Sunday, March 17, 2024

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

LISTEN


Jesu Juva


“Promise Fulfilled”

Text: Mark 10:32-45; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:1-10

 

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


Has anyone ever broken a promise made to you? Have you ever broken a promise you made? I don’t know of anyone who would say no to either of those questions. In fact, it happens so much in our world today that we even have a saying about it! Promises are made to be broken. Meaning: promises are made with no intention of keeping them. 


That secret you promised not to tell a soul? But you just had to tell someone! What about the marriage vow: to be faithful unto death? How many routinely, and sometimes serially, break that? It’s hard to keep promises. Times change. Situations change. The quote I mentioned: Promises are made to be broken, actually, originally was, when it was coined in the 17th century: Promises, like pie-crust, are made to be broken. They are by nature fragile and not meant to last.


We’ve come a long way from another saying about promises, when in the 4th century BC Aristotle said: A promise made must be a promise kept. Promises just aren’t thought of that way by most anymore. If I can, I will. As long as it doesn’t cost me too much, I will. As long as nothing better or more important come along, I will. That is more likely. 


So maybe in our day and age, we should have a new saying, to reflect the times; something like: Promises, like the date on a gallon of milk, are meant to expire. They’re only good for so long. And beyond that . . . ? Well, you take your chances.


This change has come at a cost. Broken marriages. Broken friendships. A general lack of trust that has settled in. No one expects people, like politicians, to keep their promises anymore. We hope they do. But aren’t we surprised when they do? And when you learn you cannot rely on someone else, then it’s every man for himself. You are the only one you can count on. Which is sad. That’s not how we were created to be. It’s not good for the man to be alone. Satan continues to divide and conquer.


And not just to divide us from one another, but to divide us from God. To divide us from God by getting us to project our unreliability, our untrustworthiness, onto Him. So, does God hear your prayer? Well, He promised to, but . . . That’s satan hissing doubt into your ear: But can you rely on that promise? Can you trust God? Doesn’t it really depend on whether you’re worthy? Whether you’re good enough, and praying the right way? And what about forgiveness? Does God fully and freely forgive you? Well, He promised to, but . . . But you’ve sinned too much. You don’t really think He will forgive you over and over and over again, do you? Would you? 


And with this, faith is eroded. Little by little, bit by bit. For we put our faith in the words and promises of God, that what He said He will do; what He promised is and will be fulfilled. But if we can’t trust those promises . . . then where does faith go? On myself. To make myself worthy. To make myself deserving of God’s favor. And then satan will do one of two things: (1.) puff you up with pride, that you are, in fact, doing just that! You are worthy! Better than most. Why, you don’t even need God that much! Just a bit, you know. Now and then. Until now becomes less and less, and then becomes more and more, and God gradually fades from your life. Or if not that, then: (2.) satan will crush you with despair, that you’ll never be worthy, that you’ll never be good enough. That you’re nothing to God. So in the first case, God becomes nothing to you, and in the second case, you become nothing to God. And the divide is complete.


You may not be at either of those places right now, but do not think you are immune. Who among us hasn’t been prideful? Who hasn’t been despairing? Who among us hasn’t been led down those roads a step or two . . . or more! . . . by satan trying to tempt us, lead us, lure us away from God? I’ve been down both roads. You?


But today we heard of our God who both makes and keeps His promises. Not sometimes, not when it is convenient, not when it is easy, and not when we deserve it - but because He is faithful and trustworthy. A God we can rely on and count on and believe in. A God who will lay down His life for us. To save us.


