Sermon for the Commemoration of Saint Michael and All Angels

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Jesu Juva

“On the Field of Battle - Victorious!”

Text: Revelation 12:7-12; Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3; Luke 10:17-20

 

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

The commemoration of Saint Michael and All Angels is a bad news/good news kind of day. For, we heard: Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!

The bad news: the devil has come down to us - actually, has been thrown down to us, cast down to us - in great wrath. Wrath against God. Wrath against the Church of God. Wrath against Christians. Wrath against all who are in Christ Jesus. Wrath against you. That’s the bad news. 

The good news is: his time is short! His time of wrath is short. Not short enough for us! But the clock is ticking. Ticking until the day comes when Jesus returns and the devil who was cast down from heaven is then cast down from the earth as well - and cast into the abyss of fire. He and all his evil, demon angels with him. A day that cannot come soon enough! 

But until that day, there is war on earth. Spiritual warfare. Good versus evil. We don’t want that. We don’t like that. But that’s the way it is. And we ignore it at our own peril. Like if you were in Ukraine right now. You could deny that there is a war going on and go out and live your life as usual. You could do that . . . and a bomb may blow you up. That would be a bad move! So, too, our ignoring this war raging all around us.

All of the readings we heard today spoke of this war. But all of the readings we heard today also spoke of victory! From Daniel we heard that at that time your people shall  - not maybe, not might, not perhaps - your people shall be delivered. In the reading Revelation we heard that they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And then in the reading from Saint Luke, the disciples were excited because Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name! So although we are in a war, we know how it is going to turn out. We know who wins! And that gives us hope. Hope to go on even when the fighting is fierce - around us and in us.

And the fighting is fierce, isn’t it? All the ways the devil is fighting against God and His truth. I could go through a whole list of things going on in our world today that are evidence of that, but maybe most telling is how empty churches are in many places. Great cathedrals that were once full now get only a handful of people each Sunday, while sports stadiums and concert venues are often packed, with waiting lists for tickets, and people willing to pay any price to get in. The devil has convinced people they don’t need God. They’re good the way they are. Or if they’re not, they can fix themselves and save themselves. Science, medicine, AI, will be our Saviours. It seems like the Church, like Jesus, judging by appearances, is losing this war. 

But don’t be deceived. It looked that way before, too. On the cross. With whipped Jesus, bloody Jesus, crucified Jesus, dead Jesus. And a dead Saviour is no Saviour. How can He save you when He couldn’t even save Himself? That was the accusation, the word going around when Jesus was crucified, hurled by those who didn’t believe in Him. 

But then, the unexpected victory: the empty tomb. By a Saviour who wasn’t there just to save from the Romans, or from poverty, or from injustice or inequality, or other things people think we need saving from today - but from death. A Saviour to give not just life for a time, but eternal life. That’s not the kind of Saviour they were looking for, and so missed Him. Wouldn’t believe in Him. Thought Him a crack pot. But what they thought was losing and the evidence of His lunacy and fraud, was actually the path of victory and life. 

And so it is significant, I think, that all three of the readings we heard today - all three that spoke of victory - we’re written at times when it looked like the Church, like Jesus, was losing. Daniel comes from the time when the people of God had been conquered in war, their city and temple destroyed, and they had been taken as exiles to live in Babylon. The reading from Luke comes just after the Samaritans rejected Jesus, opposition among the Jews was ramping up, and Jesus was being called demon-possessed by some. And the book of Revelation was written when the Church was being persecuted by Rome and John was an exile on the island of Patmos. To speak of victory . . . well, seems a bit presumptuous. That is, if all you have to judge by is current events.

But that’s the rut we’re in these days, isn’t it? What’s happening now. What have you done for me lately? Who has the most likes and hits and retweets (or whatever shares on “X” are called these days!). So the challenge for us is not to believe what we see, not to make long-term judgments on short-term events, but to believe what we hear. To believe the words and promises of God.

