Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent

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Jesu Juva

“Our Entering Saviour”

Text: Luke 19:28-40; Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

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

Imagine going to a National Park - like Arches or Yellowstone - but not going in to see the arch formations or Old Faithful.

Imagine going to a museum, but not going in to see the exhibits.

Imagine receiving a gift of delicious food, but not opening it, not eating it. Letting it go to waste.

Why would you do any of those things, right? 

But that’s what happens at Christmas for many people.

The story of Advent and Christmas is the entrance, the door, into the story of Jesus. It is not the end, the destination, but the beginning, the entrance. But sadly, for many people - too many - they stop at the entrance of Jesus’ story. They don’t go in.

But it’s when you go in - there is the reward. Then you see the wonders. Then you taste the wonderful flavors.

So we start each church year on this First Sunday of Advent by going in - by going into Jerusalem with Jesus, where in just a few days, Jesus will reach the end of why He came - the cross. And with this, we remember why we are entering the story once again. This is why we came, where we are going, and what we will see. And that sight is glorious. More glorious than amazing stone arches, a faithful geyser, a delicious banquet, or anything else in this world. The death of the Son of God for sinners like us, that sinners like us may be children of God.

So we heard today of Jesus entering Jerusalem. But He needs a donkey. To ride in as a humble king. 

Now as God, Jesus could have ordered that donkey to come and serve Him. Just as He caused the pairs of animals to go into Noah’s ark. For all of creation obeys His voice . . . all, except one, that is: man. Rebellious man. The creature God made in His own image! The creature Jesus is entering Jerusalem to save, to restore that image - His image! - that we sold . . . and for what? What did we think more important than that? A piece of fruit. A bowl of stew. Some pleasure that won’t last. What is it for you? More important than God’s Word? What do you sell your inheritance for? Put before God in your life? And why? Why? Is it really worth it?

But Jesus puts nothing before saving you. He gives up everything for you. He wouldn’t come into this world and then not enter into His suffering and death. That would be unthinkable.

So Jesus didn’t come into creation and start bossing it around, though He could have. And on those occasions when He did, it wasn’t for Himself - it was to save people. The lepers, the demon possessed, the sick, the dead. And to use these things as pointers, as foreshadowings, of what He would do finally and fully for us through the cross. For He came to serve, not be served (Matthew 20:28).

He came not just to be God in the world - He already was that! He came to be the Saviour of the world. And so He came as one of us and to live as one of us. Only with this difference: to live perfectly. So that man wouldn’t be the only part of creation that did not heed the voice of God. So He did. For us all.

And so before He entered Jerusalem that day and needed that donkey . . . before that, He needed a mother, He needed a manger, He needed feeding and changing, He needed to learn and grow. Until the time came when He needed to die. To die as one of us. To die for all of us. Because we had need of that. We needed Jesus to be our beast of burden, to carry our rebellion to the cross and bear our sin there under the wrath of God and bear the punishment due. So He did. For just as Jesus told two of His disciples to go and get that donkey, His Father had told Him to go and get us. So He did.

And when He rode into Jerusalem that day, He received the praises of those He came to save. Though not all of them. A great crowd began to rejoice and say: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! This, too, a foreshadowing of the great multitude that no one can number (Revelation 7:9), who will rejoice on the Last Day when Jesus comes again, visibly, into our world, to raise the dead and take us home. 

But in Jerusalem that day, as it is today, as it will be on the Last Day, some would have nothing of it. They would not - and so will not - enter into Jesus’ story. Teacher, rebuke your disciples, is what they cry out. And many are rebuking His disciples, the church, today. Rebuking our teaching, rebuking the truth, rebuking us. They want Jesus no more today than they did then. And so Jesus they crucified, and they would the church, too.

But Jesus didn’t go all God on them, calling down twelve legions of angels to defend Him, calling down fire from heaven on those pounding the nails or mocking Him, or crumpling up the cross between two of His fingers! All of which He could have done. Instead, He hung there and quietly spoke. To those who would listen. Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34). Never were more powerful words so quietly spoken. Those words that break the devil’s back and make us right again. Right with God. Words of victory from a dying man.

