Easter 4 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Devoted”

Text: Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

It sounds like those early Christians were devoted to four things. 

First, to the apostles’ teaching. Those early Christians wanted to hear all that Jesus had said and done from those who were eye and ear witnesses to it all. From those Jesus Himself had commissioned to speak of this to the world and to give His gifts, especially His gifts of forgiveness and life. They devoted themselves to this. A little Jesus was not enough.

And then this led, second, to being devoted to fellowship, or better and more accurately, the fellowship. The unity they had as Christians. The faith they held in common and so the life they had in common. The life they lived together, shared what they had, and gave to those in need. They weren’t a bunch of individuals, but the Body of Christ. United in Him. What Jesus had done for them didn’t just change the future, it changed life now, in the present. And those around them noticed.

And that unity in Christ was fed and nourished by the breaking of bread, which is Luke’s way of saying Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper. They were devoted to receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus, the gift Jesus had given to His Church just before He died, to strengthen them as Jesus lived in them and they in Him. It was as if Jesus was still with them, giving Himself to them. For He was. And how precious that was to them.

And so they were devoted to the prayers as well. The prayers. The prayers they prayed together. The prayers they spoke back to Jesus after Jesus had spoken to them through the apostles. They lifted up their needs with one voice, for so had Jesus commanded them to do, and He promised to hear and answer them. Give them all they asked for, all they needed. They weren’t now on their own, they still had a Good Shepherd watching over them and providing for them. So ask, Jesus said! I will provide.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Yet while it sounds like those early Christians were devoted to four things, in reality, they were devoted to only one: Jesus. For all those things are from Him and lead to Him. And they were devoted to Jesus only because Jesus was first devoted to them. Because they knew Jesus not was, but is, their Good Shepherd. The one who came to care for them, to feed them, to fight for them, to protect them, and to die for them. And He did. And now risen from the dead, to continue to do this for them - and for us - forever. 

And while this all sounds rather idyllic, it was far from it. Psalm 23 sounds all peaceful and nice, but we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. We will fear no evil, but there is evil. And His table is set in the presence of enemies. It was so in those early days of the Church, and it is now. There is death around us, especially these days with this virus. The evil one is always stalking us. And the truth of God’s Word will always be opposed by those who think they know better, or who speak what people want to hear, not what they need to hear.

Peter spoke of this in his Epistle that we heard today. Sorrow and suffering unjustly for doing good. Which sounds really odd, doesn’t it? For who could be against what is good? Well, it all depends on what your definition of good is. Proclaiming that there is only one true God, and only one truth not many truths, protecting life from the womb to the tomb, defending sexuality and marriage, pointing out sin and the need for forgiveness, speaking the truth of a Creator, and preaching that we cannot save ourselves by our own good works, that we’re not inherently good, and that we need a Saviour named Jesus - some would say all of that is not good, but divisive and hateful. Teachings from the past that we’ve moved beyond today. Or should.

But if we move away from those teachings, that good, we are devoting ourselves not to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, but to the world’s, to man’s teaching and fellowship. And maybe, if we do that, we’ll avoid being crucified. Maybe. But to what end? 

Rather, Peter says, look at Jesus, as both Saviour and example. Saviour from death, from the evil one, and from our enemies. He suffered, and so will you. But He now lives, and so will you. So follow in His steps, His good. And return good for evil, truth for lies, and love for hate. Not because you have to, but because that’s who you are. Because by Jesus’ wounds you have been healed. Healed from sin by His forgiveness. Healed from death by His life. By the forgiveness and life of your Good Shepherd. Not who was, but is your Good Shepherd. Still. Through it all. No matter what comes your way.

For Jesus has not promised to take us away from all the sin and evil in the world, but He has promised to be with us in it. Devoted to us. Doing everything for us, not for Himself. For if He was only about serving Himself, He never would have come, never would have been born, nor subjected Himself to suffering and rejection and crucifixion. And He would have saved Himself. But He didn’t. He was devoted to us. Even to death and the grave. To be with us even in those places, that we not fear them, when they threaten us and come upon us, for He will bring us through them to life. That we dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And so those early Christians, devoted to the one who is devoted to them, show us what the Christian life looks like. It is a life lived in the Word of God, a life lived in unity with our fellow believers, a life that feeds upon our Lord’s Body and Blood, and that prays together, here, in the Lord’s house. The alternative is living a life that is uncertain, alone, weak, and silent. And many are, though they may not know it, and maybe they don’t seem like it or look like it. But lying in a hospital bed with COVID-19 . . . uncertain, alone, weak, and silent seems like an apt description. 