One of which is about angels. Even those who don’t really believe in God like to believe in angels. There’s just something about these benevolent, Good Samaritan spirits hovering around to help us that people want to believe. They want to believe that when our loved ones die they become one of these angels and look down on us and protect us. And there’s a whole cottage industry of books, pictures, and knick-knacks to promote this belief in angels. Angels that people have never seen, yet believe.

But what makes people think these angels want to help us? That they’re kind and benevolent, not deceitful and mean? And how would we know? Sometimes people seem genuine and like they want to help us, only, we find out later, it was all a ruse - we got taken advantage of; stabbed in the back. Why not angels, too?

Unless they aren’t just free agent spirits, hovering around, but part of a bigger picture, a bigger spiritual reality . . . Unless there is a commander of this angel army, and using them to fight for us. That would make a big difference.

So when Jesus is called the Lord God Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts, the commander of the army of angels, that’s significant. Because though we have not seen the angels, their commander has been seen. And we know what He’s like; we know what He’s done. He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He cleansed lepers, He cast out demons, He forgave sinners, He provided for those in need, He showed mercy and compassion, and He laid down His life for the life of the world. He took away the sin of the world by putting that sin upon Himself and dying with it, dying for it, in our place. The angels could have stopped that. As Jesus said, when Peter was trying to defend Him from arrest with his sword, Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53) in His defense? But Jesus would not make such an appeal. He would die so you could live.

And now risen from the dead, this same loving, compassionate, lay-down-His-life-for-you Jesus, is commanding His angel army to do the same. To serve you, to protect you. For if that’s what Jesus came and did for you, why would He send His angels to do anything different? So they do what they are commanded, and what they are commanded is good. And though we do not see them, and do not know all they are doing, as many stories in Scripture teach us, it is far more than we think or imagine. And it is frightening to think what this world would be like if they didn’t.

For there is still war going on. The devil still hates God and His Church and all who are in Christ Jesus. He still wants to drag you down to hell with him - not forcibly, but with unbelief. To make you doubt God, doubt His goodness and love, doubt His words and promises, doubt His forgiveness. That He’s not really helping you. So you have to save yourself. This world and life is all there is and all you have, so hold on tight! With all your might! 

But against this word is the Word of God you have heard. The Word of truth. The Word which was made flesh and shed His blood for you. This Word that saves. 

For as we heard in the reading from Revelation, of those in heaven, they have conquered him - the devil, the accuser - how? by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. 

And in the reading from Luke, it was the proclamation of the name of Jesus by which the demons were subject to the apostles. But, Jesus says, as great as that may be, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. That is, rejoice in the greatest word you could ever hear, the word of your Saviour which says I forgive you all your sins. For that is the Word the devil never wants you to hear. He wants your sins on you, not on Jesus. He wants your sins on you to crush you with guilt and shame. He wants your sins on you to disqualify you from heaven and eternal life. He wants your sins on you as an anchor down to hell. And so all his wrath and rage is against those words. To empty out churches, that you not hear them, or if you do, that you not believe them. Because they are the words that conquer him. They are the words which give life. Think of all the wars started because those words would not be spoken! Wars between friends, family, spouses, neighbors. Wars that the angels cannot fight - battles that are fought only by the Word and Spirit of God.

And He does. Fighting through the Word spoken to you here. The Word of Absolution, the proclamation of the Gospel, the Word in Baptism, and the Word of the Supper. The Word which, Scripture also tells us, is a sharp, two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12)! So that every time you hear those words of grace and forgiveness, satan is falling. He is being conquered by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. 

So where Jesus is, where His Word is, there His angels are. So in the liturgy, we hear of the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven who join us around the altar of the Lord’s Supper. We join their song of “Holy, holy, holy” in the Sanctus. We join the hymn of praise they sang at the birth of Jesus when we sing the Gloria. And then as we leave this place of such hidden glory, we go home with their protection, at the command of Jesus, who has here forgiven us, fed us, and freed us. Until one day we will leave this place for a new heavens and a new earth, with no more sin, no more evil, no more devil. Only peace and joy. Only victory.