So Jesus enters Jerusalem that day to speak those words of victory. Which is why He rides a donkey. Not  only because it is humble compared to a war horse - but because it is a sign of the victory Jesus has come to win. For when you ride a donkey instead of a war horse, it is because the battle is over, the victory won. Now, Jesus would still need to go to the cross and complete His victory in His death and resurrection, but it is as good as done, already. For when God makes a promise, it is a sure thing. It will be fulfilled. 

And so are the words we heard from Jeremiah today fulfilled by Jesus. He is the righteous branch that sprang up for David in His birth, and He is the Lord our righteousness - to make us right - on the cross, and here today. For those words of victory Jesus spoke from the cross He is still speaking today, for you: Father, forgive them. And you are. 

Because Jesus has entered your story as well. For as I said before, just as Jesus told two of His disciples to go and get that donkey, His Father had told Him to go and get you. So He did. He baptized you and made you His. He gave you His Spirit. He feeds you with His Body and Blood. His righteousness and victory He gives to you. That donkey was humble, but so are the water and words and bread and wine He rides in today. Those words spoken from the cross were quiet, yet powerful, but so are the words proclaimed here - words of love, mercy, and forgiveness in a world of noise, disagreement, and strife. We don’t have to shout or be spectacular! Just speak the Word of God in truth and love. He does the rest. Jesus does the rest. Entering lives broken by sin, lives shattered by lies, lives beaten up and beaten down by the world and its power, lives despairing and weak - entering our lives with His forgiveness, healing, and hope. 

So that when He comes again in glory, we will not be rebuked, but welcomed home with outstretched arms. 

And in anticipation of that day, and recognizing the reality of Jesus’ coming today and entering into our story, we sing the same words those who welcomed Him into Jerusalem that day did: Blessed is [He] who comes in the name of the Lord! we will sing right before that same Body and Blood that rode into Jerusalem that day is given to us here. We take our place in the crowd welcoming Him. And pray as Paul did - not only for holy and blameless hearts through the forgiveness given us here, but also that the Lord would make us increase and abound in love for one another and for all. That each Advent would not only be the start of a new church year, but the start of a new life for us. Living in the image we were created to be.

So today, we enter Jesus’ story again, as He entered ours. This year, we will hear of wonders. This year, we will taste and see that the Lord is good. And it will be a year of blessing. For where the Word of God is, there is Jesus. And where Jesus is, there is blessing, and life.

The Saviour of the nations who came. The Saviour of the nations who comes. And the Saviour of the nations who is coming again (LSB #332). So Come, Lord Jesus! O come, come, Immanuel (LSB #357). God with us. Come to the world. Come to us. Come for me.

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

Sermon on Eve of National Thanksgiving

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Jesu Juva

“Natural Causes or Acts of God?”

Text: Luke 17:11-19; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Deuteronomy 8:1-10

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

“Natural causes.” You’ve heard that phrase. It’s fairly common in our world today. Things happen by natural causes. People die by natural causes. Things happen because of natural causes - that is, the laws of nature at work. I think this is the vocabulary of the evolutionary thinking that has permeated our world today. Things just happen. The universe, the world, and what happens in it. It’s all by natural causes.

But the Scriptures don’t have that point of view, and would not have us think that way. In the Scriptures, nature is never on its own, doing it own thing, starting things by itself and ending things by itself. Instead of natural causes, the Scriptures know of “acts of God.” Which is how we used to think more. And which insurance companies still do! When a disaster hits, your policy will say that you are not insured against - not natural causes, but acts of God. 

Things don’t just happen or happen by chance when there is a God in heaven. It isn’t fate when there is a God who is directing all things to work for our good. And not just to give us good things in this life (he may or may not), but to give life! An eternal life. That’s the good He really wants us to have. And so the good He is working for us. Which includes nature and life and death. The winds and waves obey His voice (Matthew 8:27). Our times are in His hands (Psalm 31:15). He knows the number of our days (Psalm 139:16) and the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30). The angels carry out His commands. He is the one who keeps the planets in their orbits and who determines the number of the stars, their names, and sets them in place (Psalm 8:4; 147:4).