Unless you have a Good Shepherd who is with you wherever you are, in life and in death. Unless you have His Word and promises and strength. Unless you have the confidence of His forgiveness and life. Unless the rest of His Body is praying for you and speaking for you. Maybe we don’t realize what a blessing that all is until we look like that. To have a Good Shepherd who is devoted to you Himself - and in His Body, the Church! - no matter what. Those early Christians rejoiced in that, and so do we.

In having a Shepherd who is not just a hired hand, but so much more than that! One who, as He told us today, is the gate, or the door, for the sheep. The one by which we gain access into the sheepfold, the church, and when a predator wants in, it is over His dead body! But since His body was dead and now is alive again, and cannot die again, we have nothing to fear. And then also as the Shepherd who is the door, He is the one who goes with us out into the world, to lead us in the way we should go, bring us back when we stray, rescue us from danger, protect us from the lurking evil one, and bring us safely home again. For He is no thief or robber, seeking only to get from us, but a true and good Shepherd, who has come for our life. And not just life, but life in abundance.

Which is another odd sounding phrase . . . for what does that mean, to have life in abundance? Does it mean to have a life abounding in the things of this world? Does it mean to have a long life? Or does it mean to have a life that abounds in the one who IS life Himself? Abounding in Christ and His abundance - an abundance of His forgiveness and life? It seems to me that’s what we see in that description of the early church that we started off with today - they were abounding in life and eager to share that life with others. And the more they shared it, the more they abounded in it.

So if your life isn’t like that, doesn’t look like that, return, as Peter said to us today, to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Return to His Font, where He made you His own and promised you forgiveness and life. Return to His Word, where He speaks His words and promises to you, to comfort you, assure you, sustain you, guide you, and strengthen you. Return to confess and hear His wonderful Word of Absolution. And return to His Table, to receive from His own hand the food and drink of His Body and Blood, the food and drink of life. And with He in you and you in Him, in His Body, the Church, with His fellow sheep, you have that life you’re looking for. And you can go out and share it with others, for you don’t have just a little life, but life in abundance. Life that will not end and never run out.

For when sin, death, and the devil want to take that life from you, Jesus, your Good Shepherd says: over my dead body! And since Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] they can’t have it, or you. Ever. For you belong to the one who is devoted to you. The door, the gate, the very Good Shepherd.

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

Easter 3 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Don’t Miss the Big for the Small”

Text: Luke 24:13-35; Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 1:17-25

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

It had been a Passover unlike any other. Oh, sure, there was the killing of the lambs, the family gathering, the remembrance of the Exodus, the rites and the words. But it was different. The festival-like atmosphere, the joy that usually overtook the whole city, was missing. The week had started out like that. Even more than usual with the whole Jesus-riding-into-Jerusalem-on-the-donkey thing. But it ended with blood. Crucifixions during the Feast. And this Jesus, this prophet mighty in deed and word, who we had hoped was the one to redeem Israel, well . . . turns out He couldn’t even save Himself. And now it was time to go back home. Usually, the conversation on the way was a happy one. But not this time. Not this year.

And then a strange week got even stranger when a stranger came up to them and started walking with them. That wasn’t so unusual, traveling together. But what was is that this man didn’t seem to know what had happened. The unrest, the blood, the crucifixions - he was clueless.

It would have been like if you, today, were to take a walk around the neighborhood and strike up a conversation with someone you meet about the coronavirus and social distancing and all that is happening in the world, and that person says: what virus? and social what? That’s inconceivable, isn’t it? Everyone knows. It’s impossible not to know. 

And it was the same way in Jerusalem. Everyone knew what had happened. It was impossible not to know. The Jerusalem rumor mill had been in high gear. The carrying of crosses through the city at one of the busiest times of the year. Jesus had been crucified on the main road. You couldn’t miss it. Yet apparently this man did. How, they did not know.

Now, of course, this man hadn’t missed anything. He had been right in the middle of it all! It had all happened to Him! He knew better than they did. In reality, it was those two disciples who had missed what really happened. They thought they knew, but somehow they missed it.

So how had they missed it? Well, like this: they missed the greater because they were looking for the smaller.

Now that sounds odd, doesn’t it? Because if we’re expecting something really big and something smaller happens . . . okay, that’s easy to miss, to overlook. But if we’re expecting something small and something much bigger happens, how do we miss that? But that’s exactly what happened to those two disciples.