That’s the good news in what is, perhaps, a bad news world. The devil is fighting, but his time is short. Our weapons may look weak, but are strong. And a cross which looks like losing really gives life. So do not despair, do not lose hope. What John saw you will soon see. And Jesus’ joy will soon by your joy. For your names are written in heaven. Written in blood. And not for a short time, but for eternity. So sing loudly, please, at the end of the service today! 

Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle; Sing the ending of the fray.

Now above the cross, the trophy, Sound the loud triumphant lay;

Tell how Christ, the world’s redeemer, As a victim won the day (LSB #454 v.1)!

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

Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“What’s in God’s Heart”

Text: Matthew 18:21-35; Genesis 50:15-21

 

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

The king didn’t care about the money. He cared about his servant. The servant didn’t care about his fellow servant. All he cared about was the money. Therefore they both did what they did. What you do comes from where you heart is. And with this parable today, Jesus is teaching us where the Father’s heart is. It is with us. Servants with a debt we cannot repay.

Jesus told this parable in response to a question from Peter, which was itself in response to Jesus’ teaching about forgiveness that we heard last week. That sin is serious, but forgiveness is greater.

Peter always takes Jesus’ teaching to heart. He doesn’t always understand it correctly! But he takes it to heart. And he does here. Jesus teaches about forgiveness, and Peter cares. He wants to know more. So, he asks Jesus, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?

And as some of you know, he is being rather generous with that question, for the going rate for forgiveness among the Rabbis was three. Forgive your brother - or sister! -  three times, and after that, you’re off the hook! So by more than doubling that, Peter was being quite . . . well, he thought, Christ-like.

So imagine his surprise when Jesus completely zorches that thinking! I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. And for you math whizzes out there, yes, that makes 490, but what Jesus means by that number is this: How often do you forgive? As often as your brother - or sister - needs it. Multiples of multiples of multiple times, even per day, if necessary.

Now, we’re not told what Peter’s reaction was to that. I wonder if his jaw dropped open. Or if he just stood there silent for a bit, before Jesus, then, told this parable to help him. To help him understand more about God’s forgiveness. And not just how BIG it is, but why it is.

And you heard the parable - I’m not going to repeat it. But a servant was brought in who owed more than he could pay. Much more. Far more. For the size of this debt, if computed in today’s dollars, was far more than simply like maxing out your credit cards - it was more like the size of a national debt! Which is absurd, that one person could owe so much. But this is a parable, not an historical account. Jesus is making a point by using such an absurdly large number. And the point is not just about the abundance of God’s forgiveness - it is that! more abundant than we could ever imagine. Buy why? Why would the king forgive such a large debt? And the answer is what I said at the beginning of this sermon - this wasn’t about the money. It was never about the money. He didn’t care about the money. He cared about his servant. And so he set his servant free.

If he had cared about the money, he would have acted . . . well, like the servant then did. This newly debt-free, care free servant who went out and cared not about his fellow servant - because for him, it was all about the money. So no patience, no forgiveness, no love. He put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 

The king didn’t care about the money. He cared about his servant. The servant didn’t care about his fellow servant. All he cared about was the money. Therefore they both did what they did. What you do comes from where you heart is. That’s the Father’s heart. So, Peter, where is your heart? What do you care about? What’s most important? 

How often do I have to forgive? If it’s all about you and what is owed you - whether than debt is money or pride or honor or whatever - you’ll answer one way. But if it’s about your neighbor and his need, you’ll answer a very different way. As Jesus did. Who came to set you free.

So where is your heart? Is it on your stuff, yourself, your pride, what you have or want to have, or is it on your neighbor? If we refuse to forgive, why is that? And with this parable, Jesus would have us know, if we refuse to forgive, we are only hurting ourselves. We are loving and serving the idols in our hearts instead of God and our neighbor. And that’s never going to end well.

