Easter 4 / Good Shepherd Sunday Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Death, Sin - You Have a Problem”

Text: Acts 4:1-12; John 10:11-18; 1 John 3:16-24; Psalm 23

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

Cain had a problem with his brother Abel. Abel’s offering was acceptable and his was not. So Cain’s solution? Kill Abel.

Esau had a problem with his brother Jacob. Jacob had stolen both his birthright and his blessing and he was mad. So Esau’s solution? Kill Jacob . . . though Jacob fled before he could do it.

Joseph’s brothers had a problem with him. He was their father’s favorite and they were jealous. So their solution? Kill Joseph. They wound up selling him into slavery instead, but their first thought was to kill him.

Pharaoh had a problem with the people of Israel. There were too many of them. So Pharaoh’s solution? Kill them. Kill all the male babies born to Israel. Throw them into the Nile.

King Saul had a problem with a young upstart named David - people were talking about him and honoring him more. So King Saul’s solution? Try to kill David.

Not too long later, David had a problem because of the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife. She was pregnant and David needed to cover that up. So David’s solution? Kill her husband, Uriah.

You’re starting to hear a theme here, I think. Yes? 

Even today this happens. One country has a problem with another country, so what sometimes happens? What’s the solution? They assassinate that country’s leader.

And while I could go on naming many more examples - which are even now probably running through your heads - here’s the real question I want to ask: What about you? 

Have you ever thought: If only this person would go away, my life would be so much better. And so maybe instead of a gun or a knife, you pulled out your words and stabbed them repeatedly with your criticism, or you threw them under the bus, or you did a little character assassination. Notice how even our idioms incorporate the idea of death? There’s a reason for that. Because that’s what we’re trying to do, really, isn’t it? Just respectably.

But it doesn’t work. All those people I mentioned, they thought death would solve their problem, but it didn’t. And you know who else found that out? The Jewish leaders. They had a problem with Jesus. The people liked Him and were following Him and they were losing control and losing influence. So, naturally, what did they think? What was the solution they came up with? Kill Jesus. And they did. All it took was a little arm-twisting to convince Pilate to lift Him up on a cross. And when Jesus breathed His last, they breathed a sigh of relief. Problem solved.

Except it wasn’t. Sure, three days later there was the rumor going around that Jesus had risen from the dead - but that’s all it was: a rumor. They could deal with that. But now, a couple of months later, they had a real problem: His disciples. As we heard in the reading from Acts, they were running around healing people in Jesus’ name. They were proclaiming Him risen fom the dead whenever they had the chance. And they wouldn’t shut up! And if it were just them, just twelve kooks, who cares? But it wasn’t. Thousands heard and believed. So now they had a problem.

So what do you think they turned to as the solution to this problem? Death, of course. They had the disciples arrested and stand before the Council, just like we did with Jesus . . . to send a message: they were going to be next . . .

But it didn’t work. Because they didn’t count on this: the disciples were no longer afraid to die. They had seen Jesus, heard Jesus, touched Jesus risen from the dead. They had a Good Shepherd who wasn’t dead but alive, and was even now caring for them and watching over them. So they were bold, unstoppable. And without the threat of death, what power did the Jewish leaders have? So they punished them, beat them up a little, and told them to be quiet - to stop talking about Jesus. 

Which is what many are saying to us today. Stop talking about Jesus. Actually, you can talk about Jesus . . . as long as its not the Jesus who says He’s the only way to the Father. As long as it’s not the Jesus who calls sin sin. As long as it’s the Jesus who’s nice, and doesn’t care if people don’t believe in Him, and who wouldn’t do anything to make anyone feel bad. That Jesus is okay. But any other Jesus? No. Or else.

And we’ve seen some of the or else. In our country, Christian business owners put out of business or hauled into court. Judges have lost their positions. In other countries, Christians are slaughtered. Because what’s the solution if you have a problem with someone? Kill them, of course.

But, while it didn’t work with the disciples, we must admit it often does with us, doesn’t it? How, well, sheepish we become in the face of hostility. How timid - like a lamb alone in the woods - when threatened with some kind of persecution. How nervous and worried and fearful of death. How boldly we proclaim Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! in here . . . but out there . . . 

So how good that we have this Sunday every year - Good Shepherd Sunday - to comfort us and give us hope in the midst of such a world. And to remind us of (1.) who we are and (2.) what that means.

