The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – June 26, 2005
At the Dedication of Luther’s Seal
You may recall the story about the church with brass letters embedded in the front walk. As you enter the front door the sidewalk in front of the door has brass letter spelling out this sentence: “Enter to worship.” As you leave by the same door you see brass letters that now spell out a different message: “Depart to serve.”
Some clever person thought of this helpful architectural addition when the concrete walk was being poured. Add two sentences, one that reads “Enter to worship.” Then have the second sentence say “Depart to serve.”
Through the generous gift of the Shaner family in honor of Grace, we now have as part of our entrance a very similar reminder. Ours is a beautiful piece of art depicting the seal of Martin Luther. Like the two sentences in the walk of the other church, Luther’s seal embedded in our walk reminds all who enter here that we come here to worship the Triune God who saves us by grace through faith. It also reminds us as we leave that Christ calls us to serve others in his name every day.
How blessed we are to have this marvelous piece of art.
Martin Luther tells you that his seal has a red heart, just like any ordinary heart, so that we are reminded that faith in the crucified one saves us. As our heart goes, so goes our salvation.
In the center of the heart, though, is a black cross. It is there to remind us that the forgiveness we receive in the cross of Jesus cost him his life. Our sin asked Jesus to die on that cross. Yes it “mortifies” us as Luther says, but at the same time reminds us that it is through the cross that we know the everlasting mercy and love of God.
Lots of folks would like to turn our faith into something we do, how we make our “decision” for Christ or somehow “clean up our act” so that God can love us “perfect” people. The truth is it is only through the cross that we are forgiven and saved. No other way. The cross in the center of the seal will always remind us of that truth of our faith.
It is the same truth we enact when at the beginning of our worship service we turn toward the back of the nave and look to the processional cross during confession. We turn and look there because we know we have sin to confess from the week past. We turn to the cross knowing that God in Jesus forgives us. As we confess and are forgiven, absolved of our sin, then it is we follow the cross to worship God in thanksgiving and praise.
Then, at the end of the worship service the processional cross again leads us out the door into the world to serve in the name of the Savior who died on the cross.
The cross in the center of the seal, now at our entrance, will always remind us of both actions: that we come seeking mercy and to worship the forgiving God and then we leave to serve in Christ’s name.
Luther further tells us that the heart of faith and the cross of forgiveness are place in the midst of a white rose. He says that faith, symbolized by the heart, gives joy, consolation and peace.
It gives joy because that is the delight of the followers of Christ. We live in a world that seeks only happiness, thinking that this fleeting, momentary thing called happiness will give meaning to our lives. It is a great deception of our time. Happiness comes and goes like the morning dew. Joy is the gift of God through faith that sets us in relationship with God and others for it prioritizes our life: JOY…these letters stand for Jesus, Others, You. Those are the satisfying priorities of life that give meaning and purpose to us. What a gift that the white rose reminds us that God gives the faithful, you and me, joy.
Along with God’s joy comes consolation and peace. Certainly this is the case. When you have the priorities of joy as faithful people, you know the consolation of living in a loving relationship with God and your neighbor. Such a life brings comfort and peace.
A sky of blue surrounds the white rose reminding us that the faithful have themselves a promise of a heavenly future. Not only do we have the mercy and forgiveness of our loving God now, but God in Christ promises us a future yet to come where we will eat at the banquet table our Lord himself prepares. In our “Lord’s Prayer” we pray each day, “Thy kingdom come,” knowing the whole time we say that God has and will give us a future in Christ’s kingdom. We need not be afraid of what the future may bring because we know who it is that holds our future for us, God in Christ.
Finally, there is a circle of gold around the whole seal. This ring of gold reminds us of two things: first, that life in God lasts forever and ever. It begins now in our baptism and is eternal. Second, gold is the most precious of metals, and therefore tells us that our life in God through the cross of Christ is the most precious gift we ever receive.
How blessed we are to have this gift in honor of Grace. Luther’s seal will always remind us as we enter and leave that God is at work in the cross so that we may come and worship God in thanksgiving and praise. And importantly, as we depart, the seal will remind us that we leave to serve others in the name of the One who first served us. Thanks be to God. Amen.
- Pastor Robert F. Holley