So Thanksgiving calls us back. To see and consider once again the hand of God at work in our lives, and therefore to give Him thanks for what he has done. To repent of our “natural causes” thinking and to acknowledge Him as the giver and worker of all good. And to see and acknowledge not just the hand of a God, an almighty being, who is someplace far, far away, doing things and pulling strings, a God we don’t really know and who doesn’t really know us and our needs . . . but the hand of a loving God, a caring God, a giving God, a merciful God, a promising God, a forgiving God. A God who knows us. A God who created us. A God who came to live with us. A God who became one of us. And so the hand of Jesus. The hands that in all those ways were nailed to the cross for you. The act of God above all acts of God, to work for you the greatest good: the forgiveness of your sins and the promise of eternal life.

Thanksgiving calls us back and to give thanks to such a God. 

And in that way be like the one leper. The Samaritan leper. In the story, all ten lepers were healed, cleansed of their leprosy. And I’m sure all ten lepers were thankful. Of course they were; who wouldn’t be? What made the one leper, the Samaritan leper, different wasn’t that he was the only one that was thankful, but that he is the only one who RETURNED TO JESUS and gave thanks to God there, in the flesh and blood of Jesus. To acknowledge that in Jesus is the promise-making God who had come to fulfill His promise and save. That’s who Jesus is. And so the Samaritan’s faith not only made him well, as our English translation put it at the end of the story today; all ten were made well. Rather, and as it would be better translated: his faith saved him. That was the gift he received that the others did not.

And it is the gift we receive as well. Lots of people today are thankful. Lots of people celebrate Thanksgiving. Lots of people thank a generic God, a far away God. A God they perhaps don’t really know. And it’s good to thank God. He is the one who blesses all people, the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). Maybe they are like the nine lepers in our story today.

But there is more that God wants to give; that He wants to give us in Jesus. For in Jesus, He has come to give us Himself. He has come with hands to bless us, to baptize, to heal, to feed, to forgive, to raise, and much more. He has come so that we know Him. Know Him as our Father and Brother, and that we are, by grace, His children. And that, not by any natural causes, but His doing. His hands creating us, redeeming us, and on the Last Day, raising us and taking us to His home and ours.

So we return to give thanks, to our God where He is in His flesh and blood for us today: here. We hear His Absolution. We open our mouths to eat and drink his Body and Blood. And we are saved, by grace, through the faith which receives these gifts of God. And in that faith we pray. We make, as Paul said, our supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for all people. And in that faith, as we heard from Deuteronomy, we bless the Lord for all the good He has given us. Which means to proclaim His name, to acknowledge Him as the giver of every gift, and make Him known. That every person may know Him. Not as a God far away, but a God here. A giving God, a gracious God, a forgiving God. That in days to come, not just one or one-tenth return to give thanks to God in the flesh, but that all might. For that is what God wants, for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

So maybe as we return to give thanks this year, we return also to the way the Scriptures speak. To speak no more of natural causes, but of the hand of God at work. Working good. Working salvation. Speaking of Jesus, and rejoicing with the Samaritan leper, in Him.

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

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

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Jesu Juva

“Comfort for the Last Day”

Text: Daniel 7; John 18:33-37; Revelation 1:4b-8

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

We heard from Daniel today: As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days took his seat . . . The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

The spectre of a Judgment Day is a frightening one for most people. Having to stand before the Almighty and give an account. Having to answer for all that you did. Even things that didn’t seem like such a big deal to you. Things that you don’t even remember, but that were written down in your book.

When I was young (and some of you who are older may remember this, too), in school, if you did something wrong, we used to say “that was going in your permanent record.” Some file somewhere that would follow you around and effect your future. That was supposed to frighten us into good behavior. 

Today, though, it’s worse than that. Today, it’s not just school kids that have to worry about that, and about some mythical “permanent record.” Today, it’s the internet and social media and archives of things from the past. Everyone from politicians to celebrities to folks that just aren’t liked have all kinds of things from their past dredged up to confront them and judge them. Something that may have been acceptable then but is not now. Something then written or said in jest but now considered hate speech. People are accused and atonement for their “sin” is demanded.