And then we heard the story of Joseph today as well - a story of remarkable forgiveness. His brothers sold him into slavery when he was still young. Taken to Egypt, he lived is this strange country with a strange language and strange gods and strange ways, at times as a slave, at time languishing in prison. But God finally raising him up to power in Egypt until he was second in command, just under Pharaoh. So when his rascally brothers came before him, he could have done anything he wanted to them. Anything! And few would have criticized or condemned him for whatever he did. They had it coming. So what did he want to do to them? Forgive them! From the moment he set eyes on them, everything he did was for this one purpose: to forgive them. To forgive a debt - the stealing of a good portion of his life! - that he could never get back. That they could never repay. And when his brothers (like Peter!) didn’t understand this kind of forgiveness, Joseph spoke marvelous words of wisdom: Am I in the place of God? . . . You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

Now what did Joseph mean when he said: Am I in the place of God? For some at that time would have said yes! Yes, Joseph, you are! If Pharaoh was considered a god, then the second in command was not far from it! But to forgive or not to forgive was not up to Joseph. What he is saying here is that he doesn’t get to decide who gets forgiven and who doesn’t. He is to forgive. And how that then turns out is above the pay grade of even the second in command of all Egypt.

Am I in the place of God? If he was, that would mean death - death for sin. For that’s what God decreed. The wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23). But God decreed something else as well. That He - the King, the King of kings, the King of the universe and all creation - would die that death for His servants. For all of them. No one excluded. The death of the cross for the freedom and life of the world. For the debt we all owe that we cannot pay. For God could throw us into prison, into hell, for non-payment. And He would be above reproach for doing that or whatever else He chose to do. Or, He could set us free by paying our debt Himself. 

So what would God do? He would do what is in His heart. He would die so you could live He would be the captive that you be set free. He would suffer to give you joy. So that every time you pray, Lord, have mercy, mercy you receive. Every time you pray for forgiveness, forgiveness you receive. And as the catechism teaches us, where there is forgiveness of sin, there is also life and salvation.

Imagine how astonished that servant must have been to hear those words of forgiveness and release from his king! How astonished Joseph’s brothers that their brother didn’t hold a grudge and exact revenge. How astonished Peter must have been. And how about you? Maybe we take those words for granted, I forgive you all your sins, for we get to hear them every week. Maybe even some of you more often than that! But don’t. Don’t take them for granted. Realize what they mean, and the sacrifice behind them. Realize that the debt you’ve been forgiven is greater than even 70 times 7 national debts. And that you really are free.

And if you’ve been given that, and that’s in your heart, what do you think you will do?

God calls to repentance - like with the servant in the parable - not because He wants us to pay Him back, but because he wants to forgive. Because He wants to be gracious and loving and forgiving. That’s what’s in His heart. And it gives Him joy! In the parable, we aren’t told how the forgiven servant felt, or what the king felt - we’re just told the facts. But how could the servant not have been overjoyed! And the king found joy in his servant’s joy. 

But that’s also why the king found grief in his servant’s wickedness. When the idol of greed in his heart consumed the joy of forgiveness that he wanted for his servant. Because that’s what idols, or false gods, do - they consume. They eat you up. They don’t give, they just take. They take your joy, they take your contentment, they take your life. They did for the servant in the parable, who left the king’s presence with joy, but was quickly consumed with rage. And that is what makes them so dangerous for us as well. Only seven times, Peter? Why only seven? Why not more? 

Capital One asks: What’s in your wallet? But this parable today asks: What’s in your heart? And the answer is yes, all kinds of sin and vice and ugly stuff. Wicked servant stuff. But for us Christians, not just that. Because the life and love and forgiveness of Jesus has been poured on you and into you in Baptism, has been proclaimed into your ears, has been read by your eyes, and here it is for you to eat and to drink. And so what’s in Jesus’ heart is now also in your heart as a born again, born from above child of God. A child of God who wants to forgive and loves to forgive and rejoices to forgive. So if you find yourself starting to think like Peter and wanting to limit forgiveness, or acting like the wicked servant and demanding repayment for sins against you, repent of that. Don’t let your idols win. Repent and receive the mercy and forgiveness from Jesus you need. Life-altering mercy and forgiveness. That sets you free from those idols that want to live in your heart! That sets you free for the love of Christ to control you instead. And with such freedom, life. And with such life, joy. 