For they had hoped that Jesus was the one to redeem Israel. They thought that was big, but it was really far too small. For Jesus had redeemed Israel! But not just Israel - Jesus had redeemed the world from sin, death, and the devil through His own death and resurrection. He had accomplished a far greater redemption than they could imagine. So they missed it. Rome was still there, Pilate was still there, the soldiers were still there, the crosses were still there. Israel was still in bondage. Or so it seemed.

So you and I . . . are we like that? Missing the big, or forgetting about it or overlooking it, because we’re too focused on the small? Missing the eternal because we’re too focused on the here and now? Missing life because we’re too focused on death? Maybe we are we more like those two disciples than we realize . . .

Consider what we heard in the other Scriptures that were read today . . .

In the first reading from the book of Acts, Peter said that Jesus was made Lord and Christ, but the people missed it! Why? Because they just wanted Him to be their king.

Peter went on to say that Jesus had provided them with the gifts of forgiveness and His Holy Spirit, but they missed it! Why? Because they just wanted the gift of freedom from Rome.

They wanted Jesus to save Israel, but instead He saved the world! So they missed it.

Then in second reading, from First Peter . . . Peter mentions silver and gold. We get that. Money. And the government is giving out lots of money these days - checks sent directly to us, the paycheck protection program, bailouts of industries, lots of silver and gold. But God has given us something far greater than all that, Peter says - His own Son! And the blood of His Son. But how many miss it? Because hoping for life now, do they miss the gift of eternal life? Don’t miss it! Peter says.

And even more in the reading from Luke . . . Those two disciples said that some were saying that Jesus was alive. But just alive isn’t enough. That’s too small. Greater than that is to be dead - really dead! Three days in the tomb dead! - and then alive again, risen from the dead. Just alive is too small. Jesus has come not just to make Himself alive, but to make you alive. To raise you from the dead, too.

So the small can make us miss the big. Or, to use the thinking of Peter, what doesn’t really matter can make us miss what really does. For the stuff of this world and life, Peter says, is like the grass and the flower of grass - it is passing away. It doesn’t last. You know that from your own life. Things break and wear out and die. Our loved ones do too. So if this - this world, this life, this stuff - is all we hope for, all we want, that’s not much. Pretty small, in fact, when there’s so much more. When there’s what Jesus has come to provide for us.

So how do we make sure we don’t wind up like those two disciples and miss the big for the small? Well, we don’t . . . but Jesus does. He comes to those two disciples but doesn’t just show Himself alive - that’s not enough; not big enough. So He shows them the big; the big picture from the Old Testament, and how their wants, goals, hopes, and desires were too small. He explained to them how all that stuff in the Old Testament was about Him. How all that stuff in the Old Testament that seem like really great stuff, really big stuff - the deliverance from Egypt, the promised land, the miracles and all - really wasn’t big at all. But it was pointing to it. To how God would and rescue, redeem, and save the world. And that’s the big thing that happened this week, Jesus tells them. And He turns the tables on them - How could they have missed it?

Well, Luke says, their hearts burned within them, started pumping faster, getting their hopes up again. Maybe they were thinking too small . . . 

And then it happened: a small meal becomes big. Jesus opens their eyes to see - not just Him alive, but the whole Old Testament, the whole Word of God, alive and fulfilled in Him, risen from the dead. That what they had hoped for, the redemption of Israel, had indeed happened.

So now for us, too, it is Jesus coming to us and the Word of God that will help us know what the big stuff is. Our eyes, our hearts, our ears, and our minds will fail us, and the devil and the world will try to deceive us and mislead us into thinking what is small is big. But the Word of God will point us true and keep us focused right. 

That what’s big is not the sin someone has committed against me, or the sin that I’ve done, but the forgiveness Jesus provided for those sins and for all sins.

That what’s big is not the death we see around us or the death creeping up on us, but the resurrection from the dead Jesus provided for us.

That what’s big is not getting what I want or having all of my hopes and dreams fulfilled, but receiving the kingdom of God and being a baptized child of God.

That what’s big is not having my stomach filled, or my bank account filled, or my house filled with stuff, but being filled with the Body and Blood of Jesus.

That what’s big is not having people remember me here after I die, but being remembered by Jesus when I die, and so being with Him in Paradise.

That what’s big is not receiving healing now, but living where healing is no longer necessary because there is no more sin, sickness, disease, or viruses.

That what’s big was not being in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and having a tongue of fire on your head, but when the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to three thousand persons that day through baptism! 

And what else? What seems big to you now? In your life? There’s a lot of big things being cancelled or put on hold in the world - proms, senior recitals, graduations, call day, championships, elections, events. And they’re important, and I hope we’ll be able to enjoy them all eventually. And God wants us to enjoy them and all the creation He has given us. But don’t miss the big for what is really small. These things will come and they will go, but the word of the Lord remains forever. 

