Jesus sends the Counselor so we are not lost.

 

Sermon for Easter 7, Exaudi, May 29, 2022

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

John 15:26-16:4  ²⁶“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.  ²⁷And you also are going to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.”  ^16:1 “I have told you these things so that you will not fall away.  ²They will put you out of the synagogues.  In fact, a time is coming when anyone who murders you will think he is offering a service to God.  ³They will do these things because they have not known the Father or me.  ⁴But I have told you these things so that when their time comes, you may remember that I told them to you.  I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you. (EHV)

Jesus sends the Counselor so we are not lost.

Dear fellow witnesses for Christ,

            Not many of us would choose to be unpopular.  We don’t like being ridiculed, rejected, persecuted, or hated, so how many of us could stand up to wholesale rejection from our neighbors, especially when it gets to the point where they throw you in prison, torture you, or want to kill you?  At the same time, do we always remember that Jesus experienced all those things?

When we think of Jesus, it is common to remember the vast crowds that followed Him to hear Him teach, the thousands who came to Him for a miracle, and that great parade that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem expecting to see Him reign as their King.  Yet, by the time Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, many had stopped following Him because they thought His teachings too hard to swallow. (John 6:66)  Jesus also had enemies who wanted Him dead, as the Jewish rulers plotted how they might kill Him.  Just a few days later, one of Jesus’ dearest friends betrayed Him and the rest ran away at the first sign of trouble. 

Jesus knew that following Him wouldn’t always make us popular in the world.  He warned His disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, for that very reason the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)  The natural state of the world is to be God’s enemy.  You and I were in that camp at birth, as is the whole world, which is why Jesus continued His warning to those called to spread the message of God’s love, “They will put you out of the synagogues.  In fact, a time is coming when anyone who murders you will think he is offering a service to God.”  To give us courage for such times, Jesus sends the Counselor so we are not lost.

Jesus knew His disciples would have a tough road when He sent them out into the world with the message of forgiveness and salvation through faith in this Jewish Teacher who the Romans had crucified.  First of all, the Jews rejected Jesus.  Furthermore, the Roman empire primarily worshipped pagan gods, and in fact, a wide variety of them.  On top of that, Jesus’ followers had to point out the host of sins that separated Jews and Roman citizens from God.  As you might expect, many of those people weren’t especially happy to be accused of sin.  They liked, even less, hearing that the idols they worshipped were powerless and entirely offensive to the Creator of the world.

On the other hand, when you think about the road the apostles had to travel, it really doesn’t sound so different from our world, does it?  Even our own friends and neighbors don’t like being held accountable for sin.  Vast populations in the world worship other gods.  Much of our culture would rather embrace seriously immoral behavior, and they demand that we accept and approve pretty much anything and everything the wicked soul can conceive.  We too are susceptible to the twisted thinking of the world.  At the same time, many of us are quick to accuse others of sin while ignoring our own. 

At present time, we have the advantage that Christianity is not illegal in our world as it was in the early Christian era.  At the same time, the public attitude seems to have turned against the Christian ethics and morality.  The Ten Commandments are at best treated as old fashioned suggestions, and at worst repugnant to modern man.

Of course, it is always easy to accuse unbelievers of sin.  The fact remains, though, that we are sinners too—sinners who came into this world not knowing our God and Savior—sinners who often fail to live according to what we know God expects.  Admitting these truths brings us face to face with the reality that we need help.  Therefore, it is to our great joy and comfort that Jesus sends the Counselor so we are not lost.

Next Sunday, we will celebrate the first great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and some people wonder why we don’t see such a magnificent display of His presence anymore.  Yet, the truth of the matter is we get the same outpouring of the Spirit through the hearing of the Word Jesus sent those twelve apostles to preach.  We don’t need the rushing wind and tongues of fire on our heads to receive the gift of the Spirit.  What we need is faithful teaching of the message of the Scriptures.  We need faithful servants who will baptize people of any age in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We need parents who faithfully and regularly bring their children to Jesus.  We need loving members who remember that the work we do together as a congregation to proclaim the message of Christ crucified is working together with the Holy Spirit to do the things Jesus said the Spirit would do.

Jesus said, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.”  Who among us hasn’t enjoyed that blessing?  If you are here, it is because the Holy Spirit has worked faith in you, or at the very least He is right now working on your heart to bring you to believe that Jesus is your Savior from sin and death.  We may all be on a slightly different stage of the path, but the Bible is clear, Jesus is “The Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through” Him. (John 14:6)

Jesus told His disciples, “I have told you these things so that you will not fall away.”  Those disciples believed in Jesus.  They believed He is the promised Messiah and Savior God had long promised.  Yet, they would face many things that would test their faith in Jesus, not the least of which was His trial, suffering, and death.  Those were public challenges to the human reason, with their eyes telling them Jesus wasn’t true God.  Yet, those events only led to the triumph of Easter morning. 

