Title : Buy and eat, free of charge

We have the saying, that the best things in life are free, but most of the things that are named as the best come at the highest prices—a Rolls Royce compared to a Chevy, a flawless diamond compared to a cultured pearl, the box seats down by home plate compared to the bleachers in the outfield.

We are used to paying for the best in life, so we get the notion that, if something has great worth, it will have a big price tag. This comes to infect our ideas about religion. Since eternal life is such a big and important thing, it must come at a high price to the buyer. Thus, you have the Roman Catholics, who applied the sale of indulgences for the common folk, and the movement of many men and women to become monks and nuns, thereby dedicating their lives to God and, by their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, determining this to be the way to pay God for their forgiveness, life, and salvation.

We are used to working for what we get. The Word of God even says that if a man shall not work, he shall not eat. What’s good for the stomach must also be good for the soul. Thus, religion after religion requires its adherents to work for their salvation. That’s why the Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to go door-to-door, and the Mormons sign on for a two year missionary stint, and the Muslims perform their daily prayers and Ramadan fasts.

We also get this notion that, if something is free, it’s either cheap, chintzy, or cheesy, or it’s not worth anything at all. Who gives anything away, if it has any value. Even when we hold our garage sales, though we are trying to rid ourselves of stuff that we don’t use, we will seek a decent price for those things that we believe have value.

We even have trouble accepting things for free. People are heard, all the time, declaring that they don’t take charity. We have this sense that, if someone does something nice for us, we have to repay him with something of similar value.

There seems to be very few people who can simply say, "Thank you," for a kindness done to them, with no thought of somehow making things even. Why is this? Sometimes, it’s a sense of pride—we don’t want to be seen as weak, and if we need people doing things for us, then we must be weak. Or, we don’t want others to get the upper hand; we don’t want to have to owe anyone, or else it might be used against us. We are extremely independent people. Far too many of us believe this: "I make my own way in life."

If, indeed, we are good people, and acceptable to each other then, certainly, we must be acceptable to God. Therefore, we can make our own way in life—earthly life and eternal life. Therefore, we don’t need charity from God, just as we reject charity from others. And, if God does something nice for us, then we can repay Him with our good deeds toward others and even the score.

Forgiveness, life, and salvation can’t be without cost to us, because that makes these things cheap, chintzy, and cheesy—or not worth anything at all. My pride won’t let that be. I have to be seen as owning the best, and the best comes with a hefty price tag, not from the box at the garage sale marked FREE.

See what our sinful nature has done to us? The essential mark of our sinful nature is selfishness, that I am the center of my world. That means that I have pride in me. Pride recoils from charity. Pride works for what it wants. Pride thinks he’s a good guy and acceptable to God on his own terms.

These are many of the problems behind man’s rejection of the Christian faith, and why so many Christians either walk away from the faith or, as might be the case with many of you, even though you are in church, have a corrupted faith.

What is a corrupted faith?

• A corrupted faith is one in which the Christian repents of his sins but, down deep, because he compares himself to others, he doesn’t really believe he’s all that sinful.
• A corrupted faith is one that still has pride, so she won’t take anything for nothing. Thus, she will serve on this committee and work at that dinner because, down deep, she believes she has to do something to help pay for her salvation.
• A corrupted faith is one in which he thinks he makes his own way to eternal life because he goes to church, takes Communion, and puts in his offering envelope. No, he doesn’t really pay attention to the Ten Commandments the other one-hundred-sixty-seven hours of the week. He might even be known by his wife and kids and co-workers as an arrogant jerk, but, in his mind, he’s on his way to heaven because he is known by man and by God as a churchgoer.

Despite this entire conversation, we know this, deep down: love is free. Because of our sinful nature, we might not be able to practice it very well, but we know that love is free.

And, deep down, we know that we are not good people—not good by God’s standard. If we really were good, we wouldn’t create the many troubles of our lives. If we really were good, we would never set off that guilt switch in our brain—that marvelous thing which the Lord built into us so that we would know right from wrong and, when we do wrong, we would feel its pinch—and, feel its pinch, we do, so very often.

You, because you remain in your old sinful nature, experience some or all of the things of this discussion—things which make a hard thing for you to swallow and stomach the gift of God the Father’s love in Christ, freely given, not earned, not for the proud but for the humble, an act of charity on his part, with no price tag for you to manage.

But, here it is: "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!"

Do you thirst for the forgiveness of your sins? That is, do you long for and crave God’s gift of forgiveness, even though you haven’t earned it, despite that you can’t pay for it?

To you, Jesus Christ says, "Come." You, who by virtue of your sinfulness, have no currency with God, come and buy and eat. Buy your forgiveness without paying for it. In this word, "buy," He means, "partake, share in, enjoy." He tells you to come, partake and share in and enjoy the forgiveness which He has purchased for you with His holy suffering and death, and with His precious body and blood.

"Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." He is telling you to come and, in presenting yourselves where He gives His gifts—here, in the Divine Service—He has gifts which are the best stuff of life. Wine. Milk. That is, eternal life, salvation. That is, strength of faith, the ability to persevere against the devil, the world, and your own sinful nature. That is, the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

This is wine. This is milk. These are the things with which you quench your thirst in this life, and with which you celebrate good times. These are the gifts of God, in Jesus Christ, given to you through the proclamation of Jesus’ death for your sins and His resurrection for your own resurrection. This is the pouring of His water over your sinful flesh so that you now live as holy ones in God the Father’s sight. This is the feast of the King, who feeds you, His citizens, on His victory over death, devil, and damnation—and He feeds you for free.

Salvation does, indeed, have a hefty price tag. Since Jesus paid it with His blood, your pride resides in Him. You receive His charity, thanking God the Father with your humble acceptance of His gift of love for you in His Son, your Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.