That’s what we see happening in our world today, and people’s lives and careers are being ruined. So the thought of a Judgment Day, when everything is out there; everything from your past . . . And not just what you did or wrote, but with God, even your thoughts and desires! Yeah, that’s frightening.

But these verses from Daniel we heard today weren’t meant to frighten us, but to comfort us! So what I want to do is read this entire chapter of Daniel to you so you can hear that. You’ll hear that Daniel was anxious and alarmed. There are beasts and destruction and trouble in this vision - alarming things! God’s people, God’s saints, warred against and overcome. But in the end, it is the Most High that prevails, and the saints are saved. And so Daniel is told, so that we will be told, not so that we will be frightened of a judgment, but rather so that as bad as thing look, as bad as things might get, we know the end, how it will all turn out. So listen . . . and listen for when the court appears a second time, and what happens then . . .

[Read Daniel chapter 7]

Did you hear it? Some folks don’t because they get all caught up in the details, trying to identify the beasts and the horns and the times and such. But focus on the big picture that Daniel was describing. That in the end, this judgment was not of the saints but for the saints! That in the end, it is the evil that is judged and cast away, and the ones who look defeated and cast out - God’s saints - are victorious in the end. It is the Most High, who (to use the words we heard from Revelation today) who is and who was and who is to come, who is ruling all things, which - whether or not we see that reality now - we will see in the end.

And we will see it in the end because what will happen in the end has, in fact, already happened. It happened when all the terrifying powers and evil in the world rose up against Jesus, and with His death on the cross, looked like they prevailed against Him. Or think of it this way: the cross is when all the judgment of the Last Day happened at one moment in time. And in Jesus, all the Church, all the saints, even God Himself, seemed overcome, dead, and buried. It seemed that sin and evil won. That was the hour, as Jesus said, of the power of darkness.

But all the power of the world did not win. It couldn’t. Pilate’s power, Caesar’s power, worldly power, has its time, but in the end, the truth will win. Power then and power now scoffs at the truth, ridicules the truth, belittles the truth, and makes truth what they want it to be. But when the court shall sit in judgment, his dominion, his power, worldly power, the power of evil, shall be taken away, and the truth will be known, be seen, and shall prevail. Because Jesus prevailed. He rose from the dead. Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

So just as in Daniel’s vision the horrors of the beasts is replaced with the joy of God’s judgment for the saints, so, too, the horror of the cross is replaced with the joy of the resurrection, and so, too, will the horror of the evil in our world be replaced with the joy of our victory of Jesus. And that is a joy and confidence we have, in fact, already now. For just as the cross is when all the judgment of the Last Day happened at one moment in time, so the Word and Sacraments are when all the victory of the Last Day is given to us here and now, in this moment in time. The victory over sin you need given here in the forgiveness of your sins. The victory over death you need given here as you are raised from being dead in your trespasses and sins and given new life.

Which is to say that Daniel’s vision was fulfilled (1.) first on the cross in Jesus’ death and resurrection, when He took our judgment upon Himself; (2.) and it is fulfilled secondly here where we are joined to Jesus in His death and resurrection and given His victory; (3.) and it is fulfilled finally and fully on the Last Day when we are raised and given the kingdom won for us by Jesus. So when the Last Day comes, we have nothing to fear. Because, in fact, you’ve been living it all along. And so it will be a day of great joy for you and me and all the saints. All who are in Christ Jesus by faith.

Which is why John begins his account in the book of Revelation - which also has a lots of beasts and frightening images - with these words that we heard today: grace to you and peace. We have peace - not anxiety, not fear of the Last Day, not dread, but peace, because we have received the grace of God - the forgiveness of our sins. Our sins for which we rightly deserve judgment and condemnation, but which have been taken away by Him, who - as John put it in the verses from Revelation today - who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. 

That’s who you are, dear children of God, for that’s who Jesus has made you. You are dearly loved, you have been set free, and you belong to the King. The King who created you, the King who stood before Pilate and hung on the cross for you, and the King who is coming again for you. Because He wants you to be with Him, as Daniel said, forever, forever and ever.