And who you are are, by virtue of Your baptism, is a sheep in the Good Shepherd’s flock. Through water and the Word He branded you with His cross; you are a sheep of His fold. You are valuable to Him. You matter to Him. You belong to Him.

And who He is, by virtue of His resurrection, is a Good Shepherd who is alive and well and caring for you and watching over you. Which doesn’t mean nothing bad will ever happen. Sometimes we wander off and get ourselves in trouble, and sometimes the wolf comes rushing into the midst of the flock. But with a Good Shepherd, you are not alone. You have a Shepherd who will go after you. And since this Shepherd is the Son of God Himself and not a hired hand, He is a Shepherd who doesn’t flee when the going gets tough; who will put Himself between you and the wolf. Which we know because He didn’t flee when the going got tough - He did put himself between you and the wolf when He went to the cross and He stayed on the cross and He died on the cross. He laid down His life for you, His sheep. And then He took it up again. So you have a Shepherd who is alive and well, and a Shepherd not only for while you live but also for when you die. A Shepherd to take you through the valley of the shadow of death and safely out the other side.

Which means that while we who live might have a death problem, a Good Shepherd who is risen from the dead means that death now has a life problem! The enemy of our enemy is our Saviour. The death of death means life.

But there’s more. Because we who live not only have a death problem, we have a sin problem. I kind of referred to it before a couple times . . . when to protect ourselves (instead of relying on the protection of our Good Shepherd) we use stabbing words of criticism and hurt others; we throw them under the bus; we assassinate their reputations. And then also when our doubt and lack of trust in our Good Shepherd leads us to act sheepishly instead of boldly; timidly instead of courageously; and fearfully instead of faithfully confident in our Saviour. When we live as if our Good Shepherd did not defeat death but is still dead; when we live as if He is not caring for us and looking out for us, but we have to take care of ourselves. That was not the disciples before the Council! And it doesn’t have to be us. Because Jesus is alive, we can do what John wrote in his Epistle, and love others as He has loved us; and lay down our lives for others as He has done for us. Because He has us and we have Him.

But John said something else really important there, in his Epistle, too: that if our heart condemns us - that when we see our sin and how we do not live as we should; that when we see our sin and how we don’t love as we should; that when we see our sin and how we do not have the faith that we should - that whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart! Or in other words, what God says is greater than what our hearts says. And so when your heart condemns you, when your hearts says: Guilty! Failure! Worthless! God’s greater words says: Not guilty! Absolved! Loved! I forgive you all your sins. You heard it again today. That greater Word. Your Good Shepherd giving you love and life and forgiveness. 

So when Jesus said in the Gospel that He lays down His life for the sheep, you know who He was talking about? All those people who didn’t! All those people I mentioned earlier - Cain, Esau, Joseph’s brothers, Pharaoh, King Saul, David, and yes, you. His life for all sinners and every sin. So that whatever your heart is condemning you for, whatever you have done or failed to do, spoken or failed to speak, desired or failed to desire, thought or failed to think - and your heart is nagging you and making you feel like unworthy dirt - not God! He died for all that. He does not condemn you. Your Good Shepherd loves you and has healing for you, strength for you, courage for you, and forgiveness you.

And now He who laid down His life for you and took it up again, lays Himself here on this altar for you to eat and to drink. Still giving His life for you. That you be raised up just as He was. To live and to love. To live boldly and act fearlessly. To be a sheep like your Shepherd. A sheep no longer with a death problem, and no longer with a sin problem. 

For Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia! And you belong to Him.

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

This sermon inspired by a sermon in Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 25, Part 2 (Feb-May 2015), 34-35.

Easter 3 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“The Best Is Still to Come”

Text: Acts 3:11-21; Luke 24:36-49; 1 John 3:1-7

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

Peter and John had made a lame man walk. They were going up to the Temple and this man, lame from birth, was also going - being carried there to beg. He cried out - as he had done so many times before, day after day - he cried out to Peter and John for alms, for money, a little help for a poor man. And Peter said to him: I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk (Acts 3:8)! And the man, lame from birth, did. And that is the man we heard about in the reading from Acts today. The man clinging to Peter and John and causing astonishment among the people. 

You know, I wish I could do that. I wish I could say to folks with Parkinsons, Alzheimers, or Dementia: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be healed! and they would be. I wish I could say to folks struggling with marriage problems: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, your marriage be healed! and it would be. I wish I could say to people with cancer, or people with AIDS, or people who are blind: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be healed! and they would be. I wish I could do that. Wouldn’t that be great? To be able to help people like that?

Or would it? Or would I be more like King Midas. Remember his story? He wanted everything he touched to turn to gold. And he was granted that wish. But it wasn’t quite what he thought it would be. He couldn’t hug his children. He couldn’t kiss his wife. It was fool’s gold, and though it made him rich, even more it made him miserable.

Be careful what you wish for, right? 

It’s great to be able to help people, but not even Jesus Himself healed everyone. We read story after story of towns where Jesus was, and He was healing people, but the next morning, He’s gone - He’s on to the next town, leaving behind people who had wished for healing, but were not healed. And do you remember what He says in such instances? I have to go preach to these other towns as well (Mark 1:35-39).

You see, it’s not just about healing - it’s about preaching. Preaching that the Word of God is now fulfilled in this man, Jesus of Nazareth. God said He would send a Saviour, and He said this is what that Saviour would do, and He is. The miracles, the healing, preaching. The words, preaching. Preaching a Saviour. And giving us not just what we want for this life (which is passing away), but what we need for eternal life (which will never pass away). 

And so what does Peter do right after healing this man? He preaches. Jesus risen from the dead, His death and resurrection fulfilling all that the prophets had said, and His death and resurrection providing for us - not healing - but the forgiveness of our sins. And while we may sometimes overlook or belittle forgiveness - as if that’s not what we really need! What I really need is health or wealth or things for my life here and now - the reality is that there is nothing we need more than forgiveness of our sins. Health and wealth last but a few years, if you’re lucky; but forgiveness is forever.

So this is what Jesus taught His disciples that first Easter evening, as we heard in the reading from Luke. He showed Himself to them, but then preached to them, how He fulfilled all that Moses and the Psalms and the prophets had said, and then He said: you now, go, and proclaim this too; repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. So that’s what Peter did. And the others. They preached Jesus with their healing and with their words. They preached forgiveness.

And that gift has been given me to do. And while our Lord is still healing people today - sometimes in miraculous ways and sometimes through more ordinary ways, with medicines and doctors and such - that I do not have the power to heal as Peter did is good. Because it keeps our focus in the right place. Not on you or me and how my life is right now and what I think I need and what I think God should give me! But rather on what God has given me: His Son. His Son to die for me. 

And it acknowledges this, too: that sometimes God doesn’t want us to be healed! Or at least, not yet. Is that a modern day blasphemy? Some people would say so. That how dare I! How dare I say that God might want some people to be sick, to have cancer, to have mental illnesses and diseases! That’s not a loving God! You’re wrong, Pastor. You’re dead wrong. 

Well, first . . . remember that all this sickness and disease was not God’s doing. He created the world perfectly and without sin, sickness, disease, and death. We did all this. Us and our sin took what God created perfectly and ruined it, corrupted it, and brought death into it. Mea cupla, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. My fault, my own fault, my own most grevious fault. 

What the prophets preached, what Jesus preached, what Peter preached, and what we still preach, is that God didn’t turn His back on us even when we did that to Him and His creation. He spoke. He promised. A Saviour. Help. Rescue. And life. And He did. And as He did, all through the centuries since, He uses a damaged creation and a damaged you and I for His good; to accomplish His good and gracious will. Cancer is not good, but He uses it for good. Mental illnesses are not good, suffering is not good, but He is able to use them for His good. And sometimes, I’m sure, when He gives us what we think we want and it turns out to be fool’s gold, it is to teach us. That’s not what’s good. He is good. That’s not what we need. We need Him. 

And really, that’s what God has been doing since the beginning - not just giving us stuff, but giving us His very self. It’s just that how often do we think or say: no, I’d rather have this instead. This power, this privilege, this pleasure, this position, this . . . what is it for you? Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. That’s what Peter preached. Which is more than good advice; it is good teaching for us still today.

Or John put it this way, in his Epistle we heard today: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. It’s as if he is saying: Don’t you realize? Don’t you realize the gift you have been given? That you are a child of God? That you’ve been baptized in His name? That He has given Himself to you and you belong to Him? Sure, he goes on to say, that’s hidden now. We don’t look any different, and it may not look as if we are any different - it may even seem that we’re worse off than others! But we know that when he appears we shall be like him. When He comes again, in glory, then we shall see, and we shall be glorious too. Cross first, then glory.

Now I’ll admit, that’s tough. Crosses are heavy and hard to bear. I know all of you and I know the crosses and challenges you are facing. And I’m sure there are many more I do not know. And I know no one is exempt here. You all look good on the outside, and yet inside the story is quite different. You’re good at hiding it. 

So let me go back to what Peter preached, something said earlier, connected to the forgiveness of sins: that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Doesn’t that sound good? Refreshing? Like a big cool drink on a really hot day. Or like jumping into a pool on a hot summer day. That’s what He wants for us in our troubles and trials. To drink deeply from His Word and be refreshed by His promises and Spirit and hope. To jump into the pool of our baptism and be refreshed! To remember who we are and all the promises of God given to us there, and that He will never leave you. To hear the unburdening word of His forgiveness and be refreshed! That all those failures and regrets and mistakes - big and little - that you have done and made and that weigh heavy on your hearts and minds He doesn’t hold against you. And that here - eat My Body, drink My Blood and be refreshed! Here I feed you with Myself, Jesus says. Here is food to strengthen you and give you the life you need. To be refreshed.

It’s not magic, and it’s not like a drug, where you instantly get a high or forget all your troubles. But still, there is refreshing here for you. In Jesus. In His forgiveness. In His life. 

And here means not just here in these gifts, but here in this Church. For this Church, too, is His gift to you. That you not be alone, adrift on a sea of hopeless or despair. That you have others to help you bear your cross, or crosses; others to speak His Word to you and His forgiveness to you; others to be His blessing to you. That is always the way of it with God. It is not good for the man to be alone. And so the Body of Christ is placed into your mouth as the Body of Christ, the Church, gathers together to receive her Lord. And we are fed together, grow together, live together. In Him.

And you know, I wonder how old that man was who had been lame from birth? How many years his family and friends had been carrying him to the Temple, day after day, to beg? How many years has it been for you? Your troubles, trials, struggles? That man, that day, received a gift he did not expect. He asked for alms, but he was not given alms, but healing. 

What are you asking for? What are you begging the Lord for? Perhaps you will not receive it either, but something better. What? When? How? I don’t know. But He will appear for you. He will come to you and give Himself to you. His forgiveness. His life. And maybe more. He will fulfill His Word. Every joy, every tittle, every last Word and promise. And when He does, on that Last Day, we will see Him as He is. But unlike those who saw Him that first Easter night, who saw Him as He is, on that day, when we see Him as He is, we will be like Him. Healed. Sinless. Finally good, whole, and perfect again. And not just for a time, but forever.

For Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!

And He comes with hope and life for you.

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

Easter 2 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Peace for Doubting, Fearful Hearts”

Text: John 20:19-31; 1 John 1:1-2:2; Acts 4:32-35

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

When today’s Gospel is heard the Sunday after Easter every year, I think the contrast most often made in our minds is between the ten disciples who were in the room that night and Thomas, who wasn’t. Between the ten who believed and the one who doubted.

But I don’t think that’s quite fair. Did you hear what John said in his Epistle this morning? That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands . . . John and the others saw, and touched. Before that, Mark tells us that when they heard [from the women] that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it (Mark 16:11). Luke reports that these words seemed to them an idle tale (Luke 24:11). 

So one of the hymns that we will sing during the distribution of the Lord’s Supper today, those words, I think, could be applied to all the disciples, really. All eleven Thomases . . .

These things did Thomas count as real:

The warmth of blood, the chill of steel,

The grain of wood, the heft of stone,

The last frail twitch of flesh and bone (LSB #472).

And so do we, count these things as real. Though for us it is the chill of the steel of a terrorist’s knife, the heft of the casket being lowered into the ground, and not the wood of a cross, but the cold, sterile plastic and metal of the hospital room where our loved one breathes their last. These things, too, we count as real. And the words and promises of God often seem so small and weak compared to them. Like they did for the disciples. What our eyes see trumping what our ears hear. Doubt feeding fear and fear feeding doubt, and we being drowned in a flood of uncertainty.

And so into that room filled with doubt and fear so thick you could probably cut it with a knife, comes Jesus to give peace. He does not condemn or harshly criticize. I suppose you could read His words to Thomas in that way - but I don’t think that’s quite right. Jesus repeats Himself - peace be with you - so His words sink in. Peace to chase away those doubts. Peace to calm their fears. Luke tells us He eats so they know He’s not a ghost (Luke 24:41-42). He lets them touch Him, and they do, as John said. And then He does it again, offering His hands and side to Thomas, too. Because He is sending them to proclaim what they had trouble believing. That He who was dead is now alive. The wages of sin have been paid, and so death is forced to release its prey. 

You see, that’s why Jesus rose from the dead. We were talking a little bit about this in Bible Class last week. It wasn’t just that Jesus was God and so more powerful than death. That’s good for Him but what about us who aren’t God and aren’t so powerful? Who are sealed in a casket and buried under six feet of dirt? The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). If you sin, you must pay that price. You must die. We will die. But what if someone were to come along and pay that wage for you? Well then death would have no reason to hold you any longer. And so you too will rise. You can try to pay that wage yourself, pay your way out of death with your good works or sincerity. But you’ll never have enough. The price is too steep. There’s only one who could pay that wage for you - God himself. So He did.

That’s why Jesus says what He says to His disciples that night. Peace. Your sins are forgiven. The price has been paid. And this forgiveness that I won on the cross for you? You now go give it to others. I’m not asking you to do it - I’m telling you, sending you, commissioning you. You were my disciples, followers. Now you are my apostles, sent ones. And I give you my Holy Spirit to do it. Because this peace that you need, so does everyone else. So you will give it to them, in My Name.

Perhaps we think that pretty foolish. These disciples didn’t prove themselves very trustworthy or reliable when they were following Jesus - and now He is entrusting this message and the future of His Church to them? To them? And think of all the things the disciples would have liked to have heard from a once-dead-but-now-alive Jesus - like, what happens to you when you die? What’s it like? Tell us Jesus! Maybe we can write a book . . . 

But Jesus doesn’t tell them what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. He could have told them how nice and beautiful a place heaven is, but I’ve had people tell me how nice and beautiful a place Hawaii is, and New Zealand is, and Paris is, but that doesn’t mean I’m ever going to get to those places and see them. So Jesus, instead, tells them not what happens when you die, but what happened because HE died - forgiveness. And because of that forgiveness, resurrection from the dead. And because of that resurrection from the dead, life. A life that death can no longer end. 

And John did write a book about that. So did Matthew. And John tells us the reason why he wrote his book. We heard it earlier: that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

For that’s what Jesus’ life was for - to give you life. A life now that is not consumed by doubts and fears. That’s how those early believers could do what they did, what we heard from the book of Acts today, sharing everything they had; selling lands and houses and giving the proceeds to the apostles. We don’t have to do those things, but it shows us what a new perspective they had because of Jesus’ resurrection. What matters now is not what they have or what they do, but what Jesus has done for them. 

And that’s what we’ve been hearing about all this church year - what Jesus has done for us. Today, He came to His doubting and frightened disciples, who saw Him die and then thought just like we often think; the only thought that often fills our minds when someone dies: I just want him back. If only I had her back. So Jesus does. He comes back to them. But blessed aren’t just those who see and touch Me, Jesus says. Blessed also are those who have not seen and yet have believed. That’s you. Who believe because of the message of these eyewitnesses, because of the books they did write, and the Spirit who works through that word and in our hearts.

That word which not only tells us that Jesus is risen from the dead and alive, but that we who die will also rise to life again. That’s what forgiveness means. That’s what it means when you hear me say those words at the beginning of every service here. When I say in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins - that doesn’t mean you just got away with it! That your sin doesn’t matter. No. It means that when you die because of your sins, you will rise and live. Because Jesus did. Because He paid the wage for you. A sealed tomb couldn’t keep Him in and a locked door couldn’t keep Him out, and neither will your sealed casket or six feet of dirt. So you need not fear death. Though it looks so terrifying and seems so final, Jesus shows us it is not. 

