Holy Maundy Thursday Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Handed Over, For You”

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; John 13:1-17, 31b-35; Exodus 12:1-14

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

For some Christians, tonight is really no big deal. It is simply the night of our Lord’s final meal, His Last Supper, with His disciples. Something to remember, for sure. Maybe also to imitate. But nothing more than that.

For Rome, tonight is a big deal for them partly because it is the institution of the priesthood - Jesus ordering, or ordaining, His disciples-soon-to-be-apostles to continue offering the sacrifice of the mass.

But for us, it is neither of those things. Tonight is the night of for you. Jesus’ Body given for you to eat. Jesus’ Blood given for you to drink. Your Passover Lamb, but even more. For while the flesh of the old passover lamb was roasted and eaten, and Jesus’ Body would be roasted on the cross and now eaten by us, you could not drink the blood of the lamb. That was forbidden. Until now. Until the Lamb of God came to pour out His Blood for you. And now by eating His Body and drinking His Blood in faith, you receive the forgiveness and life of His Passover. His Passover where He does not cause death to pass over you, but defeats death for you. That though you die, yet will you live. That though you die, you will rise to life with Him. A life that will not, can not, end.

That is the gift, the testament, the inheritance, Jesus leaves behind for you this night. His public ministry began with His Baptism and ends with this sacred meal. This night began with Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, and ends as the Lamb is bound and led away to be slaughtered and roasted on the cross. Our Christian life begins with the water, too, and is sustained by this Meal until our end. Our manna in the wilderness until we reach the Promised Land of heaven, and the milk and honey of the marriage feast of the Lamb.

So tonight is a most special night, indeed. The night of handing over, we could say. Our English translations don’t quite capture it, but this is how we could put Paul’s words that we heard tonight: For I received from the Lord what I also handed over to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was handed over took bread, His Body, . . . and the cup, His Blood, . . . and handed over them to you. The night Jesus was handed over to die, He handed over to you His gift, to live.

Are you worthy of such a gift? How could you be? But that is what makes it such an extraordinary gift. It is a great gift for those who deserve no gift. A gift for sinners, for the forgiveness of your sins.

But Paul does speak of eating and drinking in an unworthy manner. This is eating and drinking in unbelief. Not believing that this is a gift, but rather something that you are doing for God. Not believing that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness. Not believing that when Jesus said This is My Body and This is My Blood, it really is. This is not gift received, but gift refused.

But to come in faith . . . That yes, Father, Your Word is true. I am a poor, miserable sinner in need of forgiveness. That yes, Jesus, Your Word is true. Here is Your Body and Blood, the very same that hung on the cross, only now risen and glorified, given to me. That yes, Lord, Your Word is true, this is a gift for me and my salvation. To come in such faith, then, is to receive the judgment of God for you in Christ, His judgment of not guilty. For your sins have been swallowed up in the death and resurrection of the One once given for you, now given to you. You receive the forgiveness that you need and that God wants so to give.

So, as Paul says, we examine ourselves and judge ourselves truly and repent, so that we will not be condemned. For as David once wrote and prayed, For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. That is, it is not what we do that delights and pleases God . . . The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17). A broken and contrite heart, a repentant heart that clings to God’s Word in faith, God will never despise; He will never turn away. For God does not help those who help themselves. He helps those who cannot help themselves. Israel in Egypt. Outcasts, prostitutes, tax collectors, and other great sinners. You and I in our bondage to sin. 

But there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Those who are in Christ Jesus, and those who Christ Jesus is in, through His gifts. For your condemnation was taken by Jesus on the cross, and He hands over His righteousness to you. That He live in you as you live in Him. And so His love and forgiveness be both handed over to you, and handed over by you to others.

That’s part of the new commandment Jesus gave this night. He commanded that this meal continue - as often as you do this. That is, do it often! And He also commanded that we love one another as He loved us. Make sure you keep those two commands together! For apart they fail. If we try to love as Jesus loved without first receiving Jesus’ love, we will fail. We are not able. But also if we receive His love, His gift, and do not love others, it dies within us. It is then the seed of the parable (Matthew 13) that falls on the hard path, the rocky soil, or becomes the thorn-choked plant. Jesus sows His seed that it produce an abundant harvest. And that seed is His Word, yes. But as we especially remember tonight and tomorrow, it is He, the Word made flesh, Himself. For as Jesus said of Himself: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24). Tomorrow, Good Friday, that seed dies and is planted in the earth. But sprouting forth in His resurrection, He produces an abundant harvest. 

