Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter

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Jesu Juva

“Exactly What You Need”

Text: John 20:19-31; 1 John 1:1-2:2

 

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.

Jesus knew exactly what they needed. Those disciples who were consumed by guilt, confused, and afraid. They should have done more. What did the future now hold for them? Would they be stoned or crucified? Locked doors couldn’t keep out determined soldiers or second thoughts. Just a couple of nights ago they had celebrated the Passover and remembered all those great acts of God in delivering Israel from Egyptian bondage. Where were those great acts now? Maybe they felt like Israel trapped between the Red Sea and the pursuing Egyptian army . . . except the sea of fear and shame, guilt and confusion was sweeping over them! And they didn’t know what to do.

But Jesus knew exactly what they needed. First is forgiveness for their guilt and shame. Peace be with you. He didn’t scold them. He didn’t rebuke them. He peaced them. Forgiveness for troubled hearts. Calm for raging and accusing minds. What they had seen Him do for so many others, He now did for them. And at His speaking it was done. There was peace in that room. Peace between master and disciple. Peace between God and man. Peace that surpasses understanding. The kind of peace that can only come from God Himself, and at His Word.

But they needed more than that. More than peace for their guilt and shame. They needed assurance for minds that were confused and running amok, dreaming up all kinds of scenarios and what-ifs and usually dwelling on the worst and magnifying their fears. So just like that night on the Sea of Galilee, when they saw Jesus walking on the water - which is impossible, right? Like that night, they probably thought they saw a ghost. The ghost of dead Jesus. Because here, Jesus, locked doors - again, it’s impossible, right? So . . .

So Jesus shows them His hands and His side. John would say later in his first epistle, that we heard earlier, that they not only saw Jesus alive with their own eyes, but also touched Him with their hands. Possibly, probably, right here, right now, in that room. Unsure and shaking hands probing that body they had seen breathe its last and hanging dead on the cross. It was again no ghost. And this time, it wasn’t the winds and waves that He quieted and stilled, it was the hearts and minds of His friends. Though human hearts and minds are not so easy to still as winds and waves, are they? But He did, and they were. The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Joy now began to fill their hearts and minds.

But still more they needed, Jesus knew. They needed instruction, purpose. Not just for some distant future, but for tomorrow! For when they would leave that room. They couldn’t stay there forever. They needed to know that what had just happened, all the events of that past week, was not a monumental catastrophe that messed up and derailed everything and now necessitated Plan B! But that when Jesus had told them one day some three years before, to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men (Mark 1:17) - that was still the plan. And it was. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you, He says. The peace they had just received is the peace they would now give. Peace and joy for troubled hearts and minds. Forgiveness to still the storms of guilt, accusation, and fear. And the Spirit of God, the Helper Jesus had promised them, with them, helping them.

Jesus knew exactly what they needed. Thomas, too. Eight days later, when the disciples were again assembled and recreated the scene for Thomas - same room, same locks, but not the same disciples - Jesus doesn’t need to be told what Thomas said or what Thomas needed. He knew. And with the same gentleness and love that He showed the others, He peaces, forgives, and reassures Thomas. Thomas, who probably wasn’t worse or more disbelieving than the others. He just said the quiet part out loud. So Jesus does for Him what He did for the others. No disciple left behind. 

But it would not always be so. This was not the paradigm for how things would now be. That room with locked doors would not now be a shrine or a chapel for disbelievers or doubters to come and see Jesus every week. Rather, Jesus says, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. That was not so much a rebuke of Thomas as it was direction for the future. There would be a weekly gathering of disciples, like this one, but the blessing would not come by sight, but by faith. Faith which believes the Word, and the Word which gives the gifts of God. For still at His speaking it is done. His Word giving peace. His Word forgiving. His Word calming troubled hearts and stilling raging minds. His Word the disciples were now sent to speak. As they had done for Thomas, now they would do for all.

So John writes them down, all these words. For you. These [things] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. That you be among the blessed - those who have not seen and yet have believed. 

