Holy and Good Friday Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Mine!”

Text: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; John 18-19

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

There is a children’s game, most of you have probably heard of it, called Hot Potato. Everyone sits in a circle and an object is passed around - the hot potato. You don’t want to be caught with it. If you are, then you’re out of the game. And so the action gets pretty fast and furious, as the object is passed on as quickly as possible.

To my knowledge, there is no opposite game - where the one who is caught with the object wins. Probably because it wouldn’t be much of a game. Whoever had the object wouldn’t pass it on. They would just hold onto it and keep it.

For you and I, the hot potato we don’t want to be caught with is our sin. 

The good news for us tonight is that Jesus wants it. He takes the hot potato of your sin and says MINE. He does not pass it on. He will not let it go.

But it’s not just that, but holding onto your sin and saying MINE, He is taking much more than that. He is saying MINE to your condemnation, MINE to your chastisement, MINE to your death. He is cut off for you. He is crushed for you. He is wounded and oppressed for you.

Because when Jesus says MINE to your sin, it isn’t just your sin that He is holding onto. It’s you. He’s really grabbing hold of you and saying MINE. Because your sin isn’t just something out there, floating around, separate from you, that He can grab and take. Your sin is in your flesh. And so He takes your flesh upon Himself. The Son of God became man, and said MINE. Your flesh, and all that comes with it, is MINE. He wants it and He will not let it go. Even though holding onto you means going to the cross.

We sit in the darkness tonight and try to imagine the darkness of that day, when Jesus hung on the cross, when Jesus hung there in the darkness, when the sun stopped shining. 

But really, if you would know that, do this instead: put whatever sin you are most ashamed of, whatever sin - that if known - would make your family and friends distance themselves from you, whatever sin - that if known - would ruin your life, and put it in large print on a large sign around your neck and walk around your neighborhood. Don’t write it in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek, but write it in English, Spanish, and whatever other languages are spoken by your neighbors - and make sure all your neighbors see it and know. Know who you are. What kind of person you really are. And even then, you would be getting just a small, small taste of what Jesus did for you. In taking the sin of the world and saying MINE.

Judas, actually, got a taste of this. After he betrayed Jesus and saw that Jesus had been condemned, he went to the Temple, he went to the priests, and confessed. But the priests said: YOURS. Your sin is yours. That’s your hot potato. What is that to us? You deal with it. And he did. The only way he knew how.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. For Judas or anyone else. And tonight, it’s NOT that way. Because tonight, Jesus says MINE. Your sins are mine. Your sins are hung around His neck. And He will take them to the grave.

And because He does, you now get to say MINE, too. For children, there is no corresponding game to Hot Potato to hold onto the object, but for us, there is. Jesus flips everything around tonight. And so tonight, we get to hold onto Him and say MINE. We get His forgiveness and say MINE. We get His life and say MINE. That’s called faith. Faith is the hand that takes hold of Jesus and says MINE.

So now what of your sins? Do you want to embrace them and say MINE and keep doing them? And what of the sins of others committed against you? Do you want to take them and say MINE so that you can hold onto them and use them against him? Or her? Do you know what you’re doing when you do that? You are wrestling with Jesus who has already taken those sins and said MINE! And this too. If you’re trying to grab hold of those sins and say MINE, are your hands holding onto Jesus and saying MINE? Do you see? Why would we do that?

No. Tonight, we hear the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He grabs us and our sin and says MINE. He dies our death. He is buried in our tomb. 

But we know that is not the end. For we know that His third day is coming, when He rises from the tomb, still holding onto us and saying MINE - but the sin is gone, the condemnation is gone, and the death is gone. But that’s for another day.

Tonight, we hear how strong His love-grip on us. Peter couldn’t do it; his grip was weak. The crowds wouldn’t do it; they shouted crucify instead. How often do we fail, too. How good, then, that our salvation doesn’t depend on our grip, but on His. Jesus holding onto us and not letting go. Sin, satan, death - you cannot have them, Jesus says. They are MINE. 

So tonight is Jesus’ night. Holding onto you and your sin He looks “out of the game” on the cross. The others thought they had won. But no. Jesus did. He won you. Not much of a prize, some would say. But Jesus would disagree. For tonight, Jesus has changed the game. He holds onto you and says MINE, that you hold onto Him and say MINE! 