Tonight, not only His Word but Jesus Himself, His very Body and Blood, are planted in you. To produce a harvest in you and through you. And He will. He is. His Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It is not one and done, though. We can never have enough, as our sin still clings to us. That is why we always need more. More Jesus. More forgiveness. More Word. More Body and Blood. And He is always here to hand over that to you.

So tonight is the night of for you. And the night of handing over. To hand over this gift for you, that you need. To hand over this gift first given this night, to never stop being given, until that day when it is no longer needed, when we enter the eternal day and the wedding feast of heaven.

So come, bending the knee of your heart. Come, broken and contrite, repenting of your sin. Come, hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Tonight is for you. Jesus for you.

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

Holy Wednesday Vespers Meditation

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Jesu Juva

Holy Wednesday Meditation

Text: Romans 5:6-11

Who would you die for?

The first answer that might come to mind is your family. For your children, your spouse, your parents. Those closest and dearest to you.

Police and firefighters put their lives on the line and sometimes die protecting people. When they do, they’re often honored with memorials or other tributes.

Military members die for their country, defending their fellow citizens, even those who disagree with them.

But would you die for the person who broke into your house and stole your stuff? Would you die for the criminal who mugged you and gave you a good beating? Would you die for the person who took the life of one of your loved ones? Why would you, right? It’s their life that deserves snuffing out, not yours.

But we know, and we hear again this Holy Week, that’s exactly what Jesus did for us. He didn’t die for the righteous, He didn’t die for the good, He died for sinners. And not just sinners, but really bad sinners. The worst of the worst.

He died for Judas who betrayed Him.

He died for Pontius Pilate who condemned Him.

He died for the soldiers who beat Him and nailed Him to the cross.

He died for the Chief Priests and Elders who got Pilate to sentence Him to death.

He died for Peter who denied Him.

He died for the person who broke into your house and stole your stuff.

He died for the criminal who mugged you and gave you a good beating.

He died for the person who took the life of one of your loved ones.

And, oh yes, He died for you.

That’s an objective fact. Earlier I asked you who you might die for, which was speculation. This is not that. This is what happened on the cross. Isaiah tells us that God laid on our Messiah, on Jesus, the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6b). And all means all. Jesus died for you. To reconcile you to God. To remove what was separating you from God. To bring you back together what sin had rent asunder. To give you peace with God. That’s done. Objective fact. It is what we are remembering and rejoicing in this week. That tremendous sacrifice Jesus made for us - while we were not good, not righteous, but sinners, enemies of His. 

But on Sunday we’re also going to remember and rejoice in His resurrection. That is, His life from the dead. That is, that the one who died for us is not just alive again, but still saving us! His work is not just past tense, but present tense and future tense as well, continuing still today. He didn’t die for us and then leave us on our own. A kind of divine second chance. OK. You screwed up. I took care of that. Now you better take advantage of your second chance! No, the reconciliation of the cross, the justification of the cross, continues, as Jesus continues to forgive. When we repent, He speaks to us His Absolution through the mouth of the man He put there to speak on His behalf. He continues to feed us with His Body and Blood to strengthen us through the struggles of this life and our struggles with sin. And on the Last Day, He will stand with us. He will not say: I died for you and this is how you repay me? This is what you did with your life? In that case, we’re all lost. No, Paul says. He who died for us, who justified us, who reconciled us, will also save us. 

Why God would do all that for us, we must admit, is a mystery. Though we know the reason - love - it is still a mystery. A love like that. Beyond anything in this world or of this world. Or as we just sang, My Song Is Love Unknown (LSB #430).

It is a love given to us that we may now, in turn, give it to others. Not because they’re righteous, good, or deserving, and not just because it’s been given to us, but because Christ is working this mind and this love in us. Or as Paul says in Philippians, words that we heard this past Sunday: Have this mind among yourself, which is yours in Christ Jesus . . . (Philippians 2:5).

Perhaps one way to think about that is this: How will you react, what will you think, if you meet one of those people who hurt you in heaven? That person who broke into your house and stole something very dear to you? That person who mugged you and gave you a good beating? That person who took the life of a loved one? Will you be filled with anger and hate and thirst for revenge? No, not in heaven. There is none of that there. Rather, risen from the dead and glorified, you have the mind of Christ. That loves even enemies. That rejoices in the justification and reconciliation of all people. Christ healed you from your past and your sins. So there is only a glorious future.