For Jesus knows exactly what you need, as well. You who are not in a room with locked doors for fear of the Jews, but you whose mouths may be locked shut for fear of the world. You who are also filled with guilt and shame over what you have done and what you have left undone. You confessed that again this morning. How have you denied? How have you betrayed? How have you rebelled? How have you been sleeping when you should have been praying, running instead of remaining steadfast? And you whose hearts and minds are confused and troubled because you’ve been listening to the world more than listening to God? Because the winds and waves and storms and threats of the world seem so big and powerful, and the Word of God so small and weak. And we, too, maybe begin to doubt . . . Did God really say? Is it really true? What does the future hold? Because it doesn’t look good! Churches shrinking, unbelief rising, persecution increasing, ungodliness embraced, the truth disregarded, the sacred trampled, power exalted, evil called good and good called evil, the altars of selfishness and greed, happiness and self-fulfillment, now where so many bow and worship . . . It all makes locked doors sound pretty good! 

But Jesus wouldn’t let His disciples stay behind those locked doors, and they’re not an option for us either. What sounds good may not be good. But Jesus knows exactly what you need. And it’s exactly what the disciples needed. And it’s not to see Him but to hear Him. For blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And how you believe without seeing is by hearing. Hearing the Word of God. The Word of God that is not just words in the air, but words spoken that do what they say. The Word through which the Spirit of God works and is given to you. 

Which is why this weekly gathering is so important! That the Word be spoken to you, and you have what it says. Forgiveness for guilty hearts. Peace for troubled minds. Calm for bestormed souls. Assurance for shaky and timid consciences. Truth in the midst of falsehood. And purpose. That as bad as you may have messed up your life, and gone astray, and rebelled, and just generally not been the person you should have been . . . kind of like Peter, James, John, Philip, Andrew, Matthew, Thomas, Bartholomew, James, Thaddeus, and Simon! . . .  all is not lost. Those eleven would still be fishers of men, and you are still called to be His children and fulfill the vocations He has given you. God doesn’t want you to sin! That’s not good! But as John wrote, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation - that is, the sacrifice, the atonement - for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

The sins of the whole world! Do you have any sins, small or great, not included there? Then Jesus died for them. And when you hear each week, here, in this weekly gathering, the words of Jesus, I forgive you all your sins, they are. You can be sure. Forgiveness for your guilty heart, peace for your troubled mind, and calm for your bestormed soul. And the assurance that the promises of your baptism are still good and you are still His child. Jesus did not reject those eleven for their sin and He does not reject you. 

And as He sent them, so He sends you. As much as they wanted to stay in that room with Jesus, safe from the threats and troubles of life, they could not stay. For the whole world was waiting for the news of Jesus’ resurrection and the forgiveness, peace, and life He rose to give. They would be fishers of men. They would go and speak and give. And they would not go alone. They had been given the Spirit, the Helper, who would go with them.

The Spirit, the Helper, you also have been given. To go out to the people you have been given and to the places you have been sent. To be father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker; to be neighbor, friend, classmate, or workmate; to pray, encourage, help, speak, and live the truth of God’s Word. In faith. Faith that you are blessed, and faith that what you do will bless others. Faith, for the blessing in the Lord’s, not yours. And faith that while you may not see or know how you and your presence has blessed others, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t. For still, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. That God is working, through you, for others.

Even those who may be like Thomas, who may rebuff your words with doubt and your faith with mocking. Even those who may be like the Jews, who may answer your faith with persecution and violence. Even those who think you may just be mad and out of your mind. And you will meet such people, if you haven’t already, just like those eleven did. That’s okay. Peace be with you. Jesus is risen. And He is working. One plants, another waters, and another harvests (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). Maybe more than you know.

So as Jesus invited Thomas to put out his hand, and place it in [His Body and Blood] side, so now He bids you open your mouths and He will place His Body and Blood into you. That you, too, believe. That you, too, be forgiven. That you, too, confess. That you, too, arise and go from this place filled with confidence and faith, and into a world full of people still waiting to hear of Jesus’ resurrection, forgiveness, peace, and life. That set free by Jesus, what has been given to you, you now give to others. 

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

Risen with peace and life for you.

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

Sermon for the Resurrection of Our Lord

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Jesu Juva

“Death Is Dead!”

