Sermon for the Feast of Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“Dehydrated?”

Text: John 7:37-39; Acts 2:1-21

 

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

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

They say that by the time you feel thirsty, your body is already short on water. So thirst is good. It is a warning sign that you need something. But you need to keep on drinking. Those who know about such things say that for good health you should drink six to eight glasses of water each day. Because dehydration really messes with your body. I learned this with my father, when we were taking care of him. Some health problem would arise - and lots of different ones - and we would take him to get looked at, and re-hydrating him often took care of whatever the problem was. The problem was the symptom that he needed water. 

But you can’t drink just any water. Some water is not good for you. Sometimes I’ll watch one of those survivalist shows and the people come across the water they need and it looks really good and they really want to drink it, but they know they can’t - they need to boil it and purify it first. If they don’t it can make them sick or kill them. There are things in there you can’t see or taste but can do a number on you. And drinking salt water just makes you more thirsty and the salt in the water actually dehydrates you! So the more salt water you drink the thirstier you become! 

So just drinking isn’t the answer. Drinking these kinds of waters might seem to work, they seem to quench your thirst and help you. But then you find out later that no, they hurt you, were ultimately unsatisfying, and perhaps even lead to your death. You need to drink water, but you need to drink good water.

And remember Covid? (Remember that? :-) One of the really frustrating things (for me, at least) was that for so long many water fountains were closed and shut off. So I often couldn’t get the water I needed and wanted.

Jesus talks about being thirsty today. He’s in the Temple during the Feast of Booths, one of the three big festivals in the Jewish year. They remembered when their ancestors lived in booths while in the wilderness for 40 years, and that all that time, God provided for them. Manna to eat, water to drink, clothes and shoes that didn’t wear out. Part of the ceremonies of that week involved water, for on more than one occasion, God had provided water from a rock for them to drink when they were thirsty and in need. That’s the context of Jesus’ statement here, that if you’re thirsty, come to Him and drink. Which is what Paul tells us in First Corinthians, that’s actually what happened when the people of Israel were given water from a rock to drink in the wilderness, that rock wasn’t just a rock - that rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4)! Only He can give us that water we need to live. Living water. Water of life. 

Now, John tells us that Jesus didn’t mean literal water here - He was talking about the Holy Spirit. That what we’re thirsting for not just in our bodies but in our lives, only He can provide. And just as He did in the wilderness, He has come to provide us exactly that. Exactly what we need.

The problem is, how often do we keep trying to drink the wrong water? Water that does not really satisfy? Water that may look good and seem good and seem to satisfy us, only to find out later that it didn’t, and couldn’t. And that, in fact, this water we gulped down actually hurt us. We actually have an expression that talks about this: Don’t drink the Kool-aid. You’ve probably heard that. Water with a bit of flavoring in it to make it taste better. Don’t drink the Kool-aid. Don’t drink what they’re giving you. It’s not going to help.

So what are all the Kool-aids out there today? Things that people look to, or drink, to satisfy what they’re thirsty for? What they’re longing for? You even. People longing for significance, or maybe meaning and value for their life, or maybe fame or happiness or love, maybe success or admiration. And to satisfy these “thirsts,” people turn to work, drugs, sexuality, sports, different philosophies, all kinds of things. And maybe like bad water, they seem to work at first. Give them what they want. Satisfy their longing, their thirst. 

But then . . . People retire or can’t work anymore and then they’re lost. Sports stars retire or suffer a career-ending injury and then there’s a hole in their life. Drugs and sexuality are like drinking salt water - they don’t satisfy, they just leave you more and more thirsty. It doesn’t work. None of it works. And so folks are dehydrated. Spiritually dehydrated. Not content. Searching. Longing. Thirsty for something. See all the problems in our world today? Are the problems the problems? Or like with my father, are they the symptoms of the real problem - of the spiritual dehydration causing them all?

And remember, by the time you feel thirsty, you are already short on water. You have to keep drinking. Thirst is good. It is the warning sign that you need something. And Jesus is saying today: what you need, I have. For out of the heart of Jesus flows streams of living water. Not just water, but living water. Water of life. Water that gives life.