You have that mind now. You’ve been baptized into Christ. He lives in you, though you still struggle against sin and sinful urges. But this week, we see something different. Completely different. What love looks like without sin and sinful urges. Pure, divine love. And it runs deeper and shines brighter than anything we could imagine. Even to dying for enemies. 

We rejoice to see such love. We rejoice to receive such love. And we rejoice to give such love. And because of Jesus, one day we will rejoice to live in the fullness of that love, with Him, forever. 

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

Holy Tuesday Vespers Meditation

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Jesu Juva

Holy Tuesday Meditation

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

The cross is the power of God, not the power of man.

Wisdom is foolishness and foolishness is wisdom.

Strength is weakness and weakness is strength.

The low are high and the high are low.

You win by losing.

You live by dying.

That’s what St. Paul just told us. He packed all that in the few verses we heard tonight. He’s not being contrarian. He being truthful. To the world, the things of God don’t make sense. They are exactly upside-down.

But it is not God who is upside-down, but the world. That’s what sin has done to us. What God calls good, satan calls bad. What God calls life, satan calls death. What God calls truth, satan calls a lie. And who do we believe? Who do you believe?

Well, take a look at your life. Do you see your success in getting or giving? Do you measure yourself by what you do or what God has done for you? Do you put your energy into climbing or serving? When you don’t get what you want, do you thank God or get mad at Him? 

This week above all others highlights this truth: just how upside-down our world is. How wrong our thinking has become. How different than how God created us to be.

It’s why Pilate can’t figure out Jesus. Why isn’t He answering? Why isn’t He trying to save his life? It’s why Peter keeps trying to save his life by denying Jesus. It’s why James and John ask Jesus for seats of honor and glory. It’s why Judas thinks money more valuable than Jesus. It’s why the people trade Barabbas for Jesus and mock Jesus on the cross. And it’s why tears are shed when Jesus dies. They didn’t know, and we keep forgetting, that was part of His victory!

That’s an important part of this week, too. To remind us of that. To help us see that. So that maybe we’ll stop challenging God, like the Greeks and the Jews, demanding signs and wisdom - the signs we want and what we think is wisdom, that is - and start believing Him and the sign and the wisdom He did provide us: namely, the cross.

The Romans thought the cross was the power of man. Don’t cross the government or this is what will happen to you! But with the sign of Jonah, when Jesus died on that cross and the rose from the dead three days later, he took that power of man and broke it across his knee like a stick. Power? What power?

And what so-called wisdom is the world spouting these days? What so-called truth opposing and contradicting God’s Word? That will give you what you want? That will save you? Everyone one of them, who have made such claims, so far, have died. There are still wars. There is still poverty. There is still division and hatred. We villify our ancestors and think we know so much better. But is the world any better? Really?

This week, this Holy Week, is like hitting the reset button in the church. We preach Christ crucified. Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. It’s what we should do all year round, but maybe forget or drift away or get caught up in the currents of the world. Not this week. This week we see God’s strength in weakness, and His dying to live. And we say: Amen! Truth. There is God for me! That’s the source of your life, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. What else do I need? What else do I think He should do, if He did that for me?

So are you low on the world’s totem pole? Are you weak in the world’s kind of strength? Does the world think what you think and believe foolish? Are you a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles? Good! So was Christ crucified. And we know what God did with Him.

So maybe the good news of this week and all that Jesus has done for us can help us beyond this week. That we forget a little less, and not drift quite as far, and get caught up in the ways of the world not so much. As Christ crucified lives in you. And where Christ lives, there is life. 

So rejoice! And boast in your weak and lowly and foolish and crucified God. 

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

Holy Monday Vespers Meditation

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Jesu Juva

Holy Monday Meditation

Text: Hebrews 9:11-15

Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come.

Good things. Those are not only the things to come. That’s what creation was in the beginning. Each day, God created. And each day, God saw that it was good. And at the end of the six days, it was all very good. Perfect. And in perfect harmony. All parts of creation working flawlessly and seemlessly with each other. Nothing to late. Nothing too early. Nothing off, even a little. Everything right. And good.

Until it wasn’t. Until Adam and Eve decided that good wasn’t good enough. But after their redesign of God’s creation, things weren’t better than good. Now nothing was good. Their relationship with God, their relationship with each other, their relationship with the world. They themselves and all creation, now no longer good. Now, infected by sin. And now with sin, things would die. They would die. And a world in which before there was no death, would now struggle to live.