The devil’s seeming victory over Jesus was short lived.  The penalty for sin is death, and Jesus died because “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  At the same time, because Jesus is the completely perfect and innocent Son of God, death couldn’t hold Him.  While the devil and the grave tried to swallow Jesus whole, Jesus destroyed that serpent’s head and the grave’s power with His resurrection to life again.  In the process of giving Himself into death for our sakes, Jesus destroyed the power of sin, death, and Satan.  No longer can we be accused of sin in God’s courtroom.  No longer can the grave keep us forever.

The Easter message is such great comfort to us, because that one moment in history confirms the truth of all God’s Word.  The prophecies have been fulfilled perfectly in Jesus.  The promise of a Savior who would reconcile us with God is now accomplished, and you and I are perfect examples that Jesus’ words, here, are being accomplished in due course.  Because we believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior and Redeemer, we ourselves are living proof that the Spirit is being sent by Jesus from the Father, because “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)

Today, Jesus says to us, “I have told you these things so that you will not fall away.”  By the power of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, you and I have been brought to faith in Jesus.  Yet, we know that there is still much in this world that will challenge our faith.  The devil and people around us will mock our God as being powerless to stop evil in the world.  Yet, God is not powerless to stop evil; He is rather patient in order to give time to bring sinners to repentance. 

It is easy for us to so concentrate on worldly events that we forget Jesus’ first mission is to win us out of this world.  Therefore, in the kingdom of heaven, even the physical deaths that so trouble us, now, are in reality our entrance into eternal glory and peace.  Not that we seek our deaths, but rather, that we are comforted by God’s promise that we will live with Him forever in heaven, for as Paul wrote, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4)

If you look at the lengthy prayer list in our bulletin this morning, you find many things that might challenge our faith in God.  This world remains a place of trouble, sorrow, and great wickedness.  At the same time, the opportunity to pray to the Almighty, at His invitation with His promise to hear our prayers and answer them, is in itself an encouragement to our faith.  He promises to work all things for our eternal good, and our dear Friend, Jesus, is at His side with the power to change the world.

Dear friends, just as Jesus’ apostles faced much opposition and many challenges as they walked the roads of earth those many years ago, so we too will be continually under attack by the devil, the world, and our own weak and sinful flesh.  Be encouraged today to stand strong, knowing that you are not alone as you walk the path of Christian faith that leads to eternal life.

The Counselor remains at work through the Gospel message you hear in church, through the words of the Bible you read at home, through the power of the Baptism that connected you with Christ in your youth, and through the living body and blood of Jesus which you receive every time you take and eat and drink the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper.  The Holy Spirit Jesus sends is at work to help and strengthen your soul because in all these ways, Jesus sends the Counselor so we are not lost.  Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore.  Amen. 

We receive glory through unity in Christ.

 

Sermon for Easter 6, May 22, 2022

Grace to you and peace from Him who is, who was, and who is coming.  Amen.

John 17:18-23  ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world.  ¹⁹I sanctify myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.  ²⁰“I am praying not only for them, but also for those who believe in me through their message.  ²¹May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you.  May they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.  ²²I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one: ²³I in them, and you in me.  May they become completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (EHV)

We receive glory through unity in Christ.

Dear members of the body of Christ,

            Through Moses, the Lord God told the descendants of Abraham, “You shall be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)  In our Old Testament lesson this morning, God spoke through Jeremiah saying, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)  Then, right in line with all the Lord had promised, Jesus tells us in our sermon text that We receive glory through unity in Christ.

Our text is taken from what is known as Jesus’ high priestly prayer.  In it, Jesus prays for His disciples and for you and me.  Just as the Father sent Jesus into the world with a mission to save sinners, so Jesus was sending out the twelve hand-picked disciples who would become His apostles of peace.  They would declare to the world all that Jesus has done to reconcile God with sinners.  They would carry Jesus’ message of forgiveness through faith in God’s Son, the Anointed One, who was designated to substitute for the world in punishment and in righteous living.

Jesus prayed to His Father in heaven, “I sanctify myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.”  To be sanctified is to be set apart for holy service of God Almighty.  Jesus set Himself apart at the will of His Father so that everything He did as a Man was righteous and holy in God’s sight.  Because God both commands and intends that we be holy in His sight, the only way to accomplish that for us sinners is for the sinless Son of God to become Man to live for us the righteousness we need.  You and I couldn’t do it on our own, and if we should assume to do so, our efforts would not only fall far short, so Paul warns those who hope to earn their salvation, “You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law are completely separated from Christ.  You have fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4) 

Striving for salvation through our own efforts only takes us further and further away from God.  Yet, God’s intention is that we be made holy by believing the truth of His Word.  The Word tells us about Jesus.  While the law shows us what holy living is, it also condemns us.  The Gospel, on the other hand, shows us the love of God in what Jesus has done in fulfillment of the law, and how His life and death covers us with the holiness only He could live.  Through the power of that Word of grace, the Holy Spirit implants saving faith in Jesus in our hearts and minds.