Text: Mark 16:1-8; Isaiah 25:6-9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

 

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 women went to the tomb. They expected death. Of course they did. Death is what they saw. Death is what we know. Death surrounds us. Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands (LSB #458). And behind the tomb’s large stone. Dead doesn’t go away. You don’t recover from dead like you do from the flu. Dead is dead. And so is hope.

So when they get to the tomb and the stone is rolled away and dead is not there, they are confused, they are alarmed, they are scared. They are seized with trembling and astonishment. What happened to death? They hope, they want to hope, that the message of the angel might be true. That there might be life . . . 

At first, they said nothing. They had nothing to say. You know how it is. When you go to a funeral, what do you say? The words don’t come. Or if they do, they’re clumsy and awkward. We might even flee, like the women did. Get out of there fast. It’s safer. Don’t stay too long. What’s the use? 

They took spices. We send flowers. Anything to cover up the aroma of death. Death stinks. And not just literally. God knew it. That’s why He told Adam and Eve not to eat from that tree that would bring death. But they had to find out for themselves. They ate, and tasted death. They ate, but they were the ones who got swallowed up.  And now there would be tombs and sadness and separation.

And so it is today. In the news just this past week . . .

The wars in Ukraine and Gaza rage on. They’re not the first and they’re not the last, just the latest. Thousands dead. 

Armed men shoot up a theatre. It’s not the first time and it’s surely not the last time, just the latest time. Hundreds dead.

A bridge collapses. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time, just the latest time. And men who went to work that night to support their families would not come home.

A police officer is murdered, shot and killed in cold blood. And a wife and small child are left behind. And surely it will happen again.

This is our reality. We’re stunned, but for how long? How long until we just move on. Death is just a part of life. Ever hear that? It’s dead wrong! But how some people move on. Who’s to blame? There must be someone to blame! That’s how some cope. But that’s little comfort. Because death keeps coming, keeps happening, to young and old, men and women, expected and unexpected . . .

Death is what we see. Death is what we know. Death surrounds us.

Until today!

Because today, suddenly, death was not the one who did the swallowing. As the prophet Isaiah said, death got swallowed up! Forever. And there’s only one big enough, strong enough, and now alive enough, to do that. The Son of God Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, He was crucified. Yes, He was dead. Yes, He was buried. But for this. To do this. To rise from death. And in rising from death, to swallow the swallower. To slay the slayer. To deal death a mortal blow. To break the seal of the tomb - and not just His own. Ours too. That though we, too, will die, yet shall we live (John 11:25). 

That in this world there we are surrounded by death, here, here we be surrounded by life. That in this world where death keeps coming, keeps happening, here life keeps coming, keeps happening. Life given in the waters of Holy Baptism. Life given in the forgiveness of our sins. Life given in the proclamation of the Gospel. Life given in the once-crucified but now risen Body and Blood of Jesus. Here dead does go away. Here we are raised from death. Here death is dead. In Jesus. 

In Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). 

In Jesus, who raised the daughter of a centurion from death to life (Mark 5:35-43). 

In Jesus, who raised the only son of the widow of Nain from death to life (Luke 7:11-17). 

In Jesus, who called His four-day-dead friend Lazarus from the tomb, alive (John 11:38-44). 

And in Jesus, who will call you out of your tomb on the Last Day to life (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). 

So we have hope. Of life. And not just a little life for a short time. But a full and abundant life. An eternal life. With no more war, no more mass shootings, no more bridge collapses, no more murder, no more sorrow. The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces - from your face. That tears no more stain the face of you who are in Christ Jesus.

That is the day we are waiting for. The women had to wait until the third day; how long will our wait be? I do not know. Our Father knows, and that is enough. That day will come when He has determined. And just as with Jesus, it will be at just the right time. 

Until that day, we come to the feast our Lord has prepared for us on Mount Calvary, the feast of feasts. The feast we swallow that swallows death. The feast that gives us joy and salvation. The feast not just of rich food and well-aged wine, but the very Body and Blood of Jesus, the feast of life.

Until that day, because of Jesus’ resurrection, even though we live surrounded by death, we do not live without hope. And with hope, not a wishful hope, but the sure and certain hope of Jesus’ resurrection, we do have something to say when faced with death - the message of the angel: that

Christ is risen! And death is annihilated.

Christ is risen! And the evil ones are cast down.

Christ is risen! And life is liberated.