You can imagine the sadness and sorrow of our first parents. How they ruined everything. A sadness and sorrow that would grow as their struggles continued year after year, as they lived through the murder of their son. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it - you know it. The deeds done, the words spoken, that you wish you could take back, that ruined everything. The death you live through. The sorrows and sadness of life. You know them well.

So what good news for us tonight, to hear that Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come . . . again! The old high priests helped the people muddle through, God giving them hope through the blood of goat and calves, bulls and heifers, that a better day was coming. We hope for lots of things today, that sometimes come and sometimes don’t. But hope in the words and promises of God is never left unfulfilled. 

And so as we heard, not an old high priest, but a new one has come. Not for the purification of the flesh, but to purify our consciences. Not for redemption until the next sin, but for an eternal redemption - a once and for all redemption. And so not with the blood of goats or calves, bulls or heifers, but with His own blood, with His own holy, divine, sinless blood, the blood of Christ, the blood of God, was a new covenant, a new testament, sealed. So that those who are called (that’s you!) may receive the promised eternal inheritance. For you have a Redeemer, and you have been redeemed, by His blood. 

So now there are good things again! You are good again in the forgiveness of your sins. By the blood of Christ in the water of baptism, the blood of Christ soaking every page and word of Scripture, the blood of Christ speaking in every Absolution, the blood of Christ poured into your mouths, purifying you and promising you an eternal inheritance. An inheritance that is really a restoration. Back to when everything was good. When it will all be good again.

That good is already here for you now, just not yet in all its fullness. You have forgiveness now, you are cleansed now, Christ is working in you now, to live a new life, a good life now. To give you hope in your sorrows and joy in your sadness. To speak words that heal, not hurt. To do deeds that help, not ruin. That good again you bring good into a not-good world.

And just as you know the not-goodness of the world, so too you know this goodness. You’ve seen the difference a good word, a good deed can do. And above all, the good words and deeds we hear again this week - the good of Christ for you. 

So rejoice this holy week. Do not mourn the death of Christ, but rejoice that He did this, He willingly laid down His life in love for you. And that, just as in the beginning, God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Again.

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

Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“One Who Dies For All”

Text: John 12:12-19; Mark 14-15

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

“Even one death is too many.”

You’ve heard that phrase. Probably from the lips of a politician. And usually in the context of telling us how many death there have been from COVID-19. The number is large and shocking . . . but even one death is too many. It sounds very pious. It’s a good sound bite in our sound bite world. 

Truth is, though, not all deaths are equal. Some get more press than others. The name Patricia Dowd probably means nothing to you, but George Floyd does. (Patricia is thought to be the first person in our country to die of COVID-19.) Or when a national leader, or a celebrity, or a sports star gets COVID or dies from COVID, it makes the news. When the guy lying in a nursing home, or the woman down your street, or a homeless person gets it or dies from it, not so much. But hey . . . even one death is too many.

We could say the same thing about abortion, assisted suicide, and euthanasia - even one of those deaths is too many. But those aren’t usually part of the conversation. 

And consider this too: if evolution is true, then this saying is not. One death is really no big deal at all. Just one more in a long chain of deaths. Survival of the fittest. Nature doing its job, weeding out the old and the weak, while the young and strong thrive. It’s just the way things are. Isn’t it?

So the truth is: we’re confused, aren’t we? About death. Is it good or bad? Good in one time and place, and bad in another time and place? Is it useful or useless? Is it a friend, an ally? Or an enemy? Or both? Like an animal - sometimes tame and domesticated, and sometimes wild and out of control?

But death is here, in our world. And it doesn’t care who you are, what race, how old, your status, or your education level. People die and will continue to die. Not from COVID, but from sin. It is sin that has brought death into the world, and that will bring your death. And no medicine, no science, no vaccines, no man-made solutions will stop it. There’s only one who can. The one who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. That’s what today and this week are all about. Jesus marching into battle. To battle death. ALL death.

Because for Him, for Jesus, for God, it really is true: even one death is too many. No one was meant to die. No one. But we thought - and sinfully often still think - we can do life better than God. Yeah, really! But all we did in the end, was death.

And for God, it’s not just physical death. That’s all we’ve really been talking about so far. But for God it’s even worse. He sees what we do not see - those dying spiritually, eternally. Which is far worse. And one of these is too many for Him. For the God who created all life wants all life to live with Him forever.

