Sermon for Lent 3 Midweek Vespers

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Jesu Juva

“Icons of Repentance: The Lost Son - The Father’s Love”

Text: Luke 15:11-32; Isaiah 55:1-11; Romans 8:31-39

 

In the Name of (+) Jesus. Amen.

We heard another very familiar story tonight as our next Icon of Repentance - the parable of the Lost Son, or the Prodigal Son. It is a story you know well. It is a story that you have perhaps lived at one time or another in your life. Wandering from God, or even rejecting God and His love and life for you. And even if you haven’t gone full prodigal, you have a little. We all have. Taken God’s gifts and used them in ways that are not good. And for this we all need to repent.

But what I want to focus on tonight is not the younger son’s prodigality, but the love of his father that enabled him to return. 

This love Paul spoke of in the Epistle tonight from Romans, when he asked: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? The love of Christ, which is the love of the Father for us in sending His Son.

The younger son certainly tried to! He separated himself as far as possible from his father’s love - both emotionally and physically. Emotionally, when he treated his father as dead in asking for his inheritance immediately. And physically, when he took his inheritance, cashed it in, and journeyed into a far country. Far. Where no one would know him or his father. Where he found the love of new friends - better love, he thought. But, it turns out, love that was only there when he had a pocketful of money and was the life of the party. 

But when he no longer was and the money ran out, where were they then? Where were they when he needed them? When he needed even just a scrap of food? They were no longer to be found. They moved on to the next person who would give them what they wanted. But the son . . . he had no place to go, no one to turn to . . .

Until he remembered his father’s heart. His father who treated even his servants generously. Who was steadfast and reliable. 

So back to Paul and our reading from Romans . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? This son had nearly all of that! And then Paul tells us: NO! Nothing is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And that’s what the Lost Son found out. He returned home with his tail between his legs, and was overwhelmed. The love he needed, the love he had been looking for, the love he had spurned, was there for him all along. When he was in his greatest need, it was the father he had wished dead - but glad he was not! The father he wished dead did not just bail him out with a job or a loan, but welcomed him home. Welcomed him back into the family.

In all these things we are more than conquerers, Paul says - not because these things - these misfortunes and trials and dangers - won’t happen to us. They do! Sometimes because of the actions of others, but sometimes (like with the younger son) by our own fault. But when they do, we are conquerers because there is something we can depend on, and rely on, and that is the love of the father. Our heavenly Father, who gives us the victory that He gave His Son - in love - to win for us. The victory of forgiveness. The victory of redemption. 

Now think about the words from the prophet Isaiah we heard tonight and how they apply to this story and situation. 

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

The Lost Son spent all his money on that which does not satisfy and had nothing left. But there is food and drink for him who has no money, and for us in our spiritual poverty . . . not because it isn’t worth anything! But because it’s from the Father, and was bought and paid for for us by the blood of Jesus.

Isaiah continues . . .

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

The Lost Son did this - forsook his way and his unrighteous thoughts and returned. But that’s only half the story. Notice the words of promise here! That our God WILL pardon - not may, not might, no uncertainty. He WILL pardon. But not just pardon! He will ABUNDANTLY pardon! However great your sins, however many your sins, however grievous your sins, they are not too great, too many, or too grievous for the love and forgiveness of your Father. The Lost Son needed such abundant forgiveness, and it was there for him. And it is here for us. Our Father is not stingy with His gifts or with His forgiveness. It is lavish. It is abundant. The blood of Jesus covers all sin.

Which is perhaps hard for us to wrap our minds around, because that’s certainly not how things work in the world! Or even with us. How hard it is to sometimes forgive those who sin against us just a little! And that can make us afraid to repent, afraid to confess. Thinking that we have to do something first - at least a little. But no. God isn’t like us. Which is a good thing! He doesn’t think like us, act like us, as Isaiah goes on to say . . .

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Abundant forgiveness isn’t in our sinful DNA! But it is God’s DNA. It is who He is. His love steadfast and eternal. His forgiveness greater than we can imagine. Which even if we cannot understand, we can believe, by the work of this Spirit in us. Believe the words and promises of God, which do their work in us, as Isaiah goes on to say . . .

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

And what is that purpose for which God sends His Word? His Word proclaimed and His Word made flesh? To work faith in us. To work salvation, in the forgiveness of our sins. 

So it is the steadfast, everlasting love of the Father that enables us to return to Him in repentance. To return to His love that is always there for us. His love which our sins are not able to take away. He doesn’t like our sins. He mourns our sins. They are not good for us. But still His love for us is there. And not just for the Lost Son, but for the older son, too, who also had a problem with his father. 

And so as we sang in the Psalm tonight, what has the Father done? 