Now Jesus had used this figure of speech before. It was John that recorded that too - when Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well in Samaria (John 4). She was trying to quench her thirst for love, for acceptance. She had had five husbands and the man she was now with was not her husband. But nothing worked. Nothing gave her security. She was still a social outcast. Until Jesus came by. He spoke of this living water that actually quenches the thirst we have in our souls. Sir, give me this water, she said (v. 15). And Jesus did. He did not reject her or look down on her. He was the Messiah for her. There was forgiveness and life for her from Him. And once she drinks this water, she is a new woman. She goes back into the town that shunned her and tells them of Jesus, so they, too, can come to Him and drink. And they do.

Now Jesus says this same thing - not at a well in some little back-water town in Samaria - but in the Temple itself, during one of the three major festivals in Jerusalem, and on the great and final day of that festival! He says, whoever you are, wherever you’re from, whatever you’ve done, wherever your searching, whatever Kool-aid you’re drinking, come to me and drink. I have the water you are thirsting for. Living water. And not just a little - in abundance. Water of life. Water that gives life. For all people. 

And then John tells us, as I mentioned before: Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. But once Jesus was glorified, once He was crucified, resurrected, and ascended, there wouldn’t be a drink here, a drink there - that river would flow forth to give drink to all people. An abundance which would never run out.

And a mere ten days after He ascended, that happened. The dam broke. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. The mighty rushing wind and the tongues as of fire weren’t the main thing that day - they were the signs that something greater was happening that day. At first, the people in Jerusalem that day, for that great festival of the Jews, thought that the disciples had drunk not living water, but too much wine! But it wasn’t wine that had changed them. It wasn’t wine that was their “liquid courage” to do what they were doing. They were new like that Samaritan woman was new. They had living water. Water of life. Water that gives life. And it changed them. And they stood up in front of that great crowd, just as Jesus had done before, and said: This is for you, too. God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. To quench your thirst. To give you what you need. 

For what we need is life. All those other things people are thirsting for that I mentioned before - significance, meaning, value, fame, happiness, love, success, admiration, and more - those aren’t really the things; those are the symptoms of dehydration. What we need, all of us, is life. A life that matters now; a life that will go on. And that’s what Jesus has for us. You matter. You matter to Him so much that He died for you. And even if everyone else in the world says you don’t matter, you do to Him. And even if everyone else in the world forgets about you, He won’t. The holes in His hands and feet and the gash in His side are for you. Eternal reminders of how much He loves you and how much you matter to Him. 

And, we’re told, on that Day of Pentecost, when that living water was poured out, three thousand people were baptized that day. Three thousand people drank that living water and were washed in the water of God. Like the Samaritan woman, like the disciples, they were changed. They were given what they so desperately needed, but perhaps didn’t know they needed. 

And that’s the water here for you today. Living water. Water of life. Water that gives life. That river of living water is still flowing. Water we need to keep drinking so we don’t dehydrate. The Spirit coming to us in the Word, in forgiveness, in the food of God, to give us life. To keep us alive. When you stop drinking, what symptoms pop-up in your life? What dissatisfaction, what thirst, what searching? And what do you drink to try to satisfy that? And while whatever it is may work for a while, what happens when it doesn’t any longer? 

But still today Jesus has this living water for you and me. Still today He is calling out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. And still today, He is that rock in the wilderness of this world and life that gives us the drink we need - He pours out His Holy Spirit upon us, and that Spirit points us to Jesus, takes us to Jesus, and connects us to Jesus, to drink and live. Really live. And not just for a while, but forever.

Now, some might say - and do say - this is Kool-aid! The Bible, the Church, Jesus, Christianity, it’s all just another brand of Kool-aid we’re trying to sell you and get you to drink. There were people in Jesus’ day who thought that, and there are still today. But then something happened that had never happened before: the tomb was empty. Jesus was risen and alive. The life He spoke He did. The life He spoke was real. And this life He would now pour out to us. This life that has changed so many. This life that has changed you. This life that you now live that is different - not because of new wine, but because of living water.

And this living water that flows from Jesus and to you, now also flows through you to others. As you live, as you speak, as you love and help. And when some say you’re just drinking the Kool-aid, show them you’re not! And tell them where this living water is, that they, too, can drink. All who are thirsty, all who are dehydrated, all who are drinking water that cannot quench their thirst and may even be killing them. Jesus’ invitation still stands: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Living water. Water of life. Water that gives life. The life we need. The life we crave. Come, drink, and live!