The Word spoken and fulfilled. The Word made flesh. The Word dead and risen. The Word who sits on the throne and now lives and reigns for the good of His Christians and His Church. Focus on that, focus on Him, and the rest will fall into place. If you focus on the small, you might miss the big. But if you have the big, you’ll have the small, too. And true joy. Joy that will last through time, through death, and to eternity.

The joy Jesus brought to those two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the joy He brings here for you. Even in this Easter season that has been unlike any other.

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

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

Easter 2 Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“The Doors Are Now Unlocked”

Text: John 20:19-31; Acts 5:29-42; 1 Peter 1:3-9

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

The disciples were hunkering down for fear of the Jews. The cross was empty. Their Master was dead. The tomb was empty, too. Peter and John had seen it, so had some of the women. They said Jesus was alive, risen. They wanted to believe that. They really did. To have hope. But it was all so confusing. It had all happened so fast. They didn’t know what to think. But this they did know - the Jews were still out there. And maybe emboldened, since they had gotten Pilate to knuckle under to what they wanted. Maybe now things were headed from bad to worse, though it was hard to imagine worse than this. So they hunkered down in fear of death. Together. Hoping just to make it through the night. They’d worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

Much the same thing is happening today. People are hunkered down in fear. Of a virus. Stores are closed. Places usually bustling with people are empty. Some say the worst is past, some say the worst is still to come. It’s all so confusing. And it all happened so fast. Not that long ago life was going on as normal. And then it wasn’t. So people are hunkered down in fear of death. Isolated. Separated. Just hoping to make it through this time.

Some say crises like these bring out the best in people. Some say they bring out the worst. I think we’ve seen both. There have been scammers and people taking advantage of this situation for their own good, and there have been people giving and sacrificing for others. Perhaps what is really happening is that crises like these bring out who you really are; expose what is already there inside a person, even magnifying it. The fear and insecurity; the confidence and faith.

Certainly in the disciples’ case, I think this is true. Confusion, uncertainty, and fear is what we’ve seen in them all along. So when we read a description like this, that they were hunkered down for fear of the Jews, we’re not really surprised. What is a surprise is what we heard of them in the first reading, from the book of Acts, where Peter and the others are not afraid of the Jews but standing up to them, defying them, and when they are beaten as Jesus was, rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer for Him! That’s quite a change. 

A change that started for them that night behind those locked doors when Jesus appeared to them and said to them, Peace be with you. Peace for your troubled and fearful hearts. Peace for your confused and uncertain minds. Peace in the midst of a most unpeaceful world. A world where there is fighting and rivalry. A world where there is hatred and death. Then and now. These things go on because sin goes on. But how we respond to them now is most certainly changed. It is no longer an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21:24), but now love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). Jesus is risen to bring forgiveness into a world of sin, and life into a world of death.

And that’s the very gift He gives His disciples that night. The forgiveness of their sins and the promise of life. So their hearts and minds can be at peace. And then after giving them what they need, He commissions them to unlock those doors and give it to others; to go out and do the same. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Just as Jesus came into a world of sin and death with His forgiveness and life, the disciples would now do the same, and go to those hunkered down in fear and set them free. Free in the forgiveness and life of Christ. But they would not be or do so on their own. Jesus gives them His Holy Spirit to be with them. To enliven them, strengthen them, and change them. Change them from cowering, frightened, confused disciples, to bold, confident, certain apostles.

And that is what has happened to you as well. For the very same Peter who denied even knowing who Jesus was and was one of those locked in that room that night, would later go on to boldly and confidently say (and as we heard): Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. Born again. Baptized! To a living hope in the living Jesus. A hope sure and certain. That in Christ, your sins can no longer condemn you, for they are forgiven. In Christ, your death can no longer hold you, its grip on you has been broken. In Christ, you have an inheritance in heaven, so what you have and are, here and now, is not all there is. In Christ, you are a child of God. In Christ, you have, in a sense, immunity - from the sin and death in this world. Not, of course, that you are free to sin and kill. But that when sin comes and death happens, these things can no longer harm you. Or in other words, you have been changed, and can live a changed life. You who have been raised with Christ to a new life.

Yes, there are still trials and struggles - viruses and troubles - that we must go through. Peter says that too. And he had his share of them. But they are sent, he says, not to destroy your faith, but to strengthen it like gold. That you turn to your Saviour in every time of need. That in the end, the result is praise and glory and honor when Jesus comes again. When you receive the inheritance Jesus has provided for you.

