeremiah, not because His are words of hope, but instead because His Words are
God’s Words. Jesus tells us and shows us in these two parables that God accepts
us as we are.18 Not only are we accepted as we are, but in addition, our Savior
and our L ORD, will come and find us. We will be accepted back into the fold and
Heaven will rejoice when we accept the gift of repentance.
This grace is amazing.19 Here today, Jesus calls us to His Table where we are
freely given forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation.20 We are all invited to
share in His Meal.21
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”22

18
Paul Tillich, Chap. You are Accepted In ‘The Shaking of the Foundations’, (Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1948), p. p. 162.
19
Amazing Grace is the recessional hymn at Messiah.
20
The Small Catechism, T HE S ACRAMENT OF THE A LTAR, VI, 6; Theodore G. Tappert et al.,
editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959), p. p. 352.
21
In Article XIII, we hear the purpose of the sacraments is to awaken and to strengthen our faith.
Augsburg Confession, T HE U SE OF THE S ACRAMENTS, XIII, 1; Ibid., p. p. 35.
22
Philippians 4:7

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References

Bauer, Walter et al., editors, A Greek–English Lexicon Of The New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, (The University of Chicago Press, 1979),
ISBN 0–226–03932–3.

Hultgren, Arland J., Chap. Parables of the Revelation of God In ‘The Parables of
Jesus: A Commentary’, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000),
pp. 20–91, ISBN 0–8028–4475–8.

Overholt, Thomas W.; Mays, James L., editor, Chap. Jeremiah In ‘Harper’s Bible
Commentary’, (Harper San Francisco, 1988), pp. 597–645, ISBN 0–06–
065541–0.

Tappert, Theodore G. et al., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959),
ISBN 0–8006–0825–9.

Tillich, Paul, Chap. You are Accepted In ‘The Shaking of the Foundations’,
(Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1948), ISBN 684–71908–8.