Or as we sang earlier: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love (from the Introit of the Day). Kindle in them life. Kindle in them Jesus. That we thirst no more.

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

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

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Jesu Juva

“What I Know I Should, He Did!”

Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11; Acts 1:12-26

 

Alleluia! Christ is ascended! [He is ascended indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!

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

Tell me if this sounds familiar . . . there’s what I should be doing, and there’s what I am doing. I should be doing chores around the house, but instead I’m watching the game, or binge-watching that show everyone’s talking about. I should be doing schoolwork, but instead I’m playing video games. I should be exercising, but instead I’m grabbing that extra snack or nap. You too? It’s easy, until you run out of clean dishes or clothes, until your undone schoolwork is due, and until the doctor gives you the bad news . . . 

Well, Peter mentions a few things like that for us today. Things we should do, but maybe don’t do. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, he says . . . but how often am I proud instead, think that I’m better than others, and that God should take notice of me, that I deserve good stuff from Him. Be sober-minded, watchful of the devil, and resisting him . . . but how often am I lazy-minded, distracted, and instead of resisting his temptations so easily fall back into those sins which trip me up time and time again. Cast all your anxieties on him . . . but how many hours and days do I spend worrying and fearing instead.

And how about some more . . . I know I should read the Bible more. I know I should pray more. I know I should help more. I know I shouldn’t take my spiritual life for granted. But . . . You too?

It would be better to do what we know we should. We all know that. And yet . . .

So as we come to the end of this Easter season, we hear once again where to put our hope - and it’s not in us! And it’s not in your pastor, or in your parents, or in the government, or in the courts or anyplace in this world . . . There’s only one place. Only one for whom what He should be doing and what He did do lined up. Only one for whom we heard these words today: I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. Of no one else is that true but Jesus. And He did it for you. To give you hope. To give you life. 

That’s what we heard from John today, as he recorded the words that Jesus prayed in the Garden right before His arrest. Everything He did was for two reasons: to glorify the Father, and to save you and give you life. Which, you may have noticed, is fulfilling the First Table of the Law (loving God) and the Second Table of the Law (loving your neighbor). Jesus knew what He should do and had to do, and did it. So that in the end, there would be no bad news for us; no if only you had done this for us; no failing grades for us. That what we need, we would have. Because of Jesus’ work.

Or, to think of this using those things Peter mentioned today . . . Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God . . . Jesus did that. The Son of God born a son of man, the Creator born as a creature, the Law-giver born under the Law. He humbled Himself, obeyed His Father’s will. He was sober-minded, watchful of the devil, and resisting him . . . in the wilderness, when Peter rebuked Him for talking about the cross, and even on the cross when satan tried to get Him to despair and doubt. And then Jesus also cast all His anxieties on him, on His Father . . . doing so, praying so intently in the Garden, in such agony, that His sweat was like great drops of blood. But He was strengthened, to finish the job, to go to the cross to glorify His Father and save you.

For Jesus knew that following His death would be His resurrection and ascension. We heard those words in His prayer today: I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. And then what would happen? To them? To us? When pride would rise up again and makes us think more highly of ourselves than we ought, and rely on ourselves and what we can do instead of Jesus. With the devil still prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. With the anxieties, cares, and fears of this world and life piling up and becoming a crushing burden. With the false catechesis of this world drumming in our ears and the allures of sin tugging at our hearts. When hatred, suffering, devastation, and death are what we see and hear all around us. When the disciples would look around and - unlike those three years with Jesus - it seemed as if God was so very far away? 

Any parent can tell you of these concerns. You have your children for a short time and then they are in the world. And what will happen then? 

So in these last hours, Jesus prays for us. He entrusts us to the only one who loves just as much as Him - our Father in heaven. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

So two things there. First, Jesus prays, keep them in your name. Keep is what you do with something that is very important to you, very precious to you, very valuable to you. You keep something valuable in a safe, you put something precious in a special place, that it not be damaged or lost. So when it comes to you, what safer or more special place can there be to protect and keep you than the name of God? The name given to you and put upon you when you were baptized. The name proclaimed to you here. The name you continue to be blessed with. The name which says who you are: a child of God. Keep them in your name. Keep them knowing who they are and whose name they bear, in this faith.