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

Holy Maundy Thursday Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Incredible Love”

Text: John 13:1-17, 31b-35; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

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

They all sat there, looking at each other. Who’s the greatest, they had wondered before. Not so long before this, James and John had asked for those places at Jesus’ right and left, and the others had been indignant at them for asking. 

But that was not their concern this night. Tonight they wanted to know: who was the least? Who would wash the feet? All twenty-six dirty, smelly, disgusting feet. Certainly not Peter! Or James or John! They were the top three. The ones Jesus separated from the others to see His transfiguration, and to go and pray with Him (even though they couldn’t stay awake!). They weren’t the least. And not Andrew - he was the very first to be called; so certainly it wouldn’t be him either. Maybe Simon or Thaddeus. Or what about Matthew? He was a tax collector before this, after all. That would be fitting! One of them should get up . . .

And then it happened. Jesus grabbed the bowl and the towel, dropped to His hands and knees, and began to do it. And immediately, the regret must have started. But they couldn’t jump up now. It was too late. They all had their chance, but they had all been too proud. They all wanted someone else to do it. And now Jesus was doing it. Failures. Again.

But Peter . . . he had a plan. Because Peter always has a plan. If he couldn’t jump up and take the bowl from Jesus, he at least wouldn’t let Jesus do it. He wouldn’t let Him wash his feet. He would object. That’s almost as good, right? Isn’t it?

So how shocking to hear Jesus’ words in reply: If I do not wash you, you have no share with me. Jesus was right. Peter didn’t understand. How could this foot washing be so important? 

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. That was a dagger into their proud hearts. Yes, they should have all gotten up and did it. It’s as if the Lord knew what they were thinking. Yes, they should have all washed one another’s feet. They should have all been fighting over the bowl, not waiting for someone else. But none of them did. Only Jesus.

We should not be surprised. We should not be surprised because none of us do what we should. If we had been in that room that night, which of us would have jumped up to do that? And what about everything else God has commanded us to do - how ya’ doin’ with that? If you’re like me, the answer is: not good. Jesus told His disciples that night: love one another as I have loved you. I can’t even love my neighbor as myself! How can I love others as Jesus has loved me?

But it’s not just foot washing, how Jesus showed His love. Jesus said: Now is the Son of Man glorified. He said that, John records, in the previous chapter, too. And when He said it there, it was in reference to His crucifixion. That was a love and service even greater than foot washing. To lay down His life on the cross. To serve us by dying for us. There is no love greater than that. From first to last, beginning to end, Jesus loving and serving.

And because He did, you have been washed. You have been washed by His blood in Baptism, the bath that need not be repeated, that has made you clean. But this too: you are washed by His blood in the Absolution, the washing we need everyday, for the sins we do everyday, that make us dirty and unclean everyday. To be served and have our feet washed by Jesus everyday. And thus washed by Him, we have a share with Him. We belong to Him. Forgiveness is the key to everything, everyday. And all people would know that those twelve are His disciples, by not just any love, but by that love, that service - the forgiveness they would give in His Name.

The forgiveness that we will also receive here, tonight, as we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord in His Supper, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. And as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. We proclaim His love. His loving service. The shedding of His blood that washes us clean from every sin.

This gift we receive every Sunday, and maybe because of that we lose sight of the wonder of it. But think of it - how unworthy are we to receive such a gift. Those twelve disciples, sitting in that room, wondering and trying to judge who was the least among them, who should serve and wash the others’ feet . . . now not only have their feet washed by Jesus, but eat His Body and drink His Blood. He does not withhold this from them; He doesn’t change His mind. He does what He came to do: institute the New Testament in His Blood. The old Passover is now fulfilled. He is the new Passover. The new Lamb they would eat as God brings them out of their slavery to sin and into the freedom of forgiveness.

They are not worthy. And neither are we.

We who, like the disciples, judge one another. We who wonder who is greater and who is lesser. We who doubt and deny and want to be served. But Jesus gives us this Supper not because of who we are . . . actually, I take that back! He gives it to us exactly because of who we are! Because that’s who we are. Because we are sinners in need of forgiveness. Because we need this gift. We need His life in us.