And so Jesus goes to Jerusalem to die. We heard Him say those words again today. See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise. But this is not first time Jesus spoke such words. It is the third time, in fact, that we are told of. Today was from Mark chapter 10. In Mark chapter 8, Jesus told His disciples this, but with even stronger words - this must happen, He says. It must, because He promised. And then in Mark chapter 9, Jesus tells them this again, right after the glory of His Transfiguration. There, He says, this is going to happen. He is going to fulfill His promise to lay down His life for the life of the world. And then here, in chapter 10, He says for the third time, that this will happen. They are now very near Jerusalem, and when they get there, this will happen. And then in Mark chapter 11, in words we will hear next week, Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The week begins with Jesus being hailed as king. And, huh. Maybe things will be alright after all. But what Jesus says must happen, is going to happen, and will happen, does happen. And the week will end with King Jesus on a cross-shaped throne of wood. Promise kept.


We’ll hear the details all next week, that this was no easy promise keeping. From His agony in the Garden, to His betrayal, to the mock trials and false witnesses, to His abuse by the soldiers, His flogging by Pilate, and then the pain of the cross. But the words and promises are ironclad. What He says, He does. What He promises, is fulfilled. Reliable, trustworthy, faithful. That is your God.


And we need to keep hearing that because satan keeps telling us different, and the world keep telling us different, and our experience keeps teaching us different. But God is different. And Jesus shows us that. Making His way to Jerusalem knowing what will happen there. But He will not be deterred. Your life is far too important for Him not to go.


For if Jesus was going to give up on anyone, it would have been His disciples! The first time He told them of His crucifixion, Peter rebuked Him. The second time, they argue about which of them is the greatest. And the third time, James and John can think only of their own glory and getting the places of honor. Really? But Jesus did not give up on them, and He does not give up on you. Jesus fulfills His high priestly vocation. He establishes the new testament in His blood. So that what He said is true: I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.


That is surely one of the sweetest and most comforting promises in all of Scripture. Your iniquity, your guilt, is forgiven; and your sin - all your evil thoughts, words, deeds, and desires, are remembered no more. Which doesn’t mean that an all-knowing God forgot them! We forget things. We forget things because our brains don’t work they way they should. God doesn’t forget as we do. Rather, He says here, that I will remember their sins no more. That’s different. When you forget something, you might un-forget it later - it might come back to your mind. But not with God. Your sins aren’t coming back. Because He didn’t just forget them, He dealt with them. He took them away from you and put them on His Son on the cross. Jesus paid the price for them with His death, was buried in the tomb, and then rose without them. So your sins cannot separate you from God anymore. The division satan seeks and is working for, has been overcome by Jesus; by the one who was God and man in one person, overcoming that division in His own flesh and blood.


I think it’s interesting that these three statement of Jesus about His death and resurrection are bracketed by Him giving sight to blind men. Just before the first time He speaks of His cross, He heals a blind man; and right after the third time that we heard today, He heals another blind man. Could be coincidence. But maybe not. Maybe Jesus on the cross is what opens our eyes and enables us to see God as He really is: the promise-keeping, reliable, steadfast, trustworthy, faithful God. And not sometimes, not when it is convenient, not when it is easy, and not when we deserve it, but even when it meant the death of His own Son.


So we’ve been singing all this Lenten season, let us fix our eyes on Jesus (Gradual). For that is what makes all the difference in the world. The difference while we live, and the difference when we die. The difference when things are going well, and the difference when things are falling apart. The difference when we are filled with pride, and the difference when we despair. Through all the ups and downs of this world and life, that is what remains the same, consistent, and unchangeable: the love of God for you in Jesus, in Christ crucified. The Word of God made flesh, and the Word of God who fulfills all the words and promises of God. All for you. For your life. For your salvation.


So come now and fix your eyes - your eyes of faith - on Jesus as He comes and feeds you with His Body and Blood. Here is the new testament in Jesus blood. Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And so as you hear, the true body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - of the faithful and steadfast one - will keep and preserve you steadfast unto everlasting life. And so we can depart in peace


So are you a sinner? Come, take and eat. Are you a promise-breaker? Come, take and eat. Have you been prideful or despairing toward God? Come, take and eat. Have your prayers and good works faltered? Come, take and eat. Have you doubted God and His love for you? Come, take and eat. Are you sorry for who you are and what you have been and want to do better? Come, take and eat. And depart in peace, your sins are remembered no more. Not now, not ever. He promised. And this season of Lent shows us: promise fulfilled.


