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Title: The Blessing of the Nation
Liturgical Date: Pentecost 6 Proper 9 A
Calendar Date: July 5, 2026
Location: Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County, 316 W. Main St., Forestville, WI 54213. 920-856-6420.
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Jackson
Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County serves Baileys Harbor and other areas in Northeast Wisconsin.
TRANSCRIPT
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
Today, we celebrate with great thanksgiving the 250th anniversary of our great nation. We praise and thank the Lord for the blessings that He’s given to this great nation, the blessing that He has given us through this great nation.
To think that we stand as the most prosperous, most powerful nation that the world has ever seen. It truly is something from the hand of God, and something for which we ought to give Him thanks and praise. That’s the theme of our sermon today, the blessing of the nation. We’re going to be talking about how, first of all, it is God who caused our nation to arise. Second of all, we’re going to talk about the fact that the Lord blesses us through our nation. Third of all, we are going to talk about the fact that we are called to actively work for the wellbeing of our nation. Finally, we’re going to talk about how above all we belong to another nation, another kingdom, another city: the kingdom of heaven, which has been won for us through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
God Who Caused Our Nation to Arise
I’d like to start off today by reading from the Book of Acts, in chapter 17. There, St. Paul is addressing the Athenians in what we now call Greece. And he says this: God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him.
In this passage, St. Paul relates the fact of what we as Christians know, that it is only through the hand of God that any nation arises. It is only through the hand of God that any nation prospers. It is only by the hand of God that the borders of the various nations are set. 250 years ago, our nation came about through ink on paper, through the writing of Thomas Jefferson and the endorsement of all of those who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Our nation has been preserved ever since then, through its tender early years as a tiny upstart nation among these great superpowers France, England, Spain. As we continue to grow in power still we faced other kinds of obstacles and other kinds of threats. We had the Civil War, and God saw us through that. And then finally, the two great wars, World War I and World War II. Wars, in a sense, of existential import. And God saw us through these as well. Then finally, in the last 70, 80 years, the Lord has caused our great nation to grow into a hegemonic superpower. The most prosperous, the most powerful nation that the world has ever seen.
Now, to the unbeliever they look at this and what do they see? They see pens writing on paper and the Declaration of Independence. They see guns firing in the War of Independence. They see, once again, guns firing through the various other wars. And in our final period here, they see economic systems at work. Certainly all of that is the case. But as Christians, we understand the truth that behind all of these things, it is the hand of God who has been working. And because of this, we lift up our praise and thanks to Him on account of these great blessings.
Turning Blessings into Gods
Speaking of the praise and thanks to Him, this is a place where perhaps I feel a little despairing about our nation. Acts chapter 17, as we just read, why did God do this? God did this that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. What ought to be the reaction of our people to these incredible blessings? We ought to be a people marked above all by greatness of faith. There should be more people in pews this Sunday morning than there were at fireworks displays last night. And yet the opposite is the case, is it not?
And here we come to a great trouble on account of our sinfulness. The Lord gives us blessings. He gives us great goods, and we are to receive those goods from the Lord as the blessings that they are. We ought to steward those blessings towards His purposes, and we ought to give thanks to the Lord for these blessings. And yet, on account of our sinfulness, we have this tendency to turn goods into gods, little “g” gods. And certainly this is the case with even the great good of a nation. Instead of receiving this gift from the hand of God and therefore causing their hearts to rise up to God in thanksgiving, instead people end up worshiping the gift rather than the giver. Let it not be for us, we Christians. But instead, let us recognize the blessing that our nation is from the hand of God and how God continues to bless us through our nation.
The Lord Blesses Us Through Our Nation
This comes to our second point today, that the Lord blesses us through our nation.
I’d like to read to you from Romans chapter 13. Another writing of St. Paul. And he starts off here in Romans talking to the Romans in a very similar way that he does to the Athenians. Talking about the fact that it’s the Lord who established civil power. He says this, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
So we just heard that point from Acts when he was talking to the Athenians, that every authority in this world is established by God. He then goes on to say this, “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval.” Now, I want you to listen to this, “For he is God’s servant for your good.” He’s God’s servant for your good. The Lord brings us great blessings by means of our nation.
And because the Lord brings us great blessings by means of our nation, therefore it is our duty to render obedience to the nation, to the state, insofar as it doesn’t ask us to do anything contrary to the Word of God. Now, I’m gonna take you back to catechism class. Many of you might remember the explanation to the fourth commandment as you studied the Small Catechism. The fourth commandment is about honoring father and mother, but it’s more than just honoring father and mother. It’s about honoring all authority that the Lord has given into our lives, whether that’s our employers, our teachers, our government, or our fathers and mothers.
It says this is the first commandment with a promise. The promise is this: That if we honor father and mother and every other authority, including our civil government, it will go well with you, God says. It will go well with you. In what way? The Lord grants us many blessings through our civil government.
One of the ways that the Lord blesses us is through a system of laws, for example, that allows us to conduct our affairs with each other in ways that are fair, in ways that are equitable, in ways in which we don’t have to have recourse to violence because the state will enforce these things for our sakes. Why are people not able to come and just take our home from us or to take this church property from us? Because the laws of our nation establish what it means to have title to a property. Why is it that businesses want to do business in the United States of America? A big reason for this is on account of our laws. That if you violate a contract, there will be recourse to the courts, and the courts will enforce the terms of your contract as long as the contract itself is lawful.
The government protects us as well from those who would do ill. If I drive recklessly in a way that endangers the community, there’s a good chance I’m gonna get pulled over, slapped with a fine, maybe even thrown in jail. This acts as a deterrent against those who would put us in harm’s way on account of their recklessness. The Lord grants us many great goods by means of our government, and therefore we are called to obedience to it.