Jesus prayed, “I am praying not only for them, but also for those who believe in me through their message.  May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you.”  From the beginning, God intended to return us to His kingdom of grace through faith.  Jesus prayed for that, lived His life for it, and died on a cross to accomplish His goal.  Notice that there is a unity involved in faith.  Through faith in Jesus, we are made part of His body, the holy Church of believers.  This faith, worked in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, unites us with Jesus.  His holiness covers us just as His sacrifice covered our sins. 

Furthermore, there is no room in God’s will for dissension.  To be in disagreement with any part of God’s Word is to put divisions between believers and God.  This is why our fellowship doctrines are so important.  Jesus promised, “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples.  You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)  As followers of the Savior who rescued us from Satan’s deceptions and the curse of sin, we should want nothing more than to follow our Savior and Shepherd wherever He leads us.  We should gladly hear His message and joyfully follow it.

Oh, but this is where the battle always rises.  Our old sinful flesh also wants to rule.  The devil, likewise, desires to drive a wedge between us and Jesus.  The Lord warned, “The heart is more deceitful than anything.  It is beyond cure.” (Jeremiah 17:9)  However, the serious consequence of following our own desires or will is this: “Cursed is anyone who trusts in mankind, who seeks his strength from human flesh, and who turns his heart away from the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:5) 

All the devious schemes that would put man’s spin on God’s Word can only lead to disaster.  Teachers who don’t take the Scriptures seriously, as the pure message of the Almighty, mark themselves as agents of the old evil foe.  People who insist that our help is necessary to bring salvation to completion only put us further away from our goal.  As Jesus taught His faithful ones in the Revelation, “I give this warning to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.  And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the Tree of Life and in the Holy City.” (Revelation. 22:18-19)

Our world is full of wandering sheep who follow teachings other than what Scripture has laid down.  However, this is not God’s plan for His people.  God wants all of us united with Himself in perfect holiness forever.  Thus, Jesus prayed, “May they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.  I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one: I in them, and you in me.”  

We receive glory through unity in Christ.  The only way we may be united with God is through unity of faith with Jesus Christ who trusted His Father’s Word and will implicitly.  His holiness then covers us.  His righteousness becomes our shield and strength.  More than that, even, through the gift of faith, Jesus gives us the glory that only He and the Father possess by nature.  Therefore, united with Jesus in our baptisms, we are united with both His death and resurrection, and because He lives and no longer will die, so we also will live with Him forever dressed in the glorious splendor of the holiness of our Savior, God’s Son.

Again, we hear Jesus pray, “May they become completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”  We all entered this world in the same condition as our parents entered it: lost and condemned creatures who had no knowledge of God’s grace and mercy, nor any desire to serve Him, much less to love the Almighty who made us.  Yet, that is not where God left us. 

Purely out of love we don’t deserve, God came to our rescue.  By the power of His Spirit in Word and Baptism, God put His mark on us, identifying us as His own beloved children.  In Baptism, God washed away our sins and put on each of us the righteousness of Jesus.  Through the Gospel God caused us to hear, the Spirit worked a miracle in our hearts, implanting in us a new living heart of faith as He took our hearts of stone away.

God declared His love for His Son, Jesus, at both Jesus’ baptism and His transfiguration, yet the greatest declaration of God’s love for His Son came at the tomb.  The Son, who gave His life in our place so that we sinners need not face the torments of hell, was raised to live again and never die.  Jesus’ victory over death is an emphatic demonstration to the world that He is true God dwelling in human flesh.  It confirms everything God has taught about His plans to save us. 

When man fell into sin, all hope seemed lost.  Adam and Eve could think of nothing to do but hide from the beloved Creator they had betrayed.  Yet, God didn’t turn His back to them.  Instead, God went purposely looking for those sinners.  He likewise came looking for you and me.  Oh, the words of His call were different.  The Holy One didn’t call out to us, “Where are you?”  Instead, He proclaims to us His love in the message of His book, and that Bible tells us about Jesus and all He has done for us, including praying to His Father on our behalf, “May they become completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” 

Unity in trusting in Jesus sends a message to the world that Jesus is both God and our Savior.  As His Gospel unites us in love with God, we become God’s message to the world.  We are His people in whom His likeness is being restored. Admittedly, in this life, we remain under construction.  The corruption of our birth still lingers on us, yet our mortality and corruption are temporary, for the day is coming when united with Jesus through the work of His sanctifying Spirit, we too will rise from the grave in triumph—triumph not of our own will and devising, but the will of God who loves us and gave His Son to save us.  United with Jesus through baptism and faith, we will be raised from the dead holy, immortal, incorruptible, and citizens of God’s heaven where for time everlasting We receive glory through unity in Christ.  Amen.

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace, always, in every way.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.

Surely God is your salvation.

 

Sermon for Easter 5 & Confirmation, May 15, 2022

Surely God is your salvation.