And knowing that, believing that, as I said, changes you and how you live now. A change illustrated not just by the change in the disciples we heard in the book of Acts, but even sooner than that - by the difference between the ten who were in that locked room that night, and Thomas, who wasn’t. Doubting Thomas. Skeptic Thomas. Thomas, who demanded God meet him on his terms. 

Jesus does. Not just because He is merciful, but because Thomas is one of those twelve who will be sent out into the world to proclaim the resurrection. But Jesus does not commend him. Rather, Jesus commends you! Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 

Because the true blessing of God comes not through the eyes but through the ears. Miracles and signs and wonders show that you have a powerful God. Resurrection show you a God who couldn’t be held by death. But none of that benefits you - or at least, you don’t know that it does. For what if that powerful God uses His power against you? What if a resurrected God is back for revenge? You need to know more. You need the Word. The Word that Jesus spoke to His disciples that night. The Word He sent them to speak to you. His Word of peace.

His Word of peace, so when you are struggling with sin and feel its weight (like those disciples), you hear: I forgive you all your sins. What you and your sins deserve Jesus took on the cross for you. It’s on Him and not on you.

His Word of peace, so when you are struggling with feelings of unworthiness, confusion, and doubt (like those disciples), you hear: I baptized you. You are my child. And I do not regret it. I am your strength in weakness, your clarity in confusion, and the one you can count on.

His Word of peace, so when you are struggling with fear of death (like those disciples), especially in these days of pandemic, you hear: Because I live, you too will live. Death is not the end for those who die in the one who rose from the dead.

That is the Word those cowering disciples received and then went out and preached and poured out and fed to the people. It is the Word that changed them and changed the world. The Word that now changes you. That when faced with troubles and trials, with invisible viruses, with threats of persecution, with our own sin and unworthiness - whatever the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature can throw against us - we have what is more sure: the Word and peace of Jesus. That you know His victory, and that His victory is yours.

For if crises like what we are going through today bring out who you really are and expose what is already there inside a person, even magnifying it - look at what it revealed to us about Jesus. Certainly we see the greatness of sin and the horrifying spectre of death. It caused Him such turmoil in the Garden and on the cross. But even more we see His love, His steadfastness, His forgiveness, His compassion, and His glory. When faced with mocking, He loves. When faced with betrayal, He is steadfast. When faced with lies and false accusations and denials, He forgives. When faced with hatred, He has compassion. And when faced with crucifixion and humiliation, His self-sacrificing glory shines through. We never see God and what He is like more clearly than when we see Him hanging on the cross for you and me.

And now you, too. This time of uncertainty, confusion, and fear is when the love, forgiveness, and life of Jesus given to us can shine through as never before. For we have a God who has overcome the death that has gripped the world. We have a God who is in control of a world that looks out of control. We have a God we can count on in an uncertain and changing world. Our friends may let us down, the government may let us down, our own bodies may let us down, but our Saviour never will. 

So what’s in you? Christ is in you. His forgiveness, love, and life and in you. And we can live that way - not just now, but always. This crisis an opportunity to bring out who you really are. Because your life is not hanging in the balance - your life is already secure in Christ. He’s unlocked the door of your fear and the door of heaven so you can live - not foolishly and carelessly - but as His blessing to others.

But if during this time you don’t like what you see, what this crisis brings out of you, know this: your Saviour is not disappointed in you or frowning at you! But using this time to strengthen you and your faith. For remember those disciples in that room. Jesus didn’t reprimand them when He appeared, He loved them. He didn’t scold them, He gave them what they needed. And He does for you, too. For you who need peace, He has peace. For you who need forgiveness, He has forgiveness. For you who need love, He has love. So receive what you need from Him who died and rose to provide it for you. For starting that Easter day, the doors are unlocked. The door of your heart, the door of the grave, and the door of heaven. So you, too, now go, you are free. Go, give what you have received. Go live! Not in fear, but in faith. 

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

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

The Resurrection of Our Lord Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“The Biggest Number of All: 1!”

Text: Matthew 28:1-10; Colossians 3:1-4; Jeremiah 31:1-6

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia.

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

About a month ago, we were told that were we to do nothing, were we to go on living our lives as normal, there would be some 2.2 million deaths in the United States from the coronavirus. Yet because of closures and social distancing and other mitigation factors, that number was reduced a couple of weeks ago to a tenth of what it was - to between 100 and 240 thousand. And this week, more good news as the number was reduced again to approximately 60 thousand. Who knows what the final number will be, and what it will be worldwide.