So the God who created all life rides into Jerusalem today to battle death. He enters this week as a mighty warrior, hailed with palm branches and shouts of victory. He ends this week dead, looking quite vanquished, wrapped in a shroud and laid in a tomb, to quiet sobs of grief. 

But this one death is exactly what was needed. For the death He died was yours. As God, Jesus couldn’t die. As sinless and perfect, He shouldn’t die. But in Jesus, God is made man, and as the Lamb of God He dies with your sin, as your substitute. Jesus didn’t want to die. When faced with death in the Garden of Gethsemane, He agonized. But even more than He didn’t want to die, He didn’t want you to die. So He would die. For you. Your death. To break the grip of death on you. And this was the only way to do it. That just as we imposed death upon the life He created, He would impose His life on the death we created. And with His resurrection, He does so. He is victorious.

So maybe we’re a Sunday too early with our Palm Branches. We should really wave them next week, don’t you think? When the tomb is empty and the victory has been accomplished for us? When our shouts of hosanna have been fulfilled! Well, don’t worry. You’ll have that chance. Not because we’re giving out palm branches again next Sunday. No, even better. You’ll do it for real, in heaven. For as John told us: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)

So today we wave our palm branches, not in imitation of the past, of those in Jerusalem that day, but in anticipation of the future, of Jesus, our King, coming again for us, and when we will wave them on that eternal day. On that day when there will be no more death, only life. Life eternal.

And it’s why we sing hosanna. And not just today, but every Sunday, as our King comes to us not humbly on a donkey, but humbly in bread and wine. Coming to hosanna us, save us, from our sins with the forgiveness of our sins. What He accomplished for us that week given to us here every week: forgiveness, life, and salvation. As we, again, anticipate His coming again, and the feast of heaven, which will have no end.

One of our children demonstrated that connection this week. In our Children’s Bible Story Time on Thursday evening, we were talking a little about palms and Palm Sunday and one child starting singing hosanna - but not the hosanna of the hymns we sing today, but the hosanna in the liturgy we will sing today, tying together Palm Sunday with the Lord’s Supper. Perfect. That’s how the liturgy teaches us eternal truths. 

And today, especially this truth: that for God, even one death is too many. And so Jesus doesn’t die for some, or most, but for all. That all may have life in Him.

So let me suggest another way of thinking that is again quite opposite of the world. For I’m sure you’ve heard the saying: you only get one life to live, so live it to the full! Take advantage of every opportunity. Don’t let anyone hold you back. The problem with that is that people then forget about death, which comes at any time, and often quite suddenly and unexpectedly. And so they’re not ready. 

So instead, how about this . . . Instead of: you only get one life to live, you only get one death to die. And here’s why I think that’s better: because no one pays so much attention to living as the one who knows he is dying. They are the ones who make every moment count. They are the ones who take advantage of every opportunity. They are the ones who pay attention to what really matters. They say what matters, they do what is important, they want to use the time they have left wisely. So they’ll be ready when death comes. 

So this week, we do that - we look at death so that we live. We learn how to die in faith to live in faith. Faith that sets us free from the fear of death, for though we will die, yet shall we live. In the One who died and yet lives for us. To Him, even one death really is too many. But for us, His one death was exactly what we needed. 

So let us now hear that story again, today and all this week. The story of His death. The story of our life. 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent 5 Midweek Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Facets of Forgiveness: Paid”

Text: Luke 23:32-48; 1 Kings 19:1-18; Hebrews 12:1-4, 12-15

Psalm 130

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

A few years ago my daughter drove our van out to the mall to do some shopping. And when she came home, it was not the same. The entire front right side had been bashed in and the bumper was barely hanging on. While she was in the mall, someone had hit our van and mangled it up pretty good. And then just drove off. No note. No sorry. Nothing. And we were left with the bill.

Maybe that’s a good picture of sin - someone driving into you, plowing into you, mangling you pretty good. And you’re dented, you’re hurt. Because of what they did to you, how deeply they hurt you. And you may never be the same. Or they may not be, when you’ve done that to someone else . . . and just went on your merry way. No note. No sorry. Nothing. But there’s damage, and a bill to pay.

When that happens to you, you could forgive. Pay for it yourself. Let them get away with it. You may not have much choice, if you don’t know who did it. But is that what forgiveness is? Getting away with your sin? Or letting someone else get away with it? Is this world really just a bunch of mangled, damaged people driving around? If so, it seems like a problem that will just keep getting worse. For once your car is mangled, you’re not as careful. A few more dents and scratches aren’t going to make much more difference!