Dear recipients of God’s grace in Christ Jesus, and especially you confirmands, Anah and Gideon,

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Isaiah 12:1-6  In that day you will say: I will give thanks to you, Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you comfort me.  ² Surely God is my salvation.  I will trust him and will not be afraid, because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.  ³ Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  ⁴ In that day you will say: Give thanks to the Lord!  Proclaim his name.  Declare among the peoples what he has done.  Proclaim that his name is exalted!  ⁵ Sing to the Lord, for he has done amazing things!  Let this be known in all the earth!  ⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, daughter of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is great among you! (EHV)

After the Lord led the Children of Israel out of Egypt, using miracle after miracle to gain their release from slavery and to give them a dry path through the Red Sea that allowed the people to escape from Pharoah’s threatening soldiers and charioteers, after God’s people were safely across the sea, and Pharoah’s army had drowned in the crashing waters, Moses and the people sang a song of praise to God for His mighty deliverance.  Here, the Lord, through the prophet, Isaiah, promises God’s chosen people another day of deliverance and another song of praise.  That day has come, and we can sing this song eternally, for Surely God is your salvation.

Now, the sceptic might claim that this prophecy was intended to give the exiles hope when God allowed them to be carted off to wherever the conquering nation decided to send them, and I have no doubt that Isaiah’s message did give the faithful among Israel that sure hope and confidence.  However, both the rescue from Egypt, and Israel’s return from exile in Babylon nearly a thousand years later were primarily pointing the world to a rescue far more important.

These words come to Isaiah soon after God promised a Deliverer, a Root of Jesse, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord would rest, a Man who would win peace between God and the rebellious hoards that afflicted us all, a Man who would make this peace known to the world.  None other than Jesus could be meant.  Seven hundred years before Jesus would enter the world as a Child born of the Virgin Mary, the Lord brought this message of hope for all people, for you and me.

Isaiah wrote, “In that day you will say: I will give thanks to you, Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you comfort me.”  What day was that day?  It started at the cross that held God’s Son in a fight to the finish against the devil and all the sin of the world. 

Since the first sin troubled mankind, all people were held in terror of God.  Oh, maybe some didn’t realize they were afraid of their Creator.  Maybe we don’t always fear Him either.  Many people grow complacent in their guilt.  It feels normal to those who don’t know Jesus.  Yet, every society in the history of the world has tried to do something to appease God’s anger, or the anger of whatever god they imagined controls the world.  Even today when so many people imagine there is no God, they still live as though afraid.  Certainly, you have heard the dire warnings of what will happen if we do not do this or that to save the world.  People are terrified of words like cancer, pandemics, and war.  They are afraid that some criminal or accident might snuff out their life.  Some take chances trying to push the limit to see how close to death they can go and yet get safely home; the adrenaline rush of teasing death gives them a high.

That fear of God, and the fear of death, is a recognition that we are all sinners.  We don’t just do things wrong, or fail to do what is good and right, we are corrupted sinners to our core, and on our own we don’t know how to deal with it.  In fact, we can’t change it.  Adam and Eve tried to hide.  Many still do.  Yet, the prophet says God’s “anger has turned away, and you comfort me.” 

Finally, this is the message of the cross.  On that cross outside Jerusalem, God took the sins of the world and piled them on Jesus.  God charged all of our guilt, all of our corruption, all of our foolish rebellion, all of our filthy deeds were charged to God’s Son, so that Jesus could bear the punishment we all deserved for the corruption that kept us separated from God.  The just wrath of God, that we deserved for our sins and sinful nature, has been turned away.  Because God sacrificed His beloved Son, Jesus, for us, we have peace with God, and He comforts us with the Good News.

But, how can we know about that marvelous day in which God won peace?  Because that day is the day Jesus rose from the dead.  Jesus’ resurrection from the tomb is the eternal proclamation and clear evidence of God’s victory over sin, death, the devil, and in reality, you and me.  Yes, Jesus won the victory over our rebellions, our disobedience, our mockery, and our every failure to be or to do good. 

My young friends, like for all of us, your sins were paid for on that cross.  Your guilt was given to Jesus to bear all the wrath you deserved, so that the Father in heaven could declare you innocent of anything and everything—the guilt you know, and the inherited corruption that feels normal—all of it is paid for by Jesus.

Furthermore, your song of praise began the day God came to you in handfuls of water as He baptized you through the pastoral servant assigned to preach Good News to the poor in your midst.  There in the water and Word of Baptism, God made you His own dear children.  It is a rebirth from the Spirit in heaven above.  Just as you received a sinful nature from your physical parents at birth, so also in the rebirth of Baptism, God has covered you with the holy, spiritual nature of Christ Jesus.  His perfect love and obedience to His Father’s will is now counted as yours.  Thus, so that there can be no doubt of your place in the universe, Surely God is your salvation.

The soul who doesn’t know Jesus has no inclination to sing praise to God, for in that case, there can be only fear and loathing.  Yet, through faith in Christ, the reason people are afraid is removed.  Through the rebirth of Baptism, God gives faith in Jesus, who promises, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)  Through faith in Christ, all guilt is taken away, and even the fear of death is changed, because we now know that life everlasting is ours.  That doesn’t mean we can do foolish things to test the certainty of death.  It means, rather, that we can go about this life knowing that in spite of the trials, hardships, risks, temptations, and dangers of life in a sin-broken world, we have a sure and certain future in heaven where there is no death, sorrow, sin, or pain.

