Sermon for Easter 3, Misericordias Domini,
April 18, 2021
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.
1 Peter 2:21-25 21 Indeed,
you were called to do this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you
an example so that you would follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit a
sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.
23 When he was insulted, he did not insult in
return. When he suffered, he made no
threats. Instead, he entrusted himself
to him who judges justly. 24 He himself carried our sins in his body on the tree so that
we would be dead to sins and alive to righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you are now
returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (EHV)
Follow
your Shepherd’s example of love.
Dear lambs of the Good Shepherd’s flock,
The world
knows little about love. Oh yes, many
sing songs about love and most people profess love for those near and dear to
them. Many people willingly make
sacrifices for those they love, for their country, and their own skin color or
kin, but how many will sacrifice for the benefit of those who hate them? Until we are willing to give up everything to
give life and hope to enemies, we will always fall short of the love God
expects all of us to live.
Now, I know that talking about making
sacrifices for our enemies sounds more than a little nuts, but in essence, that
is the love Jesus demonstrated for the world, for “God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans
5:8) Paul doubled down on that thought
by affirming, “while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son.” (Romans 5:10)
Our sermon text comes as Peter teaches us to
endure suffering willingly, even unfair suffering that comes our way for doing
what is right and good. There is no
merit gained for suffering what we deserve, but our Lord wants us to do as He
did in suffering for those who didn’t know or love Him. Therefore, the Holy Spirit compels us to Follow your Shepherd’s example of love.
It goes against the grain of human flesh to be
willing to take a beating we don’t deserve.
In truth, very few people enjoy punishment of any kind, and those who
seek abuse are often considered mentally ill.
However, being willing to endure unjust suffering is what Peter is
talking about when he writes, “Indeed, you were called to do this, because
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you would follow
in his steps."
Naturally, we are not called to bear this
suffering without purpose. Jesus died
for the purpose of saving the world from its sins. Because He died for all people, our Lord “wants
all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1
Timothy 2:4) It is only through hearing the
truth about the condemnation deserved for disobeying God that anyone will know
their sin, and it is only through the proclamation of what Jesus has done for
them that anyone will be given saving faith in Jesus. However, the sinner seldom receives that news
graciously. Martin Luther wrote about
this conflict:
The godly Christian,
who looks for eternal life after the present one and who aims to help others to
attain unto the same happy goal, assuredly must act the part he professes, must
assert his belief and show the world how it travels the broad road to hell and
eternal death. And to do so is to
antagonize the world and incur the displeasure of the devil.[i]
That is the task before us, to live for Christ
and to show His love to the world, yet at the same time to expect that the
world will reject us even as it rejects our Lord and Savior. The unbelieving souls cannot desire to have
Jesus save them because they are dead in sin and enemies of God while under the
devil’s control. It is only by the power
of the Holy Spirit working through the gospel that anyone is saved. Thus, the gospel must be proclaimed to break
the chains of Satan’s control and grant the salvation God desires for all
people.
So that we might be beacons of light to the
lost of the world, Jesus gave us an example of holy love: He did not commit
a sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.
When he was insulted, he did not insult in return. When he suffered, he made no threats.” Peter had followed Jesus for three years,
seeing everything Jesus did and said while He poured out love on all who came
to Him.
If you listen to the news of whatever tragedy
is in the news these days, there are always those who claim to seek justice,
but what they demand is revenge.
Numerous also are those who despair of hope and end their lives without
thought for tomorrow. Jesus, on the
other hand, never gave up trust in His heavenly Father, never uttered a bad
word about anyone, not even those who reviled and hated Him, even when they
falsely accused Him, beat and mocked Him, and nailed Him to a tree. Even for the worst of those, and you and me,
Jesus prayed for forgiveness and peace.
Rather than fight against those who mistreated Him, Jesus gave all
things into His Father’s hand, fully confident that not only was this the only
way to save the millions of people Jesus loves, but it was the Father’s plan to
raise Him again in glory everlasting.