But that smaller number is only good news if that’s not you or one of your loved ones. For each one of those 60 thousand is someone’s son or daughter, maybe someone’s husband or wife, father or mother, brother or sister. Someone’s classmate, friend, or co-worker. Each death tragic in its own way, bringing sorrow and grief. 

In the very midst of life snares of death surround us. That’s how Martin Luther put it in one of his hymns (LSB #755). 

But there are a few more numbers I want to share with you about that . . .

3,000 . . . 620,000 . . . 1.7 million . . . 8 million . . . 20 million . . . 50 million . . . 56 million . . . 62 million.

That’s the number of people who died on 9/11, in the US Civil War, in the Crusades, in the 30 Years war, in World War 1, of the Black Plague, in World War 2, and finally, that biggest number: the number of abortions in just the United States since 1973.

In the very midst of life snares of death surround us, indeed. 

But we didn’t sing that hymn of Luther’s this morning, but different one. And in this one we sang: Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands, for our offenses given; But now at God’s right hand He stands and brings us life from heaven (LSB #458, v. 1).

Yes, death’s bands are strong and wide, encompassing people of every time and place, and the numbers are staggering and growing. 

But today, we do not gather - in person or on our live stream - to mourn big numbers but to rejoice in a small one: 1. The one who came to break death’s strong bands, and bring us life. The one who died but rose from the dead. The one who brings us life from heaven, because in this world there is only sin and death. Life must come from outside. And it did.

But what is just one life against so many deaths? Well, more than enough when that one is the very Son of God. For He who gives life to all takes the death of all, to overcome it for all. And He did. 

That was the preaching of the angel on that morning after the Passover, when the women went to the tomb to take care of the body of Jesus. The dead body. But instead of a sealed tomb and a dead body, the women were greeted by a great earthquake, by an angel from heaven who rolled the stone away from the entrance of the tomb, and who then sat on it! And I think he must have looked pleased as punch as he sat there with joy on his face looking at the women with sorrow and shock on their faces. And with what joy the words must have burst out of his mouth! Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. You seek death but there is only life here. So go tell the others: Jesus is alive! and death is dead!

That’s got to be the greatest sermon of all time. I should just say Amen! and sit down. But you know me better than that. 

Because when you know this, when you know that death is dead and that Jesus is alive, the joy of that angel is your joy. Joy that cannot keep silent. Joy that because of the one we can face those other, really big numbers with confidence. Because we know that while one is smaller than them, one is really bigger than them. And so His joy can overcome our sadness, sorrow, and mourning, just as His life overcame our death. 

So do not be afraid, the angel told the women. And then Jesus Himself told the women! For there is nothing now to be afraid of. Our sin has been atoned for, death’s strong bands broken, hell vanquished, and satan beaten back. Now, in Jesus, there is only life, forgiveness, love, confidence, and a glorious future. And no virus, no war, no tragedy, can take that from us.

That’s why St. Paul tells us today to set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. When we focus on the things of the earth - the sin in us and in others, the brokenness, the troubles, the viruses and diseases, the wars and rumors of wars, the fears, the hurts inflicted on us - we find not joy but sadness and uncertainty. We are like the women going to the tomb, expecting death. It’s what we know. 

So the angel points them to something else - the Word and promises of God fulfilled in Jesus and His empty tomb. And then there is joy and confidence and victory. The joy and confidence and victory we need to face life in a world that still lay in death’s strong bands. But one day it will not, and we look forward to that day, when we, body and soul, will be set free. And it will come. As surely as He is risen from the dead. 

For as God said through the prophet Jeremiah: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. 

He is faithful to the end. Faithful in good times and bad. Faithful in all time of our tribulation, and in all time of our prosperity (Litany). Faithful in sickness and in health. Faithful when we’re young and when we’re old. Faithful in life and when we die.

For die we will. We are sinners, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But the death we die as baptized Christians is no usual death, but a death whose strong bands have been broken; whose strong bands could not hold Christ and so cannot hold us who are in Christ. Which means when we are staring at the grave like those women that first Easter morning - even if it’s your own grave! - the message of the angel and of Jesus is for you: do not be afraid. He is risen, as He said. And you will rise, as He said. For, as St. Paul went on to say, when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

So when you hear the words of Absolution, I forgive you all your sins, Jesus is alive and telling you: your death is dead! 

When you remember your baptism, make the sign of the cross, and say I am baptized!, Jesus is alive and telling you: your death is dead!

When Jesus gives you His Body and Blood to eat and to drink, Jesus is alive and saying to you: your death is dead!

