Since this Sunday is Father’s Day, I’d like to say happy Father’s Day to the men who have the privilege of serving the vocations of both father and war fighter. Happy Father’s Day also to those men who serve as the supportive spouse to their wives who serve in our nation’s military.  

And since it’s Father’s Day, I’d like to share a little bit about my father. At his confirmation he was given Matthew 10:32-33 as his confirmation verse. Here Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). I have to say that my father embodies those words from Jesus. He is not shy when it comes to sharing Jesus with complete strangers and often ends the conversation with an invitation to church.  

But then Jesus follows up by saying, “Whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:33). I can also say this about my father: he hasn’t always been faithful in carrying out the will of his Father in heaven. He is a sinner. As a father of five children, I know that I have not always been the faithful father. My dad, and my wife and kiddos could point out where I have failed as a father. I know that I am a sinner, too.  

How often have we as fathers failed to say the loving thing even when it hurts, to point out sinful attitudes of our spouse or children, so that they repent, confess and admit their sin, and then hear Jesus’ absolution from our lips, “You are forgiven!” That doesn’t happen often enough in our home. What about yours? Yes, fathers are imperfect – your father, this father, and those of you who serve in the vocation of father.   

But what Jesus says about me and my dad to his Father in heaven is this: “These two, Paul and Fritz, they belong here with us, the Father and the Son.” He says that about you, too, fathers. And you sons and daughters, say this to your fathers this Father’s Day, “You belong to Jesus and to his Father.” For God loved the world in this way: he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  

This Father’s Day, point your father to Jesus, the one who obeyed his Father’s will perfectly for your father. And for you, fathers, know and believe that Jesus acknowledges you before his Father in heaven as one who is forgiven, as one who is a son of the Father in heaven, adopted into his family through the waters of holy baptism.   

Go and be a faithful, forgiven, father. Go and forgive fathers, just as your Father has forgiven and loved you.   

“Because of your insubordination I am relieving you of command.”  

Those are words that no one wants to hear, and yet these are the very words the Lord spoke to his servant leader Moses. Moses had led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, through the wilderness for 40 years and was about to lead the people into the Promised Land. But God stopped him short. The reason? “You disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes” (Numbers 27:14).  

God led Moses to the top of a mountain so he could see the Promised Land and then he died and God buried him.   

I’m certain you know someone who has been relieved of duty, lost command, demoted, received a reduction in rank because of a violation of policy, poor performance, or loss of confidence in their ability to lead. Maybe that’s you. And like Moses, there are reminders of that failure always before you. How does that make you feel? Worthless? Full of regret? Full of guilt? You are not alone.      

Before Moses died, the LORD commanded him to lay his hands on his successor and commission him to lead. And he led well. His name? Joshua. In the Hebrew Yeshua. In the Greek language Jesus: a name that means – the one who saves. Yes, God provided another leader to shepherd his people – a picture of what the perfect Good Shepherd would one day do for Moses. God’s imperfect servant leader could cling to the promise of the perfect servant leader and know his sins were forgiven. Moses could die in peace knowing his God had made all things right.      

Whatever it is you failed to do in your job, whatever consequences you suffered for it, believe this: Jesus was and is the perfect leader, and the perfect subordinate, the perfect servant of all, the perfect shepherd for all, and that includes you and me.  

As shepherd he looks at people like you and me, and doesn’t shake his head, groan and say, “Not again!” Instead, he looks on you and me with compassion. His heart goes out to us, because he sees people, sinners, sheep who need a shepherd, and he comes to you and to me and offers his holy, perfect, selfless, sacrificial life and says, “Here, this is yours. You are righteous in my sight.”  

Whatever God has called you to do right now, go and do it. Go with confidence. Believe that your sin is covered by Jesus. Go with confidence knowing that Jesus goes before you as a shepherd leads his sheep.  

There are some interesting characters in the Bible. There is a man who killed another man in a fit of anger. Later he made excuses and tried to wiggle his way out of God’s call to lead his nation of Israel. You might know him as Moses. Another man absolutely ravaged Christ’s church, torturing and murdering Christians. He called himself the chief of sinners. You might know him as the Apostle Paul. Another man worked for a government that was godless, pagan, hedonistic, collecting taxes for that government from his own Jewish people. You might know him as Matthew.   