Paul warns against eating the bread or drinking the cup in an unworthy manner. But knowing that we’re unworthy doesn’t mean that we cannot receive this Supper - in fact, it means the very opposite! It means we can, and should. For when we confess our sins, when we acknowledge that we are unworthy sinners, and that we need this gift for the forgiveness of our sins and the life that we throw away in sin, that is to receive it as Jesus intended. That is to receive it in a worthy manner. Then you are exactly who Jesus gave this gift for.

Jesus told the twelve, What I am doing you do not understand now. How could they? What a night! And it was about to get even more confusing as they leave that room. As within hours Jesus is arrested, tried, convicted, crucified, dead, and buried. 

But afterward you will understand. Jesus would teach them. The Holy Spirit would teach them. And they would not only understand, they would do it. They would love as Jesus loved them. They would forgive, they would serve, they would lay down their lives. And you, too. For Jesus is teaching you, too, and feeding you with Himself. And the Holy Spirit is teaching you and washing you clean. That with these gifts you have this love - given to you and so given by you.

So it is time. The feet have been washed. The Supper has been served. It is time for the blood to be shed. His loving service for the life of the world. 

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

Holy Wednesday Meditation

Holy Wednesday Meditation

Jesu Juva

Text: Romans 5:6-11

We don’t want to be weak. We want to be strong and able and independent. We’re afraid of being weak and needy and dependent. So much so that many people would rather end their lives at their own hands, or ask a doctor to do so, rather than be weak.

We don’t want to be considered ungodly. Without God. Apart from God. Surely all people are with God and God with them. Whatever they believe. 

We don’t want to be sinners. Or at least called sinners. That somehow what I am doing, what I want, the way I am, is wrong. That’s judgmental. Who’s to say? 

And then this: enemies of God. Not just harmless, indifferent bystanders. Live and let live. But enemies of God. Against God. Fighting God and His kingdom.

Weak, ungodly, sinners, enemies. That, Paul said tonight, is you. Or, at least, it was you. 

Because at just the right time, God did not come down to smash us, to wipe us out, or demand justice. At just the right time, Christ died for the weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies. Not for the righteous or the good, those we might expect. But for us. For the dregs. For those who have no right to stand before God, pray to God, or who God should pay any attention to at all. This is how God shows His love for us. 

It’s quite a statement Paul is making here. 

This is how God loves you. Not by giving you everything you want, but by giving you His Son. And His Son laying down His life for you on the cross. Some want instead God to love us differently - by making our life easy, having us win the lottery, providing us a church. But He has loved us so much better than that; than those things that may not be all they’re cracked up to be. He has given us His Son, and His Son died for us.

So that we are justified by His blood. It’s amazing the amount of time and energy people spend justifying themselves, their actions, their words, who they are, what they want. Perhaps they succeed in this world and life, before men. But not before God. But Jesus has done it for us - justified us. Not by excusing us, but by atoning for our sins with His blood.

And if He did that, Paul says, how much more shall we be saved by Him. How much more will He continue His work in us and among us, to justify us not only here and now, but for eternity. To save us from this world of sin and death, and provide for us an eternal life and home in heaven. 

For we are enemies who have been reconciled with God. The war is over. There is peace once again between God and man. The peace that had been shattered by the sin of Eden and the tree of sin and death, reigns again through Calvary and the tree of the cross.

Loved, justified, saved, reconciled. That’s God’s answer to weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies. He has done for us what we are unable and unwilling to do. He has done it for us in Jesus. 

And so in Jesus, baptized into Him, we are not what we once were. Oh yes, our weakness, ungodliness, sin, and enmity still hang around our necks, the Old Adam still trying to drag us down. But that is not who you really are anymore.  Who you now are is a beloved, justified, saved, and reconciled son of God. Not because of who you are, but because of who God is. Your Father, who sent His Son, who sends the Spirit; and the Spirit who takes us to the Son, and the Son who takes us to the Father.

And now for us, there is one more thing that Paul mentions. Joy. Joy in the midst of happiness. Joy in the midst of sadness. Joy in the midst of suffering. Joy in the midst of ease. Joy in the midst of trouble. Joy in the midst of prosperity. Joy in all times of our life because it comes not from our life or what is happening in our life, but from God; from the Spirit who lives in us. From knowing that there is now nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God for us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39). 