And if your Jesus is alive and your death is dead, that means that when you die - be it from this virus or something else - you will live. In all these ways, Jesus is setting your mind on things above, on Him. That the joy of the angel, the joy of the women, the joy of Jesus, be yours.

So in these trying and uncertain times, we’ll be careful, we’ll be safe, we’ll be smart, and we’ll be wise, but we will not fear. For as we’ll sing out in joy at the end of the service today, in the final hymn: I know that my Redeemer lives! (LSB #461) And we’ll sing all that He lives to do for us. Far too many things to repeat here! And it’s all that we need. In any and every circumstance. Whatever life may bring. However big the numbers get. Because however big the numbers get, 1 is still the biggest number of all! Because today, Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!

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

Easter Vigil Meditation

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Our Story”

Tonight we hear the Old Testament preach. Some might say that it does not have much to say to us, now that the New Testament has come. They would be wrong. It is important that we hear the Old Testament - how each and every Word spoken by God is perfect and fulfilled, how God uses water to save His people, and how the flames of hell are extinguished for us. It is important that we hear these stories that are not just stories, and not just God’s stories, but our stories. For we have been baptized into these stories. So that makes them ours.

The joy of Adam and Eve in the life and creation they had received is our joy.

The joy of Noah after the flood is our joy.

The joy of Israel safe and secure after crossing the Red Sea is our joy.

The joy of Ezekiel in God’s restoration and new life is our joy.

The joy of suffering Job in His Redeemer is our joy.

The joy of Zephaniah in the gathering together of all God’s people is our joy.

And the joy of the three young men in the fiery furnace in our joy.

Our joy, for this is all the joy of Christ for us. For what the Son of God did of old He is doing now anew. All the Old Testament led to Him and all the New Testament flows from Him. He is the center of it all. Without Him, they are just stories, soon to be forgotten. But with Him, they are His wondrous works, praised for time and eternity.

How blessed is this night when all is accomplished. When past and future come together in one man. 

So we’ll hear the Old Testament preach, and then we’ll remember our baptism, when made children of God, all these stories became our stories, in Christ. We don’t relive them, but we live in them and from them. The works begun then continue for us until our resurrection.

So we’ll hear that story too, tonight. Of the resurrection, the empty tomb. He is not here, the angel said. Why would He be? Why seek the living among the dead?

We know where He is, where to find Him. We are not like the saddened and confused women who went to the tomb. He is where He has promised to be for us. In the Font, in the water, where He makes us His children and forgives. In the Absolution and the Gospel, in the Word, where he forgives us and cleanses us. On the Altar, in the bread and wine, where He feeds us and forgives us. He leaves the tomb empty so He may fill our hearts with peace and joy, and give us rest.

So what a glorious night this is. The dawning of a new day that will never end. 

You live in that day, now, already, but not yet in fullness. The fullness is still coming. And it will surely come. Just as surely as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity (Small Catechism). But not yet. Now, we continue in the struggle against sin. Now, we continue in the crosshairs of the enemy. Now, we continue in the stories we will hear. But how the story will end, how our stories will end, we know. For those stories, and Christ’s story, is our story. And so it will end in glory.

So rejoice now, all you heavenly choirs of angels. 

Rejoice now, all creation.

Rejoice, too, all the earth.

Rejoice, O Church of Christ (from the Exsultet).

This is the night.

Let us hear our story again and ready ourselves for the morning of resurrection.

Holy and Good Friday Sermon

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Three Not-so-little Words”

Text: John 18-19 (Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16)

The Gospel writers, the Holy Evangelists, record seven words, seven things, that Jesus said from the cross. Matthew and Mark both have the same one, the cry of Jesus’ forsakenness. Luke has three precious ones: Jesus’ word of forgiveness, of Paradise, and committing Himself into His Father’s hands. And John, as we will hear tonight, has three - all three different than the others. Which isn’t much of a surprise, since John is a Gospel different than the others. His is the theological Gospel, focusing not primarily on Jesus’ life and deeds (though he has some of that), but moreso on Jesus’ teaching. So it would seem that with the words John includes from the lips of the crucified Jesus, we should consider them in the same light - to think not just of their physical dimension and meaning, but also look for the theological truth John is providing. Or in other words, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Deeply hear. These three words. Let us so consider them now. 