In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Congregation at Prayer

For the Week of Lent 5 (March 18-23, 2024)


Invocation: In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


Speak the Apostles’ Creed. 


Verse: Psalm 118:24 – ”This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”


Hymn of the Week:  Lutheran Service Book #440 “Jesus, I Will Ponder Now”

Hymns for Sunday: 442, 440, 454 (vs. 1-4 ONLY), 634, 441, 444, 544 (vs. 1-6 ONLY)


Readings for the Week: [The readings for Wednesday-Saturday are the Scriptures for this coming Sunday.]


Monday: Psalm 118:19–29

How is Jesus the gate of the Lord? the cornerstone? the festal sacrifice? What is the new day that the Lord has made? How?


Tuesday: Psalm 31:9–16

How do you hear Jesus in this psalm? How can this psalm be helpful to you when things are tough in your life?


Wednesday: Zechariah 9:9–12

What kind of king is Jesus? What is He coming to do? How will He do it? What kind of peace does He bring?


Thursday: Philippians 2:5–11

How did Jesus humble Himself? How did the Father exalt Him? Why are we afraid to humble ourselves as He did? Why do we not need to be?


Friday: John 12:12-19

What did the crowds do when Jesus came? What did they cry out? Why did they do these things?


Saturday: Mark 14:1 - 15:47

The Passion according to Saint Mark.


The Catechism - The Creed, the First Article [Part 3] – I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. What does this mean? I believe that . . . He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.


Collect for the Week: Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.


The Prayers:  Please pray for . . .

+ yourself and for all in need (remembering especially those on our prayer list).

+ God’s blessing and in thanksgiving for our congregation’s keyboardists, choir, and musicians.

+ the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium, for God’s wisdom, blessing, guidance, and provision.

+ God’s blessing, guidance, and provision for Lutheran Braille Workers.

Conclude with the Lord’s Prayer and Luther’s Morning or Evening Prayer from the Catechism.


Now joyfully go about your day (or to bed) in good cheer, child of God!


Collect for the Week © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.

Lutheran Service Book Hymn License: 110019268


Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Sermon for Lent 4 Midweek Vespers

LISTEN


Jesu Juva


“40 for Life - Jonah: Repentance for Life”

Text: Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 13:1-9

 

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.


40 days and 40 nights. 


That’s how long Nineveh had. The same number of days the rain pelted Noah and the ark. The same number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai. The same number of days for their passage from death to life. Forty days, Jonah cried out, and Nineveh will be overthrown. Which probably meant the people would be plundered, the city would be burned, and all the living put to the sword. In forty days.


What would you have done? 


What would you do if tomorrow you went to see the doctor and you were told you only had 40 days to live? What would you do?


What would you do if we received a message from a terrorist group that in 40 days Washington would be nuked. What would you do?


What did you do when we began the 40 days of this Lenten season? 


If you are given 40 days, what would you do?


I think we would try to save our lives. If the doctor told you you only had 40 days to live, we’d find another doctor to see if there was something that could be done to prolong our days. If we were told there would be a terrorist attack, we would get out of here, away from here, to someplace safe.


Perhaps thoughts like that crossed the minds of the people of Nineveh, too. 40 days, huh? Okay! We have 40 days to reinforce the walls of the city. 40 days to get ready to fight. 40 days to prepare for a siege. Or, 40 days to flee. But that is not what they did. Because the one who would overthrow them was not a nation with an army, but a God - the God of Israel. And how do you get ready to save your life from God? You repent.


