Installation of Rev. James Rice
Jesu Juva
“The War of the Word”
Text: Revelation 12:7-12;
Matthew 18:1-11; Joshua 5:13-15
Grace, mercy, and peace to
you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
How good it is to have someone to fight for you!
When you’re in school, or on the playground, and the
bully is coming your way.
When at work, and you are
being falsely accused.
When everything seems to be
going wrong, and there seems to be no hope.
How good it is
to have someone step up, step in, and fight for you!
Because
we are often weak, and scared, and overwhelmed.
And so today, in
the readings, how good to hear of those who fight for us – the angels of God!
Joshua saw the
commander of the army of the Lord, who had come to his aid.
Revelation spoke
of war in Heaven – Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon and his
angels.
And then in
Matthew, we heard of the angels of God who are before the Father, ready to go
and fight for His little ones – for us! – at a moments
notice!
How good to know
that we are not alone!
We are not alone
against the great wrath of the devil, who has come
down to us.
We are not alone
against his schemes and traps and temptations; his accusations and threatening
roars.
We are not alone, no matter what he hurls against us
as Christians, or as a Church.
There are many fighting for us.
And that is
good.
For he has come
against you, hasn’t he, O saints of
The
great dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil.
Trying
to scatter this flock. To cause you fear and
confusion; turmoil and despair.
He has come
against you as individual Christians and
as a Church.
Yes, he has not
been silent; he has not been still.
But we are here
this day to rejoice that the Lord of the battle has sent you one to
fight for you!
A pastor.
Now do not
think, “Oh, we really would rather have
the angels!”
For
they too are here. Yes, they have never left.
But our giving
God and Father knows exactly what you need, and so today gives you the gift of
a pastor. This pastor. Just the right pastor.
A
pastor who though weaker in his body than the angels, is at the same time stronger – not because of himself, but because
of what he has been given to give to you.
Because
he fights not in his own strength, but in the strength and with the weapons of
the Lord.
Because, you
see, war for God is never a matter of physical strength.
Physical
strength is not how Joshua overcame
War for God is
always about faith.
Faith
in Him and His promises.
And so it is a war of words.
We heard that in
the reading from Revelation, although it is easy to miss. For what is it that gave our brothers the
victory? “And they have conquered him by
the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” (v. 11)
Or in other
words: a war of the words.
Satan’s wordy weapons
are that he is “the deceiver of the whole
world” (v. 9) and “the accuser” (v. 10). He is the father of lies. (John 8:44)
But against his wordy
deceptions, accusations, and lies stands an even greater and stronger word –
the Word of truth, the Word of forgiveness, the Word made flesh.
And it is this
Word that casts Satan down and fights for you.
A
powerful Word.
Still
today.
And so it is this
Word that Pastor Rice is armed with, and will speak to you, and with which he
will fight for you.
The
Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Eph 6:17)
And so He will
wield the Word:
from this pulpit,
in your classrooms,
at your sick beds and in your
hospitals,
in counseling, and in your
meetings,
in your living rooms and
kitchens,
comforting at funerals,
uniting at weddings,
absolving your sins,
washing you in Holy Baptism,
transforming bread and wine into the
body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will wield this Word that gives faith,
forgiveness, life, and salvation.
This
Word as his weapon, his only weapon.
And you should insist on it.
To rely on
anything else will only weaken him . . . and
you.
For his
ingenuity, his wisdom, his leadership, his strength, his charm, his charisma,
and whatever else he may have going for him – all of that is no match for the
evil one! Who loves it when we rely on
those things!
But against the
Word of God the devil cannot stand.
As
Luther would write: “One little Word can
fell him.” (LW #298 v. 3)
And that Word
not only can, but did, fell
him!
When, as I said,
that Word was made flesh.
A
baby in
The Lamb of God, laid in a manger.
The Lamb of God, hung on a cross.
The
Lamb of God, bloody, and then dead. His lifeless corpse taken down and laid in a cold, dark tomb.
And if it seems
to you that your Pastor’s words seem weak in this
fight, how about this?
A
lamb against a dragon?
A
crucified and dead man against all the schemes of a sinful, devilish world?
But do not be deceived!
In such weakness
the Son of God is strong.
Yes, strong to
save, overcoming sin, Satan, death, hell, and the grave – bringing those bullies to naught in His resurrection!
Silencing
them! And setting us
free.
Free now, in the forgiveness of our sins.
And free in the end, when He sends His angels to
come and take us home to Heaven.
Yes, the world
thinks this all foolish, and these weapons foolish.
But dear
children of God, you know they are not.
You know, by
grace through faith.
But I also must
tell you – when Pastor Rice is fighting for you with the Word of God, sometimes
it will feel as if he is fighting you!
And you won’t
like it.
For the bully of
sin, and the deceptions and lies of Satan he will attack are not only “out
there” – they are in you.
They are in us
all.
In
our sinful flesh.
The third ally
of that unholy trinity: the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.
But as a
faithful servant he must speak this Word too.
This
Word of Law.
To slay you, in
order to bring you life.
To bring you to
repentance, so that the powerful, bloody Word of forgiveness and life raise you to life again – and for life not
only here and now, but for eternity.
So
that you rely not on yourselves, but in the Word of God alone.
In
the blood of the Lamb.
And trust only
in Him.
And with such
child-like faith, be great. Not here, but great in the
For your Saviour
has done it, and has promised that victory to you.
And that is the
confidence and sure hope that now enables you to fight as well.
Not for
yourselves, but for others.
For
your neighbor in need.
And when your
hands and feet and eyes cause you to sin in this fight, not to cut them off!
But remember
that this is a war of the Word!
And to remember
and believe the Word made flesh who His hands and feet
and life cut off for you, on the cross.
And that it is
His blood – sprinkled on you in Baptism, spoken upon you in absolution, and given
to you to eat and drink in His Supper – that now cleanses you from all your
sin.
So
that you can now give your hands and feet and eyes and all your being not
to the chopping block – but in service.
For your Saviour
fought for you . . . and won.
Won back your
life for you!
Your hands and
feet and all that you are.
That
all that you are be His.
And remember
that most of all.
Yes, St. Michael
and All Angels, who are fighting for you!
Yes, Pastor
Rice, who is now fighting for you!
But most
of all, your Saviour, who fought the fight, and won you.
The war of the Word on the
cross.
For now, the
battles continue. It’s not easy. Satan knows his time is short, and so will
fight all the more.
But the day is
rest is coming.
The Strife is O’er, the
How good it is when someone fights for you!
Pray for your pastor. He’ll need it!
And know that he will pray and fight for you.
God’s
blessings to you, Pastor Rice, and dear saints of Redeemer.
In the Name of the Father,
and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.