Hymn #447 (vs. 7-9)

The first word John records for us from Jesus is when he speaks to His mother: Woman, behold your son! And when He says to His disciple John: Behold, your mother! (John 19:26-27)

Mothers suffer with their children in ways fathers do not. Nine months in the womb creates a different kind of bond. And Mary is suffering. A sword will pierce your own soul also, Simeon had told Mary a mere 40 days after Jesus was born (Luke 2:35). And it was. Being the mother of God, it seems, wouldn’t have many perks. Some would look on her as an adultress. She would spend three days in anguish, looking for her 12-year-old son when Jesus decided to stay behind in Jerusalem instead of coming home from the feast. And now this. Mocking, flogging, and crucifixion. And for what? Being who she knew He was.

So she who suffers like no other, gets care like no other. Even here, even now. Jesus, as perfect man, keeps the Fourth Commandment perfectly. He honors, serves, obeys, loves, and cherishes His mother - the one who gave birth to Him and from whom He received His human flesh. He gives her a son in His place, to care for her. And at the same time, He gives a way for this disciple whom Jesus loved to love Jesus from this point forward, caring for his mother. 

But Jesus is not just perfect man but perfect God. And so while we see and hear the physical dimension of this Word, we can hear as well the spiritual dimension. That here is the Son of God holding fast not to His earthly family - He is letting them go. Rather, He is holding fast to His Bride, the Church. For as a man will leave his father and mother and hold fast to his bride, and the two will become one flesh, so it is with Jesus. He left His Father in heaven and became one flesh with us in His incarnation, and now leaving His mother, He will hold fast to us even to death. He lays down His life that we, His Bride, may live. 

That is the good news of the cross for us - that though our earthly families break, though death separates us, though sin divides us, though strife may even turn us against one another - and though this be true even of the Church on earth, the Church Militant, there is another reality where this is not so. The Church that is triumphant in her Bridegroom. The Church joined to Him forever. As His family. And that’s you. Jesus will never give you to another to be taken care of. You are His and He is yours. He dies for you that you may live with Him, who is one flesh with you. Forever.

Hymn #447 (vs. 13-15)

The second word John records for us from Jesus is the shortest one: I thirst (John 19:28). And make no mistake about it, this is no little thirst, but a real, physical thirst, from real and deep suffering (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). A burning, parching, painful thirst. A lips, tongue, and throat as dry as the desert, thirst. But there is no oasis for Jesus. No relief, no mitigation. Just a little sour wine to burn His throat and add to His agony.

Think of what is going on here. When His people were in the desert, in the dry and arid wilderness, sentenced to wander for forty years, suffering thirst, with nothing to drink, they were given water from a rock to drink. And, St. Paul tells us, that rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). Yet He who provides water gets no water. The Good Shepherd who leads His sheep beside still waters (Psalm 23:2), gets no water. The Messiah who gives living water to the thirsting Samaritan woman at the well, gets no water. And the one who has provided a home for those coming out of the great tribulation, where they hunger no more, neither thirst anymore (Revelation 7:16), gets no water. 

Yet there is an even greater thirst Jesus has: His thirst for you. So He will do without water so that He will not be without you. 

That is the good news of the cross for you - that the loving thirst of your Saviour is not for anything in this world, but for you. So when you are in pain, when you are thirsting for mercy and aid, remember the one who thirsted for you above all else, to provide you with all that you need. So that while you may thirst now, for a while, you will not thirst forever. You will drink from that rock that is Christ. He leads you beside quiet waters. And He gives you living water. And one day, you will be in that great throng in heaven, around His throne, never to thirst again. 

Hymn #447 (vs. 16-18)

Finally, John tell us, Jesus says, It is finished (John 19:30). The crucifixion is finished. His life is finished. The pain is finished. He bows His head and gives up His spirit.

But even more than that, the work of redemption is finished. The atonement is finished. The Old Testament is finished. Now there is a New Testament, in His blood. His blood that gives life. His blood that marks the door of our hearts, that we live and not die. 

It is finished. But He is not. For He will rise, and rising He will continue as High Priest forever (Hebrews 4:14-16). So still He is praying for you, forgiving you, feeding you, serving you. He bowed His head and handed over His Spirit . . . to you, to live in you. 

On the sixth day, Friday, creation was finished. And on the seventh day, God rested. So now, on the sixth day, Friday, the work of re-creation is finished. And on the seventh day, Jesus will rest in the tomb. And on the seventh day plus one, the eighth day, Jesus will rise in that new day that will never end. 

It is finished, yet it is just beginning. Eternity. That is the good news of the cross for you. It is finished, but He is not finished, and you are not finished. In Him, you have a future beyond the 70 or 80 years of this life. In Him, you have a life beyond death. In Him, you have the promise of perfect life, perfect joy. Where there is no finished; just forever.

These things are written, John says, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31). Let us now hear what John has written, believe, and live.