That’s what the people of Nineveh did. Even the king! From the greatest of them to the least of them, we heard, they fasted and put on sackcloth. The king even called for the beasts to participate in this fasting and sackcloth! But not only this, but for all people to call out mightily to God. To pray. To beseech His mercy. And not only to repent with their mouths but with their deeds - everyone turned from his evil way and from the violence that was in his hands. At the preaching of the Word of the Lord, Nineveh was transformed from a den of iniquity into a chapel of fasting, prayer, and repentance. They did not know, but they hoped, that God would relent; that they would not perish.


That’s quite remarkable, that change. But perhaps even more remarkable is God’s willingness to relent and forgive. Which He did


And though we did not read it tonight, that God did not destroy them made Jonah mad! Jonah did not want them to be forgiven, which is why he tried so hard not to go there in the first place. Jonah did not think they deserved to be forgiven. They were too evil. Too far gone. There are limits, you know!


We think we know, anyway. Peter famously asked about that once, remember that? Lord, how many times do I have to forgive (Matthew 18:21)? But you’re quite right, Jonah, in this regard - the people of Nineveh did not deserve to be forgiven, no matter how long they repented, no matter how greatly they fasted and prayed. But neither do you deserve forgiveness, Jonah! And neither do we, O Christians. Do you think they were worse sinners than us? Or were those Galileans whose blood were mingled with their sacrifices worse sinners? Or were those upon whom the tower in Siloam fell worse sinners? Are those illegal immigrants worse sinners? Are murderers worse sinners? Rioters? Looters? Those who lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead? Who are the really bad sinners in our day and age, in our world today? You know. They are sitting in these chairs tonight. For as Jesus said, unless you repent . . . Not unless the people of Nineveh become like you, but unless you become like the people of Nineveh!  . . . you will all likewise perish.


And so, Lent. 40 days and 40 nights for us to be like the people of Nineveh. To repent of who we are and what we have done. 40 days from death to life.


But here is where we are different than the people of Nineveh and will never be like the people of Nineveh: they did not know if the Lord would relent and forgive them. We do. We know. Not only because we have the book of Jonah and so know how the story turned out, but because we have the books of the prophets and the apostles which tell us how the story turns out. That God, in fact, did not relent of the disaster He decreed because of our sin, but poured it out on His Son instead. Jesus and His cross became the barren, fruitless tree that was cut down. And in its place a new tree was planted. A fruit-full tree. A new tree of life. Nineveh was a great city, three days journey in breadth. But the three day journey Jesus took from death to life was even greater, and provided an even greater city for us - the City of God.


Knowing this, then, the season of Lent is our 40 days of repentance. Our 40 day journey from death to life. To repent not just with our words, but also with our deeds. To turn away from the bad practices and bad habits that have wormed their way into our hearts and minds and lives, and confess. And confessing, rely on the mercy of God. And relying on the mercy of God, turn to the cross, where we see that mercy in full display - the Lamb of God, the Son of God, who laid down His life to give us life. For Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB #609). Jesus sinners doth forgive.


So 40 days. On the one hand, that’s not very many days. On the other hand, it’s hard to maintain a Lenten discipline for that long, through all 40 days. But realize, you may not have 40 days of life left. Man knows not his time (Ecclesiastes 9:12). And our times are in His hands, the hands of our Father. But there is no better place to be. The hands of the world? unpredictable and unreliable. Kind one moment and angry the next. Helping one moment and betraying the next. But the hands of our Father always the same. Merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 86:15). Nineveh found that out. Sadly, later they fell away and were overthrown. 


But for us, every year the call goes out. The call of a Jonah, the call of a Joel, the call of a John the Baptist, calling us to repentance. Calling us to 40 days for life. To once again cast off the sins which weigh us down and cling so closely, and fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). That we be fruitful branches again. That the repentance and discipline of Lent bring us to the joy and life of Easter and be the dying and rising we learn to live everyday. Everyday turning to and relying on our good and gracious God. That we not perish, but have eternal life. 


Grant this Father, for the sake of Your Son and through the power of Your Spirit. Amen.