Today, Gideon and Anah are affirming the faith God gave them in their baptisms.  Today, their confession speaks with confidence and joy, “Surely God is my salvation.  I will trust him and will not be afraid, because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.”  Faith that trusts in Christ isn’t a momentary thing.  It is a continual assurance that you have peace with God through Jesus.  The prophet wrote, “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”  What great joy is ours to know that the devil has been crushed, our guilt has been wiped away, and even the jaws of death have no hold over us, because Jesus rose from the grave victorious over everything that would have kept us separated from our God. 

Dear friends, baptism is the well of salvation that connected you with all God offers.  Return to it with joy for the forgiveness Christ’s death has brought you.  Return to your baptism daily in repentant living, remembering that connected with Christ in Baptism, you were both put to death according to your sinful nature and raised to eternal life according to your new connection with Jesus.

Isaiah wrote, “In that day you will say: Give thanks to the Lord!  Proclaim his name.  Declare among the peoples what he has done.  Proclaim that his name is exalted!  Sing to the Lord, for he has done amazing things!  Let this be known in all the earth!  Shout aloud and sing for joy, daughter of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”  In reality, this is the song of praise that the Christian Church has lived since Jesus rose from the dead that first Easter morning.  Through the evangelists and missionaries, pastors and teachers, fathers and mothers, grandparents and friends, the Spirit of our Risen Savior has shared the salvation our God has won for all with more and more repentant sinners leading them into the kingdom of our Savior and Lord.

Now, I know that sometimes when we are young, and sometimes not so young, we might think that church is boring.  Yet, how can we ever be bored with hearing that Jesus had taken away every sin, every stain, every stench our guilt would have put in His Father’s nostrils?  Hearing again and again how precious we are to our Creator, so precious that He would sacrifice His beloved Son so that we could live with Him forever, how can we not rejoice with all our hearts and eagerly look forward to hearing it again at the next opportunity?  How can we not look forward eagerly to partaking of the Supper Jesus prepared for us with His sacrifice on the cross—a Supper of His true body and blood given and shed to purify us in the presence of God forever? 

Though we will always struggle with the rebellious old sinful nature, our new man of faith is excited to sing God’s praise, excited to hear His Word, shouting for joy the Good News to everyone we meet, and finally, excited to enter His presence with thanksgiving to dwell in His mansions forever in heaven.

Isaiah foresaw it.  Jesus accomplished it.  The Holy Spirit shared it and enabled you to believe it.  God Himself came to earth to reconcile sinners with Him.  God Himself bore the punishment we all deserved, so that we may stand cleansed and perfectly holy in the presence of God, rejoicing for all He has done for us.  The day of our salvation is now and forever.  Rejoice in it.  Give thanks to the Savior who made you His.  Connected already with the saints and angels in heaven in our worship, we sing with joy, Surely God is our salvation.  Amen.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and, in his grace, gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.  Amen.

Pilgrims here, we live as citizens of heaven.

 

Sermon for Easter 4, May 8, 2022

Almighty and everlasting God, You bid us to walk in this passing world as pilgrims and strangers, ever looking forward to that eternal home which You have prepared for us in heaven.  We pray that You would so govern and guide our hearts by Your Holy Spirit that we, avoiding all the fleshly lusts that wage war against our souls and being quietly obedient to the rule You have placed over us, may show Your glory in this world by our good works; for Jesus’ sake and in His name we pray.  Amen.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance, given in the great mercy and living hope of Jesus’ resurrection.  Amen.

1 Peter 2:11-20  ¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.  ¹²Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.  ¹³Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the king as the supreme authority ¹⁴or to governors as those who have been sent by him to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.  ¹⁵For this is God’s will: that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.  ¹⁶Do this as free people, and do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but use it as servants of God.  ¹⁷Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king.  ¹⁸Slaves, submit to your masters with total respect, not only to those who are good and kind but also to those who are harsh.  ¹⁹For this is favorable: if a person endures sorrows while suffering unjustly because he is conscious of God.  ²⁰For what credit is it to you if you receive a beating for sinning and patiently endure it?  But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is favorable with God. (EHV)

Pilgrims here, we live as citizens of heaven.

Dear fellow citizens of the kingdom of heaven,

            War has been in the news these past few months since Russia invaded Ukraine.  It seems that Russia mistakenly assumed that they would be welcomed by the Ukrainians and victory would come easily.  Obviously, that wasn’t true.  Therefore, thousands of soldiers have died on both sides, and of the many people being displaced, millions have become aliens in foreign lands.

After any serious war, the leaders of the victorious side send ambassadors to the conquered state.  That work can often be difficult, even dangerous.  It requires tact and a delicate hand to extend friendship to a former enemy, now conquered.  As you might expect, there often is a lot of distrust and, even, hatred and animosity against those ambassadors of the victorious state. 