Well, you could try to fix it yourself, if the damage isn’t too bad. Last year, my same daughter’s own car got hit - and part of the back bumper got popped out. We pounded it back in, but it’s popping out again. Sometimes we try to do that with sin - fix it ourselves. But if the damage is severe, no way. You’re going to have to get it fixed. Someone will have to pay.

So God did. That’s the final wonderful facet of forgiveness we’ll consider tonight. That for our world filled with sin, our world filled with sinners who drive over and mangle each other, and who even mangle and hurt ourselves, we’re not left on our own. God didn’t look at out damaged selves and our damaged world and say: “Gee, that’s too bad. You’re going to want to get that fixed, I guess!” He came. To fix us. And to pay for it Himself. With His life.

And He knows something about the damage and the pain we get and inflict. Because we’ve done it to Him. He’s the car that’s been driven into, smashed, mangled, plowed over, pushed off a cliff - and anything else you can think of, and more times than you can imagine! It began in the Garden and has continued ever since. And then He sent His Son into the world to fix us and to pay, to redeem us, to ransom us, and when He did, what happened to Him? Look at the dents on Him. Look at the abuse He took, look at those nails, the whip marks, the head crowned with thorns. And at the deepest, darkest moment of all that, as He was paying for the sin of the world not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death, He said: Father, forgive them. 

And you are. The damage you’ve inflicted, paid for. And the damage inflicted on you, fixed with His resurrection. Though it cost Him dearly.

But sometimes we want more than that. Forgiveness is nice and all, but wouldn’t revenge be sweet? Wouldn’t it be nice if God raged with us? If He would smite those who sin against us? Elijah thought so. 

But smiting is over-rated. After the 450 prophets of Baal were killed, it didn’t fix everything for Elijah. He felt run over, so he slunk off, filled with self pity, and ready to die. And when God came to him, it wasn’t in the strong and raging wind, earthquake, or fire - it was first with food, God feeding him, and then with a small, calm voice telling him that He would make it right. For, Elijah, there’s more going on here than you know. And God’s voice and care disarms us, calms us, and talks us off the ledge of our anger and rage. 

Which is what happened on Good Friday, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, not raging, but speaking forgiveness. He hung there in the dark, the crowds having thinned out, the earlier furor now a quiet waiting for the inevitable. There was so much more going on than they knew, than met the eye. And yet it was the still, small, calm voice of Jesus that made all the difference. That even softened and changed a centurion’s heart. And that maybe can change our hearts as well . . .

That’s what we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. Forgive us. And make your forgiveness flow through us. To those who hit and run us with their sin. 

Which is hard. And sometimes really hard. Especially when you go out into the driveway and stare at the damage. You get madder and madder. You stew on it. Brood about it. And anger festers, and turns into bitterness. You can’t just forget it - the damage is done. But you can stop looking at it and fill your mind with something else. You can, as we’ve been singing all this Lenten season, fix your eyes on Jesus. 

So while the damage is still there, something else, someone else is, too. And the damage might be there for some time. Sometimes the cost of sin and the pain of sin goes on. Even if insurance paid for the repair, maybe your rates went up. And your car won’t ever be quite the same. A divorce 20 years ago still effects the holidays now. An injury you suffered still hurts on rainy days many years later. The job you should have had but got cheated out of, a chance you’ll never get back. Sin sometimes comes with not only a great but an enduring cost. One we may not even realize at first. The damage may be deeper than we know.

But God knew the cost, how great it was. And that only He could do anything about it. So He did. But here’s the thing: when we hear about His forgiveness, His paying for us, it’s not just the sacrifice - there’s joy there, too. Not only for the forgivee, but for the forgiver. In fact, sometimes the forgivee, the one who receives the forgiveness, misses the joy. . . . But look at Jesus. For as we heard tonight, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And know that for you, too, the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

But that joy is not just in the future, while you have to suffer now, while you have to hurt now. That doesn’t really work. Even a tiny little pebble of sin can cause a whole lot of pain. That little pebble in the bottom of your shoe, that tiny little kidney stone, that tiny little stone of sin in your heart causes a whole lot of hurt and pain. You need that stone moved. Now. You need that stone out. Now

So again, Jesus did. He moved a stone. The one that sealed His tomb. Compared to the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, or the Himalayas, it was just a little pebble. But moving it changed the world. Changed you. Had it stayed in place, you’d have no hope. Your dents and mangledness and damage would be permanent. But when that stone is out of your shoe, out of your kidney, out of your heart, it makes all the difference in the world. 