We live now with that confidence. The world may dredge up your past sins and demand you atone for them, but your sins have already been atoned for by Jesus on the cross. And evil may rise up against you as children of God, but the power of evil is no match for the love of the Most High. And death will come for you, sooner or later, in one way or another, but you’ve already conquered death, in Jesus. So it can’t have you either. The court has already sat, the judgment has already been given, the victory already won. Jesus did it all. The Last Day will simply show us and make visible for all to see what we already know and live now by faith.

So we live now with that confidence. Made new, we live new lives. Forgiven, we forgive those who sin against us. Knowing the truth, we speak the truth. And when we die, we live. Because that’s Jesus, and it’s you who live in Jesus. For you’ve been baptized into Him, absolved by Him, and fed by Him. You live in Him who lives in you.

So when that Last Day comes, Daniel wants you to know, God will judge for you. When that Last Day comes, it will not be for you a day of anxiety, fear, or dread, but a day of fulfillment. The fulfillment of the joy and peace you’ve been living all along, of the kingdom you’ve been living in all along, and the love you been living in all along. Hidden now, maybe. But visible then . . . and forever, forever and ever.

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

Sermon for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“Living Now with a View to the End”

Text: Mark 13:1-13; Hebrews 10:11-25

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

I suppose it’s like this in other neighborhoods as well, but when you’re driving to church or driving through Vienna, it is hard to miss all the large and beautiful houses that are going up everywhere. Two right next to our church here. Gone are the smaller and more modest homes of the past. Now is the time of larger and grander. Some of the homes just done our road here have 9 bedrooms and bathrooms and price tags to match.

Now, this isn’t necessarily bad. It’s not wrong to have a nice big home, nor is it better to have a small, modest home. But I do think it says something about our society today, where we’re at, and what is valued. Why were people of not that many years ago satisfied with smaller homes and sharing bathrooms and children sharing bedrooms, while today everyone must have their own bedroom, their own bathroom, and even husbands and wives each have their own sinks in a shared bathroom? Do we find our value as people no longer in who we are and what we believe, but rather what we have? Not in the content of our character or our faith, but in the size of our homes and cars and bank accounts?

So if Jesus were here today, I think it not the Temple that His believers would point out to Him, but their homes. “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” What wonderful mansions and beautiful, spacious houses! And Jesus would say to us, “Do you see these great buildings? These great homes? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Think that might get some people’s attention today? Get you labeled a “domestic terrorist?” Good! Your attention is what Jesus wants. That you put not your trust in anything or anyone or any achievement in this world, but in Him alone. Because all this stuff is going away. All this stuff is coming to an end. So if this is where you find your value and life, your meaning and purpose; if this is what you are pursuing and going after . . . then you and your life are, too . . . coming to an end.

But Jesus doesn’t want that. He came that you may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). Which means: life now, and life forever.

So when one of His disciples points to the Temple and makes this comment (true as it might have been!) . . . and the other disciples hear it and ask about it . . . well, it’s time to do some teaching. About how we live now with a view to the end.

Now, most people don’t like to think about the end - either the end of their lives or the end of the world. We don’t like to think about death. Which makes sense. We weren’t ever meant to die. We were created to live. But we chose death. We choose death. For that is really what sin is: choosing death over life. Choosing our way over God’s way. And so like it or not, death is a reality. The funeral homes and cemeteries that dot our community are there for a reason.

But still, it’s a long way off, isn’t it? We have plenty of time, don’t we? Maybe. That’s how we tend to think, even when we’re older and know better. But one day that won’t be true. One day death will come upon us - perhaps suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, when that driver runs the red light and smashes into you. Or the end will come when Jesus comes again. That day will be sudden and unexpected. But a long way off? Plenty of time? Maybe not.

And then that big, beautiful house will either have a “For Sale” sign in front of it, or look like a homeless person’s cardboard box compared with the home Jesus has prepared for you. And all that money in your bank account will either be spent by someone else, or be like Monopoly money in the kingdom of God. And what we thought so important, so worth our time and energy, so important to our value and self-esteem . . . not so much. We majored in minors and missed what really matters . . .

Even something as important as the Temple was only for a limited time and purpose. And, you may remember, God never really cared about having a big, beautiful, magnificent Temple! He was perfectly happy with a tent. The Temple was David’s idea, and then first built by Solomon. God let him do it. His heart was in the right place. But what happened was that people then put their heart in the wrong place - in the Temple itself. And thought that because they had the Temple, they were safe and secure. They put their trust in the building instead of the one who dwelled there. 