Today Christie will receive that life-altering Body and Blood of Jesus with us. The life and love and forgiveness of Jesus has already been poured on her in Baptism, it has been proclaimed into her ears, it has been read by her eyes, and now it will be placed into her mouth. She will take her place side-by-side with us, with Peter, with Joseph’s brothers, and with wicked servants everywhere, to receive what we need. An abundance of gifts! Gifts she needs and will need, to strengthen her in the faith. And gifts Jesus loves to give. Gifts He died to provide. Gifts He rose to provide. Gifts He wants to give you. And not just once or twice, or seven times, or seventy times seven times, and not just for a life time - but gifts for eternity. For eternal life and joy with Him. For that’s what’s in God’s heart, Jesus’ heart. And now your heart, too. Amazing, astonishing love. From the Father, for you.

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

Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

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Jesu Juva

“Don’t Amputate! Medicate!”

Text: Matthew 18:1-20

 

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

Is amputation really the way to go? 

During (and, I imagine, up to) the time of the Civil War, yes, it was. During the Civil War, if you were shot or wounded, it is likely you would have a limb amputated. There were over 60,000 amputations performed during that war - three-quarters of all the surgeries performed were amputations. Accounts from that time often talk about the piles of limbs that were seen outside the hospitals. For better to lose an arm or a leg, than for your whole body to perish.

Amputations are still done today, for gangrene or other diseases that will spread and consume your body. We see it also with many of the veterans who have returned from wars in the Middle East. But modern medicine has made this practice far less necessary. 

Jesus talks about amputation today. Better to lose an arm, leg, or eye than that your whole body be lost to the hell of fire. And He says that because He knows - although we don’t often know, or acknowledge - that we’re in a war. Against General Satan and his army of evil. And make no mistake, he is gunning for you. He wants your life. He wants you to be thrown into the hell of fire with him. That’s why we call the Church on earth today the Church Militant. We’re in a struggle against sin and evil. And it is truly a world war. A war to end all wars. A fight to the finish. Satan is not going to give up; he’s going to fight to the bitter end. And therefore so must we.

But a tactic satan uses to his great advantage is to lull us to sleep. No major battles in your life lately, so you can take it easy. The sins that you do . . . they’re not amputatable wounds! Just little things, little scratches. Bumps and bruises. They’ll heal, won’t they? You don’t have to worry about them! . . . Until you do. Until before you know it, that sin has grown and spread. That bitterness and resentment, that greed or pride, that sexual sin or coveting, that uncaring withdrawal or rebellion has grown and spread and taken over your life. And then what?

And then what if your sin has caused others to sin as well? In a war, one soldier taking it easy and letting down his guard can cause another to, until the enemy is upon them. And sin can spread, too. Among friends, among families, among churches. Bad examples followed. If everybody’s doing it, then why can’t I? Better then, Jesus says, to have a great millstone fastened around [your] neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Jesus takes this sin-stuff seriously. As He should. As we should. He knows how serious it is, even if we don’t always. That’s why in catechesis, the first thing to learn is the danger of the battle going on not just around us, but in us. The battle that is being waged for you, for your soul. The battle against sin and evil that the Ten Commandments expose. That these wounds are serious. That these wounds are far more frequent than we think. And that if left untreated, are deadly.

But Jesus doesn’t want any amputations! They may be better than the alternative, and sometimes churches are forced to excommunicate, rather than let sin reign within them. But that’s not what Jesus wants. He doesn’t want even one member of His Body, the Church, lost. The Son of Man, he says, came to save the lost. So if even one of His sheep, one of His lambs, goes astray, He cares. He acts. He goes after that one, even leaving the ninety-nine on the mountain to search. Not because He doesn’t care about the ninety-nine, but because He cares so much about the one. About you. He is obsessed. He is single-minded. For each and every one. 