In our sermon text, Peter addresses the aftereffects of the spiritual war in which Christ has won the victory over sin, death, and Satan.  Our Lord has assigned you and me, now citizens of heaven, to live for a time as temporary residents (some translations: pilgrims) here among those who remain allied with the conquered foe.  Therefore, our Lord reminds us that as Pilgrims here, we live as citizens of heaven.

            Our sermon text begins: “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.”  These fleshly desires are what caused the whole human race to be at war with God.  The desire to possess something more than what God had promised, or provided, led Adam and Eve into rebellion.  Those same desires in our sinful nature have battled against us ever since. 

Still, Peter wants us never to forget that the eternal war is over.  Christ Jesus came to this world to be its end.  All those lusts that cause our sinful nature so much grief were conquered by our Savior with His perfect obedience to His Father’s will.  St. Paul wrote, “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Christ took our sin upon Himself so that we could have His righteousness.  Therefore, those who believe in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior are no longer allied with the devil in his war against our Creator.  We have been washed clean of all our sinfulness and connected by Christ to the heavenly kingdom. 

Having been made perfectly clean and holy in God’s sight through faith in Jesus, we are now citizens of God’s kingdom, the kingdom of heaven.  Accordingly, Peter tells us not to go back to serving God’s enemy, but to “Abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.  Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.”  Here, Peter explains why we should live honorable lives.  If we live in the sins of Satan’s allies, all the world will assume that we also remain allied with the devil.  The people of the world may temporarily like us more, but wicked behavior would give them no encouragement to turn to something better. 

However, as the enemy’s allies see us living lives that are different from the ordinary sinners’ lives, they will have reason to question why.  Why don’t we follow the lies of the devil?  Why don’t we participate in the sins of the world?  As they see us avoid the wickedness that causes so many problems, some sinners will be drawn to the only Savior of the world.  As they come to ask us why we avoid evil ways, we can share the Gospel of Christ Jesus, and some of those who formerly slandered us may believe, giving God glory by their new faith in Christ when God visits them through the Holy Spirit’s work in Word and Sacrament.

As citizens of heaven, sojourning here on earth to serve as Christ’s ambassadors, we might say that we have diplomatic immunity.  We are no longer subject to the curse of sin on this world for heaven is our home.  However, God doesn’t want our freedom to be a stumbling block to those who might yet believe and be saved.  Thus, He says, “Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the king as the supreme authority or to governors as those who have been sent by him to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.  For this is God’s will: that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.  Do this as free people, and do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but use it as servants of God.”  This is God’s will, that we citizens of heaven continue to live in His grace and in obedience to His every command.  We do this not because the law has any authority over us, but so that we can be His sanctified representatives bringing the riches of salvation to an enemy people.  Just as our Lord Jesus submitted Himself to every law for our benefit, He asks us to follow His example for the benefit of those around us. 

Occasionally, the news will tell of some foreign ambassador who has broken the law.  This often causes hard feelings and, sometimes outrage, if the diplomat won’t be charged with a crime because He has diplomatic immunity.  Such is the case with you and me.  God holds no charge of sin over our heads for Christ paid the full penalty for all our guilt.  However, we are not serving our Lord if we, in our liberty, should defy Him or cause offense in this world.  Yet, we always remember that this submission to law is a work of love for Christ, for we are truly free of all that the law requires. 

As Christ humbled Himself to serve His enemies, and save them, so we are instructed to live humbly.  Peter writes, “Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king.”  Have you ever struggled to honor someone who is causing you grief or even great hurt?  This is how we imitate Christ—by honoring all people regardless of how they treat us. 

Chances are good that we have struggled to love even some of our Christian brothers and sisters.  No doubt, our sinful nature affects us as long as we live on this planet, so it is not uncommon for there to be difficulties even among the faithful.  Yet, Jesus loves us even when we offend, so we also love.  Fearing God means respecting both His wrath and His love.  Honoring the king means to give due respect and obedience to all authority God places over us here on earth.  Jesus gave us the best example of this in His life.  He paid taxes just as He was required by the authorities.  Jesus showed no disrespect to any person even though many disrespected Him.  Even as He was led to His suffering and death, Jesus gave honor and love to all.

Now, how do you react to the next sentence?  “Slaves, submit to your masters with total respect, not only to those who are good and kind but also to those who are harsh.”  Boy that can be tough, can’t it?  It’s harder to submit to the unkind master.  We think of how harshly some of the slaves of our American past, and elsewhere, were treated and we wonder, how could they endure it?  Or, think about a prisoner of war still being held and abused long after the war is over, could we bear up under such an abusive master?  Our Savior instructs us to serve even the harshest authority, because in doing so, we follow and serve our heavenly King who promises, “For this is favorable: if a person endures sorrows while suffering unjustly because he is conscious of God.  For what credit is it to you if you receive a beating for sinning and patiently endure it?  But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is favorable with God.”

If we get punished for doing evil, no one would think twice about it.  Most people expect that the criminal deserves punishment.  Likewise, almost everyone recognizes that undeserved harsh treatment is an injustice.  However, it is when we take that undeserved abuse without complaint that we resemble our Savior.  That is when people will come and ask how, or why, we bear it, and we can tell them, Jesus walked the road to the cross, knowing that He was completely innocent of any charge, but He willingly carried our burden of guilt so that we wouldn’t have to suffer eternal death.  Jesus endured the punishment we deserved so we would be set free.