So God destroyed it. Brought the Babylonians in to tear it to the ground. So they would put their trust in HIM, not in a building! 

But then, a few centuries later, it happened again. King Herod rebuilt the Temple and made it even more grand and beautiful and bigger than ever before. And, “Look Jesus! What a great and magnificent Temple!”

But God was perfectly happy with a tent. He just wanted to dwell with His people. To holy us. To forgive our sins. To give us life. And now He had come in a tent of flesh and blood to do just that! But eyes and hearts and minds captured by the things of this world and life were missing it. Were missing Him. Many today, too. Maybe even us at times. Focusing on, trusting in, what we have, who is elected, what we can do, rather than the one who comes to us humbly and to direct our eyes and hopes and faith to Him who gives what is going to last forever.

The disciples ask Him when? When will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? Jesus doesn’t tell them when. But He does point to signs. Signs they saw then and signs we see now. False teachers. Wars and rumors of wars. Natural disasters. Persecution and hatred. And even members of a family turning against one another. These are signs of the end for they are the manifestations of sin - sin that brings the end and death. And that attack everything in this world. Big, beautiful houses are quickly consumed by flood and fire and family disputes. Businesses and accomplishments are consumed by lawsuits and hatred. Nations and peoples conquered and destroyed in war. The sin that devoured life in the beginning is still hungry and you are on the menu.

Signs? Look around, Jesus is saying. It’s happening. And it’s not going to stop. 

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Well there’s some pressure! Are you up to that? Up to the task? Strong enough? Steadfast enough? Those disciples weren’t. They ran away. They denied. And you? The devil doesn’t even need to try that hard to get you to sin, does he? A little of this, a little of that, and you’ve fallen again. Endure to the end? We can’t even endure to the end of the day!

But there’s one who did. And it wasn’t easy. He took both barrels from the devil. Stared straight into the face of death. Was forsaken by His Father. And the pressure of bearing all the sin of all the world, of all people of all time, caused Him to sweat great drops of blood. And He endured. He won. Not to save Himself, but to save you. He’s the one, the Temple, that was destroyed, but then built again, raised to life again, never to die again. The tent in whom is forgiveness, life, and salvation. Even though He didn’t look great. But He was. And He will, when He comes again in glory. He’s the one.

So to endure to the end, for us, is to remain in the one who can do what we cannot do. To remain in Jesus. To know that while there is nothing in this world that you can count on - not even yourself! - you can count on Him. On His Word, His promises, His forgiveness, and His life. In Him you will be saved because in Him you ARE saved. Even now. For His gifts are not just for the future, but for now. 

So just as God dwelled among His people in tent and Temple in the Old Testament to forgive them and give them life, so He is today, in the tent and Temple of his flesh. That’s what we heard from Hebrews earlier: Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places (that is, the presence of God) by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh . . . therefore let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (confidently!), with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Our hearts and bodies washed with the blood of Jesus in baptism. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering (that’s Jesus! He’s our hope!), for he who promised is faithful. That is, He said He would do it, and He did. He came for you, died for you, rose for you, lives for you, and now comes for you in the tents of water and words and bread and wine. Truly magnificent dwellings of God and His forgiveness and life, even though they do not look like much.

But if we could just see them as God sees them . . . 

. . . if we could just see that water in the font raising someone dead in their trespasses and sins just as surely as Jesus grabbed the hand of the dead and brought them back to life! 

. . .  if we could just see the absolution giving life and hope to us just as surely as when Jesus spoke from the cross “Father, forgive them!” and “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise!”

. . . if we could just see that bread and wine on the altar feeding us with the food of heaven, if we could just see Jesus handing us His Body and Blood here just as surely as His hands passed out bread and fish and fed more than 5,000 people! 

. . . if we could just hear Him speaking to us in His Word, just as surely as He spoke to the apostles, to the multitudes, to Lazarus when He raised Him from the dead!

. . . if we could just see these humble tents as Temples of the Most High God coming to us and forgiving us and holying us and lifing us! 

