20th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23) – October 15th, 2023
Trinity Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas
Rev. Joshua Woelmer
Text: Psalm 119:111
“God’s Heritage to You”
Theme: God gives us his heritage to cherish, rejoice in, and share.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today is Heritage Sunday, when we use one of our older hymnals, The Lutheran Hymnal of 1941, used in our synod’s congregations for many years. I grew up on this hymnal, as have many of you. Before I talk a bit about this treasure of the church for a little bit, I want to first ask, “What is a heritage?”
It’s a word that comes up often in the Bible, but it’s not a word that we use much any more. It’s fallen out of use. A synonym for heritage is inheritance. Even though they convey the same meaning of handing something down from father to son or mother to daughter, I want to propose today that we use them differently, and not only because heritage is an older word.
Heritage denotes something permanent that is handed down from generation to generation. The Farm Bureau has declared my uncle’s farm in Michigan a “heritage farm” because it has been in the family for over 100 years. It has changed hands, sometimes through wills and sometimes through a sale, but it has always stayed in our family. It’s my uncle’s hope to then turn the farm over to my cousin who will continue farming the land. With a heritage, you recognize that you stand in a line of people who have passed something on. Yes, you own the land, but there is a story behind it. You stand in a line of owners who hope to pass it on to the next generation to keep and work. If you intentionally sell it off, you lose the heritage of that land and story of those before you who owned and worked it. But you are a caretaker of that heritage for a time until one of your children can receive it and pass it on to their children. Heritages can be begun or lost, but the idea behind them is that you intend to hand over something of value to another generation to then hand over to their next generation.
On the other hand, how do we understanding the word “inheritance”? It doesn’t have the connotations of generational gifting. It’s what someone gives upon their death to their children or heirs. It may include a house or land or a farm, but it doesn’t have the broader perspective of a heritage. An inheritance may be more focused on money and dividing money or physical possessions between the heirs. Here’s the thing with cash though: it’s easily divided between heirs but also easily squandered. Think about the parable of the prodigal son. That younger son wanted his inheritance to be in cash so he could spend it however he wanted. He didn’t want to stay by his father and work the land. But he also lost all his money in a time of famine when the stock market tanked with all his savings. The older brother, on the other hand, was always with his father on the land of heritage.
So when we have this idea of heritage as something we have received and also pass on, there are some key verses that we should pay attention to. The first one is that God’s Word is a heritage. Psalm 16:6, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (KJV). Psalm 16 goes on to describe how God gives us counsel and instruction (7). God’s Word is a heritage that we have received and that we ought to give to our children and grandchildren. Right after God gives Israel the knowledge of His Name in Deuteronomy 6, he commands them to pass this down to their children: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut 6:7). Later David says in the Psalms, “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart” (Ps 119:111).
You have received a far greater heritage in this life than if you ever receive a heritage farm. There is a line of Christians stretching back generation upon generation who have instructed their children, all leading to you. Imagine that! Talk with your parents if they are still alive about their pastors, their Sunday School teachers, their school teachers, and others who have impacted their faith. I can name my father, my grandfather, Mr. and Mrs. Wolske at St. John’s Lutheran School in Madison, Nebraska. Thanks be to God for all the people who have handed down God’s Word into your hands and hearts as well.
Thanks be to God for all those who continue this work among us today. Thank you to the Sunday School teachers. Thank you to the pastors who have preceded me in this pulpit. Thank you to all the parents who heed Deuteronomy and pass this faith onto your children. God works through you on a daily basis. You are with your children way more than an hour at Sunday School or a little over an hour at church.
The second thing that God identifies as a heritage are precisely these little ones. Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” It is common nowadays to think of children as something that we have chosen or planned. That’s not a good way to view children. They are gifts that God gives to us. He chooses not to give children to some couples, but he gives them to others. Just like a heritage is something that you receive and pass on, life itself is a gift that you have received from God and your parents, and which you may also, by God’s will, give to others.
Another way that heritage is used in the Bible is to describe the people of Israel itself. God describes Israel as his own heritage. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” (Ps 33:12). Why? Because all believers are valuable to Him. He cares for his heritage. He does not want to squander it or lose it, because he wants to deliver this heritage from this life of sin to eternal life. Maybe you can think of a broken-down piece of furniture that you have received as a heritage from your parents. It has been in the family for a long time. Instead of just pitching it, you spend time and energy in restoring it, repairing it, sanding it down, and re-staining it. In the end, you are proud both of what you have received and what you have turned it into. This is what God is doing for you. You are his project, his heritage, and he is making you into the person who will enjoy eternity with Him.
Finally, I want to focus our thoughts of heritage also to our Lutheran heritage. We have received so much from previous generations that is true and beautiful and strengthening for our faith. I already mentioned God’s Word as our heritage, but we have also received the Sacraments as described and commanded in Holy Scripture. We receive the gifts of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and hand them on to future generations, that others would receive Christ and His gifts.
We have a book that contains a summary of our beliefs—it’s called the Lutheran Confessions. The Small Catechism is a part of it. It’s a great summary for all of us to know by memory. It’s a treasure that answers many questions that other Christians struggle with.
Our liturgy and hymns are also a heritage. Some of the hymns in our hymnal go back to the 300s AD. We are singing hymns that others have been singing for hundreds of years. Our liturgy too unites us to Christians of all ages. This is where our current hymnal and The Lutheran Hymnal come into this sermon. They are treasures for supporting our faith. They contain a good “pattern of sound words” (2 Tim 1:13).
Sometimes heritages change and take different forms. The TLH itself came from a German service by which our forbears worshipped. That service goes all the way back to Martin Luther. In fact, even Luther kept much of what he had inherited, only cutting out what was contrary to Scripture. It's changed a bit here and there, but most Lutherans and even Christians of all times would understand the structure of our service today if they could automatically understand English. This service from Page 15 has made it into our new hymnal as well in the form of Divine Service III. There are changes—some of the Thee’s and Thou’s are gone. It’s great that we get to remember our heritage by worshipping from this hymnal. It connects us to a wonderful heritage that we are caretakers of.
We should also rejoice in and share this heritage. It’s not easily accessible, to be sure, especially to those who did not grow up with it. But our Lutheran heritage is deep. It’s not the shallow ponds of much of Christianity. We want people’s roots to dig into Scripture and have God’s Words on their tongues as they praise him.
The last time that “heritage” is used in Scripture is a special one. It’s from Revelation 21:6–7, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Even eternal life is something that God will grant us as a heritage. After all, it is not something that is like screens and plastic that will pass away. It’s not an inheritance like what I described earlier that is quickly squandered, but it is an enduring reality that God promises to us. This fact, that God is our God, and we will be his sons is a truth that endures even longer than the wood and stones and stuff of this world. Indeed, it will remain as a truth eternally. Thanks be to God for this eternal heritage.
Now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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