Actively Work for the Wellbeing of Our Nation
But not only obedience, but also we are called to actively work for the wellbeing in turn of the nation. Even as the Lord grants us wellbeing through the nation, we are called to work for the wellbeing of the nation.
Last week’s sermon, we discussed Jeremiah and how he confronted a false prophet by the name of Hananiah. Hananiah was a priest, but was attempting to give prophecy and ended up giving false prophecy. Hananiah prophesied that even while God had allowed Babylon to exercise authority over Judah, and therefore take away a number of the precious implements and instruments of the temple worship, and as well take away Judah’s great leaders, their great people of commerce, their great generals and aristocrats, and as well even the king himself. Hananiah said within two years, everything’s gonna go back to the way it was. Those temple instruments are gonna come back. These people who are exiled are gonna come back.
Jeremiah had a much darker message. He said, “No, Hananiah, you’re wrong. In fact, actually, it’s gonna get worse than it currently is.” But still, Jeremiah had a word of encouragement to those who were caught up in the deepest, darkest aspect of all of this, those who had been ripped away from their homeland and exiled to Babylon itself. In Jeremiah chapter 29, Jeremiah pens a letter to these exiles. And it’s a fascinating thing ’cause here are people who are living in a state which is not their own state, and it’s an imperfect state at that. It’s a state given over to idolatry and immorality. And Jeremiah says this:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Now, isn’t that fascinating? People who found themselves foreigners and in a strange land, people who had been ripped away from their homes, and from their properties, and their families, people who had a very unstable prospect. But what does God say to them by means of the prophet Jeremiah? God says to them, “Work to the welfare of this nation in which you find yourself.” As imperfect as it is. Work for its welfare, pray for its welfare, for its well-being, and in turn you will do well as well.
Again, fourth commandment. It’s the first commandment with a promise.
And this call, if this applied to the people of Judah, how much more does it apply to us? We’re citizens of this great nation, not subjects. How much more are we as God’s people called to work for the welfare of our nation? There are many ways that we can work to the wellbeing of our nation. One way, for example, perhaps we would serve our nation through such things as military service or through working our local protection services like the rescue squad, firefighters, whatever it is. That’s one way. Certainly wisely exercising the right that we have, this precious right to vote, exercising that with wisdom and faithfulness is another way that we can work to the wellbeing of our nation. But the strongest way that we can work to the well-being of our nation is by minding our own domains, our own homes.
Did you notice what Jeremiah said? What did he connect to their well-being and the well-being of the nation? Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Increase, do not decrease. And finally, pray. If there is one thing that Christians can do for the sake of the nation, it is this: to establish stable, prayerful, fecund, and economically productive Christian households. We live in a time in which there are so many pressures against household life, against family life. The Lord calls us instead to insofar as we are able to establish Christian households.
This is going to look different for all of us. Maybe if we are a young person we would seek when the time is right to establish a household, to take a husband or a wife. That this household would as well, if the Lord blesses us in this way, to be blessed with children and to gladly welcome children into our households. Not all of us are called to a family life in this way. Not all of us are called to marriage. Not all of us are called to have children. But no matter what the situation of our household, it can always be a household of prayer, a household in which the Word of God is read, and that Word of God reflected back to Him with words of prayer.
And finally, no matter what the situation of our household, whether we are single or married or widowed, whether we have children or not, in all likelihood, most of us are called to have an economically productive household. As God said through Jeremiah, he said, “Plant gardens and eat their produce.” To give of our productivity for the wellbeing of all those around us. Yes, our families, but also our communities and our nation as well.
My brothers and sisters in Christ. The strength of our nations begins in the strength of our homes. Therefore, let our homes be stable and strong, built above all on that great foundation Christ the rock who stands against the quaking of the earth, who stands against wind and wave.
We Belong to Another Kingdom
And therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us Christians always make use of the gifts that He has given us, of Word and sacrament. And let this Word and sacrament work itself out in words of prayer. Prayer for our households, prayer for ourselves, prayers for our church, and as well, prayers for our nation. And we as Christians are empowered above all to serve the nation in this way because we belong to another nation, another city, the new Jerusalem.
Nations in this world, they rise and they fall. They wax and they wane in power. But there is one nation, one city, one kingdom which endures forever, and we as Christians belong to it. Hebrews 13:14, it says this: “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” And then he goes on to say, “Through him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
All of us who believe and are baptized belong to the New Jerusalem. We belong to that eternal kingdom. That status in the kingdom of God has been won not at the tip of a spear against our enemies, but rather through the spear that was thrust into the side of our Lord. It was won not through the shedding of blood of earthly soldiers, but rather through the shedding of the blood of our great champion, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is earned not by putting to death our enemies, but rather through the death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. In that death, our sins are forgiven, and all of us who believe and are baptized stand as God’s people, forgiven, holy, and therefore belonging to the New Jerusalem, the eternal city, the kingdom of heaven.
Because of this, we have a power which surpasses any power here on Earth, and that is the power of the holiness and righteousness of God. Therefore, let his holiness and righteousness show forth in our lives. Holy and righteous as we seek to imitate Christ in lives of sacrifice in this world, lives in which we gladly sacrifice for the sake of our fellow countrymen, in the service of our nation. Lives which seek to help our earthly households to reflect our heavenly household. And lives above all in which we offer up prayers to the Lord God. Prayers of thanksgiving, above all for the heavenly blessings He has granted to us through Christ our King, but also prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings that He grants us through this nation, and prayers as well on behalf of the nation.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.