I don’t know what you’ve done in your lifetime, serving our nation’s military, or as a military spouse, or military brat, a government contractor – I don’t know everything, but I do know a few things, because some of you have shared those things with me. I know that you and I are very similar, and that we have a lot in common with Moses, Paul, and Matthew. We are sinners, with a strong natural inclination to do to the things we want to do, ignoring the things our holy, loving God wants us to do.  

I know this about me and about you, but I also know what kind of God you and I have. The same kind of God who showed grace and patience with Moses. The same kind of God who forgave Paul and called him to be an apostle in his Church. The same kind of God who called Matthew to follow him and ate and drank with all of Matthew’s tax collector buddies. No matter how great you think or believe your sin to be, it is not so great that it is beyond the reach of God’s grace. The price tag for your sin is not so costly that Jesus’ blood could not pay for it.  

Listen to these words from a man who knew the enormity of sin and who rested in the greater enormity of God’s grace for him:  

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). 

My friend, rest in the greatness of Jesus’ love, his sacrifice, his payment for your sin. Nothing is beyond his ability to forgive. You are forgiven. You are loved. 

Whether you are an officer or enlisted the Triune God has commissioned you for a very important task: Go and make disciples of all nations. That’s a tall order. But he also gives you the tools to do it: by baptizing…. and by teaching. Your commander-in-chief promises you, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). Jesus has all authority. After all, he is the one who died and came back to life from the dead. He gives you the authority to carry out this commission.   

He also promises, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  

This is especially important to take to heart, considering the context of your calling. The military culture and community is not always friendly to people like you and me. They are not always receptive to Jesus’ words. Some can be a little rough around the edges. Not all of your coworkers and neighbors have the same religious foundation. Some make questionable moral decisions. Others are hurting because they are wracked with guilt. Some are hurting because of trauma or abuse or moral injury. They are no different from you or me.  

They are sinners who need forgiveness, like you and me. They are sinners who will one day die, like you and me. Like us, they need to know they have a Father who loves them so much, he planned the salvation of their body and soul from before the creation of the world. They need to know they have a brother who loves them so much, he took on human flesh to carry out the Father’s plan of salvation. They have a brother who lived to earn righteousness for them, just as he did for you. They have a brother who died to earn forgiveness them, just as he did for you. They have a brother who rose from the dead to win a resurrection from the grave for them, just as he did for you.  

Like us, they need to know the wonderful blessings of baptism: this water is God’s pledge that our conscience is clear because he washed us, cleansed us, and clothed us with Christ.  

You know these truths. You believe them. Now, confess them boldly, with courage, with love and patient instruction. You have been commissioned for this task.  

Jesus will be with you.  

Last month I was in our nation’s capital, and I took some time to walk around the National Mall. When I reached the Vietnam Veterans memorial, I walked around the statue of the three service members. As I stood behind the statues, I noticed that their gaze is fixed on the black granite wall upon which are etched the names of their fallen comrades in arms. Just then a group of men in wheelchairs rolled up. They were a group of Vietnam veterans on their Honor Flight. Some took pictures. Others just sat there with their hands folded, remembering… 

This made me think ahead to this weekend. On Memorial Day weekend we remember those who have died in service to our country. But we do not grieve the dead the way that the rest of the world grieves because we have hope. We know that Christ is risen and that he lives. Those who died while serving our country and died clinging in the risen Lord Jesus, they also live!  

 The apostle Peter quoted the prophet Joel in his Pentecost Day sermon in Acts chapter 2 and he said this: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). 

My prayer for you is that when you take time to remember this weekend – whether you do that on Monday at 3:00 PM local time, the National Moment of Remembrance, or you do that by sticking a flag in your yard, or hanging it on your garage, or laying a wreath on a tombstone – my prayer is that your soul is comforted with Jesus’ resurrection promise that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  

Jesus promised the one who was crucified with him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This promise confirms that those who died in service to our country clinging to Jesus as their Savior – their souls are with Jesus right now in heaven. I pray that you are comforted with the knowledge that because Christ’s tomb is empty that one day their tombs and their urns will be empty, too. Their bodies will rise from the dead and they will live forever remember. The one who died and rose again never to die again did so, so that those who call on his name will never die and that includes you.