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

That was certainly true for the Lost Son. The father celebrated his son with music and dancing and feasting. He re-clothed his son. The son celebrated his father’s abundant love and forgiveness. Joy that is here for us, too. Joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. Joy in us over all our sins forgiven. Joy which then enables us to love and forgive the same. With abundance.

And though we are not told in the parable, though we don’t find out anything else about the younger-now-restored-son - such love produces love, and the fruits of faith and praise. I imagine that now the son had good things to say about his father, not wishing him dead anymore, but marveling in his father’s abundant and steadfast love. 

And us, too. Abundant pardon produces abundant fruit in our hearts and lives. But that’s what we’re going to think more about next week. For now, let this be on our hearts and minds tonight: the steadfast love of the Lord and His abundant forgiveness. And our third icon of repentance: the Lost Son, but also his faithful and loving father. For He is the Father of us lost sons, too.

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

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent

LISTEN

with the Confirmation of our Catechumens today.

Jesu Juva

“The Master Catechist”

Text: John 4:5-30, 39-42; Romans 5:1-8

 

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

We meet a most unusual catechumen today. Or maybe she is the perfect catechumen! This woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar, Samaria. 

You heard the story again today. Jesus is going through Samaria - not a usual thing for a Jew to do! Jews didn’t show up much in those parts. It’s about the sixth hour, or high noon - hot. So Jesus sits down to rest. 

And a woman comes out to the well - not a usual thing for a woman to do! Yes, women usually drew the water, but not at that time of day. High noon was not the time you wanted to exert yourself, like hauling up a heavy bucket of water from a deep well. All the other women would’ve been there already, at dawn when it was still cool, and then come again at the end of the day, when the sun was setting. 

So why was she there . . . at that time of the day . . . alone?

And why was HE there . . . at that place . . . alone?

Well, she was there at that time probably because she wasn’t welcome with the other women. They didn’t want to be around her. She wasn’t respectable. We aren’t told the reason why she had five husbands - it could be that she had been widowed five times, but that probably would have been mentioned. She probably would have mentioned that, to explain. So more likely is that she was divorced five times. Told she was not good enough five times. Told she was not wanted five times. Or six, if you count the man she was now with who would not take her as his wife. Her life seems to have gone from one sadness to the next. She was damaged goods. Chewed up and spit out by the world. So perhaps we could say, not much surprised her anymore.

But Jesus did! Not just that He was there, in that place, at that time, but that He then spoke to her! She wasn’t expecting that; probably put her guard up. This was too weird . . . What’s going on?

So why was Jesus there, in that place, at that time? Coincidence? Not with Jesus. Not with the Jesus who searches out tax collectors and sinners and eats with them. Not with the Jesus was touches lepers and raises the dead. Not with the Jesus who heals on the Sabbath and says things like: the last will be first, and the first last. With this Jesus, you get the impression this was no accident. That He was there, in that place, at that time, exactly for this reason: to meet someone in need. To meet someone who was an outcast. To meet someone who needed love and hope and life. To meet her. For this woman was all that. And more.

So Jesus does His Jesus thing: He reaches out to her. He asks her for a drink - which, as she said, is not the usual thing for a Jew to do. But this, of course, is no usual meeting, and Jesus is no usual Jew. 

And thus begins her catechesis.

She has already passed the first hurdle of all catechesis: she knows her wretchedness. She was living it. Now she needs to know her Saviour. And that’s where Jesus leads her. That little by little she get there. To the living water. The water she is thirsting for, and that Jesus wants to give her. To realize that here, in Jesus, is one who is not just a man, not just a Jew, but one who is greater than their father Jacob, one who is greater than the prophets, one who surpasses them all. And there’s only one who could do that: the promised Messiah.

And that’s the second part of catechesis: once you know your wretchedness, to then know who God is, and that He is your Saviour. To Creed. I believe. But not just to believe with the head, but to trust with the heart. For the Christian faith is not just a set of doctrines and propositions, but a betrothal, a marriage. 

And who does Jesus want for His betrothed? All people, yes, that is true. But as the Bible tells us, He has come especially for the least, the lowliest, the farthest gone . . . people like this woman. This woman who we could probably safely say was the most damaged and notorious woman in Sychar! Yet here is Jesus, wanting this five-times divorced woman, as His Bride. Maybe her days of having an earthly bridegroom were over, but there was a heavenly Bridegroom here for her.

Slowly but surely her guard is coming down; her heart is opening up. She’s ready for the next step: she knows who she is, she’s beginning to know who God is, but the distance between them still seems enormous. How is she to have this God? Where can He be reached? How can she receive Him and His gifts? This is a prayer question, a worship/Divine Service question. Where do I go? she asks. Where am I supposed to go? This mountain? Jerusalem? As a Samaritan, she wouldn’t be welcome there . . .