If we could, would we ever neglect to be here? Or, as we heard from Hebrews, neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but [instead] encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

But all that is exactly what IS happening here, and eyes of faith DO see it. And in these humble tents and Temples we endure in Him as He lives in us. And so we are saved. By Him. He promised. 

He promised that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16). 

He promised that whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:54). 

He promised that if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them (John 20:23). 

He promised that the one who hears you hears me (Luke 10:16). 

He promised that this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:40). 

He promised that where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them (Matthew 18:20).

Those are words and promises you can count on in a world that is passing away, for as Jesus also said: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). Not now. Not ever. For after everything in this world is destroyed, Jesus will remain. For He did pass away, but then rose from the dead. And in Him, so will you.

So every time you come to church and drive by all the big, beautiful houses now in this neighborhood, and come to our humble, not very grand looking church, look at all these things through the eyes of faith and see as Jesus sees. That all these new, big houses will soon grow old and crumble and pass away, while this humble, simple church gives out what will not and can not pass away, to old, sinful, passing away you, who coming here is made new and given a life that will never pass away. 

How about that? That of all the new, big, beautiful things in this neighborhood, the best and most beautiful are right here. Bought not with millions, but with blood. The blood of God. Poured out on the cross, and poured out here, for you.

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

Feast of All Saints Sermon

LISTEN

Baptism of Viktoria Adelheid Powers

Jesu Juva

“Heard and Not Seen”

Text: Revelation 7:9-17; Matthew 5:1-12; 1 John 3:1-3

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

It once was said that saintly children are “seen and not heard.” You can agree with that or not. [I think Viktoria disagrees!] But today, as we commemorate All Saints Day, know that in the church the reality is exactly the opposite. In the church, saintly children of God are “heard and not seen.”

For what does a saint look like?

There is no one right answer to that question, of course. As we heard today from Revelation, they are from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. They are of every color and from every nation. They are young and old, rich and poor, male and female, the successful and powerful and the outcast and weak. 

In heaven, we know what they look like. They are clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. But on earth, they are hidden. The saints don’t look like saints. A person who, to the world, looks cursed, a person the world looks down upon, may in fact be a saint in God’s eyes. While a person who looks blessed, who is held up as an example for all, and who looks like a paragon of worldly virtue, may in fact be no saint at all. Looks are deceiving. Think of the story Jesus told of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16), or those in our day who had great falls from worldly esteem - even church leaders thought saintly, until it was found out they were not.

The truth is, saints suffer. They are persecuted. They endure tribulation. They weep. They struggle. They are poor in spirit. They mourn. They hunger and thirst for righteousness - because they aren’t, righteous. They are reviled and hated. They are lied about and spoken of as evil. And they are because all these things are true of Jesus, who said: If they hated Me, they will hate you, and if they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well (John 15:18-20). 

Think of Abraham, who after being called by God never received a home of his own. Or Jacob, who deceived and was deceived. All the prophets who were rejected, hated, and killed. The apostles and early Christians who were martyred. And Christians today who are being called phobes, haters, and bigots, who are losing their jobs and businesses, and still being martyred. And it’s not going to stop, because sin isn’t going to stop and satan isn’t going to stop. It’s going to get worse, in fact. And saints will look less and less like saints and more and more cursed, and the evil will look more and more blessed and accepted and successful. For that’s how things go in an upside-down, sinful, and sin-filled world.

Leading many to wonder: Why doesn’t God stop it? Why doesn’t He turn this world around? Because, as Jesus said: My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). His kingdom is greater than this world. John gives us a glimpse of that in Revelation. But only a glimpse. But a glimpse is enough. 

But it's not what was seen in Revelation that caught John’s attention, or that captures us - but rather what was heard. We heard that there, those who hunger here shall hunger no more. Those who thirst here shall thirst no more. Those who are stricken with the heat of persecution here will be sheltered. And those who here weep will be comforted, for God Himself will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 

And then we heard from Jesus’ own mouth: Blessed are you poor in spirit, you mourners, you meek. Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness in an unrighteous world, you merciful, you pure in heart in an impure world, you peacemakers in a world of sin and strife. Blessed are you when you are persecuted, reviled, and spoken against. Blessed are you. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. Whether you are ever rewarded here on earth or not, esteemed on earth or not, valued on earth or not. Great is your reward in heaven. Great are the promises stored up for you in Christ Jesus.