And maybe we could say that’s the facet of forgiveness we need the most. It’s great that our sins our cleansed and washed and covered. It’s great that they’re far from us and fixed on Jesus. But that He paid for them, He paid for us, to redeem us, restore us, fix us, take the damage away from us, that’s what we really need. So that we can live. And so the joy of forgiveness can be ours as well. Not only the joy of being the forgivee, but of being the forgiver. Of having Jesus’ forgiveness flow through you. That helps you, too. To see Jesus’ work in you, through you. That your damage and dents aren’t who you are. They don’t define you. Jesus does. His work for you does. And when He does, your story changes. His starts to take over. And as St. Paul said, you begin to have His mind in you (Philippians 2:5-11). And now the story of your life isn’t the damage you’ve gotten or inflicted, but the story of the one who redeemed you. And when that happens, there is joy and hope. For the present and for the future. All the facets of forgiveness come together. From the cross. For you. In Him. 

This Holy Week we will see that again. All those wonderful facets of forgiveness, shining most brilliantly. So let us watch again in wonder, awe, and joy.

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

 

Sermon for Lent 5

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Amazing Glory, Amazing Love”

Text: Mark 10:32-45; Hebrews 5:1-10; Jeremiah 31:31-34

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

Jesus and His disciples are on the road going up to Jerusalem. You always went “up” to Jerusalem. It is a city on a hill. But Jesus would go even higher, higher than Jerusalem. For He would be lifted up above Jerusalem. On the cross. He knew it. He told His disciples. It was barely more than a week away now.

Mark tells us that as they were going up, they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. They were not alone, going up. The Passover was approaching. Many were on their way. The city was filling up. 

But why the disciples were amazed, and why those who followed were afraid, Mark doesn’t tell us. But perhaps it is for the same reason. Jerusalem is where the scribes and Pharisees were. Who were actively plotting against Jesus, how to get rid of Jesus. And their opposition was intensifying. Jesus is going right into the lions’ den. They are amazed that He is, and afraid that He is. And even moreso when they hear His next words: that He will be condemned, mocked, spit on, flogged, and killed. Things to be avoided! Not walked into. But for this Jesus came. He will not be deterred. And after three days He will rise. But what does that mean? 

So it may seem like an odd time for James and John to approach Jesus with their request. They want to be close to Him in His glory. Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. It seems like such a crass request, so inappropriate, especially coming on the heels of what Jesus had just told them. But maybe not. Throughout the Old Testament, we hear of the dying giving their blessing to those who come after them. And some are famous. Jacob stole such a blessing from his brother, Esau. Jacob blessed his twelve sons in Egypt, which included a prophecy of the Saviour coming from his son, Judah. So if Jesus is going to die, they ask for this, this blessing, before He does.

So the request isn’t wrong. The others get indignant, but Jesus doesn’t. He doesn’t rebuke them for their request - it’s just that they don’t understand what they are asking for. They don’t understand what Jesus’ glory is. They don’t understand all that is going to unfold over the course of this next week. But they will . . .

They will see Jesus in His glory - when He is on the cross. That’s what Jesus calls His glory. He is glorified through His death and resurrection. Because that’s not glory for glory’s sake. That’s the glory of His love. The glory of His mercy. The glory of laying down His life for the life of the world. And in that glory, look who is on His right and left - two criminals. But not just criminals. One of them to be a son of God. Of course, Jesus couldn’t say all that at this moment. James and John would not have understood. Oh, no! That’s not the glory we want! They were looking for another kind of glory

Jesus knows that. And what that temptation is like. He is a High Priest who knows what we go through, for He Himself went through it. He was tempted like us. In this way, too. To get glory the easy way, tempted to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple so that His angels would swoop in and rescue Him (Luke 4:9-12), rather than through hanging on a cross. But He would not. There is a greater glory than that kind of glory; that kind of worldly glory. Though, like the cross, it doesn’t look like glory or greatness. Not to our worldly eyes.

Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 

Servant? And slave of all? That’s not greatness or glory - that’s being low man on the totem pole. That’s helping others be great, while you don’t get anything. They get paid and you get bupkis. 

Well, yes and no. Is it helping others be great, helping others up? Yes. Is it getting bupkis? Not exactly. Because there was one who did that for you, so you will never be at the bottom of the totem pole. There will always be one lower than you, serving you, helping you, raising you. That one now going up to Jerusalem to go up on the cross. The greatest who became the least.