Christ is risen! And the tomb is broken.

Christ is risen! And we have hope.

Christ is risen! And there is for us a glorious future.

For what happened to death? 

Jesus happened!

And He is alive forevermore.

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

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

Homily for the Great Vigil of Easter

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Jesu Juva

“This Is the Day the Lord Has Made”

 

You have heard, O child of God, the story of your God this night.

You heard in the creation account, that He is the creator of life. 

You heard of the flood, where He is the cleanser of life.

You heard of His victory at the Red Sea, the He is the deliverer of life.

You heard of His gift of a new heart and a new spirit, that He is the restorer of life.

You heard the prophecy of Job, that He is the redeemer of life.

You heard the oracle of Zephaniah, that He rejoices in life.

And you heard the story of the fourth man in the flames, that He is the saviour of life.

But these are not just the story of your God. These are your stories. 

For God has created you, and cleansed you, and delivered you, and given you a new heart and a new spirit, and redeemed you, and rejoices in you, and saves you.If these stories are not your stories, then they are just that - stories. Tales of old. But if these stories are your stories - as they are - then they are more than stories. They are your history. They are who you are.

Which is why we remember and celebrate Baptism this night. For Baptism is what makes these stories your stories. For you are baptized into Christ. And baptized into Christ, you are baptized into His story, His history; you are baptized into His body, His church. And in the church we are one body. United to one another in Christ. So that as St. Paul would say, when one of us suffers, we all suffer. When one of rejoices, we all rejoice.

But not only that - this too: when one of us dies, we all die. And when one of us rises from the dead, we all rise. And that’s what Jesus has done for us these sacred days. He died and rose for us, and we die and rise in Him. The old sinful man in us dies and a new and righteous man rises to a new life.

This is the night! You heard that many times earlier. This is the night. Not this was the night. This is the night. Because this is the night that ushered in the new and eternal day - the day that will never end; the day that has ended night. The eighth day. In His resurrection, Jesus broke the old and inaugurated the new, the new and everlasting day. The day into which we are baptized. The day in which we now live. Christians do not live in the past; we live in the future. A future which is already present with us here and now. For where Christ is, there is His kingdom. Where Christ is, there is His life. Where Christ is, there is eternity. For He is the great I AM. Not the I was or the I will be. But the great I AM. The one who does not change. Who is the same yesterday today, and forever. The one who speaks reality. The one where past, present, and future find their source and fulfillment. This is the night in which all prior history culminated, and from which all time now flows forth.

This is the night. The night that changed everything. The night when bondage is broken, the enslaver is enslaved, and the captive set free. This is the night of our re-creation, our cleansing, our deliverance, our restoration, our redemption, our joy, and our salvation. For this is the night when the tomb is empty. The women will discover that in the morning. And their mourning will be turned into dancing, and their sorrow into joy, for death is overcome by life. 

They thought it too good to be true, until the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, showed them this is the way of life. His life. Our life. All life.

This is the night. So we gather here in vigil, in quiet joy, confident not only in the joy of tomorrow, but the joy of eternity.

For Christ is here. Christ is risen. And Christ lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN

Sermon for Good and Holy Friday

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Jesu Juva

“The Wisdom of God”

Text: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

 

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

I don’t know if you ever paid much attention to the first part of the first sentence of the Old Testament reading we heard tonight. We hear it every year, but like me, you maybe just skipped over it. Because what comes after it is so vivid, so striking. All that Jesus did. All that happened to Him. The beating, the marring, the man of sorrows. The one wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. The one who was made the sin offering. Oppressed, judged, and taken away. But it all starts with this verse, this phrase: Behold, that is, look! My servant shall act wisely . . .

Wisely. That’s a strange thing to say. Not the word many might have selected for that verse! Reckless, maybe. Or foolish. For was it wise for Jesus to provoke the religious authorities? Was it wise not to defend Himself before Pontius Pilate or King Herod? Was it wise to overturn the tables in the Temple? Was it wise to allow Himself to be arrested without a fight? No, perhaps we would say. You don’t stick your hand into the snake pit and expect to not get bitten. Or beaten. Or crucified.