Neither, Jesus says. The true worship of God is now not in a place, but in a person. To worship the Father in spirit and in truth is to come to the Father by the Spirit through the One who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The One through whom all the gifts of God are given.

Now this woman is not dumb. She may be an outcast, but she is not dumb. She gets what Jesus is saying. That He is talking about the promised one, the promised Messiah. She just needs to know one more thing, which Jesus then tells her: I who speak to you am he.

And then she Creeds! She confesses this truth. She goes back into town to say the same thing. She puts it in the form of a question, but only to whet the thirst of others. But she knows. She has been catechized by the master catechist Himself. You can hear the joy in her voice. For she has gone from used to new, from unwanted to wanted, from notorious to loved. And it changed her. Forever.

This is the journey our catechumens today have taken. To know themselves, to know who God is, and to know His gifts and where to receive them. But to know not just with the mind, but with the heart. To trust and believe. For what’s in the mind may come and go, be remembered and forgotten. But what’s in the heart is lived, and loved, and brings joy. Years from now, our confirmands will not remember all I taught them these past years - heck, they’ve forgotten some already! As have all of you! But I pray they will still be here. Still receiving the Word of God, still repenting of their sins and receiving absolution, still eating and drinking the Body and Blood of their Saviour, the one who laid down His life for them. Wretched as they are. Unworthy as they are. That this, what we heard from the apostle Paul today, be always in their hearts and minds, 

That while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us - for them! - . . . in that while we were still sinners - outcasts, five-time losers - Christ died for us. That we be His own - His own heavenly, cleansed, radiant Bride.

So Jesus left the well that day in Sychar, Samaria and made His way to Jerusalem to do just that - to die for this woman. She was worth it to Him. She wasn’t worth it to anyone else! But she was to Him. And so are you. You may not think so. And no one else in the world may think so. But you are to the only one who really matters: Jesus. What He did He did not just for the world, but for you. 

And that is what our catechumens have learned. That God has made ME . . . He has redeemed ME . . . and He has called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified ME. He baptized ME and made ME His own. He absolves ME, wretched sinner that I am. And He is here to feed ME with His own Body and Blood. Not because I deserve any of this, because I don’t. And I never will. But He does not because of who I am, but because of who HE IS. The God of love, life, and salvation. 

So Jesus left the well that day in Sychar, Samaria to do that for us. And I pray our catechumens - and all of you - leave this place today as that woman did - confessing your Saviour to friends and neighbors and anyone who would listen. Not because you have to (Law), but because you just have to (Gospel)! Because you can’t help it! Because of the joy of your Saviour in your hearts. The joy of His forgiveness. The joy of His promises and life. Of the one who doesn’t just love us when we’re good, or useful, or lovable - but always. And will never stop. 

That’s why He has come here today. For you. To give you a drink. To give you His living water. To give you His Spirit. To give you His forgiveness. To give you His life. To give you His Body and Blood. To give you Himself. For here, there are no orphans or widows or outcasts - only Brides of the heavenly Bridegroom. The one who knows all we ever did, and loves us anyway. And who else could that be, but indeed, the Saviour of the world! Here, just as He was that day in Sychar, sitting by a well, waiting for a sinner. So is He here, for you.

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

The Congregation at Prayer

For the Week of Lent 3 (March 9-14, 2026)

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

Speak the Apostles’ Creed. 

Verse: Ephesians 5:8 – “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

Hymn of the Week:  Lutheran Service Book #708 “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart”

Hymns for Sunday: 545, 422, 708, 628, 849, 760, 743

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

Monday: Psalm 142

When surrounded by troubles, what does the psalmist do? Why is good? Who will surround and help us? Who are these?

Tuesday: John 6:1-15

What did Jesus want to do? Why? Was this just about food? What did want He wants His disciples and the people to know?

Wednesday: Luke 15:11-32

Can you come up with the two reasons the lost son came home to his father? Can you think of the two reasons the older brother would not celebrate? What did the older brother need?

Thursday: Isaiah 42:14–21

What does God say He is going to do? Why? What have His people become like? How can trouble and trial be useful for faith?

Friday: Ephesians 5:8–14

What darkness were we once in? What light are we now in? How did that happen? So what shall we do? How shall we live?

Saturday: John 9:1-41

How is Jesus the light of the world? What does He enable us to see? What does He want us to see most of all?

The Catechism - The Ten Commandments: The Sixth Commandment: You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in all we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

Collect for the Week: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. 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 congregation president, Scott Killian.

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

+ God’s blessing, guidance, wisdom, and provision for Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN.

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