For us who when we are weak we are strong with His strength (2 Corinthians 12:10).

For us who are no longer ungodly but in God.

For us who have the forgiveness of our sins.

For us who have peace with God, for the enmity between God and man has been crushed under our Saviour’s heel.

It’s quite a statement Paul is making here. And it’s all true for us because of these next three days.

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

Holy Tuesday Meditation

Holy Tuesday Meditation

Jesu Juva

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Why is the word of the cross folly to those who are perishing? Because sin is folly to those who are perishing. Sure, there is wrong in the world. Injustice, inequality, intolerance, insensitivity. But sin? How quaint. But that’s really not our problem. And so forgiveness? That’s really not our need. And so the cross? Irrelevant, really. And it’s folly to think that the cross can solve our problems. We need justice, not forgiveness. Action, not atonement. Tolerance, not judgment.

Sounds like Paul could have written these words today, not almost 2000 years ago. Not much has changed. The world still doesn’t understand sin, and so doesn’t understand the cross.

So how do we preach to this generation? Well, the same way Paul did. For if the problem is the same (and it is), then the solution is the same (and it is!). We preach Christ crucified. 

If we don’t, if we think the solution is to be found elsewhere, in adopting the agenda of the world and the ways of the world, then we are leaving behind the very thing Paul calls the power of God. And we are leaving it for what is weaker and more foolish. And what will not work. 

And it’s not just others. This is a temptation for us. Will I believe God’s Word? Or will I believe the word of man? Will I walk in God’s ways? Or decide they don’t really work, and so I must do something else? Will I fill my eyes with what looks great and impressive to men? Or will I look to the things of God, even though they look weak and so often despised? Can an old fashioned, outdated book really change the world? Can a little water poured on my head really change me? Can God really be present in little churches filled with big sinners and hypocrites, doubters and deniers? Can that little bread and wine really be more than bread and wine? You really believe all that? And that a crucified criminal is your Saviour? You’re foolish. Or stupid. Or both.

But if you are foolish, or stupid, or both, then there is good news for you. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. Or in other words, to show the wise and the strong that their faith is in the wrong place. For if your faith is in your own wisdom and strength, well . . . the cemetery is full of such people. No one’s wisdom and no one’s strength have been able to save them from death. Sooner or later you will be caught and brought to nothing. And then what will be your boast? 

No, there is only one grave in one cemetery that does not have a dead body. Only one person that death could not hold. Only one who was able to defeat death. The crucified one. So it seems that God in His weakness, the weakness of the cross, really was stronger than men. It seems that God in His foolishness, the foolishness of the cross, really was wiser than men. It seems that the cross really is the power of God. 

And there, on the cross, is the answer to the problems of the world. Injustice? There is God’s justice against our sin, poured out on Jesus. Inequality? Jesus died on the cross for every sin and every sinner equally; no distinction. Intolerance? Jesus could not tolerate losing anyone for eternity, and so went to the cross to be our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. And insensitivity? There was no one more sensitive to our needs than our great High Priest who, as Hebrews tells us, was like us in every way, except without sin, and so is able to sympathize with us in our weakness (Hebrews 4:15).

So Christ crucified really is the answer! So that is what we preach - this week and every week. And through that Word the Spirit of God works, to convict us of our sin and to show us our Saviour. That we boast not in ourselves, not in our wisdom or strength or anything else we have, but boast only in the Lord. On Him we depend. On Him we rely. And we will not be ashamed.

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

Holy Monday Meditation

Holy Monday Meditation

Jesu Juva

Text: Hebrews 9:11-15

The High Priest. The Tent. The Holy Place. The Sacrifices. The Blood. This is what the people of Israel needed for God to dwell with them. A way to cleanse them from their uncleanness, to purify them from their sin, so that God could dwell with them and His holiness would not destroy them. This was the Old Covenant, or Old Testament.

There had been many High Priests over the years - first Aaron, then his sons, and then down through the generations. The mobile tent became a permanent Temple once the people had settled in the Land. How many sacrifices had been offered over the years? Burnt offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, peace offerings, fellowship offerings, thank offerings. The number was countless. And the blood? If you could capture it all in one place at one time, a flood to rival Noah’s, I’m sure.

