Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena

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

My friends, our Gospel today is just that. It’s PURE GOSPEL, especially Matthew 18:14 – “In the same way, your Father in Heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” That’s our text today and that text is PURE GOSPEL!

The “any of these little ones” in this text could rightfully be supplanted and substituted with the words “you and I” so that it would read “In the same way, your Father in Heaven is not willing that [you and I] should be lost.”

That’s the one, singular message of the entire Bible, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. The one, singular message of the entire Bible is that “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” [John 3:16]. The one, singular message of the entire Bible is that Jesus Christ left His Throne and His Crown in Heaven to put on human flesh and to become one like us in every way – except sin [Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21] – so that He could carry our sins as He was nailed to the Cross, as He suffered and died, as He rose again, so that we might have the assurance of the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of eternal life in Heaven.

The heart of God is truly seen in the heart of Abraham.

Some 1,500 years before the birth and subsequent death of Jesus Christ, Abraham argued with God about the salvation of the City of Sodom [Genesis 18:16-33]. You might remember the scene. God had told Abraham that He was going to totally destroy the City of Sodom and all its inhabitants. That seemed extreme to Abraham, so he approached God: “Lord, if there are 50 righteous people in Sodom, would you spare the city?” The Lord relented: “No, Abraham, if there are 50 righteous people in Sodom, I will not destroy it.” He was not willing that any little ones should be lost. Abraham did a quick survey in this mind, then he returned to the Lord: “Lord, how about 45? If I can find 45 righteous people in Sodom, will you destroy the city?” The Lord’s merciful heart showed forth. Abraham did another mental survey. His bargaining continued: “Lord, how about 40? Will you destroy the entire city of Sodom if I can locate 40 righteous people?” The Lord conceded His grace for 40 people. Abraham’s bargaining number went down to 30, then 20, then just 10. The Lord was willing to spare the entire city of Sodom for the sake of 10 righteous people.

You might also recall the outcome. Even 10 righteous people were impossible to find in the City of Sodom, so the Lord prepared literal fire and brimstone to rain down from Heaven and destroy Sodom. That happened, though, not before Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family – his wife and two daughters [Genesis 19] – were led by the hand of angels to escape from Sodom. God’s love, His mercy and His grace prevailed. Despite the sinfulness of an entire city, God was not willing that even a few righteous people should be lost. He saved the few righteous people found in that city. The Lord Himself, through His angels, led Lot and his family to safety and salvation.

The Lord is not willing that even one of “these little ones should perish. To this very day, that remains the heart of our God, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever” [Hebrews 13:8]. Not only is that the heart of God. That is also the mission of the Church – at least it should be.

That’s why you and I gather here today. Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves and with God this morning. We all have seemingly better things to be doing right now. The bed was hard to leave this morning. We have all had other commitments that we have put off until after church. We have a grocery list of things that we could spend this Sunday morning completing.

And yet we are here! Why? Because, we have each been “the one” for whom our God has searched. Through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we have found “the One” Who suffered and died and rose again to lead us out of our sinful existence in this sinful world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have come to believe in Jesus Christ so that we have experienced new life in the here and now and also new life for all time and for all eternity.

That’s better news than any exciting release of any new movie. That’s better news that any family gathering. That’s better news than any message this world has ever proclaimed. Our Father has not been willing that any of us should be lost. That is the heart of God. That is the mission of the Church.

Today, we celebrate “Back to Church” and “Back to Sunday School” Sunday. In just a few minutes, we will invite all the kids present – and all our Sunday School teachers present – to come forward. I will anoint each with the powerful message that they are each God’s specially chosen, hand-picked, anointed, set-apart children. That’s a message not just for the kids and the Sunday School teachers. I would encourage each of you to see yourself up here in this chancel in just a few minutes. I would encourage each of you to imagine the touch of my finger on your forehead, representing God’s finger. I would encourage each of you to feel the wet touch of that anointing oil, a reminder of your own baptism through which God communicated His desire that you not be lost and made you His own child and spoke into your life His precious salvation.

As you witness this time of anointing and make it your own, make it also your own the heart of God. Think about that son or daughter, that grandson or granddaughter, that niece or nephew who has wandered away from the arms of Jesus. Think about that neighbor or co-worker. Think about the young man who loads groceries into your trunk or the person who cuts and styles your hair. Think about that person who used to occupy that seat next to you or ahead of you or behind you before just disappearing. The Father is not willing that any of these “little ones” should be lost, but we often settle for lost ones.

We often settle for lost ones because we don’t want to upset the apple cart. We don’t want to stir things up. We don’t want to ruffle any feathers. We often settle for lost ones because we figure that someone else will go searching for them – and maybe will be more effective. We often settle for lost ones because we count on “tomorrow” being there. For Lot and his family, for you and I who gather here week after week, the apple cart has already been upset. Someone else has already come looking for us and there is no tomorrow. There is only today and there is only the “yesterday” known as Mount Calvary.

A man was one day walking down a serene sandy beach when he saw a strange sight. One lone man was walking toward him. He’d stop every few feet, pick something up and then fling that something into the ocean. As the two men got closer together, the one could see that the other was one-at-a-time picking up starfish that had washed onshore and was throwing them back into the water. “Man, there are thousands of those starfish out here on this beach! What difference can you possibly make in picking them up one at a time?” As he flung yet another starfish back into the life-saving water, the man answered, “It makes all the difference in the world to that one.”

You and I – and every single person that walks the face of the earth or has ever walked the face of the earth or ever will walk the face of the earth – are the “little ones” that our Father has not be willing to lose. He showed that to us in Jesus Christ. We are now His eyes, His ears, His hands to go searching for “the one.” One today. One tomorrow. One Tuesday. One Wednesday.

The heart of God, the saving Gospel message, is the mission of the Church.

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

Pastor Christopher Schaar
Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena