Holy Wednesday Vespers Meditation

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Jesu Juva

Holy Wednesday Meditation

Text: Romans 5:6-11

Who would you die for?

The first answer that might come to mind is your family. For your children, your spouse, your parents. Those closest and dearest to you.

Police and firefighters put their lives on the line and sometimes die protecting people. When they do, they’re often honored with memorials or other tributes.

Military members die for their country, defending their fellow citizens, even those who disagree with them.

But would you die for the person who broke into your house and stole your stuff? Would you die for the criminal who mugged you and gave you a good beating? Would you die for the person who took the life of one of your loved ones? Why would you, right? It’s their life that deserves snuffing out, not yours.

But we know, and we hear again this Holy Week, that’s exactly what Jesus did for us. He didn’t die for the righteous, He didn’t die for the good, He died for sinners. And not just sinners, but really bad sinners. The worst of the worst.

He died for Judas who betrayed Him.

He died for Pontius Pilate who condemned Him.

He died for the soldiers who beat Him and nailed Him to the cross.

He died for the Chief Priests and Elders who got Pilate to sentence Him to death.

He died for Peter who denied Him.

He died for the person who broke into your house and stole your stuff.

He died for the criminal who mugged you and gave you a good beating.

He died for the person who took the life of one of your loved ones.

And, oh yes, He died for you.

That’s an objective fact. Earlier I asked you who you might die for, which was speculation. This is not that. This is what happened on the cross. Isaiah tells us that God laid on our Messiah, on Jesus, the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6b). And all means all. Jesus died for you. To reconcile you to God. To remove what was separating you from God. To bring you back together what sin had rent asunder. To give you peace with God. That’s done. Objective fact. It is what we are remembering and rejoicing in this week. That tremendous sacrifice Jesus made for us - while we were not good, not righteous, but sinners, enemies of His. 

But on Sunday we’re also going to remember and rejoice in His resurrection. That is, His life from the dead. That is, that the one who died for us is not just alive again, but still saving us! His work is not just past tense, but present tense and future tense as well, continuing still today. He didn’t die for us and then leave us on our own. A kind of divine second chance. OK. You screwed up. I took care of that. Now you better take advantage of your second chance! No, the reconciliation of the cross, the justification of the cross, continues, as Jesus continues to forgive. When we repent, He speaks to us His Absolution through the mouth of the man He put there to speak on His behalf. He continues to feed us with His Body and Blood to strengthen us through the struggles of this life and our struggles with sin. And on the Last Day, He will stand with us. He will not say: I died for you and this is how you repay me? This is what you did with your life? In that case, we’re all lost. No, Paul says. He who died for us, who justified us, who reconciled us, will also save us. 

Why God would do all that for us, we must admit, is a mystery. Though we know the reason - love - it is still a mystery. A love like that. Beyond anything in this world or of this world. Or as we just sang, My Song Is Love Unknown (LSB #430).

It is a love given to us that we may now, in turn, give it to others. Not because they’re righteous, good, or deserving, and not just because it’s been given to us, but because Christ is working this mind and this love in us. Or as Paul says in Philippians, words that we heard this past Sunday: Have this mind among yourself, which is yours in Christ Jesus . . . (Philippians 2:5).

Perhaps one way to think about that is this: How will you react, what will you think, if you meet one of those people who hurt you in heaven? That person who broke into your house and stole something very dear to you? That person who mugged you and gave you a good beating? That person who took the life of a loved one? Will you be filled with anger and hate and thirst for revenge? No, not in heaven. There is none of that there. Rather, risen from the dead and glorified, you have the mind of Christ. That loves even enemies. That rejoices in the justification and reconciliation of all people. Christ healed you from your past and your sins. So there is only a glorious future.

You have that mind now. You’ve been baptized into Christ. He lives in you, though you still struggle against sin and sinful urges. But this week, we see something different. Completely different. What love looks like without sin and sinful urges. Pure, divine love. And it runs deeper and shines brighter than anything we could imagine. Even to dying for enemies. 

We rejoice to see such love. We rejoice to receive such love. And we rejoice to give such love. And because of Jesus, one day we will rejoice to live in the fullness of that love, with Him, forever. 

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

Holy Tuesday Vespers Meditation

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Jesu Juva

Holy Tuesday Meditation

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

The cross is the power of God, not the power of man.

Wisdom is foolishness and foolishness is wisdom.

Strength is weakness and weakness is strength.

The low are high and the high are low.

You win by losing.

You live by dying.

That’s what St. Paul just told us. He packed all that in the few verses we heard tonight. He’s not being contrarian. He being truthful. To the world, the things of God don’t make sense. They are exactly upside-down.

But it is not God who is upside-down, but the world. That’s what sin has done to us. What God calls good, satan calls bad. What God calls life, satan calls death. What God calls truth, satan calls a lie. And who do we believe? Who do you believe?

Well, take a look at your life. Do you see your success in getting or giving? Do you measure yourself by what you do or what God has done for you? Do you put your energy into climbing or serving? When you don’t get what you want, do you thank God or get mad at Him? 

This week above all others highlights this truth: just how upside-down our world is. How wrong our thinking has become. How different than how God created us to be.

It’s why Pilate can’t figure out Jesus. Why isn’t He answering? Why isn’t He trying to save his life? It’s why Peter keeps trying to save his life by denying Jesus. It’s why James and John ask Jesus for seats of honor and glory. It’s why Judas thinks money more valuable than Jesus. It’s why the people trade Barabbas for Jesus and mock Jesus on the cross. And it’s why tears are shed when Jesus dies. They didn’t know, and we keep forgetting, that was part of His victory!

That’s an important part of this week, too. To remind us of that. To help us see that. So that maybe we’ll stop challenging God, like the Greeks and the Jews, demanding signs and wisdom - the signs we want and what we think is wisdom, that is - and start believing Him and the sign and the wisdom He did provide us: namely, the cross.

The Romans thought the cross was the power of man. Don’t cross the government or this is what will happen to you! But with the sign of Jonah, when Jesus died on that cross and the rose from the dead three days later, he took that power of man and broke it across his knee like a stick. Power? What power?

And what so-called wisdom is the world spouting these days? What so-called truth opposing and contradicting God’s Word? That will give you what you want? That will save you? Everyone one of them, who have made such claims, so far, have died. There are still wars. There is still poverty. There is still division and hatred. We villify our ancestors and think we know so much better. But is the world any better? Really?

This week, this Holy Week, is like hitting the reset button in the church. We preach Christ crucified. Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. It’s what we should do all year round, but maybe forget or drift away or get caught up in the currents of the world. Not this week. This week we see God’s strength in weakness, and His dying to live. And we say: Amen! Truth. There is God for me! That’s the source of your life, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. What else do I need? What else do I think He should do, if He did that for me?

So are you low on the world’s totem pole? Are you weak in the world’s kind of strength? Does the world think what you think and believe foolish? Are you a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles? Good! So was Christ crucified. And we know what God did with Him.

So maybe the good news of this week and all that Jesus has done for us can help us beyond this week. That we forget a little less, and not drift quite as far, and get caught up in the ways of the world not so much. As Christ crucified lives in you. And where Christ lives, there is life. 

So rejoice! And boast in your weak and lowly and foolish and crucified God. 

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

Holy Monday Vespers Meditation

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Jesu Juva

Holy Monday Meditation

Text: Hebrews 9:11-15

Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come.

Good things. Those are not only the things to come. That’s what creation was in the beginning. Each day, God created. And each day, God saw that it was good. And at the end of the six days, it was all very good. Perfect. And in perfect harmony. All parts of creation working flawlessly and seemlessly with each other. Nothing to late. Nothing too early. Nothing off, even a little. Everything right. And good.

Until it wasn’t. Until Adam and Eve decided that good wasn’t good enough. But after their redesign of God’s creation, things weren’t better than good. Now nothing was good. Their relationship with God, their relationship with each other, their relationship with the world. They themselves and all creation, now no longer good. Now, infected by sin. And now with sin, things would die. They would die. And a world in which before there was no death, would now struggle to live.

You can imagine the sadness and sorrow of our first parents. How they ruined everything. A sadness and sorrow that would grow as their struggles continued year after year, as they lived through the murder of their son. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it - you know it. The deeds done, the words spoken, that you wish you could take back, that ruined everything. The death you live through. The sorrows and sadness of life. You know them well.

So what good news for us tonight, to hear that Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come . . . again! The old high priests helped the people muddle through, God giving them hope through the blood of goat and calves, bulls and heifers, that a better day was coming. We hope for lots of things today, that sometimes come and sometimes don’t. But hope in the words and promises of God is never left unfulfilled. 

And so as we heard, not an old high priest, but a new one has come. Not for the purification of the flesh, but to purify our consciences. Not for redemption until the next sin, but for an eternal redemption - a once and for all redemption. And so not with the blood of goats or calves, bulls or heifers, but with His own blood, with His own holy, divine, sinless blood, the blood of Christ, the blood of God, was a new covenant, a new testament, sealed. So that those who are called (that’s you!) may receive the promised eternal inheritance. For you have a Redeemer, and you have been redeemed, by His blood. 

So now there are good things again! You are good again in the forgiveness of your sins. By the blood of Christ in the water of baptism, the blood of Christ soaking every page and word of Scripture, the blood of Christ speaking in every Absolution, the blood of Christ poured into your mouths, purifying you and promising you an eternal inheritance. An inheritance that is really a restoration. Back to when everything was good. When it will all be good again.

That good is already here for you now, just not yet in all its fullness. You have forgiveness now, you are cleansed now, Christ is working in you now, to live a new life, a good life now. To give you hope in your sorrows and joy in your sadness. To speak words that heal, not hurt. To do deeds that help, not ruin. That good again you bring good into a not-good world.

And just as you know the not-goodness of the world, so too you know this goodness. You’ve seen the difference a good word, a good deed can do. And above all, the good words and deeds we hear again this week - the good of Christ for you. 

So rejoice this holy week. Do not mourn the death of Christ, but rejoice that He did this, He willingly laid down His life in love for you. And that, just as in the beginning, God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Again.

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

Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“One Who Dies For All”

Text: John 12:12-19; Mark 14-15

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

“Even one death is too many.”

You’ve heard that phrase. Probably from the lips of a politician. And usually in the context of telling us how many death there have been from COVID-19. The number is large and shocking . . . but even one death is too many. It sounds very pious. It’s a good sound bite in our sound bite world. 

Truth is, though, not all deaths are equal. Some get more press than others. The name Patricia Dowd probably means nothing to you, but George Floyd does. (Patricia is thought to be the first person in our country to die of COVID-19.) Or when a national leader, or a celebrity, or a sports star gets COVID or dies from COVID, it makes the news. When the guy lying in a nursing home, or the woman down your street, or a homeless person gets it or dies from it, not so much. But hey . . . even one death is too many.

We could say the same thing about abortion, assisted suicide, and euthanasia - even one of those deaths is too many. But those aren’t usually part of the conversation. 

And consider this too: if evolution is true, then this saying is not. One death is really no big deal at all. Just one more in a long chain of deaths. Survival of the fittest. Nature doing its job, weeding out the old and the weak, while the young and strong thrive. It’s just the way things are. Isn’t it?

So the truth is: we’re confused, aren’t we? About death. Is it good or bad? Good in one time and place, and bad in another time and place? Is it useful or useless? Is it a friend, an ally? Or an enemy? Or both? Like an animal - sometimes tame and domesticated, and sometimes wild and out of control?

But death is here, in our world. And it doesn’t care who you are, what race, how old, your status, or your education level. People die and will continue to die. Not from COVID, but from sin. It is sin that has brought death into the world, and that will bring your death. And no medicine, no science, no vaccines, no man-made solutions will stop it. There’s only one who can. The one who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. That’s what today and this week are all about. Jesus marching into battle. To battle death. ALL death.

Because for Him, for Jesus, for God, it really is true: even one death is too many. No one was meant to die. No one. But we thought - and sinfully often still think - we can do life better than God. Yeah, really! But all we did in the end, was death.

And for God, it’s not just physical death. That’s all we’ve really been talking about so far. But for God it’s even worse. He sees what we do not see - those dying spiritually, eternally. Which is far worse. And one of these is too many for Him. For the God who created all life wants all life to live with Him forever.

So the God who created all life rides into Jerusalem today to battle death. He enters this week as a mighty warrior, hailed with palm branches and shouts of victory. He ends this week dead, looking quite vanquished, wrapped in a shroud and laid in a tomb, to quiet sobs of grief. 

But this one death is exactly what was needed. For the death He died was yours. As God, Jesus couldn’t die. As sinless and perfect, He shouldn’t die. But in Jesus, God is made man, and as the Lamb of God He dies with your sin, as your substitute. Jesus didn’t want to die. When faced with death in the Garden of Gethsemane, He agonized. But even more than He didn’t want to die, He didn’t want you to die. So He would die. For you. Your death. To break the grip of death on you. And this was the only way to do it. That just as we imposed death upon the life He created, He would impose His life on the death we created. And with His resurrection, He does so. He is victorious.

So maybe we’re a Sunday too early with our Palm Branches. We should really wave them next week, don’t you think? When the tomb is empty and the victory has been accomplished for us? When our shouts of hosanna have been fulfilled! Well, don’t worry. You’ll have that chance. Not because we’re giving out palm branches again next Sunday. No, even better. You’ll do it for real, in heaven. For as John told us: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)

So today we wave our palm branches, not in imitation of the past, of those in Jerusalem that day, but in anticipation of the future, of Jesus, our King, coming again for us, and when we will wave them on that eternal day. On that day when there will be no more death, only life. Life eternal.

And it’s why we sing hosanna. And not just today, but every Sunday, as our King comes to us not humbly on a donkey, but humbly in bread and wine. Coming to hosanna us, save us, from our sins with the forgiveness of our sins. What He accomplished for us that week given to us here every week: forgiveness, life, and salvation. As we, again, anticipate His coming again, and the feast of heaven, which will have no end.

One of our children demonstrated that connection this week. In our Children’s Bible Story Time on Thursday evening, we were talking a little about palms and Palm Sunday and one child starting singing hosanna - but not the hosanna of the hymns we sing today, but the hosanna in the liturgy we will sing today, tying together Palm Sunday with the Lord’s Supper. Perfect. That’s how the liturgy teaches us eternal truths. 

And today, especially this truth: that for God, even one death is too many. And so Jesus doesn’t die for some, or most, but for all. That all may have life in Him.

So let me suggest another way of thinking that is again quite opposite of the world. For I’m sure you’ve heard the saying: you only get one life to live, so live it to the full! Take advantage of every opportunity. Don’t let anyone hold you back. The problem with that is that people then forget about death, which comes at any time, and often quite suddenly and unexpectedly. And so they’re not ready. 

So instead, how about this . . . Instead of: you only get one life to live, you only get one death to die. And here’s why I think that’s better: because no one pays so much attention to living as the one who knows he is dying. They are the ones who make every moment count. They are the ones who take advantage of every opportunity. They are the ones who pay attention to what really matters. They say what matters, they do what is important, they want to use the time they have left wisely. So they’ll be ready when death comes. 

So this week, we do that - we look at death so that we live. We learn how to die in faith to live in faith. Faith that sets us free from the fear of death, for though we will die, yet shall we live. In the One who died and yet lives for us. To Him, even one death really is too many. But for us, His one death was exactly what we needed. 

So let us now hear that story again, today and all this week. The story of His death. The story of our life. 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent 5 Midweek Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Facets of Forgiveness: Paid”

Text: Luke 23:32-48; 1 Kings 19:1-18; Hebrews 12:1-4, 12-15

Psalm 130

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

A few years ago my daughter drove our van out to the mall to do some shopping. And when she came home, it was not the same. The entire front right side had been bashed in and the bumper was barely hanging on. While she was in the mall, someone had hit our van and mangled it up pretty good. And then just drove off. No note. No sorry. Nothing. And we were left with the bill.

Maybe that’s a good picture of sin - someone driving into you, plowing into you, mangling you pretty good. And you’re dented, you’re hurt. Because of what they did to you, how deeply they hurt you. And you may never be the same. Or they may not be, when you’ve done that to someone else . . . and just went on your merry way. No note. No sorry. Nothing. But there’s damage, and a bill to pay.

When that happens to you, you could forgive. Pay for it yourself. Let them get away with it. You may not have much choice, if you don’t know who did it. But is that what forgiveness is? Getting away with your sin? Or letting someone else get away with it? Is this world really just a bunch of mangled, damaged people driving around? If so, it seems like a problem that will just keep getting worse. For once your car is mangled, you’re not as careful. A few more dents and scratches aren’t going to make much more difference!

Well, you could try to fix it yourself, if the damage isn’t too bad. Last year, my same daughter’s own car got hit - and part of the back bumper got popped out. We pounded it back in, but it’s popping out again. Sometimes we try to do that with sin - fix it ourselves. But if the damage is severe, no way. You’re going to have to get it fixed. Someone will have to pay.

So God did. That’s the final wonderful facet of forgiveness we’ll consider tonight. That for our world filled with sin, our world filled with sinners who drive over and mangle each other, and who even mangle and hurt ourselves, we’re not left on our own. God didn’t look at out damaged selves and our damaged world and say: “Gee, that’s too bad. You’re going to want to get that fixed, I guess!” He came. To fix us. And to pay for it Himself. With His life.

And He knows something about the damage and the pain we get and inflict. Because we’ve done it to Him. He’s the car that’s been driven into, smashed, mangled, plowed over, pushed off a cliff - and anything else you can think of, and more times than you can imagine! It began in the Garden and has continued ever since. And then He sent His Son into the world to fix us and to pay, to redeem us, to ransom us, and when He did, what happened to Him? Look at the dents on Him. Look at the abuse He took, look at those nails, the whip marks, the head crowned with thorns. And at the deepest, darkest moment of all that, as He was paying for the sin of the world not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death, He said: Father, forgive them. 

And you are. The damage you’ve inflicted, paid for. And the damage inflicted on you, fixed with His resurrection. Though it cost Him dearly.

But sometimes we want more than that. Forgiveness is nice and all, but wouldn’t revenge be sweet? Wouldn’t it be nice if God raged with us? If He would smite those who sin against us? Elijah thought so. 

But smiting is over-rated. After the 450 prophets of Baal were killed, it didn’t fix everything for Elijah. He felt run over, so he slunk off, filled with self pity, and ready to die. And when God came to him, it wasn’t in the strong and raging wind, earthquake, or fire - it was first with food, God feeding him, and then with a small, calm voice telling him that He would make it right. For, Elijah, there’s more going on here than you know. And God’s voice and care disarms us, calms us, and talks us off the ledge of our anger and rage. 

Which is what happened on Good Friday, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, not raging, but speaking forgiveness. He hung there in the dark, the crowds having thinned out, the earlier furor now a quiet waiting for the inevitable. There was so much more going on than they knew, than met the eye. And yet it was the still, small, calm voice of Jesus that made all the difference. That even softened and changed a centurion’s heart. And that maybe can change our hearts as well . . .

That’s what we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. Forgive us. And make your forgiveness flow through us. To those who hit and run us with their sin. 

Which is hard. And sometimes really hard. Especially when you go out into the driveway and stare at the damage. You get madder and madder. You stew on it. Brood about it. And anger festers, and turns into bitterness. You can’t just forget it - the damage is done. But you can stop looking at it and fill your mind with something else. You can, as we’ve been singing all this Lenten season, fix your eyes on Jesus. 

So while the damage is still there, something else, someone else is, too. And the damage might be there for some time. Sometimes the cost of sin and the pain of sin goes on. Even if insurance paid for the repair, maybe your rates went up. And your car won’t ever be quite the same. A divorce 20 years ago still effects the holidays now. An injury you suffered still hurts on rainy days many years later. The job you should have had but got cheated out of, a chance you’ll never get back. Sin sometimes comes with not only a great but an enduring cost. One we may not even realize at first. The damage may be deeper than we know.

But God knew the cost, how great it was. And that only He could do anything about it. So He did. But here’s the thing: when we hear about His forgiveness, His paying for us, it’s not just the sacrifice - there’s joy there, too. Not only for the forgivee, but for the forgiver. In fact, sometimes the forgivee, the one who receives the forgiveness, misses the joy. . . . But look at Jesus. For as we heard tonight, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And know that for you, too, the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

But that joy is not just in the future, while you have to suffer now, while you have to hurt now. That doesn’t really work. Even a tiny little pebble of sin can cause a whole lot of pain. That little pebble in the bottom of your shoe, that tiny little kidney stone, that tiny little stone of sin in your heart causes a whole lot of hurt and pain. You need that stone moved. Now. You need that stone out. Now

So again, Jesus did. He moved a stone. The one that sealed His tomb. Compared to the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, or the Himalayas, it was just a little pebble. But moving it changed the world. Changed you. Had it stayed in place, you’d have no hope. Your dents and mangledness and damage would be permanent. But when that stone is out of your shoe, out of your kidney, out of your heart, it makes all the difference in the world. 

And maybe we could say that’s the facet of forgiveness we need the most. It’s great that our sins our cleansed and washed and covered. It’s great that they’re far from us and fixed on Jesus. But that He paid for them, He paid for us, to redeem us, restore us, fix us, take the damage away from us, that’s what we really need. So that we can live. And so the joy of forgiveness can be ours as well. Not only the joy of being the forgivee, but of being the forgiver. Of having Jesus’ forgiveness flow through you. That helps you, too. To see Jesus’ work in you, through you. That your damage and dents aren’t who you are. They don’t define you. Jesus does. His work for you does. And when He does, your story changes. His starts to take over. And as St. Paul said, you begin to have His mind in you (Philippians 2:5-11). And now the story of your life isn’t the damage you’ve gotten or inflicted, but the story of the one who redeemed you. And when that happens, there is joy and hope. For the present and for the future. All the facets of forgiveness come together. From the cross. For you. In Him. 

This Holy Week we will see that again. All those wonderful facets of forgiveness, shining most brilliantly. So let us watch again in wonder, awe, and joy.

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

 

Sermon for Lent 5

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Jesu Juva

“Amazing Glory, Amazing Love”

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

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

Jesus and His disciples are on the road going up to Jerusalem. You always went “up” to Jerusalem. It is a city on a hill. But Jesus would go even higher, higher than Jerusalem. For He would be lifted up above Jerusalem. On the cross. He knew it. He told His disciples. It was barely more than a week away now.

Mark tells us that as they were going up, they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. They were not alone, going up. The Passover was approaching. Many were on their way. The city was filling up. 

But why the disciples were amazed, and why those who followed were afraid, Mark doesn’t tell us. But perhaps it is for the same reason. Jerusalem is where the scribes and Pharisees were. Who were actively plotting against Jesus, how to get rid of Jesus. And their opposition was intensifying. Jesus is going right into the lions’ den. They are amazed that He is, and afraid that He is. And even moreso when they hear His next words: that He will be condemned, mocked, spit on, flogged, and killed. Things to be avoided! Not walked into. But for this Jesus came. He will not be deterred. And after three days He will rise. But what does that mean? 

So it may seem like an odd time for James and John to approach Jesus with their request. They want to be close to Him in His glory. Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. It seems like such a crass request, so inappropriate, especially coming on the heels of what Jesus had just told them. But maybe not. Throughout the Old Testament, we hear of the dying giving their blessing to those who come after them. And some are famous. Jacob stole such a blessing from his brother, Esau. Jacob blessed his twelve sons in Egypt, which included a prophecy of the Saviour coming from his son, Judah. So if Jesus is going to die, they ask for this, this blessing, before He does.

So the request isn’t wrong. The others get indignant, but Jesus doesn’t. He doesn’t rebuke them for their request - it’s just that they don’t understand what they are asking for. They don’t understand what Jesus’ glory is. They don’t understand all that is going to unfold over the course of this next week. But they will . . .

They will see Jesus in His glory - when He is on the cross. That’s what Jesus calls His glory. He is glorified through His death and resurrection. Because that’s not glory for glory’s sake. That’s the glory of His love. The glory of His mercy. The glory of laying down His life for the life of the world. And in that glory, look who is on His right and left - two criminals. But not just criminals. One of them to be a son of God. Of course, Jesus couldn’t say all that at this moment. James and John would not have understood. Oh, no! That’s not the glory we want! They were looking for another kind of glory

Jesus knows that. And what that temptation is like. He is a High Priest who knows what we go through, for He Himself went through it. He was tempted like us. In this way, too. To get glory the easy way, tempted to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple so that His angels would swoop in and rescue Him (Luke 4:9-12), rather than through hanging on a cross. But He would not. There is a greater glory than that kind of glory; that kind of worldly glory. Though, like the cross, it doesn’t look like glory or greatness. Not to our worldly eyes.

Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 

Servant? And slave of all? That’s not greatness or glory - that’s being low man on the totem pole. That’s helping others be great, while you don’t get anything. They get paid and you get bupkis. 

Well, yes and no. Is it helping others be great, helping others up? Yes. Is it getting bupkis? Not exactly. Because there was one who did that for you, so you will never be at the bottom of the totem pole. There will always be one lower than you, serving you, helping you, raising you. That one now going up to Jerusalem to go up on the cross. The greatest who became the least.

And anyway, being at the top of the totem pole isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When you are, in this world, the others who want to be there instead of you are targeting you to bring you down. Worldly greatness and glory is a competition, and it’s never-ending. And you can be there one day and gone the next. Just ask all the folks whose streets are being renamed, monuments and statues removed, and histories being re-written. The world is moving on from them. 

But God’s greatness is completely upside-down from that. God doesn’t target the great to bring them down - He targets the down and out to bring them up! To raise us up with Him. And if He does bring you down, it is so that He can raise you up. From worldly greatness and glory to His greatness and glory. So that even if you do not have a name here and now, your name be written in heaven.

So, James and John. You want those places? OK. Can you be baptized with my baptism? Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? Jesus asks. Oh yes! they say. And again, they don’t know what they are saying. Jesus’ baptism is a baptism of blood. His cup the cup of suffering and death. And so it would be to James and John according to their word - they would be so baptized and they would drink that cup; they would be martyred. And it would be for their service of others. They would not achieve, but receive, that glory. From God. But not yet. Now was Jesus’ day.

And here again we see the upside-down greatness and glory of God! For what about you and me? Will you and I be baptized with His baptism? Will we suffer, be persecuted, and maybe even die for our faith? For proclaiming God’s Word and sticking to what it says? Maybe. The tide of this world is turning against the Christian truth. Will we drink that cup of suffering and death? Maybe.

But this we DO know - that Jesus was baptized with our baptism and He drank our cup! He was baptized as a sinner and became the sinner of sinners. He drank the cup of God’s wrath against our sin down to it’s very dregs. He gloriously took it all for us. That’s why He was headed to Jerusalem. To give His life as a ransom for many. Which, according to the Hebrew mind, doesn’t mean less than all but more than all. Many doesn’t limit Jesus’ atonement, but expands it. All would be all those who were there at that time. Many means those and many more. It means the all of us who are great at sinning! ‘Cuz that’s what we’re all great at. Think of all the sin you did just this week . . . Then multiply that by all the weeks in your life . . . Then multiply that by all the people in the world . . . Then multiply that by all the people who ever lived . . . That’s one big cup of wrath Jesus drank! One very big glorious cup!

And because He did, He did leave a blessing behind for us. A cup of blessing. The one we drink here. A cup filled not with wrath, but with forgiveness and life. To give us a great and glorious life like His great and glorious life. Of serving others, helping others, forgiving others. Because He is always doing that for us. That there be not just one or two places in glory with Him, but a countless number, of people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue (Revelation 7:9). Places for great sinners, sinners no more. Because of the greatness and glory of Jesus and His cross. 

Because we have a great High Priest who was saved from death, and so is a High Priest forever. The earthly high priests of the Old Testament served for a time and served people of a time. But Jesus is the High Priest of the New Testament, for all people of all time. Who saved us from death by death. Because our physical death isn’t the death we need to worry about. Physical death lasts for a time, but spiritual death lasts forever. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem to die the first death, to save us from the second. So that when we die, we will live. We will be raised, just as He is, to life.

So today we enter Passiontide - the last two weeks of the Lenten season, when the glory of Jesus shines more brightly than ever. But it is a hidden glory. Hidden under intense suffering and gory death. But a glory that we know is there. So we veil the cross today. It is hidden from our eyes until it’s glory is unveiled for us again on Good Friday. We also, starting today, you may have noticed, refrain from singing or speaking our gloria patris (Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit). That, too, is hidden from us for a little while. But as Jesus rose to life again, so will these. The days are coming, Jeremiah said, of the New Covenant, the New Testament, the resurrection. Jesus’ and ours.

So until that day, we take our place not on Jesus’ right or life, but at His Table. And He comes in His hidden greatness, feeding us with His Body and giving us His Blood to drink, raising us to life in the forgiveness of our sins, and giving us a new life of glory and greatness to live. Not the world’s, but His. And as you do, you may be condemned, mocked, spit on, flogged, and killed, too. But if you are, you are not alone. And if you are, you will live. For you’re not at the bottom of the totem pole. Jesus is. For you. With you. Raising you. Saving you. Until the day of a new glory comes.

Until it does, let us join the twelve and go up to Jerusalem and be amazed, but not afraid. For in the world’s hate is Jesus’ love. In His cross is glory. And in His death is life.

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

Lent 4 Midweek Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Facets of Forgiveness: Far”

Text: Leviticus 16:5-10, 15, 20-22; Matthew 26:36-42; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57

Psalm 103:1-12

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Our sins are cleansed; we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Our sins our covered; our shame and unworthiness hidden in Christ. And our sins are fixed; they’ve all been put in one place and dealt with - on Jesus, on the cross. All good news. All wonderful facets of forgiveness we considered thus far.

And yet still our sins nag at us, gnaw away at us. They’re like a dog with a bone. They just don’t seem to want to let go. Wouldn’t it be good if in addition to these facets, our sins would go someplace far, far away from us? If we could exile them, banish them, and know they were never coming back?

We sometimes try to do that with other parts of our lives. People move from the inner city to the suburbs to get away from the crime and struggles of city life. But then they find out the suburbs has its own set of problems. People sometimes switch jobs or companies to get away from a bad boss. But what if the new boss is the same - or worse! - than the old boss? People change churches to get away from people they don’t like or problems they don’t want to deal with, but there are such people and problems everywhere. Sometimes people even divorce and remarry, looking for that ideal marriage and ideal mate, only to find out that no marriage or mate is ideal. 

You could say that none of these things work because no matter where I go, there is a sinner who follows me there. It is me. I bring my sin everywhere I go, into every relationship I am in. If only it could leave it somewhere. If only it would go far, far away . . .

Well that’s the idea with the scapegoat we heard about tonight. God knows what we need, and He provides. And Old Testament Israel was just like us, and we are just like them, and so for them, too, there was this yearning to get their sins away from them. Far, far away. And so God gave them such a way. The scapegoat.

Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, in addition to other sacrifices and duties Aaron had, he was to do this, too: take two special goats - one, chosen by lot, would be used as a sin offering, and the other would be a sin-bearer, and be sent away into the wilderness. So after the sacrifice of the first goat and its blood used for atonement as God prescribed, the second goat was brought forward. Aaron would lay his hands on the head of this goat, confess all the sins, iniquities, and transgressions of Israel onto this goat, and then this goat would be taken out into the wilderness, far, far away from the people. It was a picture to them of how God would deal with their sins. Cleansing? Yes. Covering? Yes. Fixing? Yes. But also this - sending their sins to Azazel. Or in other words, sending their sins to hell. 

And on such a solemn day as the Day of Atonement, what a joyous part of the day that would be. There go your sins, far, far away. Never to return. For a goat wouldn’t last long by itself out in the wilderness. The predators would quickly seize upon it for a tasty meal.

It is, of course, a picture of Jesus. As all the sacrifices of the Old Testament were. So Jesus, fresh from the Jordan and His Baptism there, where He took His place with us sinners - that is, not having any sins washed off of Him, but having our sins washed onto Him . . . as soon as that happens, what happens next? He is led out, or thrown out, into the wilderness. And there, the predator of our souls quickly seizes upon Him to destroy and devour Him. To send the Son of God to hell! That would be quite the coup for satan!

But He was not able. Because when the Son of God would go to hell, it would not be as a prisoner, but as a conquerer! So Jesus, who became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), takes our sins to the wilderness of the cross. Where He is left alone. Forsaken by His Father (Psalm 22:1). The predator stalking Him. His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane showing just how heavy the weight the sin of the world really is. Luke adding to Matthew’s account that Jesus’ agony was so intense that his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:44). But Jesus bears it, alone, for us all. There was no other way. He would lay down His life for us (John 10:17-18). He would fulfill the reason for both goats - He would be both the scapegoat with our sins, and the bloody goat to atone for our sins. Whatever you need, all that you need, Jesus would provide.

So after His death and burial and His rest in the tomb on the Sabbath, Jesus descends into hell in victory, and then rises from the dead . . . and your sins are gone! They are on Him no longer. And as He is, so we will be in the resurrection: glorified and set free from the sin that has burdened and infected us since the moment of our conception. For joined to Jesus in His death and resurrection, our perishable bodies become imperishable, and our mortal bodies become immortal, and death is swallowed up in victory. And our sin-causing, problem-causing, death-dealing sins lay dead in the grave. Rest in peace. :-)

And because they do, so will we. Not the same way, though. We will rest in the peace of heaven, where there is nothing accursed (Revelation 22:3). We will rest in the peace of our Lord, in the unity and harmony of His love. And we’ll never have to move or change, because our sin has been sent far, far away.

How far? We heard how far in the Psalm we sang tonight: as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

I like that picture, and as I often explain, it is because east and west are as far apart from each other as you can get. It is not so with north and south. North and south touch. If you’re traveling around the earth, there is a point at which you stop going north and start going south, and vice versa. But east and west never touch. There is never a point at which you stop going east and start going west. East is forever and west is forever. And that’s how far your sins have been removed from you! By the One who is your scapegoat, the One who is your sacrificial lamb, the One who is your Good Shepherd. Whose love for you is as great as how high the heavens are above the earth.

So your sins? Yeah, they’re not coming back. You might remember them, but God does not. They’re dead to Him, and to you. But His Son is alive, and so are you. In Him. The prophet Isaiah says that God has cast all your sins behind [His] back (Isaiah 38:17), and that He will not remember your sins (43:25). In other words, God has moved on from your sin. He’s dealt with it. He’s done with it. It is finished (John 19:30). And if God has moved on from your sin, so can you. Not captive to sin anymore. Not bearing the weight of its guilt anymore. Not fearing its consequences anymore. He’s set you free. And as Jesus said, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed (John 8:36)! So you are free. Your sin is gone. You can live in confidence, not shame; in love, and not fear. Another facet of forgiveness from your Lord for you.

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

Sermon for Lent 4

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Great in Mercy; Rich in Love”

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

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

If you didn’t realize it on your own, I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that this week marked the one year anniversary of the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. I don’t know if congratulations or commiserations are in order for having gotten through this time. Much changed in our lives and how we live them. Many things were missed - celebrations, anniversaries, trips, and even church itself. For many of you, it’s been a year now since you’ve stepped through our doors. It’s been quite the year.

And so lots of reflection has begun, and I’m sure will continue. The histories are already starting to be written. What happened, how did it happen, when did it happen, where did it happen, and why did it happen? What was done too late and what too soon? What was too much and what was too little? What was too lax and what was too strict? There was good information and bad information, and sometimes it was hard to tell the difference. People had different opinions and answers about all that, sometimes resulting in fighting and division, people turning against one another, even neighbors and friends.

Then, of course, as if that weren’t enough, there was the politics of it all. What authority did the Federal Government have, and what could only the states do? And different states did different things, which makes sense actually, since the virus hit differently in differently places. Churches, too. Who closed, who didn’t. Who changed completely and who kept things somewhat normal. And how did our Synod respond? Was that helpful or not? And our own congregation - what did we do well and what could we have done better? I’m sure that pretty much across the board, some things were done well and some things could have been improved. The reflection has begun and will continue.

But that’s not really what I want you to think about today. Instead, I want you to look at yourself. How did YOU do? When the news of this virus broke, when it became a pandemic, when things started locking down, when death counts started climbing, how did YOU respond? Was it in fear or in faith? Did you fear, love, and trust in God above all things, or did it seem that this virus eclipsed your faith at times? Perhaps when your history is written, there will be some of both. Things that were good, and things that could have been better.

But it’s good to look back at this past year and reflect. That we can learn from it and grow. Luther once wrote that all the trials and struggles we go through in this life, all our anfechtungen, is to prepare us for the biggest trial any of us will ever face - when we face death. Some people faced that final exam in this pandemic. For others of us, it was just a tiny quiz. But how did you do? And no grading on a curve! Don’t compare yourself with others, but take a good, honest look at your answers . . .

Israel faced such an exam in the wilderness. They had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years - thank goodness our pandemic didn’t last that long, right? But 40 years because they failed their exam the first time they got to the Promised Land. They did not fear, love, and trust in God above all things - they were more afraid of the people who were living in the land, how big and strong they were! Never mind that God had rescued them from powerful Egypt - the ten plagues, dividing the Red Sea, destroying Pharoah and his army, and all that. These people were different! They were big and strong! 

<sigh> 

So God gave His people some more time to learn. 40 years in the wilderness, where He kept them and provided for them. Although they grumbled a lot, they always had food and water, and their clothes never wore out. 

Now those 40 years had gone by and they were on their way back to the Promised Land. And - no surprise! - they’re grumbling again! So what does God do? He sends a small trial to prepare them for the big test they will face, although I’m sure it didn’t seem small at the time. Fiery serpents came among them, so that they would turn to the Lord and look to Him for what they needed. They did, and the Lord provided a vaccine for them - not a shot, but a bronze serpent on a pole. Look to that in faith, believing God’s word and promise He put there, that He attached to that, and you will live. And it was so. And it’s what He wanted them to do when they entered the Promised Land this time. When faced with the enemy, no matter how big and strong; and when filled with doubts and fears, no matter how big and strong, don’t rebel! Turn to Him, look to and believe His words and promises, and they would live. And it was so.

And according to John, the same is true for us. When we are facing our own fiery serpents or deadly viruses. When we are filled with doubts and fears. We have something to look to and believe. Something to remind us of the words and promises of God, and not only that - but to show us all those words and promises fulfilled for us! Not a bronze serpent on a pole, but His Son on the cross. And not just for Israel, but for the world. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John goes on to say that Jesus did not come to condemn us and our weaknesses, doubts, and fears, but to save us. To give us the assurance we need. To give us the confidence that we need. That no matter how big and bad our foes, our trials and troubles, pandemics or persecutions, we have what saves us from all of it. The Son of God who in His death defeated death and rose to life to give us life. A gift that, like Israel, we do not deserve, but which He gives us in love. Not because we are so loveable, but because He is so loving.

Or as the apostle Paul put it, when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, when we were following the ways of the world, when we were disobedient, when we were carrying out the desires of our minds and flesh, when all there should have been for us is wrath from God - that’s when the rich mercy and great love of God shone forth most brilliantly, and He sent His Son for us. What else could that be called but a gift of the greatest measure. Before we cleaned ourselves up, before we turned back, before we did better, before we did anything because we weren’t able to do anything! - God acted. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing (no kidding!); it is the gift of God.

A gift sent once, some 2,000 years ago, but a gift still here for you. A gift for you to turn to at all times, and time and time again. In big trials and little trials. When you doubt God’s care, to remember your Baptism and that that’s where God gave you the gift of sonship and made you His own. He will provide. And when your doubts and unbelief seem too much, to hear again His Gospel and His Absolution, where God takes all your sin away and directs your eyes and faith to the cross again - that nothing you do or can do will be bigger than that. And when your weakness and fear seems overwhelming, His Supper is here to feed you, our own manna in our wildernesses, to strengthen us with His forgiveness and life, and give us the health of soul we need. Such rich mercy and great love here for us! Immeasurable riches of His grace.

Which means that in a world that considers the church in all sorts of different ways, the church really is the most essential business of all! If she is true to herself. For only the church has and can provide what we really need, the life that we need, through these gifts that Jesus has for us here. Maybe a good thing that will come out of this year of closures is for churches to reflect and take stock of that and refocus once again. That it is not for coffee shops, entertainment, or activities that they exist - but to give the gifts of God, the forgiveness, life, and salvation we - and the world - so desperately need. 

And having received those gifts ourselves, to walk in them, as Paul says. To do those good works God has prepared for us to do. Which means to give to others the rich mercy and great love we have received. What that will look like for you, what that will be for you, depends on your callings in life. But one thing I think for all of us during this past year of pandemic was to show people how to live without fear. That as big and bad as this virus was and is or seemed to be, we have the One who is greater. The one who can rescue us from this virus, or, if He decides, to take us from this life to His life because of this virus. Either way, we’re in the hands of Him who is rich in mercy and great of love. 

Now that doesn’t mean throwing all caution to the wind, not taking precautions, or not following our government’s requirements and recommendations. As I said so many times at the beginning of all this: be safe, be smart, be careful, but do not fear. It means knowing that whatever comes, we’re good, we’re safe, in our Saviour’s hands. It means that not what we think or do, or what the government tells us, is the ultimate truth and the be all, end all - but Christ and His Word. It means having a confidence that what God says and promises He will do. And so we can live in that confidence, that faith. This pandemic exposed a lack of that faith in many people, mabe even in us at times. If you see that in your reflection, repent, and rejoice that your Saviour does not hold it against you. Not one little bit. He instead bids you come and receive His forgiveness and strength and care and food and leave now better prepared for the battles still to come. And come they will. So that when the biggest one of all comes, when you are faced with the time of your death, you will be ready, looking to the cross in faith and full confidence that He who did that for you, He who promises life, will provide.

So what a wonderful opportunity we have as we are coming out of this pandemic now, to reflect and to once again, fix our eyes on Jesus (Gradual). For as we sang in the Introit earlier, 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me, - though a deadly virus arise! - 

yet I will be confident. . . .

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

He has, and He will. For His mercy is rich and His love is great. Not just for the world, but for you. Look to Him, hear Him, receive Him. And you shall live.

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