Sunday, March 10, 2024

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

LISTEN


Jesu Juva


“Merciful Serpents?”

Text: Numbers 21:4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21

 

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


The people of Israel were in trouble. Deep trouble. They were dying. If God hadn’t intervened, how many would have died there in the wilderness? They hadn’t learned much in 40 years. 40 years ago they grumbled against God and against Moses, and now they were doing it again. So this was not new. Grumbling, not patience, doubt, not trust, was in their DNA. What God had said was true: they were a rebellious and stiff-necked people. So they were in trouble. Deep trouble. They were dying.


So God had mercy on them and sent fiery serpents among them.


Wait! Whaaaaat? Oh . . . you thought . . . no! The people were dying not because of the serpents, they were dying because of their unbelief. They were dead and dying in their trespasses and sins, to use the words that we heard from St. Paul today. They were dying because they kept turning away from God and thinking God not good, not loving, not faithful, not trustworthy. And God, on more than one occasion, was ready to throw His hands up and give up on these people. But God is faithful and trustworthy and good and loving and merciful. So He did not. Instead He sent the serpents. To save them


Or, to use the words of the Apostle John that we heard (slightly modified!): For God did not send [the serpents] to the people to condemn them, but in order that they might be saved through them. Because whoever believes in Him in not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already. Their unbelief was the problem. The serpents were the solution. 


And they did the trick! The people returned to the Lord. They repented. And once again, God was merciful and gracious. He instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent on a pole that could be lifted high, so that when the people were bit, they could look at this sign of God’s mercy, this sign of God’s power, and by faith in the word and promise of God attached to this sign, they would not die, but live. Both their physical lives and their spiritual lives. Or, again, to use the words of the Apostle Paul: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive . . . by grace you have been saved. By grace. Because the people of Israel certainly didn’t deserve it! It was a gift, from a merciful, gracious, live-giving God.


Now what about you? Because this sinful and unclean, unbelieving and grumbling DNA that was in the people of Israel, you, too, have. Passed down from parents to children, so that when we are born into this world alive physically, we are at the same time born dead in our trespasses and sins spiritually. Though you feel very much alive, right? Especially when you’re young and your whole life is ahead of you and full of possibilities! What are you going to be? Who are you going to marry? Where are you going to live? And that’s exciting, and it’s good. And it is exciting for old folks like me to watch you grow and mature and spread your wings as well.


But like cancer that grows inside you, that you may not even realize is there, but is growing and spreading and metastasizing, eating you alive, so it is with sin. That even though we may feel very much alive, the reality may be different. As sin grows. Sin which, for example, makes us think that our physical life is more important than our spiritual life. Could that be you? What do you spend more time thinking about and caring for? Do you read books and articles on health and nutrition, while the Bible stays on the shelf? Invest lots of money in health clubs and exercise equipment, but not so much for the work of God? Train and learn for a profession in life but not so much for your confession of Jesus as Lord? But maybe this above all: we think we have life and that God is taking that life away from us with all His rules and thou shalt nots! So we don’t listen to them. We go against them, thinking that we are saving our life! When in reality we are doing the very opposite. I know this is wrong . . . I know I shouldn’t be doing this . . . I know this is not what God wants . . . but . . . ! But what? Is that not saving your physical life and jeopardizing your spiritual life?


So it was for the people of Israel in the wilderness. They were in trouble. They were dying. They thought they were saving their lives by turning away from God and wanting to go back to Egypt, but they were losing their lives; their spiritual lives were dying. So God had mercy on them and sent fiery serpents among them. To save them. Physical pain for spiritual life. Spiritual life that could come only by faith in the gracious words and promises of God. To be saved by grace through faith.


Do you think there is anything happening in your life right now that God in mercy sent or is using to turn you back to Him in repentance? Sometimes maybe we think God is punishing us, but remember: God did not send [the serpents] to the people to condemn them, but in order that they might be saved through them. And God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world (or you!), but in order that the world (and you!) might be saved through him. For that’s what God wants: you. You with Him forever. You with life forever.


