Sermon for Ash Wednesday

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“A Life of Standing With”

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

 

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

I remember when I was little, my mother making me take responsibility when I did something wrong. She would make me go to the person I wronged - whether it was a neighbor, a stranger (if possible), or a family member, and try to make it right. I was horrified. I never wanted to. Far easier would be to cover it up, or plan a way of escape. And believe me, I made such plans in my head! But my mother knew that easier is not better. That sometimes the best things are the hardest things. I had to take responsibility. I had to make it right, if I could. It was humiliating. But it taught me that sin has consequences. And such repentance taught me far more than any punishment could. 

Now that I’m grown up - or like to think that I am! at least physically - I still don’t like repenting, confessing, or admitting I’m wrong. I still would rather cover up my sin or plan a way of escape. And I suspect many of you are like that, too. So Mother Church brings us together this day, to uncover what we’ve covered up, to block our way of escape, and says: repent! Of all the ways, all the times you’ve hurt not just others, but sinned against your God. And she does so not to punish us, but because this is good for us. Not only to vomit out all that poison that is making us sin-sick, but so that we can also hear those wonderful words of Absolution - I forgive you - from the very God we’ve sinned against, so repeatedly and so egregiously. Because while I can maybe make things right between you and me when I sin against you, how can I make things right with God? I can’t. 

My prayers can’t. My alms can’t. My fasting can’t. Because that’s not where my holiness comes from. If I think it does, then I’m belittling my sin and the God I’ve sinned against, and I’m exalting myself and my abilities, and that makes me the hypocrite. I may look holy, but I know I’m not. It’s all a show. And my reward? Maybe the esteem of others like me, but I’m robbing myself of hearing the words of forgiveness I need to hear. The words that can truly make a difference and make me what I am not - holy.

Now when I was little and in trouble, my mother would do something else as well - she wouldn’t just make me take responsibility and go to the person I wronged and confess - she would go with me. At first, I thought it was to make sure I actually did it! And maybe that was part of the reason. But now I realize this, too: by going with me, she was taking some of the shame upon herself. She taught me what to say, and if I didn’t know what to say, she would give me the words. If I had to pay for something I’d broken but didn’t have the money, she’d pay. She was my advocate. And she was protecting me, too. If that person wanted a pound of my flesh, wanted to retaliate - they’d have to go through her first! And you don’t mess with a mama bear, right?

Today, Mother Church is doing some of those same things. We are coming to repent together; we are not alone. She gives us the words to speak. But she is not our advocate, nor can she pay for us, nor can she protect us from the evil foe who wants not just a pound of your flesh, but all of it, in hell. But she knows who is our advocate, who did pay for us, and who does protect us - and points us in that direction tonight. To Jesus, whose blood and righteousness not only cover our sin and guilt and shame, but take it away.

So we heard these words tonight from the Apostle Paul: We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Don’t cover up your sin. Don’t plan an escape. Repent. Because for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus took our sin and guilt and shame to make us right again. That we be holy - not just on the outside, but on the inside. I couldn’t do that. No one else could do that. Only Jesus. 

And it wasn’t easy for Him. He was mocked and rejected for hanging out with the likes of us. I may have dreaded facing those I wronged, and for what - one sin? When Jesus was faced with bearing ALL my sins of ALL my life, and ALL the sins of ALL people and all their lives, ALL people who EVER lived, bearing those before His Father with us, for us . . . His agony was so great His sweat was like great drops of blood. And then when He was pounded onto the cross and hung there to die like a piece of human garbage, many of the people He was doing that for laughed at Him. And all Jesus had to say was: Father, forgive them. Words you also heard tonight. And He does. And you are. Because of Jesus. The Father forgives. And you are forgiven.

That’s not an escape. If we think it is, so that we can just go back out and sin some more, then we are of those who, as Paul said, receive the grace of God in vain. This is a new life. A life of holiness, not sin. A life of service, not selfishness. It’s a life of standing with. That’s one way to translate and think of what Paul said next, when he said as servants of God - as the redeemed of God - we commend ourselves in every way. And with those words he’s not saying that they’re patting themselves on the back - it’s not that kind of commendation. He’s saying that as servants of God, they’re living a new life, giving themselves to, uniting themselves with, or standing with these Christians in every way, and in every thing. The Corinthians are not alone. They are part of a bigger body, the Church, the body of Christ. 