And He wants us to be as well. To not just be in His flock - which you are - but to live in His image. Be like Him. That renewal He has begun in you, through His Spirit, given to you in the Word, in the Word combined with the water of Baptism, in Absolution, and in His Supper. And I’d like to say I’m like that, that I live like that, and I’m sure you, too. But in this war, I see a lot of amputations. People we don’t get along with? Cut them off! Spouses in a difficult marriage? Cut them off! Divorce them. Friends who hurt us? That neighbor who oversteps, that person we disagree with? Cut them off! And look around. Look at the piles of people who’ve been amputated and thrown out into the pile. A pile that in our world today seems to keep getting larger. And maybe you’ve been one of them, cut off by another.

But as modern medicine has made this procedure far less necessary, so, too, the great physician of body and soul has medicine for us. Medicine that can heal wounded souls, heal friendships and relationships, families and marriages. Medicine doesn’t always taste good, and this medicine we might not want to take either! But it is what we need. The medicine of forgiveness.

So if your brother or sister, your friend or neighbor, your spouse or child, your parent or the person sitting in the pew next to you sins against you, Jesus says, don’t just cut them off. Don’t go for the amputation! Reach for the medicine first. Go and tell him his fault. And if he listens to you, you have gained him back. If he listens to you . . . which means you have the chance to apply the medicine - you get to forgive! And implied there also is that if she comes to you, you listen. She cared enough about you to search you out, so you care enough about her to listen, and to repent. And then the medicine is applied: I forgive you.

But not just that. Sometimes searches aren’t so easy, right? We hear on the news when hikers get lost in the woods, the search teams don’t just go out once or for a couple of hours, but for days. They don’t want to give up. And Jesus says the same thing. Don’t give up! If he refuses to listen, keep searching with a couple of others. Even with the whole church. There are wounds that need healing. There are hurts that need medicine. We don’t want to amputate, or be amputated, or have someone amputate themselves and cut themselves off from the church, from Christ! We have this wonderful medicine of forgiveness. That can heal far more than we think. 

And how much is that? This medicine of forgiveness can even raise the dead. Those dead in their trespasses and sins now, and those quite literally dead who will be raised to life again on the last day. It can re-attach amputated limbs, restoring those who have been cut off, or have amputated themselves. It can make us whole again. Friendships, marriages, churches, wherever two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus. Because where Jesus’ name is, there is He. And where He is, there is life and forgiveness - the life and medicine we need. The medicine that comes from the tree of the cross.

For there on the cross, Jesus took all the poison, all the sin, all the gangrene and disease of sin into Himself and let it kill Him take His life, that in so doing, He provide the antidote to it all - forgiveness. He was the one amputated - from His people, from His own Father, that we could be healed and restored. And when He rose from the dead, He made all things new again. One again, whole again, in Himself. And to heal the divisions our sin has caused - between God and sinners, between Jew and Gentiles, between brothers and sisters in Christ. 

And how good does it feel when after you’ve been sick you get better? When the throbbing, the pain, the fever, the chills, whatever it is - finally you wake up one morning and its gone! That’s what the resurrection will be like - when all the sickness and disease of our sin is finally, and once and for all, gone forever! But it happens, too, even now. When those doubts and fears, those hurts and wounds, that guilt and those regrets, are confessed and forgiven. Medicine for the sin-sick soul. How good it feels when what divides and is divided, divides no more. 

Sadly, that’s not going to be 100% in this world and life. Not until the resurrection on the Last Day. We’re going to be in the Church Militant until the end. There’s always going to be need of this medicine. For us to give and for us to receive. The good news is that it will never run out. The supply from the cross is boundless. 

And in this is the greatness of the kingdom of heaven. To not just be like a child, but to be like the child - the Son of God. To humble ourselves in confession and repentance. To humble ourselves and forgive and not demand pay back! To humble ourselves to receive the forgiveness of others and not try to fix it or earn it ourselves. That is greatness because it is all about Jesus. Jesus for you. 

So come now and receive the medicine of His Body and Blood, given and shed on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. Herb and Maria will be receiving that with us for the first time today, and we are so glad you are here. That our Lord has brought you here to us and is making you one with us in this fellowship. Forgive us when we sin against you. Receive our forgiveness when you sin against us. As together, we look forward to that day when all in Christ Jesus are raised to life everlasting and there is no more medicine! Only life. Only joy. Only oneness. Only Jesus. 

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