Jesus lived His life in perfect and complete harmony with God and then patiently bore the pain and death we had earned.  “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)  Because Jesus did it everything needed to save you and me, we gladly bear up under the injustices that are put upon us in this world.  Because of the salvation and eternal citizenship in heaven that Christ has given to us, we gladly endure our role as His ambassadors here on earth. 

Jesus said, "No servant can serve two masters.” (Luke 16:13)  As we serve our earthly masters, whether good or harsh, we remember that, ultimately, it is Jesus we are serving.  He alone is our head, so we follow His lead, and His instruction, and for our service born of faith in Him, we can be confident that one day Christ will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!  You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things.  Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21)  We know that we will receive our heavenly reward not because of what we have done here on earth, but because Jesus, in His great love for us, came to this world to win us for His Father as citizens of His heavenly kingdom, a citizenship that was marked on our foreheads as we were washed in the waters of Baptism, cleansing us from all sin.  Therefore, as Pilgrims here, we live as citizens of heaven. 

Dear friends, being “aliens and temporary residents in the world” can sometimes leave us feeling pretty sad and lonely.  We may feel abused, hated, mocked, and scorned by those around us.  There may even come a time when we are hunted down for our faith or put on trial as traitors to the rule of this evil world.  Jesus understood the world into which He was sending us, for He said, “Look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:3)  But He doesn’t send us out alone.  Isaiah assures us, “Like a shepherd he will care for his flock.  With his arm he will gather the lambs.  He will lift them up on his lap.  He will gently lead the nursing mothers.” (Isaiah 40:11)  Our Good Shepherd is continually caring for us, protecting, leading, comforting, and defending us from every evil.

Jesus already endured all of the trials and abuses this world could dish out, so that we could be His, and He promised to be with us always.  He comes to us every time we hear, read, or meditate on His holy Word.  He strengthens us with His body and blood every time we partake of His holy Supper.  On a cross outside Jerusalem, Jesus bought us back into His heavenly kingdom as He paid the full price to set us free from sin, death, and the devil.  Furthermore, we have nothing to fear in any of these things, for just as Jesus rose triumphant from the grave, never to die again, so He assures us that will be raised to live and reign in peace with Him forever.  Therefore, we gladly serve our Lord and Savior for while Pilgrims here, we live as citizens of heaven.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Follow Jesus wherever He takes you.

 

Sermon for Easter 3, Misericordias Domini, May 1, 2022

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By His great mercy He gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Amen.

John 21:15-25  ¹⁵When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I care about you.”  Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.”  ¹⁶A second time Jesus asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  He said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I care about you.”  Jesus told him, “Be a shepherd for my sheep.”  ¹⁷He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you care about me?”  Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you care about me?”  He answered, “Lord, you know all things.  You know that I care about you.”  “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.  ¹⁸“Amen, Amen, I tell you: When you were young, you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted.  But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will tie you and carry you where you do not want to go.”  ¹⁹Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.  After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”  ²⁰Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them.  This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”  ²¹When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”  ²²“If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you?  You follow me.”  ²³And so it was said among the brothers that this disciple would not die.  Yet Jesus did not say that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”  ²⁴This is the disciple who is testifying about these things and who wrote these things. We know that his testimony is true.  ²⁵Jesus also did many other things.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose the world itself would not have room for the books that would be written. (EHV)

Follow Jesus wherever He takes you.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Tough love.  That is what some people might think Jesus is showing Peter here.  They might assume that because Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus questions Peter three times to call him to repentance, perhaps even to embarrass Peter for having so little faith in the Son of God.  If we think that, we miss the point of what Jesus was doing, and we don’t understand Jesus’ love.  However, if we listen closely to Jesus’ words, we will learn to Follow Jesus wherever He takes you.

On the night Jesus was arrested, just hours after Peter had boasted that he would never turn against his Friend, Peter’s fear led him to deny Jesus and to reject even the suggestion that he knew the Lord, exactly as Jesus had prophesied.  Immediately after, when Peter came to his senses, he was horrified that he had denied his beloved Savior.  

Peter stumbled in a way that was totally out of character—in fear for his life, his usual boldness abandoned him.  Then, once Peter realized what he had done, with his self-confidence shattered, he went out deeply remorseful, and wept bitterly.  Then, upon seeing Jesus be crucified, dead, and buried, Peter’s confidence in Jesus was completely shaken.  At that point, Peter was without hope. 

Thus, on Easter morning, the disciples, including Peter, were shocked by the news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Naturally, Peter rejoiced to learn that wonderful news, but then he may have wondered, where did he now stand in relationship to his Lord?  How could Peter ever be forgiven for his cowardice?  How could Peter recover from his shame?  The answer comes, as it always does, from Jesus.

Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved his Lord.  Three times Peter affirmed that he did.  Yes, confronted by His Lord, Peter’s agony was great, but what was Jesus’ intent?  Jesus was telling Peter: “Three times you denied Me, but every time I forgave you.  Three times you left Me but still, I call you back into My kingdom.  Three times you forgot your love for Me, but because of My love for you, you are forgiven and welcome in My circle of friends, and you will be a shepherd of My sheep.”

What a marvelous picture this is for all of us.  How many times have we betrayed Jesus in our daily lives, or wandered away from holy living, forgot His love for us, or neglected to serve Him as we should?  We all know and confess that the times we sin are countless.  Yet, Jesus paid for it all, forgives us all, loves us all, and calls us back into His kingdom of grace.

St. Paul was moved to write, “This saying is trustworthy: Indeed, if we have died with him, we will also live with him; If we endure, we will also reign with him; If we deny him, he will also deny us; If we are faithless, he remains faithful, because he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13)  We died with Jesus in baptism. (Romans 6:3)  We deny Him when we sin, yet in repentance we return as did Peter, and through it all our Savior remains faithful.  Through it all, His love and forgiveness for us endures.  Then, following our Savior in faith, we live and serve and reign with Him.

Jesus told Peter, “Feed My sheep.”  “Shepherd My sheep.”  “Feed My sheep.”  This is the role and task Peter was given as an apostle of the risen Savior.  Our God works through means.  He saves by giving faith in Jesus through the Good News of the sacrifice God’s Son made to reconcile sinners with God.  Jesus no longer walks with us physically on earth, yet the Spirit He sends works through those means and through those who share the Gospel with others.  Not all will be called as apostles.  Not all will be called as pastors, teachers, or missionaries.  Yet, every Christian has his or her appointed place in bringing the Good News to the people Jesus loves, which is everyone.

Maybe your call is humble service to your family and neighbor.  Maybe you have been privileged with resources to share.  Maybe you will be put into position to invite, or to welcome.  Many or most of us have children of our own to whom we can bring the Good News of Jesus.  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)  So, we raise the children teaching them the skills they need for daily living, but as servants of the Lord Jesus, we will especially teach them the things that will give them eternal life.  In this way, the invitation to Peter comes also to us, Follow Jesus wherever He takes you.

Now, Jesus also had a forecast of what would come to Peter later in life.  Where once he had gone and done as he pleased, the day would come when his hands would be bound, and he would be led to a death he didn’t want.  Peter had promised Jesus he was ready to die with Him, and then he stumbled in fear.  Peter wasn’t yet ready the night Jesus was betrayed.  Still, God would allow Peter to die in a way that brought glory to God; not that death on a cross is glory, but death for the name of Jesus—persecution and execution because of the name of Jesus—is a testimony that is glorious to our Creator.  Through this horrible death, the world would learn that Jesus had kept Peter faithful, and that God-given faith would take Peter to the glories of heaven.

As is often our want, we find it easy to compare ourselves with others.  We see that Peter fell prey to that as well.  He saw John and asked Jesus what his friend’s fate might be.  Jesus’ answer shows us that what God has planned for others isn’t relative, or important, to God’s plan for us. 

In the Lord’s great measure of love and wisdom, some will be given much on earth and others very little.  Some will have success and as we saw with Lazarus, some will endure poverty and pain.  Some might live long on the earth and others through no fault of their own might die young.  Some Christians endure horrible persecution and live in a constant state of danger, while we have thus far been privileged with safety and relative peace.  Should we consider ourselves better than those who suffer?  Hardly.  Should we be proud if we endure hardship?  Again no.  Whatever God deems for the believer is enough.  Follow Jesus wherever He takes you.

Dear friends, while we have so far been privileged to live in a society and place that doesn’t actively persecute Christians, we dare not take our eternal safety lightly.  Privilege, wealth, prosperity, and earthly peace can also be dangerous traps.  The Jews of Jesus’ day assumed that those who were blessed on earth must be receiving God’s favor because they deserved it.  They were dead wrong—dead spiritually because they didn’t think they needed a Savior—dead eternally if they remained in their unbelieving ways.

The writer of this Gospel tells us that only a small portion of what Jesus did during His earthly ministry was recorded for us.  In His divine wisdom, the Holy Spirit determined what is needed and best to bring people to faith in Jesus.  We need nothing more.  We don’t need to know in advance our futures here on earth.  The Word has told us that this world is passing away, but also that our home is in heaven, and Jesus has secured our place in it. 

Most important, the Word tells us that we are forgiven for Jesus’ sake.  It tells us that the Son of God came to earth to reconcile God with us.  By His life, Jesus fulfilled every requirement of holiness we need.  By His death, Jesus paid for the sins of the world.  By His resurrection, the world was shown that everything God promises is true.  By Jesus’ gracious invitation in word and Sacrament, we are brought into His kingdom of grace with our sins forgiven, our future secured in the heavenly realms, and our service to God and our neighbor acceptable to our God through faith in Christ Jesus.  “So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)  Want to be confident about your future?  Follow Jesus wherever He takes you.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.