Yet just as Noah’s flood could not wipe out evil, neither could this flood of blood. As soon as one sacrifice was completed, another one was needed. There was always more sin, more guilt, more atonement needed.

But the Old Testament was never meant to be the final answer. It was never meant to last forever. It had a time and place, but it was always a pointer to what God really had in mind; what God really had up His divine sleeve. All those high priests who served and died would be surpassed by the One to come who would serve and die and then rise. The tent which became a Temple was destroyed, but another was raised in three days. All the sacrifices that weren’t enough and never could be, anticipated the One to come that would be enough. And the blood . . . all that blood, poured about, sprinkled, splashed, but never drunk, awaited a time when a Lamb would shed His blood and fill a chalice for the whole world to drink.

And so in the fullness of time would appear God’s High Priest, the mediator of a New Covenant, a New Testament. His tent a tent of flesh and bone, born of a virgin, without blemish or sin. The Lamb of God who takes away not just the sin of the offerer, but the sin of the world. The altar, a cross of wood. Here, the High Priest is the Lamb and the Lamb the High Priest, and His blood does what all the blood of goats and calves never could - an eternal redemption. A redemption for the ages. A redemption that never need be repeated. The blood of Christ for the life of the world.

And this - yes, this was meant to be the answer. The reality that the shadows of the Old Testament pointed to. The purification of body and soul. The cleansing of our consciences from dead works to serve the living God. To serve the living God in faith and love. For we have a promised eternal inheritance, the one provided by our Mediator, our Saviour. And so we are free. Free from having to sacrifice for our sins, and so free to love and serve and forgive.

So if you are tempted to make others earn your love and service and forgiveness, to sacrifice something in exchange for your kindness - repent of that. That’s the old. That’s not you. Not anymore. You’ve been made new. You live in the new. Christ’s baptismal flood raising you to a new life. The Body of Christ given to you. The Blood of Christ poured into you. The Spirit of God living in you. And so His service, His love, His forgiveness now living in you for others. Your service and love and forgiveness a reflection of His.

That’s what this week is all about. We call it Holy Week because it is the week when your holiness was provided for you. This is the week Jesus has made all things new.

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

Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Restored to a Right Mind”

Text: Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14-15; Zechariah 9:9-12

Have this mind among yourselves . . .

What mind? You just heard it in the reading of the Passion. The mind of Christ.

A mind knowing that you will not always be here, but that your end is coming; and perhaps sooner rather than later. So making the most of every opportunity.

A mind to serve and love others, even those who betray you and let you down.

A mind to pray fervently, and praying Yet not what I will, but what you will, even knowing that will demand great sacrifice.

A mind filled with calm confidence in God’s Word, that it will be fulfilled, and that it is good.

A mind not quick to defend yourself, to prove yourself right; yet speaking the truth, even if that truth brings opposition and condemnation.

A mind knowing mockery and abuse and not lashing back, but trusting that blessed are you when you are persecuted (Matthew 5).

A mind to lay down your life for others instead of trying to save it.

A mind that does not, perhaps, understand everything that is happening, yet trusting your Father in heaven.

Have this mind among yourselves . . . this mind of Christ Jesus.

But more often, we must confess, we have a different mind. 

What minds? You just heard it also, in the reading of the Passion.

A mind that is quick to criticize others, maybe even those who are doing good and the good you should be doing.

A mind that betrays, maybe even our Lord, by what we do or fail to do, speak or fail to speak.

A mind that wanders or falls asleep - either physically and/or mentally, exhausted by the things of this world and life - instead of praying. 

A mind that makes pledges and promises we do not keep.

A mind that draws our swords, ready to fight. Oh, for us not physical swords; for us it is with stabbing pens and tongues.

A mind causes us to run away in fear.

A mind that cause us to deny and hide, that avoids speaking the truth. That is more fearful of men than of God. 

A mind that goes along with the crowd instead of standing up and speaking up for what is right.

A mocking mind.

What a contrast of minds we heard today. 

This mind of Christ, it is what we had before sin. Before sin corrupted our minds, twisted our thinking, curved us in on ourselves. Adam’s mind only for Eve, and Eve’s mind only for Adam. Christ’s mind only for you. And our mind . . . ?