And so, Paul says, we stand with you in every way - and then he lists that long list of troubles that they are standing with the Corinthians in: afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, and hunger. Not an easy thing to do! 

So how do they do that? By purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand (the church) and for the left (the world); through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. 

And for all this, do they look holy? Actually the very opposite! 

Pauls says We are treated as impostors (as deceivers), and yet are true; this is the truth. Jesus as His life are the truest of truths.

We are treated as unknown (we’re ignored), and yet well known; they know who we are. They just don’t like that we’re not like them. 

We are treated as dying (having no future, for all the outward troubles that afflict us!), and behold, we live; because our true life is not in these things. We have a life that cannot end! 

We are punished (for all this kindness!), and yet not killed; they can’t take away our life in Christ.

We are treated as sorrowful (as ignorant, stupid, gullible, mentally ill people to be pitied), yet always rejoicing; in this life that Christ has given us!

We are treated as poor, yet making many rich; because we are rich with the true riches of Christ.

We are treated as having nothing (because our riches cannot be seen; they are not of this world and life), yet possessing everything - because we are baptized children of God.

And this is now the life we have, in Jesus. The one who stood with us, the one who hung for us, and who rose and lives for us. So we stand with each other. Parents with their children, and when their parents get older, children with their parents. Spouses, friends, neighbors, fellow believers. It won’t be easy. It might not look like much. But it’s not for nothing that Jesus died for us and forgives us and gives us a new life. It’s not so we can have an easy life, but a better life. A life with Him and in Him, both now and forever.

And that’s why the Church has commended prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during this season of Lent. Not for us to earn favor from God; we can’t. Not for us to look holy; we’re not. Not to be hypocrites, as if by doing these things we are better than others. Nope, nope, and nope. It’s because in these ways we stand with others. Joining them in their troubles, helping as we can, and lifting them to God. 

That’s what my mother did for me. She helped me, stood with me, and showed me a better way. Mother Church is doing the same for us. That repenting of our sins, we are pointed to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who forgives us and raises us up to a better life. A new and eternal life. Now. As Paul said: Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Now! Don’t put it off. Don’t wait. Don’t look for an escape. Behold, now your Jesus is here for you, His Body and Blood are here for you, His life is here for you. Come, eat and drink. And then go in His peace and joy, and stand with those in need. Even if no one knows. Even if no one sees. Your Father does. 

And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

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

Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“The Exodus, His Exodus, and Your Exodus”

Text: Luke 9:28-36; Deuteronomy 34:1-12

 

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

Well, this was a pretty unusual week. Extraordinary, really. First having a Memorial Service for our oldest member, and then the very next day a Funeral Service for the youngest one among us. We gathered and spoke of their departures. And we did so with sorrow, but not despair. We did so with grief, but also with confidence and hope. And this day, the Transfiguration of Our Lord, helps us do that. This day when Jesus revealed His glory, and spoke with Moses and Elijah about His departure. And without that, without Jesus’ departure, or literally in the Greek, His exodus, without that, this past week would have been very different for us. For without Jesus’ exodus, we would despair, and be without confidence and hope. 

But today we got a glimpse of what really is, and what will be. And what really is, is that this man, Jesus of Nazareth, is in truth the glorious Son of God. The veil that separates heaven and earth is pulled aside, just for a moment. And His glory - the glory that He always had, but willfully set aside in order to live as a man just like us - is revealed. The glory isn’t momentary, just the revealing of it is. Which Jesus did to strengthen Peter, James, and John, who actually almost missed it because their eyes were heavy with sleep. You know how that is. When you want to stay awake, but you just can’t keep your eyes open. When your eyelids feel like they weigh about a hundred pounds each!

But they didn’t miss it all, and when they became fully awake, they saw not just what really is, Jesus in His glory, but also what will be - that Jesus is not alone in that glory. His own are with Him. And specifically here, this day, they see Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus, talking about Jesus’ exodus. Which makes sense, for when you think of an exodus, or the Exodus, the first person you think of is Moses.

And the exodus, for Moses, started on a mountain, like the one Jesus, Peter, John, and James had just gone up. And on that mountain, so many years ago, it was Moses who was stunned by the sight he saw - a bush that burned with fire but was not consumed. And then even more amazing, that bush spoke to Moses (Exodus 3)! Telling him to go to Egypt and bring the people of Israel out in the Exodus. God was going to deliver them. And now, on another mountain, it is happening again. Moses is talking with the very God who spoke to him from that burning bush about the Exodus, now speaking of His very own exodus. And a greater one than Moses’.