But this forgiveness isn’t just for the end, to take away our fears, it is also for now, to take away our doubts, too. Because we do doubt. Maybe I could paraphrase John here and say that if we say we have no doubt, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. We all have a little (or big!) Thomas in us. Really, not only when death takes a loved one from us, but when family troubles place a heavy burden on you, when disease strikes out of the blue, when persecution comes for your faith, when the world makes Christianity sound so foolish . . . and we wonder: where are you Jesus? You said you’d be with me? So . . . ? Are you really alive?

These things are written so that you may believe. 

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Yes, Jesus really is alive. The only bones of Jesus ever seen and touched were living ones, not dead ones. 

But the reality is that sin is also alive. In us and in the world. And it causes trouble and it often weighs heavy on us and we don’t understand why Jesus didn’t just wipe out all the sin in this world so we wouldn’t have to deal with it! Well, here’s why: because if He would wipe out the sin in this world He would have to wipe out you. Because that’s where the sin in the world is. As I said last week, sin isn’t just out there, floating around - it’s in our flesh. So to destroy sin and wipe it out would mean to destroy and wipe you out. And that Jesus was not willing to do. You He came to save! And so He went to the cross and let it wipe Him out instead. 

And then He rose and said: your sins are forgiven, so that you may live now and live forever. Now, not wiped out by God’s wrath, but your sins washed away by Jesus’ blood. Whatever they are. All your failues, all your shortcomings, all the things did you that you shouldn’t have done, all the things you didn’t do that you should have done . . . And forever, when the grave is forced to release you. 

So life may still be tough. It was for the disciple-apostles, and, Jesus says, it will be for us. But, He says your sins are forgiven, and we remember the water of baptism washes us clean. He says your sins are forgiven, and the words of absolution raise us from the cesspool of sin we’ve been wallowing in again this week and clean us for another week. He says your sins are forgiven, and instead of inviting us to put our fingers into His hands and side, He puts His Body and Blood into our mouths, putting Himself and His life into us, that we may live a new life. Your sins are forgiven. I know, I know . . . those words that sound so small and weak compared to the power and strength of sin and death. But they are words that have the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection behind them, and so are anything but small and weak.

For think about it: it sounded foolish for Jesus to entrust this message and the future of His Church to these eleven unreliable and untrustworthy disciples. But for some two thousand years now, these words have gone out and made believers out of unbelievers. Even in the face of persecution and martyrdom which tried to stamp it out, of false religions and false teaching that tried to stamp it out, of even threats today which are trying to stamp it out. But they will not. On this rock, Jesus says, on this message, this forgiveness, I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).

So peace be with you, Jesus says. To you. My tomb is empty. Sin did not win, death did not win, satan did not win. I won. Your sin is forgiven, your death overcome, and your enemy still fighting like the madman he is, will not win. So peace be with you. Peace in the midst of trouble, trial, and tribulation. Peace in the face of death. Peace in sorrow and confusion.

Peace, for Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia! And He gives to you His peace.

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

The Resurrection of Our Lord Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“The March For Our Lives”

Text: Isaiah 25:6-9; Mark 16:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

There was a march in Washington a week or so ago. You might have heard about it. It was called the March for our Lives.

But long before there was a March for our Lives in Washington, there was a March for our Lives in Jerusalem.

In Washington, there were hundreds of thousands of people.

In Jerusalem, there was one.

In Washington, there was shouting and chanting.

In Jerusalem, there was too: Crucify Him!

In Washington, they marched to the White House.

In Jerusalem, to a place called the place of a skull, or Golgotha.

In Washington, it was all about violence and death.

In Jerusalem it was too.

And whether or not you think the march in Washington was worthwhile, accomplished anything, or will ultimately do any good, I’m not really here to talk about that. There are probably people here of differing opinions. Time will tell.

But the march in Jerusalem . . . that’s why we’re here today. Because that did accomplish something - it accomplished the greatest good of all time. For it fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah that we heard today: He swallowed up death forever. Because Jesus not only marched through the streets of Jerusalem and out to Golgotha, where He was nailed to and hung up on the cross to die - after that, His march continued. For He not only marched through Jerusalem, He marched through death, He marched through the grave, and He marched through Hell itself. Through them, and back to life again. Rising from the dead. 

And so, to use Isaiah’s words again, the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations, the spectre of death and the horror of hell is swallowed up. Removed. Forever. For death is not the end anymore. The lock to the gates of hell has been picked. The price of our sin has been paid. For that’s what the resurrection means; that’s what Christ has done. Not just that Jesus has done it for Himself, but that He has done it for us! Death is now swallowed up, conquered. For all peoples, all nations.