And anyway, being at the top of the totem pole isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When you are, in this world, the others who want to be there instead of you are targeting you to bring you down. Worldly greatness and glory is a competition, and it’s never-ending. And you can be there one day and gone the next. Just ask all the folks whose streets are being renamed, monuments and statues removed, and histories being re-written. The world is moving on from them. 

But God’s greatness is completely upside-down from that. God doesn’t target the great to bring them down - He targets the down and out to bring them up! To raise us up with Him. And if He does bring you down, it is so that He can raise you up. From worldly greatness and glory to His greatness and glory. So that even if you do not have a name here and now, your name be written in heaven.

So, James and John. You want those places? OK. Can you be baptized with my baptism? Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? Jesus asks. Oh yes! they say. And again, they don’t know what they are saying. Jesus’ baptism is a baptism of blood. His cup the cup of suffering and death. And so it would be to James and John according to their word - they would be so baptized and they would drink that cup; they would be martyred. And it would be for their service of others. They would not achieve, but receive, that glory. From God. But not yet. Now was Jesus’ day.

And here again we see the upside-down greatness and glory of God! For what about you and me? Will you and I be baptized with His baptism? Will we suffer, be persecuted, and maybe even die for our faith? For proclaiming God’s Word and sticking to what it says? Maybe. The tide of this world is turning against the Christian truth. Will we drink that cup of suffering and death? Maybe.

But this we DO know - that Jesus was baptized with our baptism and He drank our cup! He was baptized as a sinner and became the sinner of sinners. He drank the cup of God’s wrath against our sin down to it’s very dregs. He gloriously took it all for us. That’s why He was headed to Jerusalem. To give His life as a ransom for many. Which, according to the Hebrew mind, doesn’t mean less than all but more than all. Many doesn’t limit Jesus’ atonement, but expands it. All would be all those who were there at that time. Many means those and many more. It means the all of us who are great at sinning! ‘Cuz that’s what we’re all great at. Think of all the sin you did just this week . . . Then multiply that by all the weeks in your life . . . Then multiply that by all the people in the world . . . Then multiply that by all the people who ever lived . . . That’s one big cup of wrath Jesus drank! One very big glorious cup!

And because He did, He did leave a blessing behind for us. A cup of blessing. The one we drink here. A cup filled not with wrath, but with forgiveness and life. To give us a great and glorious life like His great and glorious life. Of serving others, helping others, forgiving others. Because He is always doing that for us. That there be not just one or two places in glory with Him, but a countless number, of people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue (Revelation 7:9). Places for great sinners, sinners no more. Because of the greatness and glory of Jesus and His cross. 

Because we have a great High Priest who was saved from death, and so is a High Priest forever. The earthly high priests of the Old Testament served for a time and served people of a time. But Jesus is the High Priest of the New Testament, for all people of all time. Who saved us from death by death. Because our physical death isn’t the death we need to worry about. Physical death lasts for a time, but spiritual death lasts forever. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem to die the first death, to save us from the second. So that when we die, we will live. We will be raised, just as He is, to life.

So today we enter Passiontide - the last two weeks of the Lenten season, when the glory of Jesus shines more brightly than ever. But it is a hidden glory. Hidden under intense suffering and gory death. But a glory that we know is there. So we veil the cross today. It is hidden from our eyes until it’s glory is unveiled for us again on Good Friday. We also, starting today, you may have noticed, refrain from singing or speaking our gloria patris (Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit). That, too, is hidden from us for a little while. But as Jesus rose to life again, so will these. The days are coming, Jeremiah said, of the New Covenant, the New Testament, the resurrection. Jesus’ and ours.

So until that day, we take our place not on Jesus’ right or life, but at His Table. And He comes in His hidden greatness, feeding us with His Body and giving us His Blood to drink, raising us to life in the forgiveness of our sins, and giving us a new life of glory and greatness to live. Not the world’s, but His. And as you do, you may be condemned, mocked, spit on, flogged, and killed, too. But if you are, you are not alone. And if you are, you will live. For you’re not at the bottom of the totem pole. Jesus is. For you. With you. Raising you. Saving you. Until the day of a new glory comes.

Until it does, let us join the twelve and go up to Jerusalem and be amazed, but not afraid. For in the world’s hate is Jesus’ love. In His cross is glory. And in His death is life.

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