And then there was another mountain for Moses after that one. For after God had successfully brought His people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, Moses ascended Mt. Sinai, where once again, God spoke to him. This time not with a burning bush, but in a dark, dense cloud that descended on the mountain (which happened also in the account we heard today!). And that day, on Mt. Sinai, God spoke to Moses and gave him two important things: the Ten Commandments, and all the instructions for the building and running of the Tabernacle - the place where God would descend to be with His people. And now, on this other mountain, Moses is again talking with the God of Mt. Sinai, but about how HE is the one who perfectly fulfills all the Law; the one whose human flesh is the new Tabernacle - the new and greater dwelling place of God with man.

And then there was one more mountain for Moses, which we heard of in the Old Testament reading today, right on the border of the land God had promised to His people and was now leading them into. The Exodus was now almost complete. Just one more step. But one final step Moses would not be able to take. Moses would not, could not be the one to lead the people into the Promised Land and complete the Exodus. Another would do that. Back then, it was a man named Joshua. But now, here, on this other mountain, Moses was speaking to the one who would really complete the exodus of all God’s people from our slavery to sin and from death and into the Promised Land of heaven. A greater exodus. Moses was speaking with the promised prophet who was greater than he, and who was about to accomplish this greater exodus. What Moses foreshadowed, Jesus was now doing.

But how? How would Jesus accomplish this final and greater exodus? Well that’s where the other prophet who appeared that day comes in, the prophet Elijah. Who also foreshadowed what Jesus would do on a mountain. Mt. Carmel. On that mountain, Elijah alone did battle against 450 prophets of a false god named Baal. They would each offer a sacrifice, and whosever’s god consumed the sacrifice was the true God.  Well, the sacrifice to Baal went untouched, while the sacrifice to Elijah’s God consumed with fire not just the sacrifice, but the sacrifice, the wood the sacrifice was on, the altar the wood was on, the ground around the altar, and all the gallons of water that had been poured on the sacrifice to try to prevent this all from happening! It was a great victory. But not as great as the one Elijah was now talking about with the very God who had consumed his sacrifice so many years ago. Now that God, Jesus, would offer up Himself on the altar of the cross for the life of the world. A greater sacrifice, a greater victory, a greater exodus, and a greater salvation.

It was all now coming to a head. What Moses foreshadowed but could not complete, and what Elijah foreshadowed but could not complete, Jesus now would. He would cross the finish line, once and for all. And so, Luke tells us just a few verses after the ones we heard today, that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). He wouldn’t be denied. He would go to Jerusalem, where He would climb another mountain, a smaller one named Calvary, where He would complete His exodus and show His glory - a greater glory. The glory of His death on the cross. For just as Jesus of Nazareth looked like just a normal man like every other, but was, in fact, the glorious Son of God, so, too, His death on the cross looked gruesome and gory just like all the other crucifixions that took place in that day, but was, in fact, the glory of God. For what could be more glorious, more wondrous, more awesome, than the God of all creation offering Himself up to save His creation. To take our sin and death upon Himself and suffer what we deserve, so that one day, we could stand in His glory, like Moses and Elijah, and with Moses and Elijah, and Peter, John, and James, and Roy and Philip, who departed from us these past couple of weeks. 

But who, we believe, departed in Jesus, and so just as with Jesus’ departure through death and the grave with a resurrection to life eternal, so in Jesus, Roy and Philip’s departure ends the same way - with a resurrection to life eternal. To the glory of the Transfiguration.

That’s the good news, even though we would have preferred this past week not happen; that Roy and Philip would have stayed with us. That’s what Peter (and probably John and James) wanted, too. They wanted Moses and Elijah to stay. Put up three tents! We don’t want this to end. But that’s when the cloud descended, the cloud that marks the presence of God, who spoke and said: This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him! Listen to what? What they were talking about! Jesus’ exodus. Jesus’ cross. Jesus’ death and resurrection. For that’s the glory that leads to glory. Don’t rely on what you see, rely on what you hear. For what we see is often confusing. But what we hear from Jesus is rock solid.