But keeping like this may include suffering! Sometimes that is exactly what we need when we’re not doing what we know we should be doing, or not being who we know we are. Suffering can take away what shouldn’t be in our life and turn us back to who should be. Or it can confirm us in doing good, if that suffering comes because we are following God’s Word. So suffering can be good. So, Peter says, rejoice if you share in Christ’s sufferings. If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed. If you are insulted for the name - the name of Christ - you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Therefore, Peter says, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. . . . 

So that’s first: keep them. And then Jesus prays this: Keep them in your name . . . that they may be one, even as we are one. Keep them, but also keep them together. For faith unites, sin divides. We need each other. Satan is constantly trying to divide Christians, divide churches, divide families, divide nations, divide communities, divide marriages. We sin in the dark, we sin alone, and then our shame further divides us. We avoid others, we avoid church. So Peter said your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, because that’s how lions do it - they divide - they divide one from the flock or herd and then catch it and devour it. That’s what satan wants to do to you, too.

So, Jesus prays, not just keep them together, but that they may be one. Because you can’t divide what’s one. Those of you who didn’t like fractions in school, this is good news for you! There are no fractions in heaven! Make them one, Jesus prays to His Father, even as we are one. One like the Trinity! Indivisible, inseparable. One with the Father as we are one in the Son. Baptized together as one in Jesus, fed together as one by Jesus. That we not be divided from Him or from each other even for a moment. That we may be one with Him now, and one with Him forever. One with the one who did all that was given Him to do, so that we have all we need through Him.

And we see this playing out in the First Reading for today from Acts. The church is small, but together - at this time, about 120, we are told. The one who had been divided from them in sin, Judas, had been consumed by the divider, the evil one. But they are going to fill his place in the twelve. Not just because twelve is a good number or because the Scriptures said so, but because the world needs to know where there is hope. The world needs to know of the one who did all He was given to do, forgives our failures, and fills up in us what we are lacking. The world needs to know the tomb is empty, the dead one is alive, and there is hope for us who die. The world needs to know, and WE need to know! Matthias is chosen because he saw, he heard, and he can testify of Jesus.

The testimony that has gathered us here today. We’re not here because of anything we’ve done - we’ve already established that more often than not, there’s what I should be doing, and then there’s what I am doing. My hope is not in me! We’re here because of everything Jesus did, and everything He is still doing through the ministry of His church and His Word and Sacraments. Adopted in baptism, washed in forgiveness, fed with His Body and Blood, strengthened with His word and promises - that’s us. Kept in His name and gathered here in Him as one. Without Him, where would we be? But with Him, we are here. And with Him we will be forever.

So as we come to the end of this Easter season, we have seen the tomb we have created with our sin, and we see the life Jesus has provided with His resurrection. And we have hope. Hope not just for eternal life, but for this life, too. That those things I know I should be doing, I can do. Not for myself, but for others. For Jesus has given me all I need, so I can help and provide for others. My family, my co-workers, my friends, my church. I can pray, I can be there for them. I can repent. I can forgive. I can speak in love and love in deed. I can humble myself for them and let my Father take care of all those cares, worries, and burdens weighing so heavily on me. For He will. He has, and He will. He’ll do it better than I could anyway. So I’ll do what I’m given to do, and if suffering comes my way, or your way, we’ll thank God for that, too. And look to the one who makes us one and keep us in His name. 

And then Peter concludes with great words to end this Easter season: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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

And yes, Christ is ascended! [He is ascended indeed! Alleluia!]

And one with Him, so are you.

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

Eve of the Ascension of Our Lord Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Promises, Promises!”

Text: Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53; Ephesians 1:15-23

 

Alleluia! Christ is ascended! [He is ascended indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Those were the last words of Jesus recorded by Luke in the book of Acts. Things were going to be different now. Oh, they already were, to be sure. Jesus’ death and resurrection had changed everything. But even more now, with His ascension. There would be no more appearances to them, no more times of teaching and instruction, no more eating together. Jesus is returning to the right hand of the Father - His place from eternity as true God, but now also His place for eternity as true man. His work of atonement is complete. Sin is forgiven, death is defeated, hell is overthrown. 