And so, Isaiah continues, the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. That’s another thing those marches had in common: tears. People are tired of crying. In Washington, it was people tired of crying over children taken from us too soon. But for all of us, it is crying over the death and devastation in this world and in our lives because of sin. The tears from our loved ones and we ourselves, afflicted with disease, mired in struggles, overwhelmed by sorrows, and weeping beside the graves of those we love. 

God created us with tear ducts, but to cry tears of joy, not sadness. But Isaiah makes no distinction here, what kind of tears the Lord will wipe away from all faces. He will wipe them all away in His love. The tears of sadness we cry at death, and the tears of joy we will cry when we see our Saviour. When our Saviour takes us with Him on His march through death to life again, and our bodies, too, are raised from death on the Last Day. 

The tears Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome cried that Sunday morning as they marched out to Jesus’ tomb were, of course, tears of sadness - if they had any tears left in them at all. But the end of their march was not as they expected. Their march failed. They did not get to do what they thought they would - anoint the dead body of Jesus. For as the angel told them: He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

They did not, at first, understand. Who could blame them! They were a whole mixed-up bundle of emotions; of fear and trembling and astonishment. They were confused. They wanted to believe. Could they believe? Was Jesus alive? Really?

Well, yes He was. They would see Him. The same Jesus they had witnessed hanging on the cross and being laid in the tomb, they would see living and walking and breathing again. Paul testified that in addition to the women, Jesus also showed Himself alive to His disciples and then also to more than five hundred brothers! That’s a lot of eye witnesses! They all saw that Jesus’ march had been successful. He really did enter death and march through it. He really did enter the grave and march through it. He really did descend into hell and march right through it. Yes, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

And now His march continues. He is not done . . .

The march in Washington is over. The stage came down, the people returned home. But while Jesus, too, has returned to His heavenly home, ascending in triumph, He is still working - marching, if you will - for our lives. Marching into churches, fonts, and pulpits, and onto altars all over the world, with His life-giving forgiveness. Raising sinners born dead in their trespasses and sins to life in Holy Baptism. Raising those struck down and snared by sin in His Absolution. Raising the hearts and minds of those tired of tears with the preaching of His Gospel. And last but not least, raising us up to the Feast of His Supper. That we who die might live. That we march through death and grave with Him to a life that will never end.

This is the same Feast of which Isaiah wrote when he said: 

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

For on the place of a skull, Golgotha, on that mountain is where this meal was prepared. The Lamb of God was roasted for our sins, to be our Passover Lamb. So that now eating His Body and drinking His Blood, we remember the whole march - what He did for us in the past, receiving Him now in the present, and looking forward to the future, to the Feast which will have no end. 

The people of Israel had a march, too, you might remember. They marched out of Egypt, they marched on dry ground through the Red Sea, they marched for 40 years in the wilderness, and then they marched through the Jordan River into the Promised Land. It was not an easy march, but what the Lord began the Lord would finish.

And Israel sang a song about their march - and specifically when they got to continue marching and their enemies did not. We sang those words, too, today, in the Introit: 

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

The horses and riders of Egypt had been drowned. It was indeed a glorious day for the people of Israel.

And today is that day for us. For our Lord has triumphed gloriously. Our sin has been drowned in the sea of baptism. And while our march may not be easy, what the Lord has begun in us, the Lord will complete (Philippians 1:6). We will enter that land the Lord has promised us, and has gone to prepare for us (John 14:2-3).

And so we, too, sing! We sing aloud our Alleluias again. This is the feast of victory for our God! Jesus Christ is Risen Today (LSB #457). And more. How can we not? For the March for our Lives is successful. And not hundreds of thousands, but a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages will be there, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes (Revelation 7:9). Those are John’s words from the book of Revelation. And you know how that section ends? With the very same words that Isaiah said: and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:17).

So what a glorious day we celebrate today. That neither sin, death, grave, satan, or hell could stop our Lord’s March for our Lives. The March that began in Bethlehem, went through the streets of Jerusalem, ran through the grave and hell, passes through our church here, and will one day reach its destination at the throne of God and the Lamb. And as the angel said: There you will see him, just as he told you.

For Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!

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