For they would soon see Jesus bleeding and dying on the cross. But they would hear Him from that cross forgiving sins (Luke 23:34). They would see an empty tomb and be confused and befuddled at it. But they would hear from that tomb the Word of God from the angel: He is not here! He is risen! (Luke 24:6)

And so it is with us. We see the sin in us for which we should be judged and condemned to damnation. But you hear the voice of Jesus say: I forgive you all your sins. We see suffering and death in the world and in us, but we hear the voice of Jesus say: you are my beloved son, for you are baptized children of God. We see and feel our failure and weakness, but we hear the voice of Jesus say: This is My Body, This is My Blood. Eat and drink for your life. And in all these ways, this is Jesus talking to us of His exodus - that He completed the journey from heaven to hell and back again - and so in Him, so do we. No matter what hell hurls against you, no matter how much sin corrupts and rots and crushes you, no matter the depths of sorrow death tries to bury us under, our exodus takes us through all that. Jesus takes us through all that. It will not win. It will not, it cannot defeat a child of God. 

And that’s the glory we didn’t see, but heard this week. What we saw was death. What we saw was sorrow. But what we heard was glory and glorious. That the graves of Roy and Philip are just their beds, where their bodies will rest until one final time the veil that separates heaven and earth is pulled aside. But this time not just for a moment, but forever. And there will be only Jesus . . . in His glory. And we there with Him and with all the saints who died in the Lord and now rise in the Lord, and from their labors rest.

Until that day, we continue living in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). With the sin and the sorrow and the sadness and the grief. But not alone. Jesus didn’t stay on the mountain. He came down to be with us. And still is. Lo, I am with you always (Matthew 28:20), were the parting words at His ascension. Ascending - in a kind of oxymoronic way - not to leave us but to be with us. And He is. And so there is in this valley of the shadow of death also confidence and joy and hope. Because no matter what you are going through, Jesus went through it first. No matter what burdens you’re under, they are not too heavy for Jesus. No matter what griefs and sorrows are weighing you down, He bore those for you, too (Isaiah 53:4). 

So now hearing this word of the Lord, take the next steps in your exodus and His. Come up to the altar, passing the Font and that water you passed through to become children of God, and passing the spot from where you heard and received the Absolution, the forgiveness of your sins, and going to the place where the glorious Body and Blood of Jesus is here for you and now placed into your mouths. And with His Body and Blood, His forgiveness. And with His forgiveness, His life. And with His life, His salvation. And with His salvation, the promise of eternity. This is your mountain and your Jesus. And Jesus is all you need.

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

The Congregation at Prayer

For the Week of Ash Wednesday (March 3-8, 2025)

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

Speak the Apostles’ Creed. 

Verse: Romans 10:13 – ”Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Hymn of the Week:  Lutheran Service Book #656 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

Hymns for Sunday: 668, 422, 656, 622, 424, 600, 585

Readings for the Week: [The readings for Thursday-Saturday are the Scriptures for this coming Sunday.]

Monday: Joel 2:12–19

Who does Joel call to return to the Lord and repent? Is anyone excluded? How should we do so? Why? Has this been true for you in the past? How can this Lent be different for you?

Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 5:20b - 6:10

How are we reconciled to God? What did God do? What obstacles may get in the way of this for some people? For you? 

Wednesday: Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

What does it mean to be a hypocrite? Are you ever? Why? How can we avoid this? What should be our focus and goal?

Thursday: Deuteronomy 26:1–11

Why did God want His people to bring the firstfruits of their harvest to Him? What were they to remember about themselves? What were they to remember about God? Why?

Friday: Romans 10:8b–13

How does faith, justification, and confession all go together?

Saturday: Luke 4:1-13

What do you think of the devil’s temptations? Would you have fallen for them? Have you? Why? What gave Jesus strength?

The Catechism - The Commandments, the Eighth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tells lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.

Collect for the Week: O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

The Prayers:  Please pray for . . .

+ yourself and for all in need (remembering especially those on our prayer list).

+ God’s blessing, wisdom, and guidance for our congregational financial secretary, Dave Fields.

+ the Lutheran Church in Singapore, for God’s wisdom, blessing, guidance, and provision.

+ God’s blessing, guidance, and provision for the Lutheran Church Extension Fund.

Conclude with the Lord’s Prayer and Luther’s Morning or Evening Prayer from the Catechism.

Now joyfully go about your day (or to bed) in good cheer, child of God!

Collect for the Week © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.

Lutheran Service Book Hymn License: 110019268