But, of course, that’s exactly why Jesus did what He did. That the snake, the old evil foe, rise up against Him, and provoke sinful men to do the same. That He be hung up on a cursed tree, crucified. That’s exactly what He wanted. To bear the curse, the curse of sin and death, this curse that infected and causes the death of every man and woman and all of creation - to bear that all Himself. That it crush Him, not us. That it curse Him, not us. That it condemn Him, not us. To set us free from that dreadful past, present, and future. So if that was His goal - and it was - He did act wisely to get it done.

But that verse in Isaiah means more than that. For to act wisely there means to act in accordance with wisdom. And that wisdom is the wisdom of God. And that wisdom of God is the Holy Scriptures. So for Jesus to act wisely is for Jesus to act in accordance with all the Scriptures, which is to say, to fulfill all the Scriptures, from beginning to end. So all that was written, all that was promised, all that was prophesied, be fulfilled. Not one Word of God left empty, but all accomplished. That the promise made to Adam and Eve, and then to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then to David, foretold by prophets like Ezekiel and Micah, foreshadowed in the events told by Daniel, and finally the words of Jesus Himself, all be fulfilled. So that when Jesus utters the word tetelestai, it is finished, it truly was. 

So the wisdom of God is clearly not like our wisdom. For who would do this? What Father would offer up His Son, and what Son would offer up His life, for a world where, Isaiah says, all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way? Reckless, perhaps we would say. Or foolish. But maybe the truth is that we’re not as wise as we think . . . Science and the internet have given us more knowledge than ever before, but the more we know, the less wise and the more foolish we become. Because the more we know, the more we do and accomplish, the more advances we make, the more wonders we perform, the more we think we are gods. We’re the creators of our reality. We call the shots. We determine the truth. We do what we want. We know what is best. We know how to live! And what a mess we’ve made.

So into this once-perfect but now messed up world where men think they are god, came the true Son of God. And He died for all, the apostle Paul said to us tonight, that those who live might no longer live for themselves - might no longer live in our foolishness - but [live] for Him who for their sake died and was raised. That we might, like Jesus, act wisely. That is, act in accordance with wisdom, the wisdom of God, the Holy Scriptures. That we live by that truth, not our own. That we live by those words, not our own. That we live under the One who knows far more than we do, and that we ever will. The One who not only knows what is best, but does it. And does it for us. He dies.

Reckless? Foolish? No. Life-giving. For His death means our life. His captivity means our freedom. His sorrow means our joy. His condemnation means our forgiveness. 

So for our sake, the Father made the Son who knew no sin, to be sin, so that in the Son we might become the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God that is ours by grace through faith. The righteousness of God that is not achieved by us, but given to us. Given to us by the One who hung on the cross in our place. By the One who spoke from the cross, Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34). He does, and you are. Forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Accounted righteous, is how Isaiah put it. Which means that in the accounting of heaven, you are counted righteous, your account paid in full. Which is what the word tetelestai was used for in the days of Jesus. When a bill was paid in full, the word tetelestai would be written across the account - it is finished; paid in full. And since Jesus had nothing to pay, since the Son owes nothing, that was written across your account, in His blood. 

So now we hear the story again of Jesus acting wisely. He knew of His betrayal, foretold it, and it happened. He knew of Peter’s denials, foretold them, and it happened. He knew of His crucifixion, foretold it, and it happened. None of it a surprise. But you know what else He knew and foretold? That on the third day, the tomb would be empty. That on the third day He would rise. That satan would not have the final word, He would. That death would not have the final word, life would. He who is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13). He who is our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier. He who is our forgiveness, life, and salvation. Yes, He dies our death and lays in our tomb. They will look on Him whom they have pierced. But so will we! In the resurrection, we will see the nail marks, we will see the where the spear was thrust into His side, and we will rejoice to see those marks - those marks not of our sin, but of His love. 

Behold, my servant shall act wisely. Tonight is the night of the wisdom of God. Our Lord has been preparing for this night, for His death, all His life.  Tonight, we prepare for our own deaths by looking at His. And we’ll see that while death is terrible and does its worst, it will not win. It cannot win. For the Son of God, the suffering servant, our Lord Jesus Christ, saves us not just from our sins, but saves us for Himself. Or as we confess in the Catechism . . . He has redeemed me . . . that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

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