Of course, imitating Jesus’ example is a tall
order to live up to. I often look
through magazines or websites and see marvelous creations of woodworking, art,
and recipes. In my imagination, I can
see myself doing some of those things, but when I try, it always comes out far short
of my expectations. So, if I cannot
match the skills of ordinary people, how will I ever measure up to the
perfection of God’s Son? As St. Paul
would lament, “I fail to do the good I want to do. Instead, the evil I do not want to do, that
is what I keep doing.” (Romans 7:19)
The instruction we are given is Follow your
Shepherd’s example of love, and as Christians, we truly do want to live for
our Lord as He lived. The love His
Spirit has worked in us as we were brought to faith in Christ drives us to do
good. Yet, we know we never do as much
as we should, but dear friends, that is why Jesus lived and died for us. That is why He continues to bless and
strengthen us through His Word and Sacrament, not so that we don’t serve Him or
don’t try to give others a shot at salvation, but so that He could be the
righteousness we so desperately need.
Peter wrote, “He himself carried our sins in
his body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins and alive to
righteousness. By his wounds you were
healed.” This is not a wish but a
certainty made sure by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Through faith in Christ Jesus, we are dead
to sin and alive to righteousness.
By His life and death, Jesus removed our sins forever, not so that we
don’t try to live right, but so that everything we do out of love for Him and
our neighbor, according to God’s commands in the law, is righteousness in God’s
eyes. Healed by the wounds Jesus
received for our sins, our humble service becomes a beacon of light to the
world around us.
Do you sometimes wonder if you make a
difference in the world? Keep following
Jesus and you won’t wonder anymore. Keep
coming to church to hear about the love of God for sinners. Keep eating and drinking Jesus’ body and
blood in the Lord’s Supper for that is a testimony to the world that you
believe Jesus lived for you, died for you, and rose from the grave triumphant
on your behalf. Keep praying for the
opportunity to invite others to know Jesus for forgiveness and life, and be
prepared to answer those who ask why you strive to live faithful to Jesus.
And if—no make that when—the world mocks you,
hates you, abuses you, threatens your life, and even takes it, when your
friends betray you, know that Jesus is there with you to help and befriend you
and bear you up under the threat, because His blood was shed to make you
clean. His life was given to be your
death payment for sin. Know that by Jesus’
wounds, your entrance into heaven is certain and sure, because though salvation
cannot be won by the works we do, it is given to us freely by the Son who
carried out His Father’s mission of redeeming grace for sinners like you and
me. Therefore, when persecution comes
upon you for trusting in Jesus, react as the apostles did when they were abused
and mistreated for proclaiming the Good News to sinners, “rejoicing that
they were considered worthy to suffer shame for the Name.” (Acts 5:41)
Peter once boasted that he would never betray
his Lord, but only a few hours later, he shamed himself beyond measure as he
denied knowing Jesus three times. Yes, Peter
knew sin, but after the resurrection, Peter also learned God’s grace, for Jesus
restored him to his position as an apostle, and three times Jesus invited Peter
to feed Jesus’ sheep. It drove home in
that sinner’s mind the infinite love and grace Jesus has for all. By His wounds we are healed. All our sins are removed from us as far as
east is from the west. Furthermore, no
matter what troubles we might face in this world, Jesus has given us eternal
riches, peace, and life in the mansions above.
“For you were like sheep going astray, but you are now returned to
the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
The Holy Spirit working faith in you through
the gospel in Word and Sacrament brought you back to Jesus. Though once you and I were strays destined
only to destruction, heaven is now our home.
Do not despair of how the world may and will fight against us. What should concern us solely is how we can
live for Jesus. How can we shine His
light in the world? How can we live to
show love to friend and enemy alike? The
Lord will give us the opportunities. The
Lord gives us the tools in His Word. The
Lord makes us holy in His Father’s sight, and the Lord will carry us home. For the good of your neighbors, friends and
enemies alike, Follow your Shepherd’s example of love. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life
everlasting. Amen.
[i]
Luther, Martin. The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther. Vol. 4.1-2. Ed.
John Nicholas Lenker. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI. 2000, 249.
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