So God had Moses lift up a pole in the wilderness with a bronze serpent on it, and He had a pole lifted up in the wilderness of this world with His Son on it! That we look at Christ crucified and live. That we look at this sign of God’s mercy, this sign of God’s power, and by faith in the word and promise of God attached to this sign, we not die, but live. And what is that word and promise of God attached to this sign? You know it well: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life


But this looking is not with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of faith. Seeing with our physical eyes is good and helpful, but many people see crosses or a crucifixes in our world today, and if all they see is a piece of jewelry or art, it does them no good. There is no salvation in that. But if we see there our Saviour, the one God promised and sent, the one who bore our sins, the one who is the fulfillment of all God’s word and promises, then we have life. And this seeing is something both the very young and the very old, and the blind, and the prisoner with nothing but four bare walls can see. These eyes of faith were given you in Baptism, when (to use the words of St. Paul again): when God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. So in the crucifixion, we see God become as we are - dead! - so that in the resurrection, we see that we become as God is - alive! By grace.


And by grace, our loving Father continues to give us life. Speaking to and teaching Israel in the wilderness, and speaking to and teaching us here. Forgiving them and feeding them, even as we receive His forgiveness and the Body and Blood of Jesus here as our food on the way. And mercying us. Even when that mercy takes the form of fiery serpents. A loving Father will do no less, if He truly loves you. 


And that’s why our church is arranged the way it is. This is no accident. But look: the Font front and center, the Absolution takes place at the Font, front and center, the Altar front and center, and the crucifix front and center. So that when you come here, with your sins, with your doubts, with your fears, with your wrong thinking and rebellion, what do you see? All these places, all these signs of the words and promises of God! Modern-day bronze serpents, that you fix your eyes on Jesus (Gradual); that looking upon these things, and remembering the words and promises of God, or Christ crucified, attached to each one of these things, you are forgiven and saved, by grace through faith.


And this salvation, Paul goes on to say, is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. This is not your doing; you are just here to receive the gift of God. His Divine Service of you, for you. Which doesn’t mean you don’t do anything! You do! Just not here. Here you receive. But when you leave this place, you begin to do. To do those things, to live that life, God has raised you to. For, Paul says, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Good works, which are God works. 


And what are those works, which God has created for you to walk in? It is to be a godly father or mother. A faithful husband or wife. An obedient child. A diligent worker. A merciful friend or neighbor. A gracious forgiver. A protector of life. A defender of property. An advocate for the helpless. A lifter of the lowly. A praiser of the good. A fighter of evil. A visitor of the lonely. A welcomer of the outcast. A proclaimer of the truth. A man or woman, boy or girl, of prayer. And much more. What else would you add to this list? All this now, too, is the DNA in you. In you, made new, given new life, in Christ. To live in the light of Christ and to shine the light of His mercy and love into all the world. 


It’s not easy to live such a life. You will struggle. Your old DNA, your old Adam, fighting against your new DNA, your new Christ-man. The world not liking what you’re doing - either because it exposes them and what they’re doing or not doing, or because they call good evil and evil good. And satan will be sure to rise up to either persecute you into submission, or tempt you to take it easy and not worry about such things. You don’t need to do them! Someone else will. Take care of yourself. Do what you want. And then also along the way, maybe God will even send some merciful serpents to you. 


So knowing that, what’s a soul to do? Well, we’ve been singing it all this Lenten season, and it’s what all the Scriptures are about today: fix your eyes on Jesus. Fix your eyes on His cross. Fix your ears on His Absolution. Fix your mouths to receive His Body and Blood. And fix your hearts to receive His love. And know that long before you fixed your eyes, ears, mouths, hearts, and minds on any of this, He fixed His love on you. For God so loved the world, that he [promised, and then] gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Eternal life. The gift of a merciful God for you.


In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.