A Colonial Sermon

The wisdom of Dr. Luther—that scripture, rightly interpreted, is the very voice of God speaking to us —is proven by the appointed readings for this Third Sunday after Easter.

I speak, of course, of St. Peter’s words to us—God’s words to us—in today’s Epistle reading.

Let us parse this out as a law which convicts us and a gospel which saves us.

To begin, the apostle addresses us with these words: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, …”

That we are, indeed, strangers and pilgrims, there can be no question. Even you few who have been birthed in this land recognize that we are strangers in this land and pilgrims seeking a better life! You may know that the otherwise well-respected Dr. Benjamin Franklin has criticized and despised us Germans for refusing to learn English and adopt English customs and ways. Indeed, he has singled us out as, "the most ignorant Stupid Sort of their own Nation.”

So it is, indeed, to us that St Peter is speaking when he counsels, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims,” …

Here you force me to prove Dr. Franklin wrong! For it has come to my attention that, instead of following good, German practice where I am allowed nearly an hour in which to preach, you have already reverted to English customs, confining me to a mere few minutes! 

At least some of you still speak your native language! But, so be it, you only give me a few minutes and, thus, I shall speak for only a few minutes.

I come, therefore, to the heart of the matter, the words of St Peter read today that both convict us of sin and proclaim the gospel which saves us.

And here it is! The second chapter of the first Epistle of Peter, the second chapter, the thirteenth and fourteenth verses: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.”

“Submit yourselves to every ordinance … whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by [the Lord] for the punishment of evildoers …”

I know what you want to say to me! “But my Lord, this is impossible! This is the perilous place in which we find ourselves in the year of our Lord, 1776! 

“Do we submit ourselves to the king—that is, King George—as supreme? Or do we submit ourselves unto our governors here in this Commonwealth! For they are at war with one another! Unto whom must we submit for the Lord’s sake?”

I do not doubt that these are vexing questions. And that sincere and God-loving German evangelicals, such as ourselves, find ourselves torn this way and that at this very hour.

Some of you may know that our spiritual Father in this Commonwealth, Father Henry Muhlenberg, has been counseled by his superiors in Germany to remain publicly neutral in this conflict. Some of you may have friends or kinsmen in and among the Hessian army in Hanover, dispatched by King George to quell the uprising. And yet others of you have heard that in January of this year, Father Muhlenberg’s own son, Pastor Peter Muhlenberg of the Lutheran Church in Woodstock, Virginia tore off his gown in the pulpit to accept commission as a General in the Revolutionary army!

And you wonder, “What am I to do? How do I fulfill the words of scripture—the word of God—spoken to us today? “Submit yourselves to every ordinance … whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by [the Lord] for the punishment of evildoers …”

A little more than two hundred years ago, in 1521—when the world was no less turbulent and fearful than today—Dr. Luther was in prison in the Warburg Castle. 

Why was he in prison? Luther was in prison, with a death sentence on his head, for opposing the unrighteous and tyrannical ruler, Charles V, who would not grant him the freedom to pursue the dictates of his conscience and conviction! From prison Dr. Luther wrote to his trusted helpmate, Philip Melanchthon: Pecca fortiter, he wrote, sed fortius fide et gaude in Christo! …

What! You never learned Latin on your farms or in your pig stalls? In your kitchens or sitting in your privies? Then I will help you! From prison, with a death sentence on his head, Dr. Martin Luther counseled his friend and us: “Be a sinner, and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.”

What does this mean? And can this be heard by us as a proclamation of grace and salvation to us in these times of trouble?

By no means is Dr. Luther promoting immorality by counseling us to “be a sinner, and sin boldly.” That we sin—and cannot not sin—is our human condition! Indeed, the efforts not to sin are akin to walking on eggshells and hoping not to crack and destroy them!

In Dr. Luther’s Small Catechism—in which, parents, I presume you are daily instructing your children!—we are taught, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him.”

We are helpless to save ourselves. We are powerless to overcome our sin. We are bankrupt in any and all attempts to win favor with God. As today’s worship constantly reminds, we cannot guarantee the success of our crops, nor the health and safety of our families and commonwealth. 

But we can trust and place ourselves in the hands of a loving and merciful God! Indeed, what does our Lord Jesus Christ say to us in today’s Gospel reading? “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”

Although we await its publication later this year, I have it on good authority that that Philadelphia firebrand, Thomas Paine, has prepared a pamphlet that well speaks to our day. He writes, “These are the times that try men’s souls …”

We cannot avoid these times. We cannot by our passivity or indifference avoid sin or conflict. But what we can do, and must, is to sin boldly, trusting in God who is our only help and salvation! 

This is what Dr. Luther did when faced with a tyrannical and unjust ruler! He took a stand! He followed his conscience! He boldly believed, rejoiced, and placed himself and his future in the hands of a loving and merciful God!

We are his heirs. And in these times that try men’s souls, let us hear the Word of God today, calling us to be subject to the governing authorities, choosing the side of freedom and justice as best we can determine. 

As the old beloved hymn says—with which we will conclude this morning’s worship—“God is our Refuge in Distress, Our Defense and Armour, He’s present, when we’re comfortless, In Storms he is our Harbour …”

To which all God’s people say, Amen!

Pastor Michael Carlson