And yet it has changed. Paul said it. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus! Either Paul is completely deluded, not really knowing us, or there’s a wonderful truth here. That in Christ Jesus, we are being put back to where we were before. That in Christ Jesus, we are being put back into our right minds.

We sometimes say that a person is out of their mind. We mean they’re acting crazy, not right. We heard that today. A lot. And ironically, the ones who were acting out of their minds thought the one who had a right mind was the crazy, deluded one! 

But that one, who so humbled Himself, who do not exalt Himself, who served even those who wanted nothing to do with Him, and who went to the cross . . . He is the one who received what those who are out of their minds wanted and were striving for. He is the one who was raised and exalted, and given the name and the place above every name and above every place.

And He did it all for you.

The prophet Zechariah said that today - did you catch it? After telling you to rejoice because your king is coming; because our King entered Jerusalem on this Palm Sunday - he said this: Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

Return to your stronghold - to the Word and promises of God; they are the strongest thing we have in this world and life. 

O prisoners of hope - not prisoners of sin, but prisoners of hope! 

Today I declare that I will restore to you double. Restore. Put back what once was. Make it right again. Make our minds right again. But not only that, but more. Double. Give to us more than what we lost. Not only the forgiveness of sin for us who are out of our minds with sin, but more - the gift of everlasting life. Life that death will never be able to end.

So no more war, Zechariah says. Against each other or against God. Instead he shall speak peace to the nations. Praying for His enemies and doing good to those who persecute Him. Praying for us and doing good to us. 

And this too: giving us, now, the same mind; the mind of Christ. By giving us His Spirit. His Spirit to work in us and live in us. That we be in our right minds again. And so Peter would proclaim this gift to the crowd on that first Pentecost: Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). 

Baptism, forgiveness, Spirit. Dying and rising with Christ. That’s why He did it, His death and resurrection. For your resurrection from death. He gave you life and we chose death. Now we who die He restores to life again. And our minds, dead in trespasses and sins, He makes right again. That we repent of our own minds and have the mind of Christ. 

So we enter this Holy Week. We will hear of Jesus’ love. We will hear of His Passion - His suffering and death. We will hear of His service. We will hear words of hope, or promise, and of joy. We will receive His Body and Blood. And then when these seven days are over will come an eighth day, a new day, the day of resurrection. The day when Jesus made all things new. Including you and your mind. That what we hear this week we may also live and think.

That’s why Paul could say: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. He did it, for you. All things, all this week, for you. 

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

Lent 5 Midweek Sermon

[No audio]

Jesu Juva

“Return to the Lord . . . Who Does Not Tire of Calling You”

Text: Amos 4:6-13; Luke 20:9-18

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

Our Lord is relentless. He does not give up. He is tireless in calling you to repentance. Because He wants to forgive. To forgive before judgment takes place. Prepare to meet your God! Amos said tonight. But how? By repenting. For when you repent, you meet a merciful God. When you do not repent, but insist upon your own righteousness, you meet a merciless God. A God who will judge you as you want to be judged. But God doesn’t want that. Because He knows how such a judgment will turn out. He is a God of mercy, a God who wants to be merciful and gracious, who is a Redeemer and a Restorer. And so He calls and calls and calls. In fact, your God is a beggar - begging you to accept His mercy and love.

That offends some people, calling God a beggar. For surely that’s beneath God! God does not beg. God is glorious, high, and mighty! And He surely is. But He is also the God who comes to you as a beggar and as a servant, to save you. That’s who your God is.

But if you never thought of God like that before, the reading from Amos that we heard should convince you. There is no mistake about it. The Lord is calling and calling His people, working to get their attention and bring them back to Him. And yet over and over we hear these sad words: yet you did not return to me. 

Amos chronicles all that God did to call His people back to Him in repentance. First, He says, His gave his people cleanness of teeth. Which sounds funny. But it isn’t. Teeth are clean when they have no food to dirty them; no food to get stuck between them. It is the Lord who provides our daily bread, and so when we turn away from Him, we deserve to lose our daily bread. But God doesn’t take it away in vengeance, but so that the people remember Him and turn back to Him as the giver of all good gifts. Yet you did not return to me . . .