And these disciples are now no longer disciples. They are no longer followers, learners, listeners. They are now apostles, sent ones. Ones sent to speak what they have heard with their own ears and seen with their own eyes these past three years. They would witness, testify, to the truth of all Jesus said and did - most especially and by far most importantly His death and resurrection. Yes, He really did die dead. Yes, He really was sealed in the tomb. And yes, He really was alive after that in His same body - with the nail holes in His hands and feet, and the spear gash in His side. He rose from the dead, just as He said. All was accomplished, just as it had been laid out in God’s Word.

So now they would go. Not on their own. That would never do! But with the Holy Spirit. The Helper, the Spirit of truth that Jesus had promised them. And they would go not in their own power. That would never do! But in the power of the Holy Spirit given to them. And they would witness, testify, speak, in Jerusalem, where they would speak the truth to power; in Judea, where they would speak the truth to their fellow Jews; and in Samaria, where they would speak the truth to those not Jews - those once outside, but now brought inside by Jesus, who has sheep in His flock from every nation, tribe, people, race, and language. And this they would do to the end of the earth.

Now usually, when we hear that phrase, to the end of the earth, we think of geography - which makes sense in this context. They would testify in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the whole earth. And that fits with the Great Commission, the last words of Jesus to His disciples recorded by Matthew, to baptize all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). But usually, in that case, the phrase used is to the ends - plural - of the earth. Like, to the four winds, the four points of the compass, all the farthest reaches of the earth. It could mean this, but in the Greek, there is a different word usually used for that meaning. So maybe it means something else . . .

And that something else is that maybe instead of geography, we should think of time. This testimony of the disciples, now apostles, would continue until the end of the earth, until the end of time, until Jesus comes again in glory. That also fits the context, for Jesus also tells them that it is not for [them] to know times or seasons when He would restore the kingdom, and the message of the angels who spoke of Jesus coming back in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Now, you could argue that the apostles died and so couldn’t testify until the end of time. But you could also then argue in the same way that they didn’t really go to all the ends of the earth. But their testimony did. Their testimony, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, was both oral and then written. And that written eye-witness and ear-witness testimony, which we now call the New Testament, has gone to the ends of the earth. And that testimony continues - and will continue - until the end of the earth, the end of time. Which is a promise, not a command. Usually, when we hear those words “you will” we think command - you will do this, you will do that. It’s on us. But it can also be a promise. This will happen. This will be the case. And in that case, it’s on God. It’s still His work. That, as Luke said, all that Jesus began to do and teach, He will now continue through the testimony of the apostles.

Which is why we also heard tonight that after Jesus ascended the apostles weren’t sad - rather, they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. Because that’s what the promises of God do - they give us joy. The promises of God are what we can count on in a world where it seems that more and more, there is very little we can count on. Things keep changing. We never know the next disaster, shooting, crime, destruction, riot, or pandemic that is just around the corner. Others let us down. We let others down, and even let ourselves down. And without the promises of God . . . what do we, what would we have to look forward to?

But that’s why Ascension Day is such a joyous day! It is a day of promise. Jesus returns to His throne to rule all things for the good of His people, for the good of His Church. He promised. He promised that while not all things that happen would be good, all things would work together for our good (Romans 8:28). And He can do that. We have the promise that the apostles’ testimony will continue until the Last Day, which means that the Church will continue until the Last Day - she will not perish or go away. A promise Jesus had made before as well (cf. Matthew 16:18). And we have the promise that Jesus is coming back again for His Bride, the Church. That unlike a world that is constantly changing and with little we can count on, we have the firm foundation of the promises of God. His words and promises that do not change and that we can count on. His promise that our sins are forgiven. His promise that we are His children through baptism. His promise to feed us with His Body and Blood. And His promise that we not only have all this now, but that there is a great and glorious future waiting for us when He fulfills His promise to return. 

So when we say Alleluia! Christ is ascended! [He is ascended indeed! Alleluia!] it is with that confidence, the confidence of His promises. Promises that give us certainty. Promises that give us life. Promises that give us joy. For we know that the ascension is not an ending, but a beginning. That all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, is now continuing. And with Jesus risen and reigning on the throne, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come, will never end.

For yes, Christ is ascended! [He is ascended indeed! Alleluia!]