That’s what saints hear and believe. That’s what the world hears and scoffs at. The world that speaks a different word, believes a different truth, and seeks a different reward - one now, not later. A kingdom of this world.

But this world is passing away. The world knows it, and so is trying to save it, with all their strength and with all their wisdom. This is all they have, all there is for them. But saints know that when this world passes away, there is more. Much more. More life. Better life. The life that our Lord has told us about, and promised. Life that He won for us by His death and resurrection. Life that awaits us after our own death and resurrection, when we die and rise with Him.

So in a world that is dying, and with saints who are dying and hidden under the sin and death of this world, saints are known not by how they look, but by what they speak. That is, what they confess. This confession of where their sainthood is. That it is not of us or from us, but from Jesus. It is a gift not earned, but freely given. Not of works, but of grace. Saint are “heard and not seen.”

So saints who are poor in spirit not proud in spirit, confess their sin and receive the kingdom of God in the forgiveness of their sins. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation (Small Catechism).

Saints who mourn death confess the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and are comforted by the hope of a life that death cannot end.

Saints who are meek confess that we have no right to be children of God, nothing in us that would or should make God desire us, and yet, as John told us today: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. Baptized children of God, inheritors of all that is His.

Saints who hunger and thirst for righteousness open their mouths here and confess that this food is no mere earthly food, but the Body and Blood of the crucified and risen Jesus, that makes us righteous. And we are filled, satisfied.

Saints cry out Lord, have mercy! And are merciful. That is, filled with mercy.

Saints speak of forgiveness that washes away sin and makes pure of heart. For the forgiveness displayed on the cross and spoken from the cross and won for us on the cross is where we see God.

Saints confess the peacemaker, the one who made peace between God and man on the cross, the Son of God. And in Him are called sons of God.

This, the Beatitudes we heard today, are what saints sound like, for through the Word saints are made, through the Word saints are forgiven, and through the Word saints are saved. The Word made flesh who gave himself to us and still does. Who lives in us even as we live in Him. And so we are blessed. Not, perhaps, with earthly blessings which can be seen, but with heavenly ones that are not now, but will be. For again, as John said: Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 

Then we will see and be seen. But now we are “heard and not seen.” 

But here or there, now or later, we are blessed. Because what we have in common with those saints who have gone before us is that our life is in Christ Jesus. And when your life is in Christ Jesus, you are blessed, for your life is safe from the trials and tribulations, the revilings and persecutions, of this world. For you have a life they cannot end or take away. So let them do their worst! They cannot have you. You are baptized, you are absolved, you are fed - you belong to Jesus.

And then, too, as you live in Christ Jesus He lives in you. What He speaks, you speak. What He does, you do. Because that is who you are. A child of God, a son or daughter of God, in Him. And when you fail - whether it is because of persecution or tribulation, or because of your own weakness - when you fail in your speaking, in your living, to be the child of God you are, He does not fail you. He remains faithful with His forgiveness and life for you. He keeps giving and restoring and lifting you up. So you are blessed. For He who would not come down from the cross but stayed there for you, will not leave you now.

So saints are heard, not seen. First and foremost by the voice of God who calls us saints, who calls us His children. [Like His voice who named Viktoria His child today and made her His in these waters.] Secondly by our voice of confession - confessing who we are as poor, miserable sinners, and confessing who He is, the Saviour of poor, miserable sinners like us. And then thirdly, by the Word of God we speak as we forgive those who sin against us, as we speak mercy and comfort, as we speak of the cross that saves us. 

And so we are triply blessed. By the one whose blessing knows no end. Blessed with those in Jesus who have gone before us, blessed with those in Jesus who are with us here, and blessed with those in Jesus still to come. Truly, a great multitude that no one could number. No one, that is, but Jesus. The great Shepherd who knows each and every sheep by name, and calls us each by name. And who will one day call you home, to His home and yours, to join that great throng around His throne. There, where you - and all the saints - will be both seen and heard. 

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