And so next the Lord withheld the rain from them. Rain, because throughout Israel’s history, the people were constantly tempted to worship and trust in the god of their neighbors, named Baal. Baal, it was believed, was the god of the sky, of lightning, and of rain. So if the people want to trust in Baal for the rain they need, let’s see how much rain Baal provides! And the answer, of course, is none. A false god can produce and provide nothing. So return to the God who can! Yet you did not return to me . . .

A third time the Lord tries, sending the devastation of blight, mildew, and locust. When the Lord brought His people into the Promised Land, He gave them an abundance of everything, and a land that had everything. It was a land flowing with milk and honey! Why leave the God who provides such good gifts? So the Lord takes them away, that the people return to Him and ask Him. Yet you did not return to me . . .

But how merciful the Lord is! Still He does not give up on His people. Still He calls to them and works to bring them back to Himself. This time sending pestilence after the manner of Egypt. That means that He did to them as He had done to Egypt, to remind them of what He did in the past, what He had done to Egypt to set His people free from their slavery and bring them out. He sent plagues among the Egyptians and Pharaoh and his army were swept away in the Red Sea. Remember? Remember how I did that all for you, God says? How I am a faithful God, who keeps my promises! Return to me. Yet you did not return to me . . .

So the Lord does it again - another historical reminder, this time of Sodom and Gomorrah, when God destroyed them because of their evil. I overthrew some of you like that, God says through Amos. Open your eyes to see the evil you are doing. Open your mouths to repent. And open your hearts to receive my forgiveness and love! Yet you did not return to me . . .

Is this not amazing? The incessant, relentless love of God? And isn’t it striking? How thick and dull and ignorant and unseeing the people are! What’s wrong with them? we might ask.

Well, the same thing that wrong with us. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that these things in the Old Testament were written for our learning, to instruct us, that we do not make the same mistakes (1 Corinthians 10:6). But have we learned?

How is the Lord working in your life? Calling to you, calling you to repent and return to Him? To not fear the things of this world more than Him. To not love the things of this world more than Him? To not trust the things of this world more than Him. But we do, don’t we? 

Fearing . . . fearing suffering, fearing death, fearing disease, fearing the words and opinions of others, fearing the future . . . fearing all this more than the God who controls all of it and can see to it all for us. 

And loving . . . loving our stuff, loving control, loving power, loving security, loving ease, loving what we have achieved, loving honor, loving praise . . . and loving all this more than the God who gives it and provides it. 

And then trusting . . . trusting ourselves, trusting what we can accomplish, trusting our desires, trusting the people of this world, trusting our savings and investments, trusting knowledge, trusting power and might . . . trusting all this more than the God who is our refuge and strength. 

Now certainly, God gives us great blessings in the people and things He gives us, and He uses them to bless us. But how easily they can turn into Baals for us; false gods that we turn to instead of the God who gave them. 

So often we think our sin little and inconsequential compared to the sins of others, but it’s not. All sin, every sin, is a turning away from God, a breaking of the very first commandment. Yes, we have much to repent of, too.

You did not return to me . . . Let us learn from Amos, that that may not ever be said of us.

Martin Luther wrote 95 theses, and the very first one said this: When our Lord and Master Jesus said repent, he willed that the entire life of the believer be one of repentance. That not just once in a while, but that our whole life be a constant turning away from ourselves and a turning to God, and looking to Him for our forgiveness, our life, and every good thing. For that is all He wants to do - give us every good thing we need.

We heard that in the reading from Luke tonight as well. God sending servant after servant after servant to His people, and they beating and stoning and killing them. Until finally He sent His Son. Yet they did not return to me . . .  They beat and killed Him, Jesus, too.

But that too was God’s good working. For the Father did not just send His Son to call us to repentance, but to take our beating and death for us, in our place. The judgment of God we deserve, meted out on Him. That we look at the Son and see our sin. That we look at the Son and see our salvation. That we look at the Son and repent. That we look at the Son and receive His forgiveness.  That we look at the Son on the cross and meet our God, and return to Him there.

Return to the Lord who, as we have learned this Lenten season, is gracious and merciful, who has redeemed us, who has restored us, who will raise us up, who does not change, and who does not tire of calling us. That’